‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidationHomeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods
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.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
Let’s Waffle opens in Cape Coral Let’s Waffle is one of two businesses the Feix family launched locally, with the FMS Florida Boat Tours and Limousine Service owned and operated by Feix’s husband, Alexander.
Planned Punta Gorda hotel, pub, brewery faces construction delay Kevin Doyle, owner of Celtic Ray Public House Irish pub in downtown Punta Gorda, and his partner, S4 Global Investments, were found in violation of the city’s exposed soils code.
Three Sisters Spring Toast the manatee released by FWC, SeaWorld and Casey DeSantis near Crystal River A manatee named Toast was released back into the Florida waters after a final medical evaluation from wildlife officials.
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.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
Let’s Waffle opens in Cape Coral Let’s Waffle is one of two businesses the Feix family launched locally, with the FMS Florida Boat Tours and Limousine Service owned and operated by Feix’s husband, Alexander.
Planned Punta Gorda hotel, pub, brewery faces construction delay Kevin Doyle, owner of Celtic Ray Public House Irish pub in downtown Punta Gorda, and his partner, S4 Global Investments, were found in violation of the city’s exposed soils code.
Three Sisters Spring Toast the manatee released by FWC, SeaWorld and Casey DeSantis near Crystal River A manatee named Toast was released back into the Florida waters after a final medical evaluation from wildlife officials.
Sgt. Theodore Ritchie/ USMC/ MGN WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s longest war, now in its 15th year, is long on official U.S. optimism about building a self-reliant Afghan army but short on convincing evidence that the goal will be reached anytime soon. That is the backdrop to President Barack Obama’s decision to extend the U.S. military mission beyond his last day in the White House, giving still more time to train and advise the Afghan army and keep up the hunt for remnants of the al-Qaida network whose Sept. 11 attacks drew U.S. forces to Afghanistan in 2001. Just last year Obama had said the outlook was so encouraging that only an embassy-based military oversight office would remain after January 2017. It looks different now, and not as encouraging. “The bottom line is, in key areas of the country, the security situation is still very fragile, and in some places there is risk of deterioration,” Obama said Thursday in announcing what he called a calculated adjustment to his plan. Supporters of prolonging the U.S. presence say it is necessary to secure Afghanistan’s future and keep al-Qaida and other extremist groups at bay. Others question whether keeping nearly 10,000 U.S. troops there in 2016 and then holding at 5,500 troops beyond that will make a significant difference, given the uneven results from 14 years of efforts to build and professionalize an Afghan army and police force paid for largely by the United States. This year the Pentagon spent $4.1 billion to train, equip and sustain the Afghan army and police. That is no ordinary package of assistance. It included feeding soldiers, paying their salaries and fueling their vehicles. The Pentagon is asking Congress for another $3.7 billion for the coming year. No doubt the Afghan army has improved over the years, and its soldiers do not shy away from combat. But the army still suffers basic flaws. Just days ago the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Campbell, told a congressional committee that Afghan forces are unable to fight without U.S. support, that “we have just started” creating an Afghan air force, and that “it will take time” to develop competent Afghan battle commanders. But how much time? And at what cost? The U.S. already has spent about $65 billion on the training and equipping of Afghan forces, and it remains difficult to judge what that investment has bought. Year after year, in public statements and periodic updates to Congress, Pentagon officials have insisted the Afghan army and police were getting better, suggesting success was just around the corner if Americans would remain patient. “Every day the Afghan security forces grow in capability and experience,” a Pentagon spokesman asserted in October 2005. “We have achieved great success with the Afghan National Army,” a two-star general in charge of training said in October 2007. “The capabilities of the Afghan National Army are improving steadily,” and the police are “making steady progress,” the Pentagon said in a June 2008 report to Congress. A year later a Pentagon update said the Afghan force “continued to improve its capability.” And in 2010 the Pentagon told Congress that growth and development of security forces “are among Afghanistan’s most promising areas of progress.” The Afghans have progressed to the point where they do their own basic military training. What they still need from the U.S. is more high-end training, advising and mentoring as they attempt to tie together all elements of military operations, including the use of intelligence, against the Taliban. In the last few years, as U.S. forces have shifted the combat role almost entirely to the Afghans, the Taliban have made new gains. Campbell, while acknowledging those gains, says the militants still cannot overthrow the government in Kabul. But earlier this month they surprised many by briefly capturing the key northern city of Kunduz. The combat burden has taken a heavy toll on Afghan forces. Last fall a senior U.S. commander said Afghan troops were dying at a rate that was “not sustainable,” and the combat losses have only accelerated this year, according to the Pentagon’s latest report to Congress. The high casualty rate, in turn, has left Afghan forces short-handed. Although the army is authorized to have 195,000 soldiers, it currently has only 173,000. Overall losses to the force – known in military parlance as attrition and including those who do not re-enlist, are killed in battle or are dropped from the rolls after being AWOL for 30 days – is down slightly this year after averaging 2.1 percent per month last year. Even with the recent decline in attrition to 1.8 percent a month, the loss rates are so high they “pose challenges to creating a professional force,” the Pentagon says. Stephen Biddle, a George Washington University professor of political science who periodically advises American commanders, says the problem with the U.S. approach is that it has focused too narrowly on filling the Afghan forces’ obvious gaps in soldiers, weapons, equipment and training. And he says this applies not just to U.S. involvement in Afghanistan but also in Iraq, Syria and other countries where U.S. forces have tried to build local forces. “There has been a long series of these actually,” he said in an interview.