Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on ThursdayClewiston Animal Shelter improves but faces overcrowding challenges
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Clewiston Animal Shelter improves but faces overcrowding challenges The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
CCSO works with ICE to catch suspects in Southwest Florida State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
Planning and Zoning Board approves proposed West County area development Homebuilder Maronda Homes received approval Feb. 10 from the Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board to amend a previously approved development on 1,174 acres in the area of South Gulf Cove.
LEHIGH ACRES 3 charged for major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles Three men, one from Lehigh Acres, has been charged for their role in a major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles.
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Clewiston Animal Shelter improves but faces overcrowding challenges The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
CCSO works with ICE to catch suspects in Southwest Florida State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
Planning and Zoning Board approves proposed West County area development Homebuilder Maronda Homes received approval Feb. 10 from the Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board to amend a previously approved development on 1,174 acres in the area of South Gulf Cove.
LEHIGH ACRES 3 charged for major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles Three men, one from Lehigh Acres, has been charged for their role in a major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles.
Fort Myers High School. CREDIT: WINK News A Fort Myers High School baseball coach was let go for using a racial slur in a text to the team. Then, in the first week of April, midway through a game against Estero High School most of the team walked off the field. After the head coach was removed from his position for a Title VI investigation by the district. But, nobody on the team thought about telling the only two black players on the team about the walk-off plan. Next, on Thursday, the principal of Fort Myers High School announced he will be leaving the school after this year for another job at a college in Tennessee. The Lee County School District confirmed to WINK News it’s conducting a Title VI investigation into the school. That means nobody will be discriminated against because of race, ethnicity, sex, age, or religion in a program that’s federally funded. Public schools are federally funded and therefore, the school’s baseball team is also federally funded. Consequently, if a Title VI investigation into the baseball team is happening, it’s because there’s reason to believe that someone has been discriminated against because of one of the aforementioned factors. An email given to WINK News by one of the players’ parents was sent from the athletic director of Fort Myers High School. The email said the Title VI investigation into the baseball program had begun, and the district itself is the one conducting it. “They are doing what they need to do. They are investigating this and looking at what is the root problem? They know there’s an issue they need to see. How far did it go? And does it still exist? And that’s it’s not an easy thing to do,” Pam Seay, a Department of Justice professor at FGCU, said. Assistant coach Alex Carcioppolo sent a racial slur in a group chat message to the team in February. He was removed from his position and then, nearly two months later, head coach Kyle Burchfield was removed. Then the team walked off the field in their next game, protesting the status of the program. The FHSAA fined the school $500 forcing the school to forfeit the game. “This is not the kind of behavior that you expect to find in your own high school. And to have a family have to go through this, this is just unforgivable,” Seay said. With a little persistence and patience, the school district confirmed they are conducting a Title VI investigation. Two months into the investigation and a week of questions from WINK News later, the investigation was confirmed by the school district. According to the board policy as they relate to the investigation, the investigation includes interviews with the person who complained, who they complained to, and who might have knowledge of the situation. They also said that a determination will be rendered no more than 20 school days following the complaint. However, after adding up the days, Thursday is the 33 school day since the complaint. “I would agree that there needs to be some kind of ramifications to the people that were involved. And then if it’s happening in the the sports program in one sports program, chances are it is happening elsewhere. Because it seems that there is an atmosphere of approval and atmosphere that shows this is okay behavior, when in fact it is not. It is egregious, it is atrocious,” Seay said.