American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers BeachEnglewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery
FORT MYERS BEACH American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers Beach After a year’s long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery Many people in Charlotte County were hit hard by storms this hurricane season, but that won’t stop them from giving back to their community.
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
FORT MYERS BEACH American Sand Sculpting Competition returns to Fort Myers Beach After a year’s long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood nonprofit gives hope to residents amid hurricane recovery Many people in Charlotte County were hit hard by storms this hurricane season, but that won’t stop them from giving back to their community.
NAPLES CSN’s Jayvian Tanelus and offensive line erupt in round one Community School of Naples’ offensive line and Jayvian Tanelus put on a show in round one of the playoffs earning them player of the week.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral family opens home up for the holidays A Cape Coral family has gotten over 1,000 interactions on a Facebook post after opening up their home for the holidays.
SANIBEL Sanibel police trained and certified to catch alligators by FWC Pinning an apex predator down with little more than bare hands and tape: That’s what the Sanibel Police Department went through during alligator-catching certification training.
Southwest Florida welcomes first proton beam therapy center This is a big week in cancer care for patients in Southwest Florida and beyond.
PUNTA GORDA Whats next after Punta Gorda city manager’s resignation? Punta Gorda city manager Greg Murray said he resigned Monday but told the council on Wednesday. Now, Melissa Reichert is the interim city manager.
FORT MYERS BEACH 34th annual American Sand Sculpting Championship begins on Fort Myers Beach After a years long wait, the American Sand Sculpting Competition on Fort Myers Beach returned on Thursday.
CAPE CORAL City council members talk about decision to repeal stipend ordinance A vote of 5 to 3 ends the saga over the Cape Coral City Council stipend and new members of the city council are sending a message they’re doing things differently.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers food pantry provides Thanksgiving meals to neighbors Dozens of people stopped by Sunshine Health’s food pantry one week before Thanksgiving. Sunshine Health is delivering hope.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has placed Fort Myers Beach (FMB) on probation.
FORT MYERS WINK News Game of the Week: Riverdale at Fort Myers Our WINK News Game of the Week is the regional semifinal matchup between Fort Myers and Riverdale, a rematch from the regular season finale two weeks ago.
NAPLES Hope for the Holidays turkey distribution event in Collier County A Naples nonprofit is expected to feed nearly 2,000 families.
Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount According to the Lee County Government, residents in parts of Lee County will keep their FEMA discount.
New blue-light system to be implemented to flag red-light runners Green means go, red means stop and blue means you just ran a red light.
It’s the latest traffic craze: the diverging diamond interchange. Plans for two diverging diamonds are underway in Southwest Florida, and it poses the question: is it worth the hassle? WINK News Reporter Amy Galo made the trip up to the Sarasota-Manatee County line, where the first-ever diverging diamond in Florida has been in place since 2017 and asked that question. Intersections like these temporarily allow for two directions of traffic to cross to the left side of the road. “You feel like you’re in Britain or something like that,” said a driver in Sarasota. The Sarasota diverging diamond is located at Interstate 75 and University Parkway. It was put in to alleviate heavy traffic. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, projects like these see a significant reduction in serious crash rates and interchange delay times. They also increase in overall capacity. RELATED: More changes near Colonial Blvd. and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers RELATED: FDOT making upgrades to I-75 diverging diamond interchange “It’s an efficient flow of traffic,” said Joe Gagliano, a Sarasota resident. “The only complaint I have is that the lights sometimes take a little too long.” It does, however, take some getting used to. “At first, it took me just a little time just to focus,” said Lindie Freed, a Sarasota resident. “I would just follow the person in front of me.” But over time, Freed got over her nerves, and now, she’s thankful for the change. Many others are too. “As long as people pay attention to what they’re doing,” said Gagliano. “It’s no problem.” As Southwest Florida prepares to get its first diamond interchange in Naples at Pine Ridge Road and another in Fort Myers at Colonial Boulevard, drivers in Sarasota have a message for their neighbors down south. “Don’t worry, stay calm and just keep your head and your eyes on the lights,” said Freed. With an eye roll, Gagliano added: “Try it. You’ll like it.” FDOT provided the below statistics regarding the area where they are implementing the diverging diamond interchange. “We have some specific data for the I-75/University Parkway that we can share: “Based on analysis and crash data from January 1, 2012 and July 31, 2015 (before the project), and from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022 (after the project), the following conclusions were determined: 10% reduction in the occurrence of all crashes. This reduction can be attributed to the construction of the DDI intersection improvement with a confidence of 90%. 25% reduction in the occurrence of injury crashes. This reduction can be attributed to the construction of the DDI intersection improvement with a confidence of 99%.” There is a meeting happening Thursday night that will provide more information on Thursday starting at 5 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. The meeting is at the North Collier Regional Park’s Exhibit Hall at 15000 Livingston Road. All are welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting. Some of the topics covered will be what Collier County’s diverging diamond interchange will do and when Collier County’s diverging diamond project will start.