FORT MYERS Jeep flipped on its side after two-vehicle crash Authorities are responding to a car crash on Ortiz Avenue and Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers.
The future of the Fort Myers Ferris wheel proposal Is the third time the charm? Downtown Fort Myers is buzzing over the idea of a new eye in the sky. On Thursday night, Steve Weathers gave his presentation on the proposed Ferris Wheel plan for the third time in a matter of months. Currently, nothing is set in stone. For the historic preservation committee, […]
LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS Lee County Schools approves new code of conduct The Lee County school board unanimously passed a new code of conduct on Thursday night, and there wasn’t any pushback, not even during public comment.
ALVA ‘I still feel like I’m under the water sometimes,’ Drowning survivor speaks out as community mourns A community mourns the death of three young men who died drowning in the Caloosahachee River on Saturday, May 18.Â
Google teaches internet safety to SWFL middle school students The internet is a big playground with tons of entertainment options, but similarly to real playgrounds, not everyone plays nice.
WINK NEWS Lessons learned and how to apply them this 2024 hurricane season Hurricane season is approaching, so now is the time for Southwest Floridians to gear up and protect themselves against potential storms.
CAPE CORAL 12-year-old hit by speeding car in Cape Coral A 12-year-old boy is recovering after Cape Coral police say he was hit by a speeding car Wednesday night.
Lee County NAACP protesting unarmed man’s death The NAACP knows Amira Fox’s decision cannot be overturned, so they’re pushing for more open conversation around mental health and how police officers should be trained to tackle similar situations.
BUCKINGHAM What chemicals were in the blue paint that filled the Orange River Getting to the bottom of what is inside the paint that filled the Orange River near homes in Buckingham.
SANIBEL Sanibel works to complete marsh restoration The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation completed its marsh restoration project on the island.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA What’s the missing piece to improve safety on State Road 31 Eileen Sartell lives in the Babcock area, and she said the speeding in the area is horrible
New research may save brain cells A tsunami is a massive wave of destruction, but it doesn’t just happen on the coast. It can happen inside your brain.
Two local golf pros recount memories from PGA Championship Two local golf pros, Jeremy Wells and Evan Bowser, recount the memories they made playing in the PGA Championship.
LEHIGH ACRES Man accused of driving 102 mph faces homicide charges for Lehigh Acres crash Maxcimiliano Rodriguez, who faced vehicular homicide charges, had his first appearance in court on Thursday.
Brown pelican found on Marco Beach with possible red tide poisoning A brown pelican was found on a Marco Island beach last week, showing signs of red tide toxicosis.
FORT MYERS Jeep flipped on its side after two-vehicle crash Authorities are responding to a car crash on Ortiz Avenue and Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers.
The future of the Fort Myers Ferris wheel proposal Is the third time the charm? Downtown Fort Myers is buzzing over the idea of a new eye in the sky. On Thursday night, Steve Weathers gave his presentation on the proposed Ferris Wheel plan for the third time in a matter of months. Currently, nothing is set in stone. For the historic preservation committee, […]
LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS Lee County Schools approves new code of conduct The Lee County school board unanimously passed a new code of conduct on Thursday night, and there wasn’t any pushback, not even during public comment.
ALVA ‘I still feel like I’m under the water sometimes,’ Drowning survivor speaks out as community mourns A community mourns the death of three young men who died drowning in the Caloosahachee River on Saturday, May 18.Â
Google teaches internet safety to SWFL middle school students The internet is a big playground with tons of entertainment options, but similarly to real playgrounds, not everyone plays nice.
WINK NEWS Lessons learned and how to apply them this 2024 hurricane season Hurricane season is approaching, so now is the time for Southwest Floridians to gear up and protect themselves against potential storms.
CAPE CORAL 12-year-old hit by speeding car in Cape Coral A 12-year-old boy is recovering after Cape Coral police say he was hit by a speeding car Wednesday night.
Lee County NAACP protesting unarmed man’s death The NAACP knows Amira Fox’s decision cannot be overturned, so they’re pushing for more open conversation around mental health and how police officers should be trained to tackle similar situations.
BUCKINGHAM What chemicals were in the blue paint that filled the Orange River Getting to the bottom of what is inside the paint that filled the Orange River near homes in Buckingham.
SANIBEL Sanibel works to complete marsh restoration The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation completed its marsh restoration project on the island.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA What’s the missing piece to improve safety on State Road 31 Eileen Sartell lives in the Babcock area, and she said the speeding in the area is horrible
New research may save brain cells A tsunami is a massive wave of destruction, but it doesn’t just happen on the coast. It can happen inside your brain.
