Woman rescued from Peace River by good Samaritans days after MiltonRestaurant in Cape Coral helps another in Punta Gorda recover from Milton
Woman rescued from Peace River by good Samaritans days after Milton A woman is lucky to be alive after being found two miles off the coast in the Peace River and brought to shore by vigilant good samaritans.
PUNTA GORDA Restaurant in Cape Coral helps another in Punta Gorda recover from Milton Bartenders at the Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda have struggled since Hurricane Milton severely damaged the pub.
Warrior Homes of Collier awards scholarships to local veterans Four Collier County students with military ties are getting a boost toward their education.
Caught on video: Man arrested after leading police on chase in stolen truck Florida troopers say 36-year-old David Alfonso stole the vehicle in Collier County and then led them on a chase through Lee County to Alico Road and Ben Hill Griffin.
Record early voting in SWFL may be linked to recent hurricanes On Monday, thousands of people got in line at their polling places as early voting started for most places in southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Milton leaves Fort Myers Beach residents buried in sand and seeking help Hurricane Milton pushed sand onto the streets of Fort Myers Beach, leaving many residents asking for help.
LEHIGH ACRES East Lee County principal uses lemonade to create gameday tradition East Lee County High School principal Tony Allen uses his lemonade recipe to create a new gameday tradition.
NAPLES Naples man defends home from flood waters One Naples man did not mess around when it came to Hurricane Milton prep. Guy Lollino got five feet of water in his home on Vanderbilt Beach during Hurricane Ian. This time he decided to stack a ton of sandbags and fill the cracks with sprayable Styrofoam.
Detecting pancreatic cancer early with AI A pancreatic cancer diagnosis is one of the most dreaded because it carries a very high mortality rate.
Lee County restores solid waste services The process of removing garbage and debris from the streets of Lee County has begun.
Algae bloom research turns into useful storm tool Many of us watched helplessly and waited as hurricanes Helene and Milton sent storm surges onto our roads, into our homes and businesses, altering what we know as home forever. At the same time, one Florida Gulf Coast University student saw the storms as a scientific opportunity.
Amendment 2: Right to fish and hunt Tens of thousands of Floridians, and thousands more visitors that come to our state, enjoy fishing and hunting. We live in a state surrounded by water and wildlife and people have taken advantage of that.
Amendment 1: Establishing partisan school board elections Some school board meetings have become political, with raised voices and the need for security
FORT MYERS Local salon withstands impacts from 3 major hurricanes One hurricane can be devastating; however, three storms will force you to find better ways to prepare for impacts.
Azaleas on the Corner sells plants, paintings, wine in downtown Fort Myers The mother-daughter team of Marie Dyer and Corinne Wimberly already had a business plan in place to start their own shop. They just didn’t have a place to put it.
Woman rescued from Peace River by good Samaritans days after Milton A woman is lucky to be alive after being found two miles off the coast in the Peace River and brought to shore by vigilant good samaritans.
PUNTA GORDA Restaurant in Cape Coral helps another in Punta Gorda recover from Milton Bartenders at the Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda have struggled since Hurricane Milton severely damaged the pub.
Warrior Homes of Collier awards scholarships to local veterans Four Collier County students with military ties are getting a boost toward their education.
Caught on video: Man arrested after leading police on chase in stolen truck Florida troopers say 36-year-old David Alfonso stole the vehicle in Collier County and then led them on a chase through Lee County to Alico Road and Ben Hill Griffin.
Record early voting in SWFL may be linked to recent hurricanes On Monday, thousands of people got in line at their polling places as early voting started for most places in southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Milton leaves Fort Myers Beach residents buried in sand and seeking help Hurricane Milton pushed sand onto the streets of Fort Myers Beach, leaving many residents asking for help.
LEHIGH ACRES East Lee County principal uses lemonade to create gameday tradition East Lee County High School principal Tony Allen uses his lemonade recipe to create a new gameday tradition.
NAPLES Naples man defends home from flood waters One Naples man did not mess around when it came to Hurricane Milton prep. Guy Lollino got five feet of water in his home on Vanderbilt Beach during Hurricane Ian. This time he decided to stack a ton of sandbags and fill the cracks with sprayable Styrofoam.
Detecting pancreatic cancer early with AI A pancreatic cancer diagnosis is one of the most dreaded because it carries a very high mortality rate.
Lee County restores solid waste services The process of removing garbage and debris from the streets of Lee County has begun.
Algae bloom research turns into useful storm tool Many of us watched helplessly and waited as hurricanes Helene and Milton sent storm surges onto our roads, into our homes and businesses, altering what we know as home forever. At the same time, one Florida Gulf Coast University student saw the storms as a scientific opportunity.
