Bay Street Yard set to open in late MayAetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers
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.
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.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
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.
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.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
NAPLES, Fla.- Bill Oliver is a man with a heavy heart. He runs a small medical supply company and teaches martial arts three days a week at Aiki Ju-jitsu in Naples. In an exclusive interview with WINK News, Oliver is coming clean about a lie he says he’s been living for the past 15 years. “It’s beyond shameful what I did, it’s absolutely wrong,” Oliver told WINK News. Until recently, the website promoting his martial arts studio stated Oliver was a former U.S. Army Special Forces operator. In 2001 he did an interview with a South Carolina newspaper claiming to be an Army Ranger. Oliver’s military records show he was in the Army, active from 1979-1982, but as a masonry specialist. “I didn’t see any combat, I didn’t deploy, I didn’t do any specialized training or special forces type stuff whatsoever,” said Oliver. Oliver says the lie started when a student saw his Army jump photo and assumed he was a Ranger, and Oliver went along with it. “Then it got to a place where quite honestly I felt comfortable, you know, and I started taking on this lie. And in some small ways almost believing it.” Oliver says he kept the lie going for years out of fear of rejection. Guardian Of Valor, a national organization dedicated to outing people who lie about their military service, published a scathing article on Oliver December 14 after a months long investigation. “The problem is is the people were attending his dojo based on his claim, they thought he was some Special Forces/Delta Force guy that could give them great training. He gained money off of making false claims and being something he wasn’t,” said Anthony Anderson of Guardian Of Valor. Oliver says he charges his students $100 a month for lessons, and doesn’t make a profit. He claims all the money goes right to keeping the dojo open. After getting word the article would be published, Oliver took to Facebook, confessing his lies. “I got pounded. It was pretty crushing. I got you know a ton of emails telling me what a piece of crap I was, what a low life and how disgusting. And I get it, I totally get it and I deserve every bit of it,” said Oliver. Oliver’s students are sticking by his side. “It was shocking at first… but it didn’t change my opinion about the man, the person that I’ve come to love, the person that I’ve come to know,” said student Jammie Stockner. “I’m just real thankful, I’m just real thankful that some people care about me,” said Oliver. Florida does have a Stolen Valor law, but it’s restricted to those who lie about receiving certain military medals. At this time Oliver is not facing any criminal charges.