Latest news with #CapeCoral
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cape Coral man arrested year after fatal crash on DUI, vehicular homicide charges
A Cape Coral elder faces charges nearly a year after a Bradenton woman died in a Fort Myers crash while he was driving drunk and with a revoked license, authorities say. Larry Farmer, 86, faces one count of DUI manslaughter, one count of vehicular homicide, one count of driving while his license was revoked causing death and two counts of DUI causing property damage. According to troopers, on Sept. 29, 2024, Farmer's 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling south within the northbound lanes on Interstate 75, near mile marker 139, in Fort Myers. Declared incompetent for trial: Yanko Romero, facing possible death penalty in random slaying, remanded to hospital As Farmer continued to drive south, a 2021 Ford Bronco, driven by a 56-year-old Bradenton woman, was traveling north on I-75. Troopers said both drivers swerved their vehicles toward the west paved shoulder to avoid collision crashing head-on. Both cars sustained extensive front-end damage, troopers said. Both suffered serious injuries and were taken to Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers. The female driver, whose identity authorities have not released, died at the hospital. Authorities did not clarify by publication why his license was revoked. Farmer was arrested the afternoon of July 29 for the fatal crash and released within five hours on $37,000 bond. His arraignment is Sept. 2. Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@ or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral man arrested after fatal DUI crash
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bones Coffee Company Unveils New Fall Flavors: Frosted Pumpkin Roll & Blackberry Cobbler
CAPE CORAL, Fla., July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bones Coffee Company, the fan-favorite specialty coffee brand known for its bold brews and legendary seasonal drops, is bringing full-on flavor to the table with the return of its wildly popular Fall Flavors collection—headlined by two brand new flavors: Frosted Pumpkin Roll and Blackberry Cobbler. Move Over Pumpkin SpiceBones Coffee is known for its wide variety of pumpkin-flavored coffees, and this year's lineup might just be the most exciting yet. "Everyone's got pumpkin spice—but nobody does it like Bones," says Travis Rule, CEO and Co-Owner of Bones Coffee Company. "This fall, we're adding two completely new, decadent flavors that feel like dessert in a mug." Meet the 2025 Fall Flavors: NEW: Frosted Pumpkin Roll – Cozy cinnamon, creamy frosting, and rich pumpkin spice swirl into the ultimate fall treat—all in a smooth medium roast. NEW: Blackberry Cobbler – Inspired by Grandma's best dessert, this juicy, buttery blend captures the sweet nostalgia of late autumn mornings. Apple Cider Donut – A best-seller returns! Spiced apple and warm donut notes make this a seasonal go-to. Jacked O' Lantern – The OG pumpkin spice coffee that started it all. Smooth, warming, and still scary good. FrankenBones – Chocolate hazelnut madness brewed to perfection. All five are available in 12oz ground, whole bean, single serve Bones Cups, and a limited-edition Fall Flavors Sample Pack. For more information or to find a store near you, visit About Bones Coffee Company:Founded in Cape Coral, Florida, Bones Coffee is a small-batch coffee roaster dedicated to delivering high-quality, boldly flavored coffee with personality. Known for its creative blends, unique packaging, and passionate fanbase, Bones Coffee continues to shake up the coffee aisle with products that are anything but ordinary. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Bones Coffee Company Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Car Wash City: Cape Coral's abundance of this small business not so unusual
To many Cape Coral residents, it seems like every road they drive down in the city has another car wash on another corner. Some are already operating, many more are under construction. A constant point of conversation in the city, many find themselves asking: why are there so many car washes, and how did we get here? David Garberson, a Cape Coral resident, is watching another new car wash slowly coming together just 10 feet from his property line. He's concerned about privacy issues and the increased traffic to his neighborhood off Cape Coral Parkway. 'The people that live here just don't particularly care to have people pulling in looking directly in their windows,' Garberson said. 'How many times do you have to wash your car?' He's not the only one who feels like this. When responding to a poll published by The News-Press, 84% of respondents felt that there were too many car washes in Cape Coral, and that the city should stop building more. 'I don't know how the car washes we have make any money, of the dozen I drive by weekly I never see more than two cars there,' a commenter named Jeff said in the comments section of the poll. Car washes have been a booming industry for a while, with big spikes happening post-pandemic once national lockdowns were lifted. Many also attribute the spike to an overall change in attitude from consumers. According to the International Car Wash Association, more people are choosing to have their car washed for them as opposed to washing it themselves. They found that the percentage of drivers who choose to get their car washed by a professional car wash rose from 48% in 1980 to almost 80% today. "The Chamber of Commerce is a champion for business and advocate for community within the city of Cape Coral and believes it is our responsibility to oppose issues that create a negative impact on private property rights and the business community and its right to a free market," the letter said. John Shannon, a research economist with Florida Gulf Coast University, says that automation also plays a key role in the industry's success. 'Automation over the years has made these places more productive, which can lower the overall labor cost of these facilities,' Shannon said. Automation is right. These days, many car washes are sprawling complexes with multiple stations, and fully self-service. People won't see a single person throughout the entire process. With this recent growth, many are looking to the city for solutions. The city, in turn, has slowed down construction. The city has stopped new car wash constructions before. Back in April 2024, city councilmembers implemented a moratorium, or a pause, on new permits for car washes. As for why, Shannon suspects it's all about diversity. More: Cape Coral scrubs new car washes, storage units for remainder of year 'Commercial space is going to be more limited here, so when people look at car washes, they do take up quite a bit of space to develop, to operate,' he said. 