Collier County

We spoke to the event organizers of a parade Monday about a new approach to encourage Latinos in Southwest Florida to vote. The parade was designed to encourage Hispanics to take part in the 2020 U.S. Census and vote by mail. “We wanted to encourage the Latino vote,” said James Pirone, a Blue Gator Initiative […]

During the coronavirus pandemic, social isolation is leading to a surge in mental health issues. But we’re also seeing a rise in strokes and heart attacks with deadly results. We spoke to experts and community members Monday who say, to save lives, we need to start thinking about physical distancing and social togetherness. “I’ve always […]

Normally, the beaches in Naples are packed with people on Memorial Day. But these are not normal times, and the beach is now empty. The city’s tight restrictions caused some confusion, but beach patrol cleared that up pretty quickly. At 11 a.m. Monday, the weather was the only care in the world for these beachgoers. […]

While Memorial Day ceremonies are muted slightly in the era of the coronavirus pandemic, people are still gathering to thank our armed service members for making the ultimate sacrifice. We visited Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7221 in Collier County on Memorial Day Monday, where a lot of veterans left their homes for the first […]

A Florida law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe, a federal judge ruled Sunday. The 125-page ruling was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee. It involves […]

WINK News’ Weather Authority confirms a Flood Watch is in effect for coastal and inland Collier County Sunday that will remain in effect through Monday evening. Torrential rainfall in Collier County and other parts of the state have the potential to produce flooding of poor drainage areas in urban locations as well as small creeks, […]

Friday evening, storms damaged some homes in parts of Southwest Florida. One viewer spotted a funnel cloud along McGregor Boulevard near the Sanibel Outlets in south Fort Myers. In Naples Estates, several homes were damaged, including a house with a roof ripped off. Neighbors say they didn’t hear things like that happening or trees falling […]

Graduating high school is a huge accomplishment, especially for an Immokalee teenager we spoke to. He became the first in his family to do so. Immokalee High School made sure its graduating seniors had a special moment to remember Friday, even though it could not host a traditional ceremony during the coronavirus pandemic. So it […]

As expected, Florida’s unemployment rate skyrocketed in April to 12.9%. That was up about 8.5 percentage points from March. Much of Southwest Florida was hit harder than most of the rest of the state. Charlotte County is at 15.6% unemployment Lee County is at 14.6% unemployment Collier County is at 13.4% unemployment Hendry County is […]

Collier County hotel bookings dropped by 90 percent in the month of Apri because of the lockdown. But this weekend is Memorial Day and the official kickoff to summer tourism and businesses and hotels are hoping that guests are ready to come back. “Typically memorial day weekend is very very strong,” said Inn on Fifth […]