Precautionary boil water notice for small portion of Lee County Utilities customers8 dead, at least 40 hurt after bus transporting farm workers overturns
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.
Gulf Citrus Growers Association shuts down The association’s closure means farmers across the region no longer have a group that can provide them support with local governments in lobbying for citrus-friendly public policies.
FORT MYERS Maintenance work to temporarily shut down section of Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve boardwalk The section of the boardwalk trail along Gator Lake at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers will temporarily close on Monday for maintenance.
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.
Gulf Citrus Growers Association shuts down The association’s closure means farmers across the region no longer have a group that can provide them support with local governments in lobbying for citrus-friendly public policies.
FORT MYERS Maintenance work to temporarily shut down section of Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve boardwalk The section of the boardwalk trail along Gator Lake at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers will temporarily close on Monday for maintenance.
MGN WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – Many residents in cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu were forced to hunker a second night in emergency shelters after venturing out Saturday only to find their homes damaged or blown away, according to aid workers. Power remains out across the tiny Pacific archipelago and people on many of the outer islands have no access to running water or outside communications, said Chloe Morrison, a World Vision emergency communications officer in the capital of Port Vila. Cyclone Pam tore through the islands early Saturday, leaving a trail of destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths. Morrison said communications have been so problematic that her aid group hasn’t yet been able to account for many of its own 76 staff on the islands and authorities have been unable to assess the extent of the damage. “I can say that for anybody who wasn’t in a secure shelter last night, it would have been a very, very tough time for them,” she said. She said authorities did a good job Friday moving thousands of people in Port Vila into 23 evacuation centers. She said with the winds and rain easing Saturday many people stepped out only to find their homes were missing a roof or had disappeared and so were forced to return to the shelters. She said teetering trees and downed power lines in Port Vila have made many areas hazardous. She said she’s hearing reports of entire villages being destroyed in more remote areas. “It’s still really quite dangerous outside. Most people are still hunkering down,” she said. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the impact and scope of the disaster caused by Cyclone Pam wasn’t yet clear, but he feared the damage and destruction could be widespread. “We hope the loss of life will be minimal,” he said during a World Conference on Disaster Risk and Reduction in Japan. The U.N. said it was preparing to deploy emergency rapid response units. The president of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, who was attending the conference, told participants: “I do not really know what impact the cyclone has had on Vanuatu.” “I am speaking to you today with a heart that is so heavy,” he said. “I stand to appeal on behalf of the government and the people to give a helping hand in this disaster.” Morrison said the first priority was to ensure people had adequate food, drinking water and shelter. Beyond that, she said, there would need to be a long and concerted rebuilding effort in the months ahead. She said the winds peaked between about midnight and 1 a.m. Saturday. A westward change of course put populated areas directly in the path of Cyclone Pam’s 270 kilometer (168 mile) -per-hour winds. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there were unconfirmed reports of deaths in Vanuatu’s northeastern islands after Pam moved off its expected track. New Zealand on Saturday pledged 1 million New Zealand dollars ($734,000) to help with relief efforts. Australia was preparing to send a crisis response team to Vanuatu if needed, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said. “There are destructive winds, rain, flooding, landslides, sea surges and very rough seas and the storm is exceedingly destructive there,” she said. “We are still assessing the situation, but we stand ready to assist.” Located about a quarter of the way from Australia to Hawaii, Vanuatu has a population of 267,000 spread over 65 islands. About 47,000 people live in the capital. The small island nation has repeatedly warned it is already suffering devastating effects from climate change with the island’s coastal areas being washed away, forcing resettlement to higher ground and smaller yields on traditional crops. Scientists say it’s impossible to attribute single weather events like Cyclone Pam to climate change. The cyclone has already caused damage to other Pacific islands including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands. Authorities in New Zealand are preparing for the storm, which is forecast to pass north of the country on Sunday and Monday.