Collier County

A new Toll Relief Program will give credits to frequent commuters using toll roads across the state beginning Jan. 1, 2023. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the program automatically grants a 50% credit to Floridians after using tolls more than 35 times a month. The program, proposed by Governor DeSantis and enacted by […]

The cost of living skyrocketed this year as Southwest Florida continued to grow and as it works to rebuild after Hurricane Ian. As we prepare to close out 2022, WINK News decided to take a look back at the past year’s crazy rent prices and revisit a series we did seven years ago called: “Where […]

It has been one year since deputies were forced to shoot and kill a tiger who bit a man in an unauthorized area at the Naples Zoo. Eko was just one of nearly 300 Malayan tigers worldwide, a species the Naples Zoo has funded to save for more than 20 years. Now, employees have healed, […]

A registered sex offender was arrested Tuesday afternoon after deputies say he broke into a man’s Golden Gate home and was found using the toilet before being detained. According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, James Hobby, 43, was arrested after deputies went to a home on 45th Terrace Southwest at around 3:30 p.m. in […]

Much of Vanderbilt Beach was swallowed in Hurricane Ian’s storm surge. Wednesday, three months after Ian roared ashore, there is progress. One neighborhood has gone from destruction to construction. “We’re looking forward, you know, to getting it rebuilt,” said Maha Ghazzi, of Vanderbilt Beach. “We’re seeing improvement daily, with the cleanup efforts and some of […]

An artist in East Naples who lost all her supplies during Hurricane Ian and no longer had a way to make a living received much-needed help from anonymous strangers who saw her plight on WINK News. Kaata Mrachek’s life work was destroyed by the floodwaters that swept through her mobile home in Moorhead Manor. Her […]

This weekly WINK News segment features fugitives from justice right here in Southwest Florida. This is your chance to help out the community and give the tip that gets these people off the street. These suspects need to be found – and you can help. If you have seen them, reach out to Crime Stoppers […]

One of the largest affordable communities built by Habitat for Humanity is in Southwest Florida. After many years in development, construction at the long-anticipated Habitat Collier subdivision of Kaicasa is officially underway. The neighborhood had its first wall-raising. The home will soon be occupied by a family. Volunteers, staff and people from the community came […]

A man and a woman face drug charges after Collier County deputies pulled them over in Immokalee and said the suspects possessed amphetamines. According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, James Robert Pender, 36, a convicted felon wanted on a warrant out of Hendry County, was arrested after a deputy recognized him driving near Immokalee […]

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash on Alligator Alley in which a box truck overturned, leading to at least one injury and a severe traffic backup. The crash occurred near mile marker 63, next to Big Cypress National Preserve. Someone was seen being airlifted from the scene of the crash. This is a […]