Gold Star Golf Tournament honors fallen veteranHow TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat
ESTERO Gold Star Golf Tournament honors fallen veteran Behind each putt and swing of a golf club at the Gold Star Golf Tournament is someone who knew John Wirka Junior.
NEW YORK (AP) How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form?
FORT MYERS Man wanted for armed robbery at Fort Myers convenience store Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help identifying an armed robber who held up a convenience store Saturday morning.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, inappropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
ESTERO Gold Star Golf Tournament honors fallen veteran Behind each putt and swing of a golf club at the Gold Star Golf Tournament is someone who knew John Wirka Junior.
NEW YORK (AP) How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form?
FORT MYERS Man wanted for armed robbery at Fort Myers convenience store Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help identifying an armed robber who held up a convenience store Saturday morning.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, inappropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Photo via Pexels These days, when your phone rings, there’s a good chance it’s an unwanted robocall. “The number of robocalls is increasingly tremendously,” said Margot Saunders, Senior Counsel for the National Consumer Law Center. “(There were) three billion robocalls in March 2018.” Recent testimony from the Federal Trade Commission revealed it received more than 4.5 million complaints about robocalls in the 2017 fiscal year. Even the Miami man dubbed the “robocall kingpin” admits to receiving plenty of unsolicited calls himself. “I decline the call,” Adrain Abramovich told Senate panel recently. “I never answer the phone.” Abramovich is currently facing a $120 million dollar FCC fine for allegedly making 97 million robocalls in a three-month span. His attorney declined an interview request from CBS 4, but earlier this month, Abramovich testified after being subpoenaed by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. “My involvement has been overstated. I am not the kingpin of robocalling as has been said,” Abramovich explained. “When there’s a robocall, automatically they are criminals, it’s a scam. They’re all a scam. Not all are a scam. Some are legitimate people trying to sell something.” In reality, the National Consumer Law Center says of the 20 most prolific robocallers, 15 are debt collectors and at least two are scammers. The problem is fraudsters don’t care about that list and will keep calling anyway because so far, they’ve gotten away with it. “There is no silver bullet. A big part of the problem is that technology has made it easy and cheap to engage in this kind of behavior,” said Rosemary Harold with the FCC. Abramovich agrees. “There is software out there where people can make thousands of phone calls in the click of a button,” he said. A quick search yielded more than a million results for “robocall service”. We picked one and signed up for the free service. Within minutes, we’d sent a robocall. It was that easy. Robocalls are not all bad, of course. They’re useful when confirming appointments, reminding you of prescriptions and alerting you to emergencies. But the key here is “consent”. Phone service providers like AT&T, Comcast and Sprint offer programs to block the incessant, unwanted robocalls. But Kevin Rupy with the United States Telecom Association says even that won’t stop the problem completely. “We are not going to block our way out of this problem,” Rupy said. “We need to take a holistic approach in terms of getting tools out there, informing consumers and criminal and civil enforcement.” Senators have introduced the ROBOCOP (Repeated Objectionable Bothering Of Consumers On Phones) Act, which would require phone companies to offer free effective tools to block robocalls. In Florida, you can fill out an online complaint form for unwanted robocalls with the Division of Consumer Services. The online form can be found here. You can also add your name to the Florida Do Not Call Program here.