NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
lehigh acres LCSO: Lehigh Acres shooting investigation underway The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
lehigh acres LCSO: Lehigh Acres shooting investigation underway The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Photo via CBS News. The first 2020 Democratic presidential primary is more than a year away, but candidates are already making history with the number of women in the running. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s entrance into the race this week marked the first time that more than one woman competed for the party’s nomination — and still more are expected to join the fray. What may be more remarkable — and welcome — is the variety within the field of women. The fact of their sex is not a consideration in their decision to run. “There’s not a ‘women’s lane,'” says Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications for Emily’s List, which recruits and supports typically Democratic female candidates. The upshot? “Having multiple women means that hopefully they will not only be judged by their gender, so we can talk about the candidates,” says Reynolds. The 2020 Democratic field could have as many as five women, including Gillibrand. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the first to join the race with the announcement of an exploratory committee on New Year’s Eve, and has traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire. Tulsi Gabbard, a 37-year old lawmaker from Hawaii and one of the first two female combat veterans ever to serve in Congress, has also announced a bid. California Sen. Kamala Harris, the first South Asian-American and second African-American woman elected to the upper chamber, is preparing a run and is currently on a book tour. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is also seriously considering a campaign for the presidency. In 2016, Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman presidential candidate nominated by a major political party, and she secured nearly 3 million more votes than Donald Trump in the general election, but she still lost her bid for the White House. If that election raised concerns about whether a woman can win the presidency (though there were certainly other significant factors in Clinton’s loss), the 2018 midterms–which sent a record number of women to Congress–appears to have helped to put them to rest. “Let’s be crystal clear: today, women are the heart and soul of the Democratic base and the fuel that is driving victories up and down the ballot,” Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, recently wrote. Kelly Dittmar, an associate professor at Rutgers University and a scholar at the university’s Center for American Women and Politics, said that having multiple women candidates of different ages, race, and ideological positions would “push back against the sort of homogeneous ideal type” of a woman running for higher office. “I think that any time we have more women running, and greater diversity among those women, it just challenges those monolithic conceptions of what it means to be a woman candidate,” Dittmar said. But being a woman does not mean that these candidates will be restricted to campaigning on “women’s issues,” which are often narrowly defined by topics like paid family leave and sexual assault. “They’re not all running on being a woman. They are running on their records and their visions,” says Rebecca Katz, a New York-based Democratic strategist who advised Cynthia Nixon’s gubernatorial campaign in 2018. “I think it’s important that we not relegate women to just one set of issues as though they aren’t living full lives,” Senator Harris told Bustle. Harris promotes her experience as a prosecutor, which could become a key pitch of her presidential campaign. Warren has built a national brand on economic issues, particularly consumer protection and Wall Street accountability. Gillibrand has made combating sexual misconduct, particularly in the military, a hallmark of her political career since entering the Senate. Dittmar said that the number of women in the race would not necessarily mean introduction of new topics to the national conversation, but would provide new perspectives. “It’s more about the lens by which they’re going to be viewing, talking about, and in fact creating their own policy agenda,” she said. Those varying lenses have already been on display. During the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, she asked, “Can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?” Klobuchar also received national attention for her questioning of Kavanaugh. She discussed her own history as a child of an alcoholic father, and asked if Kavanaugh had ever blacked out while drinking. Kavanaugh retorted, “No, have you?” While male politicians often use their personal histories to make a point, Klobuchar presented a vulnerability in her questioning which is often missing in politics. When talking about economic disadvantages, Warren has invoked the story about how her aunt helped her watch her two kids while she worked. Otherwise she would have had to give up her career. “Without child care, I was a goner. And I know how lucky I was because so many working moms don’t have an Aunt Bea who can fly in and help out,” Warren said at a keynote address to the National Women’s Law Center in October. But just because more women are running for president doesn’t mean the stereotypes and other standards have disappeared. Indeed, the “likeability” factor that has long been a pesky measure disproportionately applied to women candidates, mustered its way to the national conversation early on. Warren, to whom critics have drawn misguided comparisons to Clinton, took the issue head on. “I hear women candidates are most likable in the quiet car!” she tweeted from her seat on the Acela. Gillibrand has also drawn comparisons to Clinton, as another blonde senator from New York. Clinton was often criticized as shrill and unlikeable, and female presidential candidates are already drawing unwelcome comparisons. Dittmar said that comparing current women candidates to past ones — and to each other — showed how women are still considered outliers in the political field. “We never assume that Mitt Romney was John McCain,” Dittmar said, referring to the 2012 and 2008 Republican candidates for president. “We assume and allow greater individuality and separation among male candidates than among women candidates.” During a book tour stop at The View, Harris was asked about the “likeability” factor. “Despite a woman’s role in the world, there are still certain myths of what a woman can and cannot do,” she said. Sill, at least one candidate plans to lean into a gender archetype during her campaign: Gillibrand is aiming to carve out a niche in the crowded field by embracing the gender issue. “I’m going to run for president of the United States because as a young mom, I’m going to fight for other people’s kids as hard as I would fight for my own,” she said on the Colbert show.