Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village DriveJake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
More girls than ever are donning jerseys and hitting the field – to play football. Alise Scaggs and Alexis Ervin are all grit on the gridiron. They play in part of an all-girl tackle football league. Alise loves the sport, explaining, “When I score a touchdown, it’s probably one of the most exciting feelings I’ve ever experienced.” Alexis says, “This is aggressive and I like the contact.” They aren’t alone. Nearly two thousand girls now play on formerly all-boys high school teams There’s a girls’ flag football team managed by USA Football, and girls tackle leagues are popping up around the country. In 2014, WINK News interviewed Emily Culvahouse, an Estero High School kicker. She says, “It’s a feeling that I don’t get from anything else. Being under those lights on the game field with the crowd going and my team all hyped up jumping on the sidelines.” Her goals were lofty saying “People think I’m crazy, but I really want to be the first female in the NFL.” That football season, she was one of 35 girls in the state of Florida who played tackle football. The next year, 46 girls signed up to play in the Sunshine State. And in the 2016-2017 season, 66 girls played tackle football in Florida. While the numbers nationally continue to rise for females in football, the high school athletics participation survey notes the opposite trend for boys. DOCUMENTS: High school sports participation 2014-15 Breakdown | 2015-16 Breakdown | 2016-17 Breakdown Chad Oldham helped launch one league when his daughter asked to play. He says it’s about time girls have the option. “To be honest with you, I don’t know why it’s been so long for girls to play tackle football.” He says they enjoy the sport just as much, and even more, than the boys do. While there are no studies specifically on girls playing football, one nationwide study of nine high school sports found that, overall, a significantly higher proportion of concussions was seen for girls versus boys. Dr. Mabel Lopez, a south Fort Myers neuropsychologist, says there are two theories on why females are more susceptible to traumatic brain injury: brain and body structure, and hormones. “Studies show that males are two times more likely than females to get a concussion, however, when a person does have a concussion, the female is more likely to have a brain injury or a more severe brain injury than a male,” Lopez said. “The female neck, in general, can be weaker than the male neck and is more prone or more susceptable to a brain injury because of that.” While the NFL has put an emphasis on male brain injuries, there’s not enough data on brain injuries for females, Lopez said. “Athletes in general are very competitive,” Lopez said. “They want to play and they want to win so this long term possibility of having a dementia when they’re older called CTE may not play a role in their decision making today.” Oldham says his coaches are all certified in the Headsup Concussion Prevention Program. His league has adjusted the game to protect the players and make fun the priority, saying, “We basically eliminated all the high impact plays. The field isn’t the same size as what the boys play on; they play on a smaller field to reduce higher impacts.” Parents of players in Chad’s league take some comfort that their daughters are tackling other girls, but they never forget that risk is part of the game. Andrea Hollingshead is a mom to more than one football-playing girl. She says, “With any sport you’re going to have some sort of risk involved. So, I’m beyond the mom that scared on the sidelines.” Alise loves the game and thinks it’s great that females are taking to some tackle time. “I think every girl should have the opportunity to play.”