Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-insLee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-ins A Bonita Springs homeowner is sleeping with one eye open after her social security card was stolen from her car, an incident caught on video.
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.
FORT MYERS Exclusive: Florida Warriors president talks misunderstanding with city On Friday, the president of Florida Warriors Hockey got a letter saying that starting July 1, his program’s rink access at the Fort Myers Skatium would be cut from 48 hours a month to only eight hours a month.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded trying to serve warrant in North Carolina, authorities say Three law enforcement officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded Monday in a shootout at a Charlotte, North Carolina, home, police said.
CAPE CORAL Massive fire leaves Cape Coral businesses in shambles Several fire rescue trucks are responding to a structure fire at a commercial building in Cape Coral.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers residents concerned over abandoned boat A day out in the water turned into an alarming discovery for one North Fort Myers family.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers first responders stress safety after rollover crash Fort Myers fire department officials are pointing to safety and awareness following a recent rollover crash on Palm Beach Blvd. and Oasis Way.
NAPLES FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe’s determined heart is on the mound Former Barron Collier ace, now FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe is recovering from two open heart surgeries in five days.
Contrasting Lee, Collier and Charlotte homicide rates to nationwide numbers The Wall Street Journal says nationwide homicide rates have dropped by 20% compared to the numbers from 2023.
New program to make life more manageable for Parkinson’s patients A new program, backed by research, was created using the power of spin cycling to redefine the fight against Parkinson’s.
Medicaid class action gets go-ahead A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that alleges Florida did not properly inform people before dropping them from the Medicaid program after a COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
FORT MYERS New downtown Fort Myers parking options coming soon Two new spots are coming for you to park on nights and weekends in downtown Fort Myers, but you’ll still have to pay.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Family ‘sucker-punched’ in Lehigh Acres brawl A woman is speaking out about a conflict she was involved in at Barefoot Lake.
Miracle Moment: Christina Soriero Doctors diagnosed 22-year-old Christina Soriero with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when she was just 18. A time in her life when the only thing she should have been dealing with was senioritis and getting ready for life after high school.
DeSantis signs bill impacting new mothers and jury duty Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that will impact new mothers and their eligibility to serve on jury duty.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-ins A Bonita Springs homeowner is sleeping with one eye open after her social security card was stolen from her car, an incident caught on video.
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.
FORT MYERS Exclusive: Florida Warriors president talks misunderstanding with city On Friday, the president of Florida Warriors Hockey got a letter saying that starting July 1, his program’s rink access at the Fort Myers Skatium would be cut from 48 hours a month to only eight hours a month.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded trying to serve warrant in North Carolina, authorities say Three law enforcement officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded Monday in a shootout at a Charlotte, North Carolina, home, police said.
CAPE CORAL Massive fire leaves Cape Coral businesses in shambles Several fire rescue trucks are responding to a structure fire at a commercial building in Cape Coral.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers residents concerned over abandoned boat A day out in the water turned into an alarming discovery for one North Fort Myers family.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers first responders stress safety after rollover crash Fort Myers fire department officials are pointing to safety and awareness following a recent rollover crash on Palm Beach Blvd. and Oasis Way.
NAPLES FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe’s determined heart is on the mound Former Barron Collier ace, now FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe is recovering from two open heart surgeries in five days.
Contrasting Lee, Collier and Charlotte homicide rates to nationwide numbers The Wall Street Journal says nationwide homicide rates have dropped by 20% compared to the numbers from 2023.
New program to make life more manageable for Parkinson’s patients A new program, backed by research, was created using the power of spin cycling to redefine the fight against Parkinson’s.
Medicaid class action gets go-ahead A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that alleges Florida did not properly inform people before dropping them from the Medicaid program after a COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
FORT MYERS New downtown Fort Myers parking options coming soon Two new spots are coming for you to park on nights and weekends in downtown Fort Myers, but you’ll still have to pay.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Family ‘sucker-punched’ in Lehigh Acres brawl A woman is speaking out about a conflict she was involved in at Barefoot Lake.
Miracle Moment: Christina Soriero Doctors diagnosed 22-year-old Christina Soriero with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when she was just 18. A time in her life when the only thing she should have been dealing with was senioritis and getting ready for life after high school.
DeSantis signs bill impacting new mothers and jury duty Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that will impact new mothers and their eligibility to serve on jury duty.
Man vapes at the office. (CBS News photo) A voter-approved ban on electronic smoking devices in workplaces is moving forward in the Senate without a proposal by anti-smoking advocates to redefine vaping devices as tobacco products. The Senate Innovation, Industry and Technology Committee on Tuesday backed a proposed bill (SPB 7012) that would carry out part of Amendment 9, a ballot measure that passed in November and includes a ban on vaping in indoor workplaces. Committee Chairman Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, said his intention is to keep a “clean” bill as it advances through the Senate and called the argument to add the tobacco definition to vaping “as a little bit of an overreach.” “The vast majority see the health benefits of stopping smoking, and I think vaping has clearly been a part of that effort,” Simpson said. The measure mirrors a longstanding ban on smoking tobacco in indoor workplaces and would add vaping to a state law that bars people under age 18 from smoking tobacco within 1,000 feet of schools. The proposal, which is filed for the legislative session that starts March 5, would allow people to use e-cigarettes and other devices in “vapor-generating electronic device” retailers and “retail vape shops.” As with the tobacco law, e-cigarette use wouldn’t be restricted in private residences, stand-alone bars, designated hotel rooms, retail tobacco shops, facilities run by membership associations, facilities where medical and scientific research is conducted and designated smoking rooms at airports. However, the measure would give local governments the ability to impose more-restrictive regulations on vaping. Under Florida law, only the state can regulate smoking tobacco. Anti-smoking advocates argued that vaping materials are already regulated the same as tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and defining vaping devices as tobacco products by the state would help Tobacco Free Florida’s educational efforts. “They are currently unable to use the resources to prevent youth from smoking and to educate youth on e-cigarettes because they are not tobacco products,” said Matt Jordan, government relations director for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. “They are only allowed to formally address and prevent tobacco use.” Mark Landreth, representing the American Heart Association, warned that separating smoking and vaping masks the potential exposure to second-hand smoke and will lead to “confusion, probably more lawsuits” over what is and isn’t smoking and vaping. “We really shouldn’t be using the word vaping because that is a tobacco industry term,” Landreth added. “It’s the act of smoking an e-cigarette and it falsely describes what is emitted from these devices.” Meanwhile, Joshua Unger, owner of Von Vape in Sarasota, countered that about 30 percent of his business is free of nicotine or other tobacco products. “Our business is helping people quit smoking, or helping people get off cigarettes,” Unger said. “I personally have witnessed hundreds of people, in hundreds of stores in the state, transition from smoking to vaping and then to not vaping.” With about 7.8 million votes cast, Amendment 9 passed in November by a margin of 68.9 percent to 31.1 percent. The proposal was bundled by the state Constitution Revision Commission with a prohibition on drilling for gas and oil in state coastal waters. Constitutional amendments frequently need what is known as “implementing” legislation, which details how the amendments will be carried out. Once the vaping ban is enacted by the Legislature, violators would face a civil infraction that carries a $25 fine or 50 hours of community service. A violator could also take a school-approved anti-tobacco “alternative to suspension” program.