Naples Daily News Weekend Digest Miss something this week? Catch up on a few of our big stories in this quick digest
Collier girls take on tech summer camp
Jameela Carrasco's face basked in the glow of her computer as she dragged an image of an angry carrot-wielding bunny from "The Secret Life of Pets" into Adobe Muse CC, a website development program.
Carrasco, 13, is one of around 10 middle and high school-aged girls who learned how to navigate byzantine software as part of the Aspire IT summer program at Hodges University.
“I’ve always been fascinated by technology, and I wanted to know what it was like to experience this kind of stuff,” she said. “You always hear about how women don’t have as much power as men, and here we get a different experience. We get exposed to different things.”
The program, which costs $20 and runs for four days over the last two weeks of July, encourages young girls to enter the technology sector, a notoriously male-driven field.
In 2014, 57 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients in the U.S. were female, yet women made up 17 percent of computer and information sciences bachelor’s degree recipients, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology, the organization that funds Aspire IT programs nationwide. The professional field reflects a similar imbalance: In 2015 women made up 57 percent of the workforce yet 25 percent of computing jobs.
2 dead, up to 17 hurt after shooting at Fort Myers club
Hours after Monday’s early morning double homicide in Fort Myers, local leaders still could see the bloodstains in the parking lot and the beer advertisements plastered on the windows of a Fort Myers nightclub. However, they could provide few answers about the fifth mass shooting in Lee County the past 10 months.
At about 12:30 a.m. Monday, 19 people between the ages of 12 and 27 suffered gunshot wounds, two fatally, as they left Club Blu at 3850 Evans Ave., just east of Fowler Street.
In the 45 minutes that ensued, police chased three suspects in a white Chevrolet Impala and stopped the car near Luckett Road and Ortiz Avenue, almost 7 miles from the shooting scene. Two suspects tried to escape from the car by foot. The driver was shot in the abdomen by law enforcement as he attempted to hit a deputy with the car, according to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting the Fort Myers Police Department with the investigation.
A score of television news trucks were parked at Club Blu throughout Monday as leaders, onlookers, media and a minister tried to make sense of why and how two teenagers were killed and so many were injured.
Floridians relish historic chance to vote for woman to be president
Some Florida delegates to the Democratic National Convention are thrilled to be able to vote for Hillary Clinton, the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major political party.
That’s equal parts Hillary Clinton and woman.
“I know history is going to happen, but what’s more important to me, she’s the most qualified candidate we’ve had in many years,” said Dianne Krumel, a Clinton delegate from Pensacola.
From first-time delegates to long-time party activists, members of the delegation agreed Clinton’s experience and credentials are at least as important to them as her gender. Still, they couldn’t help feeling an extra tinge of excitement at being able to cast a vote for a woman for the first time.
“My heart was pounding as I was signing my name,” Krumel said.
Naples ranks 38th on list of world's priciest beaches
Financially, a day at the beach in Naples is no day at the beach.
That, at least, is according to TravelBird, which calculated the average cost for sunscreen, a bottle of water, a beer, ice cream, lunch and any applicable access fees at 250 beaches worldwide.
The Dutch travel website standardized prices, portion sizes and currency exchange rates.
Naples-area beaches ranked 38 on the list of most expensive beaches. TravelBird calculated that sunscreen cost $7.02, a bottle of water $1.69, a beer $5.87, ice cream $2.40 and lunch (meal and drink for one person) $25.11, for a total of $42.09.
By comparison, the priciest day for a spot on the sand in all the world was La Plage de Maui in Tahiti, French Polynesia, where the cost for the same beach supplies was $60.13, TravelBird said. The cheapest beach was Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An, Vietnam, where they cost only $13.54.
Twice-widowed retirees find love again in Bentley Village
Accounts differ as to when,where and how Gene Blanchard and Shirley C. Blanchard first met.
It might have been when Gene, the building representative for their shared wing at Bentley Village, made it a point to introduce himself to Shirley, a new resident.
Or perhaps it was in passing sometime in 2013, given the two parked their golf carts in the same car port.
In any case, the real banter began when Gene nearly struck Shirley.
"I was pulling out of the golf car space pretty fast," Gene admitted.
"I heard you and then I see this thing barreling towards me," Shirley said.
After the incident, Shirley wouldn't let Gene forget. She'd see him driving or walking and wave her hands, playfully warning him to keep his distance.
"You said you wouldn't say anything bad about me," Gene teased one morning, as the two recounted their whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage — the third for each of them as both have been widowed twice.
