Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to registerThe Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
Credit: MGN VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) – A felon serving time in the Indian River County Jail voted by mail in the Nov. 8 election because Florida’s cumbersome system for purging felons from the voter registration rolls had not yet caught up with him. A Treasure Coast Newspapers investigation found (http://bit.ly/2g7GpLU) no other instances of questionable voting on the Treasure Coast and elections supervisors in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties said they received no official complaints about voter fraud in the November election. State law bars felons from voting, unless their voting rights have been restored by the state Office of Executive Clemency. It is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, for someone to vote when they know they are not legally qualified. State law calls for a variety of agencies – such as the court clerk in each county, the state Department of Corrections, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, among others – to report felony convictions to the Department of State. If a felon is registered to vote, the department’s Bureau of Voter Registration Services notifies the county elections supervisor. The supervisors must try to notify the felon he or she is potentially ineligible to vote so they have a chance to appeal. The process could take as long as 65 days if the felon doesn’t respond to an official letter and a newspaper ad. Indian River County Supervisor of Elections Leslie Swan said her office sent mail ballots to the two felons at the county jail because the state had not yet notified her about their status. Deszi Marquis Hayes of Vero Beach, who is serving nine-months in jail for a felony traffic conviction, submitted a vote-by-mail ballot to the Supervisor of Elections Office. Hayes’ ballot was processed and votes counted like all the other mail ballots the office received, as Hayes still is legally registered to vote. State Attorney Bruce Colton said Hayes told an investigator he believed he voted legally because his voting rights had been restored in 2008 after he was granted clemency for several earlier felonies. “We are not prosecuting him,” Colton said. “He made no secret of the fact he voted. In his mind, even though he had been convicted of this felony, he somehow thought the clemency overruled that. It’s a little bit of a stretch, but we would have to show beyond a reasonable doubt the guy knew he did not have the right to vote and voted anyway.” ?The state restored Hayes’ voting rights on Sept. 15, 2008, records show. Hayes had seven felony convictions in Indian River County between 1997 and 2005, mainly for habitually driving with a suspended or revoked license. St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara and Martin County sheriff’s Maj. Casey Szparaga said jail inmates are free to request vote-by-mail ballots, but jail personnel do not get involved in the process. A total of 11 St. Lucie County jail inmates returned mail ballots, but two were not counted because felony records made them ineligible, said Sherrie Williams, an elections administrator. She did not say how they realized the felons attempted to vote. No Martin County jail inmates returned mail ballots, said Debbie Dent, chief deputy elections supervisor in Martin County. And no felons have been caught voting in recent years.