Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
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.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
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 Owners of Richards Building speak out over paint job of historic property The Richards Building in downtown Fort Myers, aged 101 years, recently underwent a controversial transformation with a fresh coat of white paint, defying a stop-work order and sparking public outrage.
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.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
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.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
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 Owners of Richards Building speak out over paint job of historic property The Richards Building in downtown Fort Myers, aged 101 years, recently underwent a controversial transformation with a fresh coat of white paint, defying a stop-work order and sparking public outrage.
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.
Bills are piling up and tensions are running high in Southwest Florida due to unemployment. For many community members, the unemployment process is failing. We continue to listen to those who reach out to us and press the state for answers. We have heard from hundreds of Southwest Florida community members the unemployment website isn’t working. And when you finally get through to someone over the phone, they can’t help you. Everyone is trying to solve different problems but sharing the same frustrations. Karen McInerney says she went on unemployment back in December, and her benefits ran out in March. But she had started a job with the City of Cape Coral at Sun Splash Family Waterpark. “I did only work for two days, it was a Saturday and Sunday,” McInerney said. “And then the city closed to the park.” Even though she lost her new job because of the pandemic, she says the system won’t let her apply again now. “The website is very user unfriendly,” McInerney said. “There’s no one-size-fits-all way you can check off what your situation is.” McInerney says she should at least get the chance to apply for federal benefits. “Under the CARES Act, if you had a job and you lost your job due to the pandemic, you are entitled to $600 a week,” McInerey said. “And that’s what I’m looking for.” Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s switching up the leadership at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Now, the governor is putting Jonathan Satter, the Department of Management Services Secretary, in charge of the unemployment response. “I want this to be done quickly, and I want to know, like every morning, I should have … how many claims have been paid,” DeSantis said. “Right now, it’s hard for me to even get those numbers, and that’s unacceptable.” DeSantis hopes this will get things moving. “Really, I think what people want more than anything is to actually see the money being turned around,” DeSantis said. And the governor is right, McInerney and everyone who have reached out to WINK News say they just need some relief and now. “It’s still not working,” McInerey said. “It’s a disaster, and the people deserve better.” We asked DEO representatives about this specific situation Thursday. And they said, even if a person exhausted their benefits, the pandemic emergency unemployment compensation is available. They did not let us know how someone such as McInerey could apply for that. Thursday, DeSantis signed an executive order to suspend the need to log onto the unemployment website every two weeks to confirm your job status. He hopes it will reduce the number of people who are using the website. Therefore, it might keep the website from crashing. He says this is only a short-term fix. Thursday afternoon, Florida Senate President Bill Galvano sent out a memo to all state senators, explaining the unemployment rate forecast and timeline for reemployment assistance. MORE: MEMO Fiscal Updates Related to COVID-19 As we get answers to your questions from FDEO, we’re posting them on our FAQ: Unemployment Resources page. UNEMPLOYMENT RESOURCES Unemployment FAQs Where you can pick up paper applications Mobile application for new applicants Original website for existing applicants Unemployment paper application Help with resetting your PIN with CareerSource