Ollie’s Pub, the home of SWFL’s local music scene, closes after 4 memorable yearsNew FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis puts business degree to use
CAPE CORAL Ollie’s Pub, the home of SWFL’s local music scene, closes after 4 memorable years Ollie’s Pub, once the center of local original music in Southwest Florida, is closing after a prosperous yet arduous four years.
New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis puts business degree to use Hargis began his new job at FGCU on April 29 knowing he would have about $15 million in annual funding—and also knowing the budget has more than doubled in the last decade.
Future unknown for Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel site What’s to come of the Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel and adjoining Hurricane Charley’s Sushi, Raw Bar & Grill after demolition is yet to be determined.
(CBS) Trump held in contempt for violating gag order in “hush money” trial. Here’s how much he owes. The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York held him in contempt of court on Tuesday for violating a gag order.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police say A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers went serve a warrant.
WINK NEWS Semi-truck crash shuts down multiple lanes at Pine Ridge Road A crash involving a semi-truck caused lanes at Pine Ridge Road to close temporarily on Tuesday.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal North Fort Myers shooting held without bond The North Fort Myers man arrested for allegedly shooting into a truck, killing a man is being held without bond following a court appearance.
Lake Park Diner expands with Founders Square location Not only will the new Founders Square location of Lake Park Diner serve the growing population in North Naples and Golden Gate Estates, the second helping of the local dining spot will serve as the prototype for future iterations of the casual restaurant concept.
IONA Woman discovered in Bayside Inlet, condition unknown According to the fire district, reports of a woman in a canal were issued at around 7:50 a.m. at Junonia Court in Iona.
NAPLES Gov. DeSantis waives entrance fees for Florida State Parks for Memorial Day Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the suspension of all entry fees in Florida state parks during Memorial Day weekend.
FORT MYERS Annual SWFL Wellness Fair in Fort Myers to promote well-being The Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium is partnering with the SWFL Wellness Fair to offer a day of fun and inspiration in Fort Myers.
Tampa Gov. DeSantis renews the Freedom Sales Tax holiday in Florida Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the renewal of the Freedom Sales Tax holiday in Tampa.
NEW YORK (AP) Protesters take over Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall in escalation of anti-war demonstrations Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York early Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Isolated storms to develop Tuesday afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a dry Tuesday morning with the possibility of isolated rainstorms throughout the afternoon and into the evening
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral red tag hearings begin in wake of FEMA’s threatened removal of flood insurance discount Residents of Cape Coral are experiencing confusion, frustration and possibly fines due to red tags popping up on buildings under construction.
CAPE CORAL Ollie’s Pub, the home of SWFL’s local music scene, closes after 4 memorable years Ollie’s Pub, once the center of local original music in Southwest Florida, is closing after a prosperous yet arduous four years.
New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis puts business degree to use Hargis began his new job at FGCU on April 29 knowing he would have about $15 million in annual funding—and also knowing the budget has more than doubled in the last decade.
Future unknown for Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel site What’s to come of the Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel and adjoining Hurricane Charley’s Sushi, Raw Bar & Grill after demolition is yet to be determined.
(CBS) Trump held in contempt for violating gag order in “hush money” trial. Here’s how much he owes. The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York held him in contempt of court on Tuesday for violating a gag order.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police say A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers went serve a warrant.
WINK NEWS Semi-truck crash shuts down multiple lanes at Pine Ridge Road A crash involving a semi-truck caused lanes at Pine Ridge Road to close temporarily on Tuesday.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal North Fort Myers shooting held without bond The North Fort Myers man arrested for allegedly shooting into a truck, killing a man is being held without bond following a court appearance.
Lake Park Diner expands with Founders Square location Not only will the new Founders Square location of Lake Park Diner serve the growing population in North Naples and Golden Gate Estates, the second helping of the local dining spot will serve as the prototype for future iterations of the casual restaurant concept.
IONA Woman discovered in Bayside Inlet, condition unknown According to the fire district, reports of a woman in a canal were issued at around 7:50 a.m. at Junonia Court in Iona.
NAPLES Gov. DeSantis waives entrance fees for Florida State Parks for Memorial Day Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the suspension of all entry fees in Florida state parks during Memorial Day weekend.
FORT MYERS Annual SWFL Wellness Fair in Fort Myers to promote well-being The Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium is partnering with the SWFL Wellness Fair to offer a day of fun and inspiration in Fort Myers.
