Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Miami BeachWeb Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up
miami beach Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Miami Beach Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Miami Beach.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Drivers react to newly opened intersection on Colonial Blvd. The dreaded drive through one of our busiest intersections has been the focus of several construction projects.
Dinosaur from Shell Factory finds new home in Saint James City marina A dinosaur has found a new home at the soon-to-be Nauti-Dolphin Marina in Saint James City, Florida. This prehistoric attraction is already drawing attention even though it’s the only thing currently on the property. Dean Zoner, owner of the Nauti-Dolphin Marina, acquired the dinosaur from the Shell Factory, a local business that was going out […]
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Community raises concerns about Clewiston Animal Services The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
CCSO works with ICE to catch suspects in Southwest Florida State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
miami beach Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Miami Beach Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Miami Beach.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Drivers react to newly opened intersection on Colonial Blvd. The dreaded drive through one of our busiest intersections has been the focus of several construction projects.
Dinosaur from Shell Factory finds new home in Saint James City marina A dinosaur has found a new home at the soon-to-be Nauti-Dolphin Marina in Saint James City, Florida. This prehistoric attraction is already drawing attention even though it’s the only thing currently on the property. Dean Zoner, owner of the Nauti-Dolphin Marina, acquired the dinosaur from the Shell Factory, a local business that was going out […]
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Community raises concerns about Clewiston Animal Services The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
CCSO works with ICE to catch suspects in Southwest Florida State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (Credit: Pool) A faculty union, professors and students are challenging the constitutionality of a new Florida law that requires conducting surveys on state college and university campuses about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” and includes other changes that opponents contend violate First Amendment rights. The United Faculty of Florida on Wednesday joined the lawsuit, which was filed last month in federal court in Tallahassee. The lawsuit argues, in part, that the measure (HB 233) was approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers “to target and chill certain viewpoints with which its proponents disagree.” “While it may purport to protect and advance intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity on Florida’s public college and university campuses, its reality – and its intention – is the exact opposite,” the lawsuit said. “Without regard for the First Amendment, the law permits the state to collect the private political beliefs of students and compels faculty both to espouse and promote views they do not share and carefully consider whether and how to discuss views that they do.” The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the measure along almost straight party lines this spring, after similar measures failed to get approval in past years. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill in June. “It used to be thought that a university campus was a place where you’d be exposed to a lot of different ideas. Unfortunately now, the norm is really, these are intellectually repressive environments,” DeSantis said at the time, adding that “students should not be shielded from ideas.” An amended complaint filed Wednesday lists the union, the nonprofit group March for Our Lives Action Fund, four professors, a university lecturer and four students as plaintiffs. The named defendants are Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and members of the state university system’s Board of Governors and the State Board of Education. Under the law, state universities and colleges will be required to conduct annual assessments of the “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” at the institutions. The law directs the Board of Governors and State Board of Education to each “select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically-valid survey to be used by each institution which considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the college community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom.” The law, which went into effect July 1, also said schools may not “shield” students and faculty members from “ideas and opinions that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable or offensive.” In addition, it opens the door to lawsuits based on violations of people’s “expressive rights” at the schools and allows students to record class lectures ”in connection with a complaint to the public institution of higher education where the recording was made, or as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding.” The lawsuit targets each of those major parts of the law and alleges violation of free speech and equal-protection rights. As an example, it contends that the law does not ensure anonymity in the surveys and could result in negative consequences if state leaders don’t like the results. “The survey provisions neither explain nor put any limitations on how the governor, Florida Legislature or boards might use the results of the survey,” the lawsuit said. “Remarks by Gov. DeSantis in support of HB 233 indicate that results will be used to cut funding from public colleges and universities if survey results suggest that a given school has not done enough to foster ‘intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity.’” Attorneys for the opponents also alleged that the law was ideologically driven. “It was passed with the intent to suppress liberal and progressive views and associations on Florida’s public post-secondary campuses by creating a hostile environment for those views on virtually every level, up to and including sanctioning vindictive litigation and targeting them for harassment and budget cuts,” the lawsuit said. The state has not filed a response to the lawsuit, which is assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker. But as the House passed the measure in March, House sponsor Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, said completing the surveys would be voluntary for people on campuses. “I’m not asking you to make a policy decision here, all I’m asking you to do is to allow us to ask the question, gather empirical data, to see if a future legislature may want to … use that data as the basis to make a policy decision,” Roach told House members.