Sanibel Church rebuilds after Hurricane IanCostco construction causes commotion in Collier County community
SANIBEL Sanibel Church rebuilds after Hurricane Ian The Sanibel Community Church has completed its remarkable rebuild after Hurricane Ian devastated their place of worship over two years ago.
NAPLES Costco construction causes commotion in Collier County community Costco is eyeing a plot of land in Collier County for a new store, but residents are voicing strong opposition.
NAPLES Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho’s impact on education and Southwest Florida Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho, a beloved philanthropist and advocate for education, dedicated his life to empowering others through opportunity and knowledge.
SANIBEL Sanibel cracks down on school zone speeders with new camera system Sanibel is tightening its grip on school zone speeders with newly installed cameras.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry expands efforts with Harry Chapin support The Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers plays a crucial role in supporting smaller food banks in the area.
Fort Myers Beach Pier scheduled to be finished a year ahead of schedule The Fort Myers Beach Pier remains a symbol of the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian two years ago. Efforts to rebuild it has taken a lot of time.
FORT MYERS Iconic Fort Myers statue to undergo repairs The iconic “Rachel at the Well” statue on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers has been a landmark for 94 years. However, it became a casualty of Hurricane Ian in 2022, and discussions for its repair are ongoing.
Salvation Army Thrift Store closing its doors in Collier County The Salvation Army has announced the permanent closure of the Naples Family Store on Davis Boulevard.
SANIBEL Rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway with a cause Construction crews are hard at work making the Sanibel Causeway more resilient. The bridge is being fortified to withstand future storms.
LEE COUNTY No. 2 prospect in MLB Roman Anthony with Red Sox for Spring Training Roman Anthony, who is ranked as the second best in baseball, is with the Boston Red Sox for his first Spring Training.
MANASOTA KEY Popular Manasota Key restaurant reopens after storm damage Manasota Key is steadily recovering from a challenging hurricane season, and residents are celebrating the reopening of a beloved local spot.
PINE ISLAND Construction to start on hurricane-proof fire station on Pine Island A new hurricane-proof fire station is coming to Pine Island. The current station, over 40 years old, is in dire need of replacement.
NORTH PORT Braves’ Chris Sale on the mound in southwest Florida once again Spring Training is in full swing for the Atlanta Braves, who’s full squad reported on Tuesday, that means Chris Sale is back in SWFL.
NAPLES Denise Brown speaks on domestic violence at Naples fundraiser event A record crowd of 825 people gathered at the Ritz Carlton Tiburon to raise money and awareness to end domestic violence.
NORTH NAPLES Construction on Collier County diverging diamond begins in March Construction on Southwest Florida’s third diverging diamond interchange is set to begin in March.
SANIBEL Sanibel Church rebuilds after Hurricane Ian The Sanibel Community Church has completed its remarkable rebuild after Hurricane Ian devastated their place of worship over two years ago.
NAPLES Costco construction causes commotion in Collier County community Costco is eyeing a plot of land in Collier County for a new store, but residents are voicing strong opposition.
NAPLES Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho’s impact on education and Southwest Florida Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho, a beloved philanthropist and advocate for education, dedicated his life to empowering others through opportunity and knowledge.
SANIBEL Sanibel cracks down on school zone speeders with new camera system Sanibel is tightening its grip on school zone speeders with newly installed cameras.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry expands efforts with Harry Chapin support The Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers plays a crucial role in supporting smaller food banks in the area.
Fort Myers Beach Pier scheduled to be finished a year ahead of schedule The Fort Myers Beach Pier remains a symbol of the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian two years ago. Efforts to rebuild it has taken a lot of time.
FORT MYERS Iconic Fort Myers statue to undergo repairs The iconic “Rachel at the Well” statue on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers has been a landmark for 94 years. However, it became a casualty of Hurricane Ian in 2022, and discussions for its repair are ongoing.
Salvation Army Thrift Store closing its doors in Collier County The Salvation Army has announced the permanent closure of the Naples Family Store on Davis Boulevard.
SANIBEL Rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway with a cause Construction crews are hard at work making the Sanibel Causeway more resilient. The bridge is being fortified to withstand future storms.
LEE COUNTY No. 2 prospect in MLB Roman Anthony with Red Sox for Spring Training Roman Anthony, who is ranked as the second best in baseball, is with the Boston Red Sox for his first Spring Training.
