Vehicle pursuit in Charlotte County ends in crash A pursuit between the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and a vehicle on Interstate 75 ended in a crash.
Red tide looms off Southwest Florida coastline Beware of the beach! Red tide is making its way towards Southwest Florida once again.
FORT MYERS BEACH $1.2 million approved for repairs for FMB and Sanibel schools This hurricane season left an expensive mess at Fort Myers Beach Elementary and the Sanibel school, but who’s paying the $1.2 million price tag?
FORT MYERS Teen carjacks woman after escaping mental health facility A teenager accused of carjacking a woman in a church parking lot on Friday had just escaped from a facility where he was being held under the Baker Act, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Teachers union raises issues with Lee County School District after arbitration Being a teacher is just like any other profession. Teachers need to take days off, get sick, and sometimes cover for co-workers.
LABELLE LaBelle Animal Shelter hoping to raise money to avoid property being sold The owner of Animal Rescue Inc. in LaBelle is doing everything she can to prevent the shelter from disappearing in a matter of months.
County settlement allows Links of Naples golf course to redevelop into homes Collier County residents are vocalizing their concerns over the commissioner’s decision to develop housing on the Naples Golf Course.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mayor weighs in on possible city hall relocation With Lee Memorial Hospital scheduled to close in 2027, discussions over what will replace the building are in full swing and whether Fort Myers City Hall is the right choice.
Toys for Tots: A 77-Year tradition of service and holiday cheer Toys for Tots aims to bring gifts to children and their families who may not be able to afford them for the holidays.
Inside the mind of accused CEO gunman WINK News is learning more about the man accused of shooting and killing a health insurance CEO on a New York City sidewalk last week, and breaking down what he may think of himself based on the writings he left behind.
1 dead after crash on Airport-Pulling Road in Collier County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving a sedan and pick-up truck that occurred near Airport Pulling Road.
bonita springs Prostate cancer treatment aims to freeze further development When it comes to cancer treatment, several options come to mind, such as chemotherapy, surgery, and or radiation; however, there is another option that may prove to be as effective.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man convicted of sexually assaulting teenager A Fort Myers man has been convicted of several charges, including the sexual assault of a 17-year-old teenager.
Red tide advisory issued for Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach The Florida Department of Health issued a red tide advisory after presence of the algae bloom was found near Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach in Collier County.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
Vehicle pursuit in Charlotte County ends in crash A pursuit between the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and a vehicle on Interstate 75 ended in a crash.
Red tide looms off Southwest Florida coastline Beware of the beach! Red tide is making its way towards Southwest Florida once again.
FORT MYERS BEACH $1.2 million approved for repairs for FMB and Sanibel schools This hurricane season left an expensive mess at Fort Myers Beach Elementary and the Sanibel school, but who’s paying the $1.2 million price tag?
FORT MYERS Teen carjacks woman after escaping mental health facility A teenager accused of carjacking a woman in a church parking lot on Friday had just escaped from a facility where he was being held under the Baker Act, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Teachers union raises issues with Lee County School District after arbitration Being a teacher is just like any other profession. Teachers need to take days off, get sick, and sometimes cover for co-workers.
LABELLE LaBelle Animal Shelter hoping to raise money to avoid property being sold The owner of Animal Rescue Inc. in LaBelle is doing everything she can to prevent the shelter from disappearing in a matter of months.
County settlement allows Links of Naples golf course to redevelop into homes Collier County residents are vocalizing their concerns over the commissioner’s decision to develop housing on the Naples Golf Course.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mayor weighs in on possible city hall relocation With Lee Memorial Hospital scheduled to close in 2027, discussions over what will replace the building are in full swing and whether Fort Myers City Hall is the right choice.
Toys for Tots: A 77-Year tradition of service and holiday cheer Toys for Tots aims to bring gifts to children and their families who may not be able to afford them for the holidays.
Inside the mind of accused CEO gunman WINK News is learning more about the man accused of shooting and killing a health insurance CEO on a New York City sidewalk last week, and breaking down what he may think of himself based on the writings he left behind.
