Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-insLee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-ins A Bonita Springs homeowner is sleeping with one eye open after her social security card was stolen from her car, an incident caught on video.
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.
FORT MYERS Exclusive: Florida Warriors president talks misunderstanding with city On Friday, the president of Florida Warriors Hockey got a letter saying that starting July 1, his program’s rink access at the Fort Myers Skatium would be cut from 48 hours a month to only eight hours a month.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded trying to serve warrant in North Carolina, authorities say Three law enforcement officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded Monday in a shootout at a Charlotte, North Carolina, home, police said.
CAPE CORAL Massive fire leaves Cape Coral businesses in shambles Several fire rescue trucks are responding to a structure fire at a commercial building in Cape Coral.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers residents concerned over abandoned boat A day out in the water turned into an alarming discovery for one North Fort Myers family.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers first responders stress safety after rollover crash Fort Myers fire department officials are pointing to safety and awareness following a recent rollover crash on Palm Beach Blvd. and Oasis Way.
NAPLES FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe’s determined heart is on the mound Former Barron Collier ace, now FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe is recovering from two open heart surgeries in five days.
Contrasting Lee, Collier and Charlotte homicide rates to nationwide numbers The Wall Street Journal says nationwide homicide rates have dropped by 20% compared to the numbers from 2023.
New program to make life more manageable for Parkinson’s patients A new program, backed by research, was created using the power of spin cycling to redefine the fight against Parkinson’s.
Medicaid class action gets go-ahead A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that alleges Florida did not properly inform people before dropping them from the Medicaid program after a COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
FORT MYERS New downtown Fort Myers parking options coming soon Two new spots are coming for you to park on nights and weekends in downtown Fort Myers, but you’ll still have to pay.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Family ‘sucker-punched’ in Lehigh Acres brawl A woman is speaking out about a conflict she was involved in at Barefoot Lake.
Miracle Moment: Christina Soriero Doctors diagnosed 22-year-old Christina Soriero with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when she was just 18. A time in her life when the only thing she should have been dealing with was senioritis and getting ready for life after high school.
DeSantis signs bill impacting new mothers and jury duty Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that will impact new mothers and their eligibility to serve on jury duty.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-ins A Bonita Springs homeowner is sleeping with one eye open after her social security card was stolen from her car, an incident caught on video.
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.
FORT MYERS Exclusive: Florida Warriors president talks misunderstanding with city On Friday, the president of Florida Warriors Hockey got a letter saying that starting July 1, his program’s rink access at the Fort Myers Skatium would be cut from 48 hours a month to only eight hours a month.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded trying to serve warrant in North Carolina, authorities say Three law enforcement officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded Monday in a shootout at a Charlotte, North Carolina, home, police said.
CAPE CORAL Massive fire leaves Cape Coral businesses in shambles Several fire rescue trucks are responding to a structure fire at a commercial building in Cape Coral.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers residents concerned over abandoned boat A day out in the water turned into an alarming discovery for one North Fort Myers family.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers first responders stress safety after rollover crash Fort Myers fire department officials are pointing to safety and awareness following a recent rollover crash on Palm Beach Blvd. and Oasis Way.
NAPLES FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe’s determined heart is on the mound Former Barron Collier ace, now FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe is recovering from two open heart surgeries in five days.
Contrasting Lee, Collier and Charlotte homicide rates to nationwide numbers The Wall Street Journal says nationwide homicide rates have dropped by 20% compared to the numbers from 2023.
New program to make life more manageable for Parkinson’s patients A new program, backed by research, was created using the power of spin cycling to redefine the fight against Parkinson’s.
Medicaid class action gets go-ahead A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that alleges Florida did not properly inform people before dropping them from the Medicaid program after a COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
FORT MYERS New downtown Fort Myers parking options coming soon Two new spots are coming for you to park on nights and weekends in downtown Fort Myers, but you’ll still have to pay.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Family ‘sucker-punched’ in Lehigh Acres brawl A woman is speaking out about a conflict she was involved in at Barefoot Lake.
Miracle Moment: Christina Soriero Doctors diagnosed 22-year-old Christina Soriero with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when she was just 18. A time in her life when the only thing she should have been dealing with was senioritis and getting ready for life after high school.
