WINK NEWS Atlanta Dream hires long-time FGCU coach The Atlanta Dream has hired longtime FGCU coach Karl Smesko to lead the team as he steps down as head women’s basketball coach of the Eagles.
Duo arrested in Collier County for bank jugging The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two men who stand accused of bank jugging, stealing thousands of dollars in cash from a victim.
PUNTA GORDA 2 accused of trafficking narcotics after reckless driving stop in Punta Gorda A man and woman have been arrested for allegedly possessing trafficking amounts of drugs after deputies stopped them for reckless driving in Punta Gorda.
HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital purchases land in Bonita Springs Charlotte County’s HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital purchased a 4.3-acre site on Bonita Beach Road in Bonita Springs, according to Lee County property records.
NORTH PORT North Port woman wins $1M prize playing scratch-off A woman in North Port won $1 million from a scratch-off game.
FWC rescues baby manatee from shallow area in Caloosahatchee river A baby manatee found in the shallows of the Caloosahatchee River is recovering after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission transported it for care to SeaWorld.
Seacrest volleyball celebrates fourth straight state title The Seacrest Country Day School volleyball team celebrates its fourth straight state championship.
COLLIER COUNTY 7 agencies recognized for their actions during private jet crash in Collier County It was a day that asked for action on Interstate 75 when a private jet crashed on a highway in Collier County back in February.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral CRA giving update Wednesday on Bimini Basin project Cape Coral leaders are giving an update Wednesday during a Community Redevelopment Agency meeting on the Bimini East project.
the weather authority Tracking Invest 99-L, 90% chance of development in the Caribbean The Weather Authority is tracking a tropical wave designated as Invest 99-L in the Caribbean as development is likely to occur later this week.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Weak front brings less humid conditions this Wednesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a weak cold front, as Southwest Florida can expect less humid conditions this Wednesday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man sentenced to life for witness tampering and inmate assault A Fort Myers man has been sentenced to life in prison for witness tampering and inmate assault.
ENGLEWOOD Community comes together to support father battling cancer Kevin Kuznar has spent years working as a barber to build a life for his son in Englewood.
FORT MYERS Woman accused of breaking into hangar, steals car from Page Field Airport A woman has been accused of stealing a car from an airport hangar and going on a crime spree.
NAPLES ‘Love, peace and taco grease’: Guy Fieri brings Flavortown spirit to Naples ‘Culinary rock star’ Guy Fieri was in town Tuesday night to promote his additive-free tequila brand.
WINK NEWS Atlanta Dream hires long-time FGCU coach The Atlanta Dream has hired longtime FGCU coach Karl Smesko to lead the team as he steps down as head women’s basketball coach of the Eagles.
Duo arrested in Collier County for bank jugging The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two men who stand accused of bank jugging, stealing thousands of dollars in cash from a victim.
PUNTA GORDA 2 accused of trafficking narcotics after reckless driving stop in Punta Gorda A man and woman have been arrested for allegedly possessing trafficking amounts of drugs after deputies stopped them for reckless driving in Punta Gorda.
HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital purchases land in Bonita Springs Charlotte County’s HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital purchased a 4.3-acre site on Bonita Beach Road in Bonita Springs, according to Lee County property records.
NORTH PORT North Port woman wins $1M prize playing scratch-off A woman in North Port won $1 million from a scratch-off game.
FWC rescues baby manatee from shallow area in Caloosahatchee river A baby manatee found in the shallows of the Caloosahatchee River is recovering after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission transported it for care to SeaWorld.
Seacrest volleyball celebrates fourth straight state title The Seacrest Country Day School volleyball team celebrates its fourth straight state championship.
COLLIER COUNTY 7 agencies recognized for their actions during private jet crash in Collier County It was a day that asked for action on Interstate 75 when a private jet crashed on a highway in Collier County back in February.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral CRA giving update Wednesday on Bimini Basin project Cape Coral leaders are giving an update Wednesday during a Community Redevelopment Agency meeting on the Bimini East project.
the weather authority Tracking Invest 99-L, 90% chance of development in the Caribbean The Weather Authority is tracking a tropical wave designated as Invest 99-L in the Caribbean as development is likely to occur later this week.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Weak front brings less humid conditions this Wednesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a weak cold front, as Southwest Florida can expect less humid conditions this Wednesday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man sentenced to life for witness tampering and inmate assault A Fort Myers man has been sentenced to life in prison for witness tampering and inmate assault.
