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.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
FORT MYERS Owners of Richards Building speak out over paint job of historic property The Richards Building in downtown Fort Myers, aged 101 years, recently underwent a controversial transformation with a fresh coat of white paint, defying a stop-work order and sparking public outrage.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: What needs to change to protect other young people? November 8, 2021, Jake Pfeiffer took his own life. His mom shared Jake’s story with WINK News in the hopes of saving another life.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal shooting of truck driver appears in court A man facing second-degree murder charges following an altercation with a pickup truck driver made an appearance in court.
NAPLES SUV crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A popular Naples restaurant is cleaning up after an SUV partially crashed into it, but luckily, nobody was hurt.
PUNTA GORDA 20th annual Hibiscus Festival begins in Punta Gorda The 20th annual Hibiscus Festival at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda begins Friday morning and runs all weekend.
WINK NEWS Lehigh Acres senior caretaker accused of stealing over $70K of patients’ jewelry A senior caretaker has been arrested for allegedly stealing over $70,000 of her patients’ jewelry and pawning it.
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
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.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
FORT MYERS Owners of Richards Building speak out over paint job of historic property The Richards Building in downtown Fort Myers, aged 101 years, recently underwent a controversial transformation with a fresh coat of white paint, defying a stop-work order and sparking public outrage.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: What needs to change to protect other young people? November 8, 2021, Jake Pfeiffer took his own life. His mom shared Jake’s story with WINK News in the hopes of saving another life.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal shooting of truck driver appears in court A man facing second-degree murder charges following an altercation with a pickup truck driver made an appearance in court.
NAPLES SUV crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A popular Naples restaurant is cleaning up after an SUV partially crashed into it, but luckily, nobody was hurt.
PUNTA GORDA 20th annual Hibiscus Festival begins in Punta Gorda The 20th annual Hibiscus Festival at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda begins Friday morning and runs all weekend.
WINK NEWS Lehigh Acres senior caretaker accused of stealing over $70K of patients’ jewelry A senior caretaker has been arrested for allegedly stealing over $70,000 of her patients’ jewelry and pawning it.
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
ZUMA Press / MGN CHICAGO (AP) – Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert must report to a federal prison in southeastern Minnesota this week to begin serving a 15-month sentence in his hush-money case, one that revealed he sexually abused at least four boys decades ago when he coached wrestling at a suburban Chicago high school. Hastert was the nation’s longest-serving GOP speaker, who for eight years was second in the line of succession to the presidency. But when the 74-year-old man enters the prison gates, which he must do by Wednesday afternoon, he will be known to prison guards as Inmate No. 47991-424. A look at what’s expected to happen in the coming days and what awaits Hastert, who will become one of the highest-ranking U.S. politicians in history to do prison time: ___ WHEN AND WHERE Hastert must show up at the Rochester Federal Medical Center by 2 p.m. Wednesday. Inmates-to-be usually wait until just before the reporting deadline, but Hastert, who has been free on bond, could choose to report earlier to elude a crush of reporters and TV cameras. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin recommended this facility for the ailing Hastert during sentencing on April 27, though the Federal Bureau of Prisons made the final decision. Hastert’s attorney, Thomas Green, confirmed it was the Rochester facility in an email. ___ PRISON PROCESSING Hastert’s lawyer didn’t provide other details this week, and it’s not known whether Hastert would travel the more than 300 miles from his Plano, Illinois, home to Rochester by car or plane. When he arrives, he’ll be subject to the same protocol as other new inmates, which includes a full-body strip search for contraband. Hastert will also trade in his street clothes for prison garb and be subject to psychological and social screening, according to an inmate-orientation guide. ___ THE FACILITY The 64-acre prison specializes in health care for physically ailing or mentally ill inmates, and is near the Mayo Clinic. Hastert nearly died from a blood infection and suffered a stroke after he pleaded guilty on Oct. 28 last year, and has diabetes. The facility, despite its name, has all the features of a prison. It is surrounded by razor-wire fencing and holds around 800 inmates from all security classifications, including convicted killers. Among them is Jared Lee Loughner, who is serving a life term for killing six people in the 2011 shooting that targeted and injured former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords. During sentencing, Durkin pointed to the prison’s large population of child molesters, saying it should lessen the chances Hastert would be singled out for attacks in a prison culture in which those who hurt children are considered the lowest of the low. ___ LIFE INSIDE Hastert’s life will be highly regimented, from frequent head counts to occasional shakedown searches. Internet access and cellphone use are prohibited. Recreational facilities include billiard tables and horseshoes. All physically able inmates must work from 7:40 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. If he is required to take a job, the congressman-turned-high-paid lobbyist could end up mopping floors or doing yardwork for as little as 25 cents an hour. ___ AFTER PRISON Under federal law, Hastert must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, or about a year. Once released, he will have two years’ supervised release. He would also have to undergo sex-offender treatment meant to reduce the danger sex offenders pose. A likely lie-detector test would seek to determine how many times Hastert sexually abused kids and over what time period. ___ CONVICTION AND SENTENCE Hastert wasn’t charged with child abuse because the statutes of limitation ran out since he coached at Yorkville High School from 1965 to 1981. Instead, Hastert was charged with and pleaded guilty to violating banking law in trying to pay $3.5 million in hush money to one victim referred to in court papers only as “Individual A.”