Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for PalestineNaples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
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 Crash between RV and semi temporarily shuts down NB lanes of U.S. 41 in Charlotte A major collision near Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte County temporarily closed all northbound lanes of U.S. 41, according to the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office.
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.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
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 Crash between RV and semi temporarily shuts down NB lanes of U.S. 41 in Charlotte A major collision near Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte County temporarily closed all northbound lanes of U.S. 41, according to the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office.
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.
Senior Pastor Jean Bilbalo Joint, poses for a photo at the Haitian Baptist Church, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Boynton Beach, Fla. Joint leads one of the many churches that are assisting their congregations as they deal with another tragedy shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) Not long after a powerful earthquake struck his Haitian hometown, Osambert Jean started receiving calls from dozens of friends who also emigrated from southwestern Haiti to settle in this South Florida suburb nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades. “Each one of them has bad news: My family is injured or my house collapsed,” said Jean, a Haitian-born insurance agent in Boynton Beach whose brother lives in Les Cayes, Haiti. “People lost everything — everything.” The suburb south of West Palm Beach holds deep ties to Les Cayes, a town in southwest Haiti hard hit by Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which has killed 1,941 people and injured 9,900 others. Many residents here have been worried about their loved ones. Some are already mourning cousins and uncles who died while officials are trying to assess the needs, rallying the coastal town in the relief effort. In the past decade, Boynton Beach has grown its Haitian population far from Miami’s Little Haiti and established a partnership with Les Cayes by welcoming officials, including a former mayor who was found dead under the rubble of a hotel that collapsed in the earthquake. “This is something that is personal. We know some of these people. We have interacted with them. For me, this is my family,” said Christina Romelus, a city commissioner of Haitian descent, whose husband lost three relatives in the earthquake. “You are seeing that feeling of ‘there’s no where to go now. Home is destroyed. Home is gone.’” The city has set up a donation center at the downtown fire station, where people have been dropping off medical supplies, personal protective equipment and tents. Boynton Beach resident Cosy Joseph is flying to Les Cayes on Thursday to take some supplies to a rural clinic overseen by the nonprofit she runs, the Gaskov Clerge Foundation. But she says she is also checking on her 88-year-old father and inspecting her childhood home. Joseph said she could not sleep Monday night after seeing images of children and elderly people standing outside in the rain as Tropical Storm Grace battered the region the quake struck. “It was painful to watch,” Joseph said. “We are devastated and heartbroken. I had zero sleep. I just couldn’t.” Joseph has been instrumental in keeping the sister city partnership between the Florida and Haitian coastal towns. Mayors and officials have traveled to Les Cayes at least four times since 2012. Boynton Beach Mayor Steven Grant said the latest trip in 2018 involved possibly partnering with another diplomatic mission to work on an energy creation project. Joseph has joined two of the four trips. More than half of the 1.08 million Haitians in the U.S. live in Florida. Palm Beach, home to Boynton Beach, has a sizable 100,000 people of Haitian origin, compared with Miami-Dade’s 140,000, according to the American Community Survey. Haitian churches and restaurants are spotted among the palm tree-lined boulevards. One of these churches is headed by pastor Jean Bilbalo Joint, who is also originally from Les Cayes. Joint said about 400 members of his church attend services in Haitian Creole and the majority are from southwest Haiti. “It’s very sad this time,” he said. “People need a lot of help.” Organizations in Miami’s Little Haiti are also raising funds and asking for donations of camping gear. Some have also seen personal losses in the most recent earthquake. Reginald Jean-Mary, a pastor of Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church, said his cousin, who is also a pastor, was officiating a baptism in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the town of Les Anglais when the earthquake hit and helped pull people from the rubble of the church. Since then, he has learned of other members of his church who have lost loved ones. Jean-Mary said his homeland had not been able to fully recover from the 2010 earthquake and 2016′s Hurricane Matthew. This earthquake struck just after a month after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. “It has been brutal blows. This is very difficult for the people, for the country,” he said. “We are people of faith. We are people of hope. But I have to ask myself this question: Why?”