FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herselfSurrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcyclists ride in SWFL to help veterans battle suicide A group of veterans from the American Legion are grabbing their helmets and boots for a motorcycle ride to bring awareness to the staggering rates of suicide among veterans.
SARASOTA Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forward Father Riley worked at three churches in Charlotte County and another in Naples. On Friday, new allegations emerged from a news conference in Sarasota.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court A priest accused of sexually abusing four altar boys in Iowa nearly 40 years ago returned to Charlotte County court.
Courtney Gelinas talks with the news media after being reunited with her bear Rufus, at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Gelinas, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, was traveling home with her family after a Caribbean cruise. They became separated from their belongings as they fled during last week’s shooting at the airport in which five people were killed. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Yards from where workers finished the cleanup from the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, a girl was reunited Tuesday with the teddy bear she left behind while fleeing. Courtney Gelinas, 10, smiled as Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport spokesman Greg Meyer opened the trunk of his SUV to reveal Rufus, the teddy bear the Windsor, Ontario, fifth grader had received from her dying grandfather a decade ago. When Meyer handed her Rufus, she held the bear tight. Courtney was with her parents and siblings and about to board a plane home when officials say Esteban Santiago fatally shot five people one floor below them Friday. Rufus, a brown bear dressed in a red devil costume, was left behind as the family fled onto the tarmac with hundreds of others. Her mother, Kim Lariviere, said Courtney has not slept well since. “It is exciting and I am happy to have him back,” the bashful girl said as she pressed against her mother’s legs. The airport has returned a “substantial” portion of the 25,000 stranded items left behind by fleeing passengers, including luggage, cellphones, baby strollers and “lots of Hello Kitty backpacks,” Meyer said. The airport was nearly back to normal Tuesday. The long lines from the weekend caused by delayed flights are gone. Only the area around the baggage carousel where the shooting happened remained sealed off as workers replaced carpeting, Meyer said. Santiago, a 26-year-old Iraq war veteran with the Puerto Rico National Guard, remains jailed without bond on federal charges. Santiago, who had been living in Alaska, could face the death penalty if convicted. Officials say he had arrived on a connecting flight from Anchorage, retrieved his gun from its checked carrying case and began randomly shooting people. Courtney lost Rufus in the confusion. Lariviere, a middle school teacher, said she, her husband, firefighter Locky Gelinas, and their other daughter, 7-year-old Kacie, had come to the airport to return from a holiday cruise to the Caribbean. They had settled near the gate for their flight to Detroit, Windsor’s neighboring city, when Lariviere said “a rush of people screaming for their lives came like a tsunami at us. We threw our children under our seats and we lay on top of them.” After a about a minute, Lariviere said her husband decided they needed to run, so they went down a jetway and then took stairs to the tarmac. After about an hour, they were allowed back into the terminal only to have to flee again minutes later when false rumors of another gunman caused another stampede to the exits. She said the family split from the mass, feeling that would be safer, and began walking around the airport’s perimeter until they found a hole in the fence and a police officer let them through. They walked to a small rental car office, where the employees helped about 40 people who had fled the airport book hotels and drove them there. She said Courtney felt so much stress Friday night, she vomited “all over the floor” even though she hadn’t eaten. She said she never lost hope that they would find Rufus, “but we are in a hotel with nothing. Everything we are wearing is from Walmart. We knew he had to be here somewhere. It was just a matter of waiting.” She said it was unnerving to return to the airport and pass by the black curtains shielding the area where the shootings happened. “It could have been anybody down there. My deepest respect and condolences to all of you who are without their grandmothers and their moms and their brothers, uncles and aunts,” Lariviere said, weeping. She said she and her husband have been open and honest with their daughters about what happened so they wouldn’t find out about it when they return to school. “I don’t think we are going to see normal for a while. I don’t think it has registered what we went through on Friday because we are still here, still living it. I think when we get home, we’ll feel it,” she said.