Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCUFGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
MGN McLEAN, Va. (AP) – An animal-rights group sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday to stop a policy it says allows trophy hunters, circus acts and others dealing with threatened species to skirt the Endangered Species Act by making token donations to conservation groups. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria by Norfolk-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, alleges that the wildlife service is sanctioning a massive loophole in the Endangered Species Act. The law allows exceptions in the import or export of endangered species when granting a permit aids the species’ survival. PETA says the agency is granting exceptions for applicants making donations as small as $500 to conservation groups. A Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman said the agency can’t comment on active litigation. An auction earlier this year of a permit to hunt an endangered black rhino in Namibia is an example of how the policy has run amok, PETA says. Hunter Corey Knowlton bid $350,000 last year to win an auction conducted by the Dallas Safari Club to hunt and kill a rare black rhino in Namibia. The Fish and Wildlife Service granted Knowlton an exception allowing him to import the carcass back to the U.S. as a trophy, under the theory that the money paid to Namibia will help that country carry out its preservation efforts. More often, though, said PETA Foundation Counsel Delcianna Winders, circus acts take advantage of the loophole to be able to move tigers and elephants across U.S. borders. Winders said PETA does not know exactly how many times applicants have obtained permits by making donations. It cites another example of a circus being granted a permit to take two endangered elephants from the U.S. into Canada for performances there by making a $500 donation to a group called Asian Elephant Support. Winders said the exception in the law is designed to allow importation or export for circumstances like releasing an animal into the wild or supporting a breeding program. Instead, she said the donations amount to a pay-to-play scheme that perverts the intention of the law. “It’s almost like auctioning off a child on the black market and saying it’s OK because the some of the money is going to an anti-trafficking group,” Winders said. The Fish and Wildlife Service had previously said it permitted the importation of the rhino trophies because Namibia has a comprehensive strategy in place to protect black rhinos, and the money paid to that country will support those efforts. The safari club’s executive director was traveling and unavailable for comment Friday. The club said the money helped conservation efforts and that targeted hunting of a small number of older male rhinos can actually help the overall herd. According to the lawsuit, the Wildlife Service used to be even looser in granting exceptions. Up until 2011, PETA says the Wildlife Service would grant import and export exceptions on the theory that merely exhibiting the animals in question, like in a circus, would increase awareness about the need for conservation. The wildlife service then began telling applicants that raising awareness by exhibiting animals was insufficient, and began implementing the policy requiring donations to conservation groups, according to the suit.