North Port News

Rita L., 90, of White Bear Township, MN and formerly of Huntington, Long Island passed away June 30, 2009 in Port Charlotte, Florida.

The 25-year-old man who was shot in the abdomen last week is expected to make a full recovery, authorities said Wednesday.

Firefighter after firefighter battled numerous lightning strike-related calls for blazes.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office deputies have arrested Roland Carly Saintlot, 20, of North Port and charged him attempted murder.

Lisa Marie Mazzeo of North Port has been cleared of two of three traffic charges in a case in which North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis said he accidentally ordered an evidence tape erased.

Published: Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 5:50 p.m. Gracious hostess and gala chairman Laura Rummans, along with co-chair Nancy Wosney, warmly greeted guests at the Heron Creek Golf and Country Club recently in honor of North Port's 50th anniversary.

A witness told police she saw Billy Jack Courtright snort cocaine and his 15-year-old stepson, Nicholas Block, grab a bag of his oxycodone pills Thursday night in a North Port motel room.

A Port Charlotte teen is in critical condition after car surfing in North Port. According to North Port Police Department, officers responded to a one vehicle crash at South Yorkshire Street and Eastman Circle just before 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

On June 10, police raided a local storage unit rented by North Porter Edward Chinnici that contained several explicit videos which likely include the rape and murder of 6-year-old Coralrose Fullwood, according to documents filed by the North Port Police Department.

Published: Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. The new contract with the firefighter's union did not break the bank, said North Port Fire Chief William Taaffe.

North Port's Genn Mendez, a former winner of the Nolan Henke/Patty Berg Junior Masters in Fort Myers, lost on the first playoff hole in the first round of match play today in the 33rd U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Devens, Mass.

Published: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 11:27 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 11:27 a.m. One department head after another trudged to the podium at today's daylong capital improvement project hearings with a similar message: Projects in North Port will be delayed as funding is slashed in the cash-strapped city.

When paramedics first entered room 107 of the Budget Inn last Friday morning, they found 15-year-old Nicholas Block on one bed and his mother on the other.

The parents of a Sarasota County teenager have been charged with child neglect in the boy's death.

FORT MYERS: The governor received the names of five local attorneys who are on the short list for an open judge position in Southwest Florida.

Published: Monday, June 22, 2009 at 3:12 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, June 22, 2009 at 3:12 p.m. Water and swer bills in North Port will increase 15 percent over the next two years after the City Commission agreed to a utilities department plan to raise rates.

NORTH PORT : Two parents were arrested in connection to their 15-year-old son's death from an apparent a drug overdose.

CHARLOTTE COUNTY: There was a bit of controversy over a big investment in Punta Gorda this weekend.

Seven-year-old Kerry Maclean reached past her nearly unconscious mother and hit the OnStar button.

A North Port teen's mother and step-father are facing child neglect charges in connection with the boy's death.