1 dead after crash on Airport-Pulling Road in Collier County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving a sedan and pick-up truck that occurred near Airport Pulling Road.
bonita springs Prostate cancer treatment aims to freeze further development When it comes to cancer treatment, several options come to mind, such as chemotherapy, surgery, and or radiation; however, there is another option that may prove to be as effective.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man convicted of sexually assaulting teenager A Fort Myers man has been convicted of several charges, including the sexual assault of a 17-year-old teenager.
Red tide advisory issued for Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach The Florida Department of Health issued a red tide advisory after presence of the algae bloom was found near Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach in Collier County.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
Workers without high school degrees haven’t had the easiest time finding a job. But now, the strong labor market is lifting workers who never earned their high school or GED diploma, providing them with the best chances of scoring a job in at least a decade. In October, the unemployment rate for workers without high school degrees stood at 6 percent, compared with a decade-long high of almost 16 percent in February 2010 in the wake of the Great Recession, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers without a high school diploma have historically suffered from higher unemployment rates than adults who have earned one, and when dropouts do find work, they tend to earn far less than better-educated Americans. While that continues to hold true, the gap between high school dropouts and more-educated workers is narrowing, thanks to hiring from employers who need lower-skilled workers. “Given the fact that we have a tight labor market, we have employers who are willing to come to the table in new ways,” said Jennie Sparandara, executive director of global philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase. “That does mean that people, particularly people without bachelor’s degrees, are connected to the labor market at a higher rate than we’ve seen for a long time.” That’s leading to more demand for job-training programs like those supported by JPMorgan Chase, which on Thursday said it would contribute $6 million to high schools and other educational institutions in the Washington, D.C., region with the goal of helping students learn skills they need to find jobs. The capital region has more open tech jobs than people to find them, although these aren’t necessarily the types of tech jobs that Google and Facebook are looking to fill, Sparandara said. Instead, they’re cybersecurity jobs or health care jobs such as lab technicians that may not require a college degree. What employers want For the country’s 10.3 million high school dropouts, the jobless rate for the first 10 months of the year dipped below the 70-year average unemployment rate for all U.S. workers, The Wall Street Journal noted. That hasn’t happened since 1992. To be sure, the job market is still kinder to workers with at least a high school degree. The unemployment rate for this group stood at 4 percent in October, or 2 percentage points lower than high school dropouts. College grads, with an unemployment rate of 2 percent, are enjoying the strongest demand for their skills. After the Great Recession, employers could afford to be choosier about whom to hire — and many “up-credentialed” their job openings. That’s when a job that previously was open for high school grads now requires a college degree. But some companies are now reversing that trend, dropping the requirement for a college degree for many jobs. Brushing up on the basics Even though employers may be more willing now to take a look at high school dropouts than a few years ago, job applicants still require basic “foundational” skills, Sparandara said. Often, that means workers need to improve those skills, such as literacy and numeracy, before they can get hired. “If you aren’t working now, there are probably significant reasons why,” Sparandara said. For instance, “they lack the skills to fill out a job application.” Those core skills are most successfully learned when taught in the context of a potential job, such as teaching math skills to adults who want to find a job in construction. That type of hands-on application tends to be more engaging than an abstract problem in a workbook, she noted. Where the jobs are Even though high school dropouts are finding jobs, they may not be the type of roles leading to high pay and career opportunities. One-third of them are working in service industries like retail or restaurants, the type of jobs that have been the focus of the Fight for $15 labor movement. By comparison, only 8 percent of those with college degrees work in service businesses. High school dropouts are also more likely to be employed in construction and farming jobs than workers with higher levels of education. And on the flip side, they have the smallest share of workers in management or professional jobs of any type of worker, according to BLS data. Pay for high school dropouts The median weekly pay for this group was $504 in 2016, the lowest of any group. By comparison, workers with a professional degree, such as a law degree or MBA, have the highest weekly wages, at $1,745. But wages for the lowest-earning workers are advancing quickly, thanks to minimum wage hikes in cities and states as well as pledges from corporations such as Amazon and Walmart to boost their base pay. © 2018 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.