Local art institutions still feeling pinch of DeSantis’ $32 million art grant vetoCaptiva Beach continues renourishment project
FORT MYERS Local art institutions still feeling pinch of DeSantis’ $32 million art grant veto Southwest Florida’s growing art landscape is feeling the effects of Governor Ron DeSantis’ art grant veto and is trying to bounce back.
CAPTIVA Captiva Beach continues renourishment project Nearly two years later, the recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian continue on Captiva Beach. People WINK News spoke with say it’s a work in progress since Hurricane Ian, but they are hopeful as more time passes and more sand is brought in for beach renourishment.
Proposal to mine in the Everglades withdrawn for now The now-withdrawn proposal for the Southland Water Resource Project was submitted to the South Florida Water Management District in July by contractor Phillips and Jordan.
FORT MYERS Bishop Verot cross-country runner commits to UF The Bishop Verot Catholic High School senior won a state championship last year. Now, she’s committed to running at the University of Florida.
DeSantis fights back on Amendment 4 Florida may not be the swing state it used to be, but we’ll be on the map and certainly making headlines for at least one big reason this year: Abortion.
The do’s and don’ts of ATV’s An investigation is underway after a car crashed into an ATV with six people, including children, on it. Concerns are now being raised over the rules and regulations of ATVs.
SANIBEL Sanibel city council votes on E-bike limits The Sanibel City Council has voted to set new speed limits for e-bikes and whether they can ride on the island’s bike paths.
NORTH FORT MYERS Child shoots themselves in foot at youth football game, later arrested There was a frenzy on the field as parents and kids rushed to shelter in a concession building after hearing a gunshot fired during a youth football game.
Miracle Moment: Horsepower drives healing A horse gave a young girl the motivation she needed to fight an aggressive cancer.
Former LCSO deputy pleads not guilty to jewelry store shooting A former Lee County deputy has been caught on the wrong side of the law twice now, but he says he is innocent.
LEE COUNTY East Lee County football off to best start in school history There’s a new energy in the halls of East Lee County High School, because a 3-0 start is a first for Jaguar football.
RSV vaccine for mothers can help baby Now, a new FDA-approved vaccine can protect your baby, even before the little one is born.
Harris’ past debates: A prosecutor’s style with narrative flair but risks in a matchup with Trump Harris faces former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, who will participate in his seventh general election debate since 2016 for an event that will be seen by tens of millions of viewers just as early voting in November’s election starts around the country.
Collier commissioners approve tax rates, consider repaying Conservation Collier Collier County commissioners on Sept. 5 tentatively approved the $2.98 billion 2024-25 budget, but didn’t resolve whether to repay $29.6 million they took from Conservation Collier to help cover a more than $60 million shortfall last year.
LEE COUNTY Jury finds man guilty of molesting child in Lee County A jury has found a Lehigh Acres man guilty of sending inappropriate messages and molesting a child following a three-day trial.
FORT MYERS Local art institutions still feeling pinch of DeSantis’ $32 million art grant veto Southwest Florida’s growing art landscape is feeling the effects of Governor Ron DeSantis’ art grant veto and is trying to bounce back.
CAPTIVA Captiva Beach continues renourishment project Nearly two years later, the recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian continue on Captiva Beach. People WINK News spoke with say it’s a work in progress since Hurricane Ian, but they are hopeful as more time passes and more sand is brought in for beach renourishment.
Proposal to mine in the Everglades withdrawn for now The now-withdrawn proposal for the Southland Water Resource Project was submitted to the South Florida Water Management District in July by contractor Phillips and Jordan.
FORT MYERS Bishop Verot cross-country runner commits to UF The Bishop Verot Catholic High School senior won a state championship last year. Now, she’s committed to running at the University of Florida.
DeSantis fights back on Amendment 4 Florida may not be the swing state it used to be, but we’ll be on the map and certainly making headlines for at least one big reason this year: Abortion.
The do’s and don’ts of ATV’s An investigation is underway after a car crashed into an ATV with six people, including children, on it. Concerns are now being raised over the rules and regulations of ATVs.
SANIBEL Sanibel city council votes on E-bike limits The Sanibel City Council has voted to set new speed limits for e-bikes and whether they can ride on the island’s bike paths.
