Derrick Shaw

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. The U.S. Coast Guard is battling a recurrence of fake distress calls. The calls have been an ongoing problem in Southwest Florida in 2017 and can be dangerous, illegal and expensive to taxpayers, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Watch the video to see what’s being done to detect the fake calls.

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. A suspect on a bike exposed himself to a woman Wednesday morning near Monroe Street, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said. The woman was taking her daily walk at around 9:30 a.m. near East 3rd Street and Monroe Avenue when a man driving a bicycle approached her, according to the report. The man […]

CAPE CORAL, Fla. Heavy rain and storms across Southwest Florida caused a seawall to collapse into a canal near Hancock Parkway in Cape Coral . “There was no warning signs, there was absolutely nothing. It was up in one piece one day, the next day it was down,” homeowner George Miller said. “Everything was perfectly fine […]

NAPLES, Fla. A 41-year-old woman was arrested Friday in connection with the July 2016 death of an 18-year-old man, the Naples Police Department said. Connie Serbu, of Naples, was accused of confronting and fatally shooting Xavier Sierra, of Golden Gates, in a wooden area near 750 Goodlette Rd. North, police said. John Vargas, Serbu’s brother, was also involved […]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) The Trump administration on Friday slapped sweeping financial sanctions on Venezuela, dramatically ratcheting up tensions between the two countries and making it harder for embattled President Nicolas Maduro to raise badly needed funds to prevent a debt default. The sanctions Trump signed by executive order prohibit financial institutions from providing new money […]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Florida’s state police agency says it did many things right in responding to a 2016 mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub, but could have done better at identifying victims and notifying their surviving relatives, according to an internal review released Friday. The report is a self-review of the Florida Department of Law […]

SOUTH FORT MYERS, Fla. Artwork from Yoko Ono and others is now on display at Florida SouthWestern State College. The innovative FluZUsic/FLUXUS MUSIC exhibit is open at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery from Friday through Nov. 11. Work from Geoffrey Hendricks, Alison Knowles and Philip Corner was also commissioned for the display. Fluxus art actively involves […]

SANIBEL, Fla. A roof leak that led to a chemical odor has forced the closure of the Sanibel Recreation Center, the city manager’s office said. Friday’s after-school program and youth recreation basketball league activities scheduled for the center have been canceled. The center is likely to remain closed for the rest of the day. Water […]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) An internal review mostly praises the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s response to the nightclub shooting in Orlando but says improvements could be made in how the state agency identifies victims and notifies next of kin. The report released Friday is a self-review of the Florida Department’s response to the massacre, although […]

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) A Florida sheriff’s agency is using software to map real-time heroin overdoses. Collier County Sheriff’s Office said Friday it was the first in the state to use the overdose mapping program. The agency also created a heroin task force in 2015. Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said the technology will help alert law enforcement […]