The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increasesSenior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society raises concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
One Naples development illustration (Stock Development) The fight is on in a battle over a new condo community. Developers hope “One Naples” will go up on Vanderbilt Beach. But some who live nearby fear this 16-story building will block sunsets and bring more traffic. Stephen Haggerty and his wife, Marianne, love spending winters at the Beachmoor Condominiums just feet from Vanderbilt Beach. “Number one, it’s beautiful,” said Stephen, so he’s worried about a plan to build the 172-unit condominium, marina and coffee shop/deli called One Naples. “Literally the size of this is overwhelming for the acreage that’s there,” he said. He’s worried it will block views. “We do have an east-facing lanai that will look directly at the towers and so forth,” he explained. Raymond Dearchs agrees. He’s one of over 30 community members who signed up to speak against the project Thursday at the Collier Planning Commission. He says allowing this development means more could come. “Is it going to start leap-frogging down the street,” Dearchs asked? “Kind of like a development version of coronavirus? Is it going to keep making the whole neighborhood worse? It’s got to stop somewhere.” Betty Pircio lives at the Barefoot Pelican near Vanderbilt Beach. Her fear? “It’s going to lie in its shadows. It’s going to shadow us it’s going to create more traffic.” She says One Naples just won’t fit in the area. “The project is too big! It’s just too big it’s too dense too tall it’s too everything.” Stock Development says they’ve worked with the community in 50 meetings to bring down the height and number of units and they also have community support. “Everybody has a voice and we want to listen and that’s why we did hold 50 community meetings, but we continue to provide the facts that we believe this is the best use for this project,” said Claudine Wetzel, Stock Development’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We continue to believe that our project is the best use of this space and I think what’ very interesting today is the opposition even believes that residential is the best use of the space.” But Haggerty hopes the Planning Commission will listen and, ultimately, come down on their side. “A development of this size just doesn’t seem to work for us,” he said. The non-profit group Save Vanderbilt Beach presented their argument Thursday, attacking the development saying it’s not compatible or complementary to the neighborhood. They say they want more compromise and some community members think Stock’s CEO hasn’t done enough. “He’s simply been intransigent, and that’s where the anger comes is he keeps maintaining that he’s met with everybody and he’s been responsive to them and the reality is that he is not,” said Buzz Victor of Collier County. He, Pircio and more than 30 others didn’t get the chance to voice their concerns at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting, once again, but they hope county leaders eventually get their message and listen. The arguments on both sides have taken so long, that Thursday’s meeting will continue for a second time. “I’ve owned there for 14 years and I bought there because I love Naples and I love the beach and it’s going to be severely impacted by this development,” Pircio said. The project will, once again, be discussed at the Nov. 5 meeting.