Car crashes into canal in Lehigh Acres Authorities are investigating a crash after a car became fully submerged in a canal Thursday night.
SB lanes on US 27 shut down due to 3 vehicle crash Hendry County Deputies, along with first responders, are currently on the scene of a traffic crash near Sky Valley at the intersection of South US 27 and Bass Road.
FORT MYERS BEACH Times Square clock reinstalled on Fort Myers Beach The famous Times Square clock on Fort Myers Beach returns just in time for the holidays! It was removed before hurricanes Helene and Milton to protect it.
Flag planting debate takes over college football Flag planting at the end of rivalry college football games sparked fighting on the field and debates away from it.
FORT MYERS Daycare burglarized in Fort Myers One business owner is recovering after a burglar broke in and stole from her daycare.
Hurricane debris still lines road in Fort Myers Shores Over 70 feet of memories formed a giant pile of debris at the end of Aruba Avenue in Fort Myers Shores.
FORT MYERS Airline travel and Christmas gifts tips to get you through TSA If you plan to travel this Christmas with gifts for your loved ones, be prepared. Before you buy, make sure you can fly.
WINK NEWS SWFL stars ink with Division I programs during Early Signing Period Several Southwest Florida football standouts are taking their talents to Division I gridirons after signing during the Early Signing Period.
FORT MYERS Travel Safely: protect yourself from mosquito-borne illnesses this holiday season It’s the holiday season and for some, that means traveling.
NAPLES No charges filed in Collier County child abuse case The state attorney’s office will not file charges against a Collier County woman accused of child abuse.
ESTERO Elevate Kava Bar, offering an alternative nightlife experience, to open near FGCU University Village near Florida Gulf Coast University will soon be home to a new kava bar.
Hope Card program protects victims of domestic violence in Lee County Lee County has implemented the Hope Card Program, a new statewide initiative to help victims of domestic violence.
Woman in custody following Charlotte County fatal shooting According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a woman is in custody after a fatal shooting at a home in Charlotte County.
NCH offers new process to improve blood flow Getting a stent to improve blood flow to the heart is a very common procedure. In some cases, the issue comes back as scar tissue forms around the stent.
92.5 FOX News launches 10th annual ‘10,000 for the Troops’ campaign in support of deployed U.S. military personnel Sun Broadcasting’s 92.5 FOX News Radio announced the launch of its 10th annual “10,000 for the Troops” campaign, which is in partnership with the Military Support Program at Lee Memorial Health Systems.
Car crashes into canal in Lehigh Acres Authorities are investigating a crash after a car became fully submerged in a canal Thursday night.
SB lanes on US 27 shut down due to 3 vehicle crash Hendry County Deputies, along with first responders, are currently on the scene of a traffic crash near Sky Valley at the intersection of South US 27 and Bass Road.
FORT MYERS BEACH Times Square clock reinstalled on Fort Myers Beach The famous Times Square clock on Fort Myers Beach returns just in time for the holidays! It was removed before hurricanes Helene and Milton to protect it.
Flag planting debate takes over college football Flag planting at the end of rivalry college football games sparked fighting on the field and debates away from it.
FORT MYERS Daycare burglarized in Fort Myers One business owner is recovering after a burglar broke in and stole from her daycare.
Hurricane debris still lines road in Fort Myers Shores Over 70 feet of memories formed a giant pile of debris at the end of Aruba Avenue in Fort Myers Shores.
FORT MYERS Airline travel and Christmas gifts tips to get you through TSA If you plan to travel this Christmas with gifts for your loved ones, be prepared. Before you buy, make sure you can fly.
WINK NEWS SWFL stars ink with Division I programs during Early Signing Period Several Southwest Florida football standouts are taking their talents to Division I gridirons after signing during the Early Signing Period.
FORT MYERS Travel Safely: protect yourself from mosquito-borne illnesses this holiday season It’s the holiday season and for some, that means traveling.
NAPLES No charges filed in Collier County child abuse case The state attorney’s office will not file charges against a Collier County woman accused of child abuse.
ESTERO Elevate Kava Bar, offering an alternative nightlife experience, to open near FGCU University Village near Florida Gulf Coast University will soon be home to a new kava bar.
Hope Card program protects victims of domestic violence in Lee County Lee County has implemented the Hope Card Program, a new statewide initiative to help victims of domestic violence.
Woman in custody following Charlotte County fatal shooting According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a woman is in custody after a fatal shooting at a home in Charlotte County.
