Body cam footage of woman and her dog rescued from Prairie Preserve PinesLocal surgeon removing cancer through the mouth
NORTH FORT MYERS Body cam footage of woman and her dog rescued from Prairie Preserve Pines A woman and her exhausted dog fight to survive while trapped in the elements and oppressive Florida heat.
NAPLES Local surgeon removing cancer through the mouth Surgery to remove cancers in the head and neck can sometimes leave patients with negative impacts long after the cancer is gone. But a new approach is cutting back on damage.
CAPE CORAL Byron Donalds to hold town hall in Cape Coral From flood insurance to pythons and rebuilding from Ian nearly two years later, Southwest Florida has a lot on its plate.
Naples Airport move study finds 4 possible sites There’s a study looking at the possibility of moving the Naples Airport.
NAPLES Playing like a girl in Naples flag football league Through having a positive outlet and strong role models commissioner Lorna McLain hopes flag football makes a difference in the community.
FORT MYERS Caloosahatchee River Bridge to close for 10 weeks to speed up bridge project The Florida Department of Transportation announced a busy Fort Myers bridge is closing for more than two months.
WINK NEWS No plea deal for woman accused of being part of one of Southwest Florida’s largest drug rings No plea deal for woman suspected of being involved in one of the largest drug rings in Southwest Florida.
OLGA All victims identified in the Franklin Lock Park drowning Authorities have released the identities of all three Franklin Lock Park drowning victims.
Title and trust company expands to Charlotte County It’s a family affair at Lyons Title & Trust, which recently opened its third office in Port Charlotte.
Collier rejects $23M price tag for 2,247 acres Collier County commissioners unanimously rejected a $23 million price for a 2,247-acre Immokalee property for possible affordable workforce housing, fire house and other uses, opting to continue negotiating.
Voodoo Brewing Co. upends brewery business model Voodoo Brewing Co. began in 2005 and has since expanded to five corporate locations and 14 franchise locations, with the Fort Myers spot being the first to open in Florida.
COLLIER COUNTY Truck overturns, spills cargo; I-75 at mile marker 63 closed The Rest Area Access Road, under I-75 at mile marker 63, is closed due to an overturned truck that spilled its cargo onto the roadway.
FORT MYERS “I’m so grateful candlelight is here” Gulf Coast Symphony fills venue with thousands of candles Gulf Coast Symphony holds Candlelight concerts in an effort to introduce classical musicians and string quartets to the community in a unique atmosphere.
WINK NEWS 2 men arrested for fleeing from State Troopers; throwing backpack filled with drugs from car on I-75 Two men have been arrested after allegedly fleeing from State Troopers on Interstate 75 and throwing a backpack with drugs out of the car.
fort myers Local NAACP Branch plans protest in response to state attorney’s ruling The Lee County NAACP plans on protesting the state attorney’s ruling of an FMPD detective’s killing of an unarmed black man.
NORTH FORT MYERS Body cam footage of woman and her dog rescued from Prairie Preserve Pines A woman and her exhausted dog fight to survive while trapped in the elements and oppressive Florida heat.
NAPLES Local surgeon removing cancer through the mouth Surgery to remove cancers in the head and neck can sometimes leave patients with negative impacts long after the cancer is gone. But a new approach is cutting back on damage.
CAPE CORAL Byron Donalds to hold town hall in Cape Coral From flood insurance to pythons and rebuilding from Ian nearly two years later, Southwest Florida has a lot on its plate.
Naples Airport move study finds 4 possible sites There’s a study looking at the possibility of moving the Naples Airport.
NAPLES Playing like a girl in Naples flag football league Through having a positive outlet and strong role models commissioner Lorna McLain hopes flag football makes a difference in the community.
FORT MYERS Caloosahatchee River Bridge to close for 10 weeks to speed up bridge project The Florida Department of Transportation announced a busy Fort Myers bridge is closing for more than two months.
WINK NEWS No plea deal for woman accused of being part of one of Southwest Florida’s largest drug rings No plea deal for woman suspected of being involved in one of the largest drug rings in Southwest Florida.
OLGA All victims identified in the Franklin Lock Park drowning Authorities have released the identities of all three Franklin Lock Park drowning victims.
Title and trust company expands to Charlotte County It’s a family affair at Lyons Title & Trust, which recently opened its third office in Port Charlotte.
Collier rejects $23M price tag for 2,247 acres Collier County commissioners unanimously rejected a $23 million price for a 2,247-acre Immokalee property for possible affordable workforce housing, fire house and other uses, opting to continue negotiating.
Voodoo Brewing Co. upends brewery business model Voodoo Brewing Co. began in 2005 and has since expanded to five corporate locations and 14 franchise locations, with the Fort Myers spot being the first to open in Florida.
COLLIER COUNTY Truck overturns, spills cargo; I-75 at mile marker 63 closed The Rest Area Access Road, under I-75 at mile marker 63, is closed due to an overturned truck that spilled its cargo onto the roadway.
