Breana Ross

The White House is speaking out against a Florida Senate bill that bans abortions after 15-weeks. President Biden called it a dangerous bill that will severely restrict access to reproductive health care. The bill does not contain exceptions for rape or incest, and Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign that bill into law. And […]

A Southwest Florida sex offender faces charges after being arrested while working at a fair. Deputies say James Tennant gave a different name to pass a background check to work at the Lee County Fair. On a day at the fair, you’d expect to find families, food and fun, not a fair worker who is […]

Significant changes are coming to Lee County high school schedules. Starting next school year, Lee County schools will have seven periods instead of four. The district and the teachers union have differing opinions on the adjustment. They disagree on whether the change will help the teacher shortage at Fort Myers High School or anywhere else. […]

The Lee County commissioners are giving $2 million more to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to hire 20 more deputies. The larger budget is to target drugs in Lee County. In 2018, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office worked 118 overdose deaths. In 2020, that number rose to 166. This year, the sheriff’s office said they […]

Media often serves as a bridge between you and those you elect to office. We work to get your questions answered and bring issues to light. It’s a system of checks and balances, but one Southwest Florida Leader wants to control how that happens. There are seven Cape Coral City Council members, plus the mayor, […]

  In this half-hour WINK News special, we take you on a journey through time, through our Southwest Florida community and the state’s most influential-and sometimes painful Black history. We also introduce you to some of the folks who are keeping those stories alive today. WATCH the entire special above. More: Read and watch all […]

When you pass by McCollum Hall, you see an empty building. But Vera Stephens remembers a time when it was full of life. “It was really fun to go to the dances that they had there and it was a really jumping place,” said Stephens, 89, who was born and raised in Fort Myers. McCollum […]

Slavery was abolished with the adoption of the 13th Amendment in 1865, but that did not mean Black and white people would have a level playing field. In fact, integration in Lee County schools did not happen until about a century later. When you go to a Lee county school today, you’ll find a melting […]

Using sports to bridge the racial divide – one former Southwest Florida football coach says he did exactly that. As we celebrate Black History Month we sat down with football coach Larry Gary. He was the first Black head football coach at an integrated Lee County school. On the field, under the Friday night lights, […]

Jerry Mitchell always knew the power of the pen but never expected his to rewrite history. Mitchell, a former investigative reporter at the Clarion-Ledger, is responsible for getting officials to reopen long-closed cases of injustices against Black people. He now works for the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting in addition to being a book author. […]