Great Wolf Lodge helps grant Wish of 9-year-old girl with CancerNaples Young Marines honor Pearl Harbor anniversary in Hawaii
MARCO ISLAND Great Wolf Lodge helps grant Wish of 9-year-old girl with Cancer A nine-year-old girl gets her wish granted as she battles to beat bone cancer.
NAPLES Naples Young Marines honor Pearl Harbor anniversary in Hawaii The Naples Young Marines traveled to Hawaii for the 83rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor, participating in ceremonies to honor the lives lost and sacrifices made during World War II.
ESTERO Intensive language program at FGCU helps students learn Academic English A new intensive language program at Florida Gulf Coast University is giving people a chance to learn the language tools they need to get jobs or attend college in the US.
NAPLES “Sanibel” film captures resilience of the island after Hurricane Ian The movie “Sanibel” premiered at the Naples International Film Festival in October. What began as a lighthearted documentary exploring Sanibel’s seashell culture took a sharp turn when Hurricane Ian hit the island six weeks into filming.
FORT MYERS New Year’s Eve preps in downtown Fort Myers It’s almost time to light up the night and enter the new year. We know one of the hot spots will be downtown Fort Myers.
NAPLES Hoffmann family gives back to Southwest Florida WINK News often reports on their donations, but this year, we got to hear why giving back is so important to them.
BONITA SPRINGS ‘Halo Law’ aims to protect first responders in 2025 With the new year comes plenty of new laws. Among them is a 25-foot-no-approach zone around first responders on the job.
Veterinarian shortage affecting SWFL shelters We all know how difficult it can be to see a doctor. It turns out that our pets may be facing the same dilemma.
IMMOKALEE Affordable housing transforms lives in Immokalee Affordable housing is not a common word in Southwest Florida; it is mythical, like a unicorn or Big Foot.
FORT MYERS BEACH FMB Strong still making a difference 2 years later In the days and weeks following Hurricane Ian, donations flowed into Fort Myers Beach. The group FMB Strong took on the task of organizing and distributing to people who live on or near Fort Myers Beach.
FORT MYERS Hometown athletes keeping to their roots There’s one thing that Southwest Florida produces at high levels, and that’s talent.
1 dead after FHP and Collier deputy pursuit ends in 5 vehicle crash A pursuit involving Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers ended in a five-vehicle crash that left several people injured and one dead.
Man leads Collier deputies on high-speed chase reaching over 100 mph The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man who allegedly led deputies on a seven-mile chase, reaching speeds of over 100 mph.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres man accused of attacking neighbor with knife A Lehigh Acres man has been arrested after deputies say he barged into his neighbor’s home with a knife and injured a woman.
port charlotte Man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at occupied vehicle in Charlotte County The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at an occupied vehicle in his driveway.
MARCO ISLAND Great Wolf Lodge helps grant Wish of 9-year-old girl with Cancer A nine-year-old girl gets her wish granted as she battles to beat bone cancer.
NAPLES Naples Young Marines honor Pearl Harbor anniversary in Hawaii The Naples Young Marines traveled to Hawaii for the 83rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor, participating in ceremonies to honor the lives lost and sacrifices made during World War II.
ESTERO Intensive language program at FGCU helps students learn Academic English A new intensive language program at Florida Gulf Coast University is giving people a chance to learn the language tools they need to get jobs or attend college in the US.
NAPLES “Sanibel” film captures resilience of the island after Hurricane Ian The movie “Sanibel” premiered at the Naples International Film Festival in October. What began as a lighthearted documentary exploring Sanibel’s seashell culture took a sharp turn when Hurricane Ian hit the island six weeks into filming.
FORT MYERS New Year’s Eve preps in downtown Fort Myers It’s almost time to light up the night and enter the new year. We know one of the hot spots will be downtown Fort Myers.
NAPLES Hoffmann family gives back to Southwest Florida WINK News often reports on their donations, but this year, we got to hear why giving back is so important to them.
BONITA SPRINGS ‘Halo Law’ aims to protect first responders in 2025 With the new year comes plenty of new laws. Among them is a 25-foot-no-approach zone around first responders on the job.
Veterinarian shortage affecting SWFL shelters We all know how difficult it can be to see a doctor. It turns out that our pets may be facing the same dilemma.
IMMOKALEE Affordable housing transforms lives in Immokalee Affordable housing is not a common word in Southwest Florida; it is mythical, like a unicorn or Big Foot.
FORT MYERS BEACH FMB Strong still making a difference 2 years later In the days and weeks following Hurricane Ian, donations flowed into Fort Myers Beach. The group FMB Strong took on the task of organizing and distributing to people who live on or near Fort Myers Beach.
FORT MYERS Hometown athletes keeping to their roots There’s one thing that Southwest Florida produces at high levels, and that’s talent.
1 dead after FHP and Collier deputy pursuit ends in 5 vehicle crash A pursuit involving Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers ended in a five-vehicle crash that left several people injured and one dead.
Man leads Collier deputies on high-speed chase reaching over 100 mph The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man who allegedly led deputies on a seven-mile chase, reaching speeds of over 100 mph.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres man accused of attacking neighbor with knife A Lehigh Acres man has been arrested after deputies say he barged into his neighbor’s home with a knife and injured a woman.
port charlotte Man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at occupied vehicle in Charlotte County The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at an occupied vehicle in his driveway.
Credit: WINK News FEMA is facing accusations of bias as a message sent by an employee emerged telling them to skip homes with signs supporting Donald Trump following a hurricane. The letter sent to President Joe Biden from Kevin Guthrie, the Executive Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, read that an employee named “Miss Washington” and her team “Crew 33” ignored homes with Trump signs following Hurricane Milton. The employee’s text message read: “Avoid homes advertising Trump.” FEMA will not name the accused employee; however, officials have confirmed this incident occurred in Highlands County. WINK has since confirmed the same crew accused of passing by those Trump supporters in Highlands County also canvassed neighborhoods in Citrus County. Deanne Criswell, FEMA’s 12th Administrator, posted a thread on X condemning the employee’s actions, saying, “This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.” The employee has since been terminated. Florida leaders have taken to social media to weigh in on the controversy. Congressman Greg Steube posted on X saying, “I want a full investigation. Disasters don’t pick sides, nor should federal aid for Americans.” Steube told us that Criswell will testify before the oversight committee next week, and she won’t come alone. Stuebe told us that it’s a good thing FEMA is not trying to defend this. “I expect this fired employee is going to be brought in under oath and deposed as to who was directing her to do this. The FEMA director wants people to believe this is an isolated incident. I don’t believe this is an isolated incident,” Steube said. We asked Steube if he fears that this could have happened in Southwest Florida. “I absolutely 100% believe that these types of things are happening in Republican districts. My district is overwhelmingly Republican,” he said. Guthrie agrees. He is spearheading a separate statewide investigation at the orders of Florida Gov. Ron Desantis. He fears more Trump supporters were skipped in Citrus County by the same crew that worked in Highlands County. “We are going to go back through those neighborhoods as well where this crew is assigned to see if there was anything that was missed there. We’ve already had a couple of people reach out to us via email saying, ‘Hey, I think I was one of those that might have been missed,'” he said. Guthrie did make a point of thanking FEMA for being transparent through this process. He said if he discovers laws were broken, the state will file criminal charges, such as theft. If workers intentionally skip homes, Guthrie said the intent was to deprive people of benefits. Congressman Byron Donalds said on X that “anyone involved should be fired immediately.Your politics should never determine whether you receive disaster relief.” DeSantis called for an investigation into FEMA via an X post that read, “At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump.”