Warmer with sun and clouds for your Friday plansFDOT to open all lanes of Caloosahatchee Bridge year ahead of construction schedule
the weather authority Warmer with sun and clouds for your Friday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer day ahead, with a mixture of sun and clouds expected this Friday afternoon.
FDOT to open all lanes of Caloosahatchee Bridge year ahead of construction schedule The Florida Department of Transportation announced it will open all lanes of the Caloosahatchee Bridge a year ahead of its pedestrian sidewalk project.
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
the weather authority Warmer with sun and clouds for your Friday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer day ahead, with a mixture of sun and clouds expected this Friday afternoon.
FDOT to open all lanes of Caloosahatchee Bridge year ahead of construction schedule The Florida Department of Transportation announced it will open all lanes of the Caloosahatchee Bridge a year ahead of its pedestrian sidewalk project.
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
Firefighters look at a toppled Christmas tree after a truck ran into a crowded Christmas market and killed several people in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) BERLIN (AP) – A truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on Monday evening, killing 12 people and injuring nearly 50 as it smashed through tables and wooden stands. Police said a suspect believed to be the driver was arrested nearby and a passenger died as paramedics were treating him. The popular Christmas market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was filled with a mix of tourists and locals when the large Scania truck hurtled into it. Germany’s top security official said initial evidence pointed to an intentional act, and the White House condemned “what appears to have been a terrorist attack.” Police said early Tuesday that 48 people were in hospitals, some of them with serious injuries. Mike Fox, visiting from Birmingham, England, told The Associated Press that the truck missed him by about three meters (yards). Fox said he helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands. “You do what you can to help who you can, really. It happened so fast that there was nothing we could do to stop it – if we’d tried to stop it we would have been crushed,” Fox said. The truck, which was loaded with steel beams, came to a halt on a sidewalk on one side of the market. It had just rammed a large stand called “Fascination Christmas,” tearing off one side and knocking down a large Christmas tree. The three-meter tree lay in the street, red and gold ornamental balls still attached to its limbs and a golden star at the top. The crash came less than a month after the U.S. State Department called for caution in markets and other public places across Europe, saying extremist groups including Islamic State and al-Qaida were focusing “on the upcoming holiday season and associated events.” The Islamic State group and al-Qaida have both called on followers to use trucks in particular to attack crowds. On July 14, a truck plowed into Bastille Day revelers in the southern French city of Nice, killing 86 people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack, which was carried out by a Tunisian living in France. Following that attack there were calls to block off and better protect high-profile public gatherings. There were no barriers around the Christmas market on Monday. After the attack, dozens of ambulances lined the streets waiting to evacuate people, and heavily armed police patrolled. Authorities on Twitter urged people to stay away from the area, saying they need to keep the streets clear for rescue vehicles. Among the dead was a passenger in the truck, who succumbed as paramedics treated him, Berlin police spokesman Winfried Wenzel said. Police said later that the man was a Polish national, but didn’t give further details of who he was or what happened to him. A suspect believed to be the driver was picked up about 2 kilometers (1½ miles) away, near the Victory Column monument. He was being interrogated, Wenzel said. The truck was registered in Poland, and police said it was believed to be stolen from a building site there. They didn’t give a specific location. The Polish owner of the truck said he feared the vehicle, driven by his cousin, may have been hijacked. Ariel Zurawski said he last spoke with the driver around noon, and the driver told him he was in Berlin and scheduled to unload Tuesday morning. “They must have done something to my driver,” he told TVN24. Federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism cases, took over the investigation, according to German Justice Minister Heiko Maas. In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the United States was in contact with German officials and ready to help in the investigation and response. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump blamed Islamist terrorists, though it was unclear what that assessment was based on. He said Islamic extremists must be “eradicated from the face of the earth” and pledged to carry out that mission with all “freedom-loving partners.” But German officials said it was too early to call the crash intentional. “I don’t want to use the word ‘attack’ yet at the moment, although a lot speaks for it,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told ARD television. “There is a psychological effect in the whole country of the choice of words here, and we want to be very, very cautious and operate close to the actual investigation results, not with speculation.” Even so, some politicians were pointing fingers. Marcus Pretzell, a prominent member of the anti-migration Alternative for Germany party, lashed out at the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying on Twitter: “When will the German state of law strike back? When will this cursed hypocrisy finally stop? These are Merkel’s dead! #Nice #Berlin.” Germany has not experienced any mass-casualty attacks by Islamic extremists, but has been increasingly wary since two attacks by asylum-seekers in the summer that were claimed by the Islamic State group. Five people were wounded in an ax rampage on a train near Wuerzburg and 15 in a bombing outside a bar in Ansbach, both in the southern state of Bavaria. Both attackers were killed. Those attacks, and two others unrelated to Islamic extremism in the same weeklong period, helped stoke tensions in Germany over the arrival last year of 890,000 migrants.