New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashesNew leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Charlotte Technical College breaks ground on aviation facility The Charlotte County School District is flying high and keeping its “Space Academy” designation with a new aviation training facility for students.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection with Cape Coral home invasion The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the arrest of one of three men suspected in a home invasion that took place earlier this month.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral residents react to $100M North Cape land deal The city of Cape Coral is seeing two projects that will change the city. One is called one of the most lucrative deals in county history.
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Charlotte Technical College breaks ground on aviation facility The Charlotte County School District is flying high and keeping its “Space Academy” designation with a new aviation training facility for students.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection with Cape Coral home invasion The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the arrest of one of three men suspected in a home invasion that took place earlier this month.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral residents react to $100M North Cape land deal The city of Cape Coral is seeing two projects that will change the city. One is called one of the most lucrative deals in county history.
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
President Donald Trump talks about Hurricane Florence following a briefing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) President Donald Trump said Wednesday the government is ready for massive Hurricane Florence and insisted that his administration’s response to the devastation in Puerto Rico last year was an “underappreciated great job.” In a series of morning tweets as Florence bore down on the Southeast U.S. coast, Trump bristled over criticism of the response to Hurricane Maria, in which 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico. “We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan). We are ready for the big one that is coming!” Trump tweeted. His next dispatch warned people about Florence, predicted to dump massive amounts of rain on the already-soggy Southeast later this week. “Hurricane Florence is looking even bigger than anticipated. It will be arriving soon. FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement are supplied and ready. Be safe!” The administration’s efforts in Puerto Rico received widespread criticism, and he battled with Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. But after visiting the island last September, Trump said that Puerto Ricans were fortunate that the storm did not yield a catastrophe akin to the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast. President Donald Trump warned Hurricane Florence will be “tremendously big and tremendously wet,” and urged residents under evacuation orders to get out. Still, he says the federal government is as ready “as anyone has ever been” to respond. (Sept. 11) All told, about 1,800 people died in that 2005 storm. Puerto Rico’s governor last month raised the U.S. territory’s official death toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975. The storm is also estimated to have caused $100 billion in damage. A day earlier, the president praised the response to the series of storms. “I think Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success.” The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, seized on Trump’s use of the word “successful” and said in a statement issued later Tuesday: “No relationship between a colony and the federal government can ever be called ‘successful’ because Puerto Ricans lack certain inalienable rights enjoyed by our fellow Americans in the states.” Rossello called Hurricane Maria “the worst natural disaster in our modern history” and said work still remained before they could move on to other stages of recovery. He also said he was still waiting for Trump to respond to a petition to help Puerto Rico complete work on emergency housing restoration programs and debris removal. Trump, having long struggled to express empathy at times of national crises, sparked outrage when during his visit to the island he feuded with the mayor of San Juan and passed out paper towels to victims like he was shooting baskets. While defending the handling of the previous storm, he urged caution in regards to the new one bearing down on North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. “The safety of American people is my absolute highest priority,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We are sparing no expense. We are totally prepared. We are ready. We are ready as anybody has ever been.” The president, flanked by maps of the storm and the heads of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Florence was unlikely to change course before it is expected to make landfall with 130 mph winds and potentially ruinous rains in the coming days. “They haven’t seen anything like what’s coming at us in 25, 30 years, maybe ever,” Trump said of the states in the storm’s path. “It’s tremendously big and tremendously wet. Tremendous amount of water.” Florence was expected to blow ashore late Thursday or early Friday, then slow down and wring itself out for days, unloading 1 to 2½ feet (0.3 to 0.8 meters) of rain that could cause flooding well inland and wreak environmental havoc by washing over industrial waste sites and hog farms. North and South Carolina and Virginia ordered mass evacuations along the coast. ___ Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.