WGCU Staff

A local private school has a new way to teach students how to live on their own. Local companies have built the equivalent of a fully equipped studio apartment, right in the school building.De LaSalle Academy is celebrating the opening of its Life Skills Lab.

The School District of Lee County and the Support Personnel Association of Lee County have reached a comprehensive tentative agreement on contract modifications and compensation updates after negotiations.

EMTs are providing at-home care to more patients when possible, instead of transporting them to ERs.

Stephen Jones, a former attorney from Orlando, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by 10 years of probation, for Scheme to Defraud over $50,000, a first-degree felony, for misappropriating funds that were due to a former client. One of the issues involved a Lee County case where court documents said Jones stole $100,000 in insurance proceeds from the insurance settlement of a Vietnam veteran, who was hit by a bicycle in Lehigh Acres in 2019.

Naples Botanical Garden is conducting a prescribed fire on approximately 2 acres in the facility's preserve, beginning late Tuesday morning and lasting several hours. Fire-certified garden staff will monitor the area into the evening and the following days to ensure no hot spots go undetected.

A Naples man pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Kyle C. Dudek for the Middle District of Florida to conspiring to defraud the United States by operating an off-the-books payroll scheme. The plea must be accepted by a U.S. district court judge.

The Lee County Board of Commissioners voted to approve grants Tuesday for Caloosahatchee-based water projects, gave the nod to a contract to design drainage improvements in Fort Myers Shores, Russell Park and Iona and approved an agreement to add turn lanes and a traffic signal at Lee Boulevard and Leonard Boulevard in Lehigh Acres.The two water-quality projects approved will allow the county to construct projects to improve water quality flowing to the Caloosahatchee.

Fort Myers Beach residents who have temporary use permits for trailers used as living space or to operate a business need to remove trailers by the permit's September 23 expiration date.

A number of Southwest Florida offices of the state department of health have back to school wellness activities remaining on their schedules for the 2025-2026 school year.Information and other safety topics include dental hygiene, immunizations, and proper installation of child seats.