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 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico 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.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
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 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico 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.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FILE – This undated photo provided by Orange County Corrections shows Gustavo Falcon, the last of South Florida’s “Cocaine Cowboys”. Falcon was arrested Wednesday, April 12, 2017, some 26 years after he went on the lam, while on a 40-mile bike ride with his wife near the Orlando suburb where they apparently lived under assumed names. Gustavo Falcon, 55, also known as Taby, was booked into the Orlando County jail, Wednesday. He is scheduled to have his first appearance in Orlando federal court on Thursday, before his expected transfer to Miami. (Orange County Corrections via AP) A quarter-century after fleeing from the law, a man dubbed the last of Miami’s “cocaine cowboys” was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for playing a key role in one of the biggest drug trafficking operations of the violent 1980s smuggling era. Gustavo Falcon, 56, was a fugitive for 26 years before his capture last April living under an assumed name in Kissimmee, Florida, with his wife. Falcon, also known as “Taby,” disappeared in 1991 when he was indicted along with his older brother Augusto “Willie” Falcon, Salvatore “Sal” Magluta and many others. Gustavo Falcon pleaded guilty in February to a single cocaine distribution conspiracy charge. Authorities say the gang smuggled 75 tons (68,000 kilograms) of cocaine into the U.S. and made an estimated $2 billion during a time popularized by TV’s “Miami Vice” show. “That’s a lot of cocaine,” said U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno at Falcon’s sentencing hearing. “It’s so serious. He himself knows how serious it is.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Clark said Falcon was the “right-hand man” to his older brother. His jobs included keeping transaction ledgers, collecting millions of dollars in cocaine profits, finding stash houses for drugs and organizing tractor-trailer loads of drugs to be shipped from Southern California to Florida. “It was probably the most prolific smuggling operation we have found here in South Florida,” Clark said. “Obviously, this case has had a long and winding road.” Falcon was arrested a year ago by U.S. Marshals while on a bike ride with his wife, Amelia, in their quiet town not far from Disney World. In an apologetic letter to the judge, Falcon said he fled because he didn’t want to lose contact with his wife and two children, who are now grown. “I convinced myself that it was better to leave with my wife and children,” he wrote. “I was afraid that if I went to prison for a long time, my wife would move on, and my children would grow up without a father.” He added that he has “no grudge against the government. I did wrong and there is a price to pay.” Falcon attorney Howard Srebnick said that his time as a fugitive forced Falcon to live in seclusion, home-school his children and live a “very mundane, modest lifestyle.” Srebnick asked for a nine-year prison sentence. But Moreno said Falcon deserved no benefit for the restrictions he faced while hiding from the law. “You still have to pay for it,” the judge said. Falcon, who was born in Cuba, is the 10th and final defendant to face justice in the case, which was one of the more sensational among many trafficking cases when Miami was the chaotic center of the nation’s cocaine trade. Augusto Falcon and Magluta were acquitted at their 1996 trial, but it turned out the pair had bought off witnesses and at least one member of the jury with a $400,000 bribe. Magluta was tried a second time in 2002 and convicted of drug money-laundering, receiving a 205-year prison sentence that was later reduced to 195 years. Augusto Falcon took a plea deal in 2003 and was sentenced to 20 years, but has now been released and is attempting to prevent deportation to his native Cuba.