Summer camp returns to Wa-ke Hatchee Park and Rec Center3 arrested after drug house investigation in Cape Coral
FORT MYERS Summer camp returns to Wa-ke Hatchee Park and Rec Center Summer camp is back at Wa-ke Hatchee Park and Rec Center.
CAPE CORAL 3 arrested after drug house investigation in Cape Coral Three people were arrested on Thursday after allegedly being involved in drug transactions at a drug house in Cape Coral.
WINK NEWS Man guilty in murder of girlfriend and her mother in San Carlos Park A Lee County man has been found guilty for the murder of his girlfriend and her mother.
NORTH PORT North Port contractor arrested for taking money for job not done The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 58-year-old contractor for failing to do work he was paid a deposit on.
Hurricane Hunter who flew into Ian shares his story and the team’s critical mission The Hurricane Hunters fly directly into the world’s worst weather. Hurricane Ian is high on that list.
Punta Gorda City Council approves two developments Despite two Punta Gorda City Council members citing a lack of commercial development being planned in the area of Jones Loop Road, Council adopted final plat plans for the Seagrass and Sea Cove residential developments by a 3-2 vote June 6.
FORT MYERS BEACH What’s in the water? Volunteers dive in to help researchers answer that question The “What’s in the water?” project coincides with World Ocean Day and provides a snapshot of what’s going on with SWFL waters.
WINK NEWS FGCU utilizes drone to map the Southwest Florida coastline As Floridians enter the “very active” hurricane season, Florida Gulf Coast University professors have begun mapping the coastline with the help of drones.
Sunshine Ace Hardware to open store at Pelican Bay in Naples Plans are underway for a new Sunshine Ace Hardware targeted to open in early 2025 in part of the former home of Stein Mart in The Marketplace at Pelican Bay in North Naples.
Swamp Cat Brewing brews, prepares for late summer opening Swamp Cat Brewing Co.’s path to existence hasn’t been an easy one. But owners Chris Gutierrez and Matt Leger are finally getting geared up for a late-summer or early fall opening following a months-long delay.
Tim Aten Knows: Construction begins on new fire station in Estates The more than 14,000-square-foot building results from a coordinated design effort between Collier County EMS, North Collier Fire Rescue District, the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District and architect Schenkel Shultz Inc
NORTH FORT MYERS Royal Jacks Arcade alleged shooter appeared in court A man charged with murder and tampering of evidence after being accused of shooting at a North Fort Myers arcade is set to appear in court.
Public restaurants, private club planned at new hotel in North Naples Two luxurious restaurants flanking the central lobby will be destinations the public can experience in the otherwise private boutique hotel and club planned to replace the longtime Beacon Bowl, which will close this August across U.S. 41 from Waterside Shops in North Naples.
the weather authority Triple-digit feels like temps and isolated storms Friday afternoon. The Weather Authority is tracking triple digits feels-like temperatures with scattered storms inland this Friday afternoon.
FORT MYERS Summer camp returns to Wa-ke Hatchee Park and Rec Center Summer camp is back at Wa-ke Hatchee Park and Rec Center.
CAPE CORAL 3 arrested after drug house investigation in Cape Coral Three people were arrested on Thursday after allegedly being involved in drug transactions at a drug house in Cape Coral.
WINK NEWS Man guilty in murder of girlfriend and her mother in San Carlos Park A Lee County man has been found guilty for the murder of his girlfriend and her mother.
NORTH PORT North Port contractor arrested for taking money for job not done The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 58-year-old contractor for failing to do work he was paid a deposit on.
Hurricane Hunter who flew into Ian shares his story and the team’s critical mission The Hurricane Hunters fly directly into the world’s worst weather. Hurricane Ian is high on that list.
Punta Gorda City Council approves two developments Despite two Punta Gorda City Council members citing a lack of commercial development being planned in the area of Jones Loop Road, Council adopted final plat plans for the Seagrass and Sea Cove residential developments by a 3-2 vote June 6.
FORT MYERS BEACH What’s in the water? Volunteers dive in to help researchers answer that question The “What’s in the water?” project coincides with World Ocean Day and provides a snapshot of what’s going on with SWFL waters.
WINK NEWS FGCU utilizes drone to map the Southwest Florida coastline As Floridians enter the “very active” hurricane season, Florida Gulf Coast University professors have begun mapping the coastline with the help of drones.
Sunshine Ace Hardware to open store at Pelican Bay in Naples Plans are underway for a new Sunshine Ace Hardware targeted to open in early 2025 in part of the former home of Stein Mart in The Marketplace at Pelican Bay in North Naples.
