DeSoto County man sentenced for deadly DUI crashOldest Black-owned business in SWFL continues to serve community
ARCADIA DeSoto County man sentenced for deadly DUI crash Justice for a mother and son killed by a man driving under the influence.
NAPLES Oldest Black-owned business in SWFL continues to serve community Cleveland Bass Movers, founded in 1969, stands as the oldest Black-owned business in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Broken gate on Lovers Key Beach Resort frustrating residents Residents of Lover’s Key Beach Club in Fort Myers Beach are frustrated with a gate that remains wide open, despite “No Trespassing” signs, since Hurricane Ian struck two years ago.
St. James City Church plans $700k flood-proofing project for future safety Hurricanes have caused flood after flood, and one island church, The First Baptist Church of Saint James City, wants to build higher.
Romance scams rise in the US, AARP warns residents to beware Romance scams are on the rise, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting over 64,000 cases in the U.S. in 2023.
Fort Myers Savannah Bananas make their way to Fort Myers for first time The Savannah Bananas have made their way to JetBlue Park for Friday’s sold-out game in Fort Myers to watch “the greatest show in sports.”
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Yacht Club receives key permit Cape Coral received a key permit for a Yacht Club Community Park. This permit opens up the necessary steps for the park to be built.
PORT CHARLOTTE Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church holds 31st annual Greek Fest The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Port Charlotte kicked off its 31st annual Greek Fest on Friday.
Donations helping young kids get fed Food insecurity is a pressing issue in the community, and organizations like the Harry Chapin Food Bank, Meals of Hope and the Guadalupe Center are stepping up to help.
New risk factors contribute to heart disease February is American Heart Month, a perfect time to assess your heart health.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte High School student arrested for possession of BB gun According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a student has been arrested after a BB gun was found in his backpack on Friday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Regional Library to undergo multiple repairs due to Ian The Fort Myers Regional Library is preparing for essential repairs, nearly two years after Hurricane Ian made its impact.
Drug bust at Collier County home leads to triple arrest Three people are accused of running a drug house that held opioids, fentanyl and other illicit narcotics in Collier County.
Charlotte County’s first Grain & Berry opens Fast-growing organic vegan restaurant franchise Grain & Berry opened in Port Charlotte, making it the 19th in the state out of a total of 23 nationwide.
GOLDEN GATE Body found in Collier County canal prompts death investigation Collier County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation after a body was discovered in a canal.
ARCADIA DeSoto County man sentenced for deadly DUI crash Justice for a mother and son killed by a man driving under the influence.
NAPLES Oldest Black-owned business in SWFL continues to serve community Cleveland Bass Movers, founded in 1969, stands as the oldest Black-owned business in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Broken gate on Lovers Key Beach Resort frustrating residents Residents of Lover’s Key Beach Club in Fort Myers Beach are frustrated with a gate that remains wide open, despite “No Trespassing” signs, since Hurricane Ian struck two years ago.
St. James City Church plans $700k flood-proofing project for future safety Hurricanes have caused flood after flood, and one island church, The First Baptist Church of Saint James City, wants to build higher.
Romance scams rise in the US, AARP warns residents to beware Romance scams are on the rise, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting over 64,000 cases in the U.S. in 2023.
Fort Myers Savannah Bananas make their way to Fort Myers for first time The Savannah Bananas have made their way to JetBlue Park for Friday’s sold-out game in Fort Myers to watch “the greatest show in sports.”
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Yacht Club receives key permit Cape Coral received a key permit for a Yacht Club Community Park. This permit opens up the necessary steps for the park to be built.
PORT CHARLOTTE Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church holds 31st annual Greek Fest The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Port Charlotte kicked off its 31st annual Greek Fest on Friday.
Donations helping young kids get fed Food insecurity is a pressing issue in the community, and organizations like the Harry Chapin Food Bank, Meals of Hope and the Guadalupe Center are stepping up to help.
New risk factors contribute to heart disease February is American Heart Month, a perfect time to assess your heart health.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte High School student arrested for possession of BB gun According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a student has been arrested after a BB gun was found in his backpack on Friday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Regional Library to undergo multiple repairs due to Ian The Fort Myers Regional Library is preparing for essential repairs, nearly two years after Hurricane Ian made its impact.
Drug bust at Collier County home leads to triple arrest Three people are accused of running a drug house that held opioids, fentanyl and other illicit narcotics in Collier County.
Charlotte County’s first Grain & Berry opens Fast-growing organic vegan restaurant franchise Grain & Berry opened in Port Charlotte, making it the 19th in the state out of a total of 23 nationwide.
