Eileen Kelley

Crime

Charlotte County teacher/coach suspended after arrest on charges of sexual abuse with a minor

Eileen Kelley

A Charlotte County Public Schools teacher/coach is on administrative leave for an issue a school official said is “serious.” The official confirmed the district is cooperating with an investigation by Punta Gorda police.

Hurricane Recovery

FEMA announces Fort Myers Beach removal off National Flood Insurance Program probation

Eileen Kelley

FEMA will remove Fort Myers Beach off probation status under the National Flood Insurance Program after the town met program requirements.The notice, issued Monday, will be effective November 18, 2025.

John Arnold of Osceola Organics answers numerous concerns members of the public raised during a public hearing in DeSoto County on Tuesday. The commission voted 3 to 2 to not allow Osceola Organics to build a composting facility using the remnants of human waste on agricultural land in the county. In the 1990s, DeSoto County was considered to be the Sludge Capital of Florida when ranchers accepted hundreds of tons of biosolids each year and spread in on the fields.

Government & Politics

DeSoto County commissioners vote 3-2 no on biosolid sludge for placement on agriculture fields

Eileen Kelley

By a narrow margin Tuesday night, a majority of the DeSoto County Commission voted to deny allowing biosolids sludge — the remains of human waste — to be brought into the county so it can be composted as fertilizer.The vote was 3 to 2 to deny a special exception for the sludge plan.

Molly Bowen and others from Desoto County were successful in ending the practice of importing and spreading sludge. Now the fight may begin again.

Environment

Decades ago DeSoto residents took on special interests and won battle over sludge; it begins again

Eileen Kelley

After successfully ending the practice of spreading biosolids, Desoto residents brace for the possibility it may return

Government & Politics

DeSantis continues public salvo: 'It's all a charade; It's really a pathetic agenda' of the Florida House

Eileen Kelley

Ron DeSantis’s latest salvo with the Florida House of Representatives unfolded in Southwest Florida Wednesday with the governor accusing the House of trying to defund the police.While the House is far from calling for the defunding of law enforcement agencies, millions of dollars separate it from the its counterpart in the Senate as the two sides hammer out the upcoming state budget.

LeeTran will also resume the free beach tram on Fort Myers Beach, November 16. The free tram will run about every 35 minutes, seven days a week from Fort Myers Beach Public Library to Bowditch Point Park. Service begins at 9:30 a.m. daily at Fort Myers Beach Public Library and ends with the last tram leaving Bowditch Point Park at approximately 10:35 p.m.

Transportation

Lee Tran hoping to encourage others to 'love your mother (Earth)' with free rides

Eileen Kelley

Lee Tran is offering free rides on April 19 in honor of the 55th anniversary of Earth Day

Demonstrators rally in support of federal workers outside of the Department of Health and Human Services, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Washington.

Government & Politics

Nationwide "Hands Off" anti-Trump policy demonstrations Saturday; expected to be single biggest day of protest to date

Danya Harpster

Not cozying up to dictators; Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' benefits are crossover issues bringing Democrats and Republicans together; 1,000 pledge to attend anti-Trump policies rally in Naples.