Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior nightPolice: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
Florida state flag. After a long and fiery debate about how the state should deal with illegal immigration, the Florida House on Wednesday passed legislation that seeks to crack down on local governments that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The measure, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, would ban so-called sanctuary city policies in the state and punish any local officials who limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. That would include local governments that restrict law-enforcement agencies from participating in a federal program that deputizes local officers to perform the duties of federal immigration agents. If they are found to be in violation of the bill, local officials could be removed from office, and local governments could be fined up to $5,000 for each day they have sanctuary-city policies. House sponsor Cord Byrd, R-Neptune Beach, argued that the bill (HB 527) is meant to require local government to follow federal immigration laws and ensure Florida residents are safe. His Republicans colleagues echoed that sentiment. “The state should welcome immigrants, but it should be legal immigrants,” said Rep. Mike Beltran, R-Lithia. “We are not saying that illegal immigrants are bad people … but they need to follow the law.” But Democrats criticized the bill in often-emotional testimony that sometimes included accounts about how their families immigrated to the United States. “This bill is not who we are as Floridians,” Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said. In part, Democrats said the bill would not just target undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes but also minor crimes, like driving without a license. Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-North Miami, said the bill would hurt the trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, which she said would “make all of Florida’s families unsafe.” Rep. John Cortes, a Kissimmee Democrat who worked as a corrections officer, said he supports locking up immigrants who commit crimes but that non-criminals also likely would be targeted. He added that there would be a cost to taxpayers for holding immigrants on federal immigration detainers. Despite the pushback, the bill passed the House in a 69-47 vote along almost-straight party lines. Republicans Vance Aloupis of Miami and Rene Plasencia of Orlando joined Democrats in voting against the bill. The House has passed similar bills the past three years, but the Senate has not gone along. A Senate version (SB 168), however, is scheduled to be heard Thursday on the Senate floor. Sen. Joe Gruters, who also serves as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, has made the issue his top priority in the Senate. If a sanctuary-cities bill ultimately passes, the Republican-dominated Legislature would hand DeSantis a major win during his first year in office. During his campaign last year, DeSantis vowed to sign legislation cracking down on sanctuary cities. His tough stance on illegal immigration mirrored the arguments embraced by President Donald Trump, who endorsed DeSantis for governor.