New information on why FEMA put Fort Myers Beach on probationExclusive: Cape Coral Police Chief speaks out on hate crime incident
CAPE CORAL Exclusive: Cape Coral Police Chief speaks out on hate crime incident New exclusive surveillance video shows the moment a Cape Coral home is vandalized. The suspects painted racial slurs on the wall in red paint. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL New police precincts coming to Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department is adding new precincts around the city. The reason? Growth.
Vietnam veteran’s unique service animal companion When we think of service animals, dogs usually come to mind, but it’s not just dogs that help people navigate through their challenges.
NAPLES Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year award honoree: John Cooney It’s one thing to be philanthropic and help our community. It’s another to provide so much help and want absolutely nothing in return, not even your name mentioned.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High principal named Lee County Principal of the Year Carl Burnside was the last to find out Friday morning that he was selected as Lee County Schools Principal of the Year for 2025.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach businesses excited for increased season traffic Those on Fort Myers Beach are excited for the town to return to normal. Businesses are ready to accept snowbirds and residents again.
CAPE CORAL Mom faces DUI charge after crash during pick-up at Oasis High School A crash in the pick-up line at Oasis High School led Cape Coral police to a DUI investigation.
Rethinking daily Asprin intake Many of us have heard the saying, “An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away,” but new research shows that taking aspirin every day might not be as good for you as we once thought.
NAPLES Embezzlement investigation in Naples WINK News is looking into claims of embezzlement in the Naples government.
NORTH FORT MYERS Where did the Shell Factory animals go? With the closure of The Shell Factory in September, people have been wondering where the animals went.
Tim Aten Knows: Publix to demolish, rebuild Naples store Two days after Thanksgiving, the 38-year-old Publix supermarket in Neapolitan Way Plaza will close to begin a Naples redevelopment project that has been planned for years.
Planned retail, lifestyle center seeking tenants at Babcock Ranch A new 112,000-square-foot mixed-use complex designed for retail shops, restaurants, bars, office space and residential units is planned for Babcock Ranch. Called B Street at Babcock Ranch, there are approximately 20 parties negotiating leases, said Jon Cashion, a principal with commercial real estate agency Katz & Associates. A groundbreaking ceremony is slated for early 2025, […]
WASHINGTON (AP) Trump chooses loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, turning to a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.
FORT MYERS 2 Fort Myers men arrested in separate cases involving children Two men from Fort Myers have been arrested; one faces charges related to child pornography and another faces child molestation charges.
ESTERO Phase 2 in the Corkscrew Rd. Widening project begins Phase 1 of Corkscrew Road’s widening has been completed, and phase 2 is now commencing.
CAPE CORAL Exclusive: Cape Coral Police Chief speaks out on hate crime incident New exclusive surveillance video shows the moment a Cape Coral home is vandalized. The suspects painted racial slurs on the wall in red paint. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL New police precincts coming to Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department is adding new precincts around the city. The reason? Growth.
Vietnam veteran’s unique service animal companion When we think of service animals, dogs usually come to mind, but it’s not just dogs that help people navigate through their challenges.
NAPLES Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year award honoree: John Cooney It’s one thing to be philanthropic and help our community. It’s another to provide so much help and want absolutely nothing in return, not even your name mentioned.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High principal named Lee County Principal of the Year Carl Burnside was the last to find out Friday morning that he was selected as Lee County Schools Principal of the Year for 2025.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach businesses excited for increased season traffic Those on Fort Myers Beach are excited for the town to return to normal. Businesses are ready to accept snowbirds and residents again.
CAPE CORAL Mom faces DUI charge after crash during pick-up at Oasis High School A crash in the pick-up line at Oasis High School led Cape Coral police to a DUI investigation.
Rethinking daily Asprin intake Many of us have heard the saying, “An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away,” but new research shows that taking aspirin every day might not be as good for you as we once thought.
NAPLES Embezzlement investigation in Naples WINK News is looking into claims of embezzlement in the Naples government.
NORTH FORT MYERS Where did the Shell Factory animals go? With the closure of The Shell Factory in September, people have been wondering where the animals went.
Tim Aten Knows: Publix to demolish, rebuild Naples store Two days after Thanksgiving, the 38-year-old Publix supermarket in Neapolitan Way Plaza will close to begin a Naples redevelopment project that has been planned for years.
