CAPE CORAL Neighbors stuck with previous homeowners’ bill A Cape Coral woman says the city is trying to make her pay for someone else’s mistake after she received a utility bill meant for the home’s previous owner.
NAPLES Teenager denied entrance to prom for wearing a suit Prom is a rite of passage for many teenagers, but one teen had her prom dreams ruined after wasn’t allowed in because of what she was wearing.
SOUTH FORT MYERS Precautionary boil water notice for small portion of Lee County Utilities customers Repair work is expected to be completed overnight and water service will be restored before early morning Wednesday.
NEAR DUNNELLON 8 dead, at least 40 hurt after bus transporting farm workers overturns At least eight people have been killed, and dozens of others have been hurt in a bus crash near Dunnellon after it was hit by a pickup truck.
LEHIGH ACRES Could tiny homes be coming to Lee County? Miniopolis Builders, a company with a vision to revolutionize affordable housing, is facing challenges in bringing their innovative concept to life in Lee County.
ARCADIA Fifteen-year-old beat up during basketball game A pick-up game of basketball at Desoto County High School turned into a physical beating for fifteen-year-old Jeremiah Ward.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte man found guilty for role in January 6 riots John Joseph Richter is now convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Commissioners react to colleague living outside of his district The first Glades Commissioners meeting since Florida Department of Law Enforcement released their investigation findings happened on Tuesday.
NAPLES Former News-Press Food Critic writes powerful memoir, “The Mango Tree” For 15 years, Annabelle Tometich wrote under the famous byline Jean Le Beouf as a food critic for the News-Press. Now, she tells her personal story in her book, “The Mango Tree.”
SAN CARLOS BAY ‘It was incredible’ Couple has close encounter with shark while kayaking on San Carlos Bay Sandrine Fontaine and Arnaud Fontaine come to Southwest Florida twice a year from France, and they try to spend every day kayaking out on the water.
FORT MYERS AI: Friend or Foe for local businesses? Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as AI, has the power to maximize a product. Including local businesses like Vectra Digital.
Protest erupts before Glades Commissioners meeting Early on Tuesday morning, a group of people stood outside of the Glades County Commissioners meeting protesting Commissioner Whidden.
GOLDEN GATE Deputies investigating stabbing at home in Golden Gate Deputies are outside of a house for a stabbing investigation. Collier County deputies said there is one person hurt.
Is there an arsonist on the loose in Lehigh Acres? Fire investigators are looking into a series of suspicious fires in Lehigh Acres that have them wondering if there is an arsonist on the loose.
Collier commissioners push plan to allow rental of guesthouses in Urban Estates The 4-1 vote, which includes a review after one year and a Code Enforcement report, involves homesteaded properties in an area of North Naples west of Collier Boulevard.
CAPE CORAL Neighbors stuck with previous homeowners’ bill A Cape Coral woman says the city is trying to make her pay for someone else’s mistake after she received a utility bill meant for the home’s previous owner.
NAPLES Teenager denied entrance to prom for wearing a suit Prom is a rite of passage for many teenagers, but one teen had her prom dreams ruined after wasn’t allowed in because of what she was wearing.
SOUTH FORT MYERS Precautionary boil water notice for small portion of Lee County Utilities customers Repair work is expected to be completed overnight and water service will be restored before early morning Wednesday.
NEAR DUNNELLON 8 dead, at least 40 hurt after bus transporting farm workers overturns At least eight people have been killed, and dozens of others have been hurt in a bus crash near Dunnellon after it was hit by a pickup truck.
LEHIGH ACRES Could tiny homes be coming to Lee County? Miniopolis Builders, a company with a vision to revolutionize affordable housing, is facing challenges in bringing their innovative concept to life in Lee County.
ARCADIA Fifteen-year-old beat up during basketball game A pick-up game of basketball at Desoto County High School turned into a physical beating for fifteen-year-old Jeremiah Ward.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte man found guilty for role in January 6 riots John Joseph Richter is now convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Commissioners react to colleague living outside of his district The first Glades Commissioners meeting since Florida Department of Law Enforcement released their investigation findings happened on Tuesday.
NAPLES Former News-Press Food Critic writes powerful memoir, “The Mango Tree” For 15 years, Annabelle Tometich wrote under the famous byline Jean Le Beouf as a food critic for the News-Press. Now, she tells her personal story in her book, “The Mango Tree.”
SAN CARLOS BAY ‘It was incredible’ Couple has close encounter with shark while kayaking on San Carlos Bay Sandrine Fontaine and Arnaud Fontaine come to Southwest Florida twice a year from France, and they try to spend every day kayaking out on the water.
FORT MYERS AI: Friend or Foe for local businesses? Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as AI, has the power to maximize a product. Including local businesses like Vectra Digital.
Protest erupts before Glades Commissioners meeting Early on Tuesday morning, a group of people stood outside of the Glades County Commissioners meeting protesting Commissioner Whidden.
GOLDEN GATE Deputies investigating stabbing at home in Golden Gate Deputies are outside of a house for a stabbing investigation. Collier County deputies said there is one person hurt.
Is there an arsonist on the loose in Lehigh Acres? Fire investigators are looking into a series of suspicious fires in Lehigh Acres that have them wondering if there is an arsonist on the loose.
Collier commissioners push plan to allow rental of guesthouses in Urban Estates The 4-1 vote, which includes a review after one year and a Code Enforcement report, involves homesteaded properties in an area of North Naples west of Collier Boulevard.
Southwest Florida is quickly growing, and with that comes the demand for jobs. But while there are plenty of places open to hiring this season, many have not been sticking to their jobs. Amir Neto, an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Florida Gulf Coast University, studies the populations living in Southwest Florida who participate in the labor market. He said while there are more people applying or looking for jobs, it’s not a significant amount when compared to the state and nationwide employment numbers. “So there may be a mismatch in that sense,” Neto said. “We can think about construction where not everyone is willing to take home the construction job. We also see where neither one has the training because either they didn’t see the incentive ongoing that and decided to pursue different careers.” And that’s exactly what Patrick Gunther sees every day as the co-owner of PrideStaff, a Fort Myers employment agency that has been operating for four years now. He said many people believe changing careers or moving from job to job will land them a position with higher pay, when that may not always be the case for everyone. Another factor that has affected the current job market is job qualifications. Many apply for positions but don’t have the skills needed for that job. PrideStaff offers numerous resources for their candidates like trade schools or online courses to pick up some of the skills employers may be looking for, but Gunther said companies should take the time to invest in their employees’ training. “Hire the attitude, hire the commitment, hire the character, right?” he said. “And train later, I mean, because, like you said, there are so many folks that are in a change mode right now in a career change mode, that they may not have the specific skills that they’re looking for. But they have something relative that would allow them to learn fairly quickly.”