FORT MYERS “I’m so grateful candlelight is here” Gulf Coast Symphony fills venue with thousands of candles Gulf Coast Symphony holds Candlelight concerts in an effort to introduce classical musicians and string quartets to the community in a unique atmosphere.
WINK NEWS 2 men arrested for fleeing from State Troopers; throwing backpack filled with drugs from car on I-75 Two men have been arrested after allegedly fleeing from State Troopers on Interstate 75 and throwing a backpack with drugs out of the car.
fort myers Local NAACP Branch plans protest in response to state attorney’s ruling The Lee County NAACP plans on protesting the state attorney’s ruling of an FMPD detective’s killing of an unarmed black man.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / MGN NEW YORK (AP) Disney’s $4 billion deal for Lucasfilm and “Star Wars” just keeps getting better for the House of Mouse. The company is banking on the latest installments, “The Last Jedi” in December and a Han Solo movie in May, to drive people to theaters. But that’s far from the end of money-making opportunities from Han Solo, R2-D2, Kylo Ren and Rey. In fact, CEO Bob Iger said Thursday that the company is now planning a brand-new “Star Wars” trilogy, which will be the fourth in the franchise. Disney has drawn big profits from the strengths of its TV channels – namely ESPN – but that growth is challenged as more people dump cable subscriptions. As people turn to online replacements such as Netflix, Disney is hoping to lure them with a streaming service planned for 2019. “Star Wars” movies will be a big part of that; so will a new “Star Wars” series Iger also announced Thursday. Disney also wants to squeeze cash from “Star Wars” fans in the forms of toys and, theme park visits and hotel stays. ___ MOVIE MONEY “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” released in December 2015, pulled in more than $2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, trailing only “Avatar” and “Titanic” as the best-selling theatrical release ever (without adjusting for inflation). It also bumped up home entertainment revenue from DVD sales. “Rogue One,” last year’s installment, made over $1 billion in global box-office revenue. “The Last Jedi” will continue from where “Force” left off. Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson has a “somewhat conservative” estimate of $1.9 billion in box-office haul for the film. He also expects the latest “Avengers” installment to bring in $1.3 billion. Big-budget, sequel-generating movies deliver big wins for studios. In fiscal 2016, when Disney released “The Force Awakens,” the studio’s profit was $2.7 billion. That’s expected to fall this year and jump back up to $2.84 billion in 2018, thanks to “The Last Jedi” and several Marvel movies. In the July-September quarter, however, the studio’s revenue fell 21 percent to $1.43 billion. “Cars 3” wasn’t as big a hit as “Finding Dory” in 2016. Overall, The Walt Disney Co.’s net income slipped 1 percent to $1.75 billion. Revenue dropped 3 percent to $12.78 billion. ___ DISNEY EMPIRE Disney is funneling its movie hits to other parts of its sprawling empire to help it make money repeatedly from its intellectual property. For example, “Star Wars”-themed areas at Disneyland in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida will open in 2019. “They’re huge and I think very exciting in terms of how we’re using technology to create really interesting attractions and experiences,” Iger said at a September investment conference. The company is also planning a “Star Wars”-themed hotel at Walt Disney World in Florida. Disney touts it as an “immersive” experience; guests will be able to dress up as their favorite characters. Disney is making other big investments in its parks, too, as it races to catch up with Universal’s enormously popular Harry Potter-themed areas. In the latest quarter, revenue rose 6 percent to $4.67 billion, helped by the international parks. In the U.S., Hurricane Irma shut down Walt Disney World for two days, hurting domestic results. Analysts expect merchandise revenues to get a bump in fiscal 2018; Nathanson cites the “Star Wars” and Marvel movies, as well as “Frozen” coming to Broadway, as drivers. ___ GEARING UP AGAINST NETFLIX The movies will also serve as a lure for Disney’s streaming service, which will contain hundreds of movies and thousands of TV episodes and shorts. Pixar, “Star Wars” and Marvel films will be included along with Disney-brand video. Disney’s deal with Netflix is expiring and won’t be renewed, making the new service the exclusive online home for much of Disney’s prime content. Morgan Stanley estimates that the service can, after a decade, become a nearly $5 billion-a-year business, with roughly 30 million subscribers. (Netflix’s streaming revenues for just the last nine months were $8.1 billion, with 109 million subscribers.) Disney will lose out on hundreds of millions from Netflix when it pulls its movies, and UBS estimates that it needs 32 million subscribers for the app just to break even. Iger said Thursday that the streaming service will cost less than Netflix at launch. Netflix’s streaming plans start at $8 a month. Disney also plans an ESPN streaming service, which it announced Thursday will be called ESPN Plus, that will launch in spring 2018. It won’t air the same sports as its channel – but one day might. ESPN, long its cash cow, has been losing subscribers as attention shifts online. In the fiscal fourth quarter, the media networks’ revenue fell 3 percent to $5.47 billion; profit slid 12 percent, to $1.48 billion. At ESPN, content costs rose and ad revenue fell, but Disney wrangled higher payments from cable companies. Shares rose 1.4 percent to $104.09 in after-hours trading Thursday.