‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte A devastating house fire Monday night in Port Charlotte has left one person dead and another hospitalized while neighbors mourn the possible loss of a beloved member of their community.
‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd A woman is heartbroken from witnessing crash after crash outside her Lehigh Acres home.
Fort Myers get 15% increase on flood insurance discount WINK News is finding out what led to the city of Fort Myers going from just a 5% FEMA flood insurance discount to a 20% discount.
FORT MYERS Locals house California wildfire victims The effects of the California fires are being felt worldwide as people evacuate some are in southwest Florida.
LOVERS KEY Couple returns to Lovers Key condo post Ian While Hurricane Ian is long gone from Southwest Florida, many are still feeling its impacts.
EVERGLADES Biden signs Water Resources Development Act, its effect on SWFL President Biden recently signed into law the Water Resources Development Act with an aim to improve rivers and harbors across the country and provide for the conservation of water. Southwest Florida was included in that act. Putting the 240-page plan together took a lot of work, not just from state and federal lawmakers, but also […]
Turning business travel into a vacation Would work travel seem a little easier if you could turn it into a vacation? Two professors say they have proof that would help business travel.
The future of biometrics: Safer security or new AI risks? In 2021, the Transportation Service Agency (TSA) launched its new touchless identity solution in the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport.
CAPE CORAL Pelican Elementary resource officer saves infant A school resource officer at Pelican Elementary saved an infants’ life at a traffic stop in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Progress being made on City View Park in Dunbar More promises made by a city that has not kept its promises for the last six years have some neighbors concerned about the future of their community.
COLLIER COUNTY Seacrest hoops player hits a full court buzzer beater Seacrest Country Day School boys basketball player Hayden Fuller hits full court buzzer beater against Aubrey Rogers.
NAPLES Cutting-edge ACL surgery reducing reinjury risk by 80% Known for its game-changing orthopedic repair options, Naples-based Arthrex has done it again.
NAPLES MacStrength FL offers sport and lifestyle training for young athletes In 2025, MacStrength FL is swinging for success with their current players and for a wider reach in its community.
You can appeal FEMA’s decision on your claim – Here’s how Now a week after the deadline for FEMA hurricane assistance has closed, the federal agency says you can appeal their decision on your claim if you don’t agree.
Naples selects city CFO as next city manager, averts national search Naples Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Gary Young will become the next city manager, averting a lengthy, expensive national search for a replacement.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte A devastating house fire Monday night in Port Charlotte has left one person dead and another hospitalized while neighbors mourn the possible loss of a beloved member of their community.
‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd A woman is heartbroken from witnessing crash after crash outside her Lehigh Acres home.
Fort Myers get 15% increase on flood insurance discount WINK News is finding out what led to the city of Fort Myers going from just a 5% FEMA flood insurance discount to a 20% discount.
FORT MYERS Locals house California wildfire victims The effects of the California fires are being felt worldwide as people evacuate some are in southwest Florida.
LOVERS KEY Couple returns to Lovers Key condo post Ian While Hurricane Ian is long gone from Southwest Florida, many are still feeling its impacts.
EVERGLADES Biden signs Water Resources Development Act, its effect on SWFL President Biden recently signed into law the Water Resources Development Act with an aim to improve rivers and harbors across the country and provide for the conservation of water. Southwest Florida was included in that act. Putting the 240-page plan together took a lot of work, not just from state and federal lawmakers, but also […]
Turning business travel into a vacation Would work travel seem a little easier if you could turn it into a vacation? Two professors say they have proof that would help business travel.
The future of biometrics: Safer security or new AI risks? In 2021, the Transportation Service Agency (TSA) launched its new touchless identity solution in the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport.
CAPE CORAL Pelican Elementary resource officer saves infant A school resource officer at Pelican Elementary saved an infants’ life at a traffic stop in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Progress being made on City View Park in Dunbar More promises made by a city that has not kept its promises for the last six years have some neighbors concerned about the future of their community.
COLLIER COUNTY Seacrest hoops player hits a full court buzzer beater Seacrest Country Day School boys basketball player Hayden Fuller hits full court buzzer beater against Aubrey Rogers.
NAPLES Cutting-edge ACL surgery reducing reinjury risk by 80% Known for its game-changing orthopedic repair options, Naples-based Arthrex has done it again.
NAPLES MacStrength FL offers sport and lifestyle training for young athletes In 2025, MacStrength FL is swinging for success with their current players and for a wider reach in its community.
You can appeal FEMA’s decision on your claim – Here’s how Now a week after the deadline for FEMA hurricane assistance has closed, the federal agency says you can appeal their decision on your claim if you don’t agree.