Swamp Cat Brewing brews, prepares for late summer opening Swamp Cat Brewing Co.’s path to existence hasn’t been an easy one. But owners Chris Gutierrez and Matt Leger are finally getting geared up for a late-summer or early fall opening following a months-long delay.
Tim Aten Knows: Construction begins on new fire station in Estates The more than 14,000-square-foot building results from a coordinated design effort between Collier County EMS, North Collier Fire Rescue District, the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District and architect Schenkel Shultz Inc
NORTH FORT MYERS Royal Jacks Arcade alleged shooter appeared in court A man charged with murder and tampering of evidence after being accused of shooting at a North Fort Myers arcade is set to appear in court.
Public restaurants, private club planned at new hotel in North Naples Two luxurious restaurants flanking the central lobby will be destinations the public can experience in the otherwise private boutique hotel and club planned to replace the longtime Beacon Bowl, which will close this August across U.S. 41 from Waterside Shops in North Naples.
the weather authority Triple-digit feels like temps and isolated storms Friday afternoon. The Weather Authority is tracking triple digits feels-like temperatures with scattered storms inland this Friday afternoon.
MGN WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health care spending last year grew at the fastest pace since President Barack Obama took office, driven by expanded coverage under his namesake law and by zooming prescription drug costs, the government said Wednesday. After five years of historically low growth, national health expenditures increased by 5.3 percent in 2014, reaching $3 trillion, or $9,523 for every man, woman and child. That followed a 2.9 percent increase for 2013. Such seemingly small percentage shifts resonate when the total is $3 trillion. The report by nonpartisan experts at the Department of Health and Human Services is an annual snapshot of the nation’s health care system, a major slice of the economy. Rising spending eventually has consequences for taxpayers, employers and individuals. For the Obama administration, it may signal the end of an unusually long lull in health care inflation that yielded political dividends. While the president’s health care law has increased coverage, the cost problem doesn’t appear solved. Even now, the Republican-led Congress is preparing to send a repeal bill to his desk. “From the political point of view, it’s absolutely significant,” said Robert Blendon, who follows public opinion on health care at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Critics will point to the report as authoritative evidence the health law is starting to raise costs. Underscoring concerns about affordability, the report also found that health care spending grew faster than the economy as a whole, reaching 17.5 percent of GDP. That’s worrisome because it means health care is claiming a growing share of national resources. “The return to faster growth and an increased share of GDP in 2014 was largely influenced by the coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act,” said the report, referring to Obama’s law. It made no predictions, saying future trends depend on how the health care industry adjusts to continuing change and how the economy fares. Political appointees at HHS responded quickly, saying that spending is still not growing as fast as in the years before Obama’s law, which passed in 2010. “Health care spending growth stayed well below the trend seen prior to the Affordable Care Act,” Richard Frank, a top economic adviser, said in a statement. The increase “is not surprising given that more people are covered and getting the health care they need,” Frank added. Much of that growth “will be temporary and will fade in the coming years,” he suggested. The report confirmed the increase in insurance coverage due to Obama’s law, already documented by major national surveys that show the uninsured rate at 9 percent, a historic low. Beyond that, however, it painted a picture of costs creeping upward at many critical points in the system. Among the major findings: – Prescription drug spending shot up by 12.2 percent in 2014, driven by new medications for hepatitis C infection, as well as treatments for cancer and multiple sclerosis. Hepatitis C drugs contributed $11.3 billion in new spending. – The growth in per-person health care spending was driven mainly by greater use of medical services, which outpaced increases in the price of those services. That suggests that some newly insured people got care they had previously gone without. Additionally, already-insured people may have gotten elective treatments postponed earlier during lean economic times. – Medicare spending increased by 5.5 percent last year, the fastest rate of growth since 2009. The two biggest reasons were the rising cost of prescription drugs, and more spending for doctors’ services and other outpatient care. – Spending on Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people, jumped by 11 percent in 2014, the fastest growth in more than a decade. That was mainly driven by the health law’s Medicaid expansion, which is optional for states. In some reassuring news for states, the report found that per-person spending declined due to healthier people signing up in the program. Also, the federal government picked up nearly all the new costs. Some outside experts who reviewed the report say they don’t see a return to galloping inflation, but even modest increases could lead to affordability problems. “We don’t read in this any sign that the pressure is off now and we are going back to double-digit growth,” said economist Charles Roehrig of the Altarum Institute, a Michigan-based nonprofit that does health care system research and consulting. But even if health care spending grew at a slower rate, closer to the overall economy, that would still be a major problem. It’s “not sustainable in the long term unless we want to increase the amount we collect in taxes,” said Roehrig. The federal report was published online by the health policy journal Health Affairs. ___ Online: Health Affairs – http://tinyurl.com/hlhr8cv