Genesis of Naples breaking ground on new car dealershipEmails show beginnings, contradictions of South Seas resort amendment
Genesis of Naples breaking ground on new car dealership A genesis—or new beginning—is under way for Genesis of Naples. The local franchise plans to break ground this summer on a new and expanded luxury auto dealership in North Naples.
Emails show beginnings, contradictions of South Seas resort amendment South Seas resort ownership group’s engineer proposed a land-use amendment for Lee County’s government at least six months before the first public discussions and at least seven weeks before the county’s official timeline began, emails between the resort’s representatives and county show.
CAPE CORAL 13-year-old arrested for allegedly getting involved in hit-and-run with stolen car, fleeing from Cape Coral police A teen was arrested on multiple charges after allegedly getting involved in a hit-and-run with a stolen car and then fleeing from police.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caloosahatchee River Bridge to close overnight for construction The Caloosahatchee River Bridge from First Street to North Key Drive in North Fort Myers will close so crews can perform bridge work.
CAPE CORAL Accused Cape Coral double murderer, Wade Wilson, will be in court to try to get death penalty off the table Wade Wilson, the man who allegedly murdered two women, will be in court to try to persuade the court to get the death penalty off the table.
Jupiter DeSantis announces funding for developmentally disabled individuals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on education for children with developmental disabilities at the Els Center of Excellence in Jupiter.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY Bradenton man arrested after allegedly masturbating inside Charlotte County Walmart A man from Bradenton has been arrested after he was allegedly masturbating inside a Walmart in Charlotte County.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres work trailer explosion injures 1 The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District responded to a work trailer explosion that injured one person.
CBS News Trump and DeSantis, once GOP rivals, meet in South Florida to talk about 2024 election Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met privately with former President Donald Trump for several hours on Sunday morning to talk, in part, about fundraising ahead of the 2024 general election, several sources familiar with the meeting tell CBS News.
WINK NEWS Florida Prepaid open enrollment deadline approaches All parents fear the expense of college for their children; however, the state offers a great option in the Florida Prepaid Plan.
The Weather Authority Few showers this Monday afternoon after a pleasant and dry morning The Weather Authority is tracking a cool and pleasant Monday morning start with the possibility of afternoon rain showers.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead, 1 arrested after North Fort Myers shooting The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested one person following an evening shooting that killed a man in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
Genesis of Naples breaking ground on new car dealership A genesis—or new beginning—is under way for Genesis of Naples. The local franchise plans to break ground this summer on a new and expanded luxury auto dealership in North Naples.
Emails show beginnings, contradictions of South Seas resort amendment South Seas resort ownership group’s engineer proposed a land-use amendment for Lee County’s government at least six months before the first public discussions and at least seven weeks before the county’s official timeline began, emails between the resort’s representatives and county show.
CAPE CORAL 13-year-old arrested for allegedly getting involved in hit-and-run with stolen car, fleeing from Cape Coral police A teen was arrested on multiple charges after allegedly getting involved in a hit-and-run with a stolen car and then fleeing from police.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caloosahatchee River Bridge to close overnight for construction The Caloosahatchee River Bridge from First Street to North Key Drive in North Fort Myers will close so crews can perform bridge work.
CAPE CORAL Accused Cape Coral double murderer, Wade Wilson, will be in court to try to get death penalty off the table Wade Wilson, the man who allegedly murdered two women, will be in court to try to persuade the court to get the death penalty off the table.
Jupiter DeSantis announces funding for developmentally disabled individuals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on education for children with developmental disabilities at the Els Center of Excellence in Jupiter.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY Bradenton man arrested after allegedly masturbating inside Charlotte County Walmart A man from Bradenton has been arrested after he was allegedly masturbating inside a Walmart in Charlotte County.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres work trailer explosion injures 1 The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District responded to a work trailer explosion that injured one person.
CBS News Trump and DeSantis, once GOP rivals, meet in South Florida to talk about 2024 election Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met privately with former President Donald Trump for several hours on Sunday morning to talk, in part, about fundraising ahead of the 2024 general election, several sources familiar with the meeting tell CBS News.
WINK NEWS Florida Prepaid open enrollment deadline approaches All parents fear the expense of college for their children; however, the state offers a great option in the Florida Prepaid Plan.
