Since the overhaul of New College of Florida in 2023, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration is now moving toward a potential expansion for the tiny public liberal arts college in Sarasota, by taking over educational and cultural facilities from other state universities.DeSantis aims to have the school take over the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, which is adjacent to the school but run by Florida State University.

The Florida Department of Financial Services, Criminal Investigations Division, is seeking to identify an individual believed to have been on a Lehigh Acres church's property during an arson incident.

Two men from Southwest Florida and members of the Proud Boys organization have pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from their conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Tom Vournas, 63, of Bradenton, pleaded guilty today to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and inflicting bodily injury. Leonard Lobianco, 53, of North Port, , pleaded guilty on Sept. 23, to a felony charge of civil disorder.

Embattled Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno has been captured in video recordings accepting a stack of cash from the same “ghost employee” who has claimed the two men were involved in a kickback scheme involving sheriff’s office funds paid to Marceno’s father.The video shows Marceno receiving what appears to be a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from jeweler Ken Romano, who is said to be cooperating in an FBI investigation of the sheriff.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno put Ken Romano on the public payroll as a consultant in 2022 at $5,700 a month to provide “guidance regarding public relations” and social media at the agency. The consulting agreement, released by LCSO today, claimed the 55-year-old Romano possessed the “ability, certifications and experience” to do the job and was “duly qualified.”But Romano isn’t a public relations or social media expert. He’s a Bonita Springs jeweler and former Marceno gambling buddy who said in a recently surfaced audio recording that his LCSO consulting job was a no-work sham and a portion of the money — $1,700 a month — was used to pay for a Mercedes Benz the sheriff bought for his father, Carmine Marceno Sr.

The Matanzas Pass Bridge was closed Monday morning after a shrimp boat struck a portion of the bottom of the span.The same boat hit the bridge again Tuesday morning.

Bonita Springs jeweler Ken Romano didn’t hide his association with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.The two men were allegedly close friends who shared a taste for gambling, bling and high-end cars. The 55-year-old Romano defended the sheriff in social media posts and displayed a framed “Keep Carmine Marceno Sheriff” campaign poster and badge-bedecked plaque from the sheriff’s office at his jewelry store on Bonita Beach Road.But the friendship blew up recently, and audio recordings allegedly show Romano making serious allegations against the sheriff involving Romano’s own employment as a “consultant” with LCSO. In the recordings, Romano alleged Marceno gave him a no-work contract at LCSO paying him $5,700 a month, $1,700 of which was paid to the sheriff’s father, Carmine Marceno Sr., for car payments on a Mercedes Benz.

A Collier County man missing for more than a week has been confirmed dead, the Collier County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.Posting on the agency's Facebook site, the Sheriff's Office said that a body tentatively identified as that of Eduardo Ramirez was located by members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on Saturday a short distance south of the 97 Mile Marker in the Picayune Strand.

In secretive hearings, the University of Florida set aside recommendations to lightly punish some of the college students arrested after pro-Palestinian protests on campus and kicked them all out of school for three to four years.The decisions by the new dean of students, Chris Summerlin, overruled what were effectively sentencing recommendations by the juries, known as hearing bodies, who heard testimony and watched police video of the protests and arrests during the disciplinary cases.

According to Florida Power & Light, a power outage related to the Corkscrew substation is affecting more than 3,000 users, including FGCU’s campus buildings and residential halls.