Chilly morning and a cool Saturday afternoon with lots of sunshineSWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Regional Semifinals
Chilly morning and a cool Saturday afternoon with lots of sunshine The Weather Authority says the weekend is starting off nice and chilly, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s across Southwest Florida.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Regional Semifinals It’s the regional semifinal round of high school football in Southwest Florida. Check out the scores and highlights.
FORT MYERS Large response to rollover crash in Fort Myers There was a large response to a multi-car crash with a rollover in Fort Myers just after 8 p.m on Friday night.
FORT MYERS BEACH New information on why FEMA put Fort Myers Beach on probation FEMA was sure to lay it out in a letter. Out of the five points listed, three areas need work on Fort Myers Beach to re-apply for the flood insurance discount.
CAPE CORAL Exclusive: Cape Coral Police Chief speaks out on hate crime incident New exclusive surveillance video shows the moment a Cape Coral home is vandalized. The suspects painted racial slurs on the wall in red paint. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL New police precincts coming to Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department is adding new precincts around the city. The reason? Growth.
Vietnam veteran’s unique service animal companion When we think of service animals, dogs usually come to mind, but it’s not just dogs that help people navigate through their challenges.
NAPLES Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year award honoree: John Cooney It’s one thing to be philanthropic and help our community. It’s another to provide so much help and want absolutely nothing in return, not even your name mentioned.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High principal named Lee County Principal of the Year Carl Burnside was the last to find out Friday morning that he was selected as Lee County Schools Principal of the Year for 2025.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach businesses excited for increased season traffic Those on Fort Myers Beach are excited for the town to return to normal. Businesses are ready to accept snowbirds and residents again.
CAPE CORAL Mom faces DUI charge after crash during pick-up at Oasis High School A crash in the pick-up line at Oasis High School led Cape Coral police to a DUI investigation.
Rethinking daily Asprin intake Many of us have heard the saying, “An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away,” but new research shows that taking aspirin every day might not be as good for you as we once thought.
NAPLES Embezzlement investigation in Naples WINK News is looking into claims of embezzlement in the Naples government.
NORTH FORT MYERS Where did the Shell Factory animals go? With the closure of The Shell Factory in September, people have been wondering where the animals went.
Tim Aten Knows: Publix to demolish, rebuild Naples store Two days after Thanksgiving, the 38-year-old Publix supermarket in Neapolitan Way Plaza will close to begin a Naples redevelopment project that has been planned for years.
Chilly morning and a cool Saturday afternoon with lots of sunshine The Weather Authority says the weekend is starting off nice and chilly, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s across Southwest Florida.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Regional Semifinals It’s the regional semifinal round of high school football in Southwest Florida. Check out the scores and highlights.
FORT MYERS Large response to rollover crash in Fort Myers There was a large response to a multi-car crash with a rollover in Fort Myers just after 8 p.m on Friday night.
FORT MYERS BEACH New information on why FEMA put Fort Myers Beach on probation FEMA was sure to lay it out in a letter. Out of the five points listed, three areas need work on Fort Myers Beach to re-apply for the flood insurance discount.
CAPE CORAL Exclusive: Cape Coral Police Chief speaks out on hate crime incident New exclusive surveillance video shows the moment a Cape Coral home is vandalized. The suspects painted racial slurs on the wall in red paint. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL New police precincts coming to Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department is adding new precincts around the city. The reason? Growth.
Vietnam veteran’s unique service animal companion When we think of service animals, dogs usually come to mind, but it’s not just dogs that help people navigate through their challenges.
NAPLES Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year award honoree: John Cooney It’s one thing to be philanthropic and help our community. It’s another to provide so much help and want absolutely nothing in return, not even your name mentioned.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High principal named Lee County Principal of the Year Carl Burnside was the last to find out Friday morning that he was selected as Lee County Schools Principal of the Year for 2025.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach businesses excited for increased season traffic Those on Fort Myers Beach are excited for the town to return to normal. Businesses are ready to accept snowbirds and residents again.
CAPE CORAL Mom faces DUI charge after crash during pick-up at Oasis High School A crash in the pick-up line at Oasis High School led Cape Coral police to a DUI investigation.
Rethinking daily Asprin intake Many of us have heard the saying, “An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away,” but new research shows that taking aspirin every day might not be as good for you as we once thought.
NAPLES Embezzlement investigation in Naples WINK News is looking into claims of embezzlement in the Naples government.
NORTH FORT MYERS Where did the Shell Factory animals go? With the closure of The Shell Factory in September, people have been wondering where the animals went.
Tim Aten Knows: Publix to demolish, rebuild Naples store Two days after Thanksgiving, the 38-year-old Publix supermarket in Neapolitan Way Plaza will close to begin a Naples redevelopment project that has been planned for years.
Credit: WINK News Lee County School Board members are now looking at each other when it comes to LGBTQ policies that made it into the approved student code of conduct for the 2020-21 school year. This comes after concerned parents and community members attended the Tuesday regular meeting in droves to voice concerns for policies and a poster that explained them in Lee County Schools. Board members at the School District of Lee Count are pointing fingers at one another over a disagreement in a plan voted on by board members and signed by Lee County parents 10 months ago and passed unanimously in June 2020. Members defended themselves to parents about how much they knew was in the policy and when they knew about it. A number of guardians of students said they only recently learned about LGBTQ policies in the code recently. One school board member went so far as to suggest someone snuck in a controversial poster outlining LGBTQ rights in the student code of conduct. We reviewed previously-recorded board meetings over the last 10 months to learn when board members knew about the approved polices. The fact is the poster is not new. It’s part of the student code of conduct the board passed in June 2020, but it’s new to a crowd of people who voiced their concerns during a regular board meeting. “My concern is it was during a time of COVID, and my concern is it was during a period of time when we didn’t have a lot of input from the community,” board member Gwyn Gitten said. Gittens asked to rescind her vote ahead of Tuesday’s heated public comment, noting she never saw the poster when she and everyone else voted yes to the code of conduct. The poster is on page 84 of the 96-page document for the student code of conduct. Board member Melisa Giovannelli backed Gittens up. “I was unaware it was in there as well,” Gittens said. “I didn’t see it. I went back at some of the meetings that we had in May, and I don’t see any conversation where it was brought to us.” Except, it did come up briefly during May 5, 2020, a month ahead of the board’s vote. School staff briefed board members about new additions to the code of conduct in a slideshow. Staff said, “We added the equity Florida, which is a full-page poster [Mr. Chuck Bradley] was talking about prior in the presentation.” “We’ve also added in the back section a section on LGBTQ, and the rights LGBTQ have in our schools,” said Chuck Bradley, the District’s director of positive prevention, at a previously meeting. That was all. But board members Cathleen Morgan and Chris Patricca argue all board members were expected to read the code of conduct before voting on it. “You cannot say that you didn’t read it, and you approved it. I’m sorry,” Patricca said. “The finger goes here. It doesn’t go outward.” Superintendent Greg Adkins also noted a number of different committees discussed the poster in advance of the vote. Next up: The school board will meet April 26 to hear the thoughts of parents and grandparents once again.