Chaotic lake getting fence and securityWhat we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along
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.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
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.
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.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
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.
MGN McLEAN, Va. (AP) – Spies don’t work for fame or acclaim. But after 75 years, the men and women who served behind the enemy lines in Nazi Germany and the Pacific theater during World War II wouldn’t mind some recognition. Legislation to award the spies the Congressional Gold Medal has passed the Senate and has more than 300 sponsors in the House, yet the bill is being held up by House Republicans, who recently enacted rules that require a special waiver to grant the medal to groups of people. “I would be extremely proud to get a gold medal for what we did for our country,” said Frank Gleason, 96, one of the few remaining veterans of the Office of Strategic Services, the World War II-era forerunner to the CIA. “What we did was a little exciting.” The holdup frustrates a group of veterans whose numbers continue to dwindle as time marches on. “We’re all in our mid 90s,” said Irv Refkin, 95, who was recruited by OSS because of his German language abilities, which he used to gather intelligence. “We’re not going to be here that long.” Refkin, of Hillcrest, California, said he called the office of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, to lobby for the bill, and talked to “some kid intern.” “I asked him, did he know what OSS was? He didn’t know. People haven’t heard of us,” Refkin said. Of course, the nature of spy craft is secretive, so for many years the stories of the OSS were classified. It was formed in 1942 and at one point employed almost 13,000 men and women, recruited from all branches of the military. Famous members include actor Sterling Hayden and director John Ford, baseball player Mo Berg, chef Julia Child, future CIA director William Casey. Estimates of how many OSS members are still alive range from a few dozen to 100. Refkin recalled a mission to Germany where he had to gain intelligence on the Nazis’ plans for defending against what ultimately became the D-Day invasion. Refkin, dressed as a German corporal, rode the train behind enemy lines with forged documents. He posed as an office cleaner at German headquarters in Hamburg. “Nobody looked at a corporal. You carry a garbage bag, put some smelly stuff in it, and they waive you right through,” Refkin said. “Nobody pays any attention to the guy emptying the ashtrays.” Gleason’s group was tasked with halting the Japanese advance into China. Gleason, who grew up in Pennsylvania coal country and knew about explosives, helped detonate bridges, railroad tracks and anything else. “We just blew stuff up left and right,” he said. Patrick O’Donnell, a military historian who has written several books on OSS missions, said he has interviewed hundreds of members. They tell stories that sound almost implausible, and when he verifies them in old mission reports, “You find out that it’s completely understated.” O’Donnell said the CIA traces its beginnings to the OSS, and the Navy Seals have their roots in the OSS’ Maritime Unit. “They changed the face of World War II,” he said. “You’d be very hard pressed to find a smaller group of individuals who made such a profound difference in the history of modern American warfare.” The recognition being sought, the Congressional Gold Medal, has been awarded to several World War II-era units in recent years, including the Native American Code Talkers, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders and World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol. Perhaps in response, the House Republican Conference enacted a rule that prevents awarding the Gold Medal to groups of people, unless House leadership grants a waiver. A spokeswoman for the House Republican Conference did not return a call and email seeking comment on the rule. McCarthy and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office also declined comment. Since the new rule, a waiver has been granted at least once, to the civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, helped sponsor legislation in the Senate. He said he never anticipated that there would be any resistance. “It just shouldn’t be this hard,” Warner said. The House sponsor, Rep. Robert Latta, R-Ohio, is working on a rule change that will allow the bill to be brought to the full House this session, said his spokesman, Drew Griffin. The House recessed this week without passing the bill. Hopes for passage now rest on pushing the bill through during the lame-duck session after the election. If that doesn’t happen, the whole process has to start again in the next Congress. Charles Pinck, president of the Falls Church-based OSS Society, can’t believe the House has balked at the recognition. “The OSS had to fight for its creation. It had to fight for its existence. It fought the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese Army,” he said. “Now it has to fight to be recognized. If there’s one thing the OSS knows how to do, it’s fight.”