Fort Myers Beach, Florida

The NCH Healthcare System announced the 2008 “Physician of the Year” award went to Dr. Daniel Morris, an oncologist/hematologist on staff since 1991.

Bell ringers will be stationed at Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today in Collier County to collect money on behalf of The Salvation Army. The special red kettle day hopes to invite customers to give early this holiday season.

Two men were charged in one of Lee County’s biggest copper theft rings – allegedly stealing more than 5,000 pounds of metal in all. Now, some new laws are helping deputies clamp down on crooks.

The Florida Highway Patrol has identified 19-year-old Kyle W. Ison as the man found dead last weekend after losing control of an all terrain vehicle on 66th Street Southwest in East Naples.

A local inventor and businessman who launched a Naples-based online clue game in October is hosting a second game starting on Monday.
The two week game, that is like an online treasure hunt that turns into a race, starts on Monday. It is free to sign up and play, said 44-year-old Kem Gursoy, who devised the game. The game’s Web site is www.gopherwit.com.

Pelican Bay high-rise Cap d’Antibes has likely seen its last days in a courthouse. Collier County officials this month declined to entertain a bid by Pelican Bay resident Ted Raia to reconsider construction of the new building. After years of arguing in and out of courts, Collier commissioners were likely dissuaded from pursuing the issue, when they realized that Raia had neither the support of Pelican Bay Foundation or Pelican Bay Property Owners Association.

Sunrise Community’s day program for developmentally disabled adults in Collier County has secured financial support to stay open for the next year and avert closing that was scheduled for Nov. 14. The families of 56 individuals who attend the day program received the good news Friday after several weeks of dire warnings that state budget cuts had set the stage for the day activity center on Arnold Avenue to close. “That is really great news for the parents and the people attending,” said George Park, whose 48-year-old daughter, April Parks, goes to Sunrise three days a week. “She likes the program over there. If it wasn’t there, I don’t know what she would be doing.”

The American Petroleum Institute represents the interests of 400 oil and gas companies, including producers, refiners, suppliers, pipeline operators and marine transporters. API’s president and chief executive officer, Jack Gerard, issued a statement after U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was elected president on a campaign platform that did not rule out drilling, but stressed a need to fund alternative energy.

President-elect Barack Obama’s roots in community organizing, his use of the Internet to raise money and his return to door-knocking campaigning in Ohio in the final stretch of the election helped pave the way for his victory, a political strategist says. The economic crisis that hit in September topped voters’ concerns and Sen. John McCain’s misstep in response also worked for Obama’s advantage, said Michael Berland, featured speaker for the Forum Club’s luncheon Friday at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club. The luncheon was the first for the 2008 winter season.

With funky beats, pink boas and enough makeup to glam up all of Naples, Nordstrom went all out for its grand opening at the Waterside Shops on Friday. Dozens of women milled about the parking garage-turned-makeup studio for a “beauty bash,” where staff waited to brighten up dark under-eye circles and match perfect lip tones.

It’s illegal and extremely dangerous, but that’s not stopping thieves from stealing electricity. In fact, it’s on the rise. It seems people are willing to risk their lives to cut back on costs.

An effort put into place to save .2 million a year is causing a stink in Charlotte County. We found out why more than half of the county might be down in the dumps about garbage pickup.

Deputies with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office have a helicopter in the air searching for suspects in a Metro PCS robbery at 2075 Pine Ridge Road.

After NBC2 aired a story about an organization working with handicapped children that was ripped off in a dirty deal, viewers started calling in wanting to know how they could help. Now, that group is getting just what they need.