American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers BeachEnglewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery
FORT MYERS BEACH American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers Beach After a year’s long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery Many people in Charlotte County were hit hard by storms this hurricane season, but that won’t stop them from giving back to their community.
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
FORT MYERS BEACH American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers Beach After a year’s long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery Many people in Charlotte County were hit hard by storms this hurricane season, but that won’t stop them from giving back to their community.
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
House Rep. Val Demings and Sen. Marco Rubio are likely to face off for the senate seat. Control of Congress is up for grabs during the midterm elections. WINK News is breaking down the issues and tracking down the candidates to get your questions answered. It’s part of our new series called “TalkingPoints: The Truth Behind the Talk.” The first race TalkingPoints is tackling is the U.S. Senate race in Florida where incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is likely to face Democratic House Rep. Val Demings, of Central Florida. Demings has been in Congress for five years, and was the first woman to hold the title of police chief in Orlando. Florida polls show Rubio leading Demings by an average of 9 points. While it’s still early, political analysts Florida Gulf Coast University Professor Peter Bergerson and Middlebury College Professor Matthew Dickinson both explain why they think Rubio will be hard to beat. “Incumbents win 95% of the time,” Bergerson said. “It’s hard for a nobody to beat somebody.” Dickinson said a candidate trying to unseat an incumbent must do two things. “One is, you must make the case that the incumbent has somehow failed in their job, but two, you have to present an alternative,” Dickinson said. “Rubio generally is viewed somewhat favorably by Florida voters, a roughly 50 to 55% approval rating. That is generally a good sign heading into an election.” There’s also a sign this could become an expensive and intense race right up to the finish line. Both have raised more than $30 million, putting them well beyond the rest of the pack. Demings is currently in the lead by about $600k. “Marco Rubio is in a very close race, but in November, it’s ultimately going to come down to how well the Republicans turn out to vote for Ron DeSantis,” said Jonathan Martin, chair of the Lee County GOP. But Kari Lerner, the chair of the Democratic Party of Lee County has a different point of view. “I would turn it around and say, why is Senator Rubio doing so poorly when he’s an incumbent,” Lerner said. “Why isn’t he the slam dunk?” On Thursday, WINK News will sit down with Sen. Rubio and Congresswoman Demings for one-on-one interviews. Download the WINK News App to get alerts when there are new TalkingPoints for you to watch. If you have a story you want us to cover on TalkingPoints, email us at talkingpoints@winknews.com. Connect with CĂ©line McArthur on Twitter or on Facebook. You can also reach CĂ©line via email at celine.mcarthur@winknews.com.