Those interested in a career in the dental field can get their start with the Foundations of Dental Assisting program at Hodges University. The demand for Dental Assistants is expected to grow 23% by 2026 in Florida, according to Hodges. Students will learn dental terminology, anatomy, instrument sterilization, communication and patient privacy, appointment scheduling, financial arrangements and inventory maintenance. Students will also learn how to properly mix and prepare dental impression trays and prepare stone models for diagnostic purposes. It’s a six-week program, held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the new Health Sciences building on the University’s Fort Myers campus. The first class begins on March 6. Tuition is $1,199 and includes the textbook with bonus materials, the Basic Life Support certification for Health Professionals, and hands-on simulations in a state-of-the-art dental lab. Students will learn from dental professionals in the field. Click here to register. 

 

A bill before the Florida Legislature would increase data privacy and security, Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Chris Sprowls announced Monday. The proposal would expand the Florida Information Protection Act to include additional protection and security for biometric data such as fingerprints, voice recordings, retina scans and more. The proposed legislation would require businesses to publish a privacy policy for personal information; give consumers the right to know what information a business has collected about them; allow consumers to request to delete or correct certain personal information; require businesses to allow consumers to “opt-out” of the sale of personal information to third parties; prohibit discrimination for opting out; limit a business’ use and retention of personal information; give the attorney general power to enforce; and limit the new consumer data privacy requirements to larger businesses.

 

Naples Realtor Bill Earls earned more from home sales last month than he did during all of 2020. “I sold $304 million last month,” says Earls, part of the luxury real estate team of Earls & Lappin and a broker director and top sales producer at John R. Wood Properties for three decades. “In the month of January, I had 26 sales.” Foremost among those, Earls represented both sides of transactions for two single-family beachfront homes on Gordon Drive in Old Naples that are both among the top sales in Naples’ history. On Jan. 27, Coca-Cola bottling mogul Marvin J. Herb sold his 4-acre estate at 2700 Gordon Drive to Quarton Capital LLC for $52 million, a record-breaking sale in Naples. Two days earlier, Robert A. Watson sold his neighboring 1.5-acre Gulf estate home at 2750 Gordon Drive to Chicago-based Orchard 2020 Revocable Trust for $36 million. Earls also was the procuring agent for a 4-acre beachfront estate at 3100 Gordon Drive that recently sold for $39 million, as well as the listing agent for a vacant lot with 100 feet of beachfront at 4100 Gordon that sold for $13.5 million on Jan. 26. Earls, 67, doesn’t plan to retire or take time off after his recent streak of record sales. “I’m chasing after my next deal because I love doing what I do,” he says. “Turning deals, selling real estate drives me.”  

 

A new Big Carlos Pass Bridge with a 60-foot clearance for boats is the most economic choice for a 55-year-old bridge in need of replacement, said project spokesperson Kris Cella with Molnar & Associates. What’s now a drawbridge on Estero Boulevard could become a fixed span with a 60-foot vertical clearance. The proposed project includes a wider, safer space for bikers and walkers. Now that public hearings are over in Lee County, a final document will go to the Florida Department of Transportation. Once approved, construction is expected to start​ next year, WINK News reports.