DeSantis signs bill impacting new mothers and jury duty Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that will impact new mothers and their eligibility to serve on jury duty.
This Dec. 5, 2017, photo shows Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus arriving at Saint Michael, Alaska, a remote island community off Alaska’s western coast. The Alaska National Guard visited the Bering Strait community as part of its annual Operation Santa Claus, delivering Santa and Mrs. Claus and presents to rural Alaska communities. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)http://epix.ap.org/# It’s not easy to get to Saint Michael, Alaska. Not even if you’re Santa Claus. Luckily, jolly old St. Nick could hitch a ride on a military transport plane to the tiny island community that’s closer to Russia than Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage. Santa and Mrs. Claus brought goodies that most Americans take for granted but come at a high cost in remote parts of the nation’s largest state: toys, books, personal hygiene supplies, fresh fruit and even ice cream. This Dec. 5, 2017, photo shows Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus arriving at Saint Michael, Alaska, a remote island community off Alaska’s western coast. The Alaska National Guard visited the Bering Strait community as part of its annual Operation Santa Claus, delivering Santa and Mrs. Claus and presents to rural Alaska communities. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) For some children, the toy they received during the visit last week will be the only one they get this year. Others hadn’t had real ice cream in years and have never seen Santa Claus in person. The visit marked the 61st year of the Alaska National Guard’s Operation Santa Claus, a community outreach program that tries to bring Kriss Kringle to two villages every year if the weather cooperates. A MAGICAL VISIT Like celebrities, Santa and Mrs. Claus, dressed in their red and white suits, waved as they stepped off the plane in the snow-covered Alaska Native village. Nearly the whole town, which is more than 400 miles west of the nearest mall Santa, packed the school gym and welcomed St. Nick with raucous applause. Every child, and even a few elders, got the chance to sit on his lap and whisper what they want for Christmas. Some kids just bawled their eyes out as they stared at Santa. SAINT MICHAEL The approximately 400 people of Yup’ik Eskimo and Russian heritage who live in the community off Alaska’s western coast subsist on seal, beluga whale, moose, caribou, fish and berries. Getting to cities like Fairbanks or Anchorage is a major expense, whether to see Santa or gather supplies, because of the state’s limited road system. So Mayor Bobbi Andrews jumped at the chance to host Santa in the town, which was once the farthest north Russian settlement in Alaska in the 19th century, according to a state database of communities. Saint Michael later boasted a population of nearly 10,000 when it served as an entry point during the 1897 Gold Rush, when miners used the nearby Yukon River to travel to interior Alaska. PLANES, PICKUPS AND DOG SLEDS The Alaska National Guard does the heavy lifting of getting Santa and his helpers to remote villages. Once the plane lands, however, it’s up to the community to get people to the event. In Saint Michael, a passenger van and pickup trucks ferried folks the 2 miles into town. In other villages, the transportation has ranged from a warm vehicle to sitting on a fur-lined dog sled pulled over snowy, bumpy roads by a snowmobile. A CHRISTMAS TREAT Ice cream seems like the wrong thing to bring people living in the frozen north, but residents gobbled it up as fast as Rich Owens could serve it. The Anchorage ice cream shop owner brought 450 containers of vanilla ice cream and sundae toppings. The dessert is an expensive purchase in Saint Michael, costing about $17 a gallon. Joel Heath, 12, hadn’t had fresh ice cream in two years, not since a family trip to Anchorage. His sundae towered with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry. “It tastes real delicious,” he said. THE GIFT OF FRUIT Volunteer elf Deborah Vo remembers being a child when Operation Santa Claus came to the small community of Saint Mary’s in the late 1960s or early 1970s. A plane landed on the frozen Andreafsky River. “It’s like coming full circle,” she said. “I was once that little naughty village girl on the banks of the Andreafsky waiting for Santa Claus.” For Vo, the greatest gift she received that day didn’t have to be unwrapped, it had to be peeled: an apple and an orange. The costs of transporting goods to the Yup’ik village “were pretty high, and if we did get fresh anything, it would come rotten because of the cold.” “Having a fresh apple and a fresh orange was one of the best Christmas presents ever,” Vo said.