FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — More meaningful regular season high school football is on the way. The Florida High School Athletic Association board of directors approved sweeping changes to football playoff qualification Monday, moving away from a district-based setup to a complex points system that will go into effect in the fall of 2017. “This is a landmark day for the state of high school football in the state of Florida,” said FHSAA athletics director Frank Beasley, who spearheaded the plan that passed by a 14-2 vote. The key difference is that each game will have bearing on a team’s ability to qualify for the playoffs. Under the current system, only district games truly count. Teams will get points for each game based on the strength of the opponent. Each opponent will fall into one of four different tiers based on their final regular season records. A win against an opponent that finishes with an otherwise unbeaten record will be worth 50 points, and a loss to that team would be 35 points. You’d get the same 35 points for beating a winless team, and only 20 for losing to that team. The aim is to encourage schools to play tougher opponents. VIDEO | #FHSAA football admin @coach_Beasley speaks about the new football playoff.https://t.co/IdzQCr8idp pic.twitter.com/Lehti2EFNa — FHSAA (@FHSAA) September 26, 2016 Bill Kramer, coach of the powerhouse Naples program, hopes that spells the end of scheduling woes for his team. “It’s been tough for us here in Southwest Florida for us to find games the past two years,” Kramer said. “We’ve had a nine-game schedule the past two years, so hopefully this is an incentive for folks to play folks.” The points system, which originally would have awarded bonus points for teams that play opponents in higher classifications, has been simplified since it was first proposed in May. But it’s only one element of a broader change in the way teams qualify for the postseason. The number of teams making the playoffs in each class will stay the same — 32 in 5A-8A and 16 in 1A-4A. Teams in Classes 5A-8A will continue to be categorized into four regions and four districts per region, but only one team per district is guaranteed a playoff berth under the new system. The other four playoff berths in each region will go to the teams with the most points, regardless of district. Conceivably, as many as four teams from one district could make the playoffs. “You still honor your district champion,” said Fort Myers coach Sammy Sirianni, who along with Kramer was on an advisory board that gave input on the changes. “… To me, you had to have a district championship incentive.” Both Kramer and Sirianni, whose teams play in Class 6A, are glad districts will still be around for them, unlike in classes 1A-4A, where teams will simply be sectioned off by region and the points system will determine all the playoff spots. Schools in 1A-4A will be responsible for coming up with the entirety of their regular season schedules on their own, since they won’t have any district games to write in ink each season. That’s a potential headache. But it’s also an opportunity for those teams to renew traditional rivalries and work together with other schools to reform conferences, which used to play a key role in scheduling in the days before districts. “There’s going to be some negatives along the road. We fully know that and are aware of that. We’re going to continue to work and tweak as we move forward,” Beasley said in a press conference following the plan’s approval. “… Is any system perfect? No. But we feel like we’ve created a better system than what we have now.” Perhaps most glaring among the flaws of the current system is tiny districts like the three-team 7A-12 that houses Gulf Coast, Riverdale and South Fort Myers. Those teams, in essence, play only two regular season games of consequence. “I think if it eliminates those 3-7 district runner-ups from the playoffs, it’s probably a good thing,” Kramer said. Gone, too, will be the tiebreaker games that teams play under the current plan. Ties will now be broken by points and other criteria. Teams won’t be allowed to replace canceled games by scheduling different opponents, either — a potential issue for if weather fouls up the schedule. The FHSAA will propose new district alignments for teams in Class 5A-8A in December, with finalized alignments to follow in January. Every team’s schedule must be in place by May. The changes won’t necessarily end there. “We’ve had lengthy conversations in our office about how this will affect and trickle down to other sports,” Beasley said. “We’re excited about the future and where that may take us.”