Two local golf pros recount memories from PGA Championship Two local golf pros, Jeremy Wells and Evan Bowser, recount the memories they made playing in the PGA Championship.
LEHIGH ACRES Man accused of driving 102 mph faces homicide charges for Lehigh Acres crash Maxcimiliano Rodriguez, who faced vehicular homicide charges, had his first appearance in court on Thursday.
Brown pelican found on Marco Beach with possible red tide poisoning A brown pelican was found on a Marco Island beach last week, showing signs of red tide toxicosis.
MGN Online GENEVA (AP) — Five officials, including three long-serving FIFA executive committee members, are being investigated in the corruption probe into the bidding contests for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. A person familiar with the cases confirmed the names Thursday to The Associated Press after the five were identified in European media reports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the FIFA probe is confidential. The current FIFA board members under investigation are FIFA vice president Angel Maria Villar of Spain, Michel D’Hooghe of Belgium and Worawi Makudi of Thailand. Villar and Makudi risk losing their FIFA seats within months as even provisional suspensions from all football duty can block them standing in scheduled confederation elections. The others under suspicion are German great Franz Beckenbauer and Harold Mayne-Nicholls of Chile. Beckenbauer was a FIFA voter when the board chose Russia to host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar secured the 2022 tournament. He was provisionally suspended during the World Cup in June for initially refusing to help Garcia’s probe. Mayne-Nicholls inspected the bids for FIFA ahead of the December 2010 polls, and reportedly sought placements for family members at Qatar’s influential Aspire youth academy. Last week, FIFA ethics committee chairmen Michael Garcia and Joachim Eckert said “a number of formal cases” had been opened against unidentified individuals. FIFA also filed a criminal complaint to Swiss federal prosecutors against unnamed individuals cited in Garcia’s investigation report, adding to a sense of disarray about the wider World Cup investigation. The probe was revived after Eckert tried to close the cases against Russia and Qatar — a decision Garcia quickly appealed to FIFA. On Thursday, FIFA said it “cannot confirm or deny any such information” about the five named, and referred questions to the ethics panel. The Kirkland & Ellis legal firm in Manhattan where Garcia is a partner was closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Individuals were identified Thursday despite strict confidentiality rules in FIFA’s code of ethics sealing details of who is under investigation, and for which alleged offenses. FIFA President Sepp Blatter has backed Eckert’s view that evidence in a 430-page report submitted by Garcia’s investigations team cannot be disclosed. They cited privacy rights to protect suspects and witnesses. Some members of FIFA’s board who joined since the World Cup votes are calling for full disclosure. Garcia and UEFA President Michel Platini want “appropriate publication” with some redactions. Villar, who was elected to FIFA’s ruling board 16 years ago, was a leader of the Spain-Portugal bid that was among four candidates in the 2018 contest. It lost despite a widely reported voting pact with Qatar, in breach of FIFA rules to prevent collusion. A former Spain player and chairman of FIFA’s legal committee, Villar was previously identified in March as trying to remove Garcia from the investigation. One bidder was “particularly uncooperative” with Garcia’s requests, Eckert noted in his investigation summary. Only Spain-Portugal among nine bidders was not examined in Eckert’s 42-page document. D’Hooghe, the longest tenured board member with 26 years’ service, previously acknowledged accepting a painting from a Russian former FIFA colleague during the campaign. He has said he voted only for his native Netherlands-Belgium bid in the 2018 contest. D’Hooghe, whose FIFA mandate expires in 2017, did not respond to messages requesting comment Thursday. Makudi joined FIFA’s board in 1997 and was a longtime ally of Mohamed bin Hammam, the now-disgraced Qatari who was a key FIFA power broker. Makudi was alleged in Britain’s Parliament to have sought favors from England’s failed 2018 bid. He denied the claims, which a FIFA ethics panel dismissed in 2011 before Garcia and Eckert were appointed. Even if the FIFA prosecutions fail against Villar and Makudi, the cases could potentially remove them from high office. Garcia and Eckert typically impose provisional suspensions on football officials when cases are pending, and both board members are due for re-election. Villar has a late-January deadline to declare in UEFA elections for four of its eight delegates on the FIFA board. The vote of European football federations is March 24 in Vienna. Makudi’s latest four-year mandate from the Asian Football Confederation also expires soon. Those elections are expected in May. The FIFA board, likely including the implicated trio, meets Dec. 18-19 in Marrakech, Morocco, and could get the Garcia dossier to review. Amid the turmoil last week, Garcia and Eckert agreed that FIFA’s independent audit and compliance official, Domenico Scala, should decide what evidence to give the board to help decide next steps in a saga that has dogged football’s governing body for more than four years.