Costco construction causes commotion in Collier County communityDr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho’s impact on education
NAPLES Costco construction causes commotion in Collier County community Costco is eyeing a plot of land in Collier County for a new store, but residents are voicing strong opposition.
NAPLES Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho’s impact on education Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho, a beloved philanthropist and advocate for education, dedicated his life to empowering others through opportunity and knowledge.
SANIBEL Sanibel cracks down on school zone speeders with new camera system Sanibel is tightening its grip on school zone speeders with newly installed cameras.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry expands efforts with Harry Chapin support The Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers plays a crucial role in supporting smaller food banks in the area.
Fort Myers Beach Pier scheduled to be finished a year ahead of schedule The Fort Myers Beach Pier remains a symbol of the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian two years ago. Efforts to rebuild it has taken a lot of time.
FORT MYERS Iconic Fort Myers statue to undergo repairs The iconic “Rachel at the Well” statue on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers has been a landmark for 94 years. However, it became a casualty of Hurricane Ian in 2022, and discussions for its repair are ongoing.
Salvation Army Thrift Store closing its doors in Collier County The Salvation Army has announced the permanent closure of the Naples Family Store on Davis Boulevard.
SANIBEL Rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway with a cause Construction crews are hard at work making the Sanibel Causeway more resilient. The bridge is being fortified to withstand future storms.
LEE COUNTY No. 2 prospect in MLB Roman Anthony with Red Sox for Spring Training Roman Anthony, who is ranked as the second best in baseball, is with the Boston Red Sox for his first Spring Training.
MANASOTA KEY Popular Manasota Key restaurant reopens after storm damage Manasota Key is steadily recovering from a challenging hurricane season, and residents are celebrating the reopening of a beloved local spot.
PINE ISLAND Construction to start on hurricane-proof fire station on Pine Island A new hurricane-proof fire station is coming to Pine Island. The current station, over 40 years old, is in dire need of replacement.
NORTH PORT Braves’ Chris Sale on the mound in southwest Florida once again Spring Training is in full swing for the Atlanta Braves, who’s full squad reported on Tuesday, that means Chris Sale is back in SWFL.
NAPLES Denise Brown speaks on domestic violence at Naples fundraiser event A record crowd of 825 people gathered at the Ritz Carlton Tiburon to raise money and awareness to end domestic violence.
NORTH NAPLES Construction on Collier County diverging diamond begins in March Construction on Southwest Florida’s third diverging diamond interchange is set to begin in March.
Charlotte County homeowners consider elevating homes Recent hurricanes and flooding events prompted some Charlotte County homeowners to either demolish or elevate their homes.
NAPLES Costco construction causes commotion in Collier County community Costco is eyeing a plot of land in Collier County for a new store, but residents are voicing strong opposition.
NAPLES Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho’s impact on education Dr. Cornelius “Pat” Cacho, a beloved philanthropist and advocate for education, dedicated his life to empowering others through opportunity and knowledge.
SANIBEL Sanibel cracks down on school zone speeders with new camera system Sanibel is tightening its grip on school zone speeders with newly installed cameras.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry expands efforts with Harry Chapin support The Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers plays a crucial role in supporting smaller food banks in the area.
Fort Myers Beach Pier scheduled to be finished a year ahead of schedule The Fort Myers Beach Pier remains a symbol of the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian two years ago. Efforts to rebuild it has taken a lot of time.
FORT MYERS Iconic Fort Myers statue to undergo repairs The iconic “Rachel at the Well” statue on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers has been a landmark for 94 years. However, it became a casualty of Hurricane Ian in 2022, and discussions for its repair are ongoing.
Salvation Army Thrift Store closing its doors in Collier County The Salvation Army has announced the permanent closure of the Naples Family Store on Davis Boulevard.
SANIBEL Rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway with a cause Construction crews are hard at work making the Sanibel Causeway more resilient. The bridge is being fortified to withstand future storms.
LEE COUNTY No. 2 prospect in MLB Roman Anthony with Red Sox for Spring Training Roman Anthony, who is ranked as the second best in baseball, is with the Boston Red Sox for his first Spring Training.
