Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
FILE – In this July 10, 2018, file photo, sheriff and chairperson, Bob Gualtieri, of Pinellas county, Fla., speaks during a state commission meeting as they investigate the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre and how Broward county school district and others access threats, in Sunrise, Fla. The state commission investigating the Florida high school massacre is learning about what happened before, during and after the shooting, but perhaps even more importantly what didn’t happen. Gualtieri said they are confident legislators will adopt the recommendations the committee’s report will make. It is due Jan. 1. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) The state commission investigating the Florida high school massacre is learning about what happened before, during and after the shooting, but perhaps even more importantly what didn’t happen. Suspect Nikolas Cruz had an extensive school disciplinary and mental health record and may have received much leniency, but his diversion into a Broward County schools program for problem students didn’t make it possible for him to buy a gun. He perhaps should have been detained for a mental health evaluation, but that too wouldn’t have kept him from purchasing the AR-15 allegedly used to kill 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, officials have said. And problems with the county’s first-responder radio system made coordinating the initial police response difficult, but the victims were already dead or dying by the time the failures arose. “In the heat of the moment, things get reported, things become facts that with the benefit of some time and some understanding of the events you start to realize those weren’t as big a factor as you thought,” said commissioner Ryan Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter Alaina was killed. The 15-member Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission is composed of law enforcement officials, educators, mental health professionals, politicians and parents of student victims. Petty and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the commission’s chairman, said they are confident legislators will adopt the recommendations the committee’s report will make. It is due Jan. 1. “They are looking for real answers and true answers,” Gualtieri said. “They are going to act on it.” Highlights of what the commission has learned so far include: Cruz’s mental health The commission received details of Cruz’s mental health treatment behind closed doors Thursday – those records are protected by state and federal law – but glimpses emerged during open testimony. Gualtieri told members that counselors had at least 140 contacts with Cruz over the years trying to get him help, but his late mother frequently interfered. When a counselor objected to Cruz’s desire to buy a gun, Gualtieri said Lynda Cruz said he could purchase one and after he turned 18 helped him get the necessary state identification card. It is also known that Cruz spent years at a school for children with emotional and behavioral problems, but was allowed to attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas even though there were questions about his stability. Cruz, 19, is charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder. Gun laws The commission learned that Cruz’s February 2017 purchase of the AR-15 and other guns were legal under then-Florida law. Under the old law, Cruz could only have been blocked by a felony conviction or being adjudicated mentally ill – neither of those happened. Also, even if Cruz had been detained under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows a three-day involuntary mental health evaluation, he wouldn’t have been barred. Three weeks after the shooting, Florida raised the minimum age for buying a rifle or shotgun from 18 to 21, matching the age limit for handguns, with few exceptions. The new laws also allow law enforcement to petition a judge to block a person they believe dangerous from buying or owning guns for a year and request extensions. Promise program The commission concluded that Broward County schools’ Promise Program, which received significant criticism, played no role in the shooting. Under the program, students who commit petty crimes or rules violations are referred to the off-campus program for two-to-10 days instead of being suspended and possibly arrested. They are assessed, given a course of treatment, attend classes and receive counseling. Cruz was referred to the program once in 2013 for breaking a faucet in a middle school bathroom. And while records are unclear whether Cruz attended, Gualtieri said that even if Cruz had been charged criminally it would not have interfered with his ability to buy a gun four years later. The commission did say there are flaws in the program and Petty said it created an atmosphere of too much leniency for students like Cruz that needs to be addressed. Radio systems The shooting revealed flaws in the Broward County’s aging emergency radio system. As dozens of deputies tried to transmit in the minutes after the shooting, the system overloaded and began blocking new transmissions, including those of the area commander, Capt. Jan Jordan. She received extensive criticism for not taking charge immediately, but she couldn’t, Gualtieri said – her radio wouldn’t let her. Even if she had, no one who died would have been saved. Only former Deputy Scot Peterson, the school’s security officer, got to the building during the first three minutes when the killings happened and he did not go inside. The radio system failed after that. It is scheduled to be replaced next year.