MANASOTA KEY Popular Manasota Key restaurant reopens after storm damage Manasota Key is steadily recovering from a challenging hurricane season, and residents are celebrating the reopening of a beloved local spot.
PINE ISLAND Construction to start on hurricane-proof fire station on Pine Island A new hurricane-proof fire station is coming to Pine Island. The current station, over 40 years old, is in dire need of replacement.
NORTH PORT Braves’ Chris Sale on the mound in southwest Florida once again Spring Training is in full swing for the Atlanta Braves, who’s full squad reported on Tuesday, that means Chris Sale is back in SWFL.
NAPLES Denise Brown speaks on domestic violence at Naples fundraiser event A record crowd of 825 people gathered at the Ritz Carlton Tiburon to raise money and awareness to end domestic violence.
NORTH NAPLES Construction on Collier County diverging diamond begins in March Construction on Southwest Florida’s third diverging diamond interchange is set to begin in March.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., right, speak to reporters just before House and Senate tax bill conferees meet to work on the sweeping overhaul of the nation’s tax laws, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017. Democrats are objecting to the bill and are asking that a final vote be delayed until Senator-elect Doug Jones of Alabama is seated. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Lawmakers from hard-hit states such as Florida are demanding tens of billions of dollars of hurricane relief and rebuilding funds as part of another temporary Washington spending bill to keep the government from shutting down over Christmas. Hurricane money is one of many pressing items as GOP leaders Wednesday evening unveiled an opening bid in the party’s strategy to avert a government shutdown next weekend. Plenty of hurdles remain, though, and a shutdown that could strike just before Christmas isn’t out of the question. The measure released by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., would keep the nondefense agencies of the government open through Jan. 19 while passing a huge Pentagon spending bill covering the entire 2018 budget year ending on Sept. 30. The leadership-sponsored measure, however, doesn’t contain hurricane relief demanded by many Republicans and has already been declared dead on arrival in the Senate by top Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York. Congress last week passed a two-week stopgap spending bill, called a continuing resolution in Washington-speak. This “CR” bought time for negotiations on the party’s signature tax bill, but talks with Democrats such as Schumer on the budget, disaster aid, children’s health and other leftovers aren’t going as smoothly. The measure unveiled by Frelinghuysen fulfills a gambit proposed by some Republicans to try to force the Senate to pass a huge full-year Pentagon spending bill along with the temporary funding needed to avert a shutdown. The defense measure, which would award the Pentagon with a $73 billion budget hike, is a top priority for the GOP’s legion of defense hawks. That move won’t fly, however, with Senate Democrats emboldened by Tuesday’s surprise win in the Alabama Senate race. And the idea ran into a buzz-saw of opposition from hurricane-state lawmakers at Wednesday’s GOP meeting, who were upset after Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told them the hurricane relief package wasn’t ready. “I can tell you, there are a lot of us from these disaster-affected states who are not going to support a CR absent supplemental relief being taken care of before Christmas,” said Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla. Driving the House GOP’s moves is the party’s endgame goal, at least for December – to freeze Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California out of the negotiations and deny her the leverage to win protections for immigrants commonly called “Dreamers” as part of the year-end measure. These are immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children and were given protections by former President Barack Obama – only to be reversed by Trump back in September. But Schumer can’t be frozen out, despite the hopes of some House conservatives. Even GOP hard-liners acknowledge that Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., could bounce the House measure right back with a bipartisan measure that the House might have little choice but to accept. That could include flood aid and a bipartisan, Pelosi-backed reauthorization of a popular children’s health insurance program known as CHIP. Frelinghuysen’s bill contains a GOP-drafted CHIP measure. “The Senate will strip out the defense piece, predictably, and send it back to us,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. Another complication for the year-end package is the potential addition of subsidies for low-income people participating in the Affordable Care Act. That’s a demand of Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate from Maine who won a pledge from Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to retain such market-stabilizing “cost-sharing” subsidies – which help with out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-payments – in exchange for her commitment to support the tax measure. Some liberal media observers have opined that Collins got snookered and that the promise won’t be honored by House Republicans. “I am confident that the agreement that I negotiated will be honored,” Collins said Wednesday. “The mechanics of doing it still need to be worked out but all you cynics in the press will have to be eating crow come Dec. 31.”