Naples Botanical Garden performs prescribed burn in garden areaJerry Seinfeld to perform at Barbara B. Mann in SWFL
NAPLES Naples Botanical Garden performs prescribed burn in garden area The Naples Botanical Garden is conducting a prescribed fire as part of its maintenance of the nature preserve.
NEAR FORT MYERS Jerry Seinfeld to perform at Barbara B. Mann in SWFL Comedian and co-creator of a popular sitcom of the same name, Jerry Seinfeld, is set to perform near Fort Myers.
COLLIER COUNTY DOH-Collier cautions of blue-green algae at Lake Avalon The Florida Department of Health in Collier County (DOH-Collier) wants to caution the public of the presence of blue-green algae in Lake Avalon.
City, Naples Beach Club to preserve green space in perpetuity More than 104 acres of recreation and open space at the former Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club’s golf course will be forever preserved.
FORT MYERS The 52nd annual Fort Myers Boat Show begins An annual Fort Myers tradition has returned as the region’s premier display of boats and boating products, which will be on full display for enthusiasts to enjoy.
the weather authority Tracking Tropical Depression 19, expected to become Tropical Storm Sara The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Depression 19, which is forecast to strengthen into Tropical Storm Sara in the Caribbean later this Thursday afternoon.
the weather authority Gorgeous Thursday afternoon with highs in the mid 80s The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant afternoon conditions with temperatures in the mid-80s this Thursday.
SANIBEL Failed air quality tests push back reopening date for The Sanibel School The tentative reopening of The Sanibel School has been pushed back once again after being closed since Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a rollover, single-vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
NAPLES Naples Botanical Garden performs prescribed burn in garden area The Naples Botanical Garden is conducting a prescribed fire as part of its maintenance of the nature preserve.
NEAR FORT MYERS Jerry Seinfeld to perform at Barbara B. Mann in SWFL Comedian and co-creator of a popular sitcom of the same name, Jerry Seinfeld, is set to perform near Fort Myers.
COLLIER COUNTY DOH-Collier cautions of blue-green algae at Lake Avalon The Florida Department of Health in Collier County (DOH-Collier) wants to caution the public of the presence of blue-green algae in Lake Avalon.
City, Naples Beach Club to preserve green space in perpetuity More than 104 acres of recreation and open space at the former Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club’s golf course will be forever preserved.
FORT MYERS The 52nd annual Fort Myers Boat Show begins An annual Fort Myers tradition has returned as the region’s premier display of boats and boating products, which will be on full display for enthusiasts to enjoy.
the weather authority Tracking Tropical Depression 19, expected to become Tropical Storm Sara The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Depression 19, which is forecast to strengthen into Tropical Storm Sara in the Caribbean later this Thursday afternoon.
the weather authority Gorgeous Thursday afternoon with highs in the mid 80s The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant afternoon conditions with temperatures in the mid-80s this Thursday.
SANIBEL Failed air quality tests push back reopening date for The Sanibel School The tentative reopening of The Sanibel School has been pushed back once again after being closed since Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a rollover, single-vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
FILE – In this May 25, 2017 file photo, a class of eighth-grade students and their chaperones sit in a meadow at Yosemite National Park, Calif., below Yosemite Falls. Some of the West’s iconic national parks are beginning to partially close as they deal with overflowing restrooms and vandals on the 10th day of a federal government shutdown. (AP Photo/Scott Smith, File) Human feces, overflowing garbage, illegal off-roading and other damaging behavior in fragile areas were beginning to overwhelm some of the West’s iconic national parks on Monday, as a partial government shutdown left the areas open to visitors but with little staff on duty. “It’s a free-for-all,” Dakota Snider, 24, who lives and works in Yosemite Valley, said by telephone Monday, as Yosemite National Park officials announced closings of some minimally supervised campgrounds and public areas within the park that are overwhelmed. “It’s so heartbreaking. There is more trash and human waste and disregard for the rules than I’ve seen in my four years living here,” Snider said. The 10th day of the partial federal government shutdown, which has forced furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal government employees, has left many parks without most of the rangers and others who staff campgrounds and otherwise keep parks running. Unlike shutdowns in some previous administrations, the Trump administration was leaving parks open to visitors despite the staff furloughs, said John Garder, senior budget director of the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association. “We’re afraid that we’re going to start seeing significant damage to the natural resources in parks and potentially to historic and other cultural artifacts,” Garder said. “We’re concerned there’ll be impacts to visitors’ safety.” “It’s really a nightmare scenario,” Garder said. Under the park service’s shutdown plan, authorities have to close any area where garbage or other problems become threats to health and safety or to wildlife, spokesman Jeremy Barnum said in an email Monday. “At the superintendent’s discretion, parks may close grounds/areas with sensitive natural, cultural, historic, or archaeological resources vulnerable to destruction, looting, or other damage that cannot be adequately protected by the excepted law enforcement staff that remain on duty,” Barnum said. Campers at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California’s deserts were reporting squabbles as different families laid claims to sites, with no rangers on hand to adjudicate, said Ethan Feltges, who operates the Coyote Corner gift shop outside Joshua Tree. Feltges and other business owners around Joshua Tree had stepped into the gap as much as possible, hauling trailers into the park to empty overflowing trash bins and sweeping and stocking restrooms that were still open, Feltges said. Feltges himself had set up a portable toilet at his store to help the visitors still streaming in and out of the park. He was spending his days standing outside his store, offering tips about the park in place of the rangers who normally would be present. “The whole community has come together,” Feltges said, also by phone. “Everyone loves the park. And there’s a lot of businesses that actually need the park.” Some visitors have strung Christmas lights in the twisting Joshua trees, many of which are hundreds of years old, the Los Angeles Times reported. Most visitors were being respectful of the desert wilderness and park facilities, Joshua Tree’s superintendent, David Smith, said in a statement. But some are seizing on the shortage of park staffers to off-road illegally and otherwise damage the park, as well as relieving themselves in the open, a park statement said. Joshua Tree said it would begin closing some campgrounds for all but day use. At Yosemite, Snider, the local resident, said crowds of visitors were driving into the park to take advantage of free admission, with only a few park rangers working and a limited number of restrooms open. Visitors were allowing their dogs to run off-leash in an area rich with bears and other wildlife, and scattering bags of garbage along the roads, Snider said. “You’re looking at Yosemite Falls and in front of you is plastic bottles and trash bags,” he said. Officials at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado said Monday they were closing restrooms and locking up trash bins in many locations. In Yellowstone National Park, private companies have picked up some of the maintenance normally done by federal workers. The contractors that operate park tours by snowmobile, buses and vans are grooming trails, hauling trash and replacing toilet paper at pit toilets and restrooms along their routes. Nearly all roads inside Yellowstone are normally closed for winter, meaning most visitors at this time of the year access park attractions like Old Faithful or the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone through guides. Those guides are splitting the cost of grooming the trails used by their vehicles to keep their operations going, said Travis Watt, general manager of See Yellowstone Alpen Guides based in West Yellowstone, Montana. The tour companies can likely keep this system going through the entire winter season if they need to, Watt said. “It’s definitely not our preference — the park service does a good job doing their thing and we hate to see them out of work,” Watt said. “But it’s something we can handle.”