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Video courtesy of WINK News
FORT MYERS LEADERS CONSIDER ANNEXING PART OF NORTH FORT MYERS
Fort Myers City leaders are discussing the idea of annexing at least part of North Fort Myers to make the incorporated area part of their own city. Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson said the city is considering expanding Fort Myers’ boundaries across the Caloosahatchee River into North Fort Myers because areas for the city to grow are becoming harder to find. “We know at some point there will be no inventory. We’re just trying to look toward the future,” Anderson tells WINK News.
Video courtesy of WINK News
CITY OF CAPE CORAL COULD SPEND MILLIONS ON NEW PARKING GARAGE
Cape Coral officials want to give visitors and residents more parking options in the city’s entertainment district.
HEALTHCARE NETWORK TO REQUIRE COVID-19 VACCINE FOR ALL EMPLOYEES
Collier County-based Healthcare Network will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than Oct. 1. Healthcare Network is one of the first Federally Qualified Health Center’s in Florida to require the COVID-19 vaccination for employees and joins several healthcare systems across the country, including NCH Healthcare System in Naples, to introduce this requirement. To date, the organization has developed and deployed a multilingual COVID-19 Response Team to reach underserved populations throughout Collier County, administered 18,625 COVID-19 tests and more than 11,000 COVID-19 vaccines. Healthcare Network will continue to offer employee vaccination clinics to staff. As with other vaccines, Healthcare Network will allow certain exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Information on Healthcare Network community testing and vaccination clinics is available on its website.
LEE COUNTY CLERK OF COURT HOSTING JOB FAIR TODAY
The Lee County Clerk of Court is hosting an in-person career fair in Fort Myers today to fill more than 20 positions. The career opportunities are available in several areas of the organization, including courts, information technology, tourist taxes, minutes and communications. The free, three-hour event will start at 3 p.m. in the Lee County Administration East Building at 2201 Second St. Participants will have the ability to speak directly with hiring managers and learn about the office’s benefits. Participants are required to register for the event online.
Video courtesy of WINK News
FORT MYERS CITY COUNCIL RENEWS POLICE CHIEF’S CONTRACT
Fort Myers City Council has renewed Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs’ contract through August 2023 with the same $194,852 salary. Since Diggs became police chief in 2016, he has focused on building trust between his officers and the community, bringing down crime rates within the city, and implementing crime tracking technology in his department. Diggs wants to continue his efforts to reduce crime and improve safety with data-driven crime prevention and community involvement, WINK News reports.
Video courtesy of WINK News
LEE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS VOTE TO SUE FEDS OVER PLANNED LAKE O WATER RELEASES
Lee County commissioners are prepared to bring legal action against the Army Corps of Engineers if there aren’t substantial changes to the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, which seeks to establish water releases from Lake O with additional infrastructure that will soon be operational. Lee County is unhappy with the plan as it stands now because the overall burden of flood control releases to the Caloosahatchee would increase and so would the total volume of water pushed into the estuary, according to a letter sent to the Army Corps by Kevin Ruane, chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners. During their meeting Tuesday, Ruane asked the county to be ready to take legal action. The motion passed unanimously, WINK News reports.
WOMEN IN BUSINESS TO KICK OFF APEX AWARDS SEASON AUG. 4
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business Committee will kick off the 15th season of its annual APEX Awards with a networking social from 4-6 p.m. on Aug. 4 at The Wine Room in downtown Fort Myers. Attendees will learn more about the annual APEX Awards and spend time with this year’s finalists, nominees and past APEX award recipients. The 2021 finalists include Kathleen O. Berkey of Becker & Poliakoff P.A., Kerri Goldsmith of HBKS Wealth Advisors and Alicia Miller of Our Mother’s Home. Tickets are $10 for chamber members and $20 for nonmembers. Admission includes one complimentary beverage. Advance registration is strongly encouraged and can be done online or by calling 239-332-2930.
CLA WELCOMES NEW ASSOCIATE IN NAPLES OFFICE
CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) has welcomed Elaine Carrocera as an assurance associate in the Naples office. Carrocera graduated from Pace University in New York with a Bachelor of Business in accounting. Carrocera joins CLA after working at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. CLA is a professional services firm that provides industry-focused advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax and consulting services.
LEE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AWARD CONTRACTS FOR FLOOD-MITIGATION PROJECTS
Lee County commissioners awarded two contracts Tuesday for projects to mitigate stormwater flooding in the San Carlos Park area, which was particularly hard hit by flooding in 2017 when heavy rains in August were followed by Hurricane Irma in September. In June 2020, the board accepted a $7.1 million Community Development Block Grant from the state for repairs to the sidewalks and drainage infrastructure. The work is being coordinated by Lee County Natural Resources and the Lee County Department of Transportation. Contracts were awarded to Mohawk Valley Materials Inc. for canal cleaning services and drainage restoration; and BC Underground LLC for swale re-establishment, drainage pipe cleaning, concrete culvert replacement, sod installation and minor sidewalk repairs at various locations.
FSBDC AT FGCU WELCOMES TWO TO TEAM
The Florida SBDC at Florida Gulf Coast University has added Patti Guerzo and Mark Odell to its team. Mark Odell will be part of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) program and Patti Guerzo has been appointed as a business consultant. Both consultants will be available at the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce office. Guerzo has more than 18 years of experience serving entrepreneurs. She specializes in employee recruiting and retention, assists new and existing businesses to increase growth and sales. Before joining the network, Odell’s worked in sales engineering for heating equipment manufacturers and owned a research and development firm specializing in government-contracted research and testing of next-gen renewable energy products and concepts. He also served several elected terms as a county commissioner.
OCTOBER SPECIAL SECTION: FACES OF GULFSHORE
The October 2021 issue of Gulfshore Business magazine will include a special advertising section featuring the FACES of Gulfshore
CHARITABLE NOTES
Naples Paper Shredding Event to benefit Residential Options of Florida
Concierge Insurance Partners LLC will partner with ShredQuick to host a Paper Shredding Event from 9-11 a.m. on Sept. 18 at Concierge Insurance Partners LLC, 125 Airport-Pulling Road N., Naples. The ShredQuick truck will be on site. The drive-thru event will implement safety measures, and the cost is $5 per box. There will be a maximum of five boxes per car for shredding. All proceeds raised from the event will be donated to Residential Options of Florida, whose mission is to empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to successfully obtain and maintain affordable and inclusive housing of their choice.
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