Charlotte County, Punta Gorda | featured news

PUNTA GORDA — The Punta Gorda Police Department dedicated its September Do the Right Thing program to the memory of Sgt. Michael Wilson and his family on Thursday.
On Aug. 5, Wilson was gunned down while responding to a domestic dispute. He was the first ...

September in Florida usually marks another month of hot, steamy weather, while the rest of the country is experiencing the transition into fall and spending more time outdoors.
Before that invigorating weather gets here, how about tackling a closet or two...

RIO DE JANEIRO (Bloomberg) — Brazilian authorities have canceled a trip to Washington to prepare for President Dilma Rousseff’s state visit next month, to protest allegations the United States spied on top officials in Latin America’s largest economy.
Di...

VIENNA (AP) — Vienna’s Schoenbrunn Zoo is reporting the first live birth of an elephant through artificial insemination using frozen sperm.
Zoo veterinarian Thomas Voracek calls the birth of the female calf on Wednesday evening “a milestone.”
It’s relativ...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shook hands, smiled and made small talk about the scenery on Thursday — a public exchange of pleasantries belying a tense relationship that only seems to be ge...

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The family of Victor Jara claims to have solved the 40-year-old mystery of who killed the revered folk singer during Chile’s 1973 coup, and they’re preparing to prove it in a federal courtroom in Jacksonville, Florida, invoking rare...

TAMPA (AP) — Officials are blaming a noxious odor that’s settled over Tampa and the eastern portion of Hillsborough County on pesticides sprayed on strawberry fields.
Tampa Fire Rescue and the Hillsborough County Health Department issued alerts Thursday ...

MIAMI (AP) — Miami-Dade police say they’ve found the body of a missing teenager in a canal near the Florida Everglades.
Family members told police they had not heard from 18-year-old Jesus Trejo since Tuesday. He was last seen at a friend’s house.
Inves...

ORLANDO (AP) — Visitors to Orlando often try new things while on vacation: thrilling roller coasters, luxury hotels, different cuisines.
Now they can try out a fully electric car — and not have to pay for gas during their vacation.
Under a new program an...

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami-Dade elections department is working with its software vendor to make it easier for staff to flag suspicious absentee-ballot requests.
The Miami Herald reports the change will take effect next year. It won’t cost the county any add...