19-year-old Cape Coral man accused of attempted car burglary on Christmas EveRSW braces for post-holiday travel
cape coral 19-year-old Cape Coral man accused of attempted car burglary on Christmas Eve The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a man accused of attempting to steal a car on Christmas Eve.
RSW braces for post-holiday travel Now that the holidays have passed for many, the return to normalcy has begun as Southwest Florida International Airport prepares for a large influx of travelers.
wink news Mega Millions jackpot surges over $1B; next drawing set for Friday The elusive Mega Millions jackpot has evaded players this holiday season as the prize money has ballooned to $1.15 billion.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warmer temperatures and isolated showers for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking warmer temperatures along with isolated showers expected throughout this Thursday afternoon.
PORT CHARLOTTE Families visit Santa’s Village in Port Charlotte for Christmas The holiday magic is in full swing at Santa’s Village. There are holiday lights, food, and plenty of families making some holiday memories
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter volunteers distribute gifts to cats and dogs Christmas is meant to be merry, but for dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes it can be anything but.
NAPLES Dozens volunteer to feed over 500 people at St. Matthew’s House The St. Matthews House fed nearly 500 people hot and traditional holiday meals at their Naples shelter on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL Project Siren; Cape Coral chaplain praying for first responders The sound of sirens, life and death hang in the balance. A cape coral chaplain bows his head and says a prayer.
FORT MYERS Residents celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day Hanukkah begins Wednesday with the lighting of the first candle. Each night, another candle will be lit until all eight shine bright.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood residents still recovering from hurricanes on Christmas Neighbors on Lemon Bay Drive in Englewood said their homes had never seen a drop of a water from a hurricane until 2024.
FORT MYERS Dr. Piper Center hosts annual Christmas Celebration Dozens of children are enjoying new bicycles on Christmas day thanks to the generosity of the Dr. Piper Center.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 25, 2024 This weekly Most Wanted Wednesday WINK News segment features fugitives from justice in Southwest Florida.
Spending the holidays with first responders For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with family, but one group is making sure our families are staying safe.
More clouds and a few showers for your Christmas Day plans The Weather Authority is tracking more clouds on Christmas day than we saw on Christmas Eve and the chance for a few showers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Adoptive family spends first Christmas together Family come in all shapes and sizes but all share one common thing, their love for each other. One southwest Florida woman couldn’t have kids, so she built her family through adoption and fostering.
cape coral 19-year-old Cape Coral man accused of attempted car burglary on Christmas Eve The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a man accused of attempting to steal a car on Christmas Eve.
RSW braces for post-holiday travel Now that the holidays have passed for many, the return to normalcy has begun as Southwest Florida International Airport prepares for a large influx of travelers.
wink news Mega Millions jackpot surges over $1B; next drawing set for Friday The elusive Mega Millions jackpot has evaded players this holiday season as the prize money has ballooned to $1.15 billion.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warmer temperatures and isolated showers for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking warmer temperatures along with isolated showers expected throughout this Thursday afternoon.
PORT CHARLOTTE Families visit Santa’s Village in Port Charlotte for Christmas The holiday magic is in full swing at Santa’s Village. There are holiday lights, food, and plenty of families making some holiday memories
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter volunteers distribute gifts to cats and dogs Christmas is meant to be merry, but for dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes it can be anything but.
NAPLES Dozens volunteer to feed over 500 people at St. Matthew’s House The St. Matthews House fed nearly 500 people hot and traditional holiday meals at their Naples shelter on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL Project Siren; Cape Coral chaplain praying for first responders The sound of sirens, life and death hang in the balance. A cape coral chaplain bows his head and says a prayer.
FORT MYERS Residents celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day Hanukkah begins Wednesday with the lighting of the first candle. Each night, another candle will be lit until all eight shine bright.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood residents still recovering from hurricanes on Christmas Neighbors on Lemon Bay Drive in Englewood said their homes had never seen a drop of a water from a hurricane until 2024.
FORT MYERS Dr. Piper Center hosts annual Christmas Celebration Dozens of children are enjoying new bicycles on Christmas day thanks to the generosity of the Dr. Piper Center.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 25, 2024 This weekly Most Wanted Wednesday WINK News segment features fugitives from justice in Southwest Florida.
Spending the holidays with first responders For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with family, but one group is making sure our families are staying safe.
More clouds and a few showers for your Christmas Day plans The Weather Authority is tracking more clouds on Christmas day than we saw on Christmas Eve and the chance for a few showers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Adoptive family spends first Christmas together Family come in all shapes and sizes but all share one common thing, their love for each other. One southwest Florida woman couldn’t have kids, so she built her family through adoption and fostering.
FEMA sent the town of Fort Myers Beach a letter explaining why they lost their flood insurance discount. One reason was not removing temporary trailers and containers from flood zones. Now, the mayor says to blame him for it. Dan Allers says the town did what it could to bring business back to the island, and help people. That meant letting people work out of shipping containers and trailers. When hurricane Ian’s powerful category five storm surge and winds wiped out the Rude Shrimp Company, owners Lisa Lahners and TJ Holzapfel told WINK News that red shipping containers saved their Fort Myers Beach business. “If we couldn’t do this, we wouldn’t, we wouldn’t be here,” said Lahners. “As you know, and everybody knows, it was a war zone. It was horrific,” said Holzapfel. More than 2 years later, they’re serving shrimp out of the trailer. Mayor Dan Allers told WINK that after the storm, the town voted to permit the trailers to help business owners, but FEMA said the beach broke the rules and ripped away people’s 25% discount on flood insurance. On Thursday, the agency sent the town a letter outlining where they went wrong. “It comes down to the trailers, the trailers that they’re using to store equipment at the condos that still aren’t open, some of the food trucks they’re not happy with,” said Allers. “Knowing what I know now, would I have still voted the way I voted back in October of 2022, right after the storm, to get people back in temporary trailers and temporary businesses? Absolutely. We had to do what we had to do…. There was so much devastation, we knew we had to get people back in their homes and try to provide some sort of commerce for the people that were here trying to rebuild.” But by helping businesses, Greg Scancsy fears the town may have hurt homeowners in the process. Scancsy lost his home in Hurricane Ian and has been living in a trailer and with neighbors since. “Our town exists for the residents. They need to look out for our interests first. I’m not saying they’re not doing that, but we need to push that a little more aggressively,” said Scancsy. Betty Thomas told WINK that losing the flood insurance discount may mean losing her home. She can’t afford to live on the beach anymore. “I live on my Social Security, and it’s getting to the point where I can’t anymore; it doesn’t stretch far enough,” said Thomas. RELATED: Parts of Lee County to keep FEMA discount RELATED: Fort Myers Beach loses FEMA insurance discount RELATED: New information on why FEMA put Fort Myers Beach on probation “I’m sure people want someone to blame, and they can point the arrows at me and the council if they want. We’re the ones that made the policy decision to allow people to get into their trailers right afterward and try to get some businesses to get employees back to work,” said Allers. “So, if there’s any blame to be thrown around, throw it at us. We’ll take it, but we’re certainly going to correct it, make sure we get it back to where at least we were, if not better,” said Mayor Allers. Now, the town is on probation, which means they have to fix all the problems. Once they do that, they can apply to get the discount back, but it takes two years. Allers said the town will talk about starting the process of removing the trailers, and he hopes FEMA will see the town’s efforts and reconsider.