WGCU Staff

Phase II of the City of Sanibel's beach renourishment project at Lighthouse Beach Park has resumed. Crews will continue to place the remaining 105,000 tons of sand on the bayside of Lighthouse Beach Park to strengthen the beach coastline and protect the Sanibel Lighthouse.

Several counties in Southwest Florida are make plans in advance of expected cold weather this week by opening shelters and coordinating on cold weather outreach.

From January 9, through March 1, Punta Gorda will be running its annual seawall assessment.During low tide periods, city staff will inspect seawalls in the southwest and southeast zones of Punta Gorda Isles. The boundary of these zones is Aqui Esta Drive, Punta Gorda Isles perimeter canal, Almar Drive, Muscovie Court, and around the tract of land known as Bird Navigation.

Big Cypress National Preserve is issuing a temporary closure in certain areas of the preserve during prescribed fire activity beginning Wednesday, January 8.Closure includes all areas and trails within the treatment perimeter, trails on the perimeter of the unit will remain open for use. During the closure all recreational use including off-road vehicles, hiking, camping, hunting and commercial activities are prohibited in the designated areas.

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Gasparilla Island State Park Beach. This is in response to a water sample taken on December 30.

The Charlotte County Property Appraiser is now accepting applications for partial 2024 property tax refunds if a residential improvement was destroyed or rendered uninhabitable for at least 30 days due to a catastrophic event (hurricane, fire, or other natural disaster).

The Florida Highway Patrol said a Cape Coral man told troopers he was a CIA agent when the pickup he was riding in, which sported flashing red and blue emergency lights, was stopped Thursday on I-75 in Collier County.

A shelter will open in Charlotte County Saturday in advance of cold weather forecast for the region.

Governor DeSantis mentioned the project in a social media posting.