SWFL NowVERIFIED NEWS. LOCAL IMPACT.83°F in Cape Coral,Sunny · Cape Coral
The Southwest Florida stories that are too local, too early or too ongoing for the evening news.
About 75% of voters in the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District voted against merging with the Iona-McGregor Fire District on Nov. 3, while about 57% of Iona-McGregor voters supported it. The merger needed a majority in both districts, so it fails and Fort Myers Beach keeps its own district. The district says plans for a new administration building and a returning fire boat will go ahead.
Source: WINK News and 3 more
The nonprofit Florida Coastal Corridor dropped 50 triangular concrete reef structures about 13 miles off Collier County in early September, the first in a planned chain of reefs along Florida's Gulf Coast. Artificial reefs give fish and coral more places to live as warming water stresses natural reefs. The group placed a second reef off Fort Walton Beach a few weeks later.
Source: WGCU and 1 more
A Cape Coral man has been arrested and is accused of drawing a swastika on a sign for U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, WINK News reports. Reports say the sign was a reserved parking sign outside the Lee County Tax Collector's office in Cape Coral and was marked on Election Day.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
Unconfirmed until the label says otherwise.
Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson sent a written statement to The News-Press on Nov. 4, the day after losing his re-election bid to Amber Ware. He called serving the city an honor, thanked supporters and said Fort Myers' next chapter looks promising. Ware won about 54% of the vote in unofficial results.
Source: News-Press and 2 more
Friday, November 20
The City of Cape Coral is hosting a roundtable for retail business owners and operators on Friday, Nov. 20, at City Hall to discuss barriers to growth, expansion and attracting new retailers. Seating is limited; RSVP to the city's Economic and Business Development office at EDevOffice@CapeCoral.gov by Nov. 16.
Source: City of Cape Coral and 1 more
Challenger Amber Ware defeated incumbent Mayor Kevin Anderson in the Nov. 3 Fort Myers election, about 54% to 46% in unofficial results. Ware, a longtime city employee who directs the city's STARZ youth program, campaigned on ordering a full audit of city finances. The results become final once the county certifies them.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
Rick Erickson defeated Lisa Cohen-Adkinson for Cape Coral mayor, 39,218 votes (51.9%) to 36,378 (48.1%), in unofficial Nov. 3 results. Dave Newton won District 1 over Tom Shadrach, incumbent Jennifer Nelson-Lastra kept District 4 over James Vargas, and Annette Warren won District 6 over Liza King by 487 votes. Results become final once certified.
Source: Cape Coral Breeze and 1 more
Florida voters approved Amendment 3 with about 62% of the vote, above the 60% it needed, so Southwest Florida homeowners will get a larger exemption from non-school property taxes: $150,000 of assessed value in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. The yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property, such as rentals and businesses, drops from 10% to 5%, and school taxes are not affected. A state analysis projects billions in lost local revenue statewide, so Lee, Collier and other local budgets will feel the change.
Source: WUSF and 3 more
Unofficial Nov. 3 results show Cecil Pendergrass and Brian Hamman winning Lee County Commission Districts 2 and 4, Jenna Persons-Mulicka winning Lee supervisor of elections, Debbie Jordan and Crystal Johnson winning Lee School Board seats and Chris Hall winning Collier County Commission District 2. In city races, Terolyn Watson won Fort Myers Ward 3, Ruth Condit and James Anderst won Bonita Springs council seats, Anita Cereceda won on Fort Myers Beach, Jeannine Polk and Gary Butler won in Punta Gorda, and Dennis Bartolucci, Teri Sommerfeld and Rick Woodworth won Marco Island council seats. Results become final once certified.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
LeeTran has started a pilot that cuts fixed-route fares in half for veterans who carry a new Veterans Discount TropiCard. Veterans can get the card on the spot at LeeTran headquarters on Metro Parkway or the Rosa Parks Transportation Station in Fort Myers by showing a veteran ID or a driver license with the veteran mark. The agency plans to review the program after 180 days.
Source: WGCU
Lee County / Collier County / Charlotte County
Voters across Lee, Collier, Charlotte and other SWFL counties continued casting ballots Tuesday, with Lee County reporting roughly 57% turnout by late afternoon.
Source: Fresh Take Florida and 2 more
Tuesday, November 3
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, for the general election, with federal, state and county offices and state constitutional amendments on the ballot. In Lee County, voters also decide city council races in Bonita Springs, Cape Coral and Fort Myers and the Fort Myers Beach Town Council. Mail ballots must arrive by 7 p.m.; Lee County voters can still drop theirs off at an elections office branch until then.
