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.
(Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File) A public defender must continue representing the former student charged in last year’s Florida high school massacre, a judge ruled Friday, saying it’s unlikely that Nikolas Cruz will actually receive a large inheritance left by his late mother. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer rejected a request from Broward County public defenders to make Cruz hire private attorneys with the $432,000 before taxes he’s entitled to receive from his late mother’s annuity. Under state law, the office can only represent indigent defendants. Scherer ruled Cruz hasn’t applied for the money and if he did, it would likely be claimed through lawsuits filed by his victims’ families. Cruz, 20, is charged with killing 17 and wounding 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. Cruz has said he wants any money he receives from his mother Lynda Cruz’s estate be given to the victims’ families. Scherer wrote that she “cannot presume at this time any expectancy” that Cruz will receive the money, which would be about $300,000 after taxes. At a hearing Wednesday, Assistant Public Defender Diane Cuddihy argued that even though Cruz hasn’t received any money, he is entitled to it. That, she said, was enough to make him no longer indigent under state law, and she and her colleagues believed they could no longer represent him. She never said they didn’t want to represent him, however. Public Defender Howard Finkelstein said Friday his office will review Scherer’s ruling and might appeal. “It is not a question of whether we want to stay on the case or not, only whether Florida law allows our services to be rendered,” he said. The Broward State Attorney’s Office declined to comment Friday. Prosecutors and victims’ families opposed the public defenders’ removal during Wednesday’s hearing, saying not only will Cruz lose any money he might receive, but forcing him to hire private attorneys would needlessly delay his trial’s scheduled start early next year. They also asked Scherer to consider the time and money already spent that would be wasted if Cruz got new attorneys. Lynda Cruz died of pneumonia in November 2017, three months before the shooting. She left an annuity worth about $865,000 to be split by Cruz and his younger brother. Their father died more than a decade earlier. An attorney for MetLife told Scherer on Wednesday that the brothers could have received the money before the shooting, but neither has yet made a claim. Jeannine Jacobson told Scherer that Cruz can waive his half, giving the entirety to his brother. The public defenders have said Cruz would plead guilty for a life sentence. Prosecutors want the death penalty. Cruz spent several years in and out of schools for children with emotional and behavioral problems, but attended Stoneman Douglas before being kicked out about a year before the attack.