Vehicle pursuit in Charlotte County ends in crash A pursuit between the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and a vehicle on Interstate 75 ended in a crash.
Red tide looms off Southwest Florida coastline Beware of the beach! Red tide is making its way towards Southwest Florida once again.
FORT MYERS BEACH $1.2 million approved for repairs for FMB and Sanibel schools This hurricane season left an expensive mess at Fort Myers Beach Elementary and the Sanibel school, but who’s paying the $1.2 million price tag?
FORT MYERS Teen carjacks woman after escaping mental health facility A teenager accused of carjacking a woman in a church parking lot on Friday had just escaped from a facility where he was being held under the Baker Act, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Teachers union raises issues with Lee County School District after arbitration Being a teacher is just like any other profession. Teachers need to take days off, get sick, and sometimes cover for co-workers.
LABELLE LaBelle Animal Shelter hoping to raise money to avoid property being sold The owner of Animal Rescue Inc. in LaBelle is doing everything she can to prevent the shelter from disappearing in a matter of months.
County settlement allows Links of Naples golf course to redevelop into homes Collier County residents are vocalizing their concerns over the commissioner’s decision to develop housing on the Naples Golf Course.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mayor weighs in on possible city hall relocation With Lee Memorial Hospital scheduled to close in 2027, discussions over what will replace the building are in full swing and whether Fort Myers City Hall is the right choice.
Toys for Tots: A 77-Year tradition of service and holiday cheer Toys for Tots aims to bring gifts to children and their families who may not be able to afford them for the holidays.
Inside the mind of accused CEO gunman WINK News is learning more about the man accused of shooting and killing a health insurance CEO on a New York City sidewalk last week, and breaking down what he may think of himself based on the writings he left behind.
1 dead after crash on Airport-Pulling Road in Collier County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving a sedan and pick-up truck that occurred near Airport Pulling Road.
bonita springs Prostate cancer treatment aims to freeze further development When it comes to cancer treatment, several options come to mind, such as chemotherapy, surgery, and or radiation; however, there is another option that may prove to be as effective.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man convicted of sexually assaulting teenager A Fort Myers man has been convicted of several charges, including the sexual assault of a 17-year-old teenager.
Red tide advisory issued for Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach The Florida Department of Health issued a red tide advisory after presence of the algae bloom was found near Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach in Collier County.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
Vehicle pursuit in Charlotte County ends in crash A pursuit between the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and a vehicle on Interstate 75 ended in a crash.
Red tide looms off Southwest Florida coastline Beware of the beach! Red tide is making its way towards Southwest Florida once again.
FORT MYERS BEACH $1.2 million approved for repairs for FMB and Sanibel schools This hurricane season left an expensive mess at Fort Myers Beach Elementary and the Sanibel school, but who’s paying the $1.2 million price tag?
FORT MYERS Teen carjacks woman after escaping mental health facility A teenager accused of carjacking a woman in a church parking lot on Friday had just escaped from a facility where he was being held under the Baker Act, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Teachers union raises issues with Lee County School District after arbitration Being a teacher is just like any other profession. Teachers need to take days off, get sick, and sometimes cover for co-workers.
LABELLE LaBelle Animal Shelter hoping to raise money to avoid property being sold The owner of Animal Rescue Inc. in LaBelle is doing everything she can to prevent the shelter from disappearing in a matter of months.
County settlement allows Links of Naples golf course to redevelop into homes Collier County residents are vocalizing their concerns over the commissioner’s decision to develop housing on the Naples Golf Course.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mayor weighs in on possible city hall relocation With Lee Memorial Hospital scheduled to close in 2027, discussions over what will replace the building are in full swing and whether Fort Myers City Hall is the right choice.
Toys for Tots: A 77-Year tradition of service and holiday cheer Toys for Tots aims to bring gifts to children and their families who may not be able to afford them for the holidays.
Inside the mind of accused CEO gunman WINK News is learning more about the man accused of shooting and killing a health insurance CEO on a New York City sidewalk last week, and breaking down what he may think of himself based on the writings he left behind.
1 dead after crash on Airport-Pulling Road in Collier County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving a sedan and pick-up truck that occurred near Airport Pulling Road.
bonita springs Prostate cancer treatment aims to freeze further development When it comes to cancer treatment, several options come to mind, such as chemotherapy, surgery, and or radiation; however, there is another option that may prove to be as effective.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man convicted of sexually assaulting teenager A Fort Myers man has been convicted of several charges, including the sexual assault of a 17-year-old teenager.
