Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the legExclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
RV resort after RV resort is left without power and water for months after Hurricane Ian. WINK News has learned that at least three properties owned by Sun Communities are without utilities. This came to light after our story on the Indian Creek RV Resort. The Siesta Bay RV Resort and another face the same issue as Indian Creek. Multiple people have told WINK News that they feel left in the dark, just like their entire community of homes, which still does not have power. Sun Communities said each individual lot has its own power pedestal, and each one has to be replaced because of the storm at several of their locations. People told us about the roadblocks they’re facing as they rebuild, while others explained why they’re choosing to give it all up. Desiree Megrant’s van. (Credit: WINK News) For months after the storm, this is where Desiree Megrant lived. “This van was home for me. She left and went back to Illinois. She just, you know, there was no room for both of us in here,” said Megrant. She and her wife, Deedee, own a home in Siesta Bay RV Resort. “Never owned a home in my life, always rented. And so, this being my first home, my dream place. I’ve always wanted to be in Florida,” said Deedee Minard. They just purchased it two years ago, then Ian hit. “We still can’t stay overnight at Siesta Bay. So, while we’re doing work, we can’t just, you know, lay our head down there. You know, so we have to be somewhere else,” Megrant said. Sun Communities signs. (Credit: WINK News) There are signs telling residents when they can be in their communities in front of Siesta Bay RV Resort, The Groves RV Resort, and Indian Creek RV Resort. Minard says sun communities give updates through zoom, but she’s left with more questions than answers. “Why are they not saying, ‘there’s not going to be any lot rent until we open. We’re not sure of the date,” said Minard. “They keep pushing back the time.” They want to know when the power is coming back on and when they can move back in. “They’ve also been telling folks that it’s going to be next month or the next month or the next month that the place is going to be open,” said Jason Ingream. Ingream is the owner of Mango Ritas. He also owns a home in Siesta Bay RV Resort, where his father-in-law would stay. “The day after the storm, we saw that our restaurant was gone. The next place that we headed to was over to the trailer to see what damage was done there,” Ingream said. Ingream said the community told residents they could hand over the title of their homes and Sun Communities would pay the costs of demolishing it. It’s something he’s reluctantly considering. “To hand in a title to something that maybe that was your dream to come to the beach and have a place near the beach, it’s a daunting thing to think that you’re getting ready to hand that over. Something you paid a lot of money for, to hand it over for free,” said Ingream. WINK News asked Sun Communities when residents could expect power to be restored. They said: The same situation applies to those locations. Replacing the entire electrical infrastructure and all pedestals of a community with hundreds of sites requires a significant amount of resources, coordination and time. We have dedicated teams working round the clock to bring them back online. The Groves will be the first to come back online and we hope to have power restored in the next 60 days. We also asked them if they have ordered the power pedestals that must be repaired or replaced in the various communities. Sun Communities said: Yes it is. Orders were placed soon after the hurricane but we’ve had to source pedestals from a number of manufacturers from around the US due to limited availability. In some cases, we’ve had to source individual components of the pedestals and assemble ourselves. As we receive shipments, we work with our construction crews to install at each site then connect them to transformers throughout the community. Once complete, we will work with FPL to reenergize the community. We also hold recurring town hall meetings and send regular communications to all residents. We provide status updates, construction progress, timelines and answer any questions they may have. We encourage all our residents to attend, check their emails and speak to the resort managers so they stay up to date.