Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: What needs to change to protect other young people? November 8, 2021, Jake Pfeiffer took his own life. His mom shared Jake’s story with WINK News in the hopes of saving another life.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal shooting of truck driver appears in court A man facing second-degree murder charges following an altercation with a pickup truck driver made an appearance in court.
NAPLES SUV crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A popular Naples restaurant is cleaning up after an SUV partially crashed into it, but luckily, nobody was hurt.
PUNTA GORDA 20th annual Hibiscus Festival begins in Punta Gorda The 20th annual Hibiscus Festival at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda begins Friday morning and runs all weekend.
WINK NEWS Lehigh Acres senior caretaker accused of stealing over $70K of patients’ jewelry A senior caretaker has been arrested for allegedly stealing over $70,000 of her patients’ jewelry and pawning it.
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle brushfire near Alico Road 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.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: What needs to change to protect other young people? November 8, 2021, Jake Pfeiffer took his own life. His mom shared Jake’s story with WINK News in the hopes of saving another life.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal shooting of truck driver appears in court A man facing second-degree murder charges following an altercation with a pickup truck driver made an appearance in court.
NAPLES SUV crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A popular Naples restaurant is cleaning up after an SUV partially crashed into it, but luckily, nobody was hurt.
PUNTA GORDA 20th annual Hibiscus Festival begins in Punta Gorda The 20th annual Hibiscus Festival at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda begins Friday morning and runs all weekend.
WINK NEWS Lehigh Acres senior caretaker accused of stealing over $70K of patients’ jewelry A senior caretaker has been arrested for allegedly stealing over $70,000 of her patients’ jewelry and pawning it.
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle brushfire near Alico Road 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.
FILE: Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday the state has an option agreement to buy 20,000 acres that Kanter Real Estate LLC owns in western Broward County. (Credit: The News Service of Florida/FILE) Florida is moving forward on a deal that would keep a piece of land in the Everglades from being used for oil production. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday the state has an option agreement to buy 20,000 acres that Kanter Real Estate LLC owns in western Broward County. Part of the land has been subject to years of litigation over the right to drill an exploratory oil well in the Everglades. The agreement gives the state 75 days to buy the land for $16.5 million, with the money coming from the Department of Environmental Protection or the South Florida Water Management District. The price tag would increase to $18 million if no deal is completed by June 30. “With this acquisition, there’ll be nearly 600,000 acres of wetlands in Water Conservation Area 3 (in the Everglades) that will be protected by public ownership for restoration and for recreation, and then obviously it will build off some of the things that we’re already doing,” DeSantis said during an event at Everglades Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. Last February, a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled the Department of Environmental Protection improperly rejected a recommended order by an administrative law judge, who said in 2017 that a permit should be approved for Kanter to drill an exploratory well. Kanter had applied in 2015 for the permit, which the department denied. While DeSantis said the state is also seeking to address separate plans to drill in Big Cypress National Preserve, the Kanter property is further along. “Legally they had, you know, the rights to do this on the land,” DeSantis said. “That’s why we had to have a negotiation and do this deal. If we could have won in court, obviously, we would have done that. I don’t think it was a situation where the law was being abused in a sense. The court kind of ruled what the law said, so, you gotta kind of take that and go forward.” Water Conservation Area 3 covers about 915 square miles in western Miami-Dade and Broward counties, where state efforts are trying to move billions of gallons of water south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. “This is guaranteeing that the heart of the Everglades is in public ownership and secure for future generations,” Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein said. The announcement drew quick support from environmental groups. “Drilling for oil in the water conservation area is incompatible with our commitment to restore this fragile ecosystem,” Audubon Florida Executive Director Julie Wraithmell said in a prepared statement. “This land is part of our water supply.” Money for the land would come from Comprehensive Everglades Restoration funds or from other sources, including the Florida Forever program, Valenstein said. Chauncey Goss, chairman of the South Florida Water Management District, said the state under DeSantis has been expediting critical restoration projects, including an Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir project that was approved by the Legislature.. “It’s going to be recognized nationally and internationally as an important step in restoring our Everglades,” Goss said of the Kanter land deal. The land is home to more than 60 endangered species, including the wood stork.