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.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
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.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
Crews from the U.S. Sawfish Recovery investigating mysterious fishkill. CREDIT: U.S. Sawfish Recovery Scientists are urgently searching for answers to understand why smalltooth sawfish are dying at an alarming rate or have been seen acting bizarrely at the shoreline. According to the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has 21 documented smalltooth sawfish deaths in 2024. Tagging smalltooth sawfish in the Florida Keys. CREDIT: FSU Coastal & Marine Lab To help FWC authorities uncover details about the fish mortality events at Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys, commissioners secured $2 million in state funds. The FWC is not going into this research blind. FWC is eliminating some of the possible causes of the fishkill based on results from recent necropsies: There have been 21 total documented smalltooth sawfish deaths since the first was reported on Jan. 30, 2024. There are no signs of a communicable pathogen and specimens were negative for bacterial infection. Additional sawfish tissues are still being processed for analysis. Dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH and temperature are not suspected to be the cause of the fish behavior or kills. To date, Red Tide toxins (brevetoxins) produced by Karenia brevis have not been detected in water samples. At this time, the cause of the abnormal behavior and mortalities is not known, and efforts to collect and analyze samples are ongoing. “We know there is a lot of frustration in the community not knowing what is going on,” said Monroe County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln. “We are all extremely concerned about our ecosystem and what is causing this to happen.” Kudos to @SawfishRecovery team member Gregg Poulakis & crew at @MyFWC who have necropsied 20+ #sawfish recovered in the Keys to help identify the cause of this mass mortality event. Research conducted pursuant to NMFS ESA Permit No. 25864. Latest info at https://t.co/2q2MbvhkGF pic.twitter.com/wFwkra0j9H — U.S. Sawfish Recovery (@SawfishRecovery) March 18, 2024 The FWC will work side by side with nonprofit organizations to collect vital information to get to the bottom of the mysterious fishkill. “We are fully supporting our State scientists and experts in working as quickly as possible to discover what is happening,” said Monroe County Mayor Holly Merrill Raschein. Smalltooth sawfish death investigation. CREDIT: U.S. Sawfish Recovery Videos of the endangered species acting strangely at the shoreline in the Florida Keys have been spreading on social media. RELATED: $20K reward offered after finding endangered smalltooth sawfish missing its snout The Calusa Waterkeeper retweeted a map pointing out the 60 reported smalltooth sawfish sightings FWC received between Jan. 30 and March 5. Again….shared adversity…. pic.twitter.com/Ob8JP9Pwbk — Calusa Waterkeeper (@calusawater) March 15, 2024 Lake Okeechobee has been releasing water into the Caloosahatchee for the past few weeks. This has caused some concerns over water quality in Southwest Florida. It’s unclear if it is related to the fishkill or what is happening to the endangered smalltooth sawfish. Folks from the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory posted to social media about a recent trip to the Florida Keys for routine smalltooth sawfish sampling. Crews set a new winter trip record by tagging 11 large juveniles and adult sawfish. The Grubbs lab traveled to the FL Keys with @BiminiSharkLab for smalltooth sawfish sampling. They tagged 11 juvenile & adult sawfish w/10-year acoustic tags! If you encounter a sawfish, please report it to: 1-844-4SAWFISH. Research conducted under ESA permit 22078 and SAL 1345. pic.twitter.com/57pneWTzsp — FSU Coastal & Marine Lab (@FSUMarineLab) March 18, 2024 The acoustic trackers will last ten years. Receivers will log the date and time whenever one of the tagged sawfish swims past them. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, authorities believe the species’ decline is due to overfishing, habitat loss and the fact that the species takes a long time to reproduce. Smalltooth sawfish research. CREDIT: FWC Despite historically having habitats from Texas to New York, the smalltooth sawfish has one final stronghold on the planet: from Charlotte Harbor to the Florida Keys, including Everglades National Park. Click here to learn more about the species from NOAA. You can report a sawfish sighting to FWC by calling the hotline at 844-472-9347. You can also report a fish kill to the FWC by clicking here.