Voters in Downtown Fort Myers ready for 2024 ElectionPunta Gorda residents frustrated by hurricane debris delays
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Voters in Downtown Fort Myers ready for 2024 Election A lot can change in four years. During the 2020 election, many voters masked up as they cast their ballots, and the pandemic was at the top of many voters’ minds.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents frustrated by hurricane debris delays Many people in parts of southwest Florida feel like they’ve dealt with more than their fair share of storm damage lately.
Miracle Moment: A rosy outlook following surprise diagnosis It’s time for Miracle Moment. Today, we meet a toddler diagnosed with a disease without known prevention or cure.
Poll workers ready for Election Day rush in Collier County Poll workers gear up for a busy Tuesday in Collier County; some have been there for a while, and this year marks their first time working at a polling place for others.
CAPE CORAL Voters decide: Will Cape Coral City Council members stay or go? Stipends, Jaycee Park and new developments have been topics of concern in the City of Cape Coral for months now.
MATLACHA Lee County residents still dealing with damage from hurricanes Hurricane recovery has been an ongoing project here in Southwest Florida since Hurricane Ian.
FGCU Former FGCU golfer Frankie Capan III makes PGA Tour After playing two seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, former FGCU golfer Frankie Capan III is moving up to the PGA Tour.
Parents cast their votes for Lee County school superintendent With just hours now until the election, WINK News wants to highlight a few local races that haven’t gotten as much attention. One of them is the election of Lee County’s next superintendent of schools.
NORTH FORT MYERS Former Dollar General employee accused of stealing $7,000 in returns A woman has been arrested after defrauding a Dollar General in North Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS BEACH The Tropics and Red Tide; what happens if or when they interact? The Tropics are active despite the fact that there’s less than a month left in hurricane season. But how will a system interact with red tide?
CAPE CORAL Police investigate gunfire at Cape Coral rental home The bullet holes left behind by shots heard in a normally quiet Cape Coral neighborhood scared one woman into buying security cameras for her home.
CAPE CORAL Bimini Basin residents face housing challenges Time is running out for the families who live in one Cape Coral community to find places to call home.
Harris and Trump make a furious final push before Election Day A presidential campaign that has careened through a felony trial, an incumbent president being pushed off the ticket and multiple assassination attempts comes down to a final sprint across a handful of states on Election Day eve.
Using AI to detect pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. That’s due in part to the limited testing available for early detection.
the weather authority Tropical Storm Rafael forms in the Caribbean The Weather Authority meteorologists are monitoring the Caribbean as Tropical Storm Rafael has formed.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Voters in Downtown Fort Myers ready for 2024 Election A lot can change in four years. During the 2020 election, many voters masked up as they cast their ballots, and the pandemic was at the top of many voters’ minds.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents frustrated by hurricane debris delays Many people in parts of southwest Florida feel like they’ve dealt with more than their fair share of storm damage lately.
Miracle Moment: A rosy outlook following surprise diagnosis It’s time for Miracle Moment. Today, we meet a toddler diagnosed with a disease without known prevention or cure.
Poll workers ready for Election Day rush in Collier County Poll workers gear up for a busy Tuesday in Collier County; some have been there for a while, and this year marks their first time working at a polling place for others.
CAPE CORAL Voters decide: Will Cape Coral City Council members stay or go? Stipends, Jaycee Park and new developments have been topics of concern in the City of Cape Coral for months now.
MATLACHA Lee County residents still dealing with damage from hurricanes Hurricane recovery has been an ongoing project here in Southwest Florida since Hurricane Ian.
FGCU Former FGCU golfer Frankie Capan III makes PGA Tour After playing two seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, former FGCU golfer Frankie Capan III is moving up to the PGA Tour.
Parents cast their votes for Lee County school superintendent With just hours now until the election, WINK News wants to highlight a few local races that haven’t gotten as much attention. One of them is the election of Lee County’s next superintendent of schools.
NORTH FORT MYERS Former Dollar General employee accused of stealing $7,000 in returns A woman has been arrested after defrauding a Dollar General in North Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS BEACH The Tropics and Red Tide; what happens if or when they interact? The Tropics are active despite the fact that there’s less than a month left in hurricane season. But how will a system interact with red tide?
CAPE CORAL Police investigate gunfire at Cape Coral rental home The bullet holes left behind by shots heard in a normally quiet Cape Coral neighborhood scared one woman into buying security cameras for her home.
CAPE CORAL Bimini Basin residents face housing challenges Time is running out for the families who live in one Cape Coral community to find places to call home.
Harris and Trump make a furious final push before Election Day A presidential campaign that has careened through a felony trial, an incumbent president being pushed off the ticket and multiple assassination attempts comes down to a final sprint across a handful of states on Election Day eve.
Using AI to detect pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. That’s due in part to the limited testing available for early detection.
the weather authority Tropical Storm Rafael forms in the Caribbean The Weather Authority meteorologists are monitoring the Caribbean as Tropical Storm Rafael has formed.
A new COVID-19 at-home self-test will hit stores soon. (CREDIT: WINK News) At-home COVID-19 testing is now authorized by the FDA. The tests can be purchased without a prescription. Doctors call this a game-changer. Tourism, leisure and hospitality are the big three industries in Southwest Florida that took a hit when the pandemic first started and people were told they were safer at home. “There’s no question that economic activity went down, it went down significantly,” said Dr. Victor Claar, an economist with Florida Gulf Coast University. “It especially went down in places like dining out, if you look at the numbers, and you plot the time series of how things like restaurant sales changed during the period, they fell off, way off.” But now, the FDA has authorized two rapid over-the-counter at-home COVID tests which could keep businesses in gear. “Removing the need for doctors, and it’s removing the need for extra costs,” said Dr. Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Mary Rodgers, the principal scientist at Abbott Labs, said there have been over 200 million BinaxNow antigen tests have been performed. “And we have excellent detection and sensitivity with this test,” Rodgers said. “This technology has been used with less than .01% complaints filed on the results. And it’s been effective in preventing new transmissions at schools and workplaces since August.” Rodgers created one of the tests. “I’m a mom. And I’m personally excited about the convenience factor of being able to bring my kids, put them at the kitchen table and do a test in 15 minutes so that we can go back to doing all the many things that we love,” she said. These paper test strips can save lives. “That alone might be enough to ensure that outbreaks don’t grow, and when an outbreak does start – it fizzles out very fast,” Mina said. “That means when an outbreak starts in a school or a nursing home, or wherever it might be in the future, we don’t have to close things down. We don’t have to take extraordinary measures in order to prevent the spread of new variants.” The rapid antigen self-tests can detect variants and work on asymptomatic people as well. The tests should make it to store shelves in the next few weeks. In a statement, the FDA said screening tests is an important response to the pandemic. “With the FDA’s authorization of multiple tests, the public can be assured these tests have met our scientific standards for emergency use authorization. As we’ve said all along if it’s a good test, we’ll authorize it,” the FDA said. MORE: FDA’s release on the new rapid at home OTC tests