Genesis of Naples breaking ground on new car dealershipEmails show beginnings, contradictions of South Seas resort amendment
Genesis of Naples breaking ground on new car dealership A genesis—or new beginning—is under way for Genesis of Naples. The local franchise plans to break ground this summer on a new and expanded luxury auto dealership in North Naples.
Emails show beginnings, contradictions of South Seas resort amendment South Seas resort ownership group’s engineer proposed a land-use amendment for Lee County’s government at least six months before the first public discussions and at least seven weeks before the county’s official timeline began, emails between the resort’s representatives and county show.
CAPE CORAL 13-year-old arrested for allegedly getting involved in hit-and-run with stolen car, fleeing from Cape Coral police A teen was arrested on multiple charges after allegedly getting involved in a hit-and-run with a stolen car and then fleeing from police.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caloosahatchee River Bridge to close overnight for construction The Caloosahatchee River Bridge from First Street to North Key Drive in North Fort Myers will close so crews can perform bridge work.
CAPE CORAL Accused Cape Coral double murderer, Wade Wilson, will be in court to try to get death penalty off the table Wade Wilson, the man who allegedly murdered two women, will be in court to try to persuade the court to get the death penalty off the table.
Jupiter DeSantis announces funding for developmentally disabled individuals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on education for children with developmental disabilities at the Els Center of Excellence in Jupiter.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY Bradenton man arrested after allegedly masturbating inside Charlotte County Walmart A man from Bradenton has been arrested after he was allegedly masturbating inside a Walmart in Charlotte County.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres work trailer explosion injures 1 The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District responded to a work trailer explosion that injured one person.
CBS News Trump and DeSantis, once GOP rivals, meet in South Florida to talk about 2024 election Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met privately with former President Donald Trump for several hours on Sunday morning to talk, in part, about fundraising ahead of the 2024 general election, several sources familiar with the meeting tell CBS News.
WINK NEWS Florida Prepaid open enrollment deadline approaches All parents fear the expense of college for their children; however, the state offers a great option in the Florida Prepaid Plan.
The Weather Authority Few showers this Monday afternoon after a pleasant and dry morning The Weather Authority is tracking a cool and pleasant Monday morning start with the possibility of afternoon rain showers.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead, 1 arrested after North Fort Myers shooting The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested one person following an evening shooting that killed a man in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
Genesis of Naples breaking ground on new car dealership A genesis—or new beginning—is under way for Genesis of Naples. The local franchise plans to break ground this summer on a new and expanded luxury auto dealership in North Naples.
Emails show beginnings, contradictions of South Seas resort amendment South Seas resort ownership group’s engineer proposed a land-use amendment for Lee County’s government at least six months before the first public discussions and at least seven weeks before the county’s official timeline began, emails between the resort’s representatives and county show.
CAPE CORAL 13-year-old arrested for allegedly getting involved in hit-and-run with stolen car, fleeing from Cape Coral police A teen was arrested on multiple charges after allegedly getting involved in a hit-and-run with a stolen car and then fleeing from police.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caloosahatchee River Bridge to close overnight for construction The Caloosahatchee River Bridge from First Street to North Key Drive in North Fort Myers will close so crews can perform bridge work.
CAPE CORAL Accused Cape Coral double murderer, Wade Wilson, will be in court to try to get death penalty off the table Wade Wilson, the man who allegedly murdered two women, will be in court to try to persuade the court to get the death penalty off the table.
Jupiter DeSantis announces funding for developmentally disabled individuals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on education for children with developmental disabilities at the Els Center of Excellence in Jupiter.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY Bradenton man arrested after allegedly masturbating inside Charlotte County Walmart A man from Bradenton has been arrested after he was allegedly masturbating inside a Walmart in Charlotte County.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres work trailer explosion injures 1 The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District responded to a work trailer explosion that injured one person.
CBS News Trump and DeSantis, once GOP rivals, meet in South Florida to talk about 2024 election Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met privately with former President Donald Trump for several hours on Sunday morning to talk, in part, about fundraising ahead of the 2024 general election, several sources familiar with the meeting tell CBS News.
WINK NEWS Florida Prepaid open enrollment deadline approaches All parents fear the expense of college for their children; however, the state offers a great option in the Florida Prepaid Plan.
The Weather Authority Few showers this Monday afternoon after a pleasant and dry morning The Weather Authority is tracking a cool and pleasant Monday morning start with the possibility of afternoon rain showers.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead, 1 arrested after North Fort Myers shooting The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested one person following an evening shooting that killed a man in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
Photo via WTSP If you live in a flood zone you might not know. But with recent rain and the start of hurricane season about a week away, it’s information you need to find out now. If you don’t have flood insurance, repairing your home after a storm could cost you thousands. That’s why USF grads Taylor Lankford and Ahmed Hamed came up with a plan to help. It’s a website called No Flood Florida. “Taylor and I are both water resource engineers,” website co-creator Ahmed Hamed said. “We run into a lot of people who know they’re in the flood zone but they don’t really know what it means. We thought there’s got to be a better way to convey that information to people.” No Flood Florida’s mission is “to give the people of Florida the power to make informed decisions by organizing Florida’s latest flood data and making it readily available to all its home buyers.” Lankford and Hamed have been working on the database for two years. They’ve created it to be something like vehicle report website Carfax, but for you home’s flood risk: a one-stop shop for people to find out everything when it comes to their risks if they live in a flood zone, and how much it could wind up costing them. “One of the main benefits for this service is that we are combining a variety of resources that are segregated,” website co-creator Taylor Lankford said. “Without this resource, you may have to contact an insurance agent directly and wait a couple of days, so our goal is to provide that information more efficiently.” No Flood Florida uses data from FEMA, the county and city and the water management district. But flood maps from FEMA have come under scrutiny for being outdated, especially following the widespread flooding seen in Houston following Hurricane Harvey. Hamed acknowledged that while Hurricane Harvey’s impact was unprecedented, the lag in updated data in some areas can create challenges, but it’s why he says their methodology includes information aggregated from several different data points. “FEMA data is outdated and is approximated in a lot of areas but that’s just because of how long it takes to develop floodplain data,” he said. “But I believe counties in Florida are doing a really tremendous job in improving their data, for example Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Sarasota counties have put a lot of resources and effort into developing watershed management plans to update that data.” As a startup company, Lankford and Hamed are offering their services for free. The counties they service include Sarasota, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco. They have plans to one day provide the service to the entire state. With full-time jobs and news of this service spreading fast, it’s hard to keep up with the demand. “In the past 24 hours we’ve received about 250 requests,” said Hamed. A dream come true for these men who have worked tirelessly to have No Flood Florida ready for the upcoming hurricane season. “When you see a lot of people are interested in a service, you really want to dedicate even more time and resources to make and functioning,” Lankford said. Next they plan to work with real estate websites like Trulia and Zillow so that their flood risk summary data will be plugged in automatically.