The Weather Authority Few showers this Monday afternoon after a pleasant and dry morning The Weather Authority is tracking a cool and pleasant Monday morning start with the possibility of afternoon rain showers.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead, 1 arrested after North Fort Myers shooting The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested one person following an evening shooting that killed a man in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
FILE – In this April 29, 2020, file photo, workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn borough of New York. During the deadliest days of the coronavirus outbreak in New York City, the bodies piled up at the funeral home — and the stench that came with it — at an alarming rate. Cleckley says what happened next made him the scapegoat for an unforeseen crisis — hundreds of COVID-19 deaths a day in New York that overwhelmed funeral homes across the city. Authorities swept in and suspended his license in an episode that made headlines in a city already reeling from other horrors of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 600,000 on Tuesday, even as the vaccination drive has drastically brought down daily cases and fatalities and allowed the country to emerge from the gloom and look forward to summer. The number of lives lost, as recorded by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of Baltimore or Milwaukee. It is about equal to the number of Americans who died of cancer in 2019. Worldwide, the COVID-19 death toll stands at about 3.8 million. The milestone came the same day that California and New York lifted most of their remaining restrictions, joining other states in opening the way, step by step, for what could be a fun and close to normal summer for many Americans. “Deep down I want to rejoice,” said Rita Torres, a retired university administrator in Oakland, California. But she plans to take it slow: “Because it’s kind of like, is it too soon? Will we be sorry?” With the arrival of the vaccine in mid-December, COVID-19 deaths per day in the U.S. have plummeted to an average of around 340, from a high of over 3,400 in mid-January. Cases are running at about 14,000 a day on average, down from a quarter-million per day over the winter. The real death tolls in the U.S. and around the globe are thought to be significantly higher, with many cases overlooked or possibly concealed by some countries. President Joe Biden acknowledged the approaching milestone Monday during his visit to Europe, saying that while new cases and deaths are dropping dramatically in the U.S., “there’s still too many lives being lost,” and “now is not the time to let our guard down.” The most recent deaths are seen in some ways as especially tragic now that the vaccine has become available practically for the asking. More than 50% of Americans have had at least one dose of vaccine, while over 40% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped off dramatically, leaving many places with a surplus of doses and casting doubt on whether the country will meet Biden’s target of having 70% of American adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4. The figure stands at just under 65%. As of a week ago, the U.S. was averaging about 1 million injections per day, down from a high of about 3.3 million a day on average in mid-April, according to the CDC. At nearly every turn in the outbreak, the virus has exploited and worsened inequalities in the United States. CDC figures, when adjusted for age and population, show that Black, Latino and Native American people are two to three times more likely than whites to die of COVID-19. Also, an Associated Press analysis found that Latinos are dying at much younger ages than other groups. Hispanic people between 30 and 39 have died at five times the rate of white people in the same age group. Overall, Black and Hispanic Americans have less access to medical care and are in poorer health, with higher rates of conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. They are also more likely to have jobs deemed essential, less able to work from home and more likely to live in crowded, multigenerational households. With the overall picture improving rapidly, California, the most populous state and the first to impose a coronavirus lockdown, dropped state rules on social distancing and limits on capacity at restaurants, bars, supermarkets, gyms, stadiums and other places, ushering in what has been billed as its “Grand Reopening” just in time for summer. Disneyland is throwing open its gates to all tourists after allowing just California residents. Fans will be able to sit elbow-to-elbow and cheer without masks at Dodgers and Giants games In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that 70% of adults in the state have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and he announced that the immediate easing of many of the restrictions will be celebrated with fireworks. “What does 70% mean? It means that we can now return to life as we know it,” he said. He said the state is lifting rules that had limited the size of gatherings and required some types of businesses to follow cleaning protocols, take people’s temperature or screen them for COVID-19 symptoms. Businesses will no longer have to restrict how many people they can allow inside based on the 6-foot rule. For the time being, though, New Yorkers will have to keep wearing masks in schools, subways and certain other places. Massachusetts on Tuesday officially lifted a state of emergency that had been in effect for 462 days, though many restrictions had already been eased, including mask requirements and limits on gatherings. Republican lawmakers in Kansas decided to let a state of emergency expire Tuesday. And Maryland’s governor announced that the emergency there will end on July 1, with the state no longer requiring any masks. The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. were in early February 2020. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 dead. During the most lethal phase of the disaster, in the winter of 2020-21, it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths. With the crisis now easing, it took close to four months for the U.S. death toll to go from a half-million to 600,000.