Amendment 2: Right to fish and hunt Tens of thousands of Floridians, and thousands more visitors that come to our state, enjoy fishing and hunting. We live in a state surrounded by water and wildlife and people have taken advantage of that.
Amendment 1: Establishing partisan school board elections Some school board meetings have become political, with raised voices and the need for security
FORT MYERS Local salon withstands impacts from 3 major hurricanes One hurricane can be devastating; however, three storms will force you to find better ways to prepare for impacts.
Azaleas on the Corner sells plants, paintings, wine in downtown Fort Myers The mother-daughter team of Marie Dyer and Corinne Wimberly already had a business plan in place to start their own shop. They just didn’t have a place to put it.
AP “Black Panther” scored one of the best second weekends ever with an estimated $108 million in ticket sales, putting it on track to rank among the highest-grossing blockbusters ever. Ryan Coogler’s Marvel sensation is on a box-office course that few films have managed, according to studio estimates Sunday. It is only the fourth film to earn $100 million in its second weekend, along with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($149.2 million), “Jurassic World” ($106.6 million) and “The Avengers” ($103.1 million). Only “The Force Awakens” had a better second weekend than “Black Panther,” which dropped 47 percent after its opening weekend of $201.8 million. “Black Panther” has grossed $400 million domestically and $704 million worldwide in two weeks. The film, starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, has held even better overseas, where it dropped 42 percent this weekend. Its release in China, the world’s second-largest film market, is set for March 9. “Whatever your projections for ‘Black Panther’ might be, just increase them by 20 percent and you might be on point,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “Now the question isn’t so much if it gets to $1 billion, but how far beyond that number does it go.” The results so far put it in the company of “Jurassic World,” which ended up grossing $1.67 billion worldwide, and “The Avengers,” which ultimately hauled in $1.52 billion. Both rank among the top five of all time, not accounting for inflation. “Black Panther” is spurring a surge for the industry. The overall box office is up 12.5 percent from last year, according to comScore. And the movie is doing it with an especially diverse audience. This weekend’s audience was 33 percent African-American, 37 percent Caucasian, 18 percent Hispanic and 7 percent Asian, according to comScore. The film’s success didn’t appear to hurt the handful of new releases. Faring the best was “Game Night,” starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, from Warner Bros.′ New Line. The comedy, which cost about $37 million to make and was directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, debuted with $16.6 million, coming in slightly above forecasts. Though comedies have struggled at the box office in recent years, “Game Night” got a modest boost from good reviews and perhaps from the waves of moviegoers brought in by “Black Panther.” “It’s that whole ‘a rising tide floats all boats,’” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution head for Warner Bros. “The whole (comedy) genre is just really troubled,” he added. “New Line is, I think, particularly good at teasing these movies out to be the best versions of them. They’ve had a lot of success in the past, whether it be ‘Horrible Bosses’ or ‘Central Intelligence.’” Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller “Annihilation,” starring Natalie Portman, also debuted with some momentum thanks to strong reviews. It opened with $11 million on about 2,000 screens (or about half the number of “Black Panther”). Paramount earlier sold the film’s international rights (except in China) to Netflix after disappointing reactions in test screenings. Opening weekend audiences largely responded similarly, giving the film a poor C CinemaScore. It’s not uncommon for studios to offload international rights to recoup their costs. But selling an ambitious film from Garland, writer-director of 2015′s acclaimed “Ex Machina,” to Netflix was seen by some as a sign of diminishing aspirations for a Hollywood major studio. But Paramount has been behind some of the more artistically audacious releases in recent years, including Darren Aronofsky’s “mother!,” Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing” and Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” “Annihilation,” an unusually challenging and psychedelic sci-fi release for a major studio, cost about $40 million to produce. It’s among the last releases green-lit by previous Paramount head Brad Grey. Jim Gianopulos took over as chief executive and chairman last year, and he is pushing a more franchise-focused agenda. Kyle Davies, Paramount’s domestic distribution chief, declined to comment on the Netflix deal but said he was pleased with the film’s performance. “Alex is a very talented filmmaker, and he’s created this mind-bending experience,” Davies said. “And I think there’s going to be a lot of chatter and a lot of buzz that will propel the movie into the spring moviegoing season.” Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final three-day domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “Black Panther,” $108 million 2. “Game Night,” $16.6 million. 3. “Peter Rabbit,” $12.5 million. 4. “Annihilation,” $11 million. 5. “Fifty Shades Freed,” $6.9 million. 6. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” $5.7 million. 7. “The 15:17 to Paris,” $3.6 million. 8. “The Greatest Showman,” $3.4 million. 9. “Every Day,” $3.1 million. 10. “MET Opera: La Boheme,” $1.9 million.