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.
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
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
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
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
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
Saturday, October 31
Cambier Park in downtown Naples hosts the free Halloween Spooktacular from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, with music, games, candy and costume contests. Evening on Fifth follows along Fifth Avenue South.
Source: Fifth Avenue South BID and 3 more
Saturday, October 31
Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples holds a free Fall Fest from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. Families can expect trunk-or-treat, a costume parade, bounce houses and face painting.
Source: Paradise Coast Sports Complex and 2 more
Saturday, October 31
Galaxy Fright Nights runs its final nights Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Collier Fairgrounds. The indoor event has two haunted houses, a no-scare family maze and a laser show. General admission is $15, with haunted-house tickets extra.
Source: Galaxy Fright Nights and 1 more
Sunday, November 1
The Naples Concert Band starts its 55th season with "Italian Masterpieces and American Pride" at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Cambier Park bandshell. Guest vocalist Jeanie Darnell joins the band. Admission is free, with donations welcome.
Source: Naples Concert Band and 2 more
Sunday, November 1
Don McMillan brings his "Now Powered By AI" stand-up show to Off the Hook Comedy Club on Vanderbilt Beach Road for several shows Friday through Sunday, Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. Tickets are sold through the club.
Source: Off the Hook Comedy Club and 1 more
The city of Naples expects its $86.2 million beach stormwater outfall project to wrap up by May 2027, roughly a month before the June 2027 contract deadline, WINK reports. The work adds two pump stations, underground drainage and offshore pipes so eight aging discharge pipes can come off the beach, raising protection from a 5-year to a 25-year storm for about 266 acres west of U.S. 41. Construction started in October 2024.
Source: WINK News
Habitat for Humanity of Collier County went public Oct. 29 with Together, We Build, a $100 million campaign to help 1,000 more families buy homes. The group says it already has $74 million in commitments. The money would build 500 homes and pay for land and infrastructure for 500 more.
Source: WINK News
Collier County's Contractors' Licensing Board voted unanimously Oct. 21 to indefinitely revoke the permit-pulling privileges of Lexander Acosta, the state-certified qualifier for Modern Lux Pools, after finding willful building code violations. County investigators said 17 of the 18 permits pulled for the company under his license since early 2024 were abandoned or terminated. The county sent its evidence to the state DBPR, which has open cases on his license, and a state board hearing is set for next month.
Source: WINK News
Collier County deputies found a boater about 16 miles southwest of Coon Key Pass after he had been missing for three days in rough seas, Marco Island police said. A fireboat crew treated him and brought him back to shore, and his disabled boat was towed in.
Source: Gulf Coast News and 1 more
FDOT will fully close Pine Ridge Road under I-75 from 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, to 6 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, for overhead sign work at the interchange, with detours via Immokalee Road and Golden Gate Parkway. The southbound I-75 off-ramp to Pine Ridge also closes tonight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; I-75 stays open.
Source: @MyFDOT_SWFL and 4 more
The Collier County Clerk's office will take free passport photos throughout November for veterans and active-duty service members who show a DD-214, military ID or a driver's license with the veteran designation. Photos are available at the main and Immokalee courthouses and several branch offices, and veterans can also record their DD-214 for free at the Collier County Courthouse.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
FDOT says the I-75 southbound off-ramp to State Road 29 near Immokalee will close overnight Wednesday, Oct. 28, for paving, with a posted detour. The work is part of the SR 29 project south of I-75, where FDOT warns of nighttime ramp closures throughout construction.
Source: FDOT District One (@MyFDOT_SWFL and 1 more
Lina María Muñoz Posada, charged in a 2024 federal indictment along with her husband, former Naples community association manager Orlando Miserandino Ortiz, has been arrested in Rionegro, Colombia, WGCU reports, citing a Colombian news outlet. The 17-count indictment accuses the couple of wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and failing to file tax returns in connection with their Naples condo management firm. Ortiz was jailed in Colombia in 2025 and is awaiting extradition.
Source: WGCU
Saturday, October 31
Naples Botanical Garden celebrates Día de los Muertos on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with community altars, mariachi and folklórico performances, Catrina figures and family activities. It's included with Garden admission and free for members; a flower-crown workshop costs extra.
Source: Naples Botanical Garden and 1 more
Wildlife officials announced Monday that a 2-year-old male Florida panther was found dead along Randall Boulevard, about a quarter mile west of Everglades Boulevard, likely hit by a vehicle. It is the 15th panther death recorded in Florida this year, and nine of them have been in Collier County.
