North Port News

SARASOTA CO., Florida -- A window with a hole blasted through it, blood on the seat, and a floor full of bird shot is what police found after a nasty and terrifying road rage incident.

Authorities are investigating a possible road rage incident in which two people were injured by a shotgun blast late Tuesday afternoon near North Port.

Strong seabreezes were fueling the formation of storms in eastern Manatee County on Monday afternoon, and the National Weather Service cautioned residents about severe weather until sundown.

A judge denied Matthew Smith's request for a lower bond Monday, saying that two counts of burglary and one count of scheming to defraud for his alleged role in a wide-ranging North Port real estate scam was fair and not unreasonable.

EMRICH, eallen@sun-herald.com Nine North Port High School seniors were honored Monday during the sixth annual Most Improved Student program at Heron Creek Golf & Country Club.

A North Port woman accused of scamming church members by falsely claiming her sons were killed fighting overseas has been sentenced to three years' probation.

The American Legion Riders of Post 254 are staging another Full Moon Dart Run for charity on Friday.

Crime took a dip in the city in 2012, as 1,204 total offenses were reported, compared to 1,533 in 2011, according to figures released recently from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Los Angeles have made some unusual seizures, including elephant meat, a dead primate and hundreds of handbags made from the skin of snakes, lizards and crocodiles.

SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN Christina Pacheco, a veterinary tech at Groves Veterinary Clinic, clips the nails on Lilly, a 3-year-old Great Dane.

Mailbox Crash Uncovers Urination in Pants Jeffrey Lannon Porter, a habitual offender who has been arrested and charged multiple times for DUI and driving on a suspended or revoked license, was arrested again earlier this month following a traffic stop in Largo.

The Rev. Clarence Honor of Payne Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Sarasota said he thinks of his role as a speaker at a revival much like a 1950s gasoline station attendant committed to check tire pressure and oil, clean the windshield and side windows and fill up the gas tank.

David Dignam and Eric Fogo, of Key Agency Insurance, and Dave Wampler, of Wampler Insurance and Financial Group are pleased to announce an affiliation of the two firms effective May 1, 2013 .

In an effort to keep the Warm Mineral Springs Day Spa open after the June 30 deadline passes, an interlocal agreement is awaiting signatures of the heads of the North Port City and Sarasota County commissions.

Christine R. Shannon, 85, of Port Charlotte, Fla., passed away peacefully Saturday, May 4, 2013, in her home, surrounded by family.

The state's unemployment numbers fell to 7.2 percent in April, still below the national average, as more people are finding work in the Sunshine State.

Additional charges have been filed against a former Sarasota County School Board IT employee arrested in late January on multiple counts of possession of child pornography, just days before he was scheduled to take a plea deal in the case.

Planning and Zoning Advisory Board members shot down a proposed assisted-living facility eyed for a neighborhood near Salford Boulevard Thursday, just days after a larger ALF garnered near universal praise from North Port city commissioners and the public.

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.

Marco's Pizza will provide food at the North Port Neighborhood Watch Block Picnic, set for noon Saturday, May 18 at Atwater Community Park.