Dry Tuesday morning before isolated storms develop this afternoon and eveningCape Coral red tag hearings soon to begin
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Dry Tuesday morning before isolated storms develop this afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a dry Tuesday morning with the possibility of isolated rainstorms throughout the afternoon and into the evening
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral red tag hearings soon to begin Residents of Cape Coral have experienced confusion, frustration, and possibly fines due to red tags popping up on buildings under construction.
NAPLES Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Naples Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-ins A Bonita Springs homeowner is sleeping with one eye open after her social security card was stolen from her car, an incident caught on video.
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.
FORT MYERS Exclusive: Florida Warriors president talks misunderstanding with city On Friday, the president of Florida Warriors Hockey got a letter saying that starting July 1, his program’s rink access at the Fort Myers Skatium would be cut from 48 hours a month to only eight hours a month.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded trying to serve warrant in North Carolina, authorities say Three law enforcement officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded Monday in a shootout at a Charlotte, North Carolina, home, police said.
CAPE CORAL Massive fire leaves Cape Coral businesses in shambles Several fire rescue trucks are responding to a structure fire at a commercial building in Cape Coral.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers residents concerned over abandoned boat A day out in the water turned into an alarming discovery for one North Fort Myers family.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers first responders stress safety after rollover crash Fort Myers fire department officials are pointing to safety and awareness following a recent rollover crash on Palm Beach Blvd. and Oasis Way.
NAPLES FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe’s determined heart is on the mound Former Barron Collier ace, now FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe is recovering from two open heart surgeries in five days.
Contrasting Lee, Collier and Charlotte homicide rates to nationwide numbers The Wall Street Journal says nationwide homicide rates have dropped by 20% compared to the numbers from 2023.
New program to make life more manageable for Parkinson’s patients A new program, backed by research, was created using the power of spin cycling to redefine the fight against Parkinson’s.
Medicaid class action gets go-ahead A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that alleges Florida did not properly inform people before dropping them from the Medicaid program after a COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
FORT MYERS New downtown Fort Myers parking options coming soon Two new spots are coming for you to park on nights and weekends in downtown Fort Myers, but you’ll still have to pay.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Dry Tuesday morning before isolated storms develop this afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking a dry Tuesday morning with the possibility of isolated rainstorms throughout the afternoon and into the evening
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral red tag hearings soon to begin Residents of Cape Coral have experienced confusion, frustration, and possibly fines due to red tags popping up on buildings under construction.
NAPLES Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Naples Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs residents alarmed after car break-ins A Bonita Springs homeowner is sleeping with one eye open after her social security card was stolen from her car, an incident caught on video.
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.
FORT MYERS Exclusive: Florida Warriors president talks misunderstanding with city On Friday, the president of Florida Warriors Hockey got a letter saying that starting July 1, his program’s rink access at the Fort Myers Skatium would be cut from 48 hours a month to only eight hours a month.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded trying to serve warrant in North Carolina, authorities say Three law enforcement officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded Monday in a shootout at a Charlotte, North Carolina, home, police said.
CAPE CORAL Massive fire leaves Cape Coral businesses in shambles Several fire rescue trucks are responding to a structure fire at a commercial building in Cape Coral.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers residents concerned over abandoned boat A day out in the water turned into an alarming discovery for one North Fort Myers family.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers first responders stress safety after rollover crash Fort Myers fire department officials are pointing to safety and awareness following a recent rollover crash on Palm Beach Blvd. and Oasis Way.
NAPLES FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe’s determined heart is on the mound Former Barron Collier ace, now FSU pitcher Jacob Marlowe is recovering from two open heart surgeries in five days.
Contrasting Lee, Collier and Charlotte homicide rates to nationwide numbers The Wall Street Journal says nationwide homicide rates have dropped by 20% compared to the numbers from 2023.
New program to make life more manageable for Parkinson’s patients A new program, backed by research, was created using the power of spin cycling to redefine the fight against Parkinson’s.
Medicaid class action gets go-ahead A federal judge has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that alleges Florida did not properly inform people before dropping them from the Medicaid program after a COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
FORT MYERS New downtown Fort Myers parking options coming soon Two new spots are coming for you to park on nights and weekends in downtown Fort Myers, but you’ll still have to pay.
Credit: WINK News. Lawmakers released a bill proposal Thursday to fix the problems you faced with the state unemployment system during the pandemic and before. Meanwhile, people like Donna Spreitzer who’s been out of work since March 17 calls the last seven months a living nightmare. “My savings is depleted,” she said. “Do you pay your credit card bill or do you buy food? Do you pay your mortgage or you know, you let your car payment go?” She admits there were issues with her unemployment account, but call takers promised her it would only take a few weeks to fix. Now, by her calculations, she’s missing roughly $22,000 in payments. She says she’s deferred her car payment three times, maxed out her credit cards, and had to borrow from her family to pay her mortgage. Without that help, “I would be out on the street,” Spreitzer said. Stories like Spreitzer’s aren’t rare, and that’s why multiple lawmakers are proposing new legislation to fix the broken system. READ THE DRAFT BILL Their proposal includes in part: Increasing maximum weekly benefit amount to $500 (from $275) Extending maximum duration to 26 weeks (from 12) Modifying base period to allow more people to be eligible, making space for self-employed and agricultural workers Expanding accessibility so people can apply other ways than online Setting a three week deadline for claimants to receive their eligibility status Establishing a public advocate to oversee the DEO and make sure it’s delivering benefits in a timely manner [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtYmfVX5axU] Representative Anna Eskamani of Orlando is one of the sponsors. “Those are just some of parts of the bill,” she said. “But our intention is to make the unemployment system work for the people of Florida and create more access points to apply.” Spreitzer says she fought nearly every day just to get something from the state and says at least they need to improve customer service. “You’re waiting, and every time something new pops up, it takes weeks and weeks and weeks. And every time you call, you get a different answer,” she said. Eskamani says that’s part of the plan. “We want to create the dynamic way if we need to walk into an office to get to support you can do that. Versus now when people are waiting for hours on the phone still not able to get to someone who can help,” Eskamani said. But a few big questions remain, like where will the money come from? Will Governor Ron DeSantis sign off on it, and when? Eskamani says the money is there, the state just has to reprioritize and diversify its revenue streams. She’s also unsure whether the governor will support it. WINK News reached out to DeSantis’ office about it and he never responded. The representative hopes there’s enough pressure to call for a special session and vote on the bill now instead of waiting until next session in March. “This bill could be heard at any moment, if the legislature leadership wanted to hear this bill, they could,” Eskamani said. Because people like Spreitzer have waited long enough. “You feel like you just, there’s nowhere to turn. Because nobody is out there to help you,” she said. Eskamani says while there’s no explicit call to switch to a new software, meeting this bill’s requirements should lead to changes to the online unemployment system, including the possibility of creating a new one. No Southwest Florida lawmakers provided a comment on the proposed legislation. You can read the draft of the bill proposal here. For ongoing updates on unemployment, follow WINK News Investigative Reporter Sara Girard on Twitter and Facebook. She also updates the WINK News FAQ: Unemployment Resources page as information is received.