Drivers react to newly opened intersection on Colonial Blvd.Dinosaur from Shell Factory finds new home in Saint James City marina
FORT MYERS Drivers react to newly opened intersection on Colonial Blvd. The dreaded drive through one of our busiest intersections has been the focus of several construction projects.
Dinosaur from Shell Factory finds new home in Saint James City marina A dinosaur has found a new home at the soon-to-be Nauti-Dolphin Marina in Saint James City, Florida. This prehistoric attraction is already drawing attention even though it’s the only thing currently on the property. Dean Zoner, owner of the Nauti-Dolphin Marina, acquired the dinosaur from the Shell Factory, a local business that was going out […]
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Community raises concerns about Clewiston Animal Services The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
CCSO works with ICE to catch suspects in Southwest Florida State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
FORT MYERS Drivers react to newly opened intersection on Colonial Blvd. The dreaded drive through one of our busiest intersections has been the focus of several construction projects.
Dinosaur from Shell Factory finds new home in Saint James City marina A dinosaur has found a new home at the soon-to-be Nauti-Dolphin Marina in Saint James City, Florida. This prehistoric attraction is already drawing attention even though it’s the only thing currently on the property. Dean Zoner, owner of the Nauti-Dolphin Marina, acquired the dinosaur from the Shell Factory, a local business that was going out […]
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Community raises concerns about Clewiston Animal Services The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
CCSO works with ICE to catch suspects in Southwest Florida State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
Single-family homes are seen in this aerial photograph taken over San Diego, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. U.S. sales of previously owned homes surged by the most on record in July as lower mortgage rates continued to power a residential real estate market thats proving a key source of strength for the economic recovery. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images The stock market continues to be volatile and the job market is still in worse shape than where it was before Covid-19 plunged the United States into recession. But there is still one undeniable bright spot for America’s economy: the housing market. Mortgage applications are rising, thanks to record low rates. The Federal Reserve is planning to keep rates interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future, which will make financing even more affordable. “Housing is probably going to come out as one of the winners of this crisis,” said Esty Dwek, head of global market strategy for Natixis Investment Managers. “Interest rates should remain low for even longer. So I don’t expect housing to be another shoe to drop for the economy,” Dwek added. Strength in the housing market has helped power the CNN Business Back-to-Normal Index as well. CNN Business partnered with Moody’s Analytics to create the index, which looks at a variety of measures to judge how the economy is doing. On the housing front, the index includes daily new home postings from Zillow and weekly loan applications from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Low rates are one of the main reasons why home sales and prices continue to rise. What’s more, the coronavirus outbreak is prompting many people in big cities to pull the plug on apartment living and buy bigger homes in less densely populated suburbs. “Rising prices are just one more reason for people to leave expensive urban neighborhoods behind,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather in a report last week. “The sudden rise of remote work has allowed homebuyers who are priced out of one neighborhood to expand their search to more affordable areas,” Fairweather added. The exodus to the suburbs continues Redfin said in its report that media home sale prices rose 13% from a year ago to nearly $320,000 — the highest price on record. What’s more, recent increases in pending home sales and new home listings were their highest since 2015. The housing market on the West Coast is particularly hot. According to data from housing market and real estate analytics firm Meyers Research, prices for new homes rose solidly in July in Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas as well as Sacramento and Riverside in California. Meyers Research said in a report that “low mortgage rates and the desire for more space has pushed a lot of residents into homeownership,” and residents of the pricier Los Angeles and San Francisco areas are the ones leaving for other cities. At some point though prices could become too high. Builders may want the red-hot housing market to cool off just a little bit. “Land is a valuable and limited commodity. Builders need to be careful to not sell through all of their lots too quickly so many will slow sales intentionally,” said Ali Wolf, chief economist for Meyers Research, in a report. “Today’s low mortgage rates allow builders to raise prices without crushing demand,” Wolf added. Redfin’s Fairweather is also worried that home prices could eventually become too high. That would be especially problematic for renters who don’t have the advantage of cashing in on an existing home in order to trade up. “Home-price growth this high is making the housing market especially difficult for first-time homebuyers right now,” Fairweather said. “Price growth may slow in 2021, but even if it does, high prices are going to continue to make affordability a concern for buyers.”