FGCU women’s basketball clinches 8th straight ASUN ChampionshipPolice Explorer Marcus Freeman remembered 14 years after North Port crash
FGCU FGCU women’s basketball clinches 8th straight ASUN Championship The FGCU women’s basketball team beat Central Arkansas to win its eighth consecutive ASUN Conference Championship.
NORTH PORT Police Explorer Marcus Freeman remembered 14 years after North Port crash The North Port Police Department is remembering a young life lost too soon.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach celebrates early St. Patrick’s Day with lively parade Fort Myers Beach celebrated St. Patrick’s Day early with a lively parade, bringing the island to life with Irish spirit.
the weather authority A breezy Saturday with near-record high heat in store The Weather Authority says a warm Saturday with near-record high heat is in store with sun and clouds overhead.
SANIBEL Sanibel Beach shines as a top 2025 destination for shelling Southwest Florida’s beaches are a major draw for visitors from around the world.
911 calls save two kayakers in distress on Caloosahatchee River After strong winds left them stranded, two kayakers were rescued from the Caloosahatchee River.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman tricked into romance scam, police seek recovery Cape Coral police are working to recover more than $250,000 from a bank account that may be tied to criminal activity.
Captiva’s Mucky Duck plans reopening after hurricane damage The Mucky Duck, a beloved restaurant on Captiva Island, is determined to clear up any rumors about its closure.
PORT CHARLOTTE Tampa Bay Rays’ future in Port Charlotte raises business concerns The Tampa Bay Rays are planning to stay at Tropicana Field for the 2026 season while they repair damage from Hurricane Milton.
Red tide health alert lifted in certain Lee County areas The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has lifted the red tide health alerts issued in certain areas.
Charlotte Sheriff elected as chair of Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell is stepping into a new role as chair of the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches.
NAPLES Naples groups unite to protect endangered Florida Panthers The third Saturday in March marks the official Save the Florida Panther Day.
New housing development in Collier County raises environmental concerns Instead of fields of oranges fueling the local economy, rows of homes could soon take their place in the region.
NAPLES La Gondola: Venice experience in Southwest Florida Imagine cruising down the Southwest Florida waterways in your very own gondola, bringing a touch of Italy to Naples.
FORT MYERS Bubbles for Bug; Carwash raising funds for furry friend A Southwest Florida dog named Bug needs help. His owner, Lex Montanaro, is hosting a carwash fundraiser to raise the $10,000 Bug needs for surgery.
FGCU FGCU women’s basketball clinches 8th straight ASUN Championship The FGCU women’s basketball team beat Central Arkansas to win its eighth consecutive ASUN Conference Championship.
NORTH PORT Police Explorer Marcus Freeman remembered 14 years after North Port crash The North Port Police Department is remembering a young life lost too soon.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach celebrates early St. Patrick’s Day with lively parade Fort Myers Beach celebrated St. Patrick’s Day early with a lively parade, bringing the island to life with Irish spirit.
the weather authority A breezy Saturday with near-record high heat in store The Weather Authority says a warm Saturday with near-record high heat is in store with sun and clouds overhead.
SANIBEL Sanibel Beach shines as a top 2025 destination for shelling Southwest Florida’s beaches are a major draw for visitors from around the world.
911 calls save two kayakers in distress on Caloosahatchee River After strong winds left them stranded, two kayakers were rescued from the Caloosahatchee River.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman tricked into romance scam, police seek recovery Cape Coral police are working to recover more than $250,000 from a bank account that may be tied to criminal activity.
Captiva’s Mucky Duck plans reopening after hurricane damage The Mucky Duck, a beloved restaurant on Captiva Island, is determined to clear up any rumors about its closure.
PORT CHARLOTTE Tampa Bay Rays’ future in Port Charlotte raises business concerns The Tampa Bay Rays are planning to stay at Tropicana Field for the 2026 season while they repair damage from Hurricane Milton.
Red tide health alert lifted in certain Lee County areas The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has lifted the red tide health alerts issued in certain areas.
