Vehicle pursuit in Charlotte County ends in crash A pursuit between the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and a vehicle on Interstate 75 ended in a crash.
Red tide looms off Southwest Florida coastline Beware of the beach! Red tide is making its way towards Southwest Florida once again.
FORT MYERS BEACH $1.2 million approved for repairs for FMB and Sanibel schools This hurricane season left an expensive mess at Fort Myers Beach Elementary and the Sanibel school, but who’s paying the $1.2 million price tag?
FORT MYERS Teen carjacks woman after escaping mental health facility A teenager accused of carjacking a woman in a church parking lot on Friday had just escaped from a facility where he was being held under the Baker Act, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Teachers union raises issues with Lee County School District after arbitration Being a teacher is just like any other profession. Teachers need to take days off, get sick, and sometimes cover for co-workers.
LABELLE LaBelle Animal Shelter hoping to raise money to avoid property being sold The owner of Animal Rescue Inc. in LaBelle is doing everything she can to prevent the shelter from disappearing in a matter of months.
County settlement allows Links of Naples golf course to redevelop into homes Collier County residents are vocalizing their concerns over the commissioner’s decision to develop housing on the Naples Golf Course.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mayor weighs in on possible city hall relocation With Lee Memorial Hospital scheduled to close in 2027, discussions over what will replace the building are in full swing and whether Fort Myers City Hall is the right choice.
Toys for Tots: A 77-Year tradition of service and holiday cheer Toys for Tots aims to bring gifts to children and their families who may not be able to afford them for the holidays.
Inside the mind of accused CEO gunman WINK News is learning more about the man accused of shooting and killing a health insurance CEO on a New York City sidewalk last week, and breaking down what he may think of himself based on the writings he left behind.
1 dead after crash on Airport-Pulling Road in Collier County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving a sedan and pick-up truck that occurred near Airport Pulling Road.
bonita springs Prostate cancer treatment aims to freeze further development When it comes to cancer treatment, several options come to mind, such as chemotherapy, surgery, and or radiation; however, there is another option that may prove to be as effective.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man convicted of sexually assaulting teenager A Fort Myers man has been convicted of several charges, including the sexual assault of a 17-year-old teenager.
Red tide advisory issued for Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach The Florida Department of Health issued a red tide advisory after presence of the algae bloom was found near Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach in Collier County.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
Vehicle pursuit in Charlotte County ends in crash A pursuit between the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and a vehicle on Interstate 75 ended in a crash.
Red tide looms off Southwest Florida coastline Beware of the beach! Red tide is making its way towards Southwest Florida once again.
FORT MYERS BEACH $1.2 million approved for repairs for FMB and Sanibel schools This hurricane season left an expensive mess at Fort Myers Beach Elementary and the Sanibel school, but who’s paying the $1.2 million price tag?
FORT MYERS Teen carjacks woman after escaping mental health facility A teenager accused of carjacking a woman in a church parking lot on Friday had just escaped from a facility where he was being held under the Baker Act, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Teachers union raises issues with Lee County School District after arbitration Being a teacher is just like any other profession. Teachers need to take days off, get sick, and sometimes cover for co-workers.
LABELLE LaBelle Animal Shelter hoping to raise money to avoid property being sold The owner of Animal Rescue Inc. in LaBelle is doing everything she can to prevent the shelter from disappearing in a matter of months.
County settlement allows Links of Naples golf course to redevelop into homes Collier County residents are vocalizing their concerns over the commissioner’s decision to develop housing on the Naples Golf Course.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mayor weighs in on possible city hall relocation With Lee Memorial Hospital scheduled to close in 2027, discussions over what will replace the building are in full swing and whether Fort Myers City Hall is the right choice.
Toys for Tots: A 77-Year tradition of service and holiday cheer Toys for Tots aims to bring gifts to children and their families who may not be able to afford them for the holidays.
Inside the mind of accused CEO gunman WINK News is learning more about the man accused of shooting and killing a health insurance CEO on a New York City sidewalk last week, and breaking down what he may think of himself based on the writings he left behind.
1 dead after crash on Airport-Pulling Road in Collier County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving a sedan and pick-up truck that occurred near Airport Pulling Road.
bonita springs Prostate cancer treatment aims to freeze further development When it comes to cancer treatment, several options come to mind, such as chemotherapy, surgery, and or radiation; however, there is another option that may prove to be as effective.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers man convicted of sexually assaulting teenager A Fort Myers man has been convicted of several charges, including the sexual assault of a 17-year-old teenager.
