Disaster tax relief bill passed after over 2 yearsElevate Social Lounge opens Kava bar at University Village near FGCU
WINK NEWS Disaster tax relief bill passed after over 2 years After more than two years of uncertainty, victims of Hurricane Ian and other disasters are getting some financial relief.
Elevate Social Lounge opens Kava bar at University Village near FGCU For almost four years, Mitra 9 has marketed itself as the Budweiser of Kava, trying to make mainstream a growing trend of Kava-infused drinks that are said to help reduce anxiety.
ESTERO Funeral procession held for former Lee County firefighter Hundreds joined to pay their respects to a beloved firefighter who passed away in November.
FORT MYERS Will new developments along SR 82 cause traffic problems? New developments are coming to State Road 82 near the Forum, the biggest of which is Amazon’s new robotics fulfillment center.
SANIBEL 36th annual Sanibel Luminary Festival begins It’s the holiday season, and there are events galore across Southwest Florida this weekend. One of those events is the Sanibel Luminary Festival.
FORT MYERS FGCU student arrested, accused of making social media threat against university Florida Gulf Coast University police have arrested a student accused of sending a threat to the university through Snapchat.
SANIBEL Sanibel annual 10K/5K race begins this weekend Sanibel’s annual food programs, island-based social services and Helping Hands’ JOG N JAM 10K/5K race will close several roads this Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Teen accused of stealing vehicle from Cape Coral driveway A 16-year-old with a history of stealing cars has been arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a Cape Coral driveway.
Tim Aten Knows: Work begins for new Publix at Wiggins and U.S. 41 Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs.
WINK NEWS Cold front brings stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening A cold front will bring in stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening with warmer temperatures in the upper 70s.
FORT MYERS House fire in downtown Fort Myers caused by smoking A house fire caused a massive scene overnight near downtown Fort Myers, with smoke visible from the home.
CAPE CORAL Veterans Memorial Parkway in Cape Coral reopens after pedestrian crash An access point to Midpoint Bridge getting into Fort Myers has reopened after a pedestrian crash early Friday morning.
FORT MYERS Road closures in Downtown Fort Myers due to Festival of Trees Due to the return of the Downtown Fort Myers Festival of Trees, First Street between Jackson and Lee Street will be closed on Friday and Saturday.
FORT MYERS Micro Wrestling Federation makes its way to Fort Myers Professionals with the “Micro Wrestling Federation” put on an amazing show at the ranch in Fort Myers on Thursday.
WINK NEWS Disaster tax relief bill passed after over 2 years After more than two years of uncertainty, victims of Hurricane Ian and other disasters are getting some financial relief.
Elevate Social Lounge opens Kava bar at University Village near FGCU For almost four years, Mitra 9 has marketed itself as the Budweiser of Kava, trying to make mainstream a growing trend of Kava-infused drinks that are said to help reduce anxiety.
ESTERO Funeral procession held for former Lee County firefighter Hundreds joined to pay their respects to a beloved firefighter who passed away in November.
FORT MYERS Will new developments along SR 82 cause traffic problems? New developments are coming to State Road 82 near the Forum, the biggest of which is Amazon’s new robotics fulfillment center.
SANIBEL 36th annual Sanibel Luminary Festival begins It’s the holiday season, and there are events galore across Southwest Florida this weekend. One of those events is the Sanibel Luminary Festival.
FORT MYERS FGCU student arrested, accused of making social media threat against university Florida Gulf Coast University police have arrested a student accused of sending a threat to the university through Snapchat.
SANIBEL Sanibel annual 10K/5K race begins this weekend Sanibel’s annual food programs, island-based social services and Helping Hands’ JOG N JAM 10K/5K race will close several roads this Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Teen accused of stealing vehicle from Cape Coral driveway A 16-year-old with a history of stealing cars has been arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a Cape Coral driveway.
Tim Aten Knows: Work begins for new Publix at Wiggins and U.S. 41 Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs.
WINK NEWS Cold front brings stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening A cold front will bring in stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening with warmer temperatures in the upper 70s.
FORT MYERS House fire in downtown Fort Myers caused by smoking A house fire caused a massive scene overnight near downtown Fort Myers, with smoke visible from the home.
