Sydney Persing

As the Surfside community shifts to recovery for some, the work is just beginning. First responders are working to recover loved ones bodies in the rubble after the end of a 2-week search for survivors at the site of the former Champlain Towers South condo. The death toll reached 64 on Thursday and 76 people […]

Rescue crews from Southwest Florida went to the site of the Champlain Towers condo collapse in Surfside. They have worked hard and are returning home. The families, crew workers and community members are dealing with unbelievable loss, since no survivors have been found since the first hours after the collapse. When we first went to […]

One week after a high-rise condo building partially collapsed in Surfside near Miami, we’re learning a lot more about the victims and their families. Eighteen people have been confirmed dead and more than 140 are still unaccounted for. The families of these people are hurting, but also determined. We know, of course, that everyone reacts […]

A Central Elementary school principal under fire for paddling one student approved corporal punishment for four other students in the past. Melissa Carter was placed on paid leave as the Hendry County school district investigating the case of a student seen paddled on video by Carter in April. And now, according to investigative documents released […]

Volunteers groups in Southwest Florida aren’t hesitating to answer the call for our friends on the East Coast. Members of the Marco Patriots are home after stepping up to help at the disaster zone in Surfside. It’s work all too familiar to the group that specializes in hurricane rescue. Aerial footage shows up what’s happening […]

Most families waiting for news at the reunification center in Surfside are hopeful, but every minute that passes without information the fear gets stronger. Sergio Barth is missing three family members. He hasn’t heard from his brother Luis and his niece and sister-in-law. “When I saw the building I just, I just realized they were […]

A precious photo shoot has lasting meaning for a Charlotte County couple. Herschel Workman recently took his ill wife Donna to Englewood Beach one last time to fulfill her wish to be on the sand again. Donna has cortical atrophy, a terminal form of Alzheimer’s. The disease has worn away her memory for a decade, […]

Much of the world is showing its support for the first active NFL player to come out as gay, and some families in Southwest Florida say this will not only save lives but allow them to have lives. Carl Nassib knows how to command a defense and make a quarterback pay. He also knows how […]

One look at your grocery bill and you know the cost of everything from milk to chicken is going up, and there is no end in sight. The Consumer Price Index shows prices continuing to climb, so if it feels like you’re buying less but spending more, it’s because you are. Consumer prices are up […]

The historic buildings along First Street were aglow with purple lights on Saturday night. The city joined thousands of others across the world by bringing awareness to “fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s.” The buildings were lit up until midnight. Thanks to Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson, the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center was lit […]