Rain doesn’t stop crowds at 40th Annual Cape Coral Arts FestivalSports trading card collecting going through “a generational reboot”
CAPE CORAL Rain doesn’t stop crowds at 40th Annual Cape Coral Arts Festival For 40 years, the Cape Coral Arts Festival has drawn crowds from across Southwest Florida, showcasing a blend of small businesses from the region.
CAPE CORAL Sports trading card collecting going through “a generational reboot” The hobby of sports trading card collecting has been on the rise since 2020, especially in Southwest Florida with more card shows.
PUNTA GORDA 11th annual short film festival coming to Punta Gorda The Punta Gorda Englewood Beach Visitor Convention Bureau will host its 11th annual short film festival.
the weather authority Mild, breezy day on tap with more clouds than sun The Weather Authority says a brief line of showers, associated with a cold front, is moving through Southwest Florida Saturday morning.
ESTERO 1 injured after shooting at Coconut Point Mall According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, one person has been injured after a shooting at the Coconut Point Mall on Friday.
CAPE CORAL CCPD cruiser damaged after officer involved crash An officer-involved crash leaves a Cape Coral police cruiser smashed.
PORT CHARLOTTE Sweet’s Diner in Port Charlotte reopens After months of fundraising and rebuilding, this diner, which had a car fly-through it, is back open.
FWC pushing to protect Florida’s endangered manatees Florida Fish and Wildlife is pushing to protect endangered manatees. One danger that animals face is when boats bash into them, leaving deep scars across their backs.
FORT MYERS The Fort Myers Fire Department looks towards new year Fighting fires is always top of mind for the Fort Myers Fire Department. The Fort Myers Fire Department leads the way when it comes to protecting your property when a fire breaks out.
WINK NEWS Palisades Wildfire devastates SWFL family Just hours after evacuating their Malibu home, the Wohl family learned they would never go back.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral expands with development The Cove at 47th The Cove sits in south Cape Coral between Cape Coral Parkway and Southeast 47th Terrace right next to Cork Soakers.
FORT MYERS ‘Operation Ghost Buster’: 16 arrested in Fort Myers drug operation The Fort Myers Police Department Narcotics Unit conducted an operation targeting drug traffickers and individuals unlawfully selling and possessing firearms in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS ‘A Distinctive Honor’: Bank of America award benefits FSW Nursing Program Bank of America has been awarded Florida Southwestern State College the 2024 Neighborhood Champion Award.
CAPTIVA One step closer to decision on South Seas building density After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge said he stood by his earlier decision in favor of the Captiva Civic Association.
Governor signs death warrant for man accused of 1997 killing of 2 in Charlotte County Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the death warrant for a man accused of killing two people in Charlotte County in 1997.
CAPE CORAL Rain doesn’t stop crowds at 40th Annual Cape Coral Arts Festival For 40 years, the Cape Coral Arts Festival has drawn crowds from across Southwest Florida, showcasing a blend of small businesses from the region.
CAPE CORAL Sports trading card collecting going through “a generational reboot” The hobby of sports trading card collecting has been on the rise since 2020, especially in Southwest Florida with more card shows.
PUNTA GORDA 11th annual short film festival coming to Punta Gorda The Punta Gorda Englewood Beach Visitor Convention Bureau will host its 11th annual short film festival.
the weather authority Mild, breezy day on tap with more clouds than sun The Weather Authority says a brief line of showers, associated with a cold front, is moving through Southwest Florida Saturday morning.
ESTERO 1 injured after shooting at Coconut Point Mall According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, one person has been injured after a shooting at the Coconut Point Mall on Friday.
CAPE CORAL CCPD cruiser damaged after officer involved crash An officer-involved crash leaves a Cape Coral police cruiser smashed.
PORT CHARLOTTE Sweet’s Diner in Port Charlotte reopens After months of fundraising and rebuilding, this diner, which had a car fly-through it, is back open.
FWC pushing to protect Florida’s endangered manatees Florida Fish and Wildlife is pushing to protect endangered manatees. One danger that animals face is when boats bash into them, leaving deep scars across their backs.
FORT MYERS The Fort Myers Fire Department looks towards new year Fighting fires is always top of mind for the Fort Myers Fire Department. The Fort Myers Fire Department leads the way when it comes to protecting your property when a fire breaks out.
WINK NEWS Palisades Wildfire devastates SWFL family Just hours after evacuating their Malibu home, the Wohl family learned they would never go back.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral expands with development The Cove at 47th The Cove sits in south Cape Coral between Cape Coral Parkway and Southeast 47th Terrace right next to Cork Soakers.
FORT MYERS ‘Operation Ghost Buster’: 16 arrested in Fort Myers drug operation The Fort Myers Police Department Narcotics Unit conducted an operation targeting drug traffickers and individuals unlawfully selling and possessing firearms in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS ‘A Distinctive Honor’: Bank of America award benefits FSW Nursing Program Bank of America has been awarded Florida Southwestern State College the 2024 Neighborhood Champion Award.
CAPTIVA One step closer to decision on South Seas building density After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge said he stood by his earlier decision in favor of the Captiva Civic Association.
Governor signs death warrant for man accused of 1997 killing of 2 in Charlotte County Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the death warrant for a man accused of killing two people in Charlotte County in 1997.
A state lawmaker is backing the high-ranking Lee County leader who went public on WINK News Tuesday with his warning about possible money trouble inside the sheriff’s office. That state representative told anchor Claire Galt exclusively Wednesday that he’s the one who encouraged the comptroller to put the warning in writing after he got shut down. What got these two people so concerned is money. Kevin Karnes is the Lee comptroller. Adam Botana is the state representative. When they heard reports of fraud and money laundering in Sheriff Carmine Marceno‘s office, they believed they had to take action. A meeting behind closed doors had the Lee County Comptroller so concerned about what was happening inside the Lee County Sheriff’s Office that he went to Botana to ask what to do. “He said, ‘Hey, I’m asking the county to look into these consultants, and pretty much he was told not to. They got a lot of pushback, so that’s really concerning for me,” Botana said. WINK Investigations got copies of those consultant contracts. They show several people on the sheriff’s office payroll for various things, like social media help, writing kids’ books and even a $9,000-a-month deal with former state senator Lizbeth Benaquisto’s company for lobbying and advising. Botana told us that Karnes wanted to look into those, and an external auditor did, too. So Botana told Karnes to put his worry in writing, sending a letter dated Oct. 29, in which he admits “county leadership and the undersheriff expressed passionate disagreements” with the external auditor. “The undersheriff said, ‘No, we’ll take care of that internally, don’t worry about it, or we’ll take care of it.’ That’s probably not a good look,” Botana said. Karnes told us on Tuesday, “I think we need to let the facts play out. It’s not a rush-to-judgment sort of thing to look at any county department and do an audit. It’s a very calculated decision that we believe is in the best interest for the taxpayers.” “I mean, everybody needs oversight. You get $2 billion, [it] needs oversight,” Botana said. Both men said they’re more concerned now that the FBI is investigating the sheriff and that a federal court has served subpoenas on Lee County for records about the sheriff’s home and headquarters amid accusations of money laundering. Botana said that this concerns him even more now. Karnes’ letter asking for the audit wasn’t the first letter the county received. In the wake of the pandemic and Hurricane Ian, Botana and three other state lawmakers sent this letter to Karnes asking for an audit of how the county spent those federal funds. Botana said Lee County’s leaders gave him a lot of pushback. That’s why Botana pushed Karnes to write his letter asking for an audit of the sheriff’s office.