Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concernsStudents benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society 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.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society 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.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
kennejima / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 LAS VEGAS (AP) – Officials are urging New Year’s Eve revelers in Las Vegas to leave bags, backpacks and strollers at home as police ready for hundreds of thousands of partiers to flood the casino-filled corridor on Thursday. It’s not a first-of-its-kind request, but it’s getting extra emphasis on the Las Vegas Strip following deadly attacks in Paris and San Bernardino and, more recently, a driver on Las Vegas Boulevard who witnesses say intentionally plowed into pedestrians on a busy sidewalk, killing one person. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman lamented the prospect that fear might keep people from celebrating New Year’s Eve, or any event. “It can’t be. We cannot let that rule,” she said. She reminded visitors and locals to live by the oft-repeated mantra: see something, say something. “We are always ready, and we’re always watching,” she said, balancing assurances the events would be safe with promises of the party potential. “We know how to have fun,” she said. Officials expect 332,000 people to watch fireworks shoot from seven rooftops on the Las Vegas Strip and crowd Fremont Street in downtown. The popular 4-mile-long Strip becomes a lengthy pedestrian mall for the night. Walking among them will be nearly 1,000 uniformed officers and an undisclosed number of undercover officers. A few hundred more will patrol Fremont Street where paid admission is required to enter the fenced-off event underneath a massive video-screen canopy. “We’re putting more hands on deck to ensure that we have a safe environment,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said this week. Lombardo said tips from the community about suspicious activity have tripled since the Paris attacks but there have been no credible threats. “But law enforcement in France likely wasn’t briefed on a credible threat before the Paris attacks,” Lombardo said at a Nevada Commission on Homeland Security meeting held earlier this month. It was noted at the meeting that there had been enhanced intelligence-gathering leading up to New Year’s Eve and that investigations nationwide into Islamic State activities included Nevada. Footage from up to 100 cameras on the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street have been routinely monitored, and teams have been training for active-shooter situations in the closed Riviera casino-hotel. “You never know what’s going to happen, but we’re doing the training,” Gov. Brian Sandoval said at the commission meeting. “We’re covering as many bases as we can anticipate.” This year, uniformed officers normally stationed in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard medians to observe the surrounding crowds, will be strolling among the revelers and everyone in the department will be working. “The environment that we’re living in now has changed,” Lombardo said. Following the Paris attacks that killed 130 people, Lombardo said he attempted to work with the county’s elected leaders to ban bags, backpacks and strollers from the Strip during the night or make them subject to search but couldn’t arrange for an ordinance in time. “We can’t just, ad hoc, put a law in place,” he said. So the reminder to not bring bags and strollers – including encouraging casino-hotel operators to tell guests to keep their bags in their rooms – remained a request, not a requirement. Tod Story, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said he understands heightened security concerns, but any ordinance barring bags and backpacks or mandating searches would need to include the public in the debate. Story said he couldn’t see how such an ordinance would be enforceable as long as Las Vegas Boulevard remained a public street that wasn’t cordoned off. “There’s no way they can close down Las Vegas Boulevard,” he said.