NAPLES Increasing amount of homeless seniors in SWFL Saint Matthew House told Wink News that 20% of the people they shelter are over 60 years old.
NAPLES Man suspected of threatening pickelballers with machete A man has been arrested after authorities say he chased a group of pickleball players off a Naples court. “I don’t know. It just seemed like he snapped,” said William Nehrkorn, father of one of the pickleball players. 53-year-old Pelican Marsh maintenance worker Joseph Devalle ran toward Nehrkorn’s son and friends, not with a paddle […]
NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
NAPLES Increasing amount of homeless seniors in SWFL Saint Matthew House told Wink News that 20% of the people they shelter are over 60 years old.
NAPLES Man suspected of threatening pickelballers with machete A man has been arrested after authorities say he chased a group of pickleball players off a Naples court. “I don’t know. It just seemed like he snapped,” said William Nehrkorn, father of one of the pickleball players. 53-year-old Pelican Marsh maintenance worker Joseph Devalle ran toward Nehrkorn’s son and friends, not with a paddle […]
NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
Credit: WINK News. Two people are facing criminal charges after they say they were stopped by deputies for not stopping at stop signs on their bicycles. It’s two separate cases of he said and she said versus deputies and what they said in Charlotte County. Nicole Christian and Shane Steward don’t know each other, but they share a similar experience. They both say Charlotte County deputies stopped them on their bikes and arrested them. Steward said he realized he was being followed as he was taking out his trash and as soon as he left his house. “I asked [the deputy] why she stopped me.,” Steward said in Port Charlotte. “She goes, ‘You didn’t see a stop sign back there.’ I said, ‘you’re stopping me for a stop sign?’” Christian said the deputy started out by telling her that her bike light was out, but she says it was not. Christian says the deputy then told her she ran a stop sign. She says he had already turned his lights on to pull her over at that point, so she was trying to find a safe place to pull over. “If I had stopped at the stop sign, [the deputy] would have got me for attempting to elude because I continued after stopping,’” Christian said in Port Charlotte. Both were stopped for running a stop sign but not while they were driving cars. They were riding their bikes. Steward was going to work at 4 a.m. And Christian was riding her bike home after midnight. Their experiences happened 18 months apart, and neither made it to their destination. “She put the siren on, so that’s when I pulled off to the side of the road at a friend’s house,” Steward said. “I felt safe there because there’s a lot of lights in the side of his house, so that’s where I stopped at.” “I pointed down here to this intersection where there is a light, and I said, ‘I’ll stop down there,’” Christian said. Both Steward and Christian told us they counted five deputies on the scene. Shane was pulled over in early October and claims one of the responding deputies pulled on his arm. “I asked the officer not to grab me,” Steward said. “He said, ‘calm down bro, calm down’. I said, ‘I am calm. I just don’t want you touching me.’” Deputies arrested Steward for resisting arrest and attempting to elude officers. Deputies arrested Christian in February 2018 for refusing to provide identification. Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office shared a statement in response to why the traffic stops for both Steward and Christian led to criminal charges, which are documented in arrest reports for both individuals: “For the arrest of Shane Steward, I pulled the arrival times that were stamped into the call from each of the deputies. The deputy called in the traffic stop at 3:47 a.m. Two additional deputies assigned themselves to the call once the initial deputy advised he was not stopping. This is a very normal practice, as it raises concerns for officer safety when someone is not stopping during a traffic stop. An additional deputy arrived at 3:54 a.m. On this call log, I am unable to see when they cleared, but the last deputy that arrived appeared to only show up to transport the bicycle to impound, as he didn’t arrive until 3:59 a.m. and did transport the bicycle.” “As far as commenting further on each arrest, both PCA’s clearly outline the violation of law each person committed. In both cases, a traffic stop turned into criminal charges due to their actions which are documented in the report. Deputies conduct traffic stops in a professional and consistent manner. In both of the cases referenced by the Charlotte Sun, the violator’s actions during the traffic stop (fleeing the stop, refusing to provide identification) determined that the incident ended in their arrest. Neither person has filed a complaint regarding their arrest with our Professional Compliance division and Nicole Christian was found guilty after a trial in 2018.” “Traffic safety is important, and deputies are tasked with enforcing traffic violations during their daily patrol. Depending on availability, it is common practice to provide each other back-up and in cases where someone is not cooperating or displaying other concerning behavior (to include fleeing) more than one deputy is likely to arrive until the scene is under control and safe.” “To answer your inquiry on statistics; January 1, 2018-present, we’ve written 518 citations for stop signs. It was tricky to pull ones just for bicycles because there is not a check box on the citation for bicycle vs. motor vehicle. Our IT people looked into it and we believe that 3 of the citations were for bicycles and not vehicles.” Neither Christian nor Steward filed complaints with the sheriff’s office after their arrests. Both return to court in November. Steward will stand trial. Christian wants her record cleared. “You’re gonna charge me as a felony,” Steward said. “That stays with you for life.” “I don’t know where to go to clear my name,” Christian said. “To get the truth out. To find justice.”