Latest details in Collier County daycare abuse revealedFort Myers Beach business owners awaiting information on trailers
Latest details in Collier County daycare abuse revealed On Friday, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office interviewed at least one more mom who sent her daughter to a daycare now under investigation for child abuse.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach business owners awaiting information on trailers Businesses around Fort Myers Beach have been anxiously waiting to hear whether or not they’re in the clear. FEMA said that all trailers and shipping containers that can’t be easily moved had to be off the island by Nov. 18.
Bear tears up car in Collier County A WINK News viewer from Collier County sent video of the damage after a bear destroyed their Dodge Durango.
PORT CHARLOTTE 17-year-old accused of murder to be tried as an adult A 17-year-old accused of killing his mother has been indicted and will be tried as an adult.
Naples World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday A World War II veteran is celebrating a huge milestone. Alfon Larson is celebrating his 100th birthday.
FORT MYERS Home and garden show this weekend in downtown Fort Myers It’s time to spruce up your home with a taste of the outdoors. This weekend is the 28th annual home and garden show in downtown Fort Myers.
Collier man arrested on multiple counts of child porn possession and transmission According to the Collier County Sheriff’s office, a Collier man is facing over four counts of possession and transmission of child sex abuse material.
New procedure to help ease rib pain You don’t have to be a top athlete to know the pain of a broken rib. Millions of people have experienced breaking or fracturing a rib or even several ribs.
FORT MYERS Music walk happening Friday evening in downtown Fort Myers It’s the third Friday of the month, so that means it’s time for Music Walk!
FORT MYERS 2 women critically injured; active deputy presence on Montgomery Ave. in Tice A heavy police presence has been reported on Montgomery Avenue in Tice.
Potbelly Sandwich Works opens first of eight SWFL locations Southwest Florida’s first of a planned eight Potbelly locations opened Sept. 20.
Pet for a Vet surpasses fundraiser goal, nearly $29k donated The Pet for a Vet fundraiser held by WINK News’ sister radio station, 96.9 WINKFM, easily surpassed its goal of $15,000.
Expert: Bank of America’s minimum wage increase is positive for SWFL banking industry Bank of America is raising its hourly minimum wage to $24 for full-time and part-time employees. This could be good news for the banking industry and customers in general, Florida Gulf Coast University Assistant Professor of Economics Krishna Regmi said.
Tim Aten Knows: Petar’s expands its local dining space A recent expansion of the local restaurant nearly doubled its size in the Center of Bonita Springs on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Bonita Beach Road. The restaurant grew from 1,545 to 2,830 square feet over the summer. “It’s getting big,” said chef-owner Petar Al Kurdi.
FWC enlists landowner’s assistance in endangered panther conservation The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is enlisting landowner’s assistance for the Florida Panther Payment for Ecosystem Services pilot program.
Latest details in Collier County daycare abuse revealed On Friday, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office interviewed at least one more mom who sent her daughter to a daycare now under investigation for child abuse.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach business owners awaiting information on trailers Businesses around Fort Myers Beach have been anxiously waiting to hear whether or not they’re in the clear. FEMA said that all trailers and shipping containers that can’t be easily moved had to be off the island by Nov. 18.
Bear tears up car in Collier County A WINK News viewer from Collier County sent video of the damage after a bear destroyed their Dodge Durango.
PORT CHARLOTTE 17-year-old accused of murder to be tried as an adult A 17-year-old accused of killing his mother has been indicted and will be tried as an adult.
Naples World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday A World War II veteran is celebrating a huge milestone. Alfon Larson is celebrating his 100th birthday.
FORT MYERS Home and garden show this weekend in downtown Fort Myers It’s time to spruce up your home with a taste of the outdoors. This weekend is the 28th annual home and garden show in downtown Fort Myers.
Collier man arrested on multiple counts of child porn possession and transmission According to the Collier County Sheriff’s office, a Collier man is facing over four counts of possession and transmission of child sex abuse material.
New procedure to help ease rib pain You don’t have to be a top athlete to know the pain of a broken rib. Millions of people have experienced breaking or fracturing a rib or even several ribs.
FORT MYERS Music walk happening Friday evening in downtown Fort Myers It’s the third Friday of the month, so that means it’s time for Music Walk!
FORT MYERS 2 women critically injured; active deputy presence on Montgomery Ave. in Tice A heavy police presence has been reported on Montgomery Avenue in Tice.
Potbelly Sandwich Works opens first of eight SWFL locations Southwest Florida’s first of a planned eight Potbelly locations opened Sept. 20.
