Fort Myers Police department hosts annual Cops and Joggers 5KPurple Heart Army veteran receives new home thanks to charity
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police department hosts annual Cops and Joggers 5K FMPD hosted the Cops and Joggers 5K event on Saturday. This unique experience takes attendees through the heart of Downtown Fort Myers.
Purple Heart Army veteran receives new home thanks to charity A Purple Heart Army veteran and his family entered their new accessible home on Saturday, thanks to the charity “Homes for Our Troops.”
CAPE CORAL Rain doesn’t stop crowds at 40th Annual Cape Coral Arts Festival For 40 years, the Cape Coral Arts Festival has drawn crowds from across Southwest Florida, showcasing a blend of small businesses from the region.
CAPE CORAL Sports trading card collecting going through “a generational reboot” The hobby of sports trading card collecting has been on the rise since 2020, especially in Southwest Florida with more card shows.
PUNTA GORDA 11th annual short film festival coming to Punta Gorda The Punta Gorda Englewood Beach Visitor Convention Bureau will host its 11th annual short film festival.
the weather authority Mild, breezy day on tap with more clouds than sun The Weather Authority says a brief line of showers, associated with a cold front, is moving through Southwest Florida Saturday morning.
ESTERO 1 injured after shooting at Coconut Point Mall According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, one person has been injured after a shooting at the Coconut Point Mall on Friday.
CAPE CORAL CCPD cruiser damaged after officer involved crash An officer-involved crash leaves a Cape Coral police cruiser smashed.
PORT CHARLOTTE Sweet’s Diner in Port Charlotte reopens After months of fundraising and rebuilding, this diner, which had a car fly-through it, is back open.
FWC pushing to protect Florida’s endangered manatees Florida Fish and Wildlife is pushing to protect endangered manatees. One danger that animals face is when boats bash into them, leaving deep scars across their backs.
FORT MYERS The Fort Myers Fire Department looks towards new year Fighting fires is always top of mind for the Fort Myers Fire Department. The Fort Myers Fire Department leads the way when it comes to protecting your property when a fire breaks out.
WINK NEWS Palisades Wildfire devastates SWFL family Just hours after evacuating their Malibu home, the Wohl family learned they would never go back.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral expands with development The Cove at 47th The Cove sits in south Cape Coral between Cape Coral Parkway and Southeast 47th Terrace right next to Cork Soakers.
FORT MYERS ‘Operation Ghost Buster’: 16 arrested in Fort Myers drug operation The Fort Myers Police Department Narcotics Unit conducted an operation targeting drug traffickers and individuals unlawfully selling and possessing firearms in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS ‘A Distinctive Honor’: Bank of America award benefits FSW Nursing Program Bank of America has been awarded Florida Southwestern State College the 2024 Neighborhood Champion Award.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police department hosts annual Cops and Joggers 5K FMPD hosted the Cops and Joggers 5K event on Saturday. This unique experience takes attendees through the heart of Downtown Fort Myers.
Purple Heart Army veteran receives new home thanks to charity A Purple Heart Army veteran and his family entered their new accessible home on Saturday, thanks to the charity “Homes for Our Troops.”
CAPE CORAL Rain doesn’t stop crowds at 40th Annual Cape Coral Arts Festival For 40 years, the Cape Coral Arts Festival has drawn crowds from across Southwest Florida, showcasing a blend of small businesses from the region.
CAPE CORAL Sports trading card collecting going through “a generational reboot” The hobby of sports trading card collecting has been on the rise since 2020, especially in Southwest Florida with more card shows.
PUNTA GORDA 11th annual short film festival coming to Punta Gorda The Punta Gorda Englewood Beach Visitor Convention Bureau will host its 11th annual short film festival.
the weather authority Mild, breezy day on tap with more clouds than sun The Weather Authority says a brief line of showers, associated with a cold front, is moving through Southwest Florida Saturday morning.
ESTERO 1 injured after shooting at Coconut Point Mall According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, one person has been injured after a shooting at the Coconut Point Mall on Friday.
CAPE CORAL CCPD cruiser damaged after officer involved crash An officer-involved crash leaves a Cape Coral police cruiser smashed.
PORT CHARLOTTE Sweet’s Diner in Port Charlotte reopens After months of fundraising and rebuilding, this diner, which had a car fly-through it, is back open.
FWC pushing to protect Florida’s endangered manatees Florida Fish and Wildlife is pushing to protect endangered manatees. One danger that animals face is when boats bash into them, leaving deep scars across their backs.
FORT MYERS The Fort Myers Fire Department looks towards new year Fighting fires is always top of mind for the Fort Myers Fire Department. The Fort Myers Fire Department leads the way when it comes to protecting your property when a fire breaks out.
WINK NEWS Palisades Wildfire devastates SWFL family Just hours after evacuating their Malibu home, the Wohl family learned they would never go back.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral expands with development The Cove at 47th The Cove sits in south Cape Coral between Cape Coral Parkway and Southeast 47th Terrace right next to Cork Soakers.
FORT MYERS ‘Operation Ghost Buster’: 16 arrested in Fort Myers drug operation The Fort Myers Police Department Narcotics Unit conducted an operation targeting drug traffickers and individuals unlawfully selling and possessing firearms in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS ‘A Distinctive Honor’: Bank of America award benefits FSW Nursing Program Bank of America has been awarded Florida Southwestern State College the 2024 Neighborhood Champion Award.
For Rent sign. Photo Credit: Ed Uthman / CC BY-SA 3.0 via MGN. Rent is up and vacancies are down in Collier County, resulting in an affordable housing crisis. The Collier Housing Committee says people are leaving the county because they can’t afford to live there. Excluding Immokalee, the median price for a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment is $1,660. For a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment, it jumps to $1,995. That is a lot of money for a lot of families. The rent numbers come from developers, and county leaders worry some of those numbers are out of date. What’s not up for debate is that it costs a lot to live in Collier County. A lot of compromising. That’s how Elizabeth Radi lives. “I do share a bedroom with my 17-year-old son because I have to, in order for us to be able to afford the rent. But each year my rent climbed with between $150 to $175. So I started out at 15 (hundred). And now I am at 19 (hundred).” Lauren Czarnecka is preparing for her rent to jump even more too.”You have to have internet. We don’t have cable, we don’t pay for extra frivolous things because we want to be conservative with our dollars. But when over 60% of our budget is going strictly to housing, it makes buying groceries and other things just not achievable. You can’t be successful with that.” This is not a unique story in Collier County. It is almost the norm. Collier County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Chair, Joe Trachtenberg, said, “there really is an affordable housing crisis in Collier County, that, that the number of people that are working here and have to live in Cape Coral, or Fort Myers, or out towards Miami-Dade is shocking.” Collier County affordable housing advisory committee met on Monday and had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment. A new resolve to fix a crisis they all saw coming. “And as property values continue to grow, the problem is going to keep getting worse. So so we’re really risking losing our essential workers,” said Trachtenberg. What can be done? Collier County Commissioner Rick Locastro says; a lot. The first is gathering intel. How many so-called affordable housing units does Collier have and what are people paying for them? Locastro said, “a few months ago, if you ask that question and said how many units are there, you got a lot of blank stares. So now we’re actually tracking it.” Commissioner Locastro said Collier County couldn’t wave a magic wand and fix this issue, but the commissioners must do something fast.