Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor BoulevardFamily of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree
FORT MYERS Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person injured Saturday night.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
FORT MYERS Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person injured Saturday night.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A green beret gets a pink slip after fighting in Iraq. The law says his job is protected, but a WINK News investigation uncovers, the U.S. Postal Service fired him while he was away at war serving his country for five years. The American flag flies over the flags of the Armed Forces outside a local postal distribution center, but Rick Erickson will tell you the U.S. Postal Service is not all that kind to members of the Armed Forces. He started working there in 1988. He also volunteered to be in the National Guard reserves. It was supposed to involve a weekend a month and two weeks in the summer, but then came war. He had no choice, he went, he fought and then he came back. The first two times there was no problem. But then in 2000, he went back to war and fought. After rising to the highest rank possible in the Green Berets, he was wounded. “We’re looking for the Taliban,” said Erickson, “and we got caught in an ambush.” Erickson was awarded a Purple Heart, but he had been gone five years and for that, he was fired. “They told me I had already been terminated.” According to the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) that’s against the law. “They’re supposed to be protected under these laws so that when they come home they have their job. When I came home, I didn’t have my job,” said Erickson. Erickson decided to sue for back pay, benefits, damages, and attorney’s fees since the year 2000, and he won what’s said to be the largest award ever in a USERRA case, over $2 million. Since then, he says he’s gotten “nothing. Even two years ago they were ordered to pay me by January and they’ve done nothing.” WINK News contacted the postal service but it says it can not comment on pending litigation. However, in court documents, the postal service claims that Erickson told a former boss he didn’t want his job back. Since 2006, Erickson has tried to find work, but it’s been tough. At the same time he was raising three daughters by himself, that meant he had to go back overseas. Erickson finally retired from the military in January and says he’s still waiting for the money the courts have already awarded him.