Car crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries20th annual Hibiscus Festival begins in Punta Gorda
NAPLES Car crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A car crashed into a Naples building, and luckily, nobody was injured.
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.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle brushfire near Alico Road and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
NAPLES Car crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A car crashed into a Naples building, and luckily, nobody was injured.
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.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle brushfire near Alico Road and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
Image License Cropped Photo: Muramasa / CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) The minefield that coworkers and companies navigate when it comes to love at work has gotten even more complex following the recent flood of sexual misconduct allegations roiling Hollywood, politics and the media. Office relationships that might have flown under the radar — particularly those between boss and subordinate — are getting a new look. And even those who might be looking to ask a co-worker on a date are thinking twice. “People need to think hard before they enter into a workplace romance,” said Pennell Locey, a human resources expert at consulting firm Keystone Associates, who knows how complicated love can get in the workplace: She married a co-worker. The office is one of the most popular places to find a lover. One out of four — 24 percent — of employees reported they have been or are currently involved in a workplace romance, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. That might be changing with the recent slew of sexual harassment allegations putting a chill on things. MORE: 6 women claim Weinstein cover up was racketeering “One positive thing coming out of this is people are getting educated about what are the boundaries you should be conscious of,” she added. “It kind of takes if off autopilot.” Increasingly organizations are implementing a written or verbal policy on workplace romance — 42 percent in 2013 versus 25 percent in 2005, according to the most recent data available from the society. Most rules outlaw relationships between bosses and subordinates or push for “love contracts,” where workplace couples are required to disclose their relationships. But some people ignore the rules. “You can have a handbook and a policy and they’ll ignore everything in there, including the CEO on down,” said Joanne P. Lee, a vice president at N.K.S. Distributors in New Castle, Delaware, who has worked in human resources for 35 years. “Sometimes they think, ‘Oh, this doesn’t pertain to me.’ And I think that’s what got everyone in trouble.” Workplace romances have long played a part in pop culture, whether in the films “Broadcast News,” “Working Girl,” “Anchorman” and “Love Actually,” or on TV shows like “Mad Men,” “Cheers,” “The Office,” and “Moonlighting.” One top song this holiday season is Garth Brooks’ “Ugly Christmas Sweater,” with a line about “that pretty little girl from accounting.” In the real world, workplace relationships have been for better, and worse. Bill Gates met his wife Melinda at the office. Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick landed in prison because he lied under oath about his extramarital affair with a staffer. MORE: Franken announces resignation from Senate amid allegations The propriety of consensual work relationships is getting renewed attention this week after PBS announced it was suspending TV host Tavis Smiley following an independent investigation by a law firm, which uncovered “multiple, credible allegations of conduct that is inconsistent with the values and standards of PBS.” His show’s page at PBS was scrubbed on Thursday. Smiley responded to the allegations on Facebook, saying PBS “overreacted” and calling it “a rush to judgment.” “If having a consensual relationship with a colleague years ago is the stuff that leads to this kind of public humiliation and personal destruction, heaven help us,” he said. “This has gone too far. And, I, for one, intend to fight back.” Office relationships may grow more secretive if there is a knee-jerk reaction to try to outlaw all office romance, said Amy Nicole Baker, a psychology professor at the University of New Haven who has studied the topic. “We know from at least my work and some other peoples’ work that if you try to stamp out consensual attraction in the workplace, you just drive it underground,” she said. The experts say workplace romances — always fraught, risky propositions — have only gotten more anguished following the uncovering of abuses at offices nationwide. “Saturday Night Live” recently featured a skit with an overwhelmed HR manager reminding everyone of the rules. Joshua Lybolt can understand why companies are responding aggressively to new allegations, but he also understands workplace relations: He founded Lifstyl Real Estate in Crown Point, Indiana, with his wife, Magdalena, the same year they were married. “From an employer standpoint, I think they’re probably taking it too far, but I understand that from a risk-management issue, they want to mitigate conflict as much as possible,” he said. He said it’s just good policy to keep relationship issues out of the workplace. His company, which employs another married couple, has avoided problems, but “we all know how relationships can turn.” Just to be safe in his own marriage, he and his wife eventually started working from different offices.