Deputies investigating death at Bonita Springs homeFifth Third Bank branch to be built on former SunTrust Punta Gorda site
BONITA SPRINGS Deputies investigating death at Bonita Springs home Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a death at a home in Bonita Springs.
Fifth Third Bank branch to be built on former SunTrust Punta Gorda site According to project plans sent to the city, the current building will be demolished, and a single-story Fifth Third Bank branch will stand in its place. Assuming approval, the branch is expected to open in the second half of 2025, a banks spokesperson said.
WINK NEWS Gov. DeSantis signs tax relief package for Floridians Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has renewed the Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday among other tax-free incentives for Floridians.
Fort Myers debates future of police review board A new law signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will change oversight with local police departments and the citizens they protect.
FORT MYERS Lifting weights brings Bishop Verot’s football team together Football teams are spending their days in the iron paradise as spring practice is on for high school football.
NORTH FORT MYERS Van catches fire after crash with trailer in North Fort Myers Several crews are responding to a crash that involved a work van and a truck pulling a trailer in North Fort Myers this morning.
CAPE CORAL 2nd teen accused in Kayla Rincon-Miller murder case to be arraigned A 16-year-old is facing adult charges for his alleged role in the murder of 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller.
the weather authority Hotter and drier day ahead with isolated storms staying inland The Weather Authority is tracking a hot and dry Tuesday morning with inland isolated storms expected in the afternoon.
WINK News Lee County School Board to hold a transportation workshop With one month left for the academic year, parents’ concerns have turned to frustration as buses struggle to get kids to and from school.
Readying for hurricane season with Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday Hurricane season is rapidly approaching as Floridians prep for potential storms with the upcoming Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday.
NAPLES Increasing amount of homeless seniors in SWFL Saint Matthew House told Wink News that 20% of the people they shelter are over 60 years old.
NAPLES Man suspected of threatening pickelballers with machete A man has been arrested after authorities said he chased a group of pickleball players off a Naples court.
NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
BONITA SPRINGS Deputies investigating death at Bonita Springs home Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a death at a home in Bonita Springs.
Fifth Third Bank branch to be built on former SunTrust Punta Gorda site According to project plans sent to the city, the current building will be demolished, and a single-story Fifth Third Bank branch will stand in its place. Assuming approval, the branch is expected to open in the second half of 2025, a banks spokesperson said.
WINK NEWS Gov. DeSantis signs tax relief package for Floridians Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has renewed the Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday among other tax-free incentives for Floridians.
Fort Myers debates future of police review board A new law signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will change oversight with local police departments and the citizens they protect.
FORT MYERS Lifting weights brings Bishop Verot’s football team together Football teams are spending their days in the iron paradise as spring practice is on for high school football.
NORTH FORT MYERS Van catches fire after crash with trailer in North Fort Myers Several crews are responding to a crash that involved a work van and a truck pulling a trailer in North Fort Myers this morning.
CAPE CORAL 2nd teen accused in Kayla Rincon-Miller murder case to be arraigned A 16-year-old is facing adult charges for his alleged role in the murder of 15-year-old Kayla Rincon-Miller.
the weather authority Hotter and drier day ahead with isolated storms staying inland The Weather Authority is tracking a hot and dry Tuesday morning with inland isolated storms expected in the afternoon.
WINK News Lee County School Board to hold a transportation workshop With one month left for the academic year, parents’ concerns have turned to frustration as buses struggle to get kids to and from school.
Readying for hurricane season with Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday Hurricane season is rapidly approaching as Floridians prep for potential storms with the upcoming Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday.
NAPLES Increasing amount of homeless seniors in SWFL Saint Matthew House told Wink News that 20% of the people they shelter are over 60 years old.
NAPLES Man suspected of threatening pickelballers with machete A man has been arrested after authorities said he chased a group of pickleball players off a Naples court.
NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
MGN DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – A man is given 50 lashes in a public square for “insulting Islam” on a liberal blog. Another is arrested for filming and uploading a woman’s public beheading. Two females are imprisoned and put on trial for writing on Twitter in support of women driving. These cases have thrust Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights back into the spotlight, with international concern mounting over the limits of free speech in the Arab monarchy. Human rights activists and lawyers say the cases are part of a sweeping clampdown on dissent that has intensified in Saudi Arabia since the region’s 2011 Arab Spring upheaval. They say acts that offend the country’s religious hard-liners or open up the kingdom to criticism, like the video of the execution that was widely seen before it was taken down, have landed people in jail as a warning to others. The case of Raif Badawi, a 31-year-old father of three who was flogged this month, has attracted the most attention in recent days, particularly in the aftermath of the deadly attack in Paris against a satirical weekly that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad. Badawi was arrested in 2012 after writing articles critical of Saudi Arabia’s clerics on his Free Saudi Liberals blog, which has since been shut down. Hard-liners wanted him charged with apostasy, which carries the death sentence in Saudi Arabia, but he was instead found guilty of the lesser charge of insulting Islam. He was sentenced in May to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes and was fined $266,000. He was scheduled for another round of 50 lashes last Friday, but the flogging was canceled to allow his wounds to heal, according to Amnesty International. “If you say that what happened in Paris is an attack on freedom of expression, than you can say what is happening to Raif is an attack on freedom of expression,” said Amnesty’s Saudi researcher Sevag Kechichian. Just days after the attacks in Paris, Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs took part in the huge march that was held there to support free speech and honor the victims. Two days earlier, Badawi was flogged in the Red Sea city of Jiddah. Activists and lawyers say the kingdom’s strict application of Sharia law against dissent is part of an effort to appease the religious conservatives who are vital supporters in the country’s fight against Sunni extremists. Badawi’s arrest and flogging were “a gift, let’s put it that way, to the hard-liners,” Kechichian said. Last year, the kingdom’s senior clerics issued a stern religious edict, or fatwa, against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. The edict gave crucial religious backing to King Abdullah’s efforts to fight the Islamic State as part of a U.S.-led coalition. Saudi Arabia issued a sweeping counterterrorism law last year and has been trying to deter its citizens from joining extremist groups that want to bring down its Western-allied monarchy. But critics of the crackdown on dissent point out that public beheadings are also practiced by al-Qaida and IS. The U.S. State Department and the U.N. high commissioner for human rights have called on Saudi authorities to rescind Badawi’s punishment. The Saudi royal court referred his case in December to Supreme Court judges to review the case. Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, had no comment on the crackdown and told The Associated Press his ministry has no involvement in the cases. Saudi lawyers say Sharia law is far from absolute on free-speech issues. There is no written law, for example, on what constitutes insulting Islam or what the punishment should be in cases of political dissent, said Saudi rights lawyer Abdulaziz AlHussan. He said some judges are issuing “extreme punishment, without limitation, without accountability.” It is unclear whether Saudi authorities will respond to international pressure in Badawi’s case or that of two Saudi women arrested in December after defying a ban on female drivers. The women were charged with inciting public opinion on Twitter and referred to a court established to try terrorism cases, according to their families. Among others who have run afoul of the authorities is Waleed Abul-Khair, a human rights lawyer who defended Badawi in court. Abul-Khair was found guilty by an anti-terrorism court under the new counterterrorism law of “undermining regime officials,” ”inciting public opinion” and “insulting the judiciary.” He was ordered to serve 15 years in jail with the possibility of parole after 10 years. A judge last week stiffened his punishment and ordered he serve the full 15 years after Abul-Khair disputed the court’s jurisdiction to go after peaceful dissidents. “The current situation is simply that there is a severe case of repression against human rights activists and peaceful political activism,” said Samar Badawi, Abul-Khair’s wife and Raif Badawi’s sister. “We do not oppose the government and do not want its downfall, but we are calling for civil and political rights, a constitutional monarchy, an elected parliament and an independent, just judiciary,” she told the AP from Jiddah over Skype.