Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salonWINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
FORT MYERS Police investigate homicide in front of Fort Myers beauty salon The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a homicide after police found a man’s dead body in the parking lot of a Fort Myers beauty salon.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: road rage, domestic violence and camper fire This weeks segment of WINK Neighborhood watch features: An angry driver, a posterior puncture, and a family camper up in flames.
OCALA Memorial held for migrant bus crash victims A memorial was held in Ocala Friday night after a bus crash left eight people dead and 45 injured this past Tuesday.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and House Appropriations Chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, are negotiating a state budget. Credit: Jim Turner With legislative leaders trying to meet a Tuesday deadline for finishing a new state budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis will get more money than he requested for a reactivated Florida State Guard and to relocate undocumented immigrants out of the state. Budget chiefs also agreed Sunday night to provide money for DeSantis’ effort to attract law-enforcement officers from other states, while numerous other issues remained unresolved. Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and House Appropriations Chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, said they expected talks to resume Monday morning. With a legally required 72-hour “cooling off” period before the House and Senate can vote on the budget, leaders must finish a spending plan Tuesday to end the annual legislative session as scheduled Friday. The budget likely will top $100 billion and will take effect July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year. Trumbull acknowledged his attention has at times been diverted to wildfires that raged throughout the weekend in Bay County, his home county. “It’s incredible to be able to watch what fire-rescue is doing and what state resources there are making sure that people are safe,” Trumbull said Saturday, noting he traveled to Bay County that morning. Trumbull added that lawmakers could add more money for dealing with wildfires with conditions for the blazes growing statewide. “I don’t think it’s specific to Northwest Florida,” Trumbull said. “I think from looking at the agriculture silo (of the budget) as a whole, maybe looking for opportunities to put more resources there.” The House and Senate leaders Sunday night fixed at $10 million an amount to re-establish the Florida State Guard, which was a defense force set up during World War II to replace Florida National Guard members who were deployed abroad. DeSantis requested $5.4 million to train and equip a 200-member force that would be used to assist the Florida National Guard during emergencies. Trumbull said the budget line “gets us about 400 people.” Also, the Department of Transportation is expected to receive a one-time payment of $12 million to set up a program for the “transport of unauthorized aliens from this state.” The budget would allow the department to contract with a private provider or reach an agreement with a federal agency to undertake the relocation work while maintaining that any of the work would remain consistent with federal law. DeSantis requested $8 million and has made that part of his campaign speeches, drawing cheers when saying undocumented immigrants would be rerouted to President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware. The Senate also agreed to spend $20 million that the House had approved as part of bill (HB 3) that includes establishing a program to provide one-time payments of up to $5,000 to newly employed law-enforcement officers. The bill also would set up a Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program to cover basic-training tuition and fees for new officers and reward officers who adopt children. DeSantis, who is running for re-election this year, has made beefing up law enforcement a hallmark of his policies through such things as the proposed bonuses. The Senate also dropped a push to provide a more-permanent allocation of $50 million a year for the Visit Florida tourism marketing agency. The two sides had agreed early in the talks to spend $50 million in the coming year on Visit Florida, the same amount as this year. But the Senate wanted to make that amount “recurring,” which would have more firmly established it as an annual amount. House leaders had concerns about some past spending by the agency and preferred to handle the issue on a year-by-year basis. “One of the best ways we, as the appropriators, have to remedy bad behaviors is to put non-recurring on it,” Trumbull said Saturday. “They have done a good job as of late of making good decisions, using the state’s resources.” The Senate this week will take up a House proposal to extend Visit Florida’s legal authorization to operate until Oct. 1, 2028. Under current law, Visit Florida would be repealed Oct. 1, 2023, without an extension, and the Senate had sought to move the date to Oct. 1, 2031.