Charlotte County

Some people spend a portion of their lives searching for a passion. Others never stop chasing it. On this night, one man is proving that it’s never too late to take the stage.

A Florida man convicted of killing a husband and wife at a remote farm as the couple’s toddler looked on was put to death Thursday in the state’s first execution of the year.James Dennis Ford, 64, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, state officials said.

The U.S. Small Business Administration will hold an information session from 2-3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Tringali Park Community Center, 3460 N. Access Road in Englewood.

Due to the National Weather Service forecasting cold temperatures Tuesday night, cold weather shelters will be available in Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

Online and in-person public hearings will be held Jan. 28 by the Florida Department of Transportation for the Burnt Store Road Project Development and Environment Study.The area to be affected runs from Van Buren Parkway in Lee County to the Charlotte County Line.

Charlotte County is working on a strategic plan update as part of the county’s two-year budget process.

Kings Highway between Harborview Road and Westchester Boulevard in Charlotte County will shift to one lane between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday this week for converting older streetlights to LED-type devices.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of brutally murdering a couple at a Charlotte County sod farm in 1997.James D. Ford, 64, is scheduled to be executed Feb. 13 at Florida State Prison in the murders of Greg and Kimberly Malnory. It would be the first execution this year in Florida and would come after one inmate was executed in 2024.