CAPE CORAL Veterans Memorial Parkway in Cape Coral reopens after pedestrian crash An access point to Midpoint Bridge getting into Fort Myers has reopened after a pedestrian crash early Friday morning.
FORT MYERS Road closures in Downtown Fort Myers due to Festival of Trees Due to the return of the Downtown Fort Myers Festival of Trees, First Street between Jackson and Lee Street will be closed on Friday and Saturday.
FORT MYERS Micro Wrestling Federation makes its way to Fort Myers Professionals with the “Micro Wrestling Federation” put on an amazing show at the ranch in Fort Myers on Thursday.
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) – The first College Football Playoff expanded the national championship race, made the regular season even more intriguing and produced a final four with major star power. Nick Saban’s No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Urban Meyer’s No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes at the Sugar Bowl. Marcus Mariota, this season’s Heisman Trophy front-runner, and second-seeded Oregon vs. Jameis Winston, last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, and defending national champion Florida State at the Rose Bowl. The winners will meet on Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. A new era, indeed, but with the same old problems: What is the best way to pick the teams and what should be the criteria? After six weeks of ranking teams, the selection committee shuffled its deck Sunday and dealt the Big 12 out of the playoff. “We’re smarting today,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. TCU, which had been third in the rankings last week, ended up sixth. Big 12 co-champion Baylor moved up a spot to No. 5, but both were squeezed out by Ohio State, which won over the committee with a doozy of a closing statement in its conference championship game: a 59-0 victory against Wisconsin for the Big Ten title. “I would say that human nature is that the most recent thing that occurs, in this case the most-recent achievements, are the most impactful,” Bowslby. “Ohio State’s victory over Wisconsin was complete domination, and in that regard they played their way into the position they now enjoy.” The Big 12 doesn’t have one of those anymore. Its teams play only 12 games, compared to 13 for champions of the other Big Five conferences. Bowlsby and his conference athletic directors are meeting in New York this week and he anticipates the topic of how best to determine a champion will come up. “This will be a catalyst for discussion for sure,” Bowlsby said. The Big 12 can’t hold a championship game because it only has 10 teams, but the conference, along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, is trying to change that. The leagues have proposed getting rid of NCAA rules requiring a conference have 12 teams split into two divisions to play a title game. Holding one with 10 teams that play a nine-game round-robin schedule isn’t ideal because the game would always be a rematch, Bowlsby said. “I don’t know with 10 it’s something that we would necessarily do,” Bowlsby said. But conference expansion is a complicated issue that goes well beyond whether to hold a championship game. Bowlby cautioned about making a “knee-jerk” reaction to one year’s results. He said his faith in the process has not wavered. “We put a system in place and I helped to put it in place and I have confidence in that system. And I have confidence in the impeccable integrity of the people in that room,” he said. Baylor coach Art Briles wasn’t so sure. “I think the committee needs to be a little more regionalized with people that are associated with the south part of the United States,” he said. “I’m not sure there is a connection on there that is that familiar with the Big 12 Conference.” There were five active athletic directors on the 12-member committee, one from each of the Big Five conferences. The Big 12 was represented by West Virginia’s Oliver Luck. The Mountaineers have been in the Big 12 for three seasons. Maybe the most jarring part of Sunday’s unveiling was TCU dropping three spots from the last rankings. The Horned Frogs seemed to be secure at No. 3 last week, and then beat lowly Iowa State by 52 on Sunday. Long said TCU’s drop was more about the Buckeyes than the Frogs, but it highlighted a problem with weekly rankings. Commissioners initially leaned toward not having them when they first started putting the playoff together. While Long would emphasize every week the committee started with a clean slate, traditionally college football polls create a pecking order for teams that only gets disrupted by losses. The top six teams in last week’s rankings all won on Saturday. On Sunday, the teams were the same, but the order was very different. And it left many fans wondering why. Long said it was too soon to say what changes the committee would recommend to the commissioners. It’s safe to say the benefit of having weekly rankings will be addressed when Long’s crew reconvenes in a couple of months. “I think that the committee will look at this year, look at this season, look how the entire process went,” he said. Until then, let the playoff games begin.