Lee County officials share progress on post-Milton debris cleanupMan accused of fleeing from Charlotte deputies through drainage pipe
Lee County officials share progress on post-Milton debris cleanup Lee County has announced it has collected 200,000 cubic yards of storm debris in unincorporated areas post-Hurricane Milton.
Man accused of fleeing from Charlotte deputies through drainage pipe The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man who tried to flee from deputies during a traffic stop through a drainage pipe.
FORT MYERS Man wanted for stealing money from tip jar at Fort Myers establishment Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a man wanted for stealing from a tip jar at a Fort Myers establishment.
Matlacha Man accused of driving into That BBQ Place on Matlacha asks for new attorney Cody Curtis, the man accused of driving drunk and crashing his car into That BBQ Place on Matlacha, killing a patron, is asking for a new attorney.
Mostly sunny and seasonably high temps Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mostly sunny Monday with temperatures matching seasonable highs this afternoon.
north fort myers Deputy presence reported in front of North Fort Myers laundromat The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene located on Pine Island Road in North Fort Myers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral hurricane debris drop-off sites closed Two hurricane debris drop-off sites have closed in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Former NFL star Tre Boston gives back to hometown of Fort Myers for Thanksgiving Boston was joined by members of the Lehigh Senior High School Football team to help deliver 800 turkeys to those in need.
WINK NEWS Holiday Cheer: Send letters to Santa at Sunshine Ace Hardware Sunshine Ace Hardware will be serving as a drop-off location for any children looking to mail their holiday wish lists to the North Pole.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sand, sweat, and precision: Final day of sculpting on Fort Myers Beach Sunday was the final day of the 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship, hosted on Fort Myers Beach.
WINK Neighborhood Watch: Illegal gun possession, Kate Spade theft and deadly crash This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a gun possessed by a person with felony convictions, a Kate Spade thief and a man arrested for causing a crash that killed a man on Alligator Alley.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead and 1 critically injured in double shooting in North Fort Myers The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported shooting in North Fort Myers on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral looking to increase their FEMA flood insurance discount The City of Cape Coral got good news from FEMA; the 25% flood insurance discount is staying in place for the next three years.
Cool start, mild afternoon with lots of sunshine on this Sunday The Weather Authority says Sunday started off even slightly cooler than Saturday morning, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s across the area.
CAPE CORAL Community rallies behind hate crime victims and cleans the home After Cape Coral homeowners fell victim to vandals who destroyed their home with racist and hateful slurs, the community is rallying together to get the home back to its original state. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday. RELATED: Cape Coral home vandalized; homeowner calls it a “hate crime” On Friday, Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony […]
Lee County officials share progress on post-Milton debris cleanup Lee County has announced it has collected 200,000 cubic yards of storm debris in unincorporated areas post-Hurricane Milton.
Man accused of fleeing from Charlotte deputies through drainage pipe The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man who tried to flee from deputies during a traffic stop through a drainage pipe.
FORT MYERS Man wanted for stealing money from tip jar at Fort Myers establishment Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a man wanted for stealing from a tip jar at a Fort Myers establishment.
Matlacha Man accused of driving into That BBQ Place on Matlacha asks for new attorney Cody Curtis, the man accused of driving drunk and crashing his car into That BBQ Place on Matlacha, killing a patron, is asking for a new attorney.
Mostly sunny and seasonably high temps Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mostly sunny Monday with temperatures matching seasonable highs this afternoon.
north fort myers Deputy presence reported in front of North Fort Myers laundromat The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene located on Pine Island Road in North Fort Myers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral hurricane debris drop-off sites closed Two hurricane debris drop-off sites have closed in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Former NFL star Tre Boston gives back to hometown of Fort Myers for Thanksgiving Boston was joined by members of the Lehigh Senior High School Football team to help deliver 800 turkeys to those in need.
WINK NEWS Holiday Cheer: Send letters to Santa at Sunshine Ace Hardware Sunshine Ace Hardware will be serving as a drop-off location for any children looking to mail their holiday wish lists to the North Pole.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sand, sweat, and precision: Final day of sculpting on Fort Myers Beach Sunday was the final day of the 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship, hosted on Fort Myers Beach.
