Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customersWINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn
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.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
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.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
Photo via MGN In a matter of seconds, crooks can compromise credit card readers at gas pumps, ATM’s and even store checkouts, but a new tool will soon help police, catch skimmers with just one swipe. Professor Patrick Traynor with the University of Florida studies ways to detect skimmers. “The bad guys are making these increasingly small and even more difficult to find in the machines and you’d never know it was there,” he said. Dr. Traynor and his team developed the “Skim Reaper,” a product that’s so far been successful at detecting the illegal devices. What looks like a credit card is attached to small box. By inserting the card, the Skim Reaper can tell you if the card was read twice; a tell-tale sign that a skimmer is present. The Reaper can detect two kinds of skimmers, an external overlay which fits over a credit card reader, and what’s called a deep insert which is inserted inside the credit card slot, out of your sight. The New York City Police Department and the Gainesville Police Department have both tested the Skim Reaper and after positive results, UF is expanding its research. Now, dozens of police departments, retailers and financial institutions are buying the device to try it out on a wider scale. The Punta Gorda Police Department is one of those taking part in the program. “We’re very much about being proactive,” explained Punta Gorda Lt. Dylan Renz. *Story continues below map Don’t see the map? Click here to see where gas station skimmers were found. Within just this month, multiple skimmers were taken from pumps at one gas station along a busy stretch of Tamiami Trail in the city. A new ordinance recently went into effect requiring stations to put extra security on all gas pumps which will hopefully stop crooks from being able to slip a skimmer on the inside of the machine. However, that won’t stop the skimmer problem. “This [the Skim Reaper and the ordinance] is really going to deter criminals from coming here and installing any of these devices in our city,” said Lt. Renz. Punta Gorda Police are buying just one device to test during patrols. They hope to get their Skim Reaper delivered mid to late November. Meanwhile, we reached out to other Southwest Florida law enforcement agencies about the Skim Reaper and no else plans on getting the device. The Lee County Sheriff’s office says it cannot comment on what it “…considered an investigative tactic,” and would not say one way or the other, if they were going to get the device. For anyone to participate in the pilot program, the cost of the device is $450, which goes to offset manufacturing and research costs. However, UF hopes to get the cost down significantly in order to make it available to the public by mid-2019. The following jurisdictions passed an ordinance requiring gas pumps to add extra security to prevent criminals from putting a skimmer on the inside of the pump. A number of other areas are considering passing similar rules. Read the full gas skimmer ordinance for the municipalities that have passed or introduced them: Cape Coral Ordinance Charlotte County Ordinance Punta Gorda Ordinacne