Tag: NoPaywall

County leads in manatee deaths due to cold

Lee County has the highest total number of manatee deaths in the state for 2026 so far, according to newly released preliminary manatee mortality data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife...

EcoWatch: Florida manatee deserves protection of the ESA

“The manatee’s lament echoes in the deep, a cry for help from the ocean’s keep. Their home under threat, their numbers wane, yet they continue their peaceful reign. A plea for...

Letters: Options are there for commissioners to turn down projects

To the Editor: Thanks so much for the really excellent editorial about the Waterside hearing (Editorial, July 31, A dead citrus farm, now a dump and mine). It highlighted some of the serious...

Empty ‘spaghetti’ apartments and unfinished houses

August 6, 2026
Garland Pollard
Editorial

This week, two bits of news bear mention and comment. The first is that in Lee County, the apartment vacancy rate has spiked to 20.3 percent, with the highest rental vacancy rate for any major...

Inn purchases 3rd Street from McLaughlins

The Gasparilla Inn has purchased the old 3rd Street Bistro. The sale, from owners Kevin and Barbara McLaughlin, was expected to close this week. “What Barbara and Kevin did with that property...

Making the AI mind, and book destruction

BY BRENT MCCONNELL Claude, Grok, Gemini and ChatGPT exist only as hardware and software. They have no childhood, no life experience, nothing resembling a brain. While my dog still hasn’t fully...

A dead Charlotte citrus farm, now a dump and mine

July 30, 2026
Garland Pollard
Editorial

Tuesday, the Charlotte County Commission approved, by a 3-2 vote, a plan to turn a former citrus grove into a yard waste disposal site and “nature preserve” as the centerpiece of a large housing...

Bonnie Simonds 1938-2026

July 30, 2026
Staff Report
Obituaries

Bonnie Helen Simonds passed away on July 22 in Englewood, Florida. Bonnie grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, where she attended New Trier East High School before going on to graduate from Northwestern...

Peter Diebold 1938-2026

July 30, 2026
Staff Report
Obituaries

Peter DeWitt Diebold was born November 13, 1938, in Buffalo, New York. He passed away on July 13, 2026, in Boca Grande, Florida. Peter received an exceptional education, attending The Elmwood...

Waterside dump project site at Charlotte Commission on July 28

The approval for a site restoration plan for a 300-acre former orange grove in the eastern part of Charlotte County on Bermont Road will have a public hearing at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28 at the...