Punta Gorda News

When Raffaele Ponti says he's excited about the upcoming season of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, his eyes flash and he can hardly contain himself.

Community Eye Center is offering Free Vision Screenings for students K-12. The screenings are available throughout the year.

Tuesday, the Peace River Wildlife Center released a purple gallinule into the wild at Ollie's Pond in Port Charlotte.

At age 12, the family moved to Tampa, Fla., and, being the oldest of four children, he spent many of his young years helping to provide for the family.

A sharp-eyed Charlotte County deputy noticed someone behind the wheel when he shouldn't have been and made a traffic stop resulting in a drug arrest Tuesday.

A former state corrections officer who hired a prostitute, then secretly recorded them having sex before posting the video online agreed to a plea deal Tuesday.

This week we learned a Miami man caught and killed the longest Burmese python ever captured in Florida .

A school employee was charged with DUI Tuesday after she allegedly showed up to work so intoxicated she could barely get out of her car, according to the Punta Gorda Police Department.

SUN PHOTO BY KRIS STEWART Speakers, vendors and local agencies at Saturday's Hurricane & Business Expo all stressed the same thing A- preparedness, preparedness, preparedness.

Chris Evans is proud that the 4th Fest fireworks display on the Fourth of July in Punta Gorda has grown every year to become what he believes is the biggest and best in Southwest Florida.

Dorothy Carter is a woman on a mission. Taking advantage of Senior Discount Day on a Monday afternoon last month at Bealls Outlet in Punta Gorda, the Gulf Cove resident searched for hard-to-find 95 percent discount items to donate to some charities.

SUN PHOTO BY TAMI GARCIA, tgarcia@sun-herald.com Elizabeth Gruca and Letitia Guido move the tassels on their caps Friday afternoon at the Charlotte Performing Arts Center in Punta Gorda, after being recognized officially by Charlotte County Public Schools superintendent Doug Whittaker as graduates.

SUN PHOTO BY JEN BRUNO The seniors of Edison Collegiate High School watch as their fellow classmates take their turn receiving their diploma during the school's first commencement ceremony, held Friday evening at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda.

SUN PHOTO BY AL HEMINGWAY Dressed in ceremonial garb, John Griffin explains the role Black Seminoles had during their conflicts with the U.S., during the 13th annual Emancipation Day celebration Saturday afternoon at the Blanchard House Museum in Punta Gorda.

SUN PHOTO BY BETSY WILLIAMS Sporting multicolor hibiscus and butterflies on her hat, Marinna Rhodes, 4, waits patiently for the start of the 2013 Lil' Miss Hibiscus pageant for girls to represent the City of Hibiscus - Punta Gorda.

Edison State College honored its first family Friday evening during ceremonies at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda.

Charlotte QB Amari Washington carries against Dunbar during the second quarter Friday at Charlotte High School.

MELLINGER Heidi Lange and Kitty-Wan Kenobi of Sandman Book Co. look forward to greeting everyone at their fourth anniversary celebration Thursday.

The Civilian Gun Safety Class scheduled for Saturday has been canceled. Another class will be held in June, but the exact date has not yet been determined.

Employing "something old" in its recent fundraising campaign, the United Way of Charlotte County soared past its goal of $900,000, reaching $944,000. "I don't know what exactly to attribute it to," said executive director Carrie Blackwell Hussey.