Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concernsStudents benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars
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.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
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.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
The city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, has removed an auction block marking the spot where African Americans were once displayed and sold as slaves. The 800-pound slave auction block was removed from a downtown corner Friday morning after nearly two years of deliberation among City Council, months of legal action that threatened to keep the stone in place, and weeks of postponement due to the state’s coronavirus restrictions. “The institution of slavery was central to the community prior to the Civil War,” said John Hennessy, chief historian of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. “The trauma involved in that passed through generations. The block became an embodiment of the present and past pain in this community.” Local tradition, records, and statements by African Americans themselves have identified the elevated stone as a place where slaves were sold. “There is no direct quote noting that a slave stood on the block to be sold, but there are statements made in the post-Civil War years by African Americans stating they were sold on that corner,” the city notes on its website. Other similarly contentious sites that have been the subject of nationwide debate are being removed amid protests following the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has announced plans to remove a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert R. Lee from Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue. In Birmingham, Alabama, a statue of Confederate sailor Charles Linn was toppled by demonstrators and is scheduled to be removed by city officials. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said that a memorial dedicated to Confederate soldiers who died at a Union prison camp in the city will be removed from a local park. In Fredericksburg, the slave auction block became a site for protests, and it was recently tagged with red, green and white spray paint. “I think it really hit home when there were hundreds of people at the block saying, ‘Move it,'” Councilman Chuck Frye Jr. said. Frye, who grew up in Fredericksburg, has childhood memories of people mocking or spitting on the stone as they walked by. He also recalls stories of tourists taking photos with the slave block, which “I think racist folks loved it, historians understood it, and black people were intimidated,” Frye said. Frye, the only African American on City Council, proposed removing Fredericksburg’s slave auction block in 2017 — shortly after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, just an hour and a half drive’s west. After consulting members of the community, all of City Council, except for Frye, voted to keep the auction block in place while adding historical context to the site. “It felt terrible,” Frye said. “At that moment, I felt like I was on an island.” But the votes against removal only increased Frye’s passions. “I stayed the course,” Frye said. “I’m not going to waste a cushion in my council seat.” After the vote, City Council hired a non-profit — the International Coalition Sites of Conscience (ICSC) — that works to tell the stories of historic sites that represent pain in the community or human rights violations. The non-profit helped the city engage the community in conversations, which Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw said has helped Fredericksburg be “more honest about our history.” “The auction block was the topic, but what you really wound up talking about were historical events of injustice and racial biases,” she said. After the ICSC gave the city a report of its findings, which didn’t include specific guidance on the course of action for the slave auction block, Frye once again brought his proposal to remove the stone. City Council voted 6-1 to approve its removal in November. But a few months after the vote, two local businesses filed a petition to keep the auction block in place, the Free Lance-Star reported. A judge ruled in favor of the city, but one of the businesses, E.D. Cole Building, asked the Virginia Supreme Court to block the stone’s removal while the judge’s decision was being appealed, the newspaper reported. The legal obstacles were not cleared until April 1, according to the city, weeks into Virginia’s state of emergency due to Covid-19. The auction block was removed when the state entered “Phase Two” of its guidelines on easing public health restrictions. Lee R. Lewis Jr., a 71-year-old retiree from a career in finance, grew up in Fredericksburg during segregation. He said he no longer experiences the overt racism he did as a child, but that he is glad to see the slave auction block go. “It reminds us of a time when we were mistreated, we were property, we weren’t considered human beings, we weren’t equal,” he said. “It brings back those memories.” The Fredericksburg Memorials Advisory Commission is developing a plan to commemorate the site with historical context. The slave auction block itself is on loan to the Fredericksburg Area Museum for the next 20 years. Sara Poore, president and CEO, said the museum aims to work with the community to tell the most accurate interpretation of the slave auction block. She was in favor of the slave auction block’s removal, saying that the site has been “a source of pain and suffering for so long.” “We need to pave the way to make changes, and we can’t make changes if the slave auction block is sitting on the corner,” she said. One issue she’ll focus on is what to do with the graffiti spray-painted on the stone during protests. “My recommendation has been very strong in not cleaning it because the graffiti itself tells a story,” she said. “By cleaning it, you erase history.” CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story referred to the auction block as a stone on which slaves once stood. It isn’t known exactly what role the stone played in the auctioning of slaves.