What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area?Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues
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 fiftieth 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.
‘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.
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.
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 fiftieth 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.
‘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.
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.
Gladys and Antonio Lozano who would have celebrated their 59th anniversary in July. (Courtesy of Sergio Lozano) After Sergio Lozano, 56, had dinner at his parents’ condo Wednesday night, they said their goodbyes and and he returned home to his own unit in the nearby Champlain Towers East in Surfside. His mom, Gladys Lozano, 79, had made his favorite dessert. His dad, Antonio Lozano, 83, was excited because his doctor said he could have his first drink in months after recovering from a surgery. This was the last time Lozano would see his parents. Living by the beach had always been Antonio’s dream, and they had it at Champlain Towers South. When he started having health problems, Sergio, the youngest of two siblings, said he’d purchased an apartment upstairs from his parents to keep an eye on them and make sure he could be there in the event of a medical emergency. Last year, he sold it and moved to the neighboring building. Once in a while he’d find comfort in sitting on his balcony and watching his mom cook dinner while his father watched the news on television. “It was very endearing having them so close,” he told CBS News. Around 1:20 in the morning, Sergio Lozano was startled by a loud boom which he thought was a tornado, and he stepped out onto his balcony to bring the patio furniture inside. Instead of rain, he was hit by a staggering sight: billowing smoke and an expanse of night sky where his parents’ condo building once stood. He remembered turning to his wife: “‘The building isn’t there!’ And she’s yelling, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘My parents’ apartment is not there, it’s gone!,’ and I just ran downstairs to Collins [Avenue],” Lozano said. In the days since, family members of residents of the collapsed 12-story tower have staggered in and out of a family reunification center near the site trying to make sense of the tragedy. Family members gave DNA samples to help officials identify their relatives’ remains and gleaned scraps of information on rescue efforts. Late Saturday night, Miami-Dade Police announced that the bodies of Gladys and Antonio Lozano had been recovered and identified. The couple would have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in July. “This is a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I just had my last dinner with them. Then just opening that door, and their building isn’t there,” Lozano told CBS News, breaking into tears. Emergency crews continue searching for another 150 people who were still unaccounted for as of Tuesday morning. Eleven deaths have been confirmed so far. More than 60 years ago, Antonio Lozano fled Fidel Castro’s communist regime in Cuba “with nothing but clothes on his back,” his son said, and moved to South Florida where he requested political asylum. Antonio, whose background in Cuba was in banking, worked three busboy jobs until he had enough money saved up to get his then-girlfriend Gladys into the United States — and marry her. For years, the couple worked multiple jobs, seven days a week, from loading trucks to restaurant work, in order to provide for their American-born children, Sergio and Tony, while sharing a three-bedroom home with eight other people. “My dad would take my mom to work at 3 o’clock in the morning, come back home, continue sleeping, take my brother to school at 8 a.m. and then go to work,” Lozano said. “They did it all for us.” After Antonio was hired to become a bank clerk, he quickly climbed the ranks. Years later, through hard work and perseverance, he would become executive vice president at First National Bank of Miami, his son said. During more than 20 years of condo living, the couple watched their two sons have children of their own, and they even got the chance to meet their first great-grandchild. “Family and love are the greatest: Those are the most important values my parents left me with. And if you work hard, this country will provide you with everything you need,” Sergio Lozano said. Sergio Lozano said that his parents, Gladys and Antonio Lozano, feared that one of them would pass away before the other because they didn’t want to be without each other.Courtesy of Sergio Lozano Sergio Lozano II, the couple’s grandson, described his abuela (grandmother) as a “mom to all of us.” “You taught us that love meant accepting everything about a person. To care and forgive when others wouldn’t. To always fight for family and never hold a grudge because it was not worth it,” he wrote in a eulogy to his grandparents posted on Facebook. “What you left behind is a foundation strong enough to hold us all up in moments like these.” The son said that his parents’ biggest fear was that one of them would pass away before the other because they didn’t want to be without each other. “My parents were yin and yang. ‘I can’t be without you,’ they would say,” Lozano recalls. “They always wanted to go together — and they did. That’s the only peace I have from this.” Saturday, the Lozano family is laying Antonio and Gladys to rest together — something that they know dozens of other families still don’t have the ability to do. “I’m grateful. It’s a love story. They couldn’t be without each other. Thank you, God, for letting them go together,” Lozano said. “I have their last memory and everything they taught me. I have closure.”