Entryway work temporarily closes North Port LibraryNational Hurricane Preparedness Week: Preseason preparations
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Preseason preparations With less than a month until the official start of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated May 5th to May 11th National Hurricane Preparedness Week.
CAPE CORAL Temporary closures planned for Cape Coral athletic fields Three athletic fields in Cape Coral will temporarily close in May and another in June.
FORT MYERS Influencer shooting victim ‘Hood Fishing’ is stable and recovering A local internet star injured during a shooting in broad daylight on Fort Myers Street is still recovering from what happened.
NAPLES $8K reward offered for information on 2 brothers wanted in fatal stabbing More money is up for grabs if you’re able to help police find two brothers who allegedly stabbed two men in Collier County.
NEW YORK Trump fined $1K for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has fined him $1,000 for violating his gag order and has sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
Exclusive: More than 100 American Flamingos counted in Florida Audubon Florida has revealed the numbers of flamingos in the state to WINK News, in advance of an official statement scheduled for later Monday.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested after police respond to shooting outside Cape Coral home A man has been taken into custody after a reported shooting in a Cape Coral neighborhood where a car was found with at least one bullet hole.
Charlotte County home sellers had 2nd highest profit margin in Q1 While nationwide profit margins for home sales decreased 55%, in Charlotte County the profit margin for sellers rose to 103.1% for the first three months of the year.
FORT MYERS Second teen accused in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to face charges as an adult A second teen will face adult charges in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller.
FORT MYERS Man accused of murder in Fort Myers will be in court for arraignment The man accused of shooting and killing a man near Roberto Clemente Park in Fort Myers is scheduled to be in court today.
FORT MYERS Black bear sighted in downtown Fort Myers parking lot captured, relocated Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tranquilized and captured a Florida black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers on Monday morning.
LEHIGH ACRES 2 ATVs ticketed at Barefoot Lake after owner bars public Two ATVs were issued tickets at Barefoot Lake and towed away over the weekend after the property owner decided to bar the public.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Preseason preparations With less than a month until the official start of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated May 5th to May 11th National Hurricane Preparedness Week.
CAPE CORAL Temporary closures planned for Cape Coral athletic fields Three athletic fields in Cape Coral will temporarily close in May and another in June.
FORT MYERS Influencer shooting victim ‘Hood Fishing’ is stable and recovering A local internet star injured during a shooting in broad daylight on Fort Myers Street is still recovering from what happened.
NAPLES $8K reward offered for information on 2 brothers wanted in fatal stabbing More money is up for grabs if you’re able to help police find two brothers who allegedly stabbed two men in Collier County.
NEW YORK Trump fined $1K for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has fined him $1,000 for violating his gag order and has sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
Exclusive: More than 100 American Flamingos counted in Florida Audubon Florida has revealed the numbers of flamingos in the state to WINK News, in advance of an official statement scheduled for later Monday.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested after police respond to shooting outside Cape Coral home A man has been taken into custody after a reported shooting in a Cape Coral neighborhood where a car was found with at least one bullet hole.
Charlotte County home sellers had 2nd highest profit margin in Q1 While nationwide profit margins for home sales decreased 55%, in Charlotte County the profit margin for sellers rose to 103.1% for the first three months of the year.
FORT MYERS Second teen accused in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller to face charges as an adult A second teen will face adult charges in murder of Kayla Rincon-Miller.
FORT MYERS Man accused of murder in Fort Myers will be in court for arraignment The man accused of shooting and killing a man near Roberto Clemente Park in Fort Myers is scheduled to be in court today.
FORT MYERS Black bear sighted in downtown Fort Myers parking lot captured, relocated Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tranquilized and captured a Florida black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers on Monday morning.
LEHIGH ACRES 2 ATVs ticketed at Barefoot Lake after owner bars public Two ATVs were issued tickets at Barefoot Lake and towed away over the weekend after the property owner decided to bar the public.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
Credit: WINK News Pointing to a “hierarchy” that requires school districts to follow state laws and rules, the Florida Department of Health is asking a judge to toss out a challenge by six school boards to a rule that seeks to prevent student mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorneys for the Department of Health said in a 10-page motion posted Monday on the state Division of Administrative Hearings website that the school boards in Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, Duval, Alachua and Leon counties do not have legal standing to challenge the rule. “At bottom, the school boards disagree with the substance of the department’s emergency rule,” the motion said. “However, as the public officials charged with operating in accordance with state law, the school boards must presume that state laws applicable to their duties are valid. As such, the school boards lack standing to initiate litigation for the purpose of invalidating the very laws they are duty-bound to follow. Put simply, the school boards do not get to pick and choose which state laws they want to follow.” Also, the motion said the “Florida Constitution creates a hierarchy under which school boards administer the day-to-day operations of local schools, but must do so ‘in harmony’ with state laws and rules.” But Administrative Law Judge Brian Newman last month rejected similar arguments in a challenge by school boards to an earlier version of the Department of Health rule. The challenge to the earlier version ultimately was declared moot when the department issued a revised rule Sept. 22. In the earlier case, Newman disputed the state’s arguments that what is known as the “public official standing doctrine” prevented school boards from challenging the rule and cited a list of past cases in which local governments had pursued rule challenges. “In summary, there is no authority for respondent’s (the Department of Health’s) assertion that the school board petitioners, as public officials and/or units of government, are barred by the public official doctrine — or by any other law — from challenging a rule that substantially affects it under (a section of the state Administrative Procedure Act),” Newman wrote Sept. 20. “Indeed, such challenges are routinely decided here at the Division of Administrative Hearings.” The school boards filed the latest challenge Wednesday, arguing, in part, that the Department of Health overstepped its legal authority in issuing the Sept. 22 emergency rule. The rule stems from a July 30 executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis that sought to prevent school districts from requiring students to wear masks. The six districts have required students to wear masks, with limited “opt-outs,” and are among eight that face financial penalties from the state. In the revised rule, the Department of Health cited its legal authority to “adopt rules governing the control of preventable communicable diseases” and said that “because students benefit from in-person learning, it is necessary to immediately promulgate a rule regarding COVID-19 safety protocols that protects parents’ rights and to maximize the allowance of in-person education for their children.” But the school boards’ challenge contends the department “at most” is able to enact rules about immunizations and controlling communicable diseases — but does not have the legal authority to enforce parental rights. “Although it is titled ‘Protocols for Controlling COVID-19 in School Settings’ and enacted solely pursuant to the DOH’s (the department’s) limited rulemaking authority to control communicable diseases, the DOH rule challenged in this petition is actually focused not on controlling COVID-19 but rather on protecting parental rights,” the challenge said. “The DOH does not have rulemaking authority in this area, and thus exceeded its rulemaking authority.” Newman has scheduled a hearing Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 in the case. It is one of a series of legal fights playing out in state, federal and administrative courts about the DeSantis administration’s effort to prevent student mask requirements. DeSantis contends parents should be able to decide whether children wear masks. The Department of Health issued the initial version of the rule Aug. 6, but some school districts allowed families to only opt-out of mask requirements with documented medical reasons. The revised Sept. 22 rule said opting out of mask requirements is “at the parent or legal guardian’s sole discretion” — effectively trying to prevent districts from requiring medical reasons. Also, the revised measure restricted the ability of districts to require quarantining of students who have been exposed to COVID-19. It gives parents the option of allowing the “student to attend school, school-sponsored activities, or be on school property, without restrictions or disparate treatment, so long as the student remains asymptomatic.” The option does not apply to children who have COVID-19 symptoms.