Machines that fabricate items on demand. Technology that turns a digital computer model into a physical object. Once the realm of science fiction, 3D printers are increasingly common in schools, libraries, and on university campuses, and they're being used to create every-day objects to complex medical devices and even human body parts .

The Punta Gorda police officer who shot and killed a local woman in an August citizens demonstration has been charged with manslaughter. The city's police chief also faces a charge of culpable negligence in the shooting death of 73-year-old Mary Knowlton.

The Florida Highway patrol is charting what its officers call an "alarming" increase in hit-and-run crashes statewide for several years running , with Lee County ranking eight in the state for the number of crashes. That's on top of a growing number drivers on state roads and a surge in traffic deaths in Florida . Estimates from 2016 put the number of traffic deaths above 3,200, a jump of nearly ten percent. Lee County again leads Southwest Florida as the county with the deadliest roads in the

Clean, renewable energy has been the goal for environmentally-minded energy users, aspiring engineers, and businesses and utilities alike. In Florida, solar power is often touted as the solution to the Sunshine State's energy needs, but a group of researchers and engineers in South Florida think "blue energy" derived from ocean currents like the Gulf Stream has just as big a part to play in renewably powering Florida's future.

Florida's cattle culture dates back nearly 500 years, from the first cattle unloaded by Spanish sailors near present-day Port Charlotte, to the cattle-driving "cow hunters" of the 19th century, to the modern-day industry that tops more than 1 billion head of cattle in the state and boasts one of the largest commercial cattle herds in the country.

Local city and county governments won't be able to impose new regulations on "businesses, professions, and occupations," and state law would preempt any existing local laws and regulations: that's the heart of House Bill 17 , now advancing in Tallahassee.

Author, journalist, and environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas is perhaps best known for her 1947 book "Everglades: River of Grass." But at the 13th annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas Festival in Everglades City, her legacy in Florida is still celebrated 70 years after her seminal work was published.

Florida lawmakers hid hundreds of millions of dollars for special projects inside funding for state universities, a report from the Naples Daily News claims. The projects, added without debate or input from the public or other lawmakers, don't officially appear in the state's $82.3 billion budget approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Rick Scott.

South Florida is home to some of the grayest counties in the country , and as more seniors face critical decisions about where and how they live, questions about what programs seniors can take advantage and the kind of care available in Southwest Florida are common.

A pitbull named Abigail was rescued late last year from "bait dog hell." The dog was being used as bait in dogfights, and was saved only after suffering severe injuries to her face and ear that required extensive veterinary care.