CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round oneCape Coral family opens home up for the holidays
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
New Punta Gorda City Council accepts city manager’s resignation Punta Gorda’s new City Council accepted City Manager Greg Murray’s resignation Nov. 20 and agreed to pay toward hurricane repairs and provide several months of rent abatement to business owners who lease space at city-owned Herald Court. Debi Lux was named mayor and Greg Julian vice mayor by the new-look Council, which saw three incumbents […]
Vehicle catches on fire after crash at intersection of Alico and Oriole Rd. A vehicle caught on fire after a crash at the intersection of Alico Rd. and Oriole.
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
New Punta Gorda City Council accepts city manager’s resignation Punta Gorda’s new City Council accepted City Manager Greg Murray’s resignation Nov. 20 and agreed to pay toward hurricane repairs and provide several months of rent abatement to business owners who lease space at city-owned Herald Court. Debi Lux was named mayor and Greg Julian vice mayor by the new-look Council, which saw three incumbents […]
Vehicle catches on fire after crash at intersection of Alico and Oriole Rd. A vehicle caught on fire after a crash at the intersection of Alico Rd. and Oriole.
Kevin Pavlidis, Ryan Ausburn and Angela Scafuro catch a monster sized Burmese python in the Everglades on Oct. 5. (Courtesy: Kevin Pavlidis, Ryan Ausburn and Angela Scafuro) It’s official. An invasive Burmese python captured in the Everglades over the weekend has broken the state record measuring 18.9 feet long. The previous record was 18.8 feet long. Ryan Ausburn, a contracted python hunter with the South Florida Water Management District, and Kevin “Snakeaholic” Pavlidis, a contracted python hunter with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, captured the monster-sized python Oct. 2 along the L-28 Tieback Canal about 35 miles west of Miami. On social media, Pavlidis wrote, “On Friday night, we pulled this BEAST of a snake out of waist-deep water in the middle of the night, deep in the Everglades. I have never seen a snake anywhere near this size and my hands were shaking as I approached her. Every python we catch can be potentially dangerous, but one this size? Lethal. One mistake, and I am for sure going to the hospital. But more importantly, this is a once in a lifetime snake. I could go out every single night for the rest of my life and never see one this big again.” Kevin Pavlidis, Ryan Ausburn and Angela Scafuro catch a monster-sized Burmese python in the Everglades on Oct. 2. (Courtesy: Kevin Pavlidis, Ryan Ausburn and Angela Scafuro) Ausburn described the capture as a real “BATTLE”, saying, “I am just incredibly grateful for this opportunity and an experience I will never forget. Realize what you have when you have it and cherish the experience in the moment. Be grateful, be respected, and be thankful.” Ausburn said he knew as soon as he saw the snake “she had some size but it wasn’t until we walked to the water’s edge did I realize how big.” Usually, snake hunters grab the pythons by the head but Ausburn had to grab her by the rear and started pulling but “she immediately turned back and anchored herself around a tree. It took every ounce of strength to keep her from slipping away.” More than 5,000 Burmese pythons have been captured and removed from the Florida Everglades since the state started paying hunters to track them down in 2017. The python hunter program is managed by the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Kevin Pavlidis, Ryan Ausburn and Angela Scafuro catch a monster-sized Burmese python in the Everglades on Oct. 2. (Courtesy: Kevin Pavlidis, Ryan Ausburn and Angela Scafuro) Burmese pythons were first discovered in the Everglades nearly two decades ago. It’s believed they became established in Florida as a result of escaped or released pets and they are causing serious harm to the fragile Everglades ecosystem by eating native wildlife such as possum, rabbits, deer, bobcats, and other indigenous wildlife. It is illegal to release nonnative species into the wild. They’ve been successful at reproducing in the swampy Everglades because they have no predators. Females can lay up to 100 eggs. That’s why the state started the bounty program, in which registered hunters earn a minimum wage rate for up to 10 hours of work a day, plus a bonus for their catch: $50 for each python measuring up to four feet plus $25 more for each foot measured above four feet. Hunters who catch a nesting female python earn an additional $200. Scientists estimate there are between 100,000 and 300,000 pythons in the Everglades. To learn more about the FWC’s Python Action Team and the SFWMD’s Python Elimination Program, visit MyFWC.com/Python and SFWMD.gov/Python.