Charlotte Sheriff elected as chair of Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell is stepping into a new role as chair of the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches.
NAPLES Naples groups unite to protect endangered Florida Panthers The third Saturday in March marks the official Save the Florida Panther Day.
New housing development in Collier County raises environmental concerns Instead of fields of oranges fueling the local economy, rows of homes could soon take their place in the region.
NAPLES La Gondola: Venice experience in Southwest Florida Imagine cruising down the Southwest Florida waterways in your very own gondola, bringing a touch of Italy to Naples.
FORT MYERS Bubbles for Bug; Carwash raising funds for furry friend A Southwest Florida dog named Bug needs help. His owner, Lex Montanaro, is hosting a carwash fundraiser to raise the $10,000 Bug needs for surgery.
Police officers stand outside a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. A mass shooting took place at a dance club following a Lunar New Year celebration, setting off a manhunt for the suspect. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) A gunman killed 10 people at a ballroom dance studio amid Lunar New Year celebrations and then may have tried — but failed — to target a second dance hall, authorities said Sunday. An urgent search was underway across the Los Angeles area for the suspect. LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park left five women and five men dead and wounded another 10 people. Then 20 to 30 minutes later, a man with a gun entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra. Luna said it’s still unclear whether the events are connected. The incident in Alhambra “may be related,” Luna said. “We’re not quite there yet, but it’s definitely on our radar screen.” The suspect in both cases was described as an Asian male. He entered the Alhambra club with a gun, and people wrestled the weapon away from him before he fled, Luna said. Investigators are interested in a white cargo van that was seen in the area, he added. The sheriff declined to say what type of gun was recovered in Alhambra. He said investigators believe the gun used in Monterey Park was not an assault rifle. The massacre, which sent fear through Monterey Park and Alhambra’s large Asian American communities, was the nation’s fifth mass killing this month. It was also the deadliest attack since May 24, when 21 people were killed in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Monterey Park is a city of about 60,000 people on the eastern edge of Los Angeles and is composed mostly of Asian immigrants from China or first-generation Asian Americans. The shooting happened in the heart of its downtown where red lanterns decorated the streets for the Lunar New Year festivities. A police car was parked near a large banner that proclaimed “Happy Year of the Rabbit!” The celebration in Monterey Park is one of California’s largest and had attracted tens of thousands throughout the day. Two days of festivities, which have been attended by as many as 100,000 people in past years, were planned. But officials canceled Sunday’s events following the shooting. Tony Lai, 35, of Monterey Park was stunned when he came out for his early morning walk to learn that the noises he heard in the night were gunshots. “I thought maybe it was fireworks. I thought maybe it had something to do with Lunar New Year,” he said. “And we don’t even get a lot of fireworks here. It’s weird to see this. It’s really safe here. We’re right in the middle of the city, but it’s really safe.” Wynn Liaw, 57, who lives about two blocks from the Monterey Park studio, said she was shocked that such a crime would happen, especially during New Year’s celebrations. “Chinese people, they consider Chinese New Year very, very special” — a time when “you don’t do anything that will bring bad luck the entire year.” She took a picture of the activity outside the studio to send to relatives and friends in China “to let them know how crazy the U.S. is becoming with all these mass shootings, even in the New Year.” An Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S. shows that 2022 was one of the nation’s worst years in terms of mass killings, with 42 such attacks — the second-highest number since the creation of the tracker in 2006. The database defines a mass killing as four people killed not including the perpetrator. The latest violence comes two months after five people were killed at a Colorado Springs nightclub. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland were briefed on the situation, aides said. The shooting occurred at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a few blocks from city hall on Monterey Park’s main thoroughfare of Garvey Avenue, which is dotted with strip malls of small businesses whose signs are in both English and Chinese. Cantonese and Mandarin are both widely spoken, Chinese holidays are celebrated, and Chinese films are screened regularly in the city. The business offered dance lessons from tango to rumba to the fox trot and rented its space for events. On Saturday, its website said it was hosting an event called “Star Night” from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.