Presidential Visit

President Barack Obama spoke at a Town Meeting in Fort Myers Tuesday. He interrupted his own speech to say the Senate had passed the economic stimulus package. The President came to Florida because Fort Myers has topped the country with foreclosures and saw a huge jump in unemployment. WGCU’s Amy Tardif reports.

Presidential Visit

President Barack Obama spoke at a Town Meeting in Fort Myers Tuesday. He interrupted his own speech to say the Senate had passed the economic stimulus package. The President came to Florida because Fort Myers has topped the country with foreclosures and saw a huge jump in unemployment. WGCU’s Amy Tardif reports.

Republican U.S. Congressman Connie Mack kept his seat in District 14 with 59 percent of the vote.
Republican Venice resident Nancy Detert becomes State Senator in District 23. She spent 8 years as a state representative.
Republican Paige Kreegel won Florida House seat district 72, Doug Holder won District 70 and Ken Roberson won District 71. Republican Nick Thompson retained his seat in the state House for District 73.
Bill Cameron is the next Charlotte County Sheriff. And Mike Scott remains Lee County’s Sheriff.
Collier voters passed a referendum to fund schools.
Incumbent U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, Republican of Miami retained his seat in District 25, which includes eastern Collier County.
Bob Janes, Frank Mann and Ray Judah remain on the Lee County Commission.

Lee County stepped up to the plate Tuesday and asked the Boston Red Sox to stay for the next 30 years. The county says it will use 20 percent of its tourist development budget to build a new spring training stadium. WGCU’s Amy Tardif has more.

During GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s visit to Southwest Florida Monday, she promised states could make their own decisions about controversial off-shore oil drilling proposals. But she said the United States needs to achieve energy independence through drilling, alternative energy sources and other means.

Though a quarter-century moratorium on oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts has been lifted, the waters off the western beaches of Florida remain off limits to energy development, for now. WGCU’s Amy Tardif has more.

Some of the more than 400 Manna Christian mobile home park residents still living in an Estero Community Center won’t be able to return home after floodwaters from Tropical Storm Fay recede. WGCU’s Amy Tardif has more.

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate and U-S Senator Joe Biden of Delaware spent Wednesday campaigning on Florida’s west coast. He spoke with voters in Fort Myers about how he feels and Obama-Biden administration would change the Washington works, and bring change to people’s lives. WGCU’s Amy Tardif reports.

Florida Power and Light reports more than 20,000 Collier County residents are currently without electricity. Lee County Electric Cooperative says 8000 Marco Island and 3500 Lehigh Acres customers are without power. WGCU’s Amy Tardif reports.

Although Tropical Storm Fay did not strengthen into the hurricane it was forecast to become, Florida Governor Charlie Crist is adamant people should still take the storm seriously today as it moves through the Peninsula. Amy Tardif has more.

Tropical Storm Fay is expected to continue to spawn tornado warnings across Florida today. South Florida is under a tornado watch until 4 this afternoon. WGCU’s Amy Tardif reports.