AARON HALE

Call it subtraction by way of addition. Collier County EMS, which has been under fire for slow response times in the city of Naples, added another ambulance unit within city limits on Thursday to decrease on-scene arrival times.

The brush fire near the intersection of Shady Hollow Boulevard and Immokalee Road temporarily closed Immokalee Road in both directions earlier this afternoon.

To cut costs, the Collier County School District eliminated seven bus routes last week, putting more riders on fewer buses.

A criminal complaint against Collier County Commissioner Fred Coyle and EMS Chief Jeff Page has been passed on to state investigators.

An early morning fire today at an Immokalee supermarket has caused significant damage to the store.

Richard Gonzalez claims EMS Chief Jeff Page and Collier County Commissioner Fred Coyle used an illegally intercepted cell phone conversation as the basis for cheating allegations against his Medical Career Institute.

An East Naples women said she is happy to be alive after a Sunday boat outing on the Marco River brought an unexpected guest onboard – a fully-grown bottlenose dolphin.

Roughly 150 demonstrators including Catholic Bishop Frank Dewane stood and prayed outside Planned Parenthood in Naples today in opposition to the clinic’s abortion procedures.

What started as a house fire suppression call in Golden Gate Estates turned into a crime scene investigation Friday afternoon after firefighters suspected they found marijuana at the scene of the fire, according to Chief Robert Metzger, of the Golden ...

After a nearly two-year hiatus, North Naples Fire Control and Rescue District is now just weeks aways from reintroducing its advanced life support program.

At a public workshop Thursday, the Collier Commission directed county staff to begin drafting an ordinance to create a new public body to set standards for a uniform pre-hospital emergency medical system in Collier County.

If the issue of fire district consolidation in south Lee County is not dead, then it’s at least on life support.

Calling public safety its top priority, the Collier County Commission made a New Year’s resolution in January to begin overhauling the current pre-hospital emergency care system.

Fifteen commissioners from three south Lee County fire districts are meeting Wednesday night to discuss whether to merge into one district. Don’t expect those numbers to add up to a clear consensus.

Two teens and two adults were charged with an East Naples drive-by shooting on Thursday, according to a Collier Sheriff’s arrested report.

Keith Teague, 51, was promoted from assistant chief to the indefinite interim chief by the East Naples fire board by a unanimous vote at an emergency meeting Tuesday.

East Naples Fire Chief Doug Dyer announced his retirement for the second time in less than three months amidst complaints of inappropriate behavior from his staff.

To ensure a safer landing with no surprises, Collier County’s Medflight program has added a new safety feature to its air ambulance helicopters.

Restoration is underway in the Picayune Strand, a stretch of 55,000 acres between Alligator Alley and U.S. 41 East, to reverse the effects of construction of a subdivision that began decades ago but was abandoned before the project was finished.

An early morning fire severely damaged a vacation home Monday in Bonita Springs.

An owl got a second today chance when Bonita Springs firefighters pulled it from the grill of a car after it was struck on Interstate 75.

The East Naples firefighter union is claiming the East Naples Fire Control and Rescue District is not doing enough to investigate discrimination complaints made against the fire chief.

Officials from the North Naples Fire Control and Rescue District said they tried to address every last controversial element in a legislative bill that would allow for fire district consolidation in Collier County.

The Collier County Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to not increase Dr. Robert Tober’s consulting fees for 2011 Tober, a nationally celebrated yet controversial figure in the ongoing discussion of altering the county Emergency Medical Service system, was seeking a 5 ...

A parked Collier County Sheriff’s cruiser was struck by a drunk driver early Thursday morning in North Naples, according to a Collier County Sheriff’s Office report.

After three-and-half hours of discussion there was a tepid agreement that the Fire Service Steering Committee should aim to become more effective.

Firefighters battled flames early Thursday morning at a warehouse in North Naples.

Winter storm conditions in the Midwest and Northeast are once again ruining plans for travelers hoping to arrive and depart from Southwest Florida.

Less than 12 hours after a Collier County commission discussion led to a war of words between two commissioners, the fallout continues.

A legislative bill that could provide the framework for future Collier County fire district consolidation down the road approached its first red light on Tuesday.

The County Commission voted to grant the fire district the ability to increase its level of care at on-scene medical emergencies, reversing an October vote that denied the request

There is good news for Southwest Florida job seekers — but it’s not that good of news, labor leaders report. Southwest Florida’s unemployment rate declined in December, but remains in the double digits and higher than the national average, labor ...

Slusser has made great strides since he was struck, then abandoned, by a vehicle in a hit-and-run pedestrian collision in October 2009 that left him in a coma.

The remains, which were found in a densely vegetated area south of Immokalee Road near the North Naples Walmart, were initially discovered early Wednesday evening by someone who was walking through woods, Roberts said.

Dyer had initially told East Naples Fire Commissioners last week that he would retire. “I’ve changed my mind,” he said at the meeting.

After a citizen-based panel presented a report recommending changes to the pre-hospital emergency care model, the Collier County Commission agreed to move forward in examining how to implement alterations.

East Naples Fire Chief Doug Dyer will announce his intent to retire from the department at Tuesday’s East Naples Fire Commission meeting, according the meeting’s agenda.

Tim Delano expected his life to change in 2010, but not for the reasons it did. Delano, of Golden Gate Estates, graduated from Palmetto Ridge High School in June with plans to find a job and pursue a career as ...

While the discussion of Collier County fire district consolidation carries over into 2011, two firefighter unions have already agreed to merge.

Phil McKee, 42, lost his main source of income — stock dividends that came from his inheritance — when the market fell in the recent economic collapse.

While Southwest Florida produce growers are still tallying the losses from this week’s freezing temperatures that killed or damaged much of the crops, the tourism industry seems to have weathered cold relatively unscathed.

Another freeze threatened Southwest Florida’s crops early this morning, and initial reports show mixed results.

Robert Molleda, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Miami/South Florida Forecast Office, said these kinds of back-to-back cold snaps are rare in South Florida, especially for the first half of December.

Power was lost for more than an hour in businesses around Naples Boulevard and Hollywood Drive.

For a second straight morning on Wednesday, Southwest Florida farmers endured freezing temperatures at a time of year when frost is typically rare.

Area farms and packing houses in Southwest Florida relieved, but not letting guard down with two more mornings of cold temperatures forecast

A Golden Gate Estates man was arrested on suspicion of brutally killing a black bear near his home Monday after he reported the animal clashed with his pit bull.

A Golden Gate Estates man was arrested by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials and charged with killing a black bear that was on his property Monday night.

Just after midnight, Nghia Doan stepped up to the blue tape stretched in a line across the sidewalk. He was more than four hours early, just the way the 23-year-old had planned it.

More than 100 fans turned out this morning to buy tickets to the Naples-South Fort Myers football game Friday night.