The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increasesSenior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
MGN CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) – In general manager Dale Tallon’s start-of-training-camp remarks to the Florida Panthers, he reminded them that 51 players were vying for 23 jobs on the roster. Given that, making this team might seem daunting. In actuality, the mathematics show it’s even worse. Most of last season’s top-scoring Panthers – Jonathan Huberdeau, Jussi Jokinen, Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr – can be safely penciled into the opening-night lineup, along with forwards Dave Bolland and Brandon Pirri. Defensemen like Aaron Ekblad, Brian Campbell, Erik Gudbranson, Dmitry Kulikov and Willie Mitchell are also locks. Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya will man the goaltending duties. Throw in a few other guys here and there, and what’s left is more like 30 players going for maybe a half-dozen available slots. “We’ve got lots of guys for a few jobs,” Tallon said. “It’s a good thing, a good issue to have and we’re going to select the 23 best guys. I don’t look forward to it but that’s the goal.” So when the Panthers opened training camp Friday, it made the situations surrounding David Booth and Martin Havlat all the more interesting. Combined, those two forwards – both of whom have familiarity with Tallon, with Booth a former Panther and Havlat playing for the Florida GM when he held that role in Chicago – have 1,290 NHL regular-season appearances, 361 goals and zero guarantees from the Panthers for this season. Booth and Havlat are in camp on tryout deals, a pair of veteran left wings trying to grab one of those precious few available roster spots. “If they play great, they’ll earn a spot,” Tallon said. Booth turns 31 in November, had his career temporarily derailed by a serious concussion in his first stint with the Panthers, wound up getting traded to Vancouver in 2011 and spent plenty of time as a penalty-killer for Toronto last season. Havlat is 34, a former Czech national teammate of Jagr’s and is coming off a year where he appeared in 40 games with New Jersey. “It reminds of a lot when I first got here, I guess in 2006,” Booth, a Panthers’ second-round pick in 2004, said earlier this week. “I was playing for a spot then. They had a pretty deep team. … I feel the same way coming in here now.” Havlat said he’s convinced the Panthers – who have been to the playoffs just once since 2000 and haven’t won a playoff series since the 1996 run to the Stanley Cup final – have a strong future. For the next couple weeks, he’ll try to find a way to be part of it. “I’m just going to do my best like I do every year,” said Havlat, who had a goal Friday in practice off a nifty pass from Jagr. “This time, it’s just a little different. I don’t have a contract. In the past, I don’t know, 15 years, every time I had to prove that I belong on a team even with a contract. Not going to do anything different.” Notes: How long has the 43-year-old Jagr been in the NHL? Even with a stint in Russia that took him out of the league from 2008 through 2011, he’s appeared in 1,752 NHL games. The Panthers’ franchise has played 1,694, according to STATS. … The team’s first preseason games are Sunday at Nashville, a doubleheader – with different rosters, of course – format that the teams have tried in recent years.