Red tide advisory issued for Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach The Florida Department of Health issued a red tide advisory after presence of the algae bloom was found near Clam Pass and Barefoot Beach in Collier County.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
FILE – Chicago Bears acting head coach Chris Tabor directs his team during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, in Chicago. The Chicago Bears could be without all three of their coordinators, including special teams coordinator Tabor, when they host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) The NFL’s decision to reduce COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic, vaccinated players could signal a trend for pro sports leagues and provide an example for society to follow heading into 2022. Despite a rising number of positive cases that forced three games to be rescheduled over the weekend, the NFL, in cooperation with the players’ union, agreed on Saturday to scale back testing for vaccinated players. The move aligns with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends “diagnostic testing” only for symptomatic or close-contact vaccinated people, and “screening tests” only for unvaccinated people. The NFL previously required vaccinated players to get tested weekly before amending the protocols. The NFLPA had advocated for daily testing for vaccinated players but eventually agreed to “target” testing. The NBA didn’t require vaccinated players to get tested during the season but revised its policy to increase testing for a two-week period starting Dec. 26. The NHL tested players every third day but returned to daily testing through at least Jan. 7. “I think the NFL is actually going to be a really interesting and I think really safe real-world experiment on what our new normal is likely going to look like,” Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and professor at the University of Washington, said in an interview with the AP. “And, it’s safe to say that the NFL is obviously a large vaccine bubble, sans a few high-profile exceptions. “We can’t continue the status quo, ad infinitum, where we are testing regularly people that are otherwise healthy, asymptomatic, triple-vaccinated, just to detect the asymptomatic individual who might be positive … because then you’re going to quarantine that individual who might be asymptomatic or having mild symptoms, who is triple-vaccinated, who might for a small period of time, be infectious to others who presumably are also vaccinated.” Almost 95% of NFL players and nearly all coaching staff are vaccinated. Gupta, an informal consultant for the Seattle Seahawks on COVID-19 issues and an adviser for baseball’s Seattle Mariners, says the NFL is “ahead of the curve” with target and voluntary testing. “I think they’re able to do things that the rest of the country is unable to do because they have a vaccine bubble, and they can control things to a certain degree that we can’t control across the public at large, and so it’s an interesting experiment,” Gupta said. “We have to build policies and procedures and case management protocols around positive tests that make sense, given our reality.” On Monday, the first day under the NFL’s revised protocols, 47 players were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the most in a single day since the pandemic began. Several players were asymptomatic and vaccinated, a person familiar with the results told The Associated Press. The league says Monday’s results are evidence its new “smarter” and more “strategic” testing policy is working. Positive cases were identified and the players were isolated. Players who test positive must quarantine until they’re cleared to return. Under the new procedures, vaccinated players can return in fewer than 10 days. “We want someone to return after they are no longer a risk for themselves or a risk to others,” said Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer. “We’ve looked at our data very carefully there. We have obviously continued to evolve that definition over time and we believe we can bring a further degree of precision to that process on how people can return by fine-tuning that in a way that fits into the protocols.” But many people have questioned the league’s motives for changing testing protocols at a time when the number of positive cases has increased rapidly due to the omicron variant. “The other side is that they’re going to have more players that are out there that are infected that are potentially transmitting to other players and leading to a greater burden of infections,” said Dr. David Hamer, professor of global health and medicine at Boston University. “This change in plan makes me nervous mainly because of omicron surging.” It’s fair to wonder if the NFL is putting its desire to finish the season uninterrupted ahead of health and safety. But the league and its team of doctors point to science and data. “We are always analyzing our data and particularly our outcomes,” Sills said. “We are looking at our protocols, together with our experts, together with the Players’ Association. We are looking at them to see how we achieve the safest possible environment for everyone and that causes us to need to constantly respond to adapt the protocols. And so clearly, with the emergence of this new variant, which, as I said, in many ways seems like a new disease, has been an opportunity to reevaluate every aspect of our protocols, and has led to some of the changes. “We believe what we are doing actually now will mimic what we have been doing in health care for quite a while now. … We are not routinely testing asymptomatic, vaccinated health care workers, doctors, etc. We are testing those who become symptomatic and meet certain criteria. So, we are really just joining what has been done in health care based on our own experience and the experience in health care up to this point.” Along with new testing policies, the league over the past week has emphasized booster shots for players, mandated the boosters for coaches and other staff, and provided options for virtual meetings. All players are provided home tests and anyone can be tested whenever they want. “I think there is a lot we have learned from health care and I think it is very relevant to try and use some of the exact same strategies that are routinely used in health care when it comes to the NFL population as well,” said Dr. Deverick Anderson, Professor of Medicine at the Duke Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention and co-founder and co-owner of Infection Control Education for Major Sports.