Tim Aten Knows: Immokalee Road land cleared for senior housing Land is being cleared on the south side of Immokalee Road east of Logan Boulevard for The Karlyn, a senior housing community with 159 market-rate apartment units.
RSW braces for Thanksgiving travelers Thanksgiving is one day away, and as many prepare to take to the skies to be reunited with family, travelers are expected to encounter large lines at the airport.
Tice Shooting in Tice neighborhood injures 1 man The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting that injured one in a neighborhood in Tice.
Plenty of sunshine for your Wednesday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a sunny Wednesday along with mild afternoon conditions.
port charlotte Port Charlotte to host electronic recycling event Residents of Port Charlotte can free up space in their homes as the city has announced an electronic recycling event.
CAPE CORAL Local non-profit, Family Initiative, has big plans after receiving $5 million from Golisano A multi-million dollar donation is helping people with autism have priceless experiences.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County deputies bust park drug deal after community tip One man’s drug deal in Charlotte County wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.
Dog alerts Lee County woman to home intruder The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 22-year-old man for burglary and loitering after he broke into a woman’s home and stood inches away from her bed as she slept.
NAPLES Naples business owner accused of rape In 2023, 14,021 domestic violence 911 calls came into Collier County.
manasota key Charlotte County Commissioners vote ‘Yes’ to changes and redevelopment on Manasota Key The Charlotte County Commissioners voted to pass charges that residents on Manasota Key have been dreading.
The debate over fluoride in Florida’s water The water you drink and use to brush your teeth is fueling a community, state and national conversation.
SANIBEL Phase 2 of Sanibel Beach renourishment project set to begin Eric Jackson, Sanibel’s Public Information Officer, is encouraging residents and visitors to still come to the beach.
NAPLES Riding toward a brighter future for kids: The story of Bikes for Tykes For nearly four decades, Bikes for Tykes has been on a mission to give children and adults in need in Southwest Florida a chance to ride refurbished bicycles.
ENGLEWOOD SWFL agencies bring chaplains on staff to offer support to first responders First responders across the country face the devastating impact of suicide nationwide those numbers are rising.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County deputies arrest man for ATV and UTV thefts, fence destruction A North Fort Myers man has been arrested after allegedly stealing a four-wheeler, crashing it into a property fence, and later trying to flee on a second stolen vehicle.
Tim Aten Knows: Immokalee Road land cleared for senior housing Land is being cleared on the south side of Immokalee Road east of Logan Boulevard for The Karlyn, a senior housing community with 159 market-rate apartment units.
RSW braces for Thanksgiving travelers Thanksgiving is one day away, and as many prepare to take to the skies to be reunited with family, travelers are expected to encounter large lines at the airport.
Tice Shooting in Tice neighborhood injures 1 man The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting that injured one in a neighborhood in Tice.
Plenty of sunshine for your Wednesday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a sunny Wednesday along with mild afternoon conditions.
port charlotte Port Charlotte to host electronic recycling event Residents of Port Charlotte can free up space in their homes as the city has announced an electronic recycling event.
CAPE CORAL Local non-profit, Family Initiative, has big plans after receiving $5 million from Golisano A multi-million dollar donation is helping people with autism have priceless experiences.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County deputies bust park drug deal after community tip One man’s drug deal in Charlotte County wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.
Dog alerts Lee County woman to home intruder The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 22-year-old man for burglary and loitering after he broke into a woman’s home and stood inches away from her bed as she slept.
NAPLES Naples business owner accused of rape In 2023, 14,021 domestic violence 911 calls came into Collier County.
manasota key Charlotte County Commissioners vote ‘Yes’ to changes and redevelopment on Manasota Key The Charlotte County Commissioners voted to pass charges that residents on Manasota Key have been dreading.
The debate over fluoride in Florida’s water The water you drink and use to brush your teeth is fueling a community, state and national conversation.
SANIBEL Phase 2 of Sanibel Beach renourishment project set to begin Eric Jackson, Sanibel’s Public Information Officer, is encouraging residents and visitors to still come to the beach.
NAPLES Riding toward a brighter future for kids: The story of Bikes for Tykes For nearly four decades, Bikes for Tykes has been on a mission to give children and adults in need in Southwest Florida a chance to ride refurbished bicycles.