Red tide advisory issued for Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach The Florida Department of Health issued a red tide advisory after presence of the algae bloom was found near Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach in Collier County.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
MGN WASHINGTON (AP) – From the United States to Asia to Europe, a global economy that many had feared was faltering appears poised for a resurgence on the strength of cheap oil and falling interest rates. That’s the strikingly upbeat view of economists surveyed by The Associated Press, who no longer see Europe’s financial crisis, the U.S. housing market or congressional gridlock as the threats they appeared to be last year. “The U.S. is doing well, you’re getting a lot of good news in Europe,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “The global economy is gaining traction.” U.S. consumers are feeling flusher, thanks to lower gas prices, a burst of hiring and long-awaited if still-modest pay raises for many. Their spending is expected to boost growth this year in the United States and overseas. The brighter outlook marks a turnaround from last fall, when a looming war in Ukraine, the rise of the Islamic State terror group and a reluctance by the European Central Bank to expand its stimulus efforts led analysts to downgrade their view of the global economy. Weaker growth in China has also hurt exporting countries from Latin America to Australia that had long benefited from China’s appetite for farm products, copper, iron ore and other commodities. China’s growth decelerated last year to its slowest pace in a quarter-century. Still, most economists expect China to avoid a further slowdown. Its central bank cut rates last weekend for the second time in three months to try to accelerate growth. The AP surveyed nearly three dozen corporate, Wall Street and academic economists from Feb. 19 to 25. A majority said they thought struggling economies in Europe and Japan would benefit from lower-priced energy and ultra-low loan rates engineered by central banks. Behravesh predicted that freer-spending U.S. consumers would provide help. He noted that their collective spending represents a bigger force than any other nation’s economy. American consumers have benefited from the 1 million-plus jobs U.S. employers have added in the past three months. More than 3.2 million more Americans are earning paychecks than were 12 months ago. In January, U.S. gas prices reached a five-year low, though they’ve since rebounded. A gallon cost an average of $2.44 nationwide Tuesday, more than a dollar cheaper than it did 12 months ago, according to AAA. So far, many Americans have saved the extra cash from lower gas prices. But even that’s a hopeful sign: It means consumers – who fuel about 70 percent of the U.S. economy – have more money to spend in coming months. The U.S. savings rate reached a two-year high in January. Among the other views the AP’s survey of economists revealed: __ The Federal Reserve will likely start raising its key short-term rate from record lows in September. That’s a shift from the AP’s previous survey last fall, when most of the economists predicted a rate hike in June. The plunge in energy prices, which has helped cut inflation further below the Fed’s 2 percent target, has led many economists to push back their forecast for a rate increase. __ The outlook for broad-based U.S. pay increases is brightening. A majority think the average hourly wage will begin growing at least 3 percent a year sometime between the middle of this year and mid-2016. __ Republican control of both chambers of Congress, arrayed against Democratic President Barack Obama, means political gridlock will persist. Yet the economists don’t think a congressional standoff will hurt the economy. __ With a rise in the number of Americans forming households, home construction should accelerate this year and help stimulate economic growth. __The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal the Obama administration is negotiating with Pacific Rim countries, would accelerate job growth without widening the U.S. trade deficit. The economists’ rosier outlook for a still-ailing European economy is based in part on the benefits of cheaper oil. Further help will come from a lower-valued euro, which boosts exports, particularly for an export powerhouse like Germany. Banks in the 19 countries that share the euro currency are also lending a bit more. And the ECB has launched a stimulus program intended to lower borrowing rates and boost growth. All those moves contrast with Europe’s budget-cutting and tax increases of previous years, which held back growth. Consumer confidence in the eurozone reached a seven-year high last month, according to JPMorgan Chase. “The eurozone is recovering, and oil price declines and a weak currency are a bonus,” said Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics. A sign of resiliency was visible last month when Greek and European officials wrangled over the terms of Greece’s financial bailout. The negotiations raised long-dormant concerns that Greece might exit the euro. But Behravesh, the IHS economist, noted that other troubled European countries, such as Italy and Portugal, didn’t experience a jump in bond yields. That’s a sign that Greece’s troubles didn’t spill beyond its borders, a shift from four years ago. Europe and Japan are expected to accelerate this year, though at less-than-healthy speed. Economists think both will grow about 1.5 percent, up from zero last year for Japan and less than 1 percent for Europe. “It doesn’t take much to accelerate from near zero,” said Dean Baker, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “The austerity is largely in the past, and the oil price declines are equivalent to big tax cuts.”