Amendment 3 fails; Florida marijuana legislation remains the sameAmendment 4 fails; current 6-week abortion ban remains
Trump flips Georgia and moves closer to reclaiming the White House Donald Trump has won the battleground state of Georgia, the onetime Republican stronghold that had voted for Democrats four years ago.
WINK NEWS Amendment 3 fails; Florida marijuana legislation remains the same With Election Day in full swing, WINK News is monitoring the results of the most controversial amendments on the ballot, including Florida’s Amendment 3.
WINK NEWS Amendment 4 fails; current 6-week abortion ban remains Besides Amendment 3, another of the more controversial amendments on the ballot is Amendment 4, which would limit government interference in abortions.
Republican Denise Carlin elected as Lee County Schools superintendent Republican Denise Carlin has been elected as the Lee County Superintendent of Schools, and Vanessa Chaviano won her seat in the Lee County School Board for District 7.
WINK NEWS Sheriff Carmine Marceno wins reelection It is now Election Day, and two candidates for the Lee County Sheriff are vying for the position.
3 Florida republicans win reelection in House of Representatives Three local incumbent Republicans have won re-election for the House of Representatives race.
LABELLE Fatal crash on State Road 29 in LaBelle According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a fatal crash occurred on State Road 29 on Tuesday evening.
NAPLES Naples on alert but staying calm ahead of potential storm It’s understandable to get anxious whenever we hear about the possibility of severe weather with Tropical Storm Rafael gaining strength in the Caribbean.
BONITA SPRINGS Florida’s Rick Scott reelected to US Senate Florida incumbent Rick Scott has been reelected to the U.S. Senate.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda RV residents concerned about hurricane damage The people at the Harbor Belle RV Resort had concerns about their homes before hurricanes Helene and Milton.
WINK NEWS How Hispanic voters in SWFL are casting their ballots The Hispanic community in Southwest Florida is seemingly divided as they cast their votes for the next president of the United States.
WEST PALM BEACH Trump and supporters gear up for election night in West Palm Beach All eyes are on the presidential election between Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
SANIBEL City of Sanibel opens time capsule for 50th anniversary It’s a chance to see what the past was like. 41 years ago, the city of Sanibel put items in a time capsule to be opened on the 50th anniversary of the city’s incorporation. On Tuesday, WINK News was there to see what people had to say about the island decades ago.
FORT MYERS BEACH Lee Commission approves contract to restore 2 waterfront parks on Fort Myers Beach The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted to award a contract for the design of the restoration of two waterfront parks on Fort Myers Beach.
Direct approach to hip replacement Surgeons in the United States perform more than 500,000 hip replacements every year, and that number is only expected to increase as our population ages.
Trump flips Georgia and moves closer to reclaiming the White House Donald Trump has won the battleground state of Georgia, the onetime Republican stronghold that had voted for Democrats four years ago.
WINK NEWS Amendment 3 fails; Florida marijuana legislation remains the same With Election Day in full swing, WINK News is monitoring the results of the most controversial amendments on the ballot, including Florida’s Amendment 3.
WINK NEWS Amendment 4 fails; current 6-week abortion ban remains Besides Amendment 3, another of the more controversial amendments on the ballot is Amendment 4, which would limit government interference in abortions.
Republican Denise Carlin elected as Lee County Schools superintendent Republican Denise Carlin has been elected as the Lee County Superintendent of Schools, and Vanessa Chaviano won her seat in the Lee County School Board for District 7.
WINK NEWS Sheriff Carmine Marceno wins reelection It is now Election Day, and two candidates for the Lee County Sheriff are vying for the position.
3 Florida republicans win reelection in House of Representatives Three local incumbent Republicans have won re-election for the House of Representatives race.
LABELLE Fatal crash on State Road 29 in LaBelle According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a fatal crash occurred on State Road 29 on Tuesday evening.
NAPLES Naples on alert but staying calm ahead of potential storm It’s understandable to get anxious whenever we hear about the possibility of severe weather with Tropical Storm Rafael gaining strength in the Caribbean.
BONITA SPRINGS Florida’s Rick Scott reelected to US Senate Florida incumbent Rick Scott has been reelected to the U.S. Senate.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda RV residents concerned about hurricane damage The people at the Harbor Belle RV Resort had concerns about their homes before hurricanes Helene and Milton.
WINK NEWS How Hispanic voters in SWFL are casting their ballots The Hispanic community in Southwest Florida is seemingly divided as they cast their votes for the next president of the United States.
WEST PALM BEACH Trump and supporters gear up for election night in West Palm Beach All eyes are on the presidential election between Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
SANIBEL City of Sanibel opens time capsule for 50th anniversary It’s a chance to see what the past was like. 41 years ago, the city of Sanibel put items in a time capsule to be opened on the 50th anniversary of the city’s incorporation. On Tuesday, WINK News was there to see what people had to say about the island decades ago.
FORT MYERS BEACH Lee Commission approves contract to restore 2 waterfront parks on Fort Myers Beach The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted to award a contract for the design of the restoration of two waterfront parks on Fort Myers Beach.
Direct approach to hip replacement Surgeons in the United States perform more than 500,000 hip replacements every year, and that number is only expected to increase as our population ages.
Video of the paddling was taken by the child’s mother. (Credit: Shared with WINK News) Paul Puletti, a former Hendry County school superintendent, is responsible for the ban on corporal punishment in the school district he used to lead. That’s why Puletti was surprised to see the video of Melissa Carter, Central Elementary School principal, paddling a 6-year-old student while a school clerk, Cecilia Self, held the girl down. “I mean if anybody can watch that tape and not be disturbed by it? Then they have a smaller heart than I do,” Puletti said. Voicemails left to Carter and Self went unreturned on Tuesday. The paddling occurred after the student allegedly damaged a school computer, prompting administrators to call her mother to the school to pay a $50 bill for the damage. Her daughter was paddled by Carter while Self held the child down, according to a police report. The child’s mother recorded the paddling but was scared to stop it because of her immigration status. Afterward, the mother took her daughter to the hospital to document her injuries. The case is under investigation by the Clewiston Police Department and the Department of Children and Families. The child’s mother’s attorney Brent Probinskly has said the case is under review by the state attorney’s office. The video, which has made national headlines, is not the first time a child has been paddled in Hendry County. In fact, there was a paddling during Puletti’s tenure as superintendent by a principal at the same school that led to the ban on corporal punishment in 2016, Puletti said. “The first incident, the child had bruises and the administrator was upset,” said Puletti, who led the school district from 2012 to 2020. The principal back then had devoted 30-plus years with a “spotless record,” but no one remembers that. “He just about fell apart. Yeah, I don’t mean he’s a quivering bowl of Jell-O, but I mean, he felt badly about this,” Puletti said. The Hendry County School Board got rid of corporal punishment to not only protect the school district from lawsuits and children from harm but to also protect educators from bad mistakes. “So I said, let’s not do this anymore,” Puletti said. “It’s not worth the risk to the child. It’s not worth the risk to the school system, or to the person whose career is on the line.” Now, it’s Carter’s career on the line. Puletti chose Carter to lead Central Elementary School. He described her as a “homegrown educator.” “And I’m sure she’s now, knowing her the way I do, she’s now second-guessing what she did,” Puletti said. Puletti told WINK News he faults the three adults in the room with the child. “They failed that child,” Puletti said. The Hendry County School District’s statement continues to be “no comment.”