Naples

The News-Press reported Tuesday afternoon that the Collier County Sheriff's Office confirmed the death of Eric Andrew Salata, 54, of Sanibel.

At a riverfront trailer park in Naples, residents are salvaging what they can from the wreckage of their homes. Polluted floodwaters inundated the neighborhood, making the mobile homes unsafe to live in and leaving some residents with nowhere else to go.

Latin American migrant workers help fill Florida's construction worker shortage. But many feel overlooked by hurricane relief — and demonized.

A rare orchid, which uses the skills of a magician to appear from nowhere and seemingly float in the air next to its host tree, is in bloom at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The “ghost orchid” is the largest one ever discovered, and its blossoms draw international attention among the uber-enthusiastic world of orchid lovers.

One grocery store in a community of roughly 25,000 people. This community has a poverty rate of 32%. The majority of the population is either Black or Latino. The median household income is roughly $33,000 a year, just $7,000 above Florida’s federal poverty line.About 50 miles away in the same county, an affluent city bursts with life and luxury. The City of Naples has an average household income of $118,141 with a poverty rate of 8%.Social determinants of health are a major reason why people born in one part of Collier County are expected to live 15 years longer than those in other parts of the county, according to life expectancy estimates from the U.S. Census Tract and the National Center for Health Statistics.

Several areas in southwest Florida appeared high on the Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index.

Brooks Burgers in Naples recently added robots to help serving staff because of personnel shortages.“We’re not trying to lose hospitality, we’re not trying to lose or replace employees. We’re simply giving them the ability to get through a shift and do a good job,” said Todd Brooks, the owner of Brooks Burgers.

The Naples Airport is looking for ways to reduce the noise that bothers some people who live and work nearby. A study that's just beginning is looking for measures to cut back on the noise affecting neighborhoods.

Environmental groups working to restore the Florida Everglades were elated to learn Wednesday that $1.1 billion from the federal infrastructure package has been earmarked to help pay for the massive, multi-decade restoration. The money will be used to hasten the efforts to undo the extensive environmental damage the Everglades suffered in the early 1900s, when the Army Corps built canals, locks and levees in a massive water management and flood control plan before the damaging environmental impacts of such efforts were fully known. Improving water quality and quantity is the Everglades is a top priority.

January 27 will mark the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration camp. In 2005, the United Nations declared that day International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center in Naples is among organizations recognizing the anniversary and working to educate future generations about the Holocaust.