Source: Lee County Supervisor of Elections and 1 more
Cape Coral City Council voted 4-1 on Monday, Nov. 2, to end City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn's contract without cause, effective at 11:59 p.m. that night; three council members had left the meeting before the vote. The council named Maureen Buice, assistant to the city manager, as interim city manager at a $290,000 salary. The city attorney said Ilczyszyn is entitled to four months' salary as severance.
Source: Cape Coral Breeze and 2 more
Cape Coral City Council on Monday, Nov. 2, approved an incentive package worth up to $10 million for the city's first Costco, planned at 600 Chiquita Boulevard South. As proposed, it includes up to $8 million in property tax recapture over as long as 25 years, up to $1.8 million in impact fee reimbursements and deferral of up to $200,000 in utility fees, with Costco adding turn lanes and a traffic signal on Chiquita. No opening date has been announced.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
Police arrested a Cape Coral man accused of leaving the scene of a head-on crash with injuries on US-41.
Source: Gulf Coast News and 1 more
Protesters led by the Lee County NAACP gathered outside Fort Myers City Hall before the Nov. 2 council meeting, again calling on Mayor Kevin Anderson to resign over sexual misconduct allegations made by two men. Anderson has denied the allegations, and a state law enforcement review of one complaint closed without charges; council member Fred Burson said he supports the mayor. Anderson faces challenger Amber Ware on Tuesday's ballot.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
All Glades County schools reopen and resume normal activities Tuesday, Nov. 3, after Monday's flood closure, the district said after staff checked campuses and bus routes. Some roads are still wet, so families may decide whether their child attends and should call the school if a child stays home. The Nov. 11 make-up day for Monday's closure still stands.
Source: Glades County School District and 1 more
Fort Myers police on Monday arrested a 19-year-old Fort Myers man, Rolando Velasquez-Castro, accused of spray-painting three limestone columns at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, the 1933 former post office downtown. He is charged with criminal mischief involving historic property, a third-degree felony, and police say surveillance footage led to the arrest. Conservators say the porous stone needs careful treatment so the paint isn't pushed deeper; no cost or timeline has been given.
Source: WGCU and 1 more
FDOT is closing the northbound outside lanes and shoulder of Business U.S. 41 on the Edison Bridge in Fort Myers from 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, for bridge plate maintenance. The lanes should reopen by about 6 a.m. Tuesday; drivers should slow down and allow extra time, with live updates on FL511.
Source: WINK News (citing FDOT) and 1 more
Southwest Florida International Airport's new 14-gate concourse is about two years into construction with roughly 12 to 14 months left, putting the opening around the 2027-28 holiday season, Lee Port Authority CEO Steve Hennigan said. The roughly $1 billion project comes as the airport set a record of 1.5 million passengers in March and says it is short on capacity in peak season.
Source: WGCU and 1 more
Lee County Sheriff's Office detectives arrested Noah Lils Alcantara on a charge of aggravated child abuse after a 9-day-old was brought to a children's hospital on Oct. 31 with severe breathing trouble. Deputies say doctors found injuries consistent with violent shaking. The infant remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition, WINK reported.
Source: Gulf Coast News and 2 more
Café YOU, a locally owned spot at 1423 SE 10th St. in Cape Coral, serves made-from-scratch breakfast and lunch with Australian touches, plus vegan and gluten-free choices and specialty coffee. Owner Marlies Laaper opened it in 2015. The café plans a vegan Thanksgiving dinner this month and is open Monday through Saturday, 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Source: WINK News
The Glades County School District closed all schools on Monday, Nov. 2, after heavy rain flooded roads, a call made with county emergency management and the sheriff's office. The lost day will be made up on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, when all Glades schools will be open.
Source: Gulf Coast News and 1 more
The Florida Department of Transportation closed State Road 78 in the Ortona area of Glades County, between SR 29 and US 27, after floodwater covered the road on Sunday. FL511 still listed the closure Monday afternoon, and no reopening time has been given. Drivers should use other routes and stay out of standing water.
Source: Gulf Coast News and 2 more
Cape Coral City Council is set to take up a resident's nomination of Four Freedoms Park as a historic resource at its 4 p.m. meeting Monday, Nov. 2. Part of the park, which has a playground, walking path and city-run preschool, would be used for the marina in the $500 million Bimini East redevelopment council approved Oct. 22, and a historic designation would make changes to the park much harder. City staff recommend declining the nomination and instead working with the Cape Coral Historical Society on a monument in the park; the developer has agreed to build a new one-acre park nearby.
Source: WINK News
Opera Naples and partners are advancing plans for a permanent performing arts home on Bayshore Drive in East Naples, starting with an outdoor pavilion.
