FORT MYERS Lee County STET team protecting our schools with cameras There are cameras in our kid’s schools, dozens of them, but did you know that Lee County Schools sends those live video feeds to the sheriff’s office, and it’s someone’s job to watch them?
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Six-week abortion ban to take effect soon A stricter abortion ban will take effect in Florida on Wednesday.
Estero’s Golf Coast Driving Range shuts down, visitors devastated A place to relax, let loose and hit a few drives, has come to the end of an era for this community. “This is the first place we came to,” said Roxanne Henningsen, a Bonita Springs resident. “And it like became our second home. The people are wonderful. It’s just a great atmosphere. And we’ve […]
LEHIGH ACRES Changing how you are represented in Lee County Leaders want to hear your thoughts this week at a town hall on how you elect county commissioners.
FORT MYERS Frontier Airlines announces nonstop flights from RSW to San Juan, PR These flights will take off on June 2 and run 3 times a week.
City of Naples hosts open house workshop for Naples road projects The City of Naples is hosting an open house workshop to hear from the public regarding road improvements.
CAPE CORAL Ollie’s Pub, the home of SWFL’s local music scene, closes after 4 memorable years Ollie’s Pub, once the center of local original music in Southwest Florida, is closing after a prosperous yet arduous four years.
New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis puts business degree to use Hargis began his new job at FGCU on April 29 knowing he would have about $15 million in annual funding—and also knowing the budget has more than doubled in the last decade.
Future unknown for Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel site What’s to come of the Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel and adjoining Hurricane Charley’s Sushi, Raw Bar & Grill after demolition is yet to be determined.
(CBS) Trump held in contempt for violating gag order in “hush money” trial. Here’s how much he owes. The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York held him in contempt of court on Tuesday for violating a gag order.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police say A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers went serve a warrant.
WINK NEWS Semi-truck crash shuts down multiple lanes at Pine Ridge Road A crash involving a semi-truck caused lanes at Pine Ridge Road to close temporarily on Tuesday.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal North Fort Myers shooting held without bond The North Fort Myers man arrested for allegedly shooting into a truck, killing a man is being held without bond following a court appearance.
Lake Park Diner expands with Founders Square location Not only will the new Founders Square location of Lake Park Diner serve the growing population in North Naples and Golden Gate Estates, the second helping of the local dining spot will serve as the prototype for future iterations of the casual restaurant concept.
IONA Woman discovered in Bayside Inlet, condition unknown According to the fire district, reports of a woman in a canal were issued at around 7:50 a.m. at Junonia Court in Iona.
FORT MYERS Lee County STET team protecting our schools with cameras There are cameras in our kid’s schools, dozens of them, but did you know that Lee County Schools sends those live video feeds to the sheriff’s office, and it’s someone’s job to watch them?
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Six-week abortion ban to take effect soon A stricter abortion ban will take effect in Florida on Wednesday.
Estero’s Golf Coast Driving Range shuts down, visitors devastated A place to relax, let loose and hit a few drives, has come to the end of an era for this community. “This is the first place we came to,” said Roxanne Henningsen, a Bonita Springs resident. “And it like became our second home. The people are wonderful. It’s just a great atmosphere. And we’ve […]
LEHIGH ACRES Changing how you are represented in Lee County Leaders want to hear your thoughts this week at a town hall on how you elect county commissioners.
FORT MYERS Frontier Airlines announces nonstop flights from RSW to San Juan, PR These flights will take off on June 2 and run 3 times a week.
City of Naples hosts open house workshop for Naples road projects The City of Naples is hosting an open house workshop to hear from the public regarding road improvements.
CAPE CORAL Ollie’s Pub, the home of SWFL’s local music scene, closes after 4 memorable years Ollie’s Pub, once the center of local original music in Southwest Florida, is closing after a prosperous yet arduous four years.
New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis puts business degree to use Hargis began his new job at FGCU on April 29 knowing he would have about $15 million in annual funding—and also knowing the budget has more than doubled in the last decade.
Future unknown for Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel site What’s to come of the Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel and adjoining Hurricane Charley’s Sushi, Raw Bar & Grill after demolition is yet to be determined.
(CBS) Trump held in contempt for violating gag order in “hush money” trial. Here’s how much he owes. The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York held him in contempt of court on Tuesday for violating a gag order.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Shootout that killed 4 law officers began as task force tried to serve a warrant, police say A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers went serve a warrant.
WINK NEWS Semi-truck crash shuts down multiple lanes at Pine Ridge Road A crash involving a semi-truck caused lanes at Pine Ridge Road to close temporarily on Tuesday.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal North Fort Myers shooting held without bond The North Fort Myers man arrested for allegedly shooting into a truck, killing a man is being held without bond following a court appearance.
