SWFLtoday - March 20, 2023

Monday, March 20, 2023

One person missing after boat capsizes in Fort Myers

One person is missing after a boat capsized in the Caloosahatchee river on Sunday.

Fort Myers Police said a 16-foot aluminum John boat sunk just east of the Edison Bridge around 4:45 p.m. on Sunday. One man was rescued by a bystander who was kayaking, but another man remains missing.

House passes major voucher expansion

The Republican-controlled House passed a measure that would make every Florida student eligible for taxpayer-backed school vouchers, as Democrats and other critics slammed the expansion as a “coupon for millionaires.”

House members voted 83-27 last week along almost-straight party lines to pass the bill.

Two elderly victims shot in Lehigh Acres

An elderly man and woman were shot and critically injured early Sunday morning.

SWFL Crime Stoppers reports at approximately 4:00 a.m., the victims were trailering a boat with a truck when they were stopped at the intersection of Milwaukee Boulevard and Homestead Road.

Without provocation, an unknown person shot once through the driver’s side window, shooting both victims.

Pace Center for Girls celebrates anniversary of aiding at-risk girls

For being one of the smaller nonprofits in the community, the Pace Center for Girls – Collier at Immokalee has accomplished a lot with a little. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the center has served over 2,000 Collier County girls.

Now, the Collier community has the chance to serve the center at two upcoming fundraisers: the Believing in Girls Empowerment Luncheon on March 24 and the Crazy Pantz runway show and clothing auction on May 10.

Fate of film, entertainment office debated

Lawmakers questioned the fate of an office that seeks to bolster the entertainment industry in Florida, as the House moves to eliminate the state’s business-recruitment agency and a series of economic-development programs.

The House Commerce Committee last week voted 16-3 to move forward with a priority (HB 5) of House Speaker Paul Renner to close the doors on the business-recruitment agency Enterprise Florida. Several lawmakers raised concerns about including the Office of Film and Entertainment, which provides services to Florida’s entertainment industry, in a list of programs and incentives that would be repealed.

Forecast: High fire danger Monday despite overnight rain

Despite a little overnight rain, we have a very high fire danger for our area today thanks to the dry and breezy conditions that will set in behind a cold front.

Burn bans remain in place for Lee, Collier, and Hendry County until further notice.

After the clouds thin out by mid-morning, we’re in store for a much sunnier day than Sunday.

Click here to watch Meteorologist Jason Dunning’s forecast!

The Southwest Florida Symphony presents ‘A Night at the Opera’

The Southwest Florida Symphony will present “A Night at the Opera” for its third Masterworks concert of the season on Saturday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. Narrated by Robert Van Winkle, the evening will be filled with romance, glamour and drama, featuring the orchestra accompanied by four up-and-coming Opera Naples Resident Artists performing famed arias from the world’s most popular operas including “Don Giovanni,” “Barber of Seville,” “Carmen” and more.

Today in History

1987 - The United State approves AZT, a drug that is proven to slow the progress of AIDS.
1982 - U.S. scientists return from Antarctica with the first land mammal fossils found there.
1969 - Senator Edward Kennedy calls on the United States to close all bases in Taiwan.
1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
1841 - Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue, considered the first detective story, is published.
1792 - In Paris, the Legislative Assembly approves the use of the guillotine.
1760 - The Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings.

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