Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s reopens after six weeksCaught on Camera: Accused Dollar General thief arrested
MATLACHA Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s reopens after six weeks Popular Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s has reopened just six weeks after enduring damage from back-to-back storms.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Accused Dollar General thief arrested A man accused of robbing a Dollar General store is behind bars.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Ward 4 candidate seeks vote recount In the race for Fort Myers city council, Cindy Banyai lost the Ward 4 race to incumbent Liston Bochette by just 77 votes or 1.58% of the vote.
FORT MYERS Lee County considers adding second fixed-base operator to RSW The Lee County Port Authority is officially moving forward with negotiations for a new fixed-base operator at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW).
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral roofing business owes $2M to IRS after guilty plea The owner of a Cape Coral roofing business owes the Internal Revenue Service over $2 million after pleading guilty to fraud charges.
FDA approves new shoulder implant From high school seniors to senior citizens, more than 100,000 people will need a shoulder replacement each year.
Private Sky sues future competitor at RSW Private Sky Aviation Services will be getting future competition from a company with trillions of dollars in assets.
Taberna Burntwood opens rebranded tavern at Mercato in North Naples The Mercato restaurant’s difference in decor is clearly striking. Taberna is less rustic and more modern.
Law enforcement presence at Alfie Oakes’ North Naples home and Immokalee packing house Several federal and state law enforcement agencies were at Alfie Oakes’ home and packing house for an investigation that remains undisclosed.
IONA Iona home catches fire, at least 2 vehicles also ruined A person lost their home and at least two vehicles after a fire engulfed their property.
FORT MYERS LeeTran scheduled to resume trolley system this month LeeTran brings back the popular seasonal River District trolleys and Fort Myers Beach tram later this month.
MBA Transportation no longer sole transporter at RSW After serving Southwest Florida locals and travelers for nearly 20 years, MBA Transportation is being forced to leave its booth at Southwest Florida International Airport.
WINK NEWS Veterans Day events across Southwest Florida Veterans Day is a time to honor and celebrate the sacrifices and bravery of those who have served in the military.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man accused of possessing child pornography A Cape Coral man has been arrested this week after allegedly being caught in possession of child pornography.
FORT MYERS Free dental work for veterans event to be held in Fort Myers The Fort Myers Laser Dentistry will provide free dental work for veterans as part of its Day of Service Program.
MATLACHA Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s reopens after six weeks Popular Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s has reopened just six weeks after enduring damage from back-to-back storms.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Accused Dollar General thief arrested A man accused of robbing a Dollar General store is behind bars.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Ward 4 candidate seeks vote recount In the race for Fort Myers city council, Cindy Banyai lost the Ward 4 race to incumbent Liston Bochette by just 77 votes or 1.58% of the vote.
FORT MYERS Lee County considers adding second fixed-base operator to RSW The Lee County Port Authority is officially moving forward with negotiations for a new fixed-base operator at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW).
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral roofing business owes $2M to IRS after guilty plea The owner of a Cape Coral roofing business owes the Internal Revenue Service over $2 million after pleading guilty to fraud charges.
FDA approves new shoulder implant From high school seniors to senior citizens, more than 100,000 people will need a shoulder replacement each year.
Private Sky sues future competitor at RSW Private Sky Aviation Services will be getting future competition from a company with trillions of dollars in assets.
Taberna Burntwood opens rebranded tavern at Mercato in North Naples The Mercato restaurant’s difference in decor is clearly striking. Taberna is less rustic and more modern.
Law enforcement presence at Alfie Oakes’ North Naples home and Immokalee packing house Several federal and state law enforcement agencies were at Alfie Oakes’ home and packing house for an investigation that remains undisclosed.
IONA Iona home catches fire, at least 2 vehicles also ruined A person lost their home and at least two vehicles after a fire engulfed their property.
FORT MYERS LeeTran scheduled to resume trolley system this month LeeTran brings back the popular seasonal River District trolleys and Fort Myers Beach tram later this month.
MBA Transportation no longer sole transporter at RSW After serving Southwest Florida locals and travelers for nearly 20 years, MBA Transportation is being forced to leave its booth at Southwest Florida International Airport.
WINK NEWS Veterans Day events across Southwest Florida Veterans Day is a time to honor and celebrate the sacrifices and bravery of those who have served in the military.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man accused of possessing child pornography A Cape Coral man has been arrested this week after allegedly being caught in possession of child pornography.
