Cape Coral says they’ll help neighbors forced to vacate but community still has questionsCollier County commissioners oppose Amendment 3
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral says they’ll help neighbors forced to vacate but community still has questions We’ve reported on the plans by Cape Coral to acquire 19 acres east of Bimini Basin, and how it will force the families currently living in those properties out. Now we’re hearing from the city about when this community can expect to receive notices to vacate, and clarification on when they should expect to receive their security deposits back.
Collier County commissioners oppose Amendment 3 This comes less than 24 hours after former President Donald Trump told the world he would vote for Amendment 3.
PHILADELPHIA Florida political analyst weighs in ahead of presidential debate Tonight may be the only chance viewers will get to see Kamala Harris and Donald Trump together on the debate stage.
LEHIGH ACRES Renewed call for guardrails following fatal Lehigh Acres canal crash A car flying into a canal, killing a 47-year-old man, has many raising the question of how it can be stopped from happening again.
Charlotte County Schools reflects on Guardian program 1 year later Charlotte County is getting a better idea of how armed people in its schools are doing. Last school year was the first entire year Charlotte County Schools had the guardian program in place.
PUNTA GORDA Public notice of pollution submitted for the Peace River There are reports of chemicals, oils and contaminants polluting the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Garden.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers neighbors work to stop parking garage A city sees a warehouse just south of Palm Beach Boulevard as a spot they can use for a brand new parking lot, but the people who live in the neighborhood are telling the city to think twice.
NAPLES Collier middle school student arrested for carrying knife A Manatee Middle School student has been arrested after a knife was found in his backpack at school.
FORT MYERS Suspect arrested in Papa Johns armed robbery A man has been arrested in connection with a robbery of a Fort Myers pizza shop.
TALLAHASSEE New ruling could ban lab grown meat production in Florida A federal judge will hear arguments next month about whether he should block a new Florida law that bars the production and sale of “cultivated meat” in the state.
Seconds save lives: New trial for diagnosing stroke Now, doctors are testing another drug to help people who suffer a different kind of stroke that floods the brain with blood.
Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 Class of 2024 Whether crafting cakes or kombucha or focusing on a courtroom or cockpit, the individuals who have earned recognition among the Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 all stand out in their respective fields.
Del Taco to open in Port Charlotte A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Southwest Florida’s first Del Taco will take place Sept. 16 in Port Charlotte. It will be the third Del Taco location for Quality Restaurant Group President and operating partner Kenther Ramos.
BONITA SPRINGS Caught on camera: 8-foot alligator wrangled from Bonita Springs home See you later, alligator! Deputies came quick to the rescue to wrangle this slippery reptile.
WASHINGTON (AP) Trump signals support for reclassifying pot as a less dangerous drug, in line with Harris’ position Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting his position in line with that of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral says they’ll help neighbors forced to vacate but community still has questions We’ve reported on the plans by Cape Coral to acquire 19 acres east of Bimini Basin, and how it will force the families currently living in those properties out. Now we’re hearing from the city about when this community can expect to receive notices to vacate, and clarification on when they should expect to receive their security deposits back.
Collier County commissioners oppose Amendment 3 This comes less than 24 hours after former President Donald Trump told the world he would vote for Amendment 3.
PHILADELPHIA Florida political analyst weighs in ahead of presidential debate Tonight may be the only chance viewers will get to see Kamala Harris and Donald Trump together on the debate stage.
LEHIGH ACRES Renewed call for guardrails following fatal Lehigh Acres canal crash A car flying into a canal, killing a 47-year-old man, has many raising the question of how it can be stopped from happening again.
Charlotte County Schools reflects on Guardian program 1 year later Charlotte County is getting a better idea of how armed people in its schools are doing. Last school year was the first entire year Charlotte County Schools had the guardian program in place.
PUNTA GORDA Public notice of pollution submitted for the Peace River There are reports of chemicals, oils and contaminants polluting the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Garden.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers neighbors work to stop parking garage A city sees a warehouse just south of Palm Beach Boulevard as a spot they can use for a brand new parking lot, but the people who live in the neighborhood are telling the city to think twice.
NAPLES Collier middle school student arrested for carrying knife A Manatee Middle School student has been arrested after a knife was found in his backpack at school.
FORT MYERS Suspect arrested in Papa Johns armed robbery A man has been arrested in connection with a robbery of a Fort Myers pizza shop.
TALLAHASSEE New ruling could ban lab grown meat production in Florida A federal judge will hear arguments next month about whether he should block a new Florida law that bars the production and sale of “cultivated meat” in the state.
Seconds save lives: New trial for diagnosing stroke Now, doctors are testing another drug to help people who suffer a different kind of stroke that floods the brain with blood.
Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 Class of 2024 Whether crafting cakes or kombucha or focusing on a courtroom or cockpit, the individuals who have earned recognition among the Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 all stand out in their respective fields.
Del Taco to open in Port Charlotte A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Southwest Florida’s first Del Taco will take place Sept. 16 in Port Charlotte. It will be the third Del Taco location for Quality Restaurant Group President and operating partner Kenther Ramos.
BONITA SPRINGS Caught on camera: 8-foot alligator wrangled from Bonita Springs home See you later, alligator! Deputies came quick to the rescue to wrangle this slippery reptile.
WASHINGTON (AP) Trump signals support for reclassifying pot as a less dangerous drug, in line with Harris’ position Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting his position in line with that of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.
