34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers BeachCity council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance
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.
New Punta Gorda City Council accepts city manager’s resignation Punta Gorda’s new City Council accepted City Manager Greg Murray’s resignation Nov. 20 and agreed to pay toward hurricane repairs and provide several months of rent abatement to business owners who lease space at city-owned Herald Court. Debi Lux was named mayor and Greg Julian vice mayor by the new-look Council, which saw three incumbents […]
Vehicle catches on fire after crash at intersection of Alico and Oriole Rd. A vehicle caught on fire after a crash at the intersection of Alico Rd. and Oriole.
NAPLES A first look inside the Gulfshore Playhouse What does it take to become a candidate for Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year?
WINK NEWS Best time to shop for Black Friday Long gone are the days of people camping out overnight, waiting for their favorite store to open after Thanksgiving.
WINK NEWS Thanksgiving events across Southwest Florida Thanksgiving in Southwest Florida is a blend of tradition, offering both classic holiday gatherings and unique local events.
CAPE CORAL Caught on Camera: Social media influencer arrested for theft at Cape Coral Target The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a woman accused of stealing items worth nearly $500 from a Target.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman pleads guilty to possessing loaded firearm as person with felony convictions Fort Myers woman pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded firearm and ammunition as a person with felony convictions.
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.
New Punta Gorda City Council accepts city manager’s resignation Punta Gorda’s new City Council accepted City Manager Greg Murray’s resignation Nov. 20 and agreed to pay toward hurricane repairs and provide several months of rent abatement to business owners who lease space at city-owned Herald Court. Debi Lux was named mayor and Greg Julian vice mayor by the new-look Council, which saw three incumbents […]
Vehicle catches on fire after crash at intersection of Alico and Oriole Rd. A vehicle caught on fire after a crash at the intersection of Alico Rd. and Oriole.
NAPLES A first look inside the Gulfshore Playhouse What does it take to become a candidate for Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year?
WINK NEWS Best time to shop for Black Friday Long gone are the days of people camping out overnight, waiting for their favorite store to open after Thanksgiving.
WINK NEWS Thanksgiving events across Southwest Florida Thanksgiving in Southwest Florida is a blend of tradition, offering both classic holiday gatherings and unique local events.
CAPE CORAL Caught on Camera: Social media influencer arrested for theft at Cape Coral Target The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a woman accused of stealing items worth nearly $500 from a Target.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman pleads guilty to possessing loaded firearm as person with felony convictions Fort Myers woman pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded firearm and ammunition as a person with felony convictions.
Dr. Jan McGee. Credit: CBS Miami A charter school principal in Volusia County resigned after writing a $100,000 check to an internet scammer posing as Elon Musk. Dr. Jan McGee worked at Burns Science and Technology Charter in Oak Hill since its inception. The school and McGee have always been well thought of. Burns Science and Technology is A-rated with just under 1,000 students and a huge waiting list. The principal who has guided it all these years is a superstar in many circles, but a huge lapse in judgment has cost her her job. “I am a very smart lady. Well-educated. I fell for a scam,” McGee said. McGee told a packed audience she was taken in by a fake Elon Musk, someone posing online as the space pioneer. Someone she’d been talking with for at least four months despite being warned by staff that the person was a fraud. She claims he groomed her. “Grooming is when you talk to somebody and you believe in them, and they get you to trust them that this is really real, and so I fell for it,” McGee said. For years, principal McGee talked to anyone who would listen about getting Musk and his money involved in the STEM school, a stone’s throw from the Space Coast, and apparently thought she’d finally gotten his ear. “Somehow she believed it,” board chair Albert Amalfitano said. “He must have been really convincing.” Amalfitano says that McGee wrote a $100,000 check out of the school’s account. She reportedly believed the person she made the check out to was Musk’s right-hand man. “Matching funds with this guy and he was supposed to give like $6 million to the school,” Amalfitano said. The principal had the authorization to write a check up to $50,000 out of the account but no more without board approval, which she did not get. Fortunately, the school’s business manager, Brent Appy got wind and stopped the check before it cleared. “I put myself into this position and into this mess, and I made a bad decision,” McGee said. McGee apologized to the board and the community but other issues with the principal were brought up as some described a toxic work environment. When three other administrators said they would leave rather than work for her, McGee resigned and left the meeting with her husband who was a teacher but has also resigned. The board chair says it was the only possible outcome. “When you lose the respect of… When your leadership is now in question, you can’t properly lead, and that’s going to cause chaos,” Amalfitano said. The administrators who voiced concerns over McGee’s behavior are in charge, but the board has committed to doing a national search for a principal. They also plan to hire an outside investigator to do an investigation into all that went wrong here and hire an outside agency for a thorough audit.