Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salonWINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
FILE:The Capitol is seen on the first morning of a partial government shutdown, as Democratic and Republican lawmakers are at a standoff with President Donald Trump on spending for his border wall, in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/FILE) Unless you are a Florida State University football fan, chances are you have never heard of the newest Democratic candidate for president — but Wayne Messam is hoping to quickly change that. The mayor of Miramar, Florida, Messam announced Thursday that he is joining the crowded field seeking to unseat President Donald Trump in next year’s election. Messam, who played for the Seminoles in the 1990s, believes Miramar has much that the rest of the United States would like to have — environmentally-friendly development, high-end manufacturing and major corporate operations. The 44-year-old construction company owner also knows why pundits say he won’t win: low name recognition and funding; no sitting mayor has ever won the presidency; his lack of political experience and more. But he is quick to respond with why he can. Why does he have to be governor or a senator first? Trump wasn’t. Who says mayors don’t have the necessary experience? Messam says he deals with infrastructure and business needs on a micro level in his Fort Lauderdale suburb, in ways that governors and senators don’t. Most politicians also haven’t run a small business for 20 years, he says, learning how to balance government regulations needed to protect the environment while allowing room for companies to prosper. Messam also points out he is the only candidate from battleground Florida and the strategically important Deep South and his positions align with liberal voters. He favors universal health care, student loan forgiveness, infrastructure improvements, working to alleviate climate change and focusing education toward a high-tech future. He would repeal Trump’s tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy to pay for it. He also would ban military-style rifles and tighten background checks for gun purchases. “When people get elected into Washington with no local government experience, they are so high in the stratosphere that they have no concept, no consciousness of some of the local challenges that cities and communities face. And America is basically a network of cities and communities,” Messam said. Miramar, with 160,000 residents, is larger than the city of the more attention-getting mayor eyeing the race, Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. And while South Bend, population 103,000, is known for the University of Notre Dame, Miramar holds the headquarters of Spirit Airlines and has satellite operations for Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines and American Express. Messam said the United States needs an economic plan that emphasizes educating adults and children to thrive amid ever-increasing automation, and one that better competes internationally. “China just released a manifesto, a 50-year plan about their dominance and how the world is going to need China’s exceptionalism and greatness and leadership. Where is our plan?” Messam said this week while cruising Miramar in his Cadillac Escalade. Andy Oxenhorn, the president of JL Audio, said his 570-employee company manufacturers its high-end audio speakers in Miramar because Messam has maintained policies that predate the mayor, who was recently re-elected to a second four-year term. He said Messam, because of his proximity, understands the damage Trump’s tariffs are causing his company, which now pays a 10-percent tax on imported parts. There are no U.S. parts manufacturers. “He is business-friendly, he has people working for him who are encouraging to our business and are not putting up obstacles to us getting the job done,” Oxenhorn said. Messam grew up in South Bay, an agricultural town of 3,500 adjoining Lake Okeechobee. His parents emigrated from Jamaica — his father cut sugar cane before becoming a farm mechanic. His mother was a cook and housekeeper. He starred at Glades Central High, a football powerhouse, before coach Bobby Bowden recruited him to Florida State. A wide receiver, he played on the Seminoles’ 1993 national championship team and had six catches for 103 yards in their 1996 Orange Bowl win over Notre Dame. After graduating with a degree in management information systems, he and his wife, Angela, started Messam Construction, which focuses on energy-efficient schools and government projects. They have three children in college. His strategist, Phillip Thompson, believes Messam’s story will resonate in South Carolina, a key early primary state the campaign is focusing on to create momentum elsewhere. The Democratic electorate is 60 percent African-American, much of the state is rural, college football is king and Messam is visiting the state frequently, courting local party officials. If Messam gets traction there, Thompson believes, he will qualify for the party’s televised debates, putting him in front of a national audience. Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina Democratic strategist not aligned with any campaign, said Messam faces tough competition in the state. Sens. Corey Booker and Kamala Harris, both African-Americans, are popular, as are former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Buttigieg is working South Carolina hard. “I don’t know what group his supporters would be,” Seawright said. “I’ve learned never to count anyone out because you’ll learn you can’t count, but he faces challenges.” (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)