21 SWFL teams heading to high school football playoffsFGCU men’s soccer player honors late childhood friend
21 SWFL teams heading to high school football playoffs 21 high school football teams in Southwest Florida are playoff bound. Check out the breakdown of the bracket to see who your team is playing.
FGCU FGCU men’s soccer player honors late childhood friend FGCU men’s soccer player Sebastian Soriano’s outlook on the game changed when his childhood friend and teammate passed away.
CAPE CORAL School bus blows through stop sign in Cape Coral A school bus driver in Cape Coral ignores the rules of the road. A concerned parent caught video of the bus on camera.
Oakes Farms $238 million dollar contract with the Department of Defense could have caused federal agents to swarm warehouse and home A man known for his role in our community has once again found himself right in the middle of another controversy.
Man arrested after traffic stop turned Fentanyl bust in Collier County The Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man who stands accused of Fentanyl possession, among other illegal drugs.
FORT MYERS SHORES Final streets need debris cleanup on Fort Myers Shores There’s not a lot, but some piles of storm debris left after Hurricane Milton are still on the side of the road in Fort Myers Shores.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man actively searches for missing service dog A Punta Gorda man who lost almost everything following hurricanes Milton and Helene is now searching for his missing service dog.
Army veteran to honor fallen soldiers during Veterans Day weekend A local retired Army staff sergeant was one of just four selected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Ward 4 candidate will not receive vote recount In the race for Fort Myers city council, Cindy Banyai lost the Ward 4 race to incumbent Liston Bochette.
Ron DeSantis: An unexpected winner in Florida’s 2024 elections There were a lot of winners on election night, but the biggest winner was a man who wasn’t even on the ballot: Ron Desantis.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers attorney named one of Gulfshore Life’s Men of the Year Fort Myers attorney Joe North has been named one of the Gulf Shore Life’s Men of the Year.
Veterans Day to impact weekend traffic in SWFL Veterans Day is on Monday; however, traffic impacts due to road closures are expected to be felt as soon as Saturday.
Enrollment opens for ranchers to join Florida Panther Ecosystem pilot program The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is launching the Florida Panther Payment for Ecosystem Services pilot program for ranchers.
New experimental treatment for Parkinson’s may help alleviate tremors Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder impacting millions of Americans; however, a new treatment may help alleviate some of its symptoms.
WASHINGTON (AP) Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states including Florida Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women, and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies.
21 SWFL teams heading to high school football playoffs 21 high school football teams in Southwest Florida are playoff bound. Check out the breakdown of the bracket to see who your team is playing.
FGCU FGCU men’s soccer player honors late childhood friend FGCU men’s soccer player Sebastian Soriano’s outlook on the game changed when his childhood friend and teammate passed away.
CAPE CORAL School bus blows through stop sign in Cape Coral A school bus driver in Cape Coral ignores the rules of the road. A concerned parent caught video of the bus on camera.
Oakes Farms $238 million dollar contract with the Department of Defense could have caused federal agents to swarm warehouse and home A man known for his role in our community has once again found himself right in the middle of another controversy.
Man arrested after traffic stop turned Fentanyl bust in Collier County The Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man who stands accused of Fentanyl possession, among other illegal drugs.
FORT MYERS SHORES Final streets need debris cleanup on Fort Myers Shores There’s not a lot, but some piles of storm debris left after Hurricane Milton are still on the side of the road in Fort Myers Shores.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man actively searches for missing service dog A Punta Gorda man who lost almost everything following hurricanes Milton and Helene is now searching for his missing service dog.
Army veteran to honor fallen soldiers during Veterans Day weekend A local retired Army staff sergeant was one of just four selected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Ward 4 candidate will not receive vote recount In the race for Fort Myers city council, Cindy Banyai lost the Ward 4 race to incumbent Liston Bochette.
Ron DeSantis: An unexpected winner in Florida’s 2024 elections There were a lot of winners on election night, but the biggest winner was a man who wasn’t even on the ballot: Ron Desantis.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers attorney named one of Gulfshore Life’s Men of the Year Fort Myers attorney Joe North has been named one of the Gulf Shore Life’s Men of the Year.
Veterans Day to impact weekend traffic in SWFL Veterans Day is on Monday; however, traffic impacts due to road closures are expected to be felt as soon as Saturday.
Enrollment opens for ranchers to join Florida Panther Ecosystem pilot program The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is launching the Florida Panther Payment for Ecosystem Services pilot program for ranchers.
New experimental treatment for Parkinson’s may help alleviate tremors Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder impacting millions of Americans; however, a new treatment may help alleviate some of its symptoms.
WASHINGTON (AP) Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states including Florida Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women, and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies.
