PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents awaiting Gilchrist Park repairs The City of Punta Gorda has yet to complete repairs or remove the boats that remain stranded in Gilchrist Park after Hurricane Milton.
Unlocking Alzheimer’s mysteries Research shows that some older adults have signs of the disease in their brains after they die, even though they never had symptoms while they were alive. These cases could be key to developing new treatments.
IMMOKALEE 64-year-old drug dealer sentenced in Collier County A 64-year-old drug dealer has been sentenced in Collier County for possession and distribution of cocaine.
WINK NEWS Disaster tax relief bill passed after over 2 years After more than two years of uncertainty, victims of Hurricane Ian and other disasters are getting some financial relief.
Elevate Social Lounge opens Kava bar at University Village near FGCU For almost four years, Mitra 9 has marketed itself as the Budweiser of Kava, trying to make mainstream a growing trend of Kava-infused drinks that are said to help reduce anxiety.
ESTERO Funeral procession held for former Lee County firefighter Hundreds joined to pay their respects to a beloved firefighter who passed away in November.
FORT MYERS Will new developments along SR 82 cause traffic problems? New developments are coming to State Road 82 near the Forum, the biggest of which is Amazon’s new robotics fulfillment center.
SANIBEL 36th annual Sanibel Luminary Festival begins It’s the holiday season, and there are events galore across Southwest Florida this weekend. One of those events is the Sanibel Luminary Festival.
FORT MYERS FGCU student arrested, accused of making social media threat against university Florida Gulf Coast University police have arrested a student accused of sending a threat to the university through Snapchat.
SANIBEL Sanibel annual 10K/5K race begins this weekend Sanibel’s annual food programs, island-based social services and Helping Hands’ JOG N JAM 10K/5K race will close several roads this Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Teen accused of stealing vehicle from Cape Coral driveway A 16-year-old with a history of stealing cars has been arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a Cape Coral driveway.
Tim Aten Knows: Work begins for new Publix at Wiggins and U.S. 41 Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs.
WINK NEWS Cold front brings stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening A cold front will bring in stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening with warmer temperatures in the upper 70s.
FORT MYERS House fire in downtown Fort Myers caused by smoking A house fire caused a massive scene overnight near downtown Fort Myers, with smoke visible from the home.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents awaiting Gilchrist Park repairs The City of Punta Gorda has yet to complete repairs or remove the boats that remain stranded in Gilchrist Park after Hurricane Milton.
Unlocking Alzheimer’s mysteries Research shows that some older adults have signs of the disease in their brains after they die, even though they never had symptoms while they were alive. These cases could be key to developing new treatments.
IMMOKALEE 64-year-old drug dealer sentenced in Collier County A 64-year-old drug dealer has been sentenced in Collier County for possession and distribution of cocaine.
WINK NEWS Disaster tax relief bill passed after over 2 years After more than two years of uncertainty, victims of Hurricane Ian and other disasters are getting some financial relief.
Elevate Social Lounge opens Kava bar at University Village near FGCU For almost four years, Mitra 9 has marketed itself as the Budweiser of Kava, trying to make mainstream a growing trend of Kava-infused drinks that are said to help reduce anxiety.
ESTERO Funeral procession held for former Lee County firefighter Hundreds joined to pay their respects to a beloved firefighter who passed away in November.
FORT MYERS Will new developments along SR 82 cause traffic problems? New developments are coming to State Road 82 near the Forum, the biggest of which is Amazon’s new robotics fulfillment center.
SANIBEL 36th annual Sanibel Luminary Festival begins It’s the holiday season, and there are events galore across Southwest Florida this weekend. One of those events is the Sanibel Luminary Festival.
FORT MYERS FGCU student arrested, accused of making social media threat against university Florida Gulf Coast University police have arrested a student accused of sending a threat to the university through Snapchat.
SANIBEL Sanibel annual 10K/5K race begins this weekend Sanibel’s annual food programs, island-based social services and Helping Hands’ JOG N JAM 10K/5K race will close several roads this Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Teen accused of stealing vehicle from Cape Coral driveway A 16-year-old with a history of stealing cars has been arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a Cape Coral driveway.
Tim Aten Knows: Work begins for new Publix at Wiggins and U.S. 41 Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs.
WINK NEWS Cold front brings stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening A cold front will bring in stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening with warmer temperatures in the upper 70s.
FORT MYERS House fire in downtown Fort Myers caused by smoking A house fire caused a massive scene overnight near downtown Fort Myers, with smoke visible from the home.
Cape Coral residents have had enough of the smell, the flies and the junk all piled up inside and outside of a dumpster along Northwest 38th Place. It’s something both Mary and Will Brewer have grown tired of seeing every day, calling it an eyesore. “It does smell,” Will said. “About a week ago, there were probably eight vultures sitting on it. I’ve heard scratches in there at night. I’ll take my dog out for a little walk, and you hear stuff scratching around in there.” “It’s a health hazard,” his wife Mary chipped in. This dumpster has sat right across from the Brewer’s home for what they say is more than a year. It’s gotten to the point where they’ve taken matters into their own hands. “I actually went over there for the last garbage pickup, like we don’t have a lot of garbage, I had extra space,” said Will. “I probably could have gotten down to level for the last three months or more. I just, it shouldn’t be our responsibility.” “Our neighbors are telling us to do something,” Mary said. “So, we finally did something.” They reached out to the real estate agent, the builders, and the dumpster company – Southwest Waste Services. But they all had the same answer: this dumpster wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So, Mary and Will went to the City of Cape Coral and reached out to the mayor and council members with the hopes of finding the answers they needed and a solution to this persistent problem. “Early January, I contacted Keith Long, our councilman, and then ended up getting to his assistant,” said Will. “And she moved through several different people, to the executive assistant, to the mayor. And I sent her what I sent to Keith, including the pictures. And that’s when they told me that they had been in violation since November.” The problem is that the violation didn’t have anything to do with the dumpster. And it’s what forced the construction company to stop work immediately. So now, Mary and Will are playing the waiting game. “I’m hoping that the city will somehow get some action done on this,” Will said. “It shouldn’t be that tough to get a dumpster taken out.” Dumpster after Southwest Waste Service claw truck arrived in the neighborhood to remove overflowing trash and container (Credit: Mary Brewer). But, after WINK News reached out to Southwest Waste Service on Tuesday, they responded saying, “grapple service is scheduled to remove the overflowing debris as well as the debris on the ground Tuesday.” And that a new container will be replaced soon. Pictures sent by Mary to WINK News hours later show they’d only done half the job they promised so far. Dumpster after Southwest Waste Service claw truck arrived in the neighborhood to remove overflowing trash and container (Credit: Mary Brewer). But at around 6:25 p.m. on Tuesday, Mary circled back to let WINK News know the container has since been hauled away. Southwest Waste Services then reached out to WINK News on Wednesday with the following statement: “Southwest Waste became aware of an issue with an overflowing container via a Facebook post that was published over the weekend. It was sent to someone on our team at 9:40 AM on Monday March 18, and by 10:58 AM a member of our team was already at the site to get to the bottom of why this container and site had not been serviced.” According to Southwest Waste Services, the construction company that was working on the property where the container sat was no longer in business which explained why no service had been requested and no trash had been picked up. It also states their team had attended a city council meeting to speak on the issue and had received “positive feedback” from the Code of Compliance Manager, as well as spoke with Will and Mary about the whole situation. “At Southwest Waste our core values include servant leadership, focus on customer service and satisfaction, and pride and ownership in cleanliness of our facilities, trucks, and equipment. We take pride in giving back to our community. We appreciate the opportunity to rectify the situation for the residents of Cape Coral.”