VILLAS Memorial service held for 12-year-old killed in crash Andrew’s family told WINK News that he was a good friend, a dedicated student and a talented musician.
NORTH FORT MYERS Hooping from Australia to the Sunshine State The exhibition between two Australian teams and two Lee County teams gives kids the experience of what it is like playing in another country.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte High grad wins first place at USA Weightlifting Nationals Port Charlotte High School alumna Angelina Dabney wins first place at USA Weightlifting Nationals event in Pittsburgh.
PORT CHARLOTTE Restaurant dine-and-dash caught on video Surveillance video shows the moments on Sunday when a woman walked into a Port Charlotte restaurant and ordered enough food for two people ate about half of it then walked out without paying.
State turns down additional federal funds for summer feeding programs The state of Florida is turning down Federal funding that would provide extra cash to feed kids this summer, leaving local summer feeding programs in a tough spot.
Tracking domestic violence calls in Collier County Domestic violence: it’s Collier County’s best-kept secret.
Lee County School District has a new proposed 10 year plan While kids are enjoying their summer break, the Lee County School District is hard at work. A new plan is being proposed.
CAPE CORAL Community mourns the loss of manager killed in tire explosion Diane Shorb has been taking her cars to this Firestone for the last 15 years. When she heard someone had passed away there on Sunday, she was worried.
ATLANTA Byron Donalds in Atlanta ahead of presidential debate Congressman Byron Donalds will soon arrive to take part in a forum on how Black men in particular will impact the presidential election.
Local dealerships respond to CDK cyberattack In response to a recent cyber attack on the major software provider CDK Global, local car dealerships are reverting to traditional methods to help manage their operations.
PORT CHARLOTTE 2 women arrested in Port Charlotte, allegedly part of retail theft ring According to the Port Charlotte Sheriff’s Office, a pair of women have been arrested for stealing over $400 worth of merchandise from a Burlington Store in Port Charlotte.
FORT MYERS Habitat for Humanity and Fort Myers team up to build affordable housing Jaylen Watkins Street is about to change, as the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency will transform a plot of land into an affordable housing community.
CAPE CORAL Death penalty or life in prison: what’s next for Wade Wilson? We are waiting to hear if a judge will take the recommendation from the jury and sentence Wilson to death.
FORT MYERS State attorney, Lee County Sheriff announce indictments in 2 murder cases State Attorney Amira Fox held a press conference Wednesday afternoon with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno to announce the arrest of two men.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for June 26, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for June 26, 2024.
VILLAS Memorial service held for 12-year-old killed in crash Andrew’s family told WINK News that he was a good friend, a dedicated student and a talented musician.
NORTH FORT MYERS Hooping from Australia to the Sunshine State The exhibition between two Australian teams and two Lee County teams gives kids the experience of what it is like playing in another country.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte High grad wins first place at USA Weightlifting Nationals Port Charlotte High School alumna Angelina Dabney wins first place at USA Weightlifting Nationals event in Pittsburgh.
PORT CHARLOTTE Restaurant dine-and-dash caught on video Surveillance video shows the moments on Sunday when a woman walked into a Port Charlotte restaurant and ordered enough food for two people ate about half of it then walked out without paying.
State turns down additional federal funds for summer feeding programs The state of Florida is turning down Federal funding that would provide extra cash to feed kids this summer, leaving local summer feeding programs in a tough spot.
Tracking domestic violence calls in Collier County Domestic violence: it’s Collier County’s best-kept secret.
Lee County School District has a new proposed 10 year plan While kids are enjoying their summer break, the Lee County School District is hard at work. A new plan is being proposed.
CAPE CORAL Community mourns the loss of manager killed in tire explosion Diane Shorb has been taking her cars to this Firestone for the last 15 years. When she heard someone had passed away there on Sunday, she was worried.
ATLANTA Byron Donalds in Atlanta ahead of presidential debate Congressman Byron Donalds will soon arrive to take part in a forum on how Black men in particular will impact the presidential election.
Local dealerships respond to CDK cyberattack In response to a recent cyber attack on the major software provider CDK Global, local car dealerships are reverting to traditional methods to help manage their operations.
PORT CHARLOTTE 2 women arrested in Port Charlotte, allegedly part of retail theft ring According to the Port Charlotte Sheriff’s Office, a pair of women have been arrested for stealing over $400 worth of merchandise from a Burlington Store in Port Charlotte.
FORT MYERS Habitat for Humanity and Fort Myers team up to build affordable housing Jaylen Watkins Street is about to change, as the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency will transform a plot of land into an affordable housing community.
CAPE CORAL Death penalty or life in prison: what’s next for Wade Wilson? We are waiting to hear if a judge will take the recommendation from the jury and sentence Wilson to death.
FORT MYERS State attorney, Lee County Sheriff announce indictments in 2 murder cases State Attorney Amira Fox held a press conference Wednesday afternoon with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno to announce the arrest of two men.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for June 26, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for June 26, 2024.
While other states are celebrating June 19, known as Juneteenth, with a paid day off from work, Florida is just observing the day with select businesses and governments having the day off. June 19, 1865, is the day Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation came 2½ years earlier on January 1, 1863, many enslavers continued to hold enslaved Black people captive after the announcement, so Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom. President Joe Biden declared the day a holiday in 2021. President Joe Biden points to Opal Lee after signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Washington. From left, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif, Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Opal Lee, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., Vice President Kamala Harris, House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, obscured, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) There have been several attempts in the Florida legislature to make Juneteenth an official holiday in the state since Governor Ron DeSantis signed a resolution back in 2020, but in 2024, here we are, still working as the state is not recognized on the state’s calendar or a paid day off. RELATED: Florida doesn’t recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. But residents do (winknews.com) Charles Barnes, the chair of the Black History Society said they’re still recognizing the day every slave learned they were free, but it might take organizations and people to help the state to step it up. “Hopefully we get with the rest of the world, the rest of this country. We’re dragging in how we recognize it and how we acknowledge it. But I think that organizations like us and other organizations in this country, in the state of Florida, have to keep pushing it,” Barnes said. Martin Byrd, the president of the Dunbar Festival Committee is also doing his part by joining FGCU on Juneteenth to educate the public on the important holiday, he said it might take something significant to happen for the state to recognize the holiday like others do. “There’s still education needed to be done on what is Juneteenth, when it happens and why it’s important. It’s American history. So, there’s no reason that that part should be left out,” Byrd said. “As we’ve seen with post-George Floyd, when people can see in their face the injustice, that is what draws attention to the causes. So, until something like that happens that really shakes people, or someone or something happens to them closely, intimately. It’s probably going to be hard to make that change.”