Man connected to Fort Myers homicide investigation held without bondFive SWFL high school volleyball teams to states
FORT MYERS Man connected to Fort Myers homicide investigation held without bond A 45-year-old man appeared in court charged in connection to an incident that happened on Colonial Boulevard near Ortiz Avenue.
Five SWFL high school volleyball teams to states Five Southwest Florida high school volleyball teams are heading to Winter Haven to compete for a state championship.
Officials discuss concerns about amendments passing As millions of Floridians vote on two major amendments dealing with abortion and marijuana, some officials are raising concerns about how lawmakers can change or alter an amendment once it’s passed.
LELY Game of the Week: South Fort Myers Wolfpack at Lely Trojans The South Fort Myers Wolfpack and the Lely Trojans will battle it out Friday night in our WINK News week 11 Game of the week.
CAPE CORAL How to help burrowing owls displaced after hurricanes Unlike us humans who can repair our homes and clear debris after a hurricane, burrowing owls can’t do that work themselves.
PUNTA GORDA Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda to reopen after Hurricane Milton If you’re looking to do some early holiday shopping in Charlotte County on Friday, Fisherman’s Village is reopening its doors just in time.
Miracle Moment: Nurses dress up NICU babies for Halloween It’s time for Miracle moment, and boy do we have a Halloween treat.
FORT MYERS End of daylight saving time can affect your health It doesn’t matter that it still feels like summer, the days are about to get longer as we head towards winter.
Charlotte County Driver in fatal Charlotte crash found guilty of vehicular homicide On Wednesday, a jury concluded that the driver involved in a Charlotte County two-vehicle fatal crash back in Sept. 21, 2023 was guilty of vehicular homicide.
CLEWISTON Clewiston Police: toddler dies from accidental gunshot wound New information has been released about the 2-year-old Clewiston boy who died from a single gunshot wound.
New FEMA disaster recovery center in Charlotte County For those looking for help with hurricane recovery efforts, a new FEMA disaster recovery center has opened its doors in Charlotte County.
Red tide found off the coast of SWFL counties Red tide has begun to appear in the Southwest Florida area from Tampa and Sarasota, with high concentrations in Charlotte County.
New shopping center coming to Punta Gorda at Jones Loop Road A new retail mall is planned along Jones Loop Road in Punta Gorda following a developer’s $6.1 million purchase of 18 acres.
ALVA 3 life sentences for Anne Lang, Alva woman guilty of DUI manslaughter Anne Lang, the woman found guilty on three counts of DUI manslaughter and three counts of vehicular homicide, will be back in court for sentencing.
Tri-County 75 warehouse in Fort Myers sells for record-setting $155.1M The path to the local broker’s role in a “home run” series of transactions began with him slipping a sheet of notebook paper under a closed office door, five years ago.
FORT MYERS Man connected to Fort Myers homicide investigation held without bond A 45-year-old man appeared in court charged in connection to an incident that happened on Colonial Boulevard near Ortiz Avenue.
Five SWFL high school volleyball teams to states Five Southwest Florida high school volleyball teams are heading to Winter Haven to compete for a state championship.
Officials discuss concerns about amendments passing As millions of Floridians vote on two major amendments dealing with abortion and marijuana, some officials are raising concerns about how lawmakers can change or alter an amendment once it’s passed.
LELY Game of the Week: South Fort Myers Wolfpack at Lely Trojans The South Fort Myers Wolfpack and the Lely Trojans will battle it out Friday night in our WINK News week 11 Game of the week.
CAPE CORAL How to help burrowing owls displaced after hurricanes Unlike us humans who can repair our homes and clear debris after a hurricane, burrowing owls can’t do that work themselves.
PUNTA GORDA Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda to reopen after Hurricane Milton If you’re looking to do some early holiday shopping in Charlotte County on Friday, Fisherman’s Village is reopening its doors just in time.
Miracle Moment: Nurses dress up NICU babies for Halloween It’s time for Miracle moment, and boy do we have a Halloween treat.
FORT MYERS End of daylight saving time can affect your health It doesn’t matter that it still feels like summer, the days are about to get longer as we head towards winter.
Charlotte County Driver in fatal Charlotte crash found guilty of vehicular homicide On Wednesday, a jury concluded that the driver involved in a Charlotte County two-vehicle fatal crash back in Sept. 21, 2023 was guilty of vehicular homicide.
CLEWISTON Clewiston Police: toddler dies from accidental gunshot wound New information has been released about the 2-year-old Clewiston boy who died from a single gunshot wound.
New FEMA disaster recovery center in Charlotte County For those looking for help with hurricane recovery efforts, a new FEMA disaster recovery center has opened its doors in Charlotte County.
Red tide found off the coast of SWFL counties Red tide has begun to appear in the Southwest Florida area from Tampa and Sarasota, with high concentrations in Charlotte County.
New shopping center coming to Punta Gorda at Jones Loop Road A new retail mall is planned along Jones Loop Road in Punta Gorda following a developer’s $6.1 million purchase of 18 acres.
ALVA 3 life sentences for Anne Lang, Alva woman guilty of DUI manslaughter Anne Lang, the woman found guilty on three counts of DUI manslaughter and three counts of vehicular homicide, will be back in court for sentencing.
Tri-County 75 warehouse in Fort Myers sells for record-setting $155.1M The path to the local broker’s role in a “home run” series of transactions began with him slipping a sheet of notebook paper under a closed office door, five years ago.
