Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Two days before Christmas, Nancy Kanelopoulos, a quadriplegic, arrived back in Southwest Florida, greeted with renewed friendships from a lifetime ago. On New Year’s Day, she enjoyed her 49th birthday in the outside patio of her new Fort Myers nursing home, soaking up the sun and banter with her new support network. Members of the Lely Class of ‘78 are a determined bunch, wanting to bring dignity into her life after eight years of nursing homes in Asheville, N.C., with few, if any, visitors. “I just think you all are awesome,” Nancy said at her birthday party. “From the beginning, I wanted to come back home. I’m just happy.”

Boat tours in Everglades National Park are remaining in well-known hands. The National Park Service recently announced Everglades City Mayor Sammy Hamilton Jr., through his Everglades National Park Boat Services company, was awarded a contract to continue running tours out of Everglades City.

Naples City Council told city staff, and Fifth Avenue South business owners, that an overhaul of the downtown lighting system would be a priority for them in the coming year. But when those lights will be installed, and how much it will cost the city, is up in the air. The street, Community Redevelopment Director Russ Adams said, is dark, especially on the west end of the road, and the new system would provide “even more lighting up and down the street.”

Naples City Council told city staff, and Fifth Avenue South business owners, that an overhaul of the downtown lighting system would be a priority for them in the coming year. But when those lights will be installed, and how much it will cost the city, is up in the air. The street, Community Redevelopment Director Russ Adams said, is dark, especially on the west end of the road, and the new system would provide “even more lighting up and down the street.”

Naples City Council told city staff, and Fifth Avenue South business owners, that an overhaul of the downtown lighting system would be a priority for them in the coming year. But when those lights will be installed, and how much it will cost the city, is up in the air. The street, Community Redevelopment Director Russ Adams said, is dark, especially on the west end of the road, and the new system would provide “even more lighting up and down the street.”

Naples City Council told city staff, and Fifth Avenue South business owners, that an overhaul of the downtown lighting system would be a priority for them in the coming year. But when those lights will be installed, and how much it will cost the city, is up in the air. The street, Community Redevelopment Director Russ Adams said, is dark, especially on the west end of the road, and the new system would provide “even more lighting up and down the street.”

A group of modern-day explorers is preparing to search the Gulf of Mexico for underwater wreck sites of historical value – they also hope to have a documentary about their 2008 adventures ready by the end of …

As a result of the real estate market downturn, there are many condominium and homeowners not paying their association assessments or mortgage payments, but still benefiting from association services. Under their free ride, they continue to live in their unit or place renters in same, while they wait to be ousted by foreclosure.

A man who ran for office five times in Southwest Florida has been arrested by Cape Coral Police.

Israeli tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza after nightfall Saturday, launching a ground offensive in a widening war on Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

Authorities say a Mexican national living in Southwest Florida was arrested after crashing his car into another vehicle twice containing a 1-year-old child.

Some dieters may be confused about whether they should be incorporating carbohydrates into their meals

Thirty-six people lost their lives on Collier roads in 2008, according to the Sheriff’s Office, down from 58 in 2007, 62 in 2005 and 79 in 2004. Lee County agencies reported 76 traffic deaths in 2008, down from 106 in 2007, according to data from the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.