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"Naples Daily NewsMakers with Jeff Lytle": Leading ladies of arts in SW Florida

Beach Blogger — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:37:35 +0000

The leading ladies of the arts in Southwest Florida – Naples’ Myra Daniels and Fort Myers’ Barbara B. Mann – are guests on this week’s “Naples Daily NewsMakers with Jeff Lytle” program airing at 10 a.m. Sunday on ABC7.

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"Daily NewsMakers with Jeff Lytle" … FGCU Wilson Bradshaw; Bob…

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:24:01 +0000

‘Daily NewsMakers with Jeff Lytle’ … FGCU Wilson Bradshaw; Bob Graham, the former governor and U.S. senator – first guests of new year Florida Gulf Coast University President Wilson Bradshaw and Bob Graham, the former governor and U.S. senator, are the first guests of the Read More

Monday Morning Reads: Thanksgiving recovery edition

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:30:00 +0000

TALLAHASSEE -- Happy Monday and if you've been on vacation for a few days, welcome back to the daily grind. While you catch up on work and perhaps do a little Cyber Monday shopping , check out the stories you've missed from the weekend. (We've included a few extra stories in today's edition since we didn't post Wednesday through Friday last week) * The Orlando Sentinel reports on the scuttlebutt that Mayor Buddy Dyer wants to run for Governor in 2014. From the story: Buddy Dyer wants voters to give him another term as Orlando's mayor in an election next spring. But if they do, can voters count on him to stay? Local Democratic circles are rife with talk that even if he's re-elected, Dyer will mount a campaign for governor in 2014, midway through his third full term as mayor. One of Dyer's opponents in the April 3 mayor's race is so convinced the mayor would take an early exit from City Hall that he's asking all the candidates to sign a pledge to serve a full four years. * The Jacksonville Times-Union writes that powerful state Sen. John Thrasher , R-St.Augustine, is pushing a bill that would directly benefit a company represented by his former lobbying firm, Southern Strategies. From the story: The St. Augustine Republican says his aim is to provide participants in the State University System Optional Retirement Program greater choice than the five companies currently managing the $202 million fund for high-level university employees. State employees’ emails, though, show that he has gone to bat for a specific company, Fidelity Investments, and that they think expansion could hurt the program. * The Sun-Sentinel writes that food trucks are the business growing at the fastest rate in Florida. From the story: Spurred by the food truck craze in Northeast and West Coast cities, and shows like the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race," more and more Floridians are jumping on the food truck bandwagon. The number of food trucks has grown by 10.5 percent in the past year, a growth rate higher than any other business licensed by the state, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation reports. * The News Service of Florida reports that the biggest winners in the gambling debate so far are lobbyists. From the story: The only winners so far in the effort to allow luxury resort casinos in South Florida, which has widespread implications for every form of gambling in the state, are lobbyists. Gambling groups from across the nation have spent millions on outside lobbyists since July in preparation for a legislative session that will be dominated by the debate over "destination" resort casinos and their impact on everything from Internet cafes, pari-mutuel race tracks, video gaming vendors and the Seminole Tribe's casinos. * The St. Petersburg Times has an interview with the new Department of Corrections chief, Ken Tucker . From the story: Tucker, 57, a native of Bunnell, is a career law enforcement officer who spent six years as a police officer in Daytona Beach, followed by 28 years at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He started as an undercover FDLE agent investigating drug smuggling cases in Key West and rose to the position of deputy commissioner. By his own admission, he doesn't know a lot about corrections. He was asked to take the job on Aug. 24, just hours before Gov. Rick Scott and his chief of staff forced Ed Buss to resign after only six months on the job. He quickly told them two things: He had little knowledge of corrections, and he has already set his retirement date for March 31, 2013. So while Tucker said he would offer strong leadership, it wouldn't be for very long. * Politifact fact checks a statement from the Florida Family Policy Council that the largest number of gamblers are from the poorest segments of the population. From the story: To check the claim, PolitiFact Florida reviewed about six studies that included information about gambling and income, as well as several news articles or websites. We also interviewed nearly a dozen academics who have studied gambling. Some of the sources came from John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council, while others came from professors, the gambling industry or gambling opponents. In the end, we found this claim to be overreaching. * The Palm Beach Post reports that taxpayers owe Florida more than $800 million, but some aren't paying. From the story: Even as legislators struggle with a $2 billion budget shortfall, more than $800 million in debt is owed Florida taxpayers - IOUs piled up by businesses, individuals and even a few politicians. State records obtained by The Palm Beach Post show that fees, fines and court-ordered payments - some dating back years - are frequently ignored by those owing money to the state. The chances of these scofflaws getting caught? Slim. * The Palm Beach Post also has a story on Gov. Rick Scott at odds with federal officials over the health care law. From the story: Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a longtime foe of the Obama administration's health overhaul, says he will not allow the state to implement the 18-month-old health law for a fundamental reason: "It's not the law of the land," said Scott, an attorney and co-founder of the Columbia/HCA hospital chain. "I don't believe it will ever be the law of the land." Scott's statements, made in West Palm Beach during a Palm Beach Post editorial board meeting on Nov. 17, have caused a stir. While they may resonate with an estimated 47 percent of the U.S. population who tell pollsters the law should be repealed, they put him at odds with the U.S. Constitution, argued Timothy Jost , a law professor at Washington and Lee University. Bonus Blogs * Miami-Dade commission proposes gambling straw poll * Scott orders investigation into Marching 100 death