Naples selects city CFO as next city manager, averts national search Naples Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Gary Young will become the next city manager, averting a lengthy, expensive national search for a replacement.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waits for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he pays a courtesy call to Kishida at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo Monday, April 24, 2023. DeSantis is in Japan for a two-day visit. Japanese Foreign Ministry said that DeSantis’s visit to Japan will be an opportunity to further strengthen relationship between Japan and Florida in broad areas including political and economic fields. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, long seen as Donald Trump’s leading rival for the Republican nomination, plans to launch his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday in an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. DeSantis, an outspoken cultural conservative, will outline his plans in an evening audio event streamed on Twitter Spaces, according to the two people. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the announcement publicly. The 44-year-old two-term governor would be joining a crowded Republican contest to decide whether the party will move on from Trump in 2024. DeSantis has embraced Trump’s combative style and many of his policies, but casts himself as a younger and more electable version of the former president. In choosing Twitter, DeSantis is taking a page out of the playbook that helped turn businessman-TV celebrity Trump into a political star. The timing of DeSantis’ long-expected announcement has been shrouded, with various iterations of plans being leaked over the past few days. Some close to him suspected that he was providing conflicting information about the timing and location to root out leakers. Others believe he changed his initial preparations after news reports came out about them. Musk, speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit event in London on Tuesday, seemed to confirm the Wednesday event, saying DeSantis would be making “quite an announcement” on Twitter. “The first time something like this is happening on social media,” he said, with live questions and answers. The news of DeSantis’ impending announcement came as Trump was making a video appearance in a New York courtroom as part of his criminal case. A judge tentatively scheduled Trump’s trial to begin March 25, which falls in the heart of the presidential primary season. Trump pleaded not guilty last month to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his family company, the Trump Organization. DeSantis was expected to meet with donors Wednesday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami before the Twitter Spaces event, which was scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT. While it is common for campaigns to publicize their announcements in videos shared on social media, it is far more unusual — and perhaps unprecedented — to hold a campaign announcement in a live social media forum. “Big if true …,” DeSantis’ wife, Casey, posted Tuesday on Twitter, linking to a Fox News story on the announcement and adding a smiley face. Earlier Tuesday, the Florida governor gave no hints of his 2024 plans during a short Cabinet meeting in Tallahassee where he discussed state business with agency heads. The media was barred from covering a subsequent bill signing ceremony. DeSantis has emerged as a national star in Republican politics as an unapologetic leader on controversial issues. The governor sent dozens of immigrants from Texas — by way of Florida —to a small island off the Massachusetts coast to draw attention to the influx of Latin American immigrants trying to cross the Southern border. He signed and then expanded a Parental Rights in Education bill — known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law — which bans instruction or classroom discussion of LGBTQ issues in Florida public schools for all grades. More recently, he signed a law banning abortions at six weeks, which is before most women realize they’re pregnant. And he removed an elected prosecutor who vowed not to charge people under Florida’s new abortion restrictions or doctors who provide gender-affirming care. Trump’s allies lashed out Tuesday at DeSantis’ plan. “This is one of the most out-of-touch campaign launches in modern history. The only thing less relatable than a niche campaign launch on Twitter, is DeSantis’ after party at the uber elite Four Seasons resort in Miami,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump’s super PAC. Trump himself frequently dismisses his rival as Ron “DeSanctimonious.” In choosing to announce with Musk, DeSantis is linking his presidential announcement to one of the world’s richest men, who has emerged as a conservative cult hero of sorts. Since buying Twitter last October, Musk has reinstated the accounts of prominent Republicans, including Trump and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had been removed. Popular conservative broadcasters have flocked to Twitter, with ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson and the podcast hosts of The Daily Wire announcing they will start streaming on the platform. Musk himself has promoted far-right conspiracy theories on Twitter, including misleading claims questioning a Texas mall shooter’s background and a debunked rumor that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband had a relationship with an assailant who attacked him. Earlier this month, Musk’s tweets likening billionaire philanthropist George Soros to a Jewish supervillain were met with criticism from the Anti-Defamation League, which said they would embolden antisemitic extremists. Musk said he would “be more thoughtful in the future.” Twitter was once Trump’s most important megaphone — one he used to dominate his rivals in the 2016 primary and to command the news cycle for years. Trump was barred from the platform after a mob of his supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with Twitter citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.” Although his access was reinstated shortly after Musk took over, he has yet to tweet. About 1 in 5 U.S. adults say they use Twitter, the Pew Research Center found last year. Democrats are somewhat more likely than Republicans to say they have Twitter accounts, according to a Fox News poll from December. Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say Musk buying Twitter was a good thing and to have a favorable view of him. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Ali Swenson in New York, Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.