Man arrested for crashing into Lehigh Acres duplex, damages several vehiclesPedestrian killed while attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway
Lehigh Acres Man arrested for crashing into Lehigh Acres duplex, damages several vehicles The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of crashing his vehicle into a Lehigh Acres duplex.
Pedestrian killed while attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash involving a pedestrian attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway in Lee County.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm with a few showers this Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking the continuing stretch of warmer conditions along with a few rain showers this Monday.
DeSoto County teen faces sentencing for killing teen at fair A teenager will face sentencing Monday for shooting and killing another teenager at the DeSoto County Fair.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Puppy Bowl highlights shelter’s need for loving homes The Cape Coral Animal Shelter hosted its third annual Puppy Bowl late Sunday morning. The event aimed to highlight puppies in need of homes.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Car crashes into Lehigh duplex A car crashed into a duplex early Sunday morning in Lehigh Acres causing confusion for the building’s residents.
WINK News Photos of the Week Feb. 2 – Feb. 8 This Week’s edition features live music, some familiar faces wearing red and a fabulous charity event
FORT MYERS Colonial Boulevard continuous flow intersection opens Sunday in Fort Myers Drivers along Interstate 75 near Colonial Boulevard can expect changes soon.
the weather authority Sun and clouds with a stray shower possible The Weather Authority says sun and clouds overhead will lead to another day with above-average temperatures.
FORT MYERS LCSO offering youth boxing program The Lee County Sheriff’s Office youth boxing program is your kid’s golden ticket to mastering the art of self-defense.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend armed 13-year-old The man who helped apprehend an armed 13-year-old spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
MARCO ISLAND Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island set to reopen Collier County announced the reopening of the Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island.
Lehigh Acres Man arrested for crashing into Lehigh Acres duplex, damages several vehicles The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of crashing his vehicle into a Lehigh Acres duplex.
Pedestrian killed while attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash involving a pedestrian attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway in Lee County.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm with a few showers this Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking the continuing stretch of warmer conditions along with a few rain showers this Monday.
DeSoto County teen faces sentencing for killing teen at fair A teenager will face sentencing Monday for shooting and killing another teenager at the DeSoto County Fair.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Puppy Bowl highlights shelter’s need for loving homes The Cape Coral Animal Shelter hosted its third annual Puppy Bowl late Sunday morning. The event aimed to highlight puppies in need of homes.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Car crashes into Lehigh duplex A car crashed into a duplex early Sunday morning in Lehigh Acres causing confusion for the building’s residents.
WINK News Photos of the Week Feb. 2 – Feb. 8 This Week’s edition features live music, some familiar faces wearing red and a fabulous charity event
FORT MYERS Colonial Boulevard continuous flow intersection opens Sunday in Fort Myers Drivers along Interstate 75 near Colonial Boulevard can expect changes soon.
the weather authority Sun and clouds with a stray shower possible The Weather Authority says sun and clouds overhead will lead to another day with above-average temperatures.
FORT MYERS LCSO offering youth boxing program The Lee County Sheriff’s Office youth boxing program is your kid’s golden ticket to mastering the art of self-defense.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend armed 13-year-old The man who helped apprehend an armed 13-year-old spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
MARCO ISLAND Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island set to reopen Collier County announced the reopening of the Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island.
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle and former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva (78) stands outside the tunnel alone during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) PITTSBURGH (AP) Alejandro Villanueva just wanted to get a glimpse of the American flag, the symbol he wore on his military uniform during three tours in Afghanistan before beginning an unlikely journey from Army Ranger to the NFL. The massive left tackle and West Point graduate has no interest in becoming a symbol in a fight he wants no part of, no matter how it may have looked on Sunday at Soldier Field, when Villanueva found himself standing alone as the flag waved, the national anthem played and his teammates remained covered in darkness in a tunnel behind him. The optics made it appear as if Villanueva was making a statement about where he stands in the mushrooming political battle that has turned high-profile athletes’ action (or inaction) during the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” into a national referendum on patriotism. Villanueva insists he was not, that saluting the colors had everything to do with miscommunication and nothing to do with him setting himself apart from the organization, the coaches or the players who have helped craft his improbable success story. “It’s a very embarrassing part on my end,” Villanueva said on Monday. “When everyone sees images of me standing by myself, everybody thinks the team and the Steelers are not behind me and that is absolutely wrong. It’s quite the opposite.” The Steelers met as a team on Saturday night to discuss how to handle the anthem following president Donald Trump’s tweets suggesting players who don’t stand for it should be fired. Coach Mike Tomlin told his players whatever they decided, they needed to do it as a team. When the group couldn’t reach a consensus, they opted to remove themselves from the situation by staying off the field until after the anthem was played. Villanueva reached out to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, asking if he could be at the front of the pack. Roethlisberger told Villanueva to meet in the tunnel four minutes before kickoff. Villanueva said he arrived early and walked out far enough to see the flag. He asked a security guard when the anthem would start and was told “20 seconds.” He turned back toward his teammates in the tunnel when the music began playing. So Villanueva did what he’s done his entire life: he stopped and put his right hand over his heart even as his mind raced. “The decision was ‘Do you walk out of the national anthem and join your teammates?'” Villanueva said. “I know that would have looked extremely bad. Or as a team do you start moving halfway through the national anthem? What you can get out of this is that we essentially butchered our plan.” Leaving the 29-year-old Villanueva and the Steelers in a difficult spot. Roethlisberger and the rest of the 53-man roster was ready to join Villanueva but was slowed by a group of Chicago fans exiting the field. Then the first verse was roaring through the loudspeakers and it was too late. “I wish today we would have continued down,” Roethlisberger said. “I know there would have been a lot of chaos and commotion because the guys behind us wouldn’t know what was going on. There was no division there. That’s just the way it appeared through pictures and cameras and stuff.” Roethlisberger said the entire team will take the field on Sunday when Pittsburgh plays in Baltimore, though it’s uncertain whether they will present a unified front or have some players protest in some form. Either way, they will be there alongside Villanueva, who defended his teammates for the surreal scene at Soldier Field, placing the blame on himself. “The entire team would have been out there with me, even the ones that wanted to take a knee would have been there with me had they known these extremely (difficult) circumstances,” he said. “Because of that I’ve made Mike Tomlin look bad, and that’s my fault and my fault only. I’ve made my teammates look bad and that’s my fault and my fault only. I also look bad and that’s my fault and my fault only.” Regardless of the actual intentions of all involved, the combination of Villanueva’s background and the striking image of his No. 78 cutting a singular figure against the Soldier Field grass on a politically charged afternoon across the NFL turned him into an unwitting cause celebrity. The former undrafted free agent whose professional football career nearly ended shortly after it began when he was cut by Philadelphia in 2014 had the most popular-selling jersey on the league’s website Monday. On social media, he was hailed as a hero for appearing to take a stance against the growing tide of protests that began when former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the 2016 season to bring attention to the issues of police brutality and racial injustice. Villanueva wasn’t doing anything of the sort. “That’s completely wrong, and every single time I see that picture of me standing by myself, I feel embarrassed to a degree because unintentionally I left my teammates behind,” he said. “It wasn’t me stepping forward. I never planned to boycott the plan that the Steelers came up with. I just thought there would be some middle ground where I could stand in the tunnel, nobody would see me.”