WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegationsSWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
New ovarian cancer treatments Ovarian cancer is a problematic disease because of symptoms such as nausea, bloating and diarrhea.
Largest Lee County land deal closes, $100M for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral The most lucrative land deal in Lee County history just closed at a price of $100 million for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral, where building up to 3,500 homes and commercial property to support it has been in the planning stages for almost two years.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Crash between RV and semi temporarily shuts down NB lanes of U.S. 41 in Charlotte A major collision near Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte County temporarily closed all northbound lanes of U.S. 41, according to the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office.
FORT MYERS Apple AirPods lead LCSO to an arrest; over $100,000 worth of stolen items recovered Through the use of Apple Airpods, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate nearly $100,000 worth of stolen items, leading to an arrest.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral officials approve replacement funding for hurricane-damaged stop signs The Cape Coral City Council has approved funding to replace stop signs damaged during Hurricane Milton, resulting in an emergency purchase.
Holiday events happening in Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is embracing the holiday spirit with a variety of festive events this Christmas season.
Collier man accused of supplying fentanyl-laced pills, enough to kill 531,500 people The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of supplying more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills disguised as prescription painkillers.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
New ovarian cancer treatments Ovarian cancer is a problematic disease because of symptoms such as nausea, bloating and diarrhea.
Largest Lee County land deal closes, $100M for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral The most lucrative land deal in Lee County history just closed at a price of $100 million for 1,745 acres in northwest Cape Coral, where building up to 3,500 homes and commercial property to support it has been in the planning stages for almost two years.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Crash between RV and semi temporarily shuts down NB lanes of U.S. 41 in Charlotte A major collision near Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte County temporarily closed all northbound lanes of U.S. 41, according to the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office.
FORT MYERS Apple AirPods lead LCSO to an arrest; over $100,000 worth of stolen items recovered Through the use of Apple Airpods, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was able to locate nearly $100,000 worth of stolen items, leading to an arrest.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral officials approve replacement funding for hurricane-damaged stop signs The Cape Coral City Council has approved funding to replace stop signs damaged during Hurricane Milton, resulting in an emergency purchase.
Holiday events happening in Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is embracing the holiday spirit with a variety of festive events this Christmas season.
Collier man accused of supplying fentanyl-laced pills, enough to kill 531,500 people The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of supplying more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills disguised as prescription painkillers.
Ethan Miller works on his taxes at home in Silver Spring, Md., Friday, Jan., 21, 2022. Tax filing season starts Monday and people can expect the task to be more cumbersome than usual this year thanks to an overloaded and understaffed IRS workforce and new complications from pandemic-related programs.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Count 30-year-old Ethan Miller among that subset of Americans who are actually eager to file their taxes once income tax filing season opens on Monday. The financial planner who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, is looking forward to claiming the new deductions from buying a home. He also wants to get a jump on a tax season that promises to bring lots of extra headaches and delays for filers this year. “I’m trying to get a head start on my taxes as much as possible,” Miller said, adding that he is not too nervous about forecasts of extra delays because he will file online and will not be waiting for too big a refund. Plenty of other filers, though, may be in for more heartburn. An IRS worker shortage, an enormous workload from administering pandemic-related programs, and stalled legislation that would have given the agency billions of dollars for more expeditiously processing returns will combine to cause taxpayers pain this filing season. “You can blame Congress or the IRS. I imagine they’re trying to do the right thing, but it just adds to further complexity,” he said. “My advice in 2022 is file early, get started tomorrow, and try to put your taxes together with a qualified professional.” Williamson said he advises his clients to file electronically, and those who expect hefty refunds in the tens of thousands should expect more significant delays. Most backlogged returns were filed on paper and are amended returns. Due to the pandemic, deadlines to file have been extended in the past two years. It is unclear whether the agency will offer similar leeway to taxpayers this year. There will be plenty of new issues to navigate this year. For example, individuals who are eligible to claim the child tax credit and have gotten advance payments throughout the year may get a smaller refund than they usually would see. People who did not get stimulus checks that they were qualified for as part of the pandemic relief package might yet be able to claim a “recovery rebate credit ” on their taxes. On Thursday, the IRS released a list of “ Top 5 Things to Remember,” with suggestions for taxpayers on what documents to pull together and what to do if their 2020 returns still have not been processed. The IRS anticipates that most taxpayers will receive their refund within 21 days of filing electronically, barring any issues with processing their return. But plenty of pitfalls remain, in part due to staffing troubles at the IRS. Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union that represents IRS workers, said the agency “has a hard time recruiting because they’re up against Burger King or McDonald’s,” which offer similar pay without requiring workers to “deal with confusing rules and regulations.” As of Thursday, the agency’s careers website listed at least 180 open jobs, including clerks and tax examiners paid as little as $11 an hour. Of those, 42 positions were open to the public; most were available only to internal applicants. A hoped-for $80 billion infusion for the agency was included in versions of President Joe Biden’s proposed package of social spending programs, but that stalled on Capitol Hill. Reardon said the IRS “is in a lot of trouble in terms of how it is effectively able to carry out its mission, and that has to be rectified.” “I think clearly the taxpayer gets the brunt of this,” he said, adding that IRS workers get “the brunt of that blame under horrible circumstances.” ___ Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.