WGCU News

The Coastal Village apartment complex near the FGCU campus in Estero has sold for more than $72 million. A trio of companies are joining up to purchase Coastal Village, long a favorite for FGCU and other students looking to live off-campus.

Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature will revamp immigration laws this week but issued a sharp rebuke Monday to Gov. Ron DeSantis that included overriding a budget veto from last year.The House and Senate started and quickly ended a special legislative session that DeSantis called — and then immediately opened their own special session that will focus on immigration issues. The move came after DeSantis angered House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, by calling a special session that they said was premature.

What’s in a name? If it’s the name of the Florida Red-bellied Cooter, there’s a lot! This freshwater (and occasionally brackish water) turtle is found in calm water through most of Florida and into southern Georgia. “Red-bellied” describes most young adults, but as they age, their belly changes color and can be brown or yellow. And that name “cooter” – where did it come from and what does it mean? The name “cooter” is centuries old and it seems likely that it was the name used by slaves from west Africa. In their language, the name for turtle – is today spelled “kuta” and pronounced like “cooter.

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Miami, is pressing the Trump administration to protect migrants who qualified under former President Biden’s “humanitarian parole” program, which specifically allows Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians to live and work in the country for up to two years.

The winter storm that crossed the Gulf coast and landed in Florida earlier this week is one for the record books, smashing the previous all-time high for snowfall in the Sunshine State.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is celebrating Black History Month with playwright August Wilson’s “Fences.” Each of Wilson’s Century Cycle plays speak about the African-American experience in this country. In this context, says Artistic Director Nate Jacobs, “Fences” focuses on the universal theme of families, in particular, the father-son relationship.

It will soon be a new day in the treatment of sick and injured sea turtles at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel Island. Hurricane Ian devastated the nonprofit wildlife hospital in September 2022

Citizens are encouraged to participate in a brief online survey about priorities for the City of Sarasota as the City Commission prepares to establish a 2025-27 Strategic Plan.

With inmate James Ford scheduled to be put to death Feb. 13, a Charlotte County circuit judge Thursday rejected an argument that the execution should be blocked because Ford had the mental and developmental age of a 14-year-old when he murdered a couple in 1997.The 22-page ruling by Circuit Judge Lisa Porter could be the first in a series of decisions as Ford’s attorneys try to prevent the execution. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a death warrant on Jan. 10.

Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, and House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, said in a joint memo Friday that the Legislature will convene at 10:30 a.m. Monday in a special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Albritton and Perez, who have raised objections to the special session, did not detail how lawmakers will handle a series of issues that DeSantis wants them to address.