Emma Rodriguez

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a crash happens every 44 seconds in the state. With April being Distracted Driving Awareness month, Southwest Florida is becoming more aware of its crash and accident fatality problem. The area has already had 94 deaths between Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota, Glades, and Hendry counties since Jan. 1.

In the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflict, a group of FGCU students has taken a stand to support the people of Gaza. FGCU For Palestine was founded last October following the thousands of Palestinian deaths after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel’s Gaza settlements that killed over a thousand Israelis and took hundreds hostage.It started when a member of the Biden administration doubted the Palestinian death count released by the Gaza Ministry of Health. A few people started reading the names of the killed Palestinians on FGCU’s library lawn, but the death toll became too large to share every casualty.

There’s always a demand for good spirits and beer in southwest Florida. Punta Gorda native Keith Towles and his wife Mashelle have taken that demand and pushed their passion for craft beer and visiting breweries to the next level by opening a Voodoo Brewing Co. location close to home.The franchise had its grand opening Saturday.

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension is offering online workshops to teach the basics of planning, implementing and building a farm operation for newcomers venturing into agriculture. Instructors will deliver the workshops in English and Spanish.

FEMA opened applications for its Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program last week.The SAFER grant helps fire departments pay their firefighters in order to maintain industry standard staffing 24 hours a day. It offers $360 million directly to fire departments across the nation, and can be used only to pay personnel.Grants are awarded based on an organization’s financial need. Bayshore Fire Rescue, which mostly serves Northeast Lee County, has been a long-time recipient.

The Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance has opened applications to live in a new affordable apartment building in Immokalee.The application window runs through March 7. Applications are available for pickup and submission at the B-Hive Flower Shop in Immokalee.

A second rent-free house, the Malthouse-Pilot Scholarship House, has been formally dedicated in FGCU’s North Lake Village.The house stands alongside the Gresham-Kite Pilot Scholarship House, which opened in 2003. Both have the capacity to house 17 students each, and were built by the Southern Scholarship Foundation, an organization devoted to providing rent-free housing for Florida students.

It’s been a rough few years for the children of southwest Florida. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and a community-shattering hurricane in Ian, it’s difficult for anyone of any age to not feel the doom and gloom.These challenges paired with academic stress, pressure from social media and the looming risk of school shootings are hitting the region’s youth the hardest.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office removed the ability to comment on some social media posts last year, something that's well within their right to do, but prompting some to wonder why.Instagram comments ceased on July 28 of last year, but it’s unknown when the same occurred on Facebook. Law enforcement and citizen perspectives varied on the lack of comment availability on the Sheriff's Office's social media sites.