Michael Braun

A seemingly non-stop stream of dump trucks and semi rigs entering the grounds of what's now been dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" roared past hundreds of sign-waving and chanting protestors Saturday as they lined U.S. 41 east and west of the site in the Big Cypress National Preserve.The second significant protest in as many weeks was pulled together by people such as Betty Osceola, a Miccosukee leader and environmental educator who lives near the facility. There are 15 remaining traditional Miccosukee and Seminole tribal villages in Big Cypress, as well as ceremonial and burial grounds throughout the area.Protest organizers fear that letting the camp spring into life will help developers open the environmentally sensitive area to homes, stores and more.

In hundreds of pools across the U.S. and throughout the world on Thursday, a valuable lesson took place — children learned how to swim.Called The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson 2025, the global public relations event was supported by aquatic facilities, water parks, pools, swim schools, and YMCAs, among other venues.

They came by the thousands in Southwest Florida, by the tens of thousands across the state and by the millions across the U.S. — for a variety of reasons both political and philosophical but bonded by fear and hope.Saturday was both a protest and a rally called No Kings Day, a reference to claims that President Donald Trump wanted to be a monarch over what has been a republic.

GL Homes conducted building of an unusual kind Monday — and ended up helping relieve hunger.The mission was for two teams combined from GL Homes communities in Lee and Collier counties to go can-to-can in the annual GL Homes CAN-tastic Competition.

Oral arguments are June 4 in a long-running case involving a Florida bar complaint before the Florida Supreme Court against former Fort Myers attorney Christopher Crowley alleging bar rules violations.The Florida bar's complaint is that Crowley, during the 2018 political campaign for state attorney of the 20th Judicial Circuit "publicly disparaged his opponent through various political campaign materials, advertisements, and social media postings" among other rules violations.

Habitat for Humanity celebrated Mother’s Day ahead of time this year with the blessing of a local mother’s future home in Lehigh Acres and honoring her homeownership journey as part of Habitat’s 15th annual Women Build program in Lee and Hendry counties.

Protests in Naples and Fort Myers collected around 2,000 people and a similar number gathered elsewhere in Southwest Florida to make their feelings known about the current political situation in Washington, D.C.

Most of the fireworks used for celebrating holidays such as the Fourth of July are made in China and subject to the 145 percent tariff on Chinese products levied by the Trump administration.Bruce Zoldan, president of Phantom Fireworks, one of the largest fireworks companies in the United States and based in Youngstown, Ohio, says that increased cost likely won't have an impact on celebrating the Fourth — this year.

A water shortage in Cape Coral and Lee County. Parched soil and worsening drought throughout Southwest Florida. Wildfires are expected next, and not small ones.The restrictions were put into place to protect the Mid-Hawthorn Aquifer and drinking water supply in that area. The area affected is bound by NE Pine Island Road on the south, Neilson Road N on the west, NE 24th Avenue and Garden Boulevard on the east and the Gator Slough Canal on the north.

A local educator who received a swastika armband anonymously in the mail said he was "absolutely disgusted" by the item and, at first thought to toss it in the trash.Don Dunn, an eighth-grade teacher at Bonita Springs Charter, received the armband with a note that said, “You’ve been selected to join our exclusive group.” "I will tell you that I was absolutely disgusted when I opened it," Dunn said. "Hated the fact that my children were present. In the beginning, I just thought maybe I should throw this away and not say anything. But I thought about it, and to me, that would be maybe responding with fear, and I didn't want to do that."