NAPLES Barron Collier boy’s tennis wins 3A State Title The Barron Collier boy’s tennis team won the Class 3A State Championship for the program’s first title since 2014.
FORT MYERS Bishop Verot’s baseball team falls in state semifinal It was a heartbreaker for Bishop Verot’s baseball team in Hammond on Tuesday. The Vikings fell to North Broward Prep 4-1 in the 3A state semifinal.
Collier commissioners consider guesthouse rentals in Urban Estates Collier commissioners moved forward with a plan to allow urban estates homeowners to rent guesthouses to address a critical shortage of workforce housing.
LCSO needs help locating man wanted for animal cruelty The Lee County Sheriff’s office is looking for a man who is wanted for violating the conditions of his release from jail after he was arrested for animal cruelty.
LOS ANGELES (AP) Matthew Perry’s death under investigation over ketamine level found in actor’s blood An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
Contractor arrested after pointing gun, following man home; records show A contractor was arrested after pointing a gun at a man and following him home, according to a probable cause affidavit.
FORT MYERS What you need to know about the Caloosahatchee Bridge closure The Florida Department of Transportation has made the decision to close the Caloosahatchee Bridge for 10 weeks while crews work on the bridge. Here’s what you need to know.
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.Â
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. Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
NAPLES Barron Collier boy’s tennis wins 3A State Title The Barron Collier boy’s tennis team won the Class 3A State Championship for the program’s first title since 2014.
FORT MYERS Bishop Verot’s baseball team falls in state semifinal It was a heartbreaker for Bishop Verot’s baseball team in Hammond on Tuesday. The Vikings fell to North Broward Prep 4-1 in the 3A state semifinal.
Collier commissioners consider guesthouse rentals in Urban Estates Collier commissioners moved forward with a plan to allow urban estates homeowners to rent guesthouses to address a critical shortage of workforce housing.
LCSO needs help locating man wanted for animal cruelty The Lee County Sheriff’s office is looking for a man who is wanted for violating the conditions of his release from jail after he was arrested for animal cruelty.
LOS ANGELES (AP) Matthew Perry’s death under investigation over ketamine level found in actor’s blood An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
Contractor arrested after pointing gun, following man home; records show A contractor was arrested after pointing a gun at a man and following him home, according to a probable cause affidavit.
FORT MYERS What you need to know about the Caloosahatchee Bridge closure The Florida Department of Transportation has made the decision to close the Caloosahatchee Bridge for 10 weeks while crews work on the bridge. Here’s what you need to know.
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.Â
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. Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
FILE – The tail of a JetBlue Airways Airbus A321 is shown as the plane prepares to take off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. JetBlue Airways is trying to buy Spirit Airlines and break up a plan for Spirit to merge with fellow budget airline Frontier. Spirit said Tuesday, April 5, 2022, that JetBlue offered $33 a share, or about $3.6 billion. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File) JetBlue Airways has offered to buy Spirit Airlines for about $3.6 billion and break up a plan for Spirit to merge with rival budget carrier Frontier Airlines. Spirit said Tuesday that it received an unsolicited bid from JetBlue. It said its board will evaluate the offer and decide what’s best for shareholders. In a statement, New York-based JetBlue said combining with Spirit would lead to lower fares by creating “the most compelling national low-fare challenger” to the nation’s four biggest airlines: American, Delta, United and Southwest. Frontier used that same argument in February to support its proposed acquisition of Spirit, saying that creating the nation’s fifth-biggest airline would save consumers $1 billion a year. JetBlue offered $33 per share in cash, which it said puts a 37% higher value on Spirit than does the Frontier offer. However, Frontier’s bid would let Spirit shareholders keep 48.5% of the combined airline. Frontier said its cash-and-stock offer was worth $2.9 billion, although a dip in Frontier’s shares has reduced its value since February. Shares of Florida-based Spirit soared 22% after The New York Times first reported the JetBlue bid Tuesday. JetBlue shares fell 7%. A Frontier-Spirit tie-up would combine Denver-based Frontier’s route map in the western United States with Spirit’s network along the East Coast and the Caribbean. Both are budget airlines that offer rock-bottom fares and make up some of the difference by charging extra for many things that bigger airlines include in the ticket price, including carry-on bags and soft drinks. JetBlue is not the same kind of so-called ultra-low-cost carrier. Its base fares are generally higher than those on Frontier and Spirit, but it offers amenities they don’t, including free TV and free internet at every seat. JetBlue’s strength on the East Coast, including Florida, would mean much more overlap with Spirit. In a statement Tuesday, Frontier argued that would lead to less competition, higher fares and fewer options for travelers. Moreover, Frontier and Spirit are small enough that their deal might not get close scrutiny from antitrust regulators, although several leading liberal Democrats in Congress raised concern about the merger to the Biden administration. The Justice Department and several states sued last year to try to block a much more limited partnership between JetBlue and American Airlines — that challenge is pending. Colin Scarola, an analyst who covers airlines for CFRA Research, said the Biden administration is more likely to oppose a JetBlue-Spirit deal than a Frontier-Spirit combination because it could lead to higher prices. However, he views the JetBlue offer as superior, and so “Spirit will likely take the risk and accept the JetBlue bid. It’s just too much more money to pass up.” JetBlue is three times bigger than Frontier and nearly twice the size of Spirit. It has failed before in acquisitions, having lost out in its bid for Virgin America to Alaska Airlines. Frontier is controlled by private equity firm Indigo Partners, which once owned a major stake in Spirit. One area where all three are similar: consumer complaints. Spirit had the highest rate of complaints to the U.S. Transportation Department last year, followed by JetBlue and Frontier.