Hundreds of boisterous student protesters drove Sen. Ben Sasse from a stage Monday afternoon at the University of Florida, where he has been selected as the sole finalist to become the school’s next president. Before he was interrupted, Sasse – a conservative Republican – defended his remarks opposing forgiveness of …
Read More »Sanibel residents return to hurricane-ravaged island by boat, await bridge repair
With Sanibel’s causeway bridge still out of commission from damage during Hurricane Ian, many islanders in southwest Florida scrambled to secure transport by boat this weekend, the first time they were allowed home.
Read More »‘Just heartbreaking’: Southwest Florida small family farmers struggle after Hurricane Ian
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Watching from an elevated window at home as Hurricane Ian struck their farm in Fort Myers, the McMahon family saw the storm blow the market roof into the pond. Torrential wind and rain whipped across two acres of hydroponic vegetables. By last week, the fourth-generation farm family …
Read More »Early reports emerge of stunning damage on Florida’s iconic Sanibel Island, still severed from mainland by bridge collapse
FORT MYERS, Fla. – A cement-like mixture of sand, muck and oil cloaks everything on Sanibel Island, one of two barrier islands renowned for their sandy beaches and seashells where Hurricane Ian particularly focused its fury. The mixture smeared across Carolyn Bradbury Schwartz’s face and filled her boots as she …
Read More »‘Liveaboard’ survived Hurricane Ian on boat in storm-tossed marina; it nearly killed him
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Danny Ross has at least three lives. His life was nearly jolted out of him when he was struck by lightning. He came close to taking his last breath after suffering a punctured lung in a car wreck in the ‘80s. It almost washed away aboard …
Read More »Lifelines after landfall: Southwest Florida grapples with Hurricane Ian’s impact
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Gulf of Mexico swallowed driftwood, stray shoes, split skim boards and the last vestige of Crystal Edge’s mother’s memory in the days following Hurricane Ian’s devastation. The 28-year-old sailboat – a family heirloom – remained trapped below piled debris at a marina under the Fort …
Read More »Ticketed for speeding 116 mph, UF student tells trooper he didn’t want to be late for class
Ticketed for speeding 116 mph on a crowded stretch of Interstate 75 in this college town, a University of Florida student told the trooper the reason for his fast driving: He didn’t want to be late for class on the first day of the fall semester. Just his luck, he …
Read More »Former Florida congressional nominee using drugs again, ex-wife says
The convicted felon who lost a congressional special election earlier this year as the Republican nominee in South Florida has relapsed into using illegal drugs, and his behavior is threatening the safety of his two young sons, his ex-wife said in a new court pleading.
Read More »Students at UF secretly recorded nude in dorm bathrooms, showers angry over sentence for man linked to cases at four universities
Alachua County Circuit Judge James M. Colaw last week sentenced Deontre Donnell Mason, 25, of Carterville, Illinois, to one year of house arrest followed by four years of probation with electronic monitoring. Mason pleaded no contest to nine felony charges of video voyeurism.
Read More »US Senate candidate with Florida ties accused of impersonating a federal agent
A U.S. Senate candidate with ties to Florida is set to be arraigned in a Pennsylvania court Thursday following accusations he masqueraded as a public servant while pulling over a vehicle occupied by four young women in late March, according to a police affidavit. Everett Stern, an independent candidate for …
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