ENGLEWOOD Community comes together to support father battling cancer Kevin Kuznar has spent years working as a barber to build a life for his son in Englewood.
FORT MYERS Woman accused of breaking into hangar, steals car from Page Field Airport A woman has been accused of stealing a car from an airport hangar and going on a crime spree.
NAPLES ‘Love, peace and taco grease’: Guy Fieri brings Flavortown spirit to Naples ‘Culinary rock star’ Guy Fieri was in town Tuesday night to promote his additive-free tequila brand.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – We’ve made it to Pluto by NASA’s calculations, the last stop on a planetary tour of the solar system a half-century in the making. The moment of closest approach for the New Horizons spacecraft came at 7:49 a.m. EDT Tuesday, culminating a journey from planet Earth that spanned an incredible 3 billion miles and 9½ years. Based on everything NASA knows, New Horizons was straight on course for the historic encounter, sweeping within 7,800 miles of Pluto at 31,000 mph. But official confirmation won’t come until Tuesday night, 13 nerve-racking hours later. That’s because NASA wants New Horizons taking pictures of Pluto, its jumbo moon Charon and its four little moons during this critical time, not gabbing to Earth. NASA marked the moment live on TV, broadcasting from flight operations in Maryland. “This is truly a hallmark in human history,” said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s science mission chief. “It’s a moment of celebration,” added principal scientist Alan Stern from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, the spacecraft’s developer and manager. “We’ve just done the anchor leg, we have completed the initial reconnaissance of the solar system, an endeavor started under President Kennedy more than 50 years ago.” The United States is now the only nation to visit every single planet in the solar system. Pluto was No. 9 in the lineup when New Horizons departed Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 19, 2006, but was demoted seven months later to dwarf status. Scientists in charge of the $720 million mission, as well as NASA brass, hope the new observations will restore Pluto’s honor. “It’s a huge morning, a huge day not just for NASA but for the United States,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said from NASA headquarters in Washington. Inside “countdown central” at Johns Hopkins in Laurel, Maryland, hundreds jammed together to share in the remaining final minutes, including the two children of the American astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh. The actual flight control room was empty save for a worker sweeping up; the spacecraft was preprogrammed for the flyby and there was nothing anyone could do at this point but join in the celebration. Stern led the festivity, joined on stage by his team and Tombaugh’s two children. The crowd waved U.S. flags and counted down from nine seconds, screaming, cheering and applauding. Chants of “USA!” broke out. It takes 4½ hours for signals to travel one-way between New Horizons and flight controllers, the speed of light. The last time controllers heard from the spacecraft was Monday night, according to plan, and everything looked good. New Horizons already has beamed back the best-ever images of Pluto and big moon Charon. Pluto also has four little moons, all of which were expected to come under New Horizons’ scrutiny. The pictures are “mind-boggling to put it mildly,” Bolden said. As Stern told reporters Monday, “The Pluto system is enchanting in its strangeness, its alien beauty.” The newest pictures, from the actual flyby, won’t be transmitted until well afterward so the seven science instruments can take full advantage of the encounter. In fact, it will take more than a year to get back all the data. On the eve of the flyby, NASA announced that Pluto is actually bigger than anyone imagined, thanks to measurements made by the spacecraft, a baby grand piano-size affair. It’s about 50 miles bigger than estimated, for a grand total of 1,473 miles in diameter. Pluto is now confirmed to be the largest object in the so-called Kuiper Belt, considered the third zone of the solar system after the inner rocky planets and outer gaseous ones. This unknown territory is a shooting gallery of comets and other small bodies. If a mission extension is granted, New Horizons will seek out another Kuiper Belt object before heading out of the solar system – for good. ___ Online: NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/