12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidaysFort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
This Feb. 26, 2021 photo shows U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz -R-Florida, speaking at CPAC at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla. Gaetz, a prominent conservative in Congress and a close ally of former President Donald Trump, said Tuesday, March 30, he is being investigated by the Justice Department over a former relationship but denied any criminal wrongdoing. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Federal prosecutors are examining whether Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and a political ally who is facing sex trafficking allegations may have paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday. The scrutiny of Gaetz stemmed from the Justice Department’s probe into the political ally, Joel Greenberg, the people said. Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector, was indicted last year and is accused of a number of federal crimes. He has pleaded not guilty. Gaetz, a Republican who was elected to Congress in 2016, is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump’s and a fixture in conservative media. Republican congressional leaders have largely been silent about the investigation, which remains ongoing. Part of the investigation is examining whether Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old and other underage girls and violated federal sex trafficking laws, the people familiar with the probe told the AP. Federal agents suspect Greenberg may have enticed the girls and then introduced some of them to Gaetz, and they are examining whether both men may have had sex with the same girls, the people said. The people with knowledge of the investigation could not discuss details publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Details of the investigation were first reported by The New York Times. Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations and said in a statement earlier this week that “No part of the allegations against me are true.” The Gaetz investigation, which has been going on since at least the summer of 2020, reached the highest levels of the Justice Department, and former Attorney General William Barr was briefed on the matter several times, the people said. In the last few months, investigators have also interviewed several witnesses in the case and have been scrutinizing documents, including travel and financial records, the people said. Greenberg was the elected tax collector in Seminole County near Orlando when he resigned last June after his arrest on federal charges. Initially, those included stalking a political opponent, trafficking a minor for sex and illegally using a state database to create fake driver’s licenses and other ID cards. Since then, the case against Greenberg has ballooned to more than 30 charges, including wire fraud and other charges involving efforts to divert at least $400,000 from the tax collectors office into cryptocurrency he controlled and for his own personal use, such as the purchase of memorabilia autographed by NBA greats Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, federal prosecutors say. Other charges accuse him of using two companies he controlled to attempt to fraudulently obtain coronavirus relief funds. Gaetz has said the allegations against him are part of an extortion plot by an attorney in Florida, who worked decades ago as a federal prosecutor and whom Gaetz identified as David McGee. In response, McGee’s law firm said the allegation that Gaetz made about the supposed extortion attempt was “both false and defamatory.” The firm said that McGee had served in top positions at the U.S. attorney’s office in Florida about 25 years ago and that his “reputation for integrity and ethical conduct was impeccable.” The Justice Department has a separate investigation into the extortion allegations, being led out of the U.S. attorney’s office in northern Florida, according to a person familiar with the investigation who also could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Gaetz has said that his family has been cooperating with the FBI and that his father was wearing a recording device, at the FBI’s direction, “to catch these criminals.” He also demanded the Justice Department release the recordings. The Justice Department has not commented.