Source: WGCU (citing FWC) and 1 more
Wicked Good Eats, a Naples food boat that sells sandwiches, seafood and wraps to boaters, took on water Saturday after a passing boat's wake flooded it. Naples Fire, Naples Police and a Towboat U.S. operator kept it afloat, and no injuries were reported. The owner expects the boat to be out of service for at least a week while a mechanic checks the damage.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
Collier County crews begin placing about 208,000 tons of sand on Naples Beach on Monday, Oct. 26, covering roughly 3.5 miles from Doctors Pass to just south of 21st Avenue South. The $8 million project replaces sand lost to Hurricanes Helene and Milton; trucks will run about 9,450 trips from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with completion targeted for Christmas. The beach stays open, but short stretches will be closed while crews work there.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
The American Cancer Society's Making Strides of Southwest Florida walk took place Saturday morning, Oct. 24, at Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples. Survivors, families and supporters walked to raise money for breast cancer research and patient support. The event page showed about $438,000 raised toward a $450,000 goal as of Sunday morning.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
A 74-year-old Naples woman died after a three-vehicle crash just before 7 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, on Immokalee Road at Esplanade Boulevard in Collier County. Florida Highway Patrol said the crash followed a lane change by a 17-year-old driver.
Source: Yahoo News (syndicated) and 1 more
FDOT says drivers should expect daytime southbound lane closures on S.R. 29 (East Main Street) between 11th and 13th streets in Immokalee from Oct. 19 through Oct. 30, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Crews are working on poles on the south side of the road ahead of a planned roundabout.
Source: FDOT District One
A Collier County special magistrate ruled Oct. 16 that work went on at a concrete batch plant on Taylor Road after the county's Sept. 23 stop-work order, WINK reported. The owner faces a $500-a-day fine if unpermitted work continues; nearby Autumn Woods residents say the plant's noise, lights and vibration reach their homes, and the company has been applying for the missing permits.
Source: WINK News
Saturday, November 14
Sierra, the off-price outdoor and activewear chain, will open an 18,676-square-foot store Nov. 14 in the former Party City space at Park Shore Plaza, 4377 Tamiami Trail N. It will be the chain's second Florida store after Jacksonville, and it is hiring full- and part-time workers.
Source: Gulfshore Business
Friday, October 23
The 16th annual Stone Crab Festival fills the Tin City waterfront in Naples this weekend, opening Friday at 5 p.m. and running through Sunday. Admission is free, with live music, vendors and seafood to mark the start of stone crab season; general parking is $5.
Source: Florida Weekly and 2 more
Sunday, October 25
The 18th annual Naples International Film Festival is under way through Sunday, with screenings, outdoor Cinema Under the Stars showings and an awards ceremony on Oct. 25. Artis-Naples lists "Tenor: My Name Is Pati" on Oct. 23 and "Too Soon" on Oct. 24 under the stars, and closes with "Superman" accompanied by a live orchestra on Oct. 25.
Source: Artis-Naples and 3 more
Tuesday, October 27
More than 50 large-format photos of old-growth bald cypress by National Geographic photographer Mac Stone will line the boardwalk at Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary starting Oct. 27. The outdoor exhibit runs through March 31, 2027, and is included with regular admission. It accompanies Stone's new book, "Cypress: The Last Old-Growth Swamps."
Source: WGCU News and 1 more
Linda Penniman, a former Naples City Council member and vice mayor, has died at 83, WGCU and WINK News reported Oct. 20. She left the council this fall after her husband, Nicholas Penniman IV, died Sept. 29. Penniman also chaired the city's Community Redevelopment Agency and was active in Collier County water-quality and government-ethics efforts.
Source: WGCU News and 2 more
The City of Marco Island will shut off water service in the 631 Peru St. area on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for scheduled work. A precautionary boil water notice takes effect there and stays in place until the city lifts it. Affected residents should boil water before drinking or cooking with it.
Source: City of Marco Island and 2 more
Visitors to Collier County spent about $169 million in August, according to county tourism figures reported by WINK News. The station reported that not every local business felt the boost.
Source: WINK News and 1 more
The Naples Airport Authority approved an operating agreement with American Airlines for two daily nonstop flights between Naples and Charlotte, North Carolina, starting Dec. 2. American's regional carrier PSA Airlines will fly the route on 65-seat CRJ-700 jets from the North Road Terminal, which is being renovated. It brings scheduled airline service back to the airport for the first time in years.
Source: Gulf Coast News and 2 more
Sunday, October 18
The 2026 Marco Island Boat Show the largest premier recreational in-water show in the Naples-Marco Island area continues through Sunday October 18 at the Marco Island Yacht Club.
Source: MIACC and 1 more
