Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to registerThe Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday
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.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
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.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
Credit: MGN This year was a roller coaster of a year as Americans dealt with hurricanes, quarantine, unemployment, travel restrictions, remote learning, elections and the loss of loved ones to COVID-19. We take a look back at the stories you read most on winknews.com. SOUTHWEST FLORIDA This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control. Lee County resident dies from coronavirus, one of first in the state; another presumptive case confirmed A 70-year-old Lee County resident, who was a patient at Gulf Coast Medical Center in south Fort Myers, died of COVID-19 on March 5. ––> READ MORE File: Unemployment website FAQ: Unemployment Resources Unemployment issues as a whole were one of our most-read topics of 2020. WINK News assigned reporter Sara Girard as a full-time unemployment reporter. She went to work getting you answers and created an unemployment page to include complete coverage and a Q&A to help navigate the complex reemployment system. ––> READ MORE A helicopter unit responds to the fire at the rental overflow area of RSW airport Friday, April 3, 2020. Credit: John Broadhead. Fire destroyed nearly 4,000 cars at RSW rental lot, causing $100M in damage A huge fire damaged thousands of rental cars near the Southwest Florida International Airport in April, and investigators have ruled the fire accidental, citing potential hot exhaust over dry grass. The 15-acre fire on April 3 destroyed 3,991 vehicles parked at an overflow rental car parking lot. ––> READ MORE 12-year-old Buddah. Credit: WINK News. SWFL dog owner says possible serious side effects from flea/tick medication A Southwest Florida pet owner has a warning for others about possible side effects from a popular flea and tick medication. The local dog owner says people’s dogs could end up with lost mobility and limping. We also spoke to a veterinarian about the commonality of these side effects. ––> READ MORE Now hiring (WINK News) Companies hiring in SWFL In March, the coronavirus lockdowns started putting people in Southwest Florida out of work, but the shutdown didn’t negatively impact every business. Grocery stores and delivery are some of the industries that flourished. In response, we created a list of companies that were hiring, and that quickly became one of our most visited pages of the year. If you’re still in need of work, check it out. ––> READ MORE DJ Conrad Buchanan Beloved DJ in Lee County dies of coronavirus DJ Conrad Buchanan died from COVID-19 on March 26. Buchanan was in his late thirties and left behind his wife and two children. He shared a Facebook post about his diagnosis of COVID-19, urging everyone to take the virus seriously. Buchanan’s death was the fourth confirmed in Lee County due to coronavirus. ––> READ MORE FWC Officer Julian Keen (Credit: FWC) Off-duty FWC officer shot and killed in LaBelle An officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) was shot and killed in LaBelle on June 14. Authorities said 30-year-old Julian Keen Jr. was off-duty in the area of Nobles Road and Apache Circle when he was shot. This is near the intersection of SR-78. The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office later arrested Eliceo Hernandez, 20, and charged him with negligent homicide for his death. Keen had been with the FWC since 2014. ––> READ MORE STATE / NATIONAL Social Security recipients will automatically get stimulus checks, Treasury says in a reversal The Treasury Department said that Americans on Social Security will not be required to file a “simple tax return” to receive a stimulus check from the U.S. government. The announcement reversed an earlier statement from the Internal Revenue Service that participants in the federal retirement program would need to file such a return to get the funds. ––> READ MORE Counting on a stimulus check? Here’s what could affect how much money you get In April, we reported roughly 9 in 10 American households would soon receive a federal stimulus check to help them stay afloat financially during the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The report details certain factors that could affect how much you got and how fast you receive payment. ––> READ MORE Sheriff: Arrests made in ‘massacre’ of 3 fishing buddies in Polk County Two brothers and a woman were arrested in connection with the “massacre” of three best friends who set out on a fishing trip at a Central Florida lake. One of the suspects, Tony “TJ” Wiggins, 26, had previously been charged with 230 felonies and had been consistently arrested since he was 12. His brother William Robert Wiggins, 21, and girlfriend Mary Whittemore, 27, were also arrested. ––> READ MORE ‘Beast of a snake’ breaks record for largest Burmese python captured in Florida An invasive Burmese python captured in the Everglades in October broke the state record, measuring 18.9 feet long. The previous record was 18.8 feet long. Ryan Ausburn, a contracted python hunter with the South Florida Water Management District, and Kevin “Snakeaholic” Pavlidis, a contracted python hunter with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, captured the monster-sized python Oct. 2 along the L-28 Tieback Canal about 35 miles west of Miami. ––> READ MORE CDC shows COVID-19 has high survival rate; doctor still wants to see precautions take A CDC update in September stated individuals are more likely to survive the coronavirus after contracting it. The health agency says if you have the virus between the ages of 0 to 70, you have a 99% survival rate. And if you’re over 70, the survival rate is nearly 95%. ––> READ MORE