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Florida now has 26,314 positive cases of COVID-19 as of the Sunday evening update from the Florida Department of Health, which is an increase of 822 cases…

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.

Frustration and worry crossed the faces of customers coming Sunday to Immokalee’s only supermarket — Winn-Dixie — after they discovered it had closed. For good. Winn-Dixie’s parking lot was mostly leaves, dust and litter blowing in the windy weather Sunday after the store closed for business Saturday. A steady stream of customers tried for much of the morning to make purchases, only to be turned away by employees.

The Lee County Legal Aid Society is a private nonprofit that’s been providing no-cost civil legal aid to low-income residents of Lee County since 1967. And starting last year, they’ve expanded their efforts to assist immigrant children – including those who have been abandoned, entered the country alone, or are victims of human trafficking – establish a pathway to legal citizenship. We talk to the organization’s Executive Director, and one of their staff attorneys who is leading this immigration work, to learn more.

Florida already has the country’s largest number of local agreements to assist federal deportation, according to ICE, and the governor has even bigger plans. Governor Ron DeSantis has unveiled his “Immigration Enforcement Operations Plan” detailing his administration’s vision of a new state-run immigration enforcement system to “circumvent federal agency bureaucracy” and essentially operate on its own rules.The 37-page plan paints a vision of immigrant holding camps where thousands of arrested immigrants would be detained in jails as well as tents and other makeshift facilities (“soft-side detention”) that it specifically notes may be built and run by for-profit prison companies. And it’s all part of the state’s effort to assist “President Trump’s fight against the ‘deep state’ within federal agencies,” according to the plan.

A U.S. district judge ruled that by putting Florida in charge of approving permits for projects that affect wetlands in the state, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act.Washington, D.C.-based Judge Randolph Moss, in a 97-page decision, found that actions by federal officials did not follow the required steps in 2020 before shifting permitting authority to Florida.

A federal judge considered whether detainees have been denied their legal rights at a temporary immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades. This is the second lawsuit challenging practices at the facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” On Monday, civil rights attorneys in Miami asked a judge to ensure detainees have confidential access to their lawyers. They also want the judge to identify an immigration court with jurisdiction over the center. Florida officials dispute claims that attorneys have been unable to meet with clients. Government attorneys said at the start of the hearing that they would designate a Miami-area immigration court for the Everglades detainees.

A new survey of attitudes about global warming in Southwest Florida found that most residents believe climate change is real, is happening now, and is set to impact future generations.

Construction Underway at Multiple Lee County Schools: Due to a continuing increase in student enrollment and damage caused by storms, multiple Lee County schools are in need to repair and revitalization.

Student housing is limited near the Florida Gulf Coast University campus. Only three designated student housing complexes are in the area, creating an expensive apartment market for college students. With limited on-campus housing, many students struggle to find affordable living options during the school year.