FILE – Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington on March 9, 2020. Musk said Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, his planned $44 billion takeover of Twitter should move forward if the company can confirm some details about how it measures whether user accounts are ‘spam bots’ or real people. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Donald Trump recounted his assassination attempt in vivid detail and promised the largest deportation in U.S. history during a high-profile return to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — a conversation that was plagued by technical glitches. “If I had not turned my head, I would not be talking to you right now — as much as I like you,” Trump told X’s owner Elon Musk. Musk, a former Trump critic, said the Republican nominee’s toughness, as demonstrated by his reaction to last month’s shooting, was critical for national security. “There’s some real tough characters out there,” Musk said. “And if they don’t think the American president is tough, they will do what they want to do.” Trump returns to X The rare public conversation between Trump and Musk, which spanned more than two hours Monday night and was overwhelmingly friendly, revealed little new about Trump’s plans for a second term. The former president spent much of the discussion focused on his recent assassination attempt, illegal immigration and his plans to cut government regulations. In case you missed the original recording. Skip the beginning part. https://t.co/Ksm6UqdIq6 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024 Still, the online meeting underscored just how much the U.S. political landscape has changed less than four years after Trump was permanently banned by the social media platform’s former leadership for spreading disinformation that sparked the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress and undermined the very foundation of the American democracy. Such disinformation has thrived at X under Musk’s leadership, although it was largely ignored during his conversation with Trump save for a passing Trump reference to a “rigged election.” Trump supporters frustrated by tech delays The session was intended to serve as a way for the former president to reach potentially millions of voters directly. It was also an opportunity for X, a platform that relies heavily on politics, to redeem itself after some struggles. It did not begin as planned. With more than 878,000 users connected to the meeting more than 40 minutes after the scheduled start time, the interview had not yet begun. Many users received a message reading, “Details not available.” Trump’s team posted that the “interview on X is being overwhelmed with listeners logging in.” And once the meeting began, Musk apologized for the late start and blamed a “massive attack” that overwhelmed the company’s system. Trump’s voice sounded muffled at times. Trump supporters were openly frustrated. “Not available????? I planned my whole day around this,” wrote conservative commentator Glenn Beck. “Please let Elon know we can’t join,” billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted. Ahead of the event, Musk posted on the platform that X was conducting “some system scaling tests” to handle what was anticipated to be a high volume of participants. Harris campaign mocks livestream glitches The rocky start was reminiscent of a May 2023 social media conversation between Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Republican governor was using the social media platform as a way to officially announce his presidential bid, a disastrous rollout marred by technical glitches, overloaded by the more than 400,000 people who tried to dial in. Trump’s Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, noted that Trump mocked DeSantis at the time. “Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster. WATCH!” Trump wrote in a message reposted by Harris’ campaign Monday. Once the interview ended, Harris’ campaign responded with a statement saying, “Trump’s entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself — self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024.” Bitter rivals to unlikely allies Monday’s meeting highlighted the evolving personal relationship between Trump and Musk, two of the world’s most powerful men, who have shifted from being bitter rivals to unlikely allies over the span of one election season. Musk, who described himself as a “moderate Democrat” until recently, suggested in 2022 that Trump was too old to be president again. Still, Musk formally endorsed Trump two days after his assassination attempt last month. During their talk, Trump welcomed the idea of Musk joining his next administration to help cut government waste. Musk volunteered to join a prospective “government efficiency commission.” “You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump told Musk. “I need an Elon Musk — I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts. I want to close up the Department of Education, move education back to the states.” Even before his endorsement, the tech CEO had already been working privately to support a pro-Trump super PAC. The group, known as America PAC, is now under investigation by election officials for alleged misleading attempts to collect data from voters. Meanwhile, Trump has softened his criticism of electric vehicles, citing Musk’s leadership of Tesla. And on Monday, at least, Trump returned to Musk’s social media platform in force. The former president made at least eight individual posts in the hours leading up to the Musk interview. How Musk uses X to amplify his views globally Long before he endorsed Trump, Musk turned increasingly toward the right in his posts and actions on the platform, also using X to try to sway political discourse around the world. He’s gotten in a dustup with a Brazilian judge over censorship, railed against what he calls the “woke mind virus” and amplified false claims that Democrats are secretly flying in migrants to vote in U.S. elections. Musk has also reinstated previously banned accounts such as the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Trump, who was kicked off the platform — then known as Twitter — two days after the Jan. 6 violence, with the company citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.” By November 2022, Musk had bought the company, and Trump’s account was reinstated, although the former president refrained from tweeting until Monday, insisting that he was happier on his own Truth Social site, which he launched during the ban. Trump’s audience on X is legions larger than on Truth Social, which became a publicly traded company earlier this year. Trump has just over 7.5 million followers on Truth Social, while his mostly dormant X account is followed by 88 million. Musk’s account, which hosted the interview, has more than 193 million followers. In a reminder that the world was watching, the chat prompted a preemptive note of caution from Europe. Thierry Breton, a French business executive and commissioner for internal market of the European Union, warned Musk of possible “amplification of harmful content” by broadcasting his interview with Trump. In a letter posted on X, Breton urged Musk to “ensure X’s compliance” with EU law, including the Digital Services Act, adopted in 2022 to address a number of issues including disinformation. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung urged the EU to “mind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the U.S. Presidential election.” Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina.