Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral.
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.
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.
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.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral.
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.
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.
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.
FILE – In this March 4, 2021, file photo, a sign reading “Welcome Back Now Open” is posted on the window of a Morton’s Steakhouse restaurant as a man works inside during the coronavirus pandemic in San Francisco. California lost close to 70,000 jobs in January. But new numbers released Friday, March 12, 2021, by the state’s Employment Development Department show the unemployment rate declined slightly to 9%. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) As COVID-19 vaccination efforts expand across Florida, the state’s unemployment rate ticked down in February. Florida’s jobless rate went from 4.8 percent in January to 4.7 percent in February, according to numbers released Friday by the state Department of Economic Opportunity. That was better than the national rate of 6.2 percent. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was in Port Canaveral on Friday discussing ways to revive the passenger cruise industry amid the pandemic, said the jobless numbers are better than what many people expected. “That’s a 4.7 percent, which is much better than anyone predicted we would be at a year ago,” he said. “But that’s 4.7 percent where we have one of our major industries that has been idled by the federal government for over a year, the cruise line industry.” The February rate reflects and estimated 474,000 Floridians out of work from a workforce of 10.1 million. The number of unemployed people was 124,000 higher than in February 2020, just before the pandemic wreaked havoc on the state and national economy. The February 2020 unemployment rate was 3.3 percent. In addition to people still looking for work, the new numbers indicate another 337,000 Floridians had left the workforce over the previous year and don’t qualify for state or federal assistance. The Department of Economic Opportunity has since March 15, 2020, distributed nearly $24.75 billion in state and federal relief to 2.3 million claimants. Adrienne Johnston, the department’s chief economist, said labor-force numbers should continue to improve as more people get vaccinated against COVID-19. “As more people become vaccinated, then certainly they’re going to feel more confident to go back and connect into the labor market, to go back into purchasing goods and services and engage in economic activity,” Johnston said. “And as that happens, that’s certainly going to drive employment up and reduce our unemployment overall.” More than 5.3 million people in Florida have received at least one vaccination shot. More than 2 million people in the state have tested positive for COVID-19, and about 33,000 Floridians have died. On Thursday, DeSantis announced that all Floridians ages 40 and older will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations starting Monday and that all adults will be eligible on April 5. The Department of Economic Opportunity said Florida has recovered 709,200 of the 1.27 million jobs lost between February and April of 2020. Still the biggest impacts remain in the leisure and hospitality industry, which lost 286,200 jobs, or 22.4 percent of its workforce, from February 2020 to last month. Across the state, only one of 24 metro areas had seen job growth in the year-long period, the Lakeland-Winter Haven region, which was up 3,100 jobs. “Every region was impacted a little bit differently, every region had a different approach to mitigation efforts, and their industry mix is certainly going to impact that,” Johnston said. “So, if there’s more of a trade, transportation presence in certain areas, then they may not be impacted as much. Other parts of Central Florida are heavily reliant on tourism, and so that’s certainly going to prolong the impact for those areas.” The tourism dependent Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metropolitan statistical area, which lost 168,500 jobs over the year-long period, had the highest unemployment rate in February at 6.5 percent, followed by the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area at 6.3 percent.