FBI warns rental property scams are on the rise

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -The FBI said fraudulent advertisements for vacation and rental properties are costing people roughly $92.5 million each year. Valerie Henry and her family live in France. This summer, they booked a vacation to stay at a waterfront home in Cape Coral. Weeks before the vacation was planned, Henry realized the rental home […]

Postal service mistake or criminal act?

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Is it a mail mix-up or something else? Brenda Chambers sent a package through the post office only to find her items missing and someone else’s things inside. “Pick up whatever is yours, I don’t know what all belongs, whatever you identify, I know this is what I called you from,” said […]

“Mr. Orange and Blue” retires from University of Florida

FORT MYERS, FLa. – If you have been to a University of Florida Gator home football game, you know the “orange and blue” cheer. However, maybe didn’t know much about the guy who started it all. Richard Johnston is an attorney in Fort Myers, but for the past 31 years he travels to every UF […]

Seller’s market: tough competition for SWFL real estate

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- It’s your money, and your home may be worth tens of thousands of dollars more than you think. A local realtor tells WINK News this is one of the hottest housing markets we’ve seen in a while for sellers. It’s because there are a lot of buyers but not as many sellers, […]

Allegiant Air adds new flights in SWFL

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Discount carrier Allegiant Air says it’ll soon be landing in Pittsburgh. The Las Vegas-based airline said Wednesday the Steel City is among five new cities where it’ll offer service starting in February. Allegiant says it’ll make four flights a week from Pittsburgh to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport serving the Tampa Bay area, […]

Police ID wanted Florida man in Memphis shooting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Police say a man who fatally shot himself during a traffic stop in Memphis was a quadruple amputee named as a “person of interest” in the deaths of his parents in central Florida. Memphis police said Wednesday that 30-year-old Sean Petrozzino died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head during […]

CSX Corp. plans to cut 300 management workers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Florida-based railroad operator CSX Corp. plans to cut 300 management workers, mostly through buyouts by the end of the year. Most of the workers targeted are based at the company’s Jacksonville headquarters. CSX has about 3,600 employees in Jacksonville. Cost says the cuts are among other efforts to reduce expenses. The […]

Boaters warned to watch out for migrating manatees

MIAMI (AP) – State wildlife authorities want boaters to make note of seasonal manatee protection zones that take effect this week. Many of the zones take effect statewide on Saturday. Florida’s manatees typically migrate to warmer waters in November. The large, slow-moving marine mammals will swim along rivers, bays and coastal areas searching for warmer […]

Ebola workers ask Congress for help

WASHINGTON (AP) – Health workers on the front line of the Ebola crisis say the need for urgent help isn’t letting up, as Congress begins considering President Barack Obama’s $6.2 billion emergency aid request to fight the disease. Despite reports that the number of infections is slowing in some parts of West Africa, cases still […]

Gas to average under $3 in 2015, government says

NEW YORK (AP) – The average price of gasoline will be below $3 a gallon in 2015, the Energy Department predicted Wednesday. If the sharply lower estimate holds true, U.S. consumers will save $61 billion on gas compared with this year. Economists say lower gasoline prices act like a tax cut, leaving more money for […]