Alleged sexual abuse victims of Port Charlotte priest comes forwardPort Charlotte priest accused of sexual abuse appears in court
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.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
Let’s Waffle opens in Cape Coral Let’s Waffle is one of two businesses the Feix family launched locally, with the FMS Florida Boat Tours and Limousine Service owned and operated by Feix’s husband, Alexander.
Planned Punta Gorda hotel, pub, brewery faces construction delay Kevin Doyle, owner of Celtic Ray Public House Irish pub in downtown Punta Gorda, and his partner, S4 Global Investments, were found in violation of the city’s exposed soils code.
Three Sisters Spring Toast the manatee released by FWC, SeaWorld and Casey DeSantis near Crystal River A manatee named Toast was released back into the Florida waters after a final medical evaluation from wildlife officials.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Man arrested and charged with over 90 counts of fraud The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a man for allegedly stealing items from a business and then pawning them.
Man accused of pulling gun on someone ordering at Collier County Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru A man has been arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on someone ordering at a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in Collier County.
League Club of Naples awards record $683K in grants to Collier, Lee nonprofits At a mid-April breakfast event, the 35 area nonprofit agencies—chosen from a record number of applicants—were awarded grants from the women’s volunteer organization in areas ranging from arts education, to fighting hunger and homelessness, to providing bikes and wheelchairs to children in need
Tim Aten Knows: Chick-fil-A drive-thru proposal faces criticism in Naples Chick-fil-A is proposing a drive-thru restaurant at the site of the former Red Lobster restaurant on U.S. 41 in Naples, but the project is facing early criticism.
Man convicted for murder of 17-year-old girl will be in court for resentencing A convicted man will be in court for resentencing for a murder that he committed as a teenager almost 20 years ago.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Holly, Slim For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Dust Devil spotted spiraling in Fort Myers A dust devil was spotted and recorded by a WINK News viewer on Hanson Street in Fort Myers.
Warm, dry and breezy Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a comfortable Friday morning start with dry and breezy afternoon conditions expected.
NAPLES Event held in Naples for National Crime Victims Week The City of Naples and Project HELP held an event in Baker Park for National Crime Victims Week.
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.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema prepares for opening at Mercato The newest movie theater in Southwest Florida opens April 29, and it does so with an array of entertainment offerings that go beyond the usual options across the region.
Let’s Waffle opens in Cape Coral Let’s Waffle is one of two businesses the Feix family launched locally, with the FMS Florida Boat Tours and Limousine Service owned and operated by Feix’s husband, Alexander.
Planned Punta Gorda hotel, pub, brewery faces construction delay Kevin Doyle, owner of Celtic Ray Public House Irish pub in downtown Punta Gorda, and his partner, S4 Global Investments, were found in violation of the city’s exposed soils code.
Three Sisters Spring Toast the manatee released by FWC, SeaWorld and Casey DeSantis near Crystal River A manatee named Toast was released back into the Florida waters after a final medical evaluation from wildlife officials.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Man arrested and charged with over 90 counts of fraud The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a man for allegedly stealing items from a business and then pawning them.
Man accused of pulling gun on someone ordering at Collier County Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru A man has been arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on someone ordering at a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in Collier County.
League Club of Naples awards record $683K in grants to Collier, Lee nonprofits At a mid-April breakfast event, the 35 area nonprofit agencies—chosen from a record number of applicants—were awarded grants from the women’s volunteer organization in areas ranging from arts education, to fighting hunger and homelessness, to providing bikes and wheelchairs to children in need
Tim Aten Knows: Chick-fil-A drive-thru proposal faces criticism in Naples Chick-fil-A is proposing a drive-thru restaurant at the site of the former Red Lobster restaurant on U.S. 41 in Naples, but the project is facing early criticism.
Man convicted for murder of 17-year-old girl will be in court for resentencing A convicted man will be in court for resentencing for a murder that he committed as a teenager almost 20 years ago.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Holly, Slim For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Dust Devil spotted spiraling in Fort Myers A dust devil was spotted and recorded by a WINK News viewer on Hanson Street in Fort Myers.
Warm, dry and breezy Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a comfortable Friday morning start with dry and breezy afternoon conditions expected.
NAPLES Event held in Naples for National Crime Victims Week The City of Naples and Project HELP held an event in Baker Park for National Crime Victims Week.
FILE – In this July 13, 2021 file photo, crews work in the rubble of the Champlain Towers South building, as removal and recovery work continues at the site of the partially collapsed condo building in Surfside, Fla. Firefighters have officially ended their search for bodies in the debris of the collapsed Surfside condo building, Friday, July 23. But police and forensic specialists continue working to identify human remains recovered from the disaster.(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) Florida legislators should overhaul the state’s condominium laws, according to a task force report prepared by a section of the Florida Bar. The latest recommendations come in the wake of the Surfside building collapse that killed 98. They include inspections and ensuring proper reserves are in place to make major safety repairs and other issues. The Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the bar formed the task force bringing together lawyers specializing in condominium and association laws. The goal was not to investigate or find blame for the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South beachfront condominium but rather to recommend ways to prevent future catastrophes. “The lack of uniform maintenance standards or protocols, and the unguided discretion given to boards of directors to determine when, how, and if life safety inspections should be performed, requires legislative intervention,” concluded the 179-page report that was released earlier this week. Champlain Towers was 40 years old and in need of major repairs when it collapse on June 24. It’s led to officials looking at the need to ensure other aging structures are safe. The task force said 912,376 Florida condo units housing more than 2 million people are at least 30 years old, including more than 105,000 older than 50 years and nearly 328,000 built between 40 and 50 years ago. Overall, Florida has more than 1.5 million condo units operated by 27,599 condo associations, the report said. Among recommendations are giving association boards the right to make special assessments for major repairs to protect resident safety without a full association vote. It also requires associations to build up reserves for such projects as recommended by engineers in order to be able to pay for repairs. Those would be in addition to accounts in place for routine maintenance. While the report said the vast majority of condominium associations are operating in a reasonably safe manner, there needs to be more consistency with inspections and the information provided in them needs to be available to residents. “Unit owners and boards may also resist such maintenance because of cost, lack of reserves, disruption and inconvenience,” the report said. The report also recommends allowing condominium boards to borrow money to pay for life safety repairs so the cost could be spread out over years. Local governments should also have a higher level of accountability for inspection reports, including stripping them of sovereign immunity protections, which limit civil claims against government agencies to $200,000. “Condominium residents should be entitled to rely on the inspections and reports performed by or on behalf of local governments, and local governments should not be able to avoid responsibility for the content and conclusion of building inspection reports,” it said. Current law has limitations on associations and unit owners to take civil action against developers for design and construction flaws. Those limitations should be lifted, the report said. The state division that oversees condominium education and compliance is largely funded by a trust fund built on a $4 per unit fee. The task force recommends the Legislature not be able to “sweep” the trust fund for other state budget purposes. It also recommends that 30% of the trust fund be used to educate association boards and residents about obligations to make repairs to ensure buildings are safe.