FORT MYERS LCSO offering youth boxing program The Lee County Sheriff’s Office youth boxing program is your kid’s golden ticket to mastering the art of self-defense.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend armed 13-year-old The man who helped apprehend an armed 13-year-old spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
MARCO ISLAND Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island set to reopen Collier County announced the reopening of the Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter to host Puppy Bowl 3 ahead of big game Ahead of the big game on Sunday, Cape Coral Animal Shelter will be featuring its very own Puppy Bowl III.
FORT MYERS From the ballpark to the beach: the Minnesota Twins are back for Spring Training 1700 miles later the Twins truck is here and the team from Minnesota is ready to spend the next six weeks here in Fort Myers.
the weather authority Warm stretch continues throughout this weekend The Weather Authority says if you are a fan of the warmer weather, you are going to love this weekend.
SANIBEL Sanibel’s red tide raises health alerts and wildlife concerns With great weather in the forecast, it’s shaping up to be a perfect beach weekend. However, visitors to the barrier islands should exercise caution.
NAPLES Naples Automotive Experience raises funds for St. Matthew’s House The Naples Automotive Experience brought excitement and philanthropy to the community, raising money for St. Matthew’s House.
MATLACHA Little Pine Island bridge work causes delays, FDOT promises progress Construction on the Little Pine Island Bridge has narrowed traffic to one lane, causing significant delays for drivers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Support women’s heart health on National Wear Red Day The first Friday in February marks National Wear Red Day!
Ongoing repairs following Naples plane crash A deadly plane crash that occurred one year ago in Naples, Florida continues to impact lives in Southwest Florida. The tragic event involved two pilots who lost their lives on Interstate 75.
Naples jet crash, one year later: new details on emergency response Sunday marks one year since a jet crashed after its pilots attempted an emergency landing on I-75 just outside of Naples. “Your mind goes back to everything that happened that day,” said Heather Mazurkiewicz, public information officer with the North Collier Fire Rescue. “I think about the fact that there weren’t more lives lost.” At […]
LCSO cutting down law enforcement response times The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up to implement “Prepared 9-1-1,” a new tool designed to enhance emergency response times.
FORT MYERS LCSO offering youth boxing program The Lee County Sheriff’s Office youth boxing program is your kid’s golden ticket to mastering the art of self-defense.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend armed 13-year-old The man who helped apprehend an armed 13-year-old spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
MARCO ISLAND Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island set to reopen Collier County announced the reopening of the Caxambas Park boat ramp on Marco Island.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter to host Puppy Bowl 3 ahead of big game Ahead of the big game on Sunday, Cape Coral Animal Shelter will be featuring its very own Puppy Bowl III.
FORT MYERS From the ballpark to the beach: the Minnesota Twins are back for Spring Training 1700 miles later the Twins truck is here and the team from Minnesota is ready to spend the next six weeks here in Fort Myers.
the weather authority Warm stretch continues throughout this weekend The Weather Authority says if you are a fan of the warmer weather, you are going to love this weekend.
SANIBEL Sanibel’s red tide raises health alerts and wildlife concerns With great weather in the forecast, it’s shaping up to be a perfect beach weekend. However, visitors to the barrier islands should exercise caution.
NAPLES Naples Automotive Experience raises funds for St. Matthew’s House The Naples Automotive Experience brought excitement and philanthropy to the community, raising money for St. Matthew’s House.
MATLACHA Little Pine Island bridge work causes delays, FDOT promises progress Construction on the Little Pine Island Bridge has narrowed traffic to one lane, causing significant delays for drivers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Support women’s heart health on National Wear Red Day The first Friday in February marks National Wear Red Day!
Ongoing repairs following Naples plane crash A deadly plane crash that occurred one year ago in Naples, Florida continues to impact lives in Southwest Florida. The tragic event involved two pilots who lost their lives on Interstate 75.
Naples jet crash, one year later: new details on emergency response Sunday marks one year since a jet crashed after its pilots attempted an emergency landing on I-75 just outside of Naples. “Your mind goes back to everything that happened that day,” said Heather Mazurkiewicz, public information officer with the North Collier Fire Rescue. “I think about the fact that there weren’t more lives lost.” At […]
LCSO cutting down law enforcement response times The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up to implement “Prepared 9-1-1,” a new tool designed to enhance emergency response times.
In December 2023, the City of Fort Myers changed its parking system. Now, we are learning just how much Fort Myers has made, and it is safe to say, the increase in funds is huge. Out with the old coin system, and in with new technology, but people are upset over the new parking fees and practices. RELATED: Some Fort Myers downtown business owners want free employee parking RELATED: Parking problems prevail in downtown Fort Myers Today, the city sat down with WINK News Reporter Olivia Jean to provide some updated information and explanations. The city provided WINK News with some numbers. There are a total of 2,220 parking spots; the same number available before the new parking system was implemented. From October 2022 to October 2023, the city made $1,758,044 from parking revenue. From October 2023 to April 30th of this year, the city has already made $2,177,390 dollars in parking revenue. As you see, there is a huge revenue increase. These numbers include on-street parking, parking garages and penalties and fines. The biggest changes downtown parking has seen is that parking rates are higher and the city took away all free parking, except one free hour in downtown parking garages. If you stay longer than the hour, you’ll be charged for two. The old system wasn’t technology-driven which the city says, was a big drive for the upgrade to the parking system as well as better accessibility because people can no longer park for the entire day in front of a business. “The idea with a new parking management system is to make parking available for people to want to come down to conduct business,” Marty Lawing, the Fort Myers City Manager said. The main goal, Lawing says is “to meet our budget” and stay “self-supporting.” The numbers show the city is meeting projections but as for where the money is going? “The parking is an enterprise fund for the city, meaning the revenues of the parking support the operating costs of the parking system. So no general fund dollars are required to support the parking fund. So it’s working as intended,” Lawing said. Basically, the city said the money that is coming would pay for parking amenities. Lawing said any excess money will go into a fund balance that can be carried forward for future years. A lingering question many are asking is ‘Will this be worth it?’ Several downtown business owners have spoken to WINK News, including the Owner of The Standard Restaurant, Chris Blauvelt. “The pressing issue is getting people down here to support these businesses. Now you’re driving away by forcing them to buy a ticket to nine o’clock at night, Saturdays and Sundays,” Blauvelt said. Blauvelt said the biggest difference he has seen since the new parking system has been implemented is “the streets are empty.” He continued to say, “I just feel that parking is really putting real, real strain on businesses.” But the city says otherwise, as they’ve seen an increase in parking turnover. “There’s more new parking sessions initiated, which makes it easier for people to find parking spaces if they want to go to a business and go out to dinner or whatever,” Lawing said.