Sanibel Island

The sea turtle nesting season that started just months after Ian hit ended up setting records for loggerhead turtles on Sanibel and Captiva island.

Placement of sand for the Sanibel Hurricane Ian Beach Recovery Project is expected to begin in mid-November helped by $23 million in state and FEMA funding authorizations for the project.

Shell beds, shell benches, shell piles. The colorful rows of shells extending for quite some distance are a natural phenomenon seen along the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.

Local community leaders recently shared where things are now and what the future holds for Southwest Florida’s barrier islands.

Restaurateurs want the community to know that Sanibel is still very much alive and needs their support to thrive. Here's how the annual Sizzle Dining event is drawing attention to spots, like Cielo, on Sanibel.

The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to waive tolls on the Sanibel Causeway for the next six Sundays in support of the “Savor the Shore” campaign organized by the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau.

Sanibel and Captiva residents are adamantly opposed to proposed code changes that would allow South Seas Resort much more latitude on building height and density restrictions.

As a part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s Emergency Restoration of the Sanibel Causeway, crews will continue work this week on McGregor Boulevard and the causeway from Port Comfort Road to Sanibel Island setting up intermittent lane closures.

As the barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva continue to assess the damage to homes and businesses after Hurricane Ian, some community organizations and concerned citizens have joined to create the SanCap Citizens for a Resilient Future. Their goal is to spark conversations on how to rebuild on the islands so that structures and people can become more resilient for future storms. The group recently hosted the first of two formal gatherings .

The mayor and vice mayor of Sanibel Island both won new terms on the city council in Tuesday's elections. And a retired police officer won a seat on the village council in Estero.