DeSoto County Jail employee accused of trafficking contraband into facilitySoluna Restaurant & Bar launches at Bayfront in Naples
ARCADIA DeSoto County Jail employee accused of trafficking contraband into facility An employee at the DeSoto County Jail has been arrested after allegedly trafficking illegal contraband into the jail.
Soluna Restaurant & Bar launches at Bayfront in Naples Emulating its namesake fusion of the sun and moon, Soluna Restaurant & Bar has arisen to illuminate the Naples dining scene.
NAPLES CFO Jimmy Patronis reminds Floridians to check their constructor contracts for post-storm fraud The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, will hold a news conference in Naples on post-storm fraud prevention.
Know where your voting precinct is in Southwest Florida Election Day is only one day away, so it is important to know where to go and if you qualify to vote in Southwest Florida.
The Weather Authority Tracking Tropical Storm Rafael; expected to become hurricane The Weather Authority Meteorologists are watching the Caribbean as Tropical Storm Rafael will strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane later Tuesday night.
The Weather Authority Scattered rain and storms on this Election Day The Weather Authority is tracking scattered rain and storms along with warm temperatures throughout this Election Day Tuesday.
Where to drop off your mail-in ballots on Election Day Those who still have their mail-in ballots in Southwest Florida have two options on Election Day: vote in person or drop them off at a specified location.
WINK NEWS Lee County race for Sheriff It is now Election Day, and two candidates for the Lee County Sheriff are vying for the position.
WINK NEWS Floridians to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana 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 How Floridians are voting on Constitutional right to abortions Besides Amendment 3, another of the more controversial amendments on the ballot is Amendment 4, which would limit government interference in abortions.
Collier County commission race As the 2024 general election gets underway, WINK News is monitoring the election results in several local races, including the Collier County Commission race.
Cape Coral 5 seats in Cape Coral City Council to be decided on Election Day The Cape Coral City Council election will be decided on Tuesday. Five seats are up for grabs.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council race for 2 wards The 2024 elections are looking to be a tense battle that will have every American on the edge of their seats. In Southwest Florida, the feeling is no different.
Lee County Superintendent election; School Board District 7 Voters in Lee County are going to the polls to fill some crucial seats in the school district.
PUNTA GORDA The race for Punta Gorda City Council November 5 is election day, as politicians across the country compete for office, with Southwest Florida being no different.
ARCADIA DeSoto County Jail employee accused of trafficking contraband into facility An employee at the DeSoto County Jail has been arrested after allegedly trafficking illegal contraband into the jail.
Soluna Restaurant & Bar launches at Bayfront in Naples Emulating its namesake fusion of the sun and moon, Soluna Restaurant & Bar has arisen to illuminate the Naples dining scene.
NAPLES CFO Jimmy Patronis reminds Floridians to check their constructor contracts for post-storm fraud The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, will hold a news conference in Naples on post-storm fraud prevention.
Know where your voting precinct is in Southwest Florida Election Day is only one day away, so it is important to know where to go and if you qualify to vote in Southwest Florida.
The Weather Authority Tracking Tropical Storm Rafael; expected to become hurricane The Weather Authority Meteorologists are watching the Caribbean as Tropical Storm Rafael will strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane later Tuesday night.
The Weather Authority Scattered rain and storms on this Election Day The Weather Authority is tracking scattered rain and storms along with warm temperatures throughout this Election Day Tuesday.
Where to drop off your mail-in ballots on Election Day Those who still have their mail-in ballots in Southwest Florida have two options on Election Day: vote in person or drop them off at a specified location.
WINK NEWS Lee County race for Sheriff It is now Election Day, and two candidates for the Lee County Sheriff are vying for the position.
WINK NEWS Floridians to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana 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 How Floridians are voting on Constitutional right to abortions Besides Amendment 3, another of the more controversial amendments on the ballot is Amendment 4, which would limit government interference in abortions.
Collier County commission race As the 2024 general election gets underway, WINK News is monitoring the election results in several local races, including the Collier County Commission race.
Cape Coral 5 seats in Cape Coral City Council to be decided on Election Day The Cape Coral City Council election will be decided on Tuesday. Five seats are up for grabs.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council race for 2 wards The 2024 elections are looking to be a tense battle that will have every American on the edge of their seats. In Southwest Florida, the feeling is no different.
Lee County Superintendent election; School Board District 7 Voters in Lee County are going to the polls to fill some crucial seats in the school district.
PUNTA GORDA The race for Punta Gorda City Council November 5 is election day, as politicians across the country compete for office, with Southwest Florida being no different.