'From a development standpoint, I can see if you want to diversify your economy more, you would want to incentivize other types of businesses to use some of this land space.' Cape Coral's Chamber of Commerce opposed the April 2024 moratorium in a position letter to city council. After the moratorium, in October, Cape Coral City Council approved a new ordinance, titled 'Ordinance 66-24,' that implemented new location restrictions, enclosure standards, residential adjacency requirements, and more to new car wash constructions. As of January 2025, the moratorium has been lifted, and all new car wash constructions must follow the regulations stated by Ordinance 66-24. Even with these new regulations, some citizens are still feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of car washes in the city. But are there really so many car washes? Or are people just noticing them more? While there are many car washes in Cape Coral, 43 according to Shannon, who cited data in Lightcast, a proprietary labor market analytics firm, it may be more a fact that people notice car washes because of the way that they're built and operated. And compared to other businesses, that number doesn't stick out as unreasonable. For comparison, according to Martindale-Hubbell, a database for law firms, there are almost 40 law firms operating today in Cape Coral. Similarly, there are almost 40 accounting/tax businesses in the city, according to a review of Google Maps. 'With respect to car washes, they're quite large establishments relative to a lot of other service types of establishments, so they're going to stick out more,' Shannon said. 'This is not to say that we don't have other types of services here, we just don't notice them as much.' Cape Coral Facebook groups are filled with hundreds of posts and opinions from residents about all of the car washes there − existing and new ones under construction. Here is a sampling of some of the best comments we found for a post from August 2024 that asked the question: Why are there so many car washes in Cape Coral? Note: The Cape Coral Residents Facebook Group is private, and responses can be viewed by members. Several News-Press staffers are members of that group and are identified as such. "Lots of car washes because there is a butt load of people here. Over 234K at last count. We have about the same ratio of car washes as a town of 30K having 2 car washes. Has anyone ever seen a Cape Coral car wash sit empty during operating hours? No? Me, neither." "Better than giant, high rise residential complexes." "We should be letting the business owners decide if there is room for another one or not. If they're willing to risk the money to build one, they looked at it a lot closer than anybody else would be." "We're going for a Guinness book world record!" "Have you seen the traffic? Lots of cars owned by people that won't wash it themselves= lots of car washes." "Y'all really beat this car wash topic to death lol" This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Why are there so many car washes in Cape Coral, Florida?
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Outraged homeowners call out insurance company CEO after shocking revelation: 'The whole thing is out of control'
As Florida families watch their home insurance premiums climb, one CEO's multimillion-dollar paycheck is drawing heated scrutiny. According to ABC Gulf Coast News, Slide Insurance CEO Bruce Lucas and his wife, Slide's COO, earned $21 million and $16.5 million, respectively, last year. Together, they brought in over $50 million in compensation, even as many Florida homeowners face rate hikes topping 20%. The payout comes at a time when insurance options in Florida are dwindling. Companies are pulling out of the state or slashing coverage, citing growing risks from extreme weather, like hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires. "The greed! The rich get richer and the poor get poorer," said Mary Bousquet, a Cape Coral resident. "It's just so unbalanced. The whole thing is out of control — it has to be fixed somehow." This headline is just another in the recent news to highlight how a changing climate is rapidly reshaping the insurance landscape. The warming of our planet, driven by human activities, like burning oil and gas, has led to more destructive weather events across the globe. Florida has seen stronger, wetter hurricanes and intensified flooding. These changes make homes riskier to insure, which leads to higher premiums or companies exiting high-risk areas altogether. That means families already struggling with high housing costs may be left without affordable options to protect their homes. And as more insurers cite climate risk in their decisions, this story is likely to repeat across coastal and fire-prone areas. So far, Slide has stayed quiet. The company declined to comment, citing a "quiet period," and has not directly addressed customer concerns about rate hikes. Founded just three years ago, Slide rapidly acquired policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the state-backed insurer of last resort. While it posted more than $200 million in profits in 2024, there has been no public explanation of why top leadership was paid so lavishly amid record-breaking customer expenses. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Policymakers and advocates are working on solutions. Florida recently approved smaller-than-requested rate increases for Citizens, with some customers even seeing cuts. Other efforts include pushing for stronger regulation of insurer profits, providing incentives for climate-resilient home upgrades, and expanding access to affordable, state-backed coverage. Climate-focused organizations like Rewiring America are also calling for investments in clean energy and infrastructure that can help reduce climate risk in the long term. Cleaner homes, upgraded power grids, and community resilience projects are all part of building a safer future. Rising insurance costs aren't just a money issue; they reflect the growing human toll of climate neglect. As long as we keep burning dirty energy and failing to prepare communities for worsening storms, more families will find themselves priced out of safety. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Growing number of homeowners who bought in pandemic boomtowns owe more than homes are worth
A growing number of homeowners who bought in pandemic boomtowns owe more than their homes are worth, according to a new report. During the Covid-19 pandemic, people with substantial savings who wanted a larger living space were driven to buy homes while mortgage rates were low, the Wall Street Journal explained in a recent article. They moved to towns such as Austin, Texas and Cape Coral, Florida, but now they are underwater, the Journal reported. An underwater mortgage occurs when a home loan has a higher principal than the market value of the property. More than half a million homeowners were underwater in April, Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at Intercontinental Exchange, told the Journal. The Journal reported a quick rise in home prices in these boomtowns was followed by a nearly 20 percent price drop in some of them after mortgage rates began to spike in 2022. This, along with the construction of more houses to meet demand, means a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, according to the Journal. While this is good news for potential homebuyers, it's unfortunate for homeowners looking to sell their houses. Now that their homes are worth less than they owe on their mortgages, if they want to sell, they'd have to pay their mortgage company the remaining balance once they sell at a lower price, the Journal reported. There is a surplus of unsold houses sitting on the market for weeks in these boomtowns, Bloomberg reported last Tuesday. The initial increase in home prices caused by pandemic-era demand can be described as a housing bubble. When the demand decreases as home supply increases, prices will drop, and the bubble will burst.
