Immokalee

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced funding earmarked for infrastructure repair in 37 Florida communities at a briefing at the Sebring Airport Thursday.

Communities in Collier, DeSoto, Okeechobee, Peace River Watershed, other sites awarded $311M for infrastructure repair

WGCU Staff

A number of projects across Florida, including several in Southwest and South regions, will share in $311 million disbursed by the state Thursday.Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the funding, earmarked for infrastructure repair in 37 Florida communities at a briefing at the Sebring Airport Thursday.

Empty shelves greeted prospective customers of the Winn-Dixie store in Immokalee on Sunday. he store closed operations Saturday as part of the Aldis takeover. There is no timeline for operations to resume under the Aldis name.

Human Interest

Charitable bus offer for Immokalee residents after grocery closes is over after failing to gain traction

Eileen Kelley

Free bus rides to grocery store outside of Immokalee ends.

A family from Immokalee takes a photo in front of the now closed Winn-Dixie store, the last supermarket the community has available to them. The store closed late Saturday but a steady stream of customers drove up Sunday unaware that the store had closed earlier. The next nearest supermarket is a Publix about eight miles away in Ave Maria.

Immigration

Immokalee bus for groceries may get canceled after ridership proves non-existent; immigration raids could be reason for just one rider

Eileen Kelley

Free bus rides have been offered to out of town grocers after Immokalee lost its only full-service grocery store in October.

An agent from the U.S. Homeland Security, a federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in Immokalee Wednesday morning. Workers on a tomato grower's bus were reportedly taken off the vehicle. An immigration support group, Unidos Immokalee, said several workers were in need of medical attention after they were removed from the bus.

Immigration

Field workers pulled from Pacific Tomato Growers' bus outside Immokalee Wednesday morning

Eileen Kelley

An immigration support group was warning people Wednesday morning to avoid Immokalee after a number of people were reported to have been taken off a work bus in the area. The Facebook warning from Unidos Immokalee urged people to not “Enter or leave Immokalee. Do not depart Immokalee.”

Human Interest

Bus to Publix waited and waited, no riders showed - six times - for inaugural supermarket runs in Immokalee

Eileen Kelley

The county and Collier Community Foundation stepped in for dedicated bus rides to a far-away grocer after one grocery in Immokalee closed.

Business/Economy

Winn Dixie closure leaves community with limited options

WGCU News

Folks in Immokalee who depended on the community's only supermarket, Winn Dixie, are frustrated and concerned. The store closed about a week ago as part of Aldi's acquisition of Southeastern Grocers.

Human Interest

Closure of Immokalee's only supermarket leaves a hole; Can Aldi fill it, and when? Meanwhile, busing could help some

Michael Braun, Eileen Kelley

Frustration and worry crossed the faces of customers coming Sunday to Immokalee’s only supermarket — Winn-Dixie — after they discovered it had closed. For good. Winn-Dixie’s parking lot was mostly leaves, dust and litter blowing in the windy weather Sunday after the store closed for business Saturday. A steady stream of customers tried for much of the morning to make purchases, only to be turned away by employees.

A number of homes built on Snake Clan Road in the Immokalee area are alleged to have shoddy construction in a lawsuit filed by The Seminole Indian Tribe against the Lennar Company.

Consumer affairs

Seminole Tribe seeks hundreds of millions against home builder Lennar after alleging shoddy work

Combined dispatches

Lennar Homes built more than 500 homes in Seminole Tribe reservations spanning multiple Florida counties.

Culture and Connections

Immokalee bike light program launches as authority presence increases

Elizabeth Andarge

In the darkness, it is difficult to spot the numerous farmworkers in Immokalee riding bicycles on their way home. A local organization is working to change that.

Housing

Immokalee affordable housing applications to open Oct. 1

WGCU Staff

The Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance will open a new housing application cycle on Oct 1. Sixteen qualifying families will receive the opportunity to live in a two- or three- bedroom apartment. Four of the units are designated for people with special needs.