Local WGCU News

True Tours brings Fort Myers’ past — and its spirits — to life

Samuel Brucker

Florida is the land of sunshine and good vibes, but when the sun goes down on Downtown Fort Myers, something ghastly takes over. The waterside community is home to spiritual abnormalities that have caused spine-tingling reactions for decades.WGCU’s Samuel Brucker took part in a Historic Downtown Tour to learn the horrific stories that have turned into urban legend and have given a taste of the macabre to Southwest Florida.

Samuel, an employee at Ecological Laboratories Inc. for five years, says he loves his job and feels it’s not just a community, but a family. He adds that it’s the first job he’s had with multiple breaks rather than just one 30-minute lunch. Employees typically get a 15-minute break in the morning, an hour for lunch and a 10-minute break at 3 p.m., according to Samuel.

Science/Tech

Local business among Florida’s Top 10 manufacturing employers of choice

Samuel Brucker

Ecological Laboratories Inc. in Cape Coral, went from microscopic status to statewide success, making Florida’s Top 10 Manufacturing Employers list for 2025. FloridaMakes, a statewide partnership, selects 10 manufacturing employers that create thriving workplaces with connected cultures and abundant growth opportunities.

Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency input meeting attendee and contributor Jason Teeters, left, greets community members on Sept. 30 at the Quality of Life Center in Dunbar where neighbors and friends gather to provide their input on McCollum Hall's future.

Culture and Connections

Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency encourages conversation on McCollum Hall’s destiny

Samuel Brucker

After nine years and three developers failed to draw up plans for the site, the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency decided to take the lead on the McCollum Hall historic preservation and redevelopment project in early August. Since then, the agency has worked to engage the community, aiming to hear what people want for the building’s future and to deliver on those desires once and for all, precisely what the Sept. 30 community engagement session tried to accomplish.

Environment

Red flag warning issued for much of Southwest Florida on Friday

WGCU Staff

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning from noon to 7 p.m. today for Southwest Florida areas including Lee, DeSoto, Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte counties.A combination of warm temperatures this afternoon, low relative humidity values, and sustained winds greater than 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph will create Red Flag conditions across much of west central and Southwest Florida this afternoon.At the same time a number of brush fires were being fought.

Business/Economy

Now Hiring: The U.S.Census Bureau

Cary Barbor

The US Census Bureau is hiring hundreds of thousands of temporary workers across the country to help with the 2020 count, and southwest Florida is no…