Report: Man strikes deputy with pickup

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:52:00 +0000

Authorities went to Mark Stephen Preston's residence on Lazy D Farm Road in Estero to investigate the theft of fencing material from the county's Port Authority property, reports the Naples Daily News. Preston's truck was allegedly at the scene of the crime. When authority's approached him in his driveway, the alleged fencing material thief made a change of engagement: Preston, 56, got inside his pickup, started the engine and accelerated forward, striking a deputy standing in front of the truck. Get the DUHtails at the Naples Daily News. Photo: Lee County Sheriff's Office More FloriDUH

Report: Man strikes deputy with pickup

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:52:00 +0000

Man charged with domestic battery in ‘kitty litter’ case

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:04:00 +0000

Scott Carroll, 40, of North Naples, told dispatchers he could not talk because someone had put kitty litter in his mouth while he was asleep in bed, reports the Naples Daily News. But responding deputies found his girlfriend with blood running down the side of her neck. The girlfriend let the cat out of the bag: She told the deputies Carroll caused her injury so she threw kitty litter at him in defense. Deputies didn't find any litter in his bed. Memo to girlfriend: Ditch the guy, keep the cat. Get the DUHtails at the Naples Daily News. Photo: Collier County Sheriff's Office More FloriDUH

Driving impaired with your child in the car? Don’t try use these excuses

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:54:00 +0000

After a motorist called to report an impaired driver with a child in the car, Palm Beach County deputies pulled over Robert Edward Cooper, 50, reports The Palm Beach Post. According to the arrest affidavit Cooper told the deputies: 1. His son was sick and in need of medical attention. (His 12-year-old contradicted that story line). 2. He was on his way to install a raccoon trap and that his son was going to help him. Get the DUHtails at The Palm Beach Post. Photo: Palm Beach Sheriff's Office More FloriDUH

Caught: Bonsai tree bandit suspect

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:28:00 +0000

Lee County Sheriff's detectives arrested a possible suspect, Raymond Theodore Shepard, 50, after they met with Shepard and located the tree inside of his home, reports the Naples Daily News. The $5,000 bonsai tree had been sitting in a custom made display following the annual Bonsai Show this past weekend at the Election Center, according to a release from the Lee County Sheriff's Office. Get the DUHtails at the Naples Daily News. Photos: Lee County Sheriff's Office More FloriDUH

Man in wheelchair severely pistol-whipped in his driveway

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:11:00 +0000

Definition of a coward: Someone who pistols whips a man born with a rare bone disease causing him to need a wheelchair. The thug(s) did this right in the man’s driveway in Golden Gates, reports the Naples Daily News. Doctors think 23-year-old Francis Domingo Rosa may not survive the Read More

Revenge of the hooked fish: Barracuda 1; Fisherman 0

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:41:00 +0000

John Zeliff, 24, was fishing nine miles off the Naples shoreline when his buddy hooked the barracuda, reports the Naples Daily News. But this razor-toothed fish fought back: At first the fish took off, taking line out quickly, before stopping, turning back towards the boat and jumping out of the water, over the boat. It knocked Zeliff backwards and left a long bloody gash on his forearm. The wound, Zeliff would learn later, had severed tendons that will require surgery to mend. Other Florida FishTALES: Florida Keys: 200-pound ray strikes tourist New Smyrna Beach: Dolphin jumps into boat, knocking a woman unconscious Marco Island: 600- to 700-pound dolphin jumps into boat, injures woman Near Big Pine Key: Barracuda jumps into Keys kayak, bites woman in chest Off Venice Inlet: Girl attacked by 45-inch barracuda —inside a boat Suwannee River: Sturgeon jumps into boat, breaks boater’s leg Get the DUHtails at the Naples Daily News. Photo: Images from NOAA: Beasts of the Seas More FloriDUH