Estero Fire Rescue employee faces probe after North Fort Myers raidSWFL teens join lawsuit over New Orleans New Year’s Eve attack
Estero Fire Rescue employee faces probe after North Fort Myers raid Authorities are investigating Shane Sibert, a respected leader at Estero Fire Rescue, after a raid at his North Fort Myers home.
SWFL teens join lawsuit over New Orleans New Year’s Eve attack A civil lawsuit has been filed following a terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. It highlights failures that led to the event.
SANIBEL Ding Darling Refuge on Sanibel sees gradual recovery post-hurricanes The J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel has faced significant challenges due to hurricanes. Nature lovers are eager to see it bounce back.
NAPLES Father daughter duo strengthen bond through weightlifting Taegan Mason knows a thing or two about pushing herself, looking up to her dad, Zack’s, passion for weightlifting.
Exclusive: Charlotte County Sheriff speaks on goals for department with changing times In an exclusive interview, Sheriff Prummell discussed his vision, goals, and biggest initiatives for the next four years.
Charlotte High School students meet best-selling author Hundreds of students at Charlotte High School had their dream come true when they met New York Times best-selling author Ruta Sepetys.
Hendry County’s first glamping site gets green light amid opposition A proposed glamping site in Hendry County has sparked a heated debate among neighbors. The county has given approval for the project,
CAPE CORAL Raid leads to federal drug case in Cape Coral A kilogram of fentanyl served as the bait that led to the arrest of an accused drug dealer, Christopher Ward, who now faces federal charges.
NAPLES Outdoor dining fee changes in Naples Outdoor dining is a hot commodity for restaurants, especially this time of year.
LELY Lely state champion wrestler coaching at North Dakota State Obenson Blanc, a state champion wrestler at Lely High School, is in his second season as the head wrestling coach at North Dakota State.
Exclusive: Venice mom mourns son lost on American Eagle flight A tragic plane crash en route to Washington D.C. has left a Southwest Florida mother grieving the loss of her son.
Glades County introduces electric school buses Glades County School District unveiled its brand new school buses to the public, and they are trading in gas pumps for charging stations.
How AI assists in the formatting of stories on WINKNews.com Our Commitment to Innovative Storytelling and Journalistic Integrity At WINK News, we’re dedicated to bringing our audience stories that matter, in formats that are both engaging and accessible across all platforms. To uphold this commitment, we’ve integrated Collaborator AI for Newsrooms, a state-of-the-art AI journalism tool, into our newsroom. Collaborator AI for Newsrooms is not […]
Cornerstone Builders moves into new Fort Myers manufacturing facility The company plans to cut the ribbon on its new, $20 million, 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and headquarters Feb. 4.
Condos destroyed by Hurricane Ian to be replaced with gulf-front luxury condos A six-story condominium featuring 12 spacious, resort-style homes passed its final approval and can now move ahead with construction on the site of the former Bahama Club on Naples’ Miracle Mile.
Estero Fire Rescue employee faces probe after North Fort Myers raid Authorities are investigating Shane Sibert, a respected leader at Estero Fire Rescue, after a raid at his North Fort Myers home.
SWFL teens join lawsuit over New Orleans New Year’s Eve attack A civil lawsuit has been filed following a terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. It highlights failures that led to the event.
SANIBEL Ding Darling Refuge on Sanibel sees gradual recovery post-hurricanes The J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel has faced significant challenges due to hurricanes. Nature lovers are eager to see it bounce back.
NAPLES Father daughter duo strengthen bond through weightlifting Taegan Mason knows a thing or two about pushing herself, looking up to her dad, Zack’s, passion for weightlifting.
Exclusive: Charlotte County Sheriff speaks on goals for department with changing times In an exclusive interview, Sheriff Prummell discussed his vision, goals, and biggest initiatives for the next four years.
Charlotte High School students meet best-selling author Hundreds of students at Charlotte High School had their dream come true when they met New York Times best-selling author Ruta Sepetys.
Hendry County’s first glamping site gets green light amid opposition A proposed glamping site in Hendry County has sparked a heated debate among neighbors. The county has given approval for the project,
CAPE CORAL Raid leads to federal drug case in Cape Coral A kilogram of fentanyl served as the bait that led to the arrest of an accused drug dealer, Christopher Ward, who now faces federal charges.
NAPLES Outdoor dining fee changes in Naples Outdoor dining is a hot commodity for restaurants, especially this time of year.
LELY Lely state champion wrestler coaching at North Dakota State Obenson Blanc, a state champion wrestler at Lely High School, is in his second season as the head wrestling coach at North Dakota State.
Exclusive: Venice mom mourns son lost on American Eagle flight A tragic plane crash en route to Washington D.C. has left a Southwest Florida mother grieving the loss of her son.
Glades County introduces electric school buses Glades County School District unveiled its brand new school buses to the public, and they are trading in gas pumps for charging stations.
How AI assists in the formatting of stories on WINKNews.com Our Commitment to Innovative Storytelling and Journalistic Integrity At WINK News, we’re dedicated to bringing our audience stories that matter, in formats that are both engaging and accessible across all platforms. To uphold this commitment, we’ve integrated Collaborator AI for Newsrooms, a state-of-the-art AI journalism tool, into our newsroom. Collaborator AI for Newsrooms is not […]
Cornerstone Builders moves into new Fort Myers manufacturing facility The company plans to cut the ribbon on its new, $20 million, 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and headquarters Feb. 4.
Condos destroyed by Hurricane Ian to be replaced with gulf-front luxury condos A six-story condominium featuring 12 spacious, resort-style homes passed its final approval and can now move ahead with construction on the site of the former Bahama Club on Naples’ Miracle Mile.
The Matanzas Pass Bridge has reopened to traffic after it was shut down for hours when a boat crashed into it. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said there was no major damage to the bridge and there were no injuries after the boat crashed into it Monday morning around 10 a.m. The boat, named Captain Jack Two, was removed around 1 p.m., and the bridge reopened about 3 p.m. after inspectors and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a safety inspection. While the Coast Guard and Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District responded to the scene under the bridge, LCSO assisted with rerouting traffic during its closure. The owner of the boat said he had just bought it, and it was coming from Texas with a Texan captain on board. According to that captain, he was supposed to wait for the tide to go down before maneuvering safely underneath the bridge. Captain Jack Two was bringing shrimp to Erickson and Jensen Seafood, where Jessie Clapham is the fleet commander. “It’s full moon, so we have a super high tide, so the wind’s blowing the wrong way; the tide’s rushing in. Mother Nature wasn’t playing our game this morning,” Clapham said. Clapham told us that the boat has made it under the bridge before. While high tide was the problem Monday, this isn’t the first boat to do so. “Usually, they bump the bridge, and you can back up and try it again, but today, the wind got him. We go underneath that bridge every day, but it’s close, and we’ve had trouble before with the catwalks in the middle of the bridge instead of on the outside of the pilings, so it’s kind of touchy getting through there sometimes,” Clapham said. “We were watching this boat come in to pass underneath the bridge, and it looked pretty tall,” said Sean Smith, a witness. “We started hearing some crew members yelling, and that’s when the boat was put in reverse; it backed up and stopped about 4 feet short of actually hitting the bridge originally. It backed up, but not far enough, and then it started to turn, but the current caught it. Then the boat went forward and crashed into the part of the bridge, breaking one of its arms.” The bridge is the main entrance point to get onto Estero Island.