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Boaters inspect what's left of their vessels, which were swept by storm surge more than 100 feet inland from Matanzas Pass onto San Carlos Island days after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County on Sept. 28, 2022

Liveaboards damaged by Hurricane Ian may be covered by FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it will cover vessels damaged by Hurricane Ian if they were liveaboards and the proper proof can be shown.

Report: Marshals Service Needs To Improve Its Handling Of Felons' Assets

The Justice Department's inspector general has found poor oversight and problems with record keeping that could be costing taxpayers money. The Marshals Service concedes there have been problems. It is implementing changes.

Tropical Storm Lee has strengthened into a hurricane as it churns through the open waters of the Atlantic on a path that would take it near the northeast Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Lee strengthens into a hurricane as it churns across Atlantic toward Caribbean

The storm was located about 1,130 miles (1,815 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest at 14 miles per hour (22 kilometers per hour) on Wednesday. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers per hour).

If a permit application is approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, dozen of these artificial reefs will be hanging below docks surrounding Roberts Bay in Venice providing habitat to fish and shrimp, and algae, the latter of which will help cleanse water as it passes through the structure

Venice community groups hoping to install dozens of floating reefs under docks in Roberts Bay

Several community groups in Venice are asking the state for permission to install dozens of floating reefs underneath people’s docks to provide fish habitat and help clean coastal seawater.

Summertime pattern of heat & daytime thunderstorms return to Sunshine State this week

As summer-like heat builds this week across the Sunshine State, an approaching cold front is expected to result in widespread storms by Wednesday.

Current conditions indicate that there will be notable blooming this year of the Southeastern sunflower at the Pepper Ranch in Immokalee. Two photography time periods have been set aside. Reservations can be made beginning September 20.

Pepper Ranch Preserve sunflower weekend viewing dates announced

The Conservation Collier Program announces two special sunflower viewing periods of Southeastern sunflowers (Helianthus agrestis) at the Pepper Ranch Preserve at 6315 Pepper Rd, Immokalee.

Saildrone is launching 12 drones this storm season as part of a mission of ongoing research into how and why some relatively mild tropical storms rapidly intensify into major hurricanes, which is particularly destructive when it happens just before landfall. Of all recorded weather disasters in the US, hurricanes have had the most significant impact: Between 1980 and 2021, hurricanes were responsible for over $1.1 trillion total in damages and 6,697 deaths

Sea and air drones coordinate to get data from Hurricane Tammy

Saildrone and NOAA released footage on Monday from Hurricane Tammy, captured near the western and southern eyewall of the storm.

A white ibis flies by the Panther Island Mitigation Bank, Thursday, June 7, 2018, near Naples, Fla. U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., this week added an amendment to a bill to try to codify a 2020 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that shifted permitting authority from the federal government to Florida.

Groups urge state request in wetlands case be rejected

Environmental groups Monday urged a federal appeals court to reject Florida’s request for a stay of a district judge’s ruling in a battle about permitting authority for projects that affect wetlands. Attorneys from the Earthjustice legal organization filed a 37-page brief at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia disputing Florida’s arguments that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss should be put on hold while an appeal plays out.

The Sandy Fire in the Big Cypress National Preserve has been burning for a week. Fire officials say lighting startred the blaze, which has charred nearly 10,000 acres and is causing smoke to reduce visibility along area roadways

State urges wildfire preparations despite a wetter winter 2023-24

Florida had a wetter winter than last year, but state officials are advising people to prepare for drier conditions that will increase chances of wildfires. The Division of Emergency Management lists the current threat of wildfires across the state as “low,” but Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said Wednesday people should limit debris on their properties as wildfire season begins.

One of the results of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' veto of the Clean Beaches Act is no additional help from the Florida Department of Health in terms of improved water quality testing or beach closure signage, even in case of fecal pollution or a blue-green algae or red tide outbreak like the one in 2018 that killed this goliath grouper and tens of thousands more fish that washed up on Southwest Florida's beaches

Governor DeSantis' veto of beach bill roils environmentalists

Environmentalists remain perplexed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent veto of a wildly popular bipartisan bill to safeguard the state’s coastlines and protect the health of beachgoers because he believed it gave the Florida Department of Health too much power

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