SUN PHOTO BY BRENDA BARBOSA Charlotte County officials attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the new Charlotte County Human Services Department building Wednesday in Port Charlotte.

Charlotte County Sheriff's road patrol deputies arrested four Port Charlotte residents on cocaine charges Tuesday at 10:50 a.m. Deputies were patrolling an area on Lockwood Street in Port Charlotte after CCSO received several narcotics related tips about the home.

HERALD PHOTO BY SHIRLEY GEORGE Carolyn Brox, American Association of University Women president of the Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte branch, presents a certificate to Mary Lou Vernon for 64 years of membership in AAUW at the annual luncheon held May 3 at South Port Square in Port Charlotte.

M any times, when pet owners are faced with a difficult decision about what to do with a sick pet after being told nothing further can be done, they find veterinarian Anita Holt, founder of Pampered Pet Health Center in Port Charlotte.

Last week, the residents around the Sunshine Lake in Port Charlotte reported being unable to escape the algae's nauseating smell.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CONNIE THRASHER Officers from the Charlotte Academy Builders Club thanked the Sunsrise Kiwanis Club recently for its sponsorship of the middle-school service organization.

Thirty-one arrests were made in an online sex sting in Sarasota County. Almost half of them are from Southwest Florida.

The seventh annual Hibiscus Festival is set for Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Laishley Park.

Charlotte County Sheriff's detectives arrested a Port Charlotte man in connection with two business burglaries.

Thirty-one internet predators are now off the streets, thanks to Operation Intercept.