August 4, 2026 By Nathan Mayberg

Fort Myers Beach Council approves preliminary budget with 30% millage rate increase

ROAR Offshore to return to Fort Myers Beach with "Reborn on the Gulf" Weekend

School board gives nod to $3.1 billion tentative budget

Silver Sands hotel, Wyndham Garden Inn redevelopment to get first hearings in front of Town of Fort Myers Beach Council this Monday

Crescent Beach Family Park reopens

London Bay seeks to bypass Town Council with new plans featuring hotel, large-scale workforce housing and condo project for Outrigger

July 30, 20269 min read

Just one week before they were scheduled to go in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council for a hearing on their plans to redevelop the Outrigger Beach Resort, London Bay has filed a new application for a development order seeking to bypass the Council altogether for their beachfront ...

Crescent Beach Family Park to reopen Wednesday

July 28, 20262 min read

Lee County Parks & Recreation is scheduled to reopen Crescent Beach Family Park on Fort Myers Beach this morning following the completion of a restoration project that rebuilt and enhanced the beachfront park after damage caused by Hurricane Ian. The $1.3 million project restored the ...

Fire chief predicts millage rate hike if homestead exemption referendum passes

July 28, 20264 min read

Fort Myers Beach Fire Chief Scott Wirth is forecasting millage rate hikes if a state referendum to increase the homestead property tax exemption up from $50,000 to $250,000 passes in November. While the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District Board of Fire Commissioners approved Wirth’s ...

Arrest report details shootout on I-75 between officers and suspect

July 28, 2026 5 min read

An arrest report from the Florida Highway Patrol filed with Lee County Court details how officers took a man sought in a St. Petersburg homicide into custody following a wild shootout after a standoff on I-75 that shut the highway down for hours outside of Fort Myers last Wednesday. The ...

Libertarian Party of Lee County to host two candidate forums

July 23, 2026 2 min read

The Libertarian Party of Lee County will hold two forums in the upcoming weeks to provide a platform for 2026 Candidates and School Board Candidates to address the community. With a school board meeting scheduled on Monday, Aug. 3, the Libertarian Party of Lee County aims to engage with ...

FHP arrests homicide suspect in Lee County

July 22, 2026 4 min read

State troopers took a man sought in a St. Petersburg homicide into custody following a standoff on I-75 that shut the highway down outside of Fort Myers Wednesday, and which has widely been reported to have involved guns being fired. The Florida Highway Patrol has released little information ...

Guest Commentary | Property tax reform amendment threatens conservation measures

June 22, 2026 4 min read

In an abbreviated two-day special session on June 1-2 to discuss property tax reform, the Legislature passed the governor’s proposed state constitutional amendment to increase the existing property tax homestead exemption from the current $50,000 to an eventual $250,000. The amendment, which ...

Proposed homestead property exemption expansion gives illusion that government can be free

June 9, 2026 6 min read

Appropriately coinciding with the official start of hurricane season Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special legislative session to push his “Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes” plan to slash, if not eliminate, property taxes The State Legislature obliged, passing a ...

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New poll question for Fort Myers Beach Observer Do you support the proposed state constitutional amendment up for referendum to give homestead property owners an exemption from local municipal government taxes for up to $250,000 of their property's value?

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