Gorgeous Thursday afternoon with highs in the mid 80sFailed air quality tests push back reopening date for The Sanibel School
the weather authority Gorgeous Thursday afternoon with highs in the mid 80s The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant afternoon conditions with temperatures in the mid-80s this Thursday.
SANIBEL Failed air quality tests push back reopening date for The Sanibel School The tentative reopening of The Sanibel School has been pushed back once again after being closed since Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a crash involving one vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
SANIBEL Sanibel Causeway construction causing confusion and costing local business Repairing the Sanibel Causeway after recent storms has caused more than just traffic back-ups.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Speakeasy in downtown Fort Myers honors local historic figures Everything inside the Escondido Lounge whispers an authentic speakeasy, from the dim red lights to the fancy vintage glasses.
ESTERO Caught on camera: Man steals money from tip jar in Estero A business manager feels violated after a man took money from a tip jar on Tuesday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral ranked 13th for establishing small businesses A blog set out to find the top U.S. cities where aspiring business owners can thrive in 2024, Cape Coral was named 13th.
NAPLES Minimally invasive balloon procedure for sinus issues Battling a sinus infection is bad enough, but contending with chronic sinus infections can be a real problem.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida鈥檚 most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for聽November 13, 2024.
the weather authority Gorgeous Thursday afternoon with highs in the mid 80s The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant afternoon conditions with temperatures in the mid-80s this Thursday.
SANIBEL Failed air quality tests push back reopening date for The Sanibel School The tentative reopening of The Sanibel School has been pushed back once again after being closed since Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a crash involving one vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
SANIBEL Sanibel Causeway construction causing confusion and costing local business Repairing the Sanibel Causeway after recent storms has caused more than just traffic back-ups.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Speakeasy in downtown Fort Myers honors local historic figures Everything inside the Escondido Lounge whispers an authentic speakeasy, from the dim red lights to the fancy vintage glasses.
ESTERO Caught on camera: Man steals money from tip jar in Estero A business manager feels violated after a man took money from a tip jar on Tuesday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral ranked 13th for establishing small businesses A blog set out to find the top U.S. cities where aspiring business owners can thrive in 2024, Cape Coral was named 13th.
NAPLES Minimally invasive balloon procedure for sinus issues Battling a sinus infection is bad enough, but contending with chronic sinus infections can be a real problem.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida鈥檚 most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for聽November 13, 2024.
Members of the Red Cross gather near the ruins at the site of a deadly explosion that destroyed the five-star Hotel Saratoga in Old Havana, Cuba, May 8, 2022. ISMAEL FRANCISCO/AP The death toll from a powerful explosion at a luxury hotel in Cuba’s capital increased to 31 Sunday evening as search crews with dogs hunted through the rubble of the iconic 19th-century building looking for people still missing. The Hotel Saratoga, a five-star 96-room hotel in Old Havana, was preparing to reopen after being closed for two years when an apparent gas leak ignited, blowing the outer walls into the busy, midmorning streets just a block from the country’s Capitol building on Friday. Several nearby structures also were damaged, including the historic Marti Theater and the Calvary Baptist Church, headquarters for the denomination in western Cuba. The church said on its Facebook page that the building suffered “significant structural damage, with several collapsed or cracked walls and columns (and) the ceiling partially collapsed,” though no church workers were hurt. In releasing the names of those who were killed, the Health Ministry said the dead included four minors, a pregnant woman and a Spanish tourist, whose companion was seriously injured. The ministry also said 54 people were injured, with 24 hospitalized. It previously reported 85 injured, but that tally turned out to include those killed by the explosion. Nineteen families had reported people missing as of Saturday evening, but authorities did not say Sunday whether the number had changed. Authorities said the cause of the explosion at the hotel owned by Grupo de Turismo Gaviota SA was still under investigation but believed it to have been caused by a gas leak. A large crane hoisted a charred gas tanker out of the rubble Saturday. Burials for victims had begun, municipal authorities said, while some people still waited for news of missing friends and relatives. “We are hoping that something will be known about my cousin’s mother,” Angela Acosta told The Associated Press near the site of the explosion. Her relative, Mar铆a de la Concepci贸n Alard, lived in an apartment adjacent to the hotel with a black Labrador, which was rescued along with another dog on Sunday. Crews have worked to clean up streets around the hotel and by late Saturday, substantial pedestrian traffic had resumed. “There are mothers who are without their children today,” Matha Verde, a manicurist who was walking near the Saratoga, said Sunday, when Mother’s Day was celebrated in Cuba. She said she tells women who lost their sons or daughters in the explosion that they “have to keep going.” The explosion added to the woes of a crucial tourism industry that had been stifled by the coronavirus pandemic as well as tightened sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump and kept in place by the Biden administration. Those limited visits by U.S. tourists to the islands and restricted remittances from Cubans in the U.S. to their families in Cuba. Tourism had started to revive somewhat early this year, but the war in Ukraine deflated a boom of Russian visitors, who accounted for almost a third of the tourists arriving in Cuba last year. The Saratoga, which had been closed through the pandemic, was one of the elite lodgings in Havana, often hosting visiting VIPs and celebrities. Its owner is one of the Cuban military’s businesses. Some attention in Cuba began to shift to an official visit by Mexican President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, who arrived Saturday night at the end of a five-country tour that began in Central America. L贸pez Obrador met Sunday with Cuban President Miguel D铆az-Canel, who awarded him the Order of Jose Marti “for his great achievements for humanity.” It is the most important award the country gives to a foreigner. D铆az-Canel’s office stated in a tweet that L贸pez Obrador said he would insist to U.S. President Joe Biden that Cuba not be excluded from the Summit of the Americas it will host in Los Angeles in June. L贸pez Obrador said the objectives of the trip included signing agreements on trade, health, education and cooperation with the island, while he ratified his foreign policy stance. “We are not in favor of hegemonies,” he said. “Let no one exclude anyone because we are independent countries, we are sovereign countries, and no one can place themselves above the rights of peoples and nations.” D铆az-Canel visited Mexico during its independence day celebrations last year. L贸pez Obrador has recently spoken out against the U.S. government’s apparent intention to exclude Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the upcoming summit.