Lee County begins to clear trash pile on San Carlos Island The trash pile that accumulated on San Carlos Island after hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton is now being cleared by Lee County.
FORT MYERS 1 dead after crash on Colonial Blvd According to the Fort Myers Police Department, one person is dead after a crash on Colonial Blvd at around 7:30 p.m.
SANIBEL Air quality concerns keep Sanibel School temporarily closed The Sanibel School will remain temporarily closed following indoor air quality (IAQ) tests that did not meet the standards required for safe occupancy.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral honors Veterans Day with annual parade Veterans Day is a couple of days away, but why wait until then to celebrate our veterans here in southwest Florida?
southwest florida Warm Veterans Day weekend ahead with a stray shower possible The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant but warm weather with temperatures above normal into the afternoon.
NORTH FORT MYERS 66-year-old North Fort Myers man to attempt planking world record A 66-year-old North Fort Myers Man will attempt the world record for being the oldest person to perform a plank.
Understanding the federal agencies involved in Alfie Oakes’ investigation All eyes are on Alfie Oakes after federal agents raided two of his properties on Thursday, the Oakes farm’s packing warehouse and his north Naples home.
21 SWFL teams heading to high school football playoffs 21 high school football teams in Southwest Florida are playoff bound. Check out the breakdown of the bracket to see who your team is playing.
FGCU FGCU men’s soccer player honors late childhood friend FGCU men’s soccer player Sebastian Soriano’s outlook on the game changed when his childhood friend and teammate passed away.
CAPE CORAL School bus blows through stop sign in Cape Coral A school bus driver in Cape Coral ignores the rules of the road. A concerned parent caught video of the bus on camera.
Oakes Farms $238 million dollar contract with the Department of Defense could have caused federal agents to swarm warehouse and home A man known for his role in our community has once again found himself right in the middle of another controversy.
Man arrested after traffic stop turned Fentanyl bust in Collier County The Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man who stands accused of Fentanyl possession, among other illegal drugs.
FORT MYERS SHORES Final streets need debris cleanup on Fort Myers Shores There’s not a lot, but some piles of storm debris left after Hurricane Milton are still on the side of the road in Fort Myers Shores.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man actively searches for missing service dog A Punta Gorda man who lost almost everything following hurricanes Milton and Helene is now searching for his missing service dog.
Army veteran to honor fallen soldiers during Veterans Day weekend A local retired Army staff sergeant was one of just four selected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia.
Lee County begins to clear trash pile on San Carlos Island The trash pile that accumulated on San Carlos Island after hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton is now being cleared by Lee County.
FORT MYERS 1 dead after crash on Colonial Blvd According to the Fort Myers Police Department, one person is dead after a crash on Colonial Blvd at around 7:30 p.m.
SANIBEL Air quality concerns keep Sanibel School temporarily closed The Sanibel School will remain temporarily closed following indoor air quality (IAQ) tests that did not meet the standards required for safe occupancy.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral honors Veterans Day with annual parade Veterans Day is a couple of days away, but why wait until then to celebrate our veterans here in southwest Florida?
southwest florida Warm Veterans Day weekend ahead with a stray shower possible The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant but warm weather with temperatures above normal into the afternoon.
NORTH FORT MYERS 66-year-old North Fort Myers man to attempt planking world record A 66-year-old North Fort Myers Man will attempt the world record for being the oldest person to perform a plank.
Understanding the federal agencies involved in Alfie Oakes’ investigation All eyes are on Alfie Oakes after federal agents raided two of his properties on Thursday, the Oakes farm’s packing warehouse and his north Naples home.
21 SWFL teams heading to high school football playoffs 21 high school football teams in Southwest Florida are playoff bound. Check out the breakdown of the bracket to see who your team is playing.
FGCU FGCU men’s soccer player honors late childhood friend FGCU men’s soccer player Sebastian Soriano’s outlook on the game changed when his childhood friend and teammate passed away.
CAPE CORAL School bus blows through stop sign in Cape Coral A school bus driver in Cape Coral ignores the rules of the road. A concerned parent caught video of the bus on camera.
Oakes Farms $238 million dollar contract with the Department of Defense could have caused federal agents to swarm warehouse and home A man known for his role in our community has once again found himself right in the middle of another controversy.
Man arrested after traffic stop turned Fentanyl bust in Collier County The Collier County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man who stands accused of Fentanyl possession, among other illegal drugs.
FORT MYERS SHORES Final streets need debris cleanup on Fort Myers Shores There’s not a lot, but some piles of storm debris left after Hurricane Milton are still on the side of the road in Fort Myers Shores.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man actively searches for missing service dog A Punta Gorda man who lost almost everything following hurricanes Milton and Helene is now searching for his missing service dog.
Army veteran to honor fallen soldiers during Veterans Day weekend A local retired Army staff sergeant was one of just four selected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia.
Fort Myers Beach pier (Credit: WINK News) The road to recovery is long, but it’s increasingly becoming clearer. WINK News is learning it will take about four years to rebuild the iconic Fort Myers Beach Pier. We’ve seen different design concepts for the new pier, but WINK News did verify that FEMA will pay for all of it. The county and community will work together to come up with a new design concept for the pier, and then that design concept will go through permitting. After the approval, the county will bid for a construction company. “Yeah, we’re rebuilding the Fort Myers Beach Pier,” said Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman. It’s going to take between three and four years. “Just the timeframe to hire a designer could take five months, the concept, the design, with community involvement could take between six to eight months, then for permitting,” said Hamman. “Then you know, to hire the construction company who’s going to build the pier, we’re gonna go out to a competitive bid process for that, that could take another four months.” Then the work can start. More than a year after Hurricane Ian, the pier is coming back. When WINK News discovered this, we took it to the beach to spread the word. “We were just talking about the pier hoping like out of everything that everybody’s doing here is to get this pier back together, and then I met your beautiful face today, and you told me not five minutes ago that we are approved,” said Fort Myers Beach resident Cheryl O’Neil. Let’s Go FMB member Alan Shanoksy told WINK News they look forward to keep pushing to keep the original pier’s history alive. “We certainly want to be involved in the process. We have a very good finger on the pulse of the community as to their desires,” said Shanoksy. “the history of the pier is extremely important to our group and me personally. All fishing piers or piers started as fishing piers. So we’d like to see that aspect of the pier be incorporated the new design, as well as many improvements.” While the memory of the old pier still lives on, it’s bizarre not to see it there. “To walk across there to see the sunrise to see the sunset to fish to have the shops to have this beautiful thing look at this that the clocks here everything is just cheers. Cheers,” said O’Neil. Getting the green light to work towards building back the pier is the good news many needed to hear.