When you think of human trafficking, you may not think of Collier County. Unfortunately, human trafficking is a reality in Collier County and Southwest Florida as a whole. WINK News sat down with one woman born and raised in Naples who fell victim to human trafficking. She hopes her story will help others be more aware of the dangers in our community. The woman will be identified as Sara to protect her identity. “I was raised in Naples, one of the safest places I consider in the nation. And I mean, I was going to college, I was doing everything right. I came from a good family. I didn’t experience childhood trauma,” Sara said. She had what many would consider a great childhood, a perfect life until she met a man at a bar in Collier County. “I felt like I could trust,” said Sara. “From there, you know, within a week or so, we just started dating. It seemed pretty normal.” That was until he showed her a modeling advertisement and made her feel bad about not being interested in the job. “I said, okay, I will do the interview.” Sara said the interview was where she encountered her first trafficker. “I had no idea that I was walking into a trafficking in this initiation. That was the first time I was raped.” Ashamed and scared, Sara told her boyfriend what had happened. “He reassured me well, then, ‘it’s work-related,’ and ‘you have to do what you have to do,’ you know, to bring income make us money.” The trafficking took place for two weeks in Collier County with her boyfriend bringing her to and from the location. Sara said, “it was still supposed to be the modeling thing. But it wasn’t. I was seeing ‘Jons’ five days a week, from nine to five, non-stop.” Sara said she thought it was part of the job. “He made it seem like it was part of the job. But the thing is the trafficker; it’s like I was never out of his sight. And even when I couldn’t see him, he still had eyes on me. So I couldn’t run out of the room that I was in. I couldn’t call for help.” On week three, Sara’s boyfriend turned into her new trafficker, driving her all over Southwest Florida to service men, also known as “Jons.” “He never left my sight. He became my shadow.” She described the Jons as middle to upper-class businessmen and family men. “I remember one guy telling me, ‘I have to go meet my wife for golf.’ So it was just, I remember just looking at him. And I was just like, are you serious? And he’s like, ‘I’m gonna be late. I have to go meet my wife for golf.’ Or there was another guy who was like, ‘my wife is shopping right now. So I’ve got about an hour.’ And this was in Naples,” Sara said. Sara said she often met the Jons at high end locations. For eight months, she was on call 24/7. She was a victim of human trafficking. “I reached a point where I thought I was never going to get out of that lifestyle of exploitation. I just wanted it to end so bad. I remember the last two weeks of that exploitation period. I just remember wanting to give up so badly and just asking god for, you know, for this nightmare to end.” Eventually, Sara’s boyfriend gave her the option to stop servicing Jons. Sara said, “he had other things for me to do, and it involved just other illegal activities. And I remember always choosing to help them commit other crimes rather than working and seeing Jons.” The exploitation came to an end with her arrest for those other crimes. That is when she chose to turn her life around. After serving time, she went back to school, got a job, and came across the Shelter for Abused Women and Children and took control of her life. Ten years later, Sara is helping other victims by sharing her story because human trafficking is happening now more than ever. “They are preying on the vulnerable, the innocent, and the uneducated. When it comes to trafficking,” said Sara. The Shelter for Abused Women and Children also helped get Sara’s charges expunged because she was a victim of human trafficking. If you think you are in a situation similar to Sara’s or know someone who is, you can contact the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking number at 239-252-0060 or email Marisol.Rodriguez@colliersheriff.org. You can also contact the Shelter for Abused Women and Children by calling (239) 775-1101. Resources Below are anti-human trafficking and mental health resources available to Southwest Floridians at the national and local levels: 1 (888) 373-7888 National Human Trafficking Hotline SMS: 233733 (Text “HELP” or “INFO”) Hours: 24 hours, 7 days a week Languages: English, Spanish and 200 more languages Website: http://humantraffickinghotline.org What is Human Trafficking? https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking Human Trafficking in Florida: https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/human-trafficking/ Path 2 Freedom https://www.path2freedom.org/ National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255 suicidepreventionlifeline.org David Lawrence Center (Collier County) (239)455-8500 davidlawrencecenter.org National Alliance on Mental Illness, Collier County namicollier.org National Alliance on Mental Illness, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry Counties namilee.org The National Alliance for Caregiving offers a free handbook Circle of Care: A Guidebook for Mental Health Caregivers Collier County Mental Health Court ca.cjis20.org/home/collier Lee County Mental Health Court ca.cjis20.org/home/lee Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance convio.net Local Support Groups: Anxiety and Depression Association of America adaa.org U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Mental Health and Addiction Insurance Help) hhs.gov/programs/topic-sites/mental-health-parity