Punta Gorda church celebrates Pastor’s 45 years of serviceShift Coffee Bar in Fort Myers hosts annual Valentine’s Day Party
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda church celebrates Pastor’s 45 years of service The First Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Punta Gorda is alive with celebration as they honor a legacy of leadership.
FORT MYERS Shift Coffee Bar in Fort Myers hosts annual Valentine’s Day Party Shift Coffee Bar in Fort Myers held their annual Valentine’s Day pop-up/anniversary event on Sunday morning.
PUNTA GORDA Road rage leads to gunfire near US 41 bridge in Punta Gorda A road rage incident near the Gilchrist Bridge in Punta Gorda led to shots being fired, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
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.
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.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda church celebrates Pastor’s 45 years of service The First Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Punta Gorda is alive with celebration as they honor a legacy of leadership.
FORT MYERS Shift Coffee Bar in Fort Myers hosts annual Valentine’s Day Party Shift Coffee Bar in Fort Myers held their annual Valentine’s Day pop-up/anniversary event on Sunday morning.
PUNTA GORDA Road rage leads to gunfire near US 41 bridge in Punta Gorda A road rage incident near the Gilchrist Bridge in Punta Gorda led to shots being fired, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
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.
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.
When the Titan submersible made its fateful dive into the North Atlantic on Sunday, it also plunged into the murkily regulated waters of deep-sea exploration. It’s a space on the high seas where laws and conventions can be sidestepped by risk-taking entrepreneurs and the wealthy tourists who help fund their dreams. At least for now. “We’re at a point in submersible operations in deep water that’s kind of akin to where aviation was in the early 20th century,” said Salvatore Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina who focuses on maritime history and policy. “Aviation was in its infancy — and it took accidents for decisions to be made to be put into laws,” Mercogliano said. “There’ll be a time when you won’t think twice about getting on a submersible and going down 13,000 feet. But we’re not there yet.” Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Coast Guard that the Titan had imploded near the Titanic shipwreck, killing all five people on board, has drawn attention to how these expeditions are regulated. Mercogliano said such operations are scrutinized less than the companies that launch people into space. In the Titan’s case, that’s in part because it operated in international waters, far from the reach of many laws of the United States or other nations. The Titan wasn’t registered as a U.S. vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety, Mercogliano added. Nor was it classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction. Stockton Rush, the OceanGate CEO who died on Titan, had said he didn’t want to be bogged down by such standards. “Bringing an outside entity up to speed on every innovation before it is put into real-world testing is anathema to rapid innovation,” Rush wrote in a blog post on his company’s website. The Titan was a small vessel that was launched from another ship, the Canadian icebreaker Polar Prince, a setup that Mercogliano likened to pulling a boat on a trailer, in terms of regulatory purposes. “The highway patrol has jurisdiction over the car and over the trailer, but not over the boat,” he said. “The boat is cargo.” Experts say wrongful death and negligence lawsuits are likely in the Titan case — and they could be successful. But legal actions will face various challenges, including waivers signed by the Titan passengers that warned of the myriad ways they could die. Mike Reiss, a writer for “The Simpsons” television show who went on a Titanic expedition with OceanGate in 2022, recalled that his waiver said he would be “subject to extreme pressure. And any failure of the vessel could cause severe injury or death.” “I will be exposed to risks associated with high pressure gases, pure oxygen, high voltage systems which could lead to injury, disability and death,” Reiss said Thursday, going by memory. “If I am injured, I may not receive immediate medical attention.” Thomas Schoenbaum, a University of Washington law professor and author of the book “Admiralty and Maritime Law,” said such documents may be upheld in court if they are worded well. “If those waivers are good, and I imagine they probably are because a lawyer probably drafted them, (families) may not be able to recover damages.” At the same time, OceanGate could still face repercussions under the Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993, Schoenbaum said. But it may depend on which arm of OceanGate owned the Titan submersible. Rush, the late OceanGate CEO, told AP in 2021 that it was an American company. But he said OceanGate Expeditions, which led dives to the Titanic, was based in the Bahamas. Schoenbaum said the Bahamas subsidiary has the potential to circumvent U.S. law, but courts have at times “pierced the corporate veil” and OceanGate could be found liable. There are also questions of whether the Titan was insured or if the Canadian icebreaker’s insurance could come into play. The countries where lawsuits may be filed could also depend on contracts signed by passengers and crew. “I would be very surprised, in a high-risk operation like this, if the contract did not address which law applies and where any claim can be filed,” said George Rutherglen, a professor of admiralty law at the University of Virginia. Another problem is whether OceanGate survives and, if it does, who to sue, said Steve Flynn, a retired Coast Guard officer and director of Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute. The company, which closed its Washington office in the aftermath of the tragedy, may also lack the ability to pay damages. “If they were held liable, my guess would be they would be unlikely to have the many, many millions of dollars that if I were on a jury I would award,” said Richard Daynard, distinguished professor at Northeastern University School of Law. In the meantime, Rutherglen said, he expects the U.S. will respond with tighter regulations given the loss of life and the millions of dollars spent by the Coast Guard. “These wrecks at the bottom of the sea have become more accessible with advancing technology,” Rutherglen said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily become safer to go down and take a look.” The International Maritime Organization, which regulates commercial shipping, could take some kind of action, he added, and Congress also could pass legislation. Nations such as the U.S. could, for example, block ships engaging in such expeditions from docking in their ports. “I would just be surprised if any incident with all of these costs involved — wrongful death, expensive rescue — would not lead to some initiatives,” he said. Mercogliano, the Campbell University professor, said the Titan’s fatal implosion could lead to new safety regulations, just as the sinking of the Titanic did. The Titanic disaster killed 1,500 people in 1912 and led to requirements that ships carry enough lifeboats for all passengers, among other things. “We don’t quite have (safety standards) yet with submersibles. But I do think that one of the long-lasting implications of this disaster may be seeing that happen,” Mercogliano said. Not everyone agrees. Forrest Booth, a San Francisco-based partner at Kennedys Law, said the International Maritime Organization “has no authority to impose its will.” “There could be a move for states to adopt an international treaty on the deep ocean,” Booth said via email. “But that will be resisted by some nations that want to do deep-sea mining, etc. I do not think much of substance will happen after the media attention of this event dies down.”