About Southwest Florida

globeflash is based in sunny, beautiful Southwest Florida. Our beautiful state exudes creativity, nowhere else in the world can this type of beauty be found. The crushed snow white beaches, the perfect sunsets, not to mention the perfect weather. Southwest Florida was largely ignored by commercial developers until the late 1800s, and as such, lacks much of the heavier development present in other parts of Florida, such as that found in the central or southern regions of the state. In recent years however, there has been a major real estate boom focusing on downtown Fort Myers (high-rise residential condominiums); southern Lee County (commercial development and high-technology); eastern Collier County (residential development); and eastern parts of Bradenton

Overall, the region notably suffers from urban sprawl; however, numerous efforts in recent years have been made to remedy this situation, especially as the urbanized area of the coastal counties pushes eastward in to agricultural land and the sensitive Everglades.

Inland counties (De Soto, Hendry and Glades Counties) are notably rural, with the primary economic driver being agriculture. Important products grown in this area include tomatoes, beef, sugarcane, and citrus products including oranges. Agricultural harvesting in Southwest Florida employs approximately 16,000 seasonal workers, 90 percent of which are thought to be migrants. [2]

Government
Each county in the region has its own county government. Within each county, there are also self-governing cities, towns and villages. The remaining majority of land in each county is controlled directly by the county government. It is also very common for incorporated municipalities to contract county services in order to save costs and avoid redundancy.

Regional Transportation

Highways
Southwest Florida is served by several major highways, including the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and the Interstate 75 freeway, both of which connect the area to Tampa to the north, and Fort Lauderdale/Miami to the east. Long-term cooperative infrastructure planning is coordinated by the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (web site), and in heavily populated Lee County, the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Greyhound Lines serves several locations in Southwest Florida, including Bradenton, Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Sarasota.

Airports
Southwest Florida International Airport, located in South Fort Myers, served over 7.6 million passengers in 2006 and offers non-stop flights to 3 cities in Europe and 2 in Canada, in addition to 36 domestic airports. The area's secondary airport, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, served 1.42 million passengers in 2006 [1].

Seaport
The Port of Manatee provides a full range of port services for commercial, industrial and cruise ship purposes.

Railway
Seminole Gulf Railway provides freight services throughout Southwest Florida.

Tourism
Tourism is a major economic driver in the area. In addition, many seasonal residents live in the area during the winter months, as temperatures in south Florida stay very moderate during that time of year.

Major attractions/destinations:

Beaches in the following locales:
Bonita Beach
Cape Romano
Fort Myers Beach
Longboat Key, offshore from Bradenton and Sarasota
Marco Island, offshore from Naples
Naples
Sanibel and Captiva Islands, offshore from South Fort Myers (renowned for the quality of shells that wash ashore)
Sarasota
Siesta Key
Ten Thousand Islands
Venice (renowned for sharks' teeth that wash ashore)
Attractions including:
Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation (where the Seminole nation operates a sizable casino)
Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers
Lake Okeechobee renowned for fishing and ecotourism.
Naples Botanical Garden
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens
Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota
St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota

Spring training
Florida is the traditional home for Major League Baseball spring training, with teams informally organized into the "Grapefruit League." As of 2004, Southwest Florida hosts the following major league teams for spring training:

Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers
Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota
Minnesota Twins in South Fort Myers
Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton

Area codes
Area code 239 Collier & Lee Counties (Portions of Hendry, Charlotte and Monroe Counties)
Area code 941 Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota Counties
Area code 863 Hendry and Glades Counties

Southwest Florida News
Southwest Florida News

Collier County News
Thousands of Collier County news articles

The News-Press

Florida Weekly

Local Television Stations
WINK-TV CBS
WBBH "NBC 2"
WFTX "FOX 4"
WXCW "CW 6"
WZVN "ABC 7"
"WNFM" "My TV 8"

Southwest Florida Information
http://www.swflwired.com Southwest Florida Information
http://www.SouthwestFlorida.com Southwest Florida's Complete Guide

Counties
County County Seat Pop. (2004 est.) Pop. (2000) Change (2000 - 2004) Change (1990 - 2000)
Charlotte County Punta Gorda 157,134 141,627 +10.9% +27.6%
Collier County Naples 296,678 251,377 +18.0% +65.3%
DeSoto County Arcadia 34,892 32,209 +8.3% +35.0%
Glades County Moore Haven 11,131 10,576 +5.2% +39.3%
Hendry County LaBelle 38,163 36,120 +5.4% +40.5%
Lee County Fort Myers 514,295 440,888 +16.6% +31.6%
Manatee County Bradenton 296,385 264,002 +12.3% +24.7%
Sarasota County Sarasota 355,477 325,957 +9.1% +17.3%
Total 1,704,155 1,500,846 +13.5%
Florida - statewide 17,397,161 15,982,378 +8.8%% +23.5%

Major incorporated cities
Bradenton, Manatee County
Bonita Springs, Lee County
Cape Coral, Lee County
Fort Myers, Lee County
Naples, Collier County
North Port, Sarasota County
Sarasota, Sarasota County
Punta Gorda, Charlotte County

Major unincorporated communities
Communities listed have a population greater than 30,000 according to the 2000 census.

Lehigh Acres, Lee County
North Fort Myers, Lee County
Port Charlotte, Charlotte County
South Fort Myers, Lee County
LaBelle, Hendry County