FILE: Airport flight status board showing canceled flights at RSW. (Credit: WINK News) The end of the year is the busiest time for airports. Everyone is trying to make it home for the holidays and a lot can go wrong with flights. A week-long getaway to Nantucket became a travel nightmare for Robert Myers months before his flight even got off the ground. Myers reviewing his flight itinerary, CREDIT: WINK News “There should be a better way than to just say ‘tough luck,'” Roberts said of his experience. In August, he booked a round trip JetBlue flight from Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) to Nantucket (ACK) for his October vacation. He booked it all with points. There was a layover in New York (JFK and LGA) each way. About a week later, he got an email from the airline to give them a call. “They told me that [the return] flight from Nantucket to LaGuardia had been canceled,” Myers explained. “They said it was not rebookable because that was the only JetBlue flight leaving Nantucket that made a Fort Myers connection, so I said, ‘Well, what are my options?'” Myers’ flight itinerary, CREDIT: WINK News Myers said JetBlue told him he could either cancel his entire trip and JetBlue would refund him, so he could book his flights on another airline OR he could get on a JetBlue flight from a nearby airport. Myers decided to keep his JetBlue reservation and fly out of Boston back to Fort Myers. Since Nantucket is an island, he had to book another flight on a different airline from Nantucket to Boston for $270. Myers is upset JetBlue would not reimburse him for the extra flight he had to buy. “There ought to be a better way to obtain better customer satisfaction than what they did, which was nothing,” Myers said in frustration. “They just said, ‘There’s nothing we can do about it.'” RELATED: Are airline credit cards worth having? WINK News Consumer Reporter Andryanna Sheppard asked JetBlue if there was anything else the airline could do. A spokesperson wrote in a statement: “While not frequent, when schedule changes occur, we do our best to minimize impacts to our customers’ travel plans and inform them early, so they are aware and empowered to book alternate itineraries. In this case, our records show we informed our customer around 2 months before their scheduled travel that their return flight would no longer be possible, as a connection at LaGuardia Airport would be missed due to a schedule change. When these rare situations occur, we give our customers the option to look for other travel and cancel their JetBlue flights for a full refund. They may also select a JetBlue flight from another regional airport. In this case, the customer chose a JetBlue flight from Boston to Fort Myers for their return travel. In addition, as an apology for the inconvenience, we’ve provided the customer $50 in future travel credit and a refund of $60 in fees.” Travelers wait at a Southwest Airlines baggage counter to retrieve their bags after canceled flights at Los Angeles International Airport, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia) According to the United States Department of Transportation, airlines are only “required to refund passengers when an airline cancels or significantly changes a flight and passengers do not accept alternative transportation.” READ MORE: Traveling this holiday season? Book your flights now In 2022, AAA found 4.5 millions Americans flew for Thanksgiving. Another 7 million flew home for the holidays. US DOT data shows nearly 38,000 flights were canceled in November and December 2022. Even more people are expected to fly for both holidays this year, leaving plenty of opportunity for airlines to throw a wrench into your smooth travel plans. Tips for flight cancellations and delays NerdWallet’s Travel Expert Sally French recommends that you jump in line to speak with a gate agent and call the airline on the phone at the same time if your flight is canceled while you’re already at the airport. Some airlines will let you change flights on their apps as well. This will give you the best chance of getting on the next available flight. “If you don’t want to take that flight, if you just cancel it because the airline canceled your flight, you are entitled to a full refund assuming you don’t accept an offer to take another flight,” French added. Flight delays at RSW, CREDIT: WINK News A number of airlines will also give you vouchers if your flight is delayed longer than three hours. “Most airlines won’t offer upfront things like flight vouchers or meal vouchers,” French continued. “But often, if you go to the customer service desk and you’re polite, there’s a chance that that customer service person may try to help you out and give you some sort of compensation.” Luggage and bags can bring problems as well. “If you can pack light, result to just a carry on, you reduce that factor of your luggage getting lost,” recommends French. “But also, if you need to change plans quickly, you don’t need to worry about where your luggage is because it is with you.” If you have to check your bags and they show up in baggage claim damaged, the US DOT said airlines will usually pay to those bags fix. If they can’t be, they’ll negotiate with you to pay for the depreciated value. The same applies to anything inside your luggage that is damaged as a result. MGN Myers wishes JetBlue did more, like pay for his flight on the other airline, but he’ll take the baggage refund and flight credits. “I just got the sense like it was, ‘well, tough luck. We’re sorry,'” Myers said. U.S. Department of Transportation resources As a result of all of the hiccups flyers experienced with flight cancellations and delays post-pandemic, the U.S. DOT now has the Airline Customer Service Dashboard. If shows what airlines will and won’t do if your flight is delayed. The U.S. DOT wrote in a statement to WINK News Consumer Reporter Andryanna Sheppard, “The department will hold airlines accountable if they fail to adhere to their obligations.” The U.S. DOT also wrote: “DOT is actively working on various actions to improve protection for airline passengers. DOT has issued a rulemaking that would significantly strengthen protections for consumers seeking refunds for airline tickets, including, if adopted in final as proposed, require travel credits or vouchers to non-refundable ticket holders who are unable to travel for reasons related to communicable disease. Also, for the first time in U.S. history, DOT has initiated a rulemaking that would, if adopted in final, require airlines to compensate passengers and cover certain expenses for controllable delays and cancellations.”