Lake Park Diner expands with Founders Square location Not only will the new Founders Square location of Lake Park Diner serve the growing population in North Naples and Golden Gate Estates, the second helping of the local dining spot will serve as the prototype for future iterations of the casual restaurant concept.
IONA Woman discovered in Bayside Inlet, condition unknown According to the fire district, reports of a woman in a canal were issued at around 7:50 a.m. at Junonia Court in Iona.
School District of Lee County officials are concerned their own communications office has monitored private citizens on social media. It came up in a school board workshop last month. Since then, a district employee filed a whistleblower complaint. It claims workers were instructed to “spy” on the public. Paul Barnes has had four children go through the Lee County school system, and he has vented on Facebook about the district for years. “Did I ever suspect that they were monitoring my every post on Facebook and social media,” Barnes asked. “No, I’m more upset right now than ever.” Previous Coverage: Lee County school district accused of spying on social media One district employee reached a breaking point earlier this year. They filed a whistleblower complaint, revealing their “mental health had degraded” because what they were doing was “morally wrong.” The complaint says communications staff were instructed to “scour” media outlet posts, copy and paste “accompanying public comments” and send the findings to several people in communications. During WINK News’ investigation, investigative reporter Peter Fleischer obtained more than 100 social media posts, including those of WINK News, and more than 800 public comments that were allegedly monitored and archived by district staff dating back to 2019. Barnes’ Facebook comments were included. “They’re not my daddy,” Barnes vented. “You shouldn’t be watching what we do on social media. It’s none of your business! How about you focus on educating our children?” Publicly, Director of Strategic Communications Irma Lancaster denied the monitoring to school board members on May 24, 2021. District 6 member Betsy Vaughn asked Lancaster, “it’s somebody in-house that would be doing that?” Lancaster responded, “I’m not aware of anyone in house professionally that would be doing that; however, anyone can go online and do their own research.” But behind closed doors, there’s a different sentiment. “Honestly, I feel like that was misleading,” Vaughn told WINK News in a recent interview. School board members Betsy Vaughn and Melisa Giovannelli say they have seen numerous archived posts and comments. They feel it crosses the line from watching media content to invading a private space. “What’s going on is, did so and so make a negative comment about the district? Or a school? I really feel like that’s too invasive,” Vaughn said. “It’s wrong in so many ways,” Giovannelli said about monitoring private citizens. “You should not be using public funds for public service against the public we serve.” Lee County school district social media guidelines don’t directly mention social media monitoring, but it does say “employees, excluding those who have permission to post on official school and district social media accounts, should refrain from visiting social media sites during student contact hours.” According to their own guidelines, communications employees should not be on social media at work unless posting on official district accounts. “I’m very concerned over the fact that we could be using public dollars and resources that belong to the people, against those very people,” Vaughn admitted. The district also has a contract with an outside marketing firm, and Lancaster has admitted the top benefit of that contract is media monitoring. “The top three services that we’ve used in communications has been media monitoring,” Lancaster told Vaughn on May 24, 2021. So WINK News requested every file the company sent the district related to media monitoring from October and November of 2021. We got dozens of coverage reports with links to news stories, but there was no social media content or public comments included. Given that, why would district employees be instructed to do the same, and include private citizens in their data collection? Vaughn has questions. “Why are we doing this? what are we gaining from it? and how much are we really spending?” “I don’t think anybody should be monitoring anybody,” Giovannelli said. WINK News also obtained an email that appears to show staff being instructed to comment on a Facebook post inside a private group, and the whistleblower complaint claims district officials were aware of specific “troublemakers” online. Board members say this recent evidence confirms their fears and they wonder how deep the monitoring goes. “I knew that it had happened,” Vaughn says. “That people had their own accounts monitored in some way. As a matter of fact, I had reason to believe that I had been monitored.” Giovannelli was also concerned: “We’re not the police. People have the right to speak and say what they choose to say.” Giovannelli did express optimism that the district will have a fresh direction under new leadership, and hopes to put these concerns in the rearview mirror. WINK News reached out to Lee Schools communications staff and asked why this information was monitored and archived, but they declined our request for an interview. The district did not have an update on the investigation into the spying concerns. We spoke with numerous school board members for this story: All of them confirmed some knowledge of the spying allegations, but some of them did not feel comfortable enough to speak with us on-camera. WINK News plans to follow up with school district officials after our story. We will continue to bring you the latest information as it becomes available.