Pet for a Vet surpasses fundraiser goal, nearly $29k donated The Pet for a Vet fundraiser held by WINK News’ sister radio station, 96.9 WINKFM, easily surpassed its goal of $15,000.
Expert: Bank of America’s minimum wage increase is positive for SWFL banking industry Bank of America is raising its hourly minimum wage to $24 for full-time and part-time employees. This could be good news for the banking industry and customers in general, Florida Gulf Coast University Assistant Professor of Economics Krishna Regmi said.
Tim Aten Knows: Petar’s expands its local dining space A recent expansion of the local restaurant nearly doubled its size in the Center of Bonita Springs on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Bonita Beach Road. The restaurant grew from 1,545 to 2,830 square feet over the summer. “It’s getting big,” said chef-owner Petar Al Kurdi.
FWC enlists landowner’s assistance in endangered panther conservation The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is enlisting landowner’s assistance for the Florida Panther Payment for Ecosystem Services pilot program.
U.S. Border Patrol agents watch as they take photos and video of the crowd protesting outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in El Paso, Texas, Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Ivan Pierre Aguirre/The San Antonio Express-News via AP) Trump administration officials say they have no clear plan yet on how to reunite the thousands of children separated from their families at the border since the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy in which anyone caught entering the U.S. illegally is criminally prosecuted. “This policy is relatively new,” said Steven Wagner, an acting assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services “We’re still working through the experience of reunifying kids with their parents after adjudication.” Federal officials say there are some methods parents can use to try to find their children: hotlines to call and an email address for those seeking information. But advocates say it’s not that simple. In a courtroom near the Rio Grande, lawyer Efren Olivares and his team with the Texas Civil Rights Project frantically scribble down children’s names, birthdates and other details from handcuffed men and women waiting for court to begin. There are sometimes 80 of them in the same hearing. The Texas Civil Rights Project works to document the separations in the hopes of helping them reunite with the children. More: Lawmakers barred from child migrant facility in Homestead They have one hour to collect as much information as they can before the hearing begins. The immigrants plead guilty to illegally entering the U.S., and they are typically sent either to jail or directly to an immigration detention center. At this point, lawyers with the civil rights group often lose access to the detainees. “If we don’t get that information, then there’s no way of knowing that child was separated,” Olivares said. “No one else but the government will know that the separation happened if we don’t document it there.” Olivares has documented more than 300 cases of adults who have been separated from a child. Most are parents, but some are older siblings, aunts, uncles or grandparents. Some are illiterate and don’t know how to spell the children’s names. More than 2,000 minors have been separated from their families since early May. The children are put into the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with the aim of keeping them as close to their parents as possible and reuniting the family after the case goes through the courts, said Wagner. But it’s not clear that’s working. More: AP: Gov’t holding “tender age” migrant kids in at least 3 shelters According to Olivares, the agency is generally “very willing to help,” often helping to find a child even if there’s a misspelling in the group’s records. But if a child has been transferred out of a government shelter – including if the child has been deported – agency representatives won’t give any information. “Sometimes the parent gives us contact information for a relative,” Olivares said. “If they have the phone number right and the phone number is working … we call that number and sometimes we’re able to locate that relative and ask them what they know.” In May, the Department of Justice adopted the zero-tolerance policy in which anyone caught entering the U.S. illegally is criminally prosecuted. Children can’t be jailed with their parents. Instead, after the adult is charged, children are held briefly by Homeland Security officials before being transferred to Health and Human Services, which operates more than 100 shelters for minors in 17 states. The department has set up new facilities to manage the influx of children, and Wagner said they were prepared to expand as more children come into custody. The children are classified as unaccompanied minors, a legal term generally used for children who cross the border alone and have a possible sponsor in the U.S. willing to care for them. Most of the more than 10,000 children in shelters under HHS care came to the U.S. alone and are waiting to be placed with family members living in the U.S. But these children are different – they arrived with their families. “They should just give the kids back to their parents. This isn’t difficult,” said Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gelernt represents a Brazilian asylum seeker in a closely watched lawsuit that seeks a nationwide halt to family separation. The woman, identified as Mrs. C in court documents, was split from her son for nearly a year after entering the country illegally in August near Santa Teresa, New Mexico. On Tuesday, Olivares’ team had seven people left to interview with five minutes left. They took down just the names, dates of birth, and countries of origin of the children. “One woman (said), ‘What about me, what about me?'” Olivares said a few hours later. “She wanted to give us information because she realized what we were trying to do.”