Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village DriveJake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people
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.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
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.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
Tax documents. WINK News photo. Americans are used to procrastinating when it comes to filing their taxes. This year, tax season is expected to see an even bigger delay—thanks to the government shutdown. The Internal Revenue Service is one of the many federal agencies that has closed its doors since Dec. 22. Only 12 percent of its staff are working—without pay—mostly focused on security and technology. The agency is not issuing refunds, updating tax forms or answering phone help lines, according to its shutdown plans. That’s making tax professionals sweat as they gird for an abridged filing window. The shutdown complicates an already complex tax season due to the myriad new regulations created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the sweeping bill signed into law by President Donald Trump in late 2017. “When I look in my tax software, which is professional tax software, there are many forms that haven’t been finalized,” said Steven Zelin, a CPA based in Manhattan. “We can’t file. And since the tax law changed so much, there’s a likelihood that there may be a delay” in starting the filing season, he added. Anyone hoping that an IRS shutdown means getting a breather on their taxes will be disappointed. The agency’s website says taxpayers “should file and pay their taxes as normal.” The problem is, the weeks before tax season are anything but “normal” at the IRS. They mark the end of its annual late-year closure and, this year, follow the biggest overhaul to the tax code since the 1980s. The IRS typically shuts down from November through the end of the year to update its systems with annual tax changes. That includes changes to many tax forms, which make the basis of calculations done by tax software, both professional software and programs used by consumers. In the last two years, the IRS has announced on Jan. 4 or 5 the date that people can start filing their taxes electronically, usually in the second or third week of January. As of Friday, it’s unclear when filing season begins. The IRS wasn’t immediately available for comment. “Typically around now, the first couple of weeks [of the year], we would hear something,” said Lisa Greene-Lewis, a CPA with TurboTax. Greene-Lewis and other tax preparers interviewed for this article said they hadn’t heard from the IRS ahead of the shutdown about how to proceed if the agency were closed. Greene-Lewis said TurboTax’s filing systems are ready to go even with IRS business at a standstill. Taxpayers can still file via the online tax tool, but the company will simply store their information until electronic filing opens, at which point they will transmit it. IRS won’t issue refunds during shutdown If the shutdown continues into the tax filing season, the IRS could recall additional staff, according to a union official. The agency still won’t issue refunds, however. That is considered less-than-essential (or “non-excepted,” in IRS jargon) activity, according to the agency’s shutdown plan. Far greater challenges face Americans who are in the midst of sorting out tax problems with the IRS, like audits, or those who have questions about tax returns. Angela Reed, a partner at Tarbell & Co., a CPA firm in Iowa, is trying to help a client who filed some nonprofit tax returns late. But with the IRS unstaffed, she’s at a standstill. “I can’t do anything with that, currently. I can’t call the IRS and have a discussion. “Reed, whose firm prepares about 4,000 tax returns every year, said she isn’t feeling a severe impact from the shutdown — yet. But she worries about potential delays in processing tax refunds if the shutdown drags on. Taxpayers who’ve been counting on a refund to pay off credit card bills wracked up during the holidays may feel themselves squeezed, in other words. The IRS issued 102 million tax refunds last year with a total value of $285 billion, according to eFile, a tax software site. Even before the shutdown, there were concerns IRS staffers wouldn’t be ready in time for tax season, given the extent of the changes in the 2017 tax law. “We just had the largest tax reform since 1986, and the IRS is having to do a lot of work to get ready for that,” said Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents workers at the IRS and elsewhere. “What I’ve heard from our members is concern that the training they were getting was in some instances outdated, incomplete—and this was before the shutdown,” Reardon said. “There’s a very real possibility that the tax filing season would have to be delayed.” “I was bracing for this,” said Jonathan Medows, a CPA in Manhattan. “I noticed years ago when the IRS makes these changes, [tax software companies] struggle to implement them…. And that’s in a good year, when you have just a few tax changes.” There’s no precedent for the IRS being shut down so close to tax season, added Mark Mazur, a former tax policy official at the Treasury and current director of the Tax Policy Center. The one that comes closest is the 27-day government shutdown in 1995, which stemmed from a conflict between Democratic President Bill Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress. That impasse ended on Jan. 6, 1996. “We’re currently in unprecedented territory here,” he said.