Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forwardPort Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
Let’s Waffle opens in Cape Coral Let’s Waffle is one of two businesses the Feix family launched locally, with the FMS Florida Boat Tours and Limousine Service owned and operated by Feix’s husband, Alexander.
Planned Punta Gorda hotel, pub, brewery faces construction delay Kevin Doyle, owner of Celtic Ray Public House Irish pub in downtown Punta Gorda, and his partner, S4 Global Investments, were found in violation of the city’s exposed soils code.
Three Sisters Spring Toast the manatee released by FWC, SeaWorld and Casey DeSantis near Crystal River A manatee named Toast was released back into the Florida waters after a final medical evaluation from wildlife officials.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Man arrested and charged with over 90 counts of fraud The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a man for allegedly stealing items from a business and then pawning them.
Man accused of pulling gun on someone ordering at Collier County Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru A man has been arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on someone ordering at a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in Collier County.
League Club of Naples awards record $683K in grants to Collier, Lee nonprofits At a mid-April breakfast event, the 35 area nonprofit agencies—chosen from a record number of applicants—were awarded grants from the women’s volunteer organization in areas ranging from arts education, to fighting hunger and homelessness, to providing bikes and wheelchairs to children in need
Tim Aten Knows: Chick-fil-A drive-thru proposal faces criticism in Naples Chick-fil-A is proposing a drive-thru restaurant at the site of the former Red Lobster restaurant on U.S. 41 in Naples, but the project is facing early criticism.
Man convicted for murder of 17-year-old girl will be in court for resentencing A convicted man will be in court for resentencing for a murder that he committed as a teenager almost 20 years ago.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Holly, Slim For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Dust Devil spotted spiraling in Fort Myers A dust devil was spotted and recorded by a WINK News viewer on Hanson Street in Fort Myers.
Warm, dry and breezy Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a comfortable Friday morning start with dry and breezy afternoon conditions expected.
NAPLES Event held in Naples for National Crime Victims Week The City of Naples and Project HELP held an event in Baker Park for National Crime Victims Week.
NAPLES 25-acre brush fire off I-75 in Collier County lowers air quality The Greater Naples Fire Rescue responded to a 25-acre brush fire at Mile Marker 96 on I-75 in the Picayune Strand State Forest.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
Let’s Waffle opens in Cape Coral Let’s Waffle is one of two businesses the Feix family launched locally, with the FMS Florida Boat Tours and Limousine Service owned and operated by Feix’s husband, Alexander.
Planned Punta Gorda hotel, pub, brewery faces construction delay Kevin Doyle, owner of Celtic Ray Public House Irish pub in downtown Punta Gorda, and his partner, S4 Global Investments, were found in violation of the city’s exposed soils code.
Three Sisters Spring Toast the manatee released by FWC, SeaWorld and Casey DeSantis near Crystal River A manatee named Toast was released back into the Florida waters after a final medical evaluation from wildlife officials.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Man arrested and charged with over 90 counts of fraud The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a man for allegedly stealing items from a business and then pawning them.
Man accused of pulling gun on someone ordering at Collier County Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru A man has been arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on someone ordering at a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in Collier County.
League Club of Naples awards record $683K in grants to Collier, Lee nonprofits At a mid-April breakfast event, the 35 area nonprofit agencies—chosen from a record number of applicants—were awarded grants from the women’s volunteer organization in areas ranging from arts education, to fighting hunger and homelessness, to providing bikes and wheelchairs to children in need
Tim Aten Knows: Chick-fil-A drive-thru proposal faces criticism in Naples Chick-fil-A is proposing a drive-thru restaurant at the site of the former Red Lobster restaurant on U.S. 41 in Naples, but the project is facing early criticism.
Man convicted for murder of 17-year-old girl will be in court for resentencing A convicted man will be in court for resentencing for a murder that he committed as a teenager almost 20 years ago.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Holly, Slim For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Dust Devil spotted spiraling in Fort Myers A dust devil was spotted and recorded by a WINK News viewer on Hanson Street in Fort Myers.
Warm, dry and breezy Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a comfortable Friday morning start with dry and breezy afternoon conditions expected.
NAPLES Event held in Naples for National Crime Victims Week The City of Naples and Project HELP held an event in Baker Park for National Crime Victims Week.
NAPLES 25-acre brush fire off I-75 in Collier County lowers air quality The Greater Naples Fire Rescue responded to a 25-acre brush fire at Mile Marker 96 on I-75 in the Picayune Strand State Forest.
Sanibel City Manager Dana Souza (CREDIT: Sanibel government) The City of Sanibel is having to defend itself against rumors that it wants to disband its police department in favor of using services from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. On Friday, the city released a letter written by City Manager Dana A. Souza addressed to residents and communities. Souza said the Cape Coral Fraternal Order of Police made a Facebook post on Aug. 9, alleging that Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith was attempting to have “closed meetings without the Chief of Police being present” to discuss the future of the police department. Souza told WINK News on Saturday that his letter “says it all.” “To repeat the primary point, the Sanibel City Council nor the Sanibel administration have had any conversations related to disbanding the Sanibel Police Department in favor of services from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office,” he said. According to Souza’s letter, the Facebook post said COVID-19 has strained the Sanibel Police Department, leading to finance, retention and recruitment issues. The post alleges Smith “does not Back the Blue but only the green in the form (of) money and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.” Souza responded to the post on Aug. 11, but it was then deleted. In his letter to the Sanibel community, Souza wrote that it was not true that city council did not support the police department. “The accusations presented in the Cape Coral FOP Facebook page are false, unfortunate, and divisive,” Souza said. “It does not represent the positive community culture generally found in Sanibel. We are a community founded on principles of positive communication, tolerance, and civil discourse. I hope this letter can put these false accusations to rest, so we can all focus on our work to ensure Sanibel remains a beautiful, safe, and respectful place to live and work.” Souza said he was sharing the letter with the community for transparency because the Facebook post had been deleted and so was a response from the city. He also shared the since-deleted Facebook post. Souza addressed the rumors and said it was not up to Smith but up to him, who attends city meetings and that to date, Sanibel police Chief William Dalton had not been excluded from any meetings. Additionally, Souza said, the city council recently approved an average 6% pay increase for sworn police officers, outside of any collective bargaining negotiations and has also approved a multi-million dollar upgrade to police facilities, showing that they are in support of the police department. Souza did say there are four vacant positions that they are having a hard time filling, which is an issue for police departments in Southwest Florida. Souza said he reached out to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno about whether he had any meetings with Sanibel city officials and Marceno “confirmed that his office has not had any conversations with Sanibel elected officials or staff about providing police services to Sanibel.” “It is particularly disappointing this false statement was published, since prior to the timing of this post, the Sanibel Police Chief and I met with a majority of Sanibel Police Department personnel to advise them directly that this allegation was false,” Souza said in a comment on the now-deleted Facebook post. “These are the facts,” he added. To read the full letter from Souza and the previously-published Facebook post and the city’s response, visit this link. This is a developing story.