ENGLEWOOD SWFL agencies bring chaplains on staff to offer support to first responders First responders across the country face the devastating impact of suicide nationwide those numbers are rising.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County deputies arrest man for ATV and UTV thefts, fence destruction A North Fort Myers man has been arrested after allegedly stealing a four-wheeler, crashing it into a property fence, and later trying to flee on a second stolen vehicle.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jo-Ann F. Burdian details the search of 38 missing migrants at a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, in Miami Beach, Fla. One migrant was found clinging to the hull of an overturn vessel and one body was recovered off the coast of Fort Pierce, Fla. The migrants left the Bahamas on Saturday in what the Coast Guard suspects is a human smuggling operation. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) The Coast Guard battled time and currents Wednesday as its planes and ships searched for 38 people missing off the coast of Florida, four days after a suspected human smuggling boat capsized in a storm. The accident killed at least one person and left a single known survivor. Capt. Jo-Ann F. Burdian said the survivor told rescuers that the boat capsized Saturday evening shortly after sailing into a storm from the Bahamas. The Coast Guard was alerted Tuesday morning after the crew of a merchant vessel spotted the man sitting alone on the overturned hull of the 25-foot boat. She said finding other migrants alive is urgent. “With every moment that passes, it becomes much more dire and more unlikely” that survivors will be found, she told a news conference. Crews searched around the clock, extrapolating from where the wreck was spotted about 40 miles (64 kilometers) off Fort Pierce. By Wednesday morning, crews on at least four ships and five aircraft scanned a vast area about the size of New Jersey, Burdian said. They planned to keep searching throughout the day and then reevaluate. “We are using every piece of information we can to make sure we are exhausting our search efforts,” Burdian said. “But we can’t search forever.” Wednesday’s forecast calls for rain and possible thunderstorms in the search area, with swells cresting at 2 to 3 feet (1 meter) and winds blowing at 12 to 15 mph (19 to 24 kph). The rescued man said he was part of a group of 40 people who left the island of Bimini in the Bahamas in what the Coast Guard suspects was a human smuggling operation, Burdain said. The man said the boat capsized shortly thereafter, and no one aboard was wearing a life jacket, she added. A small craft advisory had been issued as a severe cold front blew through the dangerous passage on Saturday and Sunday, with winds up to 23 mph (37 kph) and swells up to 9 feet (3 meters). Tommy Sewell, a local fishing guide, said there were high winds and fierce rain squalls from Sunday into Monday. The survivor was brought to a hospital with symptoms of dehydration and sun exposure. Burdian would not provide any more details, saying he’s now in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security. Bimini is a small island about 55 miles (90 kilometers) east of Miami and about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of where the survivor was found. The capsized boat was apparently pushed north by the Gulf Stream, a warm, swift current that wraps around the Florida peninsula and flows north along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Migrants from around the world have long used the Bahamas as a steppingstone to reach Florida and the United States. They typically try to take advantage of breaks in the weather to make the crossing, but the vessels are often dangerously overloaded and prone to capsizing. There have been thousands of deaths over the years. For the most part, these migrants are from Haiti and Cuba, but the Royal Bahamas Defense Force has reported apprehending migrants from other parts of the world, including from Colombia and Ecuador earlier this month. The Bahamas and nearby Turks and Caicos Islands have in recent years stepped up their anti-smuggling enforcement efforts in cooperation with the Coast Guard. In May, a Canadian man was sentenced in the U.S. to more than two and a half years in prison for his role in an operation that smuggled people from Sri Lanka by plane to Haiti, then by boat to the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas before heading to South Florida. The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Department, which is also looking into the operation behind the capsized boat. The Coast Guard constantly patrols the waters around Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas. On Friday, its crews pulled 88 Haitians from an overloaded sail freighter west of Great Inagua, Bahamas. Last July, the Coast Guard rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached. The survivors said they left Cuba with 22 people aboard. Nine went missing in the water. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Coast Guard said it apprehended 838 Cubans, 1,527 Haitians and 742 people from the Dominican Republic in the region that includes Florida and the Caribbean. The agency also apprehended migrants from other nations, but it did not provide a breakdown of the other nationalities. ___ Associated Press Writer Ben Fox in Washington contributed to this report.