Black bear spotted in downtown Fort MyersCar with bullet holes towed away from Cape Coral home after police search car, home
FORT MYERS Black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers A Florida black bear had been spotted in downtown Fort Myers early Monday morning. FWC is responding to relocate the bear.
CAPE CORAL Car with bullet holes towed away from Cape Coral home after police search car, home A Mercedes with at least one bullet hole has been towed from a Cape Coral home.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
FORT MYERS Black bear spotted in downtown Fort Myers A Florida black bear had been spotted in downtown Fort Myers early Monday morning. FWC is responding to relocate the bear.
CAPE CORAL Car with bullet holes towed away from Cape Coral home after police search car, home A Mercedes with at least one bullet hole has been towed from a Cape Coral home.
WINK NEWS Hot and dry Monday afternoon before isolated storms pop up this evening On Monday morning, the weather is starting mild and humid with temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
Disney theme park (CBS News) Although Walt Disney executives have remained mum on when the company’s theme parks will reopen in the U.S., recent steps by the entertainment giant suggest it’s preparing to unlock the doors soon. One sign is that Disney Springs, the restaurant and shopping area inside Walt Disney World Resort outside Orlando, Florida, will reopen May 20. The move hints that Disney believes it can handle thousands of visitors on its property while ensuring no one will catch the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. It also means that the resort hotel and theme park rides and water attractions could reopen next because those are the only two sections that will still be closed. Another sign: Disney Shanghai Resort welcoming back visitors May 11. Reserve tickets in China have already sold out, with some days’ slots going within minutes. An exact date for U.S. theme parks reopening is unknown, but there’s one thing for certain: Visitors will walk into into a vastly different park experience than what they remember pre-coronavirus. There will be fewer people in the park as a way to ensure social distancing, everyone will be wearing masks — workers and visitors — and families likely won’t be able to take pictures with Elsa, Aladdin and some of the other popular Disney characters. “They’ll need to keep their costs down, so they’re not going to open every hot dog stand, and some rides won’t be available,” said Martin Lewison, a business professor at Farmingdale State College in New York who studies the amusement parks industry. Disney might make visitors reserve a time slot to ride Space Mountain instead of letting visitors wait in lengthy rollercoaster lines, said Scott Smith, who teaches amusement park management at the University of South Carolina. Disney employees who don full costumes to portray Goofy, Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse will likely interact with families because the costume headpieces can act as masks, Smith said. But employees who portray unmasked characters like Princess Jasmine or Pocahontas likely won’t be present because they would have to do so while wearing masks — and Disney would hardly want pictures or videos surfacing of their key characters in masks, said Smith, a former Disney employee. It’s worth reopening theme parks soon, despite the limits, because utility bills are piling up at the facilities and there will be high demand initially, the experts said. “People have been cloistered in their homes and they just need to get out,” Smith said. Disney World and Disneyland were closed by March 15 as coronavirus cases increased across the nation. Days later, Disney halted its cruiselines. The company’s retail stores and theater shows also have closed. The company is likely losing about $500 million for every two weeks the Disneyland and DisneyWorld theme parks remain closed, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said during a conference call with analysts this week. Disney will be operating at a loss immediately after reopening the parks, but getting some income from fewer visitors is better than getting no money at all, Lewison said. A lesson from China? The theme park experts cautioned that their thoughts are educated guesses. There’s no way of knowing what rules Disney will impose. The company’s reopening procedures in China, however, might serve as a sneak peek at what’s to come stateside. When Disney Shanghai reopens, visitors and staff must wear masks except when eating. “The only characters that will not wear masks are the face characters and they’ll be at a distance from crowds,” CEO Bob Chapek said in an earnings call this week to discuss the company’s latest financial results. Visitors returning to Disney Shanghai in May will have to keep their distance from others. An image shows ground signage directing patrons on how far to stand apart when waiting for rides or restaurant food. (WALT DISNEY CO.) Disney Shanghai visitors must also undergo a temperature screening at the gate and maintain proper distance while waiting in line for rides and restaurants. There will be hand sanitizer stations at the restaurant and stores. Tickets will be sold online only and offer specific dates and entrance times. To minimize crowds, Chinese officials also placed a 30% capacity limit on the Shanghai resort, a facility that normally sees 80,000 visitors daily. That means the park can only accommodate 24,000 patrons per day “We’re going to actually open up far below that just to have our training wheels on with our new procedures and processes to make sure we don’t have any lines backing up either as guests are entering into the park or as they wade through the park,” Chapek said in the earnings call. There’s no promise the company will handle U.S. theme parks through reservations the same way it’s doing in Shanghai, Chapek added. But some of those same measures will likely appear in Florida and California, both Lewison and Smith said, particularly the decreased capacity limits, masks and hand sanitizing stations. Disney plans to reopen Disney Springs with “limitations on capacity, parking and operating hours,” Vice President Matt Simon said in a statement this week. Disney hasn’t released specifics on the capacity, parking or hours, but said employees and guests must wear masks.