Few showers this Monday afternoon after a pleasant and dry morning1 dead, and 2 detained after North Fort Myers shooting
The Weather Authority Few showers this Monday afternoon after a pleasant and dry morning The Weather Authority is tracking a cool and pleasant Monday morning start with the possibility of afternoon rain showers.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead, and 2 detained after North Fort Myers shooting A shooting investigation is underway in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
LEE COUNTY Two arrested for street racing in Lee County Two people have been arrested for street racing in Lee County according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
CAPE CORAL Boaters with rifles seen in Cape Coral canal On an average day, it’s pretty common to see people fishing or swimming in a canal. One neighbor in Cape Coral saw something unusual in his backyard Friday afternoon.
FORT MYERS Car flips, one sent to hospital after two car crash in Fort Myers A crash involving at least two vehicles sent one person to the hospital.
The Weather Authority: Clouds, sunshine, wind, and the possibility of a brief shower for your Sunday Clouds and occasional sunshine this Sunday. A few brief showers are possible late in the afternoon and this evening.
TALLAHASSEE (CBS) Governor DeSantis signs AI and vape bills Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed 28 bills, including a measure requiring disclaimers on certain political ads created using artificial intelligence and a bill about regulation of vape products.
ESTERO Gold Star Golf Tournament honors fallen veteran Behind each putt and swing of a golf club at the Gold Star Golf Tournament is someone who knew John Wirka Junior.
NEW YORK (AP) How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form?
FORT MYERS Man wanted for armed robbery at Fort Myers convenience store Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help identifying an armed robber who held up a convenience store Saturday morning.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, inappropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
The Weather Authority Few showers this Monday afternoon after a pleasant and dry morning The Weather Authority is tracking a cool and pleasant Monday morning start with the possibility of afternoon rain showers.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead, and 2 detained after North Fort Myers shooting A shooting investigation is underway in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
LEE COUNTY Two arrested for street racing in Lee County Two people have been arrested for street racing in Lee County according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
CAPE CORAL Boaters with rifles seen in Cape Coral canal On an average day, it’s pretty common to see people fishing or swimming in a canal. One neighbor in Cape Coral saw something unusual in his backyard Friday afternoon.
FORT MYERS Car flips, one sent to hospital after two car crash in Fort Myers A crash involving at least two vehicles sent one person to the hospital.
The Weather Authority: Clouds, sunshine, wind, and the possibility of a brief shower for your Sunday Clouds and occasional sunshine this Sunday. A few brief showers are possible late in the afternoon and this evening.
TALLAHASSEE (CBS) Governor DeSantis signs AI and vape bills Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed 28 bills, including a measure requiring disclaimers on certain political ads created using artificial intelligence and a bill about regulation of vape products.
ESTERO Gold Star Golf Tournament honors fallen veteran Behind each putt and swing of a golf club at the Gold Star Golf Tournament is someone who knew John Wirka Junior.
NEW YORK (AP) How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form?
FORT MYERS Man wanted for armed robbery at Fort Myers convenience store Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help identifying an armed robber who held up a convenience store Saturday morning.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, inappropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
FILE: Visitors enjoying a Collier County beach. (Credit: WINK News) Tourism in Florida during the first half of 2022 was up 20% from the same period last year and was higher than during the first six months of 2019, the last full year of travel before the coronavirus pandemic. Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing agency, posted numbers online late Monday that estimated Florida had 33.717 million visitors from April 1 through June 30, bringing the total for the first six months of this year to 69.34 million. The second-quarter number was up 5.6% from the same period in 2021. Tourism in the first quarter was 38.3% above the first quarter of 2021. Travel from within the United States accounted for 93% of the people visiting Florida during the second quarter and nearly 94% of people visiting in the first six months. The 35.628 million visitors during this year’s first quarter was an all-time three-month record. The dip in tourists during the second quarter was not a surprise. Covering most of the winter, the first quarter historically has been the state’s busiest tourism period. Also, with gas prices over $4 a gallon and inflation at a four-decade high, tourism officials in June expressed concern that hotel room rates, which had been pushed up by demand during the past year, were starting to hinder travel. “I think we’re starting to see, just over the last couple of weeks or so especially, inflation actually starting to catch up with us in most markets,” Jacob Pewitt Yancey, Visit Florida director of consumer insight and analytics, said during a Visit Florida board meeting June 9. “Now, overall room revenue is still up in every market statewide, because the growth in rates has been more than enough to overcome the decreased level of demand,” Pewitt Yancey said. However, STR, Inc., which provides data to the hotel industry, indicated in an Aug. 5 blog post that numbers nationally have been holding steady into the third quarter. “While not as high as initially expected, summer demand … has been strong, ranking as the fourth highest ever since 2000 behind 2019, 2018 and 2017 in that order,” STR said in the post. “Summer occupancy thus far is 69.5% , as compared with 74% in 2019. A year ago, occupancy for the period was 68%.” Last year, as the state was still emerging from the early economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, 31.935 million tourists visited Florida in the second quarter and 57.703 million visited during the first half of the year. The pandemic slammed into Florida in March 2020, essentially shutting down the tourism industry. That year, Florida drew just 9.7 million tourists from the start of April to the end of June and 39.764 million in the first half of the year. In 2019, when Florida hit a record 131.07 million tourists, it drew 32.265 million visitors in the second quarter and 67.76 million in the first half. Florida has outpaced other states in bringing back international travelers during the pandemic, but it still lags behind 2019 totals. The state had 3.071 million overseas travelers during the first half of 2022, with 1.748 million in the second quarter. In 2021, Florida totaled 1.5 million overseas travelers during the first half of the year. An estimated 1.207 million Canadians visited Florida during the first half of 2022, with 594,000 in the second quarter. Only 96,000 Canadians made their way to Florida in the first half of 2021. For the first half of 2019, 2.294 million Canadians came to Florida. Florida drew a total of 4.63 million international travelers in 2021, a roughly 45% market share of foreign travelers into the U.S. That easily topped the 22% for the next-highest state, New York. Florida in 2019 had just under 13.9 million international tourists. In June, the Biden administration lifted a requirement that international travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day of boarding flights to the United States. The ban was one of the last remaining government mandates designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.