NAPLES Increasing amount of homeless seniors in SWFL Saint Matthew House told Wink News that 20% of the people they shelter are over 60 years old.
NAPLES Man suspected of threatening pickelballers with machete A man has been arrested after authorities say he chased a group of pickleball players off a Naples court. “I don’t know. It just seemed like he snapped,” said William Nehrkorn, father of one of the pickleball players. 53-year-old Pelican Marsh maintenance worker Joseph Devalle ran toward Nehrkorn’s son and friends, not with a paddle […]
NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
NAPLES Increasing amount of homeless seniors in SWFL Saint Matthew House told Wink News that 20% of the people they shelter are over 60 years old.
NAPLES Man suspected of threatening pickelballers with machete A man has been arrested after authorities say he chased a group of pickleball players off a Naples court. “I don’t know. It just seemed like he snapped,” said William Nehrkorn, father of one of the pickleball players. 53-year-old Pelican Marsh maintenance worker Joseph Devalle ran toward Nehrkorn’s son and friends, not with a paddle […]
NAPLES Turtle Club in Naples reopens Following a 19-month closure because of Hurricane Ian, the Turtle Club has reopened.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
Federal student loan borrowers will begin making payments in October for the first time in more than three years. Over the years, more and more students have had to take out more and more loans in order to afford and stay in college. Now student debt is more than a trillion dollars. In the early 2000s, Laurie Winter packed up her car and drove herself to Tallahassee to start her freshman year at Florida State University. “I applied for the student loans on my own. I also got some Pell grants. I was the first person to go to college in my family so I kind of just went out and did it on my own,” Winter remembered. Without the grants and loans, she wouldn’t have been able to graduate in 2005 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. “When I graduated, and I went a couple of summers too, I had $45,000 in student loans,” Winter said. Winter speaking to WINK News Consumer Reporter Andryanna Sheppard, CREDIT: WINK News Almost 20 years later, she’s still paying on those loans. According to personal finance website NerdWallet, Winter is one of about 45 million Americans with student loan debt, totaling more than $1.76 trillion dollars. “School just keeps getting more and more expensive,” Winter noted. Dr. F. King Alexander is an educational leadership and public policy professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. Before coming to Southwest Florida, he was the President of multiple universities including Louisiana State University (LSU) and California State University Long Beach (Cal State Long Beach). He’s also spent decades working with US Presidents and their administrations to fund public higher education and lower student debt. Dr. Alexander with former President Clinton and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, CREDIT: WINK News “This is a major issue,” Dr. F. King Alexander said. “We were very concerned about the student debt issue 20 years ago.” Tuition costs over the years Data from the National Center for Education Statistics found it cost $1,545 to attend a public, four year college during the 1968-1969 school year. That price is adjusted for inflation and includes tuition, fees, room and board. It cost about $30,000 for the 2021-2022 school year. If costs stayed in line with inflation, going to a four year college should only set a student back about $12,000 a year. Dr. Alexander blames the student debt crisis on states slashing their higher education budgets. READ MORE: Biden presses student debt relief as payments resume after the coronavirus pandemic pause “The result when states don’t fund their higher education systems, which states in tax effort are down about roughly 49 percent from where they were in 1980, tuition goes up,” added Dr. Alexander. “Students end up having to cover the cost of higher education from the Baby Boomer population that has been shifting this burden onto the backs of the younger generation.” He believes the economic consequences are endless. “We’re creating a generation of renters and not buyers,” Dr. Alexander noted. “They’re spending less in the economy. They’re buying less cars. They’re buying less houses. You prolong the fact that they’re not going to buy a house until 10 years longer than their parents did. Many people aren’t starting families because of the debt that they have or they’re prolonging the idea of starting a family and getting married.” Keeping student loan debt low Right now, Dr. Alexander is working with President Biden to make community colleges tuition free. “That will help many of our students that may start in community colleges and go to school for free, relieving them of the first two years of debt that they may have to take out,” added Dr. Alexander. Dr. Alexander discussing the student loan debt crisis, CREDIT: WINK News Until then, he recommends all aspiring college students look at the College Scorecard on the US Department of Education’s website. It breaks down how much students will make once they graduate compared to what the school charges so you can get the most bang for your buck…or student loan. Don’t forget to look for scholarships before you start college. The National Scholarship Association found about $100 million goes unawarded each year, mostly because people don’t apply.