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.
Gregory Payan /Associated Press Minnesota Twins prospect and Connecticut native Ryan Costello has been found dead in his Auckland hotel room days after joining the Auckland Tuatara in the Australian Baseball League. The 23-year-old third baseman died in his sleep, apparently of natural causes, on Monday morning, team officials said. Costello, who grew up in Wethersfield, Conn., was an All-Conference and All-State selection from Wethersfield High School. “The Tuatara express their deepest condolences to Ryan’s family back home in the United States and to the whole Minnesota Twins organization,” the club said in the statement. The statement said Costello’s teammates were “naturally devastated” by the news. Concerns were raised when Costello failed to report for training Monday morning, days ahead of the Tuatara’s opening game of the 2019-2020 ABL season. We are saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Ryan Costello. The entire Twins organization sends our most sincere condolences to Ryan's family, friends, coaches, and teammates. pic.twitter.com/TXwztkmgQA — Minnesota Twins (@Twins) November 18, 2019 Born in Hartford, Conn., on June 13, 1996, Costello played in the Mariners’ minor leagues for the Clinton Lumberjacks and later for the Fort Myers Miracle teams during their 2018 championship run. The club signed Costello in September, after he had hit 15 home runs in the 2019 minor leagues for the Twins organization, Newshub New Zealand reported. Manager Steve Mintz said at the time, that the team was excited to add Costello. He said, “Costello will be huge, because he can play all over the field – first base, third base, as well as left field and right field. He is a left bat and will ground out at-bats for us, while providing some pop.” Costello also played for the Central Connecticut State University baseball team. In 2015, he played in 37 games, making 34 starts as a freshman for the Blue Devils. In 2017, he tied a CCSU single-season record with 22 doubles and hit a league-leading nine home runs. In an interview with Twins Daily in October, 2018. he said, “I went and checked out Central. I liked it. I had known about Central my whole life. I’m only 15 minutes from the school. I had gone to their basketball games and I’d heard that the program was good. So when the time came, a couple of weeks later, I hadn’t heard from many other schools. It was … I wanted to go there. I didn’t want to make them wait. I made a decision early in the recruiting process and it ended up working out.” As a youth, Costello and his family went to several New Britain Rock Cats. The team was a Double-A affiliate of the Twins for many years. “I remember thinking that was pretty cool and thinking there were some big time players who came through Connecticut.” Following the collegiate baseball season, he played for the Bristol Blues. After his junior year, he was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 31st round of the 2017 MLB draft. Costello was traded to Minnesota last year as part of a deal that sent Zach Duke to the Seattle Mariners. Costello told Twins Daily that said his greatest strength is “my ability to stay positive through tough times and understand that it’s part of the game and ups and downs are going to come.” He spoke of his desire to spend time with family after his first professional season in 2019. “My dad has a bass boat and has had it since I was a kid. The first thing we do when I go home is go fishing. I’ve been home for seven days, I’ve been out fishing about four those days. I live about five minutes from a river, the Connecticut River, so we go fishing on the river a lot.” On Auckland Tuatara team’s Facebook page, Mike Harrison posted, “On behalf of his family here at home thank you for everyone who got to meet him there he said it was beautiful and the people were so nice! We are deeply saddened and are in disbelief we loved him so much! He will be missed forever.” Reporting by the Associated Press used in this story.