GOLDEN GATE Body found in Collier County canal prompts death investigation Collier County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation after a body was discovered in a canal.
Residents evacuated from Irpin arrive at an assistance center on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) Heavy fighting raged on the outskirts of Kyiv and other zones Thursday amid indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation as cover while regrouping and resupplying its forces and redeploying them for a stepped-up offensive in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an early morning video address that Ukraine is seeing “a buildup of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas, and we are preparing for that.” Meanwhile, a convoy of buses headed to Mariupol in another bid to evacuate people from the besieged port city after the Russian military agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area. And a new round of talks aimed at stopping the fighting was scheduled for Friday. The Red Cross said its teams were headed for Mariupol with relief and medical supplies and hoped to help pull civilians out of the beleaguered city. Tens of thousands have managed to get out in the past few weeks by way of humanitarian corridors, reducing the city’s population from a prewar 430,000 to an estimated 100,000, but other efforts have been thwarted by continued Russian attacks. At the same time, Russian forces shelled suburbs of the capital that Ukraine recently retook control of, a regional official said, two days after the Kremlin announced it would significantly scale back operations near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.” Britain’s Defense Ministry also confirmed “significant Russian shelling and missile strikes” around Chernihiv. The area’s governor, Viacheslav Chaus, said Russian troops were on the move but may not be withdrawing. Russia’s Defense Ministry also reported new strikes on Ukrainian fuel stores late Wednesday, and Ukrainian officials said there were artillery barrages in and around the northeastern city of Kharkiv over the past day. Despite the fighting raging in those areas, the Russian military said it committed to a cease-fire along the route from Mariupol to the Ukraine-held city of Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 45 buses would be sent to collect civilians who have suffered some of the worst privations of the war. Food, water and medical supplies have all run low during a weekslong blockade and bombardment of the city. Civilians who have managed to leave have typically done so using private cars, but the number of drivable vehicles left in the city has dwindled and fuel is low. “It’s desperately important that this operation takes place,” the Red Cross said in a statement. “The lives of tens of thousands of people in Mariupol depend on it.” As the new evacuation attempt was announced, evidence emerged that a Red Cross warehouse in the city had been struck earlier this month amid intense Russian shelling. In satellite pictures from Planet Labs PBC, holes can be seen in the roof, along with a painted red cross on a white background. The aid organization said no staff have been at the site since March 15. Talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume Friday by video, according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, six weeks into a bloody war that has seen thousands die and a staggering 4 million Ukrainians flee the country. But there seemed little faith that the two sides would resolve the conflict any time soon, particularly after the Russian military’s about-face and its most recent attacks on places where it had offered to dial back. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said alliance intelligence indicates that Russia is not scaling back its military operations in Ukraine but is instead repositioning and redeploying forces to join attacks in the Donbas. The Donbas is the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial region where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014. In the past few days, the Kremlin, in a seeming shift in its war aims, said that its “main goal” now is gaining control of the Donbas. “Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region,” Stoltenberg said. At the same time, he said, pressure is being kept up on Kyiv and other cities, and “we can expect additional offensive actions bringing even more suffering.” In the Kyiv suburbs, regional governor Oleksandr Palviuk said on social media that Russian forces shelled Irpin and Makariv, and that there were battles around Hostomel. Pavliuk said there were Ukrainian counterattacks and some Russian withdrawals around the suburb of Brovary to the east. Britain’s Defense Ministry said: “Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units. Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in coming days.” As Western officials search for clues about what Russia’s next move might be, a top British intelligence official said demoralized Russian soldiers in Ukraine are refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment and had accidentally shot down their own aircraft. In a speech in Australia, Jeremy Fleming said Russian President Vladimir Putin had apparently “massively misjudged” the invasion. Although Putin’s advisers appeared to be too afraid to tell the truth, the “extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime,” said Fleming, who heads the GCHQ electronic spy agency,. U.S. intelligence officials have similarly concluded that Putin is being misinformed by advisers too scared to give honest evaluations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the U.S. is wrong and that “neither the State Department nor the Pentagon possesses the real information about what is happening in the Kremlin.” “They don’t understand President Putin, they don’t understand the mechanism of decision-making, they don’t understand the way we work,” Peskov said. In other developments, Putin authorized drafting 134,500 new conscripts starting April 1. The draft is a routine event but comes amid concerns that some draftees could be deployed to Ukraine. Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu have given assurances that conscripts will not take part in the operation in Ukraine. Earlier this month, however, the Russian military admitted that a number of conscripts ended up in Ukraine and were even captured there. ___ Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.