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.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
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.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
FILE- In this March 27, 2020 photo, customers practice social distancing in adherence to the new coronavirus guidelines, as they wait to enter the Warrior Gun Range and Shop in Doral, Fla. Background checks for new gun purchases in Florida during March – when the coronavirus pandemic worsened dramatically – surged to set records, according to the latest figures the FBI released Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The March number of more than 192,000 checks reflecting gun purchases in Florida is higher than any month in more than two decades. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) The FBI conducted more firearm background checks in 2020 than in any year since the agency began keeping statistics in 1998, according to new data released by the agency on Monday. The milestone is raising concerns among some gun control advocates, who warn that election-related tension and possible civil unrest could be made more dangerous as Americans appear to be arming themselves in record numbers. With two months remaining in the year, the approximately 16.5 million background checks conducted between January and October 2020 for the sale or transfer of firearms and accessories eclipsed every other year on record. The previous record was set in 2016, when the FBI conducted 14.9 million checks, and had mostly declined until 2020. In 2019, the agency conducted approximately 12.3 million firearm background checks. Under US law, federally licensed gun dealers must run checks on every buyer, whether a purchase is made in a store or at a gun show. A buyer presents his or her identification to the seller, fills out a form from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives — which lists the buyer’s age, address, race and any criminal history — and then the seller submits the information to the FBI for checks against databases in order to ensure a criminal record does not preclude the purchase. As CNN previously reported, more and more Americans appeared to be arming themselves in 2020 following months of continued fears over the deadly coronavirus pandemic and images of some people causing damage after hijacking peaceful protests demanding racial justice. The surge in firearm background checks since the beginning of the year largely coincided with the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in over 230,000 deaths in America, and various stay-at-home orders issued by federal, state and municipal governments. In the month of June, the country also witnessed incidents of unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, as individuals set fire to police facilities, destroyed buildings and looted commercial establishments. Higher gun sales often follow incidents of national tragedy While the overwhelming number of protests calling for racial justice after Floyd’s death were peaceful, damage caused by individuals resulted in government officials around the country opting for a show of force by law enforcement, and, in some instances, calling up members of the National Guard to patrol American streets. It is not uncommon for high numbers of FBI firearm background checks to follow incidents of national tragedy. In 2012, federal law enforcement noted a 39% spike in firearm transfer background checks during the month of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, as compared to the previous month. The FBI similarly saw a 48% surge in background checks in the month of the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, when compared to the previous month. Following initial monthly record-setting background check figures in early 2020, an official from the National Rifle Association — the nation’s largest gun rights organization — said concerns about personal safety during the coronavirus pandemic were likely key drivers in the surge of FBI background checks. “Firearm sales go up in times of uncertainty because Americans know their safety is ultimately in their own hands,” an NRA spokesperson told CNN. However, advocates working to limit greater access to firearms warn that more guns could mean more deaths, and remain especially concerned about the impact record-setting gun sales could have on any violence that follows the 2020 election. “The research tells us that where there are more guns there are more gun deaths — that is true for suicides, homicides, unintentional shootings, police shootings, etc.,” said Igor Volsky, executive director of Guns Down America. “If we are to see violence connected to the election, our nation’s high levels of firearm ownership — and the fact that those numbers have been increasing this year — will pose a heightened risk to public safety as confrontations or disagreements could escalate into something far more deadly.”