LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE, - Marco Eagle's Department

About LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE

Information

Biography

Leslie was not born a Tar Heel, but she spent most of her life in the great state of North Carolina, growing up in the mountains of Asheville where she developed a love for hiking, biking, kayaking and camping. After graduating from high school, she struck across the state for Chapel Hill, where she spent four years studying journalism and anthropology, as well as men's basketball between the months of November and March.

Soon after her spring 2007 graduation, Leslie arrived in Naples to begin covering city government on Marco Island for the Marco Eagle, part of the Naples News Media Group. There, she covered city council elections amid a controversial project to replace the island's aging septic tanks with sewers, a political issue that pitted islander against islander.

In 2008, Leslie moved to the Naples office to take over coverage of the transportation and growth beat. Major issues during her time covering transportation and growth include the state's efforts to lease Alligator Alley to a private entity, at the heart of one of her first assignments on the beat. At the start of 2009, Leslie began covering education in Lee County, entering the scene just as budget discussions struck up surrounding fears of a looming deficit that threatens to change the landscape of public education.

While not working, Leslie enjoys reading, running, playing tennis with comical ineptitude and camping during the two months of the year when the weather allows it in Southwest Florida.

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Swing by some of Leslie's favorite Web sites:

■ For your NPR fix when you don't have a radio handy

■ For when you can't remember the name of that actor in that movie you saw ages ago

■ For when you need a quick laugh to keep you moving through your day

Position History

Multimedia Journalist
07/14/2007 - 08/01/2011

RSS Feeds

College suicide: Second-leading cause of student death hits home in Southwest Florida Published 01/01/2012 at 7 p.m.
While older people are significantly more likely than college students to take their own lives, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students, after car accidents. By comparison, suicide is the ninth most common cause of death among ...
Vanderbilt Beach boardwalk aging, but park improvements coming next year - PHOTOS Published 07/22/2011 at 8:34 p.m.
Vanderbilt Beach Park is scheduled for a $1.2 million restroom makeover, expected to begin next year and be completed the following year. But until then, beach-goers will have to keep muddling through with the cramped restrooms at the park’s entrance, ...
Fired FGCU professor Lounsbury should be reinstated with back pay, judge rules Updated 07/18/2011 at 6:05 p.m. 1 Comment
Fired FGCU forensics assistant professor David Lounsbury should be reinstated, a Lee circuit judge has ruled. The judge confirmed an arbitrator's May 2010 decision stating that Lounsbury should be reinstated and given back pay by Florida Gulf Coast University
FGCU reorganizing, creating new schools, combining others Published 07/16/2011 at 4 p.m.
A housekeeping of sorts is under way at Florida Gulf Coast University.The changes piggyback on the results of a year-long study of the university’s programs and academic structure.
Fired FGCU professor's fate still up in the air Updated 07/12/2011 at 4:32 p.m.
An instructor fired by Florida Gulf Coast University two years ago will have to keep waiting to hear what a Lee County judge has to say about his fate.
Fired FGCU professor’s reinstatement case heads to trial Tuesday Published 07/10/2011 at 3 p.m.
Nearly two years to the day after he was fired, FGCU criminal forensics assistant professor David Lounsbury will have his day in court.Lounsbury, fired from Florida Gulf Coast University on July 14, 2009, will have his employment status determined in ...
Edison weighs Bonita Springs site, expanding main campus to adjacent land Published 07/01/2011 at 8 p.m.
Edison State College is looking at setting up a satellite campus in Bonita Springs and expanding to property adjacent to its main site in Fort Myers.
WGCU prepares for $500,000 budget cuts; audience shouldn’t notice Published 06/29/2011 at 7:20 p.m.
The station is avoiding layoffs and making only slight changes to programming, in some cases scaling back the frequency of certain locally-produced recurring segments and in others reducing travel and training costs.
Edison State trustees approve tuition increase, staff raises Published 06/28/2011 at 9:11 p.m.
Trustees meanwhile gave the go-ahead for the college to increase wages for salaried, non-teaching staff members by 4 percent and hourly staff members by 5 percent.
Getting schooled: Labor law crackdown affects businesses, student interns Published 06/26/2011 at 6:10 p.m.
With legions of college students entering internships and seeking on-the-ground professional experience this summer, many face a conundrum: paid internship or unpaid? Companies are still struggling to dig out of the recession, and the number of employers hiring recent college ...