Source: Gulfshore Business
A Flood Watch covers inland areas from Glades and Hendry counties south through Collier County as heavy rain keeps falling Monday, with flooding possible until about 7 p.m., WINK reported. The National Weather Service in Miami said storms could bring 1 to 3 inches, 3 to 5 inches in scattered spots and more in isolated areas, mainly causing street flooding and road closures. Rain is expected to linger Tuesday and Wednesday before a cold front brings drier air Thursday.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
About 80 land managers from roughly 20 organizations trained in prescribed burning at Naples Botanical Garden on Aug. 12, the Garden's second such workshop, the Garden said. Crews practiced responding to a simulated spot-over fire, compared brush trucks and equipment used by different agencies, and burned the Garden's bioswale. Controlled burns clear the brush that fuels wildfires and keep fire-adapted Florida habitats healthy.
Source: Naples Botanical Garden
Saturday, November 14
The Lee County Clerk & Comptroller will hold its seventh Big Shred from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Lee County Elections Center in Fort Myers. Residents can bring papers with sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, for free professional shredding; documents must be in boxes, and bags and electronics won't be accepted. The events have destroyed more than 45,000 pounds of paper since 2023.
Source: WGCU and 1 more
County workers removed dozens of NO REZONING signs posted by residents opposing a proposed 28-home development called The Woodlands at Rock Creek.
Source: Gulfshore Business
The Glades County Sheriff's Office said Sunday that State Road 78 West was under water in several places and that it was watching flooding on other county roads, with more expected. Deputies asked people to stay home if they can and to use extreme caution if they must drive; FDOT crews were called in to help. National Weather Service flood advisories said 2 to more than 4 inches of rain had fallen in parts of Glades and neighboring Hendry County.
Source: WINK News (Glades County Sheriff's Office) and 1 more
Two Fort Myers residents, an 18-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man, died after a crash on eastbound I-75 near mile marker 45 in Broward County about 9:53 p.m. Saturday, Florida Highway Patrol said. Troopers said their car left the road, hit a parked U-Haul truck on the shoulder and then struck an SUV, which overturned; two Port Charlotte residents in the SUV were hurt, one seriously. FHP has not released names or said why the driver lost control.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
Someone spray-painted the exterior limestone columns of the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, the 1930s former post office at 2301 First Street in downtown Fort Myers, the center said in an Oct. 31 post. Because the historic stone is fragile, the paint can't simply be covered or scrubbed off, and the center is working with the city, which owns the building, and restoration professionals. No one has been identified as responsible.
Source: The News-Press (via Yahoo News)
Punta Gorda police say one person died in a shooting Saturday night near Showalter Avenue and Milus Street. The department's criminal investigations section is handling the case and says there is no ongoing threat to the public. No names have been released.
Source: WINK News
Midwest Food Bank Florida, Meals of Hope and The Learning Spot teamed up Oct. 28 for Nourish Together, an after-hours food distribution in Immokalee. Volunteers handed out food boxes and bottled water to farm, hospitality and construction workers whose shifts keep them from daytime giveaways. Organizers say more evening events could follow if funding and food donations allow.
Source: WGCU and 1 more
The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have proposed narrowing which waters the Clean Water Act covers, following a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. Suncoast Waterkeeper estimates as much as 86% of Florida's wetlands could lose federal protection, including isolated wetlands in the Peace and Myakka river watersheds that drain to Charlotte Harbor. Comments closed Oct. 9; the rule isn't final, and state and local permits would still apply.
Source: WGCU and 1 more
Estero senior quarterback Maddox Stewart set Lee County records for passing touchdowns in a season and a career during the Wildcats' Oct. 26 win over East Lee County. He passed the career mark of 87 held by Bishop Verot's Carter Smith and the season mark of 31 held by Cypress Lake's Joey Dube-Garrett. He threw five more touchdown passes in Friday's 65-14 regular-season finale against Bonita Springs.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
Sanibel Public Works crews will spread mulch and refresh landscaping from Saturday, Nov. 7, through Friday, Nov. 20, weather permitting. The work covers planting beds along Periwinkle Way between the Lighthouse area and Tarpon Bay Road, along Palm Ridge Road and at city beach parks. The city expects only minor delays from deliveries and equipment and asks drivers to slow down near crews.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
Wednesday, November 11
Veterans and their families can ride the Lakes Park of South Florida Railroad in Fort Myers for free on Wednesday, Nov. 11, starting at 10 a.m. Riders should bring a DD-214, military ID or other proof of service. A flag-raising at the train station marking the nation's 250th anniversary is set for 2:50 p.m.
Source: WINK News
Yidel Perlstein, CEO of Lakefront Estates & Villas, told WINK News the community had expected opposition at some point and credited state and local agencies with acting quickly after an Orlando man, 31, was accused of posting threats against it. More than 80 families have moved in while the first 166 homes are built, and the developer plans about 1,300 homes on roughly 600 acres over about five years. Perlstein said the community is open to everyone while offering services such as kosher food, schools and a synagogue for Orthodox Jewish families.
Source: WINK News