WINK Neighborhood Watch: Illegal gun possession, Kate Spade theft and deadly crash This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a gun possessed by a person with felony convictions, a Kate Spade thief and a man arrested for causing a crash that killed a man on Alligator Alley.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead and 1 critically injured in double shooting in North Fort Myers The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported shooting in North Fort Myers on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral looking to increase their FEMA flood insurance discount The City of Cape Coral got good news from FEMA; the 25% flood insurance discount is staying in place for the next three years.
Cool start, mild afternoon with lots of sunshine on this Sunday The Weather Authority says Sunday started off even slightly cooler than Saturday morning, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s across the area.
CAPE CORAL Community rallies behind hate crime victims and cleans the home After Cape Coral homeowners fell victim to vandals who destroyed their home with racist and hateful slurs, the community is rallying together to get the home back to its original state. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday. RELATED: Cape Coral home vandalized; homeowner calls it a “hate crime” On Friday, Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony […]
Bradley Despaigne, 36, and Joseph Benson, 30, show off Despaigne’s 1981 DeLorean which they have made into a time machine replica DeLorean modeled off of the original Back To The Future movie, while pictured at Edgewater Drive Park, on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020 in Clearwater. Despaigne purchased the DeLorean in September 2019 and the two have been working on it for a little over a year. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP) After watching “Back to the Future” “hundreds of times” since he “was in Pampers,” Clearwater’s Bradley Despaigne claims he can recite the movie verbatim from start to finish. His favorite quote? When Marty McFly incredulously asks Doc Brown, “Are you telling me that you built a time machine out of a DeLorean?” It is a question now posed to him. “I hear it a lot,” Despaigne, 36, said. Despaigne purchased a DeLorean a little more than a year ago. He and friend Joe Benson have since converted it into a near-exact replica of the famed cinematic time machine, right down to the Flux Capacitor. “This is what makes time travel possible: the Flux Capacitor,” Despaigne said with a laugh, quoting Doc Brown’s explanation to Marty McFly in the popular 1985 film. There are only two differences between his time machine and the cinematic one. His is still missing the ceiling console, but that will be added in the coming months. And, of course, his does not go back in time when it hits 88 miles per hour “yet,” Despaigne said with a wink. Some of the time machine’s parts are sold online — the flux capacitor and the digital “time circuit” that displays the destination time, present time and last time departed. Despaigne recently had the destination set for 6:30 a.m. on August 29, 1984, the day and time of his birth. “I want to run into the hospital room and tell my mom, ’What are you doing? Push harder,” he chuckled. Other parts had to be fabricated. The “plutonium chamber” lid on the back of the car is a 1976 Dodge Polara hubcap and the time circuit lever is a double-sided wire brush handle. Benson said those were the materials used to create the cinematic prop, too. “We wanted everything to be as authentic as possible,” Benson, 30, said. “We made this just like the movie made theirs.” If real, how would such a time machine work? “According to the movie, it requires 1.21 gigawatts of power for the flux capacitor, which is where the plutonium comes into play,” Despaigne said. “Once the car hits 88 mph, it pulls the required power that then activates the wormhole emitter, which transports the DeLorean through time.” Bradley Despaigne, left, and Joseph Benson, 30, show off Despaigne’s 1981 DeLorean which they have made into a time machine replica DeLorean modeled off of the original Back To The Future movie, at Edgewater Drive Park, on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020 in Clearwater. Despaigne purchased the DeLorean in September 2019 and the two have been working on it for a little over a year. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP) He agrees that the DeLorean is the perfect car for a time machine. “The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style,” said Despaigne, again quoting Doc Brown. The DeLorean was only produced from 1981 to 1983. Despaigne paid $20,000 for a 1981 DeLorean that had 23,000 miles on it. He has since driven it 1,000 miles. The rare car needed thousands of dollars in repairs before it was road ready, Benson said. “You can’t exactly go to an auto parts store and ask for parts for a 1981 DeLorean. A lot of what we needed had to be custom made, some in Australia, some in Europe.” Thousands more were spent creating the replica time machine. “This is just something I wanted for myself,” Despaigne said. “I love the movie, obviously.” He is not alone in his obsession. Fans around the world own similar replica time machines, the most famous being Jay Leno. Despaigne’s is for rent, but for event display only, not for drives. Inquiries should go through his Instagram page — @81DMC_CLW. The first time he took his time machine on the highway and watched the odometer hit 88, Despaigne laughed that he wondered if he’d “soon see sparks, enter a wormhole and run into dinosaurs. When I didn’t, I wondered if the car would hold together at that speed. I don’t go that fast anymore.”