Tampa Gov. DeSantis renews the Freedom Sales Tax holiday in Florida Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the renewal of the Freedom Sales Tax holiday in Tampa.
NEW YORK (AP) Protesters take over Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall in escalation of anti-war demonstrations Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York early Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Isolated storms to develop Tuesday afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a dry Tuesday morning with the possibility of isolated rainstorms throughout the afternoon and into the evening
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral red tag hearings begin in wake of FEMA’s threatened removal of flood insurance discount Residents of Cape Coral are experiencing confusion, frustration and possibly fines due to red tags popping up on buildings under construction.
MGN LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dwayne Angebrandt wasn’t all that surprised when his bosses at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked their expert on sex trafficking to put together a public presentation on how to spot its signs. What really took him aback was the audience he was asked to deliver it to: a group of strip-club operators. For years, law enforcement had suspected such a group would likely be made up of some of the very people who are quietly selling women into prostitution. Or at the least, acting as middle men for people who do. “I wondered where was the intersection with what our message is and what their message is,” he said of entrepreneurs whose business model is hiring women to dance naked in front of men and then paying them with only the tips the men offer. But as the special agent in charge of the Southern California office investigating human trafficking quickly learned, many of the club operators and their dancers he met were surprisingly clueless when it came to spotting the problem. Three years after his first presentation an unlikely alliance has formed between his agency and a group called Club Organizers Against Sex Trafficking. It’s one that seeks to train managers and dancers how to spot pimps and other traffickers who shadow their clubs and to report them to authorities. Since the presentations have begun officials with COAST and Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement say several suspected pimps have been reported to authorities and a handful have been arrested. “There was stuff they were telling us to watch for like if a girl comes in to audition and she has someone with her to speak for her, that’s a red flag. If she doesn’t have access to her own I.D., that’s a red flag,” said a 24-year-old dancer who attended a recent session in Denver. “It’s stuff that sounds kind of fishy but I probably wouldn’t have put two and two together if I hadn’t had a class like that,” added the woman who dances under the name Tandy, and who like other dancers insisted she be identified only by her stage name out of concern for her safety. “But, now, definitely, I would report it,” she added. Michael Ocello, who operates 17 clubs and who founded COAST after one of them in Maine was raided as a result of a tip that turned out to be unfounded, said one of the first legitimate busts resulting from the training occurred at another of his clubs, in Denver. An attractive young woman came to apply for a job accompanied by an authoritative woman who held the applicant’s I.D. and did all the talking while the prospective dancer sat nervously. The nervousness wasn’t surprising, Ocello said, noting a career change to nude dancing isn’t something anyone takes lightly. But the training session had made his manager suspicious, and he asked to call the woman aside for a private audition. Instead, he asked why she wanted the job. “The answers are simple. I lost my job, I’ve got to make tuition, I’ve got to make rent, I’ve got a kid, my husband lost his job, there’s a gazillion reasons, but they’re all going to focus on that financial aspect,” Ocello said. “But this woman said, ‘Well, this is where my friend said I got to work.'” ICE was contacted and the woman arrested. Ocello didn’t know the case’s outcome, but he added he hoped his club manager saved someone’s life. In Beaverton, Ore., a club’s call to police to report that it had discovered it was employing a 15-year-old runaway “with a very good fake I.D.,” led to the girl’s pimp being sentenced to life in prison. In that 2014 case, said police Detective Chad Opitz, the club had been busted before for hiring an underage girl and was being careful not to let it happen again. Opitz, who has attended a COAST training session himself, isn’t sure how much of an impact the efforts really have in influencing an industry he sometimes finds reluctant to cooperate with authorities. But he adds, “I think it can’t hurt. Awareness within the club is always very important.” That’s what Angebrandt was counting on when he spoke to more than 100 club operators, and a handful of dancers, at a training seminar in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank earlier this month. So far about 10,000 people have attended such gatherings nationwide, Ocello said, including recent ones in Houston, Louisville and Indianapolis. Angebrandt told the Burbank group of a case involving a trafficker posing as a video producer who persuaded a woman to dance in a club in Atlanta. Soon he was pimping her for sex with club patrons. When she tried to return home he threatened her family. “Was your industry a part of that?” he asked. “No, but it was your industry that was promoting it.” Afterward, Chris Hassey, who operates a club in Sacramento, said the advice was “very informative, eye-opening.” “I’m going to have a long talk with a couple of my girls when I get back,” he said, adding he was particularly concerned by the warning to watch for women leaving a club each night with a “boyfriend” they don’t seem to like.