Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salonWINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
MGN Online FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Florida wildlife officials have approved the killing of 320 black bears next month during the state’s first bear hunting season in more than 20 years. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 3-2 for a harvest plan recommended by staff during a meeting Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale. Wildlife officials estimate the state’s bear population at about 3,000, but the animals are increasingly coming into residential areas in search of food and scaring residents and eating pets. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said at a meeting Wednesday that their greatest effort to reduce the bear population would center on a campaign to get residents to secure their trash cans and potentially make it a requirement for residents in areas like central Florida with high bear populations, to purchase bear resistant trash cans. The hunt, which is slated for the last week in October, is also part of the management strategy. Florida outlawed all bear hunting in 1994. But a bear rebound, as well as an increase in the number of nuisance calls and bears killed by cars, were cited as reasons for allowing a new one-week hunt. A crowd of roughly 200 gathered, including a woman carrying a life-sized stuffed bear, at Wednesday’s meeting to discuss the controversial hunt that has garnered significant media attention. Rocker Ted Nugent is among the more than 1,800 people who’ve purchased permits so far. But the commissioned waited until nearly 5 p.m. to take public comment. Kate MacFall, the Florida director for the Humane Society of the United States, reiterated the group’s opposition to the hunt. She said any harvest limits could be arbitrary if trophy hunters flood Florida’s wooded areas on the first weekend of the season and exceed the limits before officials can stop the hunt. MacFall also said the key to stopping run-ins between bears and humans is controlling bears’ access to trash. “Bears in Florida are not overpopulated, and there’s no need to control their populations through hunting,” MacFall said. Hunters would be limited to one bear per person, and the killing of cubs or bears under 100 pounds would be prohibited, according to the commission’s guidelines, and would be required to register the bear at an FWC checkpoint within 12 hours of killing the animal. Earlier in the day, the commission also approved a new strategy for Florida’s endangered but growing panther population, which had dwindled to less than three dozen when it was listed as an endangered species in the 1960s. The population is now estimated at 180 adult panthers, but wildlife officials warn the panthers are using all the available habitat and advise something must be done to minimize panther interactions with humans as they venture into residential areas and highways where they are increasingly being hit by cars. The agency proposed restoring panther habitats across major portions of the Everglades. Removing the panther from the endangered species list would likely require additional breeding population outside of South Florida and potentially into other neighboring states, the agency said in its position paper. That kind of breeding expansion will be “challenging, controversial and will take a significant amount of time and funding,” including more help from federal wildlife officials. “Under the current recovery plan, Florida will not be able to accomplish the goals necessary to recover panther populations to a point where they reach full recovery goals …This situation places Florida in the untenable position of managing a growing panther population under the rigid provisions of the (Endangered Species Act) and a recovery plan which in current form may not be achievable,” according to the position paper. The commission heard more than two hours of conflicting testimony from ranchers and hunters and animal rights advocates. The first group warned panthers were decimating their livestock as well as rabbits, raccoon and deer. One rancher said he regularly releases hogs to prevent the panthers from preying on his cattle. But animal rights advocates, including a 9-year-old girl, and conservationists hailed the panther as a majestic, state icon that must be protected and accused the agency of backing away from that mission. “There’s been a lot of confusion out there about (removing the panther from the endangered species list) and certainly that is not the intent … our position is strong if not stronger,” said Commissioner Ronald Bergeron, who also suggested there must some type of compensation for the ranchers.