President Joe Biden holds hands with Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as they watch the Senate vote on her confirmation from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday, shattering a historic barrier by securing her place as the first Black female justice and giving President Joe Biden a bipartisan endorsement for his effort to diversify the high court. Cheers rang out in the Senate chamber as Jackson, a 51 year-old appeals court judge with nine years experience on the federal bench, was confirmed 53-47, mostly along party lines but with three Republican votes. Presiding and emotionally announcing the vote was Vice President Kamala Harris, also the first Black woman to reach her high office. “This is a wonderful day, a joyous day, an inspiring day – for the Senate, for the Supreme Court and for the United States of America,” exulted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The Senate’s upper galleries were almost full for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago, and about a dozen House members, part of the the Congressional Black caucus, stood at the back of the chamber. “We’re making history,” declared Rep. Marilyn Strickland of Washington state. Harris, who paused with emotion as she read the vote, said as she left the Capitol that she was “overjoyed, deeply moved.” Jackson will take her seat when Justice Stephen Breyer retires this summer, solidifying the liberal wing of the 6-3 conservative-dominated court. She joined Biden at the White House to watch the vote, embracing as it came in. During the four days of Senate hearings last month, Jackson spoke of her parents’ struggles through racial segregation and said her “path was clearer” than theirs as a Black American after the enactment of civil rights laws. She attended Harvard University, served as a public defender, worked at a private law firm and was appointed as a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. She told senators she would apply the law “without fear or favor,” and pushed back on Republican attempts to portray her as too lenient on criminals she had sentenced. Jackson will be just the third Black justice, after Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman. She will join three other women, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan Amy Coney Barrett – meaning that four of the nine justices will be women for the first time in history. Her eventual elevation to the court will be a respite for Democrats who fought three bruising battles over former President Donald Trump’s nominees and watched Republicans cement a conservative majority in the final days of Trump’s term with Barrett’s confirmation. While Jackson won’t change the balance, she will secure a legacy on the court for Biden and fulfill his 2020 campaign pledge to nominate the first Black female justice. “This is a tremendously historic day in the White House and in the country,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki after the vote. “And this is a fulfillment of a promise the president made to the country.” Despite the efforts to tarnish her record, Jackson eventually won three GOP votes. The final tally was far from the overwhelming bipartisan confirmations for Breyer and other justices in decades past, but it was still a significant bipartisan accomplishment for Biden in the 50-50 split Senate after GOP senators aggressively worked to paint Jackson as too liberal and soft on crime. Statements from Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah all said the same thing – they might not always agree with Jackson, but they found her to be enormously well qualified for the job. Collins and Murkowski both decried increasingly partisan confirmation fights, which only worsened during the battles over Trump’s three picks. Collins said the process was “broken” and Murkowski called it “corrosive” and “more detached from reality by the year.” Biden, a veteran of a more bipartisan Senate, said from the day of Breyer’s retirement announcement in January that he wanted support from both parties for his history-making nominee, and he invited Republicans to the White House as he made his decision. It was an attempted reset from Trump’s presidency, when Democrats vociferously opposed the three nominees, and from the end of President Barack Obama’s, when Republicans blocked nominee Merrick Garland from getting a vote. Once sworn in, Jackson will be the second youngest member of the court after Barrett, 50. She will join a court on which no one is yet 75, the first time that has happened in nearly 30 years. Jackson’s first term will be marked by cases involving race, both in college admissions and voting rights. She has pledged to sit out the court’s consideration of Harvard’s admissions program since she is a member of its board of overseers. But the court could split off a second case involving a challenge to the University of North Carolina’s admissions process, which might allow her to weigh in on the issue. Judith Browne Dianis, executive director the Advancement Project, a civil rights organization, said Jackson’s confirmation will make the court more reflective of communities that are most impacted by the judiciary. “The highest court in the land now will have a firsthand perspective of how the law impacts communities of color – via voting rights, police misconduct, abortion access, housing discrimination or the criminal legal system, among other issues,” she said. “This will ultimately benefit all Americans.” In Collier County, attorneys Kristie Scott and Ruth Orange watched and listened to the historic confirmation. Both are attorneys in Southwest Florida and both are used to often being the only Black lawyers in the courtroom. Attorneys Ruth Orange (left) and Kristie Scott (right) rejoice with a high-five after watching the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. (CREDIT: WINK News) “It has given me even more hope, my kids, my kids’ kids, people in the community who look like me, I mean this is a very very proud moment,” Orange said. Scott said she can relate to some of the adversity that Jackson has faced in her career. Orange agrees. “The first time I walked into a courtroom in Collier County I went and I approached the bar and the bailiff in there told me that I wasn’t able to go back there and I had to explain to him that I was an attorney and it took me pulling out my bar card,” Orange said. “When I saw my colleagues who did not look like me, they were not asked those things so I think living and seeing this moment I feel like there are a lot of barriers that have been broken.” Both Orange and Scott hope this inspires other Black women. “Whenever people don’t see representation then it makes it difficult for them to believe it is possible but it shows that you can do whatever you set your mind to no matter what,” Scott said. Republicans spent the confirmation hearings strongly questioning her sentencing record, including the sentences she handed down in child pornography cases, which they argued were too light. Jackson declared that “nothing could be further from the truth” and explained her reasoning in detail. Democrats said she was in line with other judges in her decisions. The GOP questioning in the Judiciary Committee showed the views of many Republicans, though, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said in a floor speech Wednesday that Jackson “never got tough once in this area.” Democrats criticized the Republicans’ questioning. “You could try and create a straw man here, but it does not hold,” said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker at the committee’s vote earlier this week. The panel deadlocked on the nomination 11-11, but the Senate voted to discharge it from committee and moved ahead with her confirmation. In an impassioned moment during the hearings last month, Booker, who is Black, told Jackson that he felt emotional watching her testify. He said he saw “my ancestors and yours” in her image. “But don’t worry, my sister,” Booker said. “Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that? Because you’re here, and I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.”