19-year-old Cape Coral man accused of attempted car burglary on Christmas EveRSW braces for post-holiday travel
cape coral 19-year-old Cape Coral man accused of attempted car burglary on Christmas Eve The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a man accused of attempting to steal a car on Christmas Eve.
RSW braces for post-holiday travel Now that the holidays have passed for many, the return to normalcy has begun as the Southwest Florida International Airport prepares for the large influx of travelers.
wink news Mega Millions jackpot surges over $1B; next drawing set for Friday The elusive Mega Millions jackpot has evaded players this holiday season as the prize money has ballooned to $1.15 billion.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warmer temperatures and isolated showers for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking warmer temperatures along with isolated showers expected throughout this Thursday afternoon.
PORT CHARLOTTE Families visit Santa’s Village in Port Charlotte for Christmas The holiday magic is in full swing at Santa’s Village. There are holiday lights, food, and plenty of families making some holiday memories
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter volunteers distribute gifts to cats and dogs Christmas is meant to be merry, but for dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes it can be anything but.
NAPLES Dozens volunteer to feed over 500 people at St. Matthew’s House The St. Matthews House fed nearly 500 people hot and traditional holiday meals at their Naples shelter on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL Project Siren; Cape Coral chaplain praying for first responders The sound of sirens, life and death hang in the balance. A cape coral chaplain bows his head and says a prayer.
FORT MYERS Residents celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day Hanukkah begins Wednesday with the lighting of the first candle. Each night, another candle will be lit until all eight shine bright.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood residents still recovering from hurricanes on Christmas Neighbors on Lemon Bay Drive in Englewood said their homes had never seen a drop of a water from a hurricane until 2024.
FORT MYERS Dr. Piper Center hosts annual Christmas Celebration Dozens of children are enjoying new bicycles on Christmas day thanks to the generosity of the Dr. Piper Center.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 25, 2024 This weekly Most Wanted Wednesday WINK News segment features fugitives from justice in Southwest Florida.
Spending the holidays with first responders For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with family, but one group is making sure our families are staying safe.
More clouds and a few showers for your Christmas Day plans The Weather Authority is tracking more clouds on Christmas day than we saw on Christmas Eve and the chance for a few showers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Adoptive family spends first Christmas together Family come in all shapes and sizes but all share one common thing, their love for each other. One southwest Florida woman couldn’t have kids, so she built her family through adoption and fostering.
cape coral 19-year-old Cape Coral man accused of attempted car burglary on Christmas Eve The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a man accused of attempting to steal a car on Christmas Eve.
RSW braces for post-holiday travel Now that the holidays have passed for many, the return to normalcy has begun as the Southwest Florida International Airport prepares for the large influx of travelers.
wink news Mega Millions jackpot surges over $1B; next drawing set for Friday The elusive Mega Millions jackpot has evaded players this holiday season as the prize money has ballooned to $1.15 billion.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warmer temperatures and isolated showers for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking warmer temperatures along with isolated showers expected throughout this Thursday afternoon.
PORT CHARLOTTE Families visit Santa’s Village in Port Charlotte for Christmas The holiday magic is in full swing at Santa’s Village. There are holiday lights, food, and plenty of families making some holiday memories
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter volunteers distribute gifts to cats and dogs Christmas is meant to be merry, but for dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes it can be anything but.
NAPLES Dozens volunteer to feed over 500 people at St. Matthew’s House The St. Matthews House fed nearly 500 people hot and traditional holiday meals at their Naples shelter on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL Project Siren; Cape Coral chaplain praying for first responders The sound of sirens, life and death hang in the balance. A cape coral chaplain bows his head and says a prayer.
FORT MYERS Residents celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day Hanukkah begins Wednesday with the lighting of the first candle. Each night, another candle will be lit until all eight shine bright.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood residents still recovering from hurricanes on Christmas Neighbors on Lemon Bay Drive in Englewood said their homes had never seen a drop of a water from a hurricane until 2024.
FORT MYERS Dr. Piper Center hosts annual Christmas Celebration Dozens of children are enjoying new bicycles on Christmas day thanks to the generosity of the Dr. Piper Center.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 25, 2024 This weekly Most Wanted Wednesday WINK News segment features fugitives from justice in Southwest Florida.
Spending the holidays with first responders For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with family, but one group is making sure our families are staying safe.
More clouds and a few showers for your Christmas Day plans The Weather Authority is tracking more clouds on Christmas day than we saw on Christmas Eve and the chance for a few showers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Adoptive family spends first Christmas together Family come in all shapes and sizes but all share one common thing, their love for each other. One southwest Florida woman couldn’t have kids, so she built her family through adoption and fostering.
The road to recovery for businesses on Fort Myers Beach has not been easy. Favorite hangouts where people on the beach have made memories for years have been taken away. Tor the restaurants in Times Square, trying to rebuild has been especially hard. Despite the tough recovery, the people who manage those popular spots tell us persistence is key. WINK News spoke with Tom Houghton, the owner of La Ola Restaurant, the night before Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida. He was standing where his restaurant used to be, putting down sandbags and preparing for a flood. Houghton said that night that he was going to open his restaurant back up as soon as he could after the storm. Even though he didn’t know the entire concrete structure of his restaurant would crumble to the ground, he kept that promise. “It’s definitely been a journey for sure. You know, so a lot of sleepless nights,” said Houghton. “I think we all still have those breakdowns every once in a while. A lot of times for me, it might be in my car when I’m driving all by myself,” Houghton said. After landfall, the entire restaurant was gone. “It’s crazy to think about all that we’ve been through and how far we’ve actually come. So it’s, it feels good.” Houghton’s restaurant wasn’t gone for long. “I’ve got a lot of people that have been with me for a long time. I just felt like I had to bring it back in whatever shape or form I could.” La Ola food truck. (Credit: WINK News) Determined to come back is an understatement for Houghton. First, it was the food truck less than two months after the storm hit. “Around November 2. And Terry over across the street was nice enough to let us use his parking lot because it was, you know, the restaurant was still a big pile of rubble at the time.” La Ola’s new container restaurant. (Credit: Shared with WINK News) Now, it is something bigger. “It’s two 40-foot shipping containers that have been converted into one bar. They’re shipping separately, then they’ll get joined together when they arrive on-site, so the rear unit has a 10 by eight walk-in cooler on one end, a 10 by eight bathroom cube.” A larger operation will feed more people and bring more life back to the beach, and hopefully, fewer birds. “We do have a problem with birds. And don’t feed the birds, people, please,” said Houghton. Houghton has provided extra garbage cans in the area to hopefully lead to less trash and fewer birds.