FORT MYERS Free dental work for veterans event to be held in Fort Myers The Fort Myers Laser Dentistry will provide free dental work for veterans as part of its Day of Service Program.
Lauren Bonica with Collier County emergency management. Credit: WINK News. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is circulating a petition and has sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking for a field hospital and additional personal protective equipment for farmworkers. Thursday, a spokesperson for Collier County told WINK News by email that right now there is not a need for a field hospital in the area based on the amount of bed space available in surrounding areas of the county. The CIW disagreed and sent a statement that said in part: “We feel that this is exactly the time to be working on preparations for an alternative care site in Immokalee, given that current projections predict the surge of cases to hit SW Florida in the next week and half to two weeks, and the process of getting an alternative care site up and running can take at least two weeks” MORE: Statement from Coalition of Immokalee Workers to WINK News Lauren Bonica with Collier County emergency management said in an interview with WINK News reporter Lauren Sweeney that they are “inching closer” to needing to assess whether or not they’ll need to look to converting hotels or convention center sites into “non-congregate sheltering”. “This non-congregate sheltering is kind of the reverse of of what we’ve done with hurricane season hurt all this time,” Bonica said. “Normally bring everybody together under one roof to protect them, but we need to do the reverse in order to protect them right now.” Boinica said there is capacity at hospitals in Naples to treat the Immokalee community and that ambulance services and transportation would be provided to bring them there. A major concern for Coaltion of Immokalee Workers is the difficulty in participating in social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. Farmworkers pack buses to get to fields and live sometimes ten persons to one trailer. Khristine Hollingsworth with the Florida Department of Health in Collier County said hand-washing stations have been set up at bus stops, and it’s been working with bus drivers to educate the Immokalee community. “We can encourage farm workers while they’re waiting for the bus if they could stand six feet away from each other,” Holingsworth. “While they’re waiting for the bus, we’ve been working with the bus drivers to encourage workers to wash their hands before getting on the bus.” Here is Collier County’s full statement on protections put in place to protect Immokalee farm workers: Collier County Government in conjunction with The Florida Department of Health, Collier County Emergency Management, Collier County Sheriff, and other community partners, are aware and working to address the unique needs of the Immokalee community. We understand the concern and continue to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, various non-profits in the community, as well as with the growers and farms to formulate solutions. The goal of this comprehensive approach is to support ongoing community-wide efforts to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Immokalee. The Florida Department of Health continues to provide their services and COVID-19 testing in Immokalee. The Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida continues to provide medical care and COVID-19 testing in Immokalee. A field hospital concept has been evaluated and determined unnecessary at this time due to apparent capacity at local hospitals. Other measures and communications provided include: Rolling bulletin board in Spanish and Creole CCSO signage placed throughout Immokalee with COVID-19 related information in English, Spanish, Creole Eight hand washing stations have been loaned to the bus stations from Lipman. Water- supplied by Immokalee Fire; soap will be replaced by the Coalition of Farm Workers and their teams. Soap is being provided by Lipman, FDEM/CCEM/FLDOH. Stations secured by CCSO. Additional outreach efforts: All flyers and handouts are translated in English, Spanish, Creole COVID-19 specific handout is translated into Mam Forwarded information available to the public from DOH and Collier County Government to all non-English speaking media and agencies in Collier County (over 500 contacts). Continuing Social Media Coverage Daily interviews with area radio stations. LaLay Radio, Conciencia Radio, Haitian Radio Kowona Kronik Television interviews with Telemundo and Accion Hispana Forwarded information available to the public from DOH and Collier County Government to all non-English speaking media and agencies in Collier County (over 500 contacts). Continuing Social Media Coverage Planning and ordering of potential isolation bed space via travel trailer for Immokalee Planning and developing PA broadcast system of communicating prevention messages in English, Spanish, Creole throughout Immokalee area Participation on twice weekly communication calls with Immokalee non-profits and Coalition of Immokalee Workers regarding unmet needs Continued conversations with the growers and industry partners about farm worker safety 2000 hygiene kits were given to the migrant and seasonal farm workers 10 pallets of water were delivered to Benison Center and distributed to Immokalee nonprofits. Met with the Coalition of Immokalee workers via Zoom multiple times to discuss the virus impacting their vulnerable community.