NCH offers new process to improve blood flow Getting a stent to improve blood flow to the heart is a very common procedure. In some cases, the issue comes back as scar tissue forms around the stent.
92.5 FOX News launches 10th annual ‘10,000 for the Troops’ campaign in support of deployed U.S. military personnel Sun Broadcasting’s 92.5 FOX News Radio announced the launch of its 10th annual “10,000 for the Troops” campaign, which is in partnership with the Military Support Program at Lee Memorial Health Systems.
MGN YULEE, Fla. (AP) – With gay marriage now legal in Florida, same-sex couples from around the Deep South crossed the border Tuesday as the Sunshine State became a prime regional destination for gay and lesbian weddings still banned back home. Out-of-state couples lined up outside county courthouses early Tuesday in the Panhandle and northern Florida counties. Some drove for hours to get marriage licenses at the first opportunity. “As soon as we heard about the ruling we pretty much decided on a whim to come yesterday,” said Scott Singletary, 22. “We wanted to make sure to do it as soon as possible, in case (the law) changed.” On that point, Florida’s gay and lesbian weddings seem more secure than the first same-sex nuptials held years ago in other states. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a request by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to maintain the state’s marriage ban until a final resolution. After she was sworn in to a second term on Tuesday, Bondi said her top attorneys are reviewing whether to continue the state’s appeal. Singletary and Dustyn Batten, 23, of Waycross, Georgia woke before dawn to make the nearly two-hour drive into Florida’s Nassau County. They had been planning a commitment ceremony in Jacksonville, but were thrilled to learn they could actually get married now that Florida’s gay marriage ban was lifted. Walt Disney World and other top Florida destinations have offered commitment ceremony packages for years, but wedding planners, and hotels and resorts are sensing a new tourism boom with more couples wanting weddings. “I’ve been fielding a ton of calls from out of state,” said Rachel McMurray, a licensed wedding officiant who married a lesbian couple on Jacksonville’s courthouse steps Tuesday. “Even if their state doesn’t recognize the marriage, it gives them a sense of legitimacy.” “My phone’s been blowing up,” said Shanie McCowen, who owns Rainbow Bells, a wedding planning company in Boca Raton. She said she normally gets four or five wedding inquiries a week, but fielded about 30 on Sunday and Monday alone, and now expects more business from Georgia and Alabama. County tourism boards have already changed their advertising: “Finally we all do” is the headline on Broward’s tourism home page, over a picture of a gay couple in wedding attire on the beach. Thirty-six states, including 70 percent of the nation’s population, now allow gay marriage. From South Carolina up the East Coast, court rulings and legislatures have gradually opened the door to same-sex weddings. Not so in the rest of the South: Gays and lesbians are still denied marriage rights in a swath of states from Texas to Georgia as well as Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. Robert Lewis, 70, and Duber Gomez-Fonseca, 37, together for nine years, rolled in from Jackson, Mississippi to wed, even though their home state won’t recognize their bond. “Hopefully it will just be a matter of months before all 50 states do this,” Lewis said as they joined dozens of couples outside the Escambia County courthouse in Florida’s Panhandle. St. Petersburg already hosts the largest gay pride parade south of Atlanta, but tourism officials are seeing an increase in hotels and resorts offering gay wedding packages there. David Downing, interim executive director of Visit St. Pete Clearwater, said that LGBT “imagery” has been blended into ad campaigns they run in New York and Chicago. “It’s a very nuanced message. It’s a very sophisticated crowd that can sniff out inauthenticity a mile away,” he said. The executive board of the International Gay and Lesbian Tourism Association happens to be meeting in St. Petersburg this week, and can see for themselves that “this is a great destination for weddings, be they straight weddings or gay weddings,” said Downing. “Our focus is on the experience. We’re telling our many constituencies, this is who we are. We’re inclusive. We welcome everybody.” The same cannot be said about everyone in Florida. Officials in Jacksonville’s Duval County, Panhandle County near Escambia and a handful of others said they will issue marriage licenses as required by law, but will no longer provide courthouse marriage ceremonies, to avoid making some heterosexuals uncomfortable. That didn’t stop Cassie Rogers, 41, and Jennifer Royael, 38, from having a courthouse wedding in Jacksonville. With bubbles floating and crowds gawking, the Clearwater, Fla., couple attired in teal dresses beamed with tear-stained cheeks as McMurray pronounced them “wife and wife.”