Punta Gorda | featured news

The smile said it all.
By now, most of Charlotte County has seen it — that boyish, slightly rascally smile that revealed at once a big heart and a playful spirit. Those who knew Sgt. Michael Wilson of Port Charlotte called that smile unforgettable.
“Many ...

PUNTA GORDA — The Sheriff’s Office has received many calls and emails in support of the family of fallen Sgt. Michael Wilson, who died Monday night responding to a domestic violence complaint at the Lakes of Tuscana Apartments in Port Charlotte. Many peop...

VENICE — The largest employer in Venice is once again reporting solid gains as the economy improves and the construction industry awakens to the demand for new homes and upgrading existing properties.
In the first seven months of this year, PGT Industries...

VENICE — Years of neglect, wear and tear and remnants of vandalism will be stripped away from the Venice Arena in the next few weeks — just as news arrives that a circus may come to town to raise money for the Arena renovation.
“Once it is stripped, we tr...

By all accounts of local law enforcement, Sgt. Michael Wilson was driven by his desire to protect the community. And his dogged persistence at police work made him very good at his job.
When Bill Cameron, former Charlotte County sheriff, created a new str...

A single bullet.
That’s all it took Monday night to end the life of Sgt. Michael Wilson, 42, a 21-year veteran of the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and a husband and father of three.
He was the first Charlotte County deputy to be killed by gunfire in ...

Before he completed his 30-plus years in the Army, Bob Dickinson was a an artillery officer, a fixed-wing airplane pilot, a helicopter pilot, a military intelligence officer, a transportation officer and a colonel serving as an assistant commander of the ...

It’s supposed to happen in big cities. Not here.
It’s supposed to happen in the blackness of night, in dark scary alleys where things do more than go bump. Not here.
It’s supposed to happen where the worst of the bad people live. Not here.
Never here. And...

PUNTA GORDA — With a smaller but spirited demonstration, Organization for Action-Florida was back in front of Rep. Tom Rooney’s office at the Historic Charlotte County Courthouse on Monday evening.
The organization’s intent — after a larger, placard-wavin...

Tara Sunnarborg, a third-grade teacher at Meadow Park Elementary School, was happy to meet her new class Tuesday.
“They’re coming (with) smiles on their faces,” said Sunnarborg. “All their supplies are ready, they’re eager to talk about what they’ve brou...