Planned retail, lifestyle center seeking tenants at Babcock Ranch A new 112,000-square-foot mixed-use complex designed for retail shops, restaurants, bars, office space and residential units is planned for Babcock Ranch. Called B Street at Babcock Ranch, there are approximately 20 parties negotiating leases, said Jon Cashion, a principal with commercial real estate agency Katz & Associates. A groundbreaking ceremony is slated for early 2025, […]
WASHINGTON (AP) Trump chooses loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, turning to a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.
FORT MYERS 2 Fort Myers men arrested in separate cases involving children Two men from Fort Myers have been arrested; one faces charges related to child pornography and another faces child molestation charges.
ESTERO Phase 2 in the Corkscrew Rd. Widening project begins Phase 1 of Corkscrew Road’s widening has been completed, and phase 2 is now commencing.
From behind the lottery counter at a Pick ‘n Save store in Madison, Wis., Djuan Davis hands Powerball tickets to Arpad Jakab, a retired utility worker who said it’s his first time buying them. The Powerball jackpot recently reached a record high of $1.6 billion. (AP Photo/Harm Venhuizen) The Powerball jackpot has reached a record estimated high of $1.6 billion, leading longtime players and first-timers alike to flock to buy tickets ahead of Saturday night’s drawing. At Woodman’s Markets in Madison, Wisconsin, sisters Christy Bemis and Cherrie Spencer were among the dozens of weekend shoppers who paid for their groceries and loaded up carts before joining the line at the lottery counter to purchase their shot at the prize. They said they almost never buy lottery tickets, but they were lured in by the size of the jackpot. “My $2 has just as good a chance of winning as anyone else’s $2,” said Spencer. The counter was one of the busiest areas of the supermarket — so busy that employees set up stanchions to guide the queue. Like most of the players in line, Jim Olson, 78, was buying Quick Picks, randomly generated Powerball numbers, but he doesn’t always. Olson said he has typically bought a Powerball ticket once every drawing “virtually since they started.” When he picks his own numbers, there’s no rhyme or reason to how he does it: “They just come to you. I can’t explain it.” Olson’s biggest win to date? $300 about 20 years ago, he said. It speaks to the extremely long odds of winning the jackpot — about 1 in 292.2 million. Still, the chance of pocketing $782.4 million (the value of the cash option before taxes) has been enough to bring people flooding across state lines for a chance to play. Winners of massive jackpots almost always opt for cash, but some financial experts say the annuity option, which is paid out over a 30-year term, might be a safer bet. Many players do whatever they can to try to tip the odds in their favor. Unlike the weekend shoppers in Madison, not everyone buys their tickets at the most convenient location. In Los Angeles, a liquor store known for producing several winning tickets over the years gives superstitious players hope that they could be the next to strike it rich. Hector Solis, 35, has been coming to Bluebird Liquor to buy lottery tickets ever since he was a kid tagging along with his parents. “Bluebird’s, you know, pretty much a hotspot that we know of,” he said. On Saturday, Solis purchased $140 worth of tickets on behalf of a group of 27 coworkers. He said he uses specific numbers, like the birthdays of family members he considers to have particularly good luck. Al Adams was also at the liquor store to buy his tickets. An experienced drug and alcohol counselor, Adams said he believes in giving back. If he were to win, he said he would give some of the money to his favorite charity for homeless and incarcerated people. “I’d use the rest to disappear somewhere,” Adams said. He also cautioned players to “play responsibly.” Kianah Bowman had a different message for lottery players. The 24-year-old organizer used Bluebird Liquor’s long lines as a platform for petitioning against high oil and gas prices — an issue she hopes to see on a ballot referendum in California. She was outside the liquor store for several days, gathering signatures from hundreds of players. Bowman also said she plans to buy a few tickets for herself. Back in Madison, Djuan Davis was manning the lottery counter at Pick ’n Save on Saturday morning, taking cash and handing out tickets to more weekend shoppers. “Typically there’s a lot of sales on Saturdays,” he said. With a record-breaking jackpot, the business has picked up. Davis said he’s also seen a recent increase in players purchasing tickets online. As customers arrived at the counter, Davis would ask how he could help them. Almost everyone answered the same: Powerball tickets. “Every time, it’s always that one,” Davis said. It was Arpad Jakab’s first time buying Powerball tickets. As Davis sold him four Quick Pick tickets, Jakab, a retired utility worker, said he probably wouldn’t buy them again unless there was another record jackpot. “It was just really high,” said Jakab. “Might as well join the insanity.”