MANASOTA KEY Popular Manasota Key restaurant reopens after storm damage Manasota Key is steadily recovering from a challenging hurricane season, and residents are celebrating the reopening of a beloved local spot.
PINE ISLAND Construction to start on hurricane-proof fire station on Pine Island A new hurricane-proof fire station is coming to Pine Island. The current station, over 40 years old, is in dire need of replacement.
NORTH PORT Braves’ Chris Sale on the mound in southwest Florida once again Spring Training is in full swing for the Atlanta Braves, who’s full squad reported on Tuesday, that means Chris Sale is back in SWFL.
NAPLES Denise Brown speaks on domestic violence at Naples fundraiser event A record crowd of 825 people gathered at the Ritz Carlton Tiburon to raise money and awareness to end domestic violence.
NORTH NAPLES Construction on Collier County diverging diamond begins in March Construction on Southwest Florida’s third diverging diamond interchange is set to begin in March.
Charlotte County homeowners consider elevating homes Recent hurricanes and flooding events prompted some Charlotte County homeowners to either demolish or elevate their homes.
FILE – In this July 28, 2019, file photo, Cameroonians wait in a rented apartment in Tijuana, Mexico, until their names are called to claim asylum in the U.S. (AP Photo/Elliot Spagat, File) The Biden administration on Friday announced it will offer Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to immigrants from Cameroon in the U.S., protecting them from deportation and allowing them to work legally due to the ongoing armed conflict in the African country. Once it is open for applications, the TPS program will allow Cameroonians who have lived in the U.S. as of April 14 to obtain work permits and deportation protections for 18 months if they meet the eligibility requirements and pass background checks. A 1990 law authorizes the U.S. government to create TPS programs for immigrants who are undocumented or have temporary status if the U.S. determines their home country cannot safely accept the return of its citizens because of war, natural disasters or other “extraordinary” conditions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the TPS designation for Cameroon was justified because of the years-old conflict between the Cameroonian government and armed separatist groups in the country’s Anglophone regions in the west. The fighting has killed 4,000 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch. DHS also cited an increase in attacks by Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group in Africa. The conditions, DHS said, have fostered “extreme violence,” decimated Cameroon’s infrastructure, fueled economic turmoil and food insecurity and displaced hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians. “Cameroonian nationals currently residing in the U.S. who cannot safely return due to the extreme violence perpetrated by government forces and armed separatists, and a rise in attacks led by Boko Haram, will be able to remain and work in the United States until conditions in their home country improve,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. Cameroonians who arrive in the U.S. after Friday’s announcement, whether legally or illegally, will not be eligible for TPS. While it allows beneficiaries to work and live in the U.S. without fear of deportation, TPS does not make them eligible for permanent residency or citizenship. The Biden administration has increasingly used the TPS authority to shield subsets of immigrant groups in the U.S. from deportation, extending or creating designations for nearly a dozen countries beset by war, ethnic violence, political instability and other crises. The designations by the Biden administration have made approximately 600,000 immigrants in the U.S. eligible for TPS, including citizens of Venezuela, Myanmar, Haiti, Afghanistan and Ukraine, government estimates show. The moves stand in sharp contrast with the policies of the Trump administration, which sought to end TPS programs for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan as part of its crackdown on humanitarian immigration protections. Those efforts were blocked by federal court rulings. Trump administration officials and immigration restrictionists have argued the TPS authority has been abused, shielding immigrants from deportation for longer than necessary. Friday’s announcement is a victory for advocacy groups that had been calling on the Biden administration to grant TPS to Cameroonians since last year. Progressive advocates and some Democrats had expressed frustration about the time it was taking to offer protections to citizens of a predominantly Black African country, compared to the TPS designation for Ukraine, which was announced a week after the Russian invasion. Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a group that helps Black migrants, welcomed the TPS designation for Cameroon, calling it “overdue.” But she said immigration relief for Black immigrants has been unfairly denied or delayed, noting her group and others have been lobbying for TPS to be offered to Cameroonians for months. “This has been a long-fought battle,” Jozef said. “When it comes to TPS for Cameroon and Haiti, it was not just a gift. That was something we literally had to fight for, for a very long long time.”