New ovarian cancer treatmentsLargest Lee County land deal closes, $100M for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral
New ovarian cancer treatments Ovarian cancer is a problematic disease because of symptoms such as nausea, bloating and diarrhea.
Largest Lee County land deal closes, $100M for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral The most lucrative land deal in Lee County history just closed at a price of $100 million for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral, where building up to 3,500 homes and commercial property to support it has been in the planning stages for almost two years.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Major 2 vehicle crash shuts down NB lanes of U.S. 41 in Charlotte After a major traffic accident near Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte County, all Northbound lanes of U.S. 41 were closed.
FORT MYERS Apple AirPods lead LCSO to an arrest ; over $100,000 worth of stolen items recovered Through the use of Apple Airpods, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate nearly $100,000 worth of stolen items, leading to an arrest.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral officials approve replacement funding for hurricane-damaged stop signs The Cape Coral City Council has approved funding to replace stop signs damaged during Hurricane Milton, resulting in an emergency purchase.
Holiday events happening in Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is embracing the holiday spirit with a variety of festive events this Christmas season.
Collier man accused of supplying fentanyl-laced pills, enough to kill 531,500 people The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of supplying more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills disguised as prescription painkillers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral council supports construction of I-75 interchange into city The Cape Coral City Council has approved a resolution requesting support from Lee and Charlotte counties to prioritize state and federal funding for the Interstate 75 Interchange at Slater Road.
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 After waking up to a cold morning, the Weather Authority is tracking warming conditions to the low 70s this Thursday.
Police release 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.
New ovarian cancer treatments Ovarian cancer is a problematic disease because of symptoms such as nausea, bloating and diarrhea.
Largest Lee County land deal closes, $100M for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral The most lucrative land deal in Lee County history just closed at a price of $100 million for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral, where building up to 3,500 homes and commercial property to support it has been in the planning stages for almost two years.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Major 2 vehicle crash shuts down NB lanes of U.S. 41 in Charlotte After a major traffic accident near Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte County, all Northbound lanes of U.S. 41 were closed.
FORT MYERS Apple AirPods lead LCSO to an arrest ; over $100,000 worth of stolen items recovered Through the use of Apple Airpods, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate nearly $100,000 worth of stolen items, leading to an arrest.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral officials approve replacement funding for hurricane-damaged stop signs The Cape Coral City Council has approved funding to replace stop signs damaged during Hurricane Milton, resulting in an emergency purchase.
Holiday events happening in Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is embracing the holiday spirit with a variety of festive events this Christmas season.
Collier man accused of supplying fentanyl-laced pills, enough to kill 531,500 people The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of supplying more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills disguised as prescription painkillers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral council supports construction of I-75 interchange into city The Cape Coral City Council has approved a resolution requesting support from Lee and Charlotte counties to prioritize state and federal funding for the Interstate 75 Interchange at Slater Road.
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 After waking up to a cold morning, the Weather Authority is tracking warming conditions to the low 70s this Thursday.
Police release 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.
A worker prepares bread to offer as samples to shoppers in a Costco warehouse on Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Lone Tree, Colo. With vaccinations rolling out and the threat of COVID-19 easing in the U.S., stores are feeling confident enough to revive the longstanding tradition of offering free samples. For customers, sampling makes it fun to shop and discover new items, not to mention getting all the freebies. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) When Pat Curry spotted bite-sized wood-fire rotisserie chicken with portabella mushroom at her local Costco in early June, she felt “giddy.” After a 14-month hiatus, free samples were back. “It was one of the markers that told me that we turned a corner,” said the 60-year-old who lives in Augusta, Georgia. “It’s the little things that you do that were taken away, and now they’re back.” When the pandemic was declared in March 2020, retailers worried about the potential spread of the coronavirus so they cut off free sampling of everything from food to makeup to toys. But now with vaccinations rolling out and the threat of COVID-19 easing in the U.S., stores like Costco are feeling confident enough to revive the longstanding tradition. For customers, sampling makes it fun to shop and discover new items — not to mention getting all the freebies. For retailers, they’re critical tools to keep shoppers coming back and battle against online retailers like Amazon. Food sampling converts browsers into buyers at a 20% higher rate than if customers weren’t allowed to test, says NPD Group Inc., a market research firm. The conversion rate is 30% higher when beauty products are sampled. “Sampling is critical,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst. “Impulse alone drives 25% of the retail business.” Jake Tavello, a senior vice president at Stew Leonard’s, said promoting new items had been challenging without sampling, a tradition started by his grandfather who founded the regional grocery chain in 1969. Sales of a new item pink glow pineapple were OK this past spring, for example, but have tripled since demonstrations were reintroduced. “When people taste it, that’s what can makes people want to buy it and decide what they want to eat for dinner,” Tavello said. But while sampling is back, it’s not clear if everyone is ready to bite. With that in mind, some retailers are putting various safety protocols in place to ease any safety concerns. At Costco, masked workers prepare the hot and cold samples behind plexiglass counters and distribute to its members one at a time. Stew Leonard’s also brought back hot samples with similar safety measures. Meanwhile, Walmart and its wholesale club division Sam’s Club are only serving pre-sealed food samples. And Sam’s Club is limiting to sampling on the weekend. Target said that staffed food and beverage sampling has remained on pause since March 2020 but it has been allowing self-service sampling of individually wrapped items. With beauty testing, retailers appear to be even more cautious. Beauty chain Ulta Beauty said it’s still figuring out how to bring back makeup testers. Target said in May it will resume beauty product sampling in stores this year where customers can take home individually wrapped items. Kohl’s would only say that it hadn’t brought back makeup or fragrance sampling. Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University, said handling and eating food has not been a major route for the spread of COVID-19. But food sampling can lead to people congregating together, and that increases the risk of transmission. He also pointed to concerns about food sampling that go beyond the coronavirus: “Multiple hands grabbing samples can lead to the spread of germs, while contaminated gloves can also disperse unwanted bacteria.” As for makeup testing, Gostin said it’s “much safer and wiser” to use samples that are fully packaged. And with letting kids play with toys, frequent sanitizing of objects is recommended to contain viruses like influenza, which unlike COVID-19 can be easily spread through touching contaminated surfaces. Toy retailer Camp, which centered its shopping experience around children playing with toys, now has individually wrapped craft kits in the store instead of letting kids dig around for art supplies, says Tiffany Markofsky, the company’s marketing director. For testing out toys, it’s sticking to items that can be easily cleaned, like remote control toy cars instead of dolls with faux hair. Marianne Szymanski, president of Toy Tips Inc., a toy guide, believes toy testing overall will be “limited” because of the lingering fears about germs due to the pandemic. Some retailers are doing away with sampling altogether. For instance, West Hollywood, California-based beauty company Blushington isn’t reopening its six stores and is instead moving more toward virtual makeup sessions and offering services at shoppers’ home, says CEO Natasha Cornstein. She thinks shoppers believe they have better control of their environment and hygiene in their own home. “The consumer is coming out of COVID with very different habits,” she said. “It’s not only about COVID now.”