Bay Street Yard set to open in late MayAetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
Over the past decade, 47 dogs have died during or within days of grooming at PetSmart stores across the country, an investigation by NJ Advance Media found. The most recent death occurred on Monday, after a dog in Texas died just hours after leaving a PetSmart, KTVT reports. SIPA VIA AP IMAGES / DAFFIN FAMILY VIA KTVT Over the past decade, 47 dogs have died during or within days of grooming at PetSmart stores across the country, an investigation by NJ Advance Media, published by NJ.com, has found. The most recent death occurred on Monday, after a dog in Texas died just hours after leaving a PetSmart, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reports. Thirty-two of the deaths have occurred since the start of 2015, according to the investigation. That was the same year PetSmart was bought out by a private equity firm. The nine-month investigation is based on reports by PetSmart customers in 14 states and found 25 different breeds had died. PetSmart does millions of groomings a year, The Associated Press reports, so the deaths only represent a tiny fraction of the pets groomed by the retailer. Brachycephalic dogs — those with short noses and smushed faces, such as English bulldogs and similar breeds — accounted for 20 of the 47 deaths, according to the investigation. These breeds can have trouble breathing, especially in stressful or hot environments, according to NJ.com. PetSmart has offered out-of-court payments for owners whose pets died, the investigation found. The investigation was prompted by the death of an English bulldog named Scruffles, who died after getting groomed at a PetSmart in Flemington, New Jersey. One of the most recent deaths was that of a Yorkie named Teddy in Duncanville, Texas, who died on Monday, just hours after leaving PetSmart, CBS DFW reports. The dog’s owner, Tim Daffin, said the 13-year-old dog seemed unusually subdued, even weak, when he picked him up from the store. Daffin said he could hear the dog panting loudly on the way home, “so I stopped the truck and kind of checked on him and was like, ‘Are you having trouble breathing?'” Teddy died a couple of hours later. Daffin and his wife later went online and learned other PetSmart customers around the country had reported similar unexplained deaths after groomings. “I would like to tell anybody that may be taking their dogs up there just to be mindful and be careful… because I didn’t know,” Daffin said. “Something is absolutely wrong.” “At PetSmart, nothing is more important than the safety of the pets in our care,” the company said in a September 17 statement, released before the investigation was published. “That is why we have set the highest grooming safety standards in the industry.” PetSmart says their stylists complete 800 or more hours of hands-on instruction, receive a safety certification and they have experience working with at least 200 dog breeds. “In addition, stylists complete annual safety re-certification and participate in quarterly grooming safety training sessions,” PetSmart said. “While it’s clear we have set the highest safety standards in the industry, we are always looking to improve,” PetSmart said in the statement. The company says it implemented a “comprehensive safety plan” in February 2018 to provide pets with an even safer and more enjoyable experience. Groomers and veterinarians say groomings anywhere can present a number of potential dangers to dogs, including overheating, intense stress and rough handling, if safety measures are not followed, the AP reports. PetSmart released a statement in response to the investigation, stating there are 14 names in the story “which we have no record of a groom or incident occurring.” “PetSmart works every day to be the trusted partner to pet parents. If an accident or policy violation occurs while a pet is in our care, we take immediate action and full responsibility,” the statement said, in part. The company hosted a nationwide open house event last Sunday for customers to tour their salons and meet their groomers.