Pam James

Businesses and homeowners have until the extended deadline of December 14, 2023, for physical disaster loans through the United States Small Business Administration. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are still available through May 31, 2024.

Boating enthusiasts seeking to obtain the state boating safety certificate are encouraged to enroll in a one-day responsible boating class on the third Saturday of the month, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The course is held at the Pine Ridge Community Center, located at 15699 Pine Ridge Rd. in the Iona area of Fort Myers, next to the Iona McGregor Fire Station and across from the tax collector’s office. Completion of the course will make participants eligible for the state boating certificate.

Dave Gammon, director of the Charlotte County Economic Development Office, spoke to a group of business professionals about the surge in growth of commercial development throughout the county.

Fort Myers Beach community members and strategic partners attended a planning meeting held by town officials and the FEMA Community Assistance Team.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl, growing up to become Negro in college.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. There was never a question that Bireda would attention college, at least according to her community.

“Monster Mash” reached number one on the Billboard Top 100 chart for the first time on October 20, 1962. It stayed there for two weeks. The popular song was banned by BBC when it first came out because it was too "morbid." Isn't that the point?

In the Gulf of Mexico, seven and a half miles due west of Bonita Beach and thirty feet below the surface, grows an artificial reef complex created by The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University. WGCU is producing a documentary about the reef, and providing monthly updates. The latest Dispatch from Kimberly’s Reef features special artwork for the cement culverts created by FGCU's Bower School of Music and the Arts.

Construction on the long-awaited visitor's center in Everglades City begins September 30th with the halting of onsite concession services including boat tours and rentals.

The Water School at FGCU recently deployed a new artificial reef complex eight miles off shore from the county line between Collier and Lee. While WGCU is producing a documentary about the reef and the scientific research it hopes to study, we will keep folks informed of the progress of the reef (past and present) with Dispatches from Kimberly’s Reef. Here is the third dispatch which tells how the FGCU reef team hired a marine construction company to make the reef a reality for the fall of 2022.