Fired deputy charged with crimes had troubled past in law enforcementNew resolution could help fend off FEMA’s threat to pull flood insurance discount
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral mayor accused of making deals without public knowledge The mayor of Southwest Florida’s largest city is accused of trying to make backdoor deals. Cape Coral Mayor Joe Coviello is facing a civil infraction for violating the state’s Sunshine Law. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched an investigation after a series of events in December 2019 and found two violations of law. The […]
FORT MYERS Cancer survivor forced to skip $2,500 shots due to cost Colleen Ryan beat breast cancer in 2011, but found herself in the middle of a different kind of fight when she moved to Southwest Florida in 2019. Her bill for a bone density shot that used to cost $10 in Illinois, was $2,500. “(I have to get the shot) Otherwise I’m going to be at […]
NAPLES 9/11 first responders say Naples man fabricated story of involvement in World Trade Center recovery efforts Maurice Keshner showed up wearing a badge that read “City of New York Emergency Medical Service” and claimed it was the first time since 2001 he decided to speak about what he saw that day. During a memorial service to remember the lives lost on 9/11 at Freedom Park in Naples, Keshner was asked to […]
FORT MYERS Council to decide potential fate of 8,000 seat City of Palms Park It once was the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox, and millions of your tax dollars have been thrown at it. Now, the City of Fort Myers wants it torn down. The City wants to take possession of the City of Palms Park back from Lee County, but only after the County tears […]
FORT MYERS Two employee deaths at nursing home cited for poor COVID-19 control Two staff members from Heritage Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare who tested positive with COVID-19 died according to a Department of Health report that tracks deaths at long-term care facilities. The Heritage Park facility in Fort Myers also listed eight resident deaths on the most recent report. Several workers from the facility have been in contact with […]
WINK NEWS COVID-19 cases spread at long-term care facilities despite lockdowns, testing mandates Visitors have not been allowed inside the state’s nursing homes or assisted living facilities for months. Locking down the long-term care facilities to protect the vulnerable was once something Florida boasted about getting right. But a WINK News analysis of archived COVID-19 case reports for long-term care facilities in Southwest Florida show the virus is […]
NAPLES COVID-19 units for ICU patients at NCH being prepped for potential storms Southwest Florida hospitals are equipped with hurricane impact windows to withstand a Category 5 storm, but at least one had to take out some of those impact windows to rapidly turn rooms into pressured isolation rooms for COVID-19 patients. WINK News investigative reporter Lauren Sweeney went inside NCH North Naples to find out if the […]
FORT MYERS Is a COVID-19 cover-up leading to case spread at a Fort Myers nursing home? Workers from Heritage Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare, who wished to remain anonymous, told WINK News that they are not being informed about possible infections of COVID-19 at the facility. “We are walking into a room, not knowing if that person is positive or negative,” said one staff member. According to a report published Wednesday from […]
COLLIER COUNTY COVID-19 hospitalizations at NCH drastically decrease after mask mandate A month after WINK News cameras first paid a visit to the COVID-19 floor and critical care unit at NCH North Naples, there has been a drastic difference. “When you were here the last time, NCH was around 60% occupied with COVID patients,” said Dr. David Lindner, the COVID-19 medical director for NCH. “At this […]
PORT CHARLOTTE Thousands of SWFL businesses saved jobs with government program David Rowe said he was put on this earth to be a dentist, not an accountant. But, in late March, the Port Charlotte dentist said he found himself in the middle of an accounting nightmare. The state ordered dental practices could only do emergency procedures. Rowe said he lost half his revenue. But he did […]