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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Cape Coral opened Yellow Fever Creek Preserve at 3115 Del Prado Blvd. N. with a ribbon-cutting and guided tours on Oct. 30. The preserve offers 23 campsites, nature trails, a fishing pond, the city's first disc golf course, an outdoor classroom, a welcome center and restrooms. It covers about 198 acres of city land, roughly 525 acres with adjoining county land, and the city plans bird walks and classes; an open house date hasn't been set.
Source: WINK News and 3 more
Fire and law enforcement leaders wrapped up a statewide 'Vote No on Amendment 3' tour in Cape Coral, warning the property tax measure could lead to budget cuts or new fees for services. Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said more than 90% of his agency's budget comes from property taxes and projected losses of about $26 million in fiscal 2028 and $47 million in 2029, while Bonita Springs Fire Chief Greg DeWitt said low-cost services such as CPR classes could cost more or be cut. Voters decide on Nov. 3, and the amendment needs 60% approval to pass.
Source: WINK News
Saturday, October 31
Cape Coral Animal Shelter invites families to trick-or-treat from noon to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31. Visitors bring a treat for the animals and get one in return.
Source: WINK News
Thursday, October 29
Slipaway Food Truck Park & Marina at 1811 Cape Coral Pkwy. E. hosts a family Truck-or-Treat night market Thursday starting at 5 p.m., with decorated food trucks handing out candy, local vendors and pumpkin painting. A Halloween Fright Night with a $1,000 costume contest follows Saturday, Oct. 31.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
A task force that included Cape Coral police arrested Dominic Octavious Cichini in Lehigh Acres in connection with the Oct. 22 road rage shooting in the 800 block of Santa Barbara Boulevard that left two people hurt. He is charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
Saturday, October 31
Green Thumb's RISE Dispensary at 928 NE Pine Island Road, which opened Oct. 10 as the company's 25th Florida store, holds a grand opening Saturday, Oct. 31, starting at 9 a.m. The company says the event includes patient deals, giveaways, music and a food truck, with part of the profits going to The Grateful Veteran.
Source: Green Thumb Industries and 2 more
Cape Coral says it has partnered with Costco Wholesale on a warehouse of about 165,000 square feet with a member fuel station at 600 Chiquita Blvd. S., the chain's first store in the city. City Council will consider an incentive package of up to $10 million for site work and impact fees at its Nov. 2 meeting. No opening date has been set; it depends on Costco's construction schedule.
Source: City of Cape Coral and 3 more
Saturday, October 31
The Cape Coral Farmers Market at Club Square runs Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., with more than 125 vendors selling produce, baked goods, seafood, plants and crafts. SNAP/EBT is accepted. The Cape Coral chamber also holds a business expo at the market on the last Saturday of each month.
Source: Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral and 2 more
Cape Coral native and Mariner High alumnus Niko Price says he is stepping away from the UFC after his first-round TKO of Leon Shahbazyan on Oct. 10 in Las Vegas, WINK News reports. Price, a father of seven, said the decision came after his wife and daughters told him they no longer liked watching him take punches. He is still training locally and says he's open to other combat sports.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
Cape Coral City Council gave final approval to the $500 million Bimini East project, a 34-acre mixed-use redevelopment around Bimini Basin with apartments, hotels, shops and a marina. The plan takes in Four Freedoms Park, which city leaders say will be relocated and redesigned, though some nearby families worry about losing the greenspace. No construction start date is set, but the agreement requires work to begin within two years.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
The City of Cape Coral expected three through lanes in each direction to open by Oct. 23, weather permitting, on Cape Coral Parkway East between Coronado Parkway and Del Prado Boulevard. Parking will no longer be allowed on either side once the lanes open. Overnight paving and striping continue from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and the project should finish in November.
Source: Cape Coral Breeze and 2 more
Cape Coral City Council voted Oct. 21 on a resolution supporting expansion of the city's outpatient VA clinic into a full-service veterans hospital, with a campus offering independent living, assisted living, nursing and memory care. The measure also lets city staff seek funding help from the Legislature and other partners. Veterans say many now make a two-hour trip to the Tampa Bay area for specialized or inpatient care, and a grassroots committee plans to ask the five Southwest Florida counties for similar resolutions.
Source: WINK News
Two people riding in the same vehicle were hurt, neither seriously, when someone fired at them during a road rage confrontation on Santa Barbara Boulevard in Cape Coral on Oct. 22. Police said the shooter was still at large and asked anyone who saw it to call the Cape Coral Police Department at 239-574-3223.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
HCA Florida plans to turn its freestanding emergency room on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral into a 100-bed hospital with operating rooms and a cardiac lab, a roughly $300 million project that includes about $30 million in local incentives. Construction is expected to start in 2027, with completion projected for 2029.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
A state DOGE review of Cape Coral estimated the city could save $3.8 million to $6.5 million, mostly through changes to personnel costs and purchasing. The city says the review, dated Oct. 16, found its staffing below the median of comparable cities and no misuse of funds. Cape Coral plans to post a response to each recommendation by the end of October.
Source: WINK News and 3 more
Lee County Judge Bruce Kyle on Oct. 19 granted a new trial to Anastasiya Zadorozhna, whom a jury convicted in August of vehicular homicide in a July 2024 crash on Pine Island Road that killed a 52-year-old man. Her attorney argued that the prosecution's only eyewitness, a co-defendant, misled jurors about his own plea deal. A status hearing is set for Oct. 29; no date has been set for the new trial.
Source: WINK News
Saturday, November 7
Cape Coral's Veterans Day Parade starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, heading west on Cape Coral Parkway from Cape Coral Street to Chester Street in South Cape. Groups that want to march can fill out the city's parade application and return it to the Special Events team by mail or at SEclerk@capecoral.gov.
Source: City of Cape Coral and 1 more
Cape Coral police say two registered sex offenders living at a halfway house on Northwest First Place were arrested Oct. 12 and charged with violating probation by having internet-capable phones. The investigation began after a fellow resident reported that one of the men was viewing child sexual abuse material; detectives seized several devices and say more charges may follow. The men, identified by police as William Plumley, 29, and Enrico Mendes Jr., 49, are due in court Nov. 9.
Source: WINK News and 2 more
