• A float back in history: Spring Creek Elementary students learn about the Imperial river - Students from Debbie Whitmire’s third-grade class made the trip from Spring Creek Elementary School to the Liles Hotel in Bonita Springs one day in October to make that connection.
  • Lee deputies: Bonita man tried to choke police dog - A Bonita Springs man who authorities say fled a traffic crash Thursday morning on Interstate 75 and tried to choke a Lee County Sheriff’s Office canine, which bit him three times, was released from jail that night after posting bond.
  • Former Everglades City resident found dead in Lehigh home - A former Everglades City resident and prominent businessman has been found dead in his Lehigh Acres home, and his death is now the subject of an investigation. Everett Whitney Reeves, 74, was found dead at 2603 E. 10th Street in Lehigh Acres after 7 p.m. Thursday. His manner of death is not being released, but the Lee County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday night it has launched a homicide investigation into Reeves's death.
  • Bad birds: Thousands of turkey servings pulled from Lee County school lunch lines after recall - Thousands of servings of turkey were pulled from Lee County Public Schools lunch lines Thursday after the district learned of a manufacturer recall. Roughly 50,000 servings of the turkey were in school cafeterias Thursday, but it is unknown how many of those servings had to be pulled from serving lines, district spokesman Joe Donzelli said Friday.
  • Silent treatment: Lee sheriff refuses to speak with News-Press reporters - For months, Sheriff Mike Scott has declined to speak openly to the paper’s reporters, insisting instead that they e-mail questions.
  • Fort Myers Beach town manager resigns after a few months - The Fort Myers Beach town manager said he’s becoming a beach bum. Jack Green announced his resignation this week. Green took the reins in this barrier island town after town council members learned former manager Scott Janke was married to a porn actress and dismissed him. They said the effort was to avoid distraction, but the spotlight shown on the resort town instead as Janke and wife Jazella Moore became overnight — albeit short-lived — celebrities.
  • Tommy Hilfiger clerk hit with pepper spray, 3 men arrested - A Tommy Hilfiger store employee was hit in the face with pepper spray Wednesday afternoon as she attempted to stop a man believed to be shoplifting.
  • VIDEO: Lee sheriff's deputies vote down unionization efforts - Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies will not be represented by the Police Benevolent Association. The PBA lost by a margin of 56 to 44 percent, or 200 votes in opposition and 158 in favor of being represented when votes were counted Wednesday night at the agency’s main office on Six Mile Cypress Parkway in Fort Myers.
  • Bonita Springs allows seniors to at least temporarily cut loose and dance - Everybody cut loose­ — like a scene out of the 1984 movie “Footloose” — as small-town residents pleaded with Bonita Springs officials on Wednesday to let them dance. Just swap out Kevin Bacon and his gang of high school students for half a dozen senior citizens, who told Bonita Springs City Council how healthy and fun dancing is and how quiet and respectful they would be, if only council would allow it.
  • Judge says Mediterra golf club member owed his $180,000 deposit - A Collier County Circuit judge has sided with a golf club member at Mediterra, saying he should get his deposit back. On Tuesday, Collier County Circuit Court Judge Hugh Hayes granted a summary judgment against Long Bay Partners in a case brought by Glenn Bolles, a resigned member who never lived in Mediterra.
  • State attorney halts review of Bonita Councilwoman Simons - The State Attorney's Office has dropped its review of Councilwoman Martha Simons. Jude Reichenthal, a former city volunteer, lodged a complaint against Simons this summer after he believed he had evidence she violated public records laws – the third such complaint he filed. But after a review, the state felt there was not enough evidence.
  • BONITA SPRINGS BLOG: Live entertainment permit approved for new restaurant - Bonita Springs city manager and attorney will have a job for 2 1/2 more years following mostly positive job reviews. City Council collectively assessed their performance as exceeds expectations. City Manager Gary Price, who has led the city staff since its inception about a decade ago, will receive his current salary of $155,022.
  • Teen arrested in brutal classroom attack - A 13-year-old is charged with aggravated assault after a brutal classroom beating – allegedly the second such attack on the victim in a week.
  • Teacher’s aide fired for surfing Web while students engaged in sex act - Thomas McCoy, a teacher's assistant at Royal Palm Exceptional Center in Fort Myers, was accused by the district of browsing the internet while two special needs students in his care engaged in a sex act together.
  • Tammy Hall chosen as new chair of Lee County Commission - The new chair of the Lee County commission is Commissioner Tammy Hall. Hall, first elected in 2004, will serve her second stint in the middle chair. She got four votes, with Commissioner Frank Mann voting against her. Mann nominated Commissioner Brian Bigelow for the chairman job, but Bigelow declined.