3+ week, 5+ day ago (160+ words) As election day draws attention to political races across the nation today, there are also local election happening this Nov. 4. As election day draws attention to political races across the nation today, there are also local election happening this Nov Namely, Fort Myers Beach voters will determine the outcome of their recall election Recently, as Fox 4 reported, a judge did rule on whether each of the claims against Karen Woodson or John Kinwere were sufficient for the recall The judge decided efforts against Woodson would continue, while there are issues with the recall of King Pending what the majority decides Tuesday, the seats could be replaced with Tom Brady, Rebecca Link, or Ed Rood Staying in Southwest Florida, Punta Gorda is having a race to fill City Council District 5 As both Melissa Lockhart and Bill Page qualified for District 5, they…...

4+ week, 18+ hour ago (652+ words) I'm your Community Correspondent for North Port and Arcadia. Our communities have a wonderfully unique blend of people and cultures, and we believe our communities can do great things. CAPE CORAL, Fla. " Federal authorities arrested a 72-year-old Cape Coral man and charged him with making violent threats against ICE agents online. On Saturday, Joseph Giancola spoke exclusively with FOX 4. WATCH: Cape Coral man charged with violent threats speaks with FOX 4: Federal agents arrested Giancola at his daughter's Cape Coral home on Thursday. He's charged with threatening federal law enforcement in online posts. WATCH: Federal agents raid Cape Coral home, arrest man on threat charges According to authorities, Giancola engaged in a months-long pattern of threats against ICE officials using the online pseudonym "Cain Delon" on the social media website, Bluesky. The department said the threats included comparing ICE officials to…...

5+ day, 23+ hour ago (414+ words) FORT MYERS, Fla. -- An investigation is underway for Fort Myers Police Department Captain Jay Rodriguez after a 2013 sex sting video surfaces. The video reportedly shows Captain Rodriguez undercover at a massage parlor engaging in a sex act. Fox 4 was sent the video by O'Neill Kerr, a former Fort Myers Police Officer, and claims it's video of Captain Jay Rodriguez. RELATED: O'Neil Kerr: The former Fort Myers officer who leaked the FMPD undercover sex sting video 4 in Your Corner's Allyssa Dickert reached out to FMPD multiple times, asking for a comment from Chief Derrick Diggs. The Fort Myers Police Department wouldn't comment on the allegations but did confirm it's an active investigation. Fox 4 obtained the original arrest report dating back to March 14, 2013. In the report, then-Lieutenant Jay Rodriguez went in for an hour massage and removed all his clothing but his…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (226+ words) Governor Ron DeSantis is scheduled to speak at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Press Conference in Miramar, Thursday, Nov. 13. MIRAMAR, Fla. " Governor Ron DeSantis is scheduled to speak at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Press Conference in Miramar, Thursday, Nov. 13. His office said the press conference will also have U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director, Madison Sheahan. They will also be joined by State Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director, Anthony Coker. Finally, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass is also scheduled to speak. The event will be at the ICE-ERO Center Miramar on SW 145th Avenue in Miramar, Florida at 9 a.m. Fox 4 will post updates about what he announces. MIRAMAR, Fla. " Governor Ron DeSantis is scheduled to speak at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Press Conference in Miramar, Thursday, Nov. 13. His office said the press conference will also have…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (453+ words) I'm your Community Correspondent for North Fort Myers and Hendry County. As our communities grow, exciting things are on the horizon and I can't wait to share them with you. PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla " A fire at a Port Charlotte home Thursday afternoon left a woman fighting for her life. Fox 4's Austin Schargorodski spoke with her family and neighbors about what happened and the race to save her. A charred shell is all that's left of Roy Eric and Nikki Varbel's home after a fire ripped through it. His mom, Sue Bostic, told Fox 4 the family is heartbroken. Watch to hear from family and neighbors about what happened in the first moments of the fire: "When we brought him home last night he broke down. Once the adrenaline stopped. Nobody slept last night. He's just constantly worried about Nikki," said…...

3+ day, 10+ hour ago (593+ words) I'm your Community Correspondent for North Fort Myers and Hendry County. As our communities grow, exciting things are on the horizon and I can't wait to share them with you. UPDATE:Jaxson was a 3-year-old boy his family says was just simply happy. But his life was cut short after troopers say he was hit and killed in an Englewood Walmart parking lot Tuesday night. Fox 4's Austin Schargorodski spoke exclusively with his grandfather, who told him about his grandson.Watch to hear from Jaxson's grandfather had to say about his happy, young grandson: "He was a good kid. Like I said he was just coming into his own," his grandfather said. But on Tuesday night, life changed for the family. Florida Highway Patrol says Jaxson was with his mom and infant sibling in the Englewood parking lot. Troopers say…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (481+ words) FORT MYERS, Fla. " A two-year investigation by local environmental group Calusa Waterkeeper has found evidence of human-source fecal contamination in Manuel's Branch, a small urban creek located just south of Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers. FOX 4 Meteorologist Andrew Shipley first reported on concerns surrounding the creek back in May, when he joined Calusa Waterkeeper rangers as they collected water samples. At the time, the organization said bacterial levels in the water were alarmingly high. Now, new testing appears to confirm those concerns " and raises fresh questions about where the contamination is coming from. Manuel's Branch has repeatedly shown extremely high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria, which signal contamination and potential health risks. "When you see bacteria notification at a public beach, that number is 70," said Jason Pim, a board member with Calusa Waterkeeper. "Here we get numbers all the…...

4+ day, 6+ hour ago (322+ words) COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. " Collier County celebrated its 68th annual Farm-City BBQ on Tuesday, bringing together hundreds of families, farmers and local leaders for the county's longstanding pre-Thanksgiving tradition. The community gathering started decades ago as a simple act of mutual support between farmers and business leaders, according to local farmer Jaime Weisinger. WATCH AS FARM-CITY BBQ KICKS OFF ITS 68TH ANNUAL EVENT AT THE FAIRGROUNDS: "This event started early on when the city came out to the farms after a bad year and helped feed them and the year after the farmers came out to the city and returned the favor," Weisinger said. Today, the event has grown into one of Collier County's most well-attended pre-holiday events, serving as both a celebration of local agriculture and a major fundraiser for youth organizations. Weisinger's family has been farming in the area for generations....

1+ week, 1+ day ago (625+ words) I'm your Community Correspondent for North Port and Arcadia. Our communities have a wonderfully unique blend of people and cultures, and we believe our communities can do great things. DESOTO COUNTY, Fla. " The DeSoto County Sheriff's Office arrested two men after a bizarre incident that ended with a dead cow. Deputies said two Charlotte County men walked onto a farm outside Arcadia and shot a cow in the head. "It was cruel, what they did," said Rylee Butler, whose family owned the cow. "And I don't think it's whatsoever right." WATCH: Family reacts after cow is killed: Deputies arrested 21-year-old Matthew Robert Wright and 20-year-old Gavin Hunter McMillan. Both are charged with armed trespass and aggravated animal cruelty, according to the Sheriff's Office. The Butler family raises cattle and horses northwest of Arcadia. Rylee and her father, Thomas, spoke with…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (254+ words) President Donald Trump is now encouraging House Republicans to vote for the release of the so-called Epstein files, with a vote possible as early as Tuesday. "They're using Jeffrey Epstein as a deflection from the tremendous success that we're having as a party," Trump recently said. RELATED STORY | At Trump's urging, Bondi says US will investigate Epstein's ties to Clinton and other political foes The president said Sunday he supports the upcoming vote " a reversal after a week in which his name appeared in several Epstein-related documents. "House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "The House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON'T CARE!" he…...