FORT MYERS Fort Myers residents weigh-in on Florida Amendment 1 In 1998, Florida voted for non-partisan school board elections. In November, Florida will decide whether political parties are essential for school board elections.
FORT MYERS 4 injured in car crash on McGregor Blvd. Authorities are investigating a crash that occurred Thursday night in Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Local artist painting animals in hopes of getting them adopted A local artist painted multiple animals at the Gulf Coast Humane Society in hopes of getting them adopted.
BONITA SPRINGS Caught on Video: Woman destroys car with crowbar A Bonita Springs man woke up to the sight of a woman destroying his car with a crowbar.
MATLACHA Video shows impact of April’s deadly DUI crash in Matlacha WINK News has obtained new video and new documents from the State Attorney’s Office of the deadly Matlacha crash in April.
WINK Investigates: DBPR investigating Beattie Development WINK News has now confirmed the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation is now investigating Beattie Development.
NAPLES Player of the week: Romeo Sararo Aubrey Rogers football is on a two-game win streak. Coming off last year’s two and eighth seasons, it’s a positive start for the Patriots.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office speaks on school safety in wake of threats The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has investigated over a hundred potential school threats in the last two weeks.
ESTERO Two FGCU alumni featured in Gulfshore 40 under 40 At Florida Gulf Coast University, alumni are proving they still bleed blue and green years after they graduate.
NAPLES Naples man helps rebuild school in Ukraine A former Naples student who works to help others is gaining national attention in Ukraine.
NAPLES Is your child’s car seat safe? Car seats are one of the main tools used to keep children safe, but they are usually installed incorrectly.
BOKEELIA House fire rips through Bokeelia home A raging fire has ripped apart a two-story home in Bokeelia leaving a man homeless.
NORTH NAPLES WINK News Game of the Week: Port Charlotte at First Baptist Our WINK News Game of the Week for Week 5 is First Baptist hosting Port Charlotte with several top recruits taking center stage.
How an implantable device can help deal movement disorders Whether it’s from Parkinson’s disease or another movement disorder, hand tremors can be debilitating.
ARCADIA Arcadia woman arrested for threatening DCSO sergeant An Arcadia woman is in jail for threatening to blow up a DeSoto County sergeant’s home. The sergeant is now pressing charges for her threat.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers residents weigh-in on Florida Amendment 1 In 1998, Florida voted for non-partisan school board elections. In November, Florida will decide whether political parties are essential for school board elections.
FORT MYERS 4 injured in car crash on McGregor Blvd. Authorities are investigating a crash that occurred Thursday night in Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Local artist painting animals in hopes of getting them adopted A local artist painted multiple animals at the Gulf Coast Humane Society in hopes of getting them adopted.
BONITA SPRINGS Caught on Video: Woman destroys car with crowbar A Bonita Springs man woke up to the sight of a woman destroying his car with a crowbar.
MATLACHA Video shows impact of April’s deadly DUI crash in Matlacha WINK News has obtained new video and new documents from the State Attorney’s Office of the deadly Matlacha crash in April.
WINK Investigates: DBPR investigating Beattie Development WINK News has now confirmed the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation is now investigating Beattie Development.
NAPLES Player of the week: Romeo Sararo Aubrey Rogers football is on a two-game win streak. Coming off last year’s two and eighth seasons, it’s a positive start for the Patriots.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office speaks on school safety in wake of threats The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has investigated over a hundred potential school threats in the last two weeks.
ESTERO Two FGCU alumni featured in Gulfshore 40 under 40 At Florida Gulf Coast University, alumni are proving they still bleed blue and green years after they graduate.
NAPLES Naples man helps rebuild school in Ukraine A former Naples student who works to help others is gaining national attention in Ukraine.
NAPLES Is your child’s car seat safe? Car seats are one of the main tools used to keep children safe, but they are usually installed incorrectly.
BOKEELIA House fire rips through Bokeelia home A raging fire has ripped apart a two-story home in Bokeelia leaving a man homeless.
NORTH NAPLES WINK News Game of the Week: Port Charlotte at First Baptist Our WINK News Game of the Week for Week 5 is First Baptist hosting Port Charlotte with several top recruits taking center stage.
How an implantable device can help deal movement disorders Whether it’s from Parkinson’s disease or another movement disorder, hand tremors can be debilitating.
ARCADIA Arcadia woman arrested for threatening DCSO sergeant An Arcadia woman is in jail for threatening to blow up a DeSoto County sergeant’s home. The sergeant is now pressing charges for her threat.
The corporate team at Waffle House expected solid results in opening its newest Southwest Florida location in Lehigh Acres. It didn’t expect one of the best openings in company history, though. The first Waffle House opened in 1955 in Georgia with more than 2,000 locations following. Store No. 2,427, the new one at 3414 Lee Blvd. in Lehigh Acres, had the 14th-best first seven days in company history, Senior Vice President Matt Cox said. Making the opening even more unique, the location, which opened Sept. 11, has yet to transition to opening 24 hours a day like most Waffle Houses. “Lehigh is really a great community for us,” Cox said. “They’re just hard, working-class people. You can see from how busy we are, they love Waffle House. This is the perfect place for us. We do really well in communities like Lehigh Acres.” Waffle House now has 13 locations in Southwest Florida. A 14th is being planned for 4891 Palm Beach Blvd. in Fort Myers. Waffle House bought the property for $450,000 in December 2020 and then razed what had been an abandoned Pizza Hut in February 2021. About a year from now, it’s in line to be the region’s next location. “We don’t advertise, as you may or may not know,” Cox said. “There’s never a Waffle House commercial on TV. To me, it’s really just family-oriented.” Waffle House prefers to be marketed by word-of-mouth, Cox said. It also doesn’t hurt that the brand is referenced a lot in pop culture, such as by the Jonas Brothers, who titled one of their songs “Waffle House.” Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Craig Fugate coined the Waffle House Index for hurricane-stricken areas, with green meaning that an area’s Waffle House restaurants were open and yellow meaning some were open and some were still without power. “And if we’re closed, it’s red, and it’s bad,” Cox said. “… We don’t really use it or talk about it much. We just do what we do. But we get more people asking about that than anything else.” The new Waffle House hired between 50 and 60 employees, Cox said, and eventually will shift to be open 24 hours a day.