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.
Kaial Hajik with his LifeBoKx prototype. Hajik worked with his father to devise the emergency kit prototype. (Joseph Hajik) Florida shores may soon become a bit safer thanks to the ingenuity of 13-year-old Kaial Hajik in Panama City Beach. After hearing of several drownings in the Gulf of Mexico over the past few years, Kaial, a Boy Scout and aspiring Air Force Academy cadet, worked with his father to devise a emergency kit prototype called the “LifeBoKx”. “It’s very simple… but it’s also very important in order to saving somebody’s life,” Kaial said in an interview with CNN affiliate WJHG. The LifeBoKx contains basic lifesaving equipment and educational material to be positioned along the shoreline of Panama City Beach. The idea, Kaial’s father, Joe Hajik, told CNN, is not just to save those drowning but to also provide resources for those responding to an emergency. The emergency kit includes two life vests, a tethered life preserver and visual aids including the “Drowning Chain of Survival,” a visual representation from the International Life Saving Federation detailing how to safely respond to a drowning. Kaial and his father say the story of Richard Stacey Redman is a major motivator for the creation of the LifeBoKx. Redman drowned on Panama City Beach in 2019 attempting to rescue a drowning child. “What we saw is that it’s not just people drowning. It’s actually the pursuers — working to help save these people — that are the ones that are perishing,” Joe Hajik told CNN. The LifeBoKx is just an idea for now, but the father-son team envisions positioning the emergency kits throughout the Panama City Beach shoreline. Each kit would be assigned a specific identifier to facilitate a quicker response from lifeguards and emergency personnel. Drownings in the area have increased over the years, with 10 in 2018 and 12 in 2019. This year, Panama City Beach has witnessed eight confirmed drownings, according to city officials, with strong rip currents a main factor. In response, the city implemented new protocols at the start of the year, including public education initiatives. And it expanded its lifeguard programs and emergency response presence along the beaches. Wil Spivey, director of the newly created Beach Safety unit — part of the city’s fire department — was a key part of the changes. Kaial and Joe Hajik presented the LifeBoKx to Spivey and his team. When CNN asked about the prototype, Spivey praised the motivation behind the project, especially from a 13-year-old. “Our main sentiment is that we just thought it was really exceptional — that a young man saw a need or problem in his community and tried to take initiative and stand up and do something proactive about it,” Spivey said. Spivey said his team supported Hajik and offered suggestions — potential improvements to the prototype. The LifeBoKx could not stand as a replacement to lifeguards and trained emergency responders — there was no “magic bullet” for that — but Spivey says it offers some useful tools, particularly the educational materials, and the potential to help expedite emergency response. “Prevention and education are really about 95% of what we do as beach safety and lifeguards,” Spivey said. “Thought it a good opportunity to work with Kaial and his idea.” For Kaial and Joe Hajik, the idea centers on providing the resources to save lives, both for those needing rescue and rescuers. “If you save one life by doing that, whether it be yours or somebody else… that system is paid for,” Joe Hajik said. After presenting their idea to the local Optimist Club of the Beaches, a national organization dedicated to youth empowerment, Kaial and Joe Hajik plan to present the LifeBoKx to other groups and ultimately to the city council.