Lee County allocates $41.6M in federal money for affordable housingPoached closing longtime restaurant in North Naples
Lee County allocates $41.6M in federal money for affordable housing The money comes from the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lee County commissioners voted 5-0 in allocating the money, part of a $1.1 billion Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery fund.
Poached closing longtime restaurant in North Naples Poached soon is going to be toast—as in defunct. The local breakfast-lunch restaurant is permanently closing next week in Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt in North Naples.
PINE ISLAND ‘We’re Pine Island proud,’ Pine Island artists paint power poles Relaunching 20 years later, Pine Island artists have been painting power poles up and down Stringfellow Road to bring back color and vibrancy after Hurricane Ian.
Naples Airport presented with 4 site options in eastern Collier County Environmental Science Associates conducted an exploratory study and met with landowners interested in selling land. ESA whittled that to a list of four sites for a general airport.
Expert: Buying or renting depends on your situation Shelton Weeks, Lucas professor of real estate and director of the Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development and Finance, is asked a lot by students whether they should rent or buy.
Attorneys offer update on Bonita Estero Rail Trail project The proposed project hit a milestone in February when the Trust for Public Land secured a purchase and sale agreement for $82 million with the Seminole Gulf Railway on a 14.9-mile segment stretching from Alico Road to Collier County for conversion to a hiking and biking trail.
NAPLES Woman arrested for stealing over $150K from Naples Ballet The Naples Police Department arrested a woman for allegedly stealing over $150,000 from the Naples Ballet, a non-profit organization.
NORTH FORT MYERS Duo accused of stealing from North Fort Myers store Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on two people accused of stealing from a North Fort Myers store.
WINK NEWS Lee Commissioners award over $41.6M for rehabilitation of affordable housing units The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted to award more than $41.6 million in Community Development Block Grants-Disaster Recovery funds.
New York (AP) Defense rests without Trump testifying in hush money case The defense rests its case without ex-President Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money case. Closing arguments are expected next Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE Immokalee girls robotics team competes at VEX Worlds The Immokalee High School girls robotics team got to compete and learn at the VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Police Department launches drone program The Cape Coral Police Department has officially launched its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program.
BUCKINGHAM Airplane crashes after veering off runway at Buckingham Airport An airplane veered off the Buckingham Airport runway during takeoff, according to the FAA incident report, leaving it damaged.
FORT MYERS Premier Mobile Health Services adds 6th Lee County location in Fort Myers The Premier Mobile Health Services has added its sixth Lee County mobile clinic location in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS FDOT discusses plan to close Caloosahatchee Bridge for construction The Florida Department of Transportation held a news conference regarding the closure of the Caloosahatchee Bridge to speed up a construction project on the bridge.
Lee County allocates $41.6M in federal money for affordable housing The money comes from the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lee County commissioners voted 5-0 in allocating the money, part of a $1.1 billion Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery fund.
Poached closing longtime restaurant in North Naples Poached soon is going to be toast—as in defunct. The local breakfast-lunch restaurant is permanently closing next week in Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt in North Naples.
PINE ISLAND ‘We’re Pine Island proud,’ Pine Island artists paint power poles Relaunching 20 years later, Pine Island artists have been painting power poles up and down Stringfellow Road to bring back color and vibrancy after Hurricane Ian.
Naples Airport presented with 4 site options in eastern Collier County Environmental Science Associates conducted an exploratory study and met with landowners interested in selling land. ESA whittled that to a list of four sites for a general airport.
Expert: Buying or renting depends on your situation Shelton Weeks, Lucas professor of real estate and director of the Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development and Finance, is asked a lot by students whether they should rent or buy.
Attorneys offer update on Bonita Estero Rail Trail project The proposed project hit a milestone in February when the Trust for Public Land secured a purchase and sale agreement for $82 million with the Seminole Gulf Railway on a 14.9-mile segment stretching from Alico Road to Collier County for conversion to a hiking and biking trail.
NAPLES Woman arrested for stealing over $150K from Naples Ballet The Naples Police Department arrested a woman for allegedly stealing over $150,000 from the Naples Ballet, a non-profit organization.
NORTH FORT MYERS Duo accused of stealing from North Fort Myers store Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on two people accused of stealing from a North Fort Myers store.
WINK NEWS Lee Commissioners award over $41.6M for rehabilitation of affordable housing units The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted to award more than $41.6 million in Community Development Block Grants-Disaster Recovery funds.
New York (AP) Defense rests without Trump testifying in hush money case The defense rests its case without ex-President Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money case. Closing arguments are expected next Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE Immokalee girls robotics team competes at VEX Worlds The Immokalee High School girls robotics team got to compete and learn at the VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Police Department launches drone program The Cape Coral Police Department has officially launched its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program.
BUCKINGHAM Airplane crashes after veering off runway at Buckingham Airport An airplane veered off the Buckingham Airport runway during takeoff, according to the FAA incident report, leaving it damaged.
FORT MYERS Premier Mobile Health Services adds 6th Lee County location in Fort Myers The Premier Mobile Health Services has added its sixth Lee County mobile clinic location in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS FDOT discusses plan to close Caloosahatchee Bridge for construction The Florida Department of Transportation held a news conference regarding the closure of the Caloosahatchee Bridge to speed up a construction project on the bridge.
Credit: Pexels Florida senators Monday evening moved forward with a proposal to try to prevent minors under age 16 from using social media, as lawmakers take on tech platforms that they say harm children. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-2 to approve a bill (SB 1788) that is similar to a measure (HB 1) that passed the House last month and is a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner. While supporters described social media as harmful to children’s mental health, they continued to face questions about the constitutionality of the proposal, which, in part, would prevent minors under 16 from creating social media accounts. Critics contend it would violate First Amendment rights. Senate sponsor Erin Grall, a Vero Beach Republican who is an attorney, tried to stress Monday that the proposal is not about the content on platforms but about features that, in part, are addictive to minors. “We have tried to be as narrow as possible in really looking at the features, looking at the definition of the platform (in the bill) and not necessarily about the content,” Grall said. But Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel for the ACLU of Florida, said the proposal is a “government censorship bill, and it is aimed at stifling the freedom of expression online.” Also, critics said the bill would take away the rights of parents to make decisions about their children using social media. “The internet, including social media platforms, contains vast amounts of constitutionally protected speech, for both adults and minors,” Gross said. Along with preventing children under 16 from creating social media accounts, the proposal would require social media platforms to terminate existing accounts that are “reasonably known” by the platforms to be held by minors younger than 16 and would allow parents to request that minors’ accounts be terminated. The proposal also would require platforms to use independent organizations to conduct age verifications when new accounts are created and would require denial of accounts for people who do not verify their ages. The organizations would be required to delete the data after ages are verified. The House overwhelmingly passed its version of the bill and sent it to the Senate, where it has been assigned to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee. Renner acknowledged Thursday that the bill likely would face changes to try to ensure that it would withstand court challenges.Renner made the comment when asked about concerns raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis about the constitutionality of the bill, including its “breadth.” Renner said the House has been working closely with the Senate and DeSantis’ office to agree on a bill that would be upheld by the courts. A House bill sponsor, Rep. Tyler Sirois was in the audience Monday watching the Senate Judiciary Committee discussion.Grall echoed themes that Renner has used, including that social media platforms target children with addictive features.”By allowing these companies to hard-wire the brains of our children to become addicted, they are hard-wiring the proclivity toward addiction at a very young age,” she said.But Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book questioned the effectiveness of an “all-abstinence approach” and pointed to parental rights.”I don’t want the government telling me what and how and what my children should be doing,” Book said. “That’s my job as a parent.”