Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County
PUNTA GORDA Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park Crews are working to remove derelict boats from Gilchrist Park after several of them washed ashore during Hurricane Milton in October.
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther has been killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking cold morning conditions before temperatures warm up to the low 70s this Thursday.
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Milton.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Crews removing derelict boats from Gilchrist Park Crews are working to remove derelict boats from Gilchrist Park after several of them washed ashore during Hurricane Milton in October.
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther has been killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking cold morning conditions before temperatures warm up to the low 70s this Thursday.
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Milton.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
FILE – In this July 14, 2020, file photo, workers climb out of the excavation site as work continues on a potential unmarked mass grave from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, at Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Okla. A second excavation begins Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, at a cemetery in an effort to find and identify victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and shed light on violence that left hundreds dead and decimated an area that was once a cultural and economic mecca for African Americans. A second excavation begins Monday at a cemetery in an effort to find and identify victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and shed light on violence that left hundreds dead and decimated an area that was once a cultural and economic mecca for African Americans. “I realize we can tell this story the way it needs to be told, now,” said Phoebe Stubblefield, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Florida and a descendant of a survivor of the massacre who is assisting the search, told The Associated Press. ”The story is no longer hidden. We’re putting the completion on this event.” The violence happened on May 31 and June 1 in 1921, when a white mob attacked Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, killing an estimated 300 people and wounding 800 more while robbing and burning businesses, homes and churches. “People, they were just robbed, white people coming in saying Black people had better property than they had and that that was just not right,” said Stubblefield, whose great-aunt Anna Walker Woods had her home burned and property taken. “Burning, thieving, killing wasn’t enough. They had to prevent Black people from recovering. “Personally, professionally, spiritually I have an investment in this,” said Stubblefield, a Los Angeles native who said she is in her early 50s and learned of the massacre and her ancestor, who she doesn’t recall ever meeting, in the 1990s. The two locations to be searched are in Oaklawn Cemetery in north Tulsa, where a search for remains of victims ended without success in July, and near the Greenwood District where the massacre took place. FILE – In this July 21, 2020, file photo, forensic anthropologist Phoebe Stubblefield carries a tray of items found at Oaklawn Cemetery during a test excavation in the search for possible mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Tulsa, Okla. A second excavation begins Monday, Oct. 19, 2020 at a Tulsa cemetery in search of people killed in the massacre in an effort to identify the victims and shed light on the violence. The earlier excavation was done in an area identified by ground-penetrating radar scans as appearing to be a human-dug pit indicative of a mass grave. It turned out be a filled-in creek, said Mayor G.T. Bynum, who first proposed looking for victims of the violence in 2018 and later budgeted $100,000 to fund it after previous searches failed to find victims. The massacre — which happened two years after what is known as the “Red Summer,” when hundreds of African Americans died at the hands of white mobs in violence around the U.S. —- has been depicted in recent HBO shows “Watchmen” and “Lovecraft County.” It also received renewed attention after President Donald Trump selected Tulsa as the location for a June rally amid a national reckoning over police brutality and racial violence. Trump moved the date to avoid coinciding with a Juneteenth celebration in the Greenwood District commemorating the end of slavery. Bynum, who is 43, said he didn’t learn of the massacre until about 20 years ago during the mayoral campaign of his uncle Bill LaFortune, and his grandparents confirmed the events. “That’s a very common thing in Tulsa. That’s how you learned about it, not through books or the media or in school,” Bynum said. “People didn’t start talking about this event in Tulsa until about 20 years ago.” Bodies, if discovered, will not be disturbed, Bynum said. The excavation would stop, and investigators would “do what they need to do to identify them and determine a cause of death,” Bynum said. Efforts would also be made to find any descendants, a project that could prove difficult, according to Bynum. “A hundred years after the fact, the descendants are scattered all around the world. Tracking down the descendants could take years,” Bynum said. One site to be searched, known as the Original 18, is where old funeral home records indicate up to 18 Black people who were massacre victims were buried. The other site is where a man named Clyde Eddy said in the 1990s that, as a 10-year-old boy, he saw Black bodies being prepared for burial shortly after the massacre, but was told to leave the area. Archaeologists have identified two additional possible sites, said state archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck, who is leading the investigation. “We have multiple areas that we have identified as having merits for investigation,” based on the 2019 radar scans, Stackelbeck said. “We just have to ask for grace and patience” during the search. The latest search is scheduled to last about a week, but could be extended, according to Stubblefield. “I’m fully prepared to find human remains,” she said. “The questions are just whether they’re the remains we’re looking for.”