Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: What needs to change to protect other young people? November 8, 2021, Jake Pfeiffer took his own life. His mom shared Jake’s story with WINK News in the hopes of saving another life.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal shooting of truck driver appears in court A man facing second-degree murder charges following an altercation with a pickup truck driver made an appearance in court.
NAPLES SUV crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A popular Naples restaurant is cleaning up after an SUV partially crashed into it, but luckily, nobody was hurt.
PUNTA GORDA 20th annual Hibiscus Festival begins in Punta Gorda The 20th annual Hibiscus Festival at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda begins Friday morning and runs all weekend.
WINK NEWS Lehigh Acres senior caretaker accused of stealing over $70K of patients’ jewelry A senior caretaker has been arrested for allegedly stealing over $70,000 of her patients’ jewelry and pawning it.
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
Jimmie The Beef Guy opens in Fort Myers Jimmie “The Beef Guy” Hart opened the first Jimmie The Beef Guy in 2021 on the southeast corner of Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41.
SARASOTA Distressed endangered sawfish euthanized nearly a month after rescue Wildlife officials euthanized a distressed smalltooth sawfish that was rescued from Cudjoe Bay in the Florida Keys where it was swimming in circles.
FORT MYERS Help identify driver of SUV related to Fort Myers shooting Police hope someone can help identify the driver of an SUV involved in the shooting on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: What needs to change to protect other young people? November 8, 2021, Jake Pfeiffer took his own life. His mom shared Jake’s story with WINK News in the hopes of saving another life.
FORT MYERS Man accused of fatal shooting of truck driver appears in court A man facing second-degree murder charges following an altercation with a pickup truck driver made an appearance in court.
NAPLES SUV crashes into Naples restaurant’s window; no injuries A popular Naples restaurant is cleaning up after an SUV partially crashed into it, but luckily, nobody was hurt.
PUNTA GORDA 20th annual Hibiscus Festival begins in Punta Gorda The 20th annual Hibiscus Festival at Gilchrist Park in Punta Gorda begins Friday morning and runs all weekend.
WINK NEWS Lehigh Acres senior caretaker accused of stealing over $70K of patients’ jewelry A senior caretaker has been arrested for allegedly stealing over $70,000 of her patients’ jewelry and pawning it.
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
Credit: WINK News With yard waste and furniture among the things piling up, there seems to be no end in sight for Cape Coral’s trash problem. As trash continues to pile up along your streets, the company says it faces a new competitor when looking for employees. Waste Pro knows it has problems with trash in Cape Coral. So much so, that Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter is on them about it. “I’m looking out my door seeing the same trash that the community is. I’m not happy about it,” Gunter said. People are waiting for someone, anyone really, to pick up their bulk items and yard waste. For weeks, the company has blamed a nationwide driver shortage for failing to keep up with its scheduled pickups. In a new statement, Waste Pro goes even further: “The labor pool shortage is unsustainable and it is during these challenging times that we must come together and support our industry and our communities we serve.” People in Cape Coral are doing their best to get around it. Some who grew tired of trash piling up in their front yard have decided to haul it to the drop-off site and be done with it. The City of Cape Coral is stepping in and reassigning public works employees to trash pick up. “We have a contractual agreement with Waste Pro’s, they’re supposed to pick up trash on a designated day, on a weekly basis and they’re not doing that. We’re paying them for a service that we’re not getting,” the mayor said. In that same Waste Pro statement, it says: “unemployment benefits, combined with stimulus checks…make it more attractive for many people to noT work than to get up daily and work in a manually labor-intensive environment, such as ours.” Mayor Gunter says that’s not good enough. “The community is paying for a service through their solid waste fees that they are not getting so to me it’s unacceptable,” Gunter said. Waste Pro ends this statement by saying: “Waste Pro is actively working to recuit and train new drivers…launched retention bonus plans as well as new driver referral bonuses.” Cape Coral is punishing Waste Pro financially for falling behind on its trash collection. The mayor says anyone who wants to call with a complaint can dial the 311 hotline so the city has a record of those missed pickups. You can read Waste Pro’s full statement below: “We are navigating through unprecedented times surrounding staffing and like other industries, we are not immune to the nationwide driver and labor pool shortages. The demand for qualified drivers currently outpaces supply. Enhanced requirements at the federal level, such as the DOT Drug Clearing House and more stringent review of driver CSA scores have further narrowed an already shallow pool of eligible, licensed, professional drivers. In addition to a nationwide shortage of drivers, our local markets are also experiencing a shortage of willing and qualified labor. Unskilled laborers fill a position for Waste Pro called “helper” – the second person that staffs our Horticulture and Bulk routes. Recent and ongoing changes to unemployment benefits, combined with stimulus checks and other enhanced government assistance programs, make it more attractive for many people to not work rather than to get up daily and work in a manually labor-intensive environment, such as ours. This is not simply a Waste Pro issue or solid waste collection concern. The impact of the driver shortage, while not new, continues to spread throughout the United States. All roadway transport industries from over-the-road trucking, gas tankers, rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft as well as hospitality industries such as restaurants, bars, and hotels are feeling the effect. The Flager Beach Business Bureau stated in a letter to Governor Desantis earlier in April, “There is a crisis brewing that needs your immediate attention. We know how to compete with and against each other, we compete with the weather and hurricanes but never had to compete with our government.” The labor pool shortage is unsustainable and it is during these challenging times that we must come together and support our industry and our communities we serve. Waste Pro is actively working to recruit and train new drivers and helpers to cover existing routes and to manage the volume changes. We have increased our efforts in local job fairs, increased advertising efforts, launched retention bonus plans as well as new driver referral bonuses.”