Warm, breezy day with evening rain ahead of a slight cold frontEdison Festival parade lights up Fort Myers with floats and bands
the weather authority Warm, breezy day with evening rain ahead of a slight cold front The Weather Authority says Sunday is starting off warm across Southwest Florida with overnight lows in the upper 60s and 70s, staying warm throughout the day before a cold front sweeps south later this evening.
FORT MYERS Edison Festival parade lights up Fort Myers with floats and bands The Edison Festival parade was a spectacle of lights and sounds, drawing crowds to celebrate the legacy of Thomas Edison.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office investigating shooting in Punta Gorda The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a road rage/shooting in the Punta Gorda area on Saturday night.
CAPE CORAL Goth Gala for the Forlorn; How the alt scene honored Valentine’s Day Love Your Rebellion hosted the Goth Gala for the Forlorn at Nice Guys Pizza in Cape Coral on Friday night.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers gears up for Edison Festival parade; road closures in place Downtown Fort Myers is buzzing with excitement as the Edison Festival of Light Parade is set to begin.
the weather authority Near-record heat with sun and clouds for your Saturday The Weather Authority says the above-normal temperatures that Southwest Florida has been experiencing will stick around yet again for Saturday.
LEE COUNTY Savannah Bananas bring fun on the diamond at JetBlue Park The Savannah Bananas amazed and entertained a sold out JetBlue Park Friday night for the first time in Southwest Florida.
CAPE CORAL Caught on Camera: Cape Coral mailbox hit by drifting car A Cape Coral homeowner was left in shock after a car sent her mailbox flying through the air and left tire tracks next to her home.
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.
the weather authority Warm, breezy day with evening rain ahead of a slight cold front The Weather Authority says Sunday is starting off warm across Southwest Florida with overnight lows in the upper 60s and 70s, staying warm throughout the day before a cold front sweeps south later this evening.
FORT MYERS Edison Festival parade lights up Fort Myers with floats and bands The Edison Festival parade was a spectacle of lights and sounds, drawing crowds to celebrate the legacy of Thomas Edison.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office investigating shooting in Punta Gorda The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a road rage/shooting in the Punta Gorda area on Saturday night.
CAPE CORAL Goth Gala for the Forlorn; How the alt scene honored Valentine’s Day Love Your Rebellion hosted the Goth Gala for the Forlorn at Nice Guys Pizza in Cape Coral on Friday night.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers gears up for Edison Festival parade; road closures in place Downtown Fort Myers is buzzing with excitement as the Edison Festival of Light Parade is set to begin.
the weather authority Near-record heat with sun and clouds for your Saturday The Weather Authority says the above-normal temperatures that Southwest Florida has been experiencing will stick around yet again for Saturday.
LEE COUNTY Savannah Bananas bring fun on the diamond at JetBlue Park The Savannah Bananas amazed and entertained a sold out JetBlue Park Friday night for the first time in Southwest Florida.
CAPE CORAL Caught on Camera: Cape Coral mailbox hit by drifting car A Cape Coral homeowner was left in shock after a car sent her mailbox flying through the air and left tire tracks next to her home.
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.
This image released by Timber Press shows a Dogbane beetle from the book “Nature’s Best Hope: How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yard” by Douglas W. Tallamy, adapted for a young audience by Sarah L. Thomson, from Tallamy’s original release, “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard.” (Douglas W. Tallamy/Timber Press via AP) Doug Tallamy, the wildlife ecologist and entomologist who urges home gardeners to join forces and create a pollinator-friendly âHomegrown National Park,â is now bringing kids into the effort. Tallamy has become a leading evangelist for the return of native plants and trees that can support birds, bees and other essential wildlife. Anyone with a yard, patio or windowsill can chip in. And they can encourage parks, playgrounds, schools and colleges, hospitals and office buildings, golf courses and even airports to join in, he urges. Tallamyâs new book, âNatureâs Best Hope: How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yardâ (Timber Press), is aimed at middle schoolers (and, he hopes, their parents) in time for Earth Day. It follows his influential 1999 book for a general audience, âNatureâs Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard.â He hopes the book will carry the message into classrooms around the country. âThe idea is that kids are the future stewards of our planet,â he said in an interview with The Associated Press. âMy average audience is retired folks, but we canât wait another generation. I get contacted by kids all the time, and this is stuff you can do and actually see results.â Little things can make a big difference. âYou donât have to worry about the entire planet. Just do something about the little piece of the planet that you can do something about. Thatâs really motivating for parents as well as kids,â he said. The new young readerâs edition lists easy changes that kids can make at home to create better habitat for insects and birds. For instance, switch out a white lightbulb on your porch for a yellow one thatâs less attractive to insects. Reduce the amount of lawn. Or plant some native plants. The book includes a few easy projects like building a âbee hotelâ out of an empty metal can and strips of paper, or covering window wells so little creatures donât get trapped in them. âOr just plant an acorn. Itâs free and easy and you can watch it grow, and it makes a big difference,â Tallamy says. He envisions all the little pollinator-friendly patches â a proliferation of gardens and public spaces â sewn loosely together to form Homegrown National Park. Spreading the word that what we do at home can improve the environment is important, said Tai Montanarella, who teaches kindergarten through high school kids about native plants as the New York Botanical Gardenâs associate director of school and out-of-school programming. âAt the heart of Tallamyâs book is the observation of plants, and the interaction between plants and birds and insects. It underscores the connectivity of our food web and of society,â she says. âKids sometimes feel a greater sense of urgency and call to action than adults. Many of these ideas seem sensible and practical for kids, while they can be a heavier lift for adults sometimes.â For younger children, she recommends the picture book âThe Garden Next Door,â by Collin Pine (River Horse Books), about children who investigate why their neighborâs yard has more birds, fireflies and other natural wonders than their own. And she recommends the list of books for children and teens compiled by the New York Botanical Gardenâs LuEsther T. Mertz Library on its website. Adults, Montanarella said, can be more receptive to messages when they come from passionate kids. In Pelham, New York, Anna Simonsen-Meehan had all the English ivy removed from her property border and gently asked her neighbors if theyâd consider doing the same, since itâs invasive and creeps into her native plantings. Nothing happened. But when her 7-year-old son, Alrik, recently encountered one of the neighbors on the sidewalk and gave him an impassioned lecture about how invasive English ivy is, the man listened carefully. (âI mean, what else can you do when a child is speaking with such sincerity and passion?â his mother said.) And now the ivy is gone. âI said, âDonât you want to remove that ivy? Itâs invasive.â He was definitely listening,â recalled Alrik, who has been involved in removing invasive plants and encouraging native ones both at home and in the community. Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware, starts his new book by asking kids to take a few minutes to look closely at their yard. Did you see âa single animal â a bird, a bug, a snake, a mammal of any size â hop, fly, flutter, slither, crawl, or creep past?â he asks, âYouâre right. You donât. But you should.â âNature is everywhere. Thatâs a good thing because human beings like you and me wouldnât last a day without it,â Tallamy writes. âThatâs what this book is about â how to create a yard that is a real part of the natural world. The kind of yard where, if you look closely, something is moving.â