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Hispanic and Latino immigrants make up one of Collier County’s largest yet most underrepresented communities. As of 2020, more than one quarter of Collier’s population was born outside of the United States. Still, immigrants in the area face numerous socioeconomic challenges — including access to health care.According to The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Hispanic people are more likely to be uninsured than any other racial or ethnic group. A study published in March of this year by the Kaiser Family Foundation said that Hispanics in this country have higher death rates from diabetes than white people. That study used data from several federal agencies, and found the age-adjusted rate of death from diabetes for every 100,000 Hispanics was 29; it was 22 for white Americans.
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Harlem Heights Charter Community School is a tuition-free public school off Gladiolus Drive in Lee County. The school is in its seventh year, with classes ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school addresses challenges faced by kids who are growing up in poverty, who are growing up in families with limited educational exposure, and who are not native speakers of English.
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The Lee County Civic Center Complex’s future is up in the air after a two-hour discussion between Lee County Commissioners and residents over managing the property.
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April marks Animal Cruelty Prevention Month and the third anniversary of LCSO’s Animal Cruelty Task Force.
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What lies ahead for Fort Myers Beach Elementary School is coming to a vote this month after the buildings sustained damages from Hurricane Ian, forcing students to locate to sites off the island.
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Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 102, also called the Live Local Act. It allocates $711 million for housing projects through the Florida Housing and Finance Corporation (FHFC). DeSantis says this is the state's largest investment ever in housing.
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Visitors to Lee County are turning to local businesses and restaurants to support the area after Southwest Florida International Airport released numbers showing a change in tourism.
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Cape Coral has approved new assessments for more homeowners to hook up to city water and sewer. The expansion of the utilities will extend to a new zone in the northwest part of the city, despite the pleas of some people to hold off at this time.
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After hearing complaints from East Fort Myers residents, the City of Fort Myers is pursuing property adjacent to the Riverside Community Center instead of the remnants of Tarpon Street Pier for its next public boat ramp.
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Research done by America’s Warrior Partnership implies that former service members commit suicide at a rate 2.4 times greater than reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs. AWP has taken information from its Operation Deep Dive study and applied it to reach veterans before it’s too late. A senior analyst at the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute said the AWP study is flawed and misleading.