NORTH FORT MYERS Child shoots themselves in foot at youth football game, later arrested There was a frenzy on the field as parents and kids rushed to shelter in a concession building after hearing a gunshot fired during a youth football game.
Miracle Moment: Horsepower drives healing A horse gave a young girl the motivation she needed to fight an aggressive cancer.
Former LCSO deputy pleads not guilty to jewelry store shooting A former Lee County deputy has been caught on the wrong side of the law twice now, but he says he is innocent.
LEE COUNTY East Lee County football off to best start in school history There’s a new energy in the halls of East Lee County High School, because a 3-0 start is a first for Jaguar football.
RSV vaccine for mothers can help baby Now, a new FDA-approved vaccine can protect your baby, even before the little one is born.
Harris’ past debates: A prosecutor’s style with narrative flair but risks in a matchup with Trump Harris faces former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, who will participate in his seventh general election debate since 2016 for an event that will be seen by tens of millions of viewers just as early voting in November’s election starts around the country.
Collier commissioners approve tax rates, consider repaying Conservation Collier Collier County commissioners on Sept. 5 tentatively approved the $2.98 billion 2024-25 budget, but didn’t resolve whether to repay $29.6 million they took from Conservation Collier to help cover a more than $60 million shortfall last year.
LEE COUNTY Jury finds man guilty of molesting child in Lee County A jury has found a Lehigh Acres man guilty of sending inappropriate messages and molesting a child following a three-day trial.
A United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) delivery driver wears a protective mask while operating a delivery truck to delivery N95 respirator masks outside a United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) Ground sorting facility in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Monday, April 13, 2020. UPS donated 10,000 N95 respirator masks to the Kentucky Emergency Management Agency to be distributed to hospitals across the commonwealth to aid in the fight against COVID-19. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images FedEx and UPS won’t rescue voters who are nervous about the US Postal Service failing to deliver their mail-in ballots in time to be counted. The Postal Service recently warned state election officials that ballot delivery could be significantly delayed because of the record number of mail-in ballots expected during the pandemic. But America’s two major private delivery companies say they’re unwilling to step in and handle the flood of mail-in ballots — and they advised voters against using their services for ballot delivery. Sending mail-in ballots with FedEx or UPS would be way too expensive, and many ballots sent by private delivery won’t be counted. It’s also too close to the election to change the way ballots move from election offices to voters and back, voting experts say. “I don’t know if it’s more reasonable to ask FedEx and UPS to pick up the slack this close to the election any more than it is to have Santa Claus deliver them,” said David Becker, founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, a non-partisan think tank working to improve election administration. Election officials depend on the Postal Service for the ballots as well as the applications for mail-in ballots, sample ballots. The Postal Service also delivers information about early voting, polling places locations and hours. “The way election officials communicate with voters is with mail,” Becker said. All that election-related mail is typically sent at a reduced rate, similar to the bulk rate of about 19 cents. Although election mail has been handled as if it’s first-class mail, recent communication between the Postal Service and election offices suggested that wouldn’t continue, he said. Regardless, FedEx and UPS would cost far more per ballot. More importantly, it’s unclear whether ballots delivered by an outside carrier would be accepted by all the county election officials in charge of counting votes. “Each state is responsible for their own rules regarding mail-in ballots and the requirements for validity vary greatly from state to state,” said UPS in a statement. “We’d suggest speaking with state authorities who set the rules to see if they will accept a ballot if delivered by a private express carrier.” FedEx also said it doesn’t want to handle individual ballots. “US election absentee and mail-in ballots are predominantly handled by the US Postal Service. FedEx does accept individual ballots for shipment,” it said. “We advise that customers planning to return their ballots via FedEx should closely review their state’s guidelines on absentee voting and deadlines for ballots or related election documents.” Becker said it’s not surprising that those companies don’t want to be involved in the debate over mail-in ballots. “Why would they want to take on the potential public perception liability being involved in a presidential election?” he said. Becker noted the Postal Service has been handling mail-in ballots for more than 200 years and it handled about 25% of votes in 2016. And he said the volume of mail ballots won’t be greater than the volume of mail that typically takes place during the holiday period. He said the best thing for voters nervous about the Postal Service to do is to either deliver their ballots to secure drop-off locations or election offices or to mail their ballots as soon as possible to give the Postal Service time to get them delivered on time. “The earlier they get their ballot in, the better chances they are to be counted,” he said.