WINK

COVID-19 & UNEMPLOYMENT

UNEMPLOYMENT PAYMENTS MISSING, SOME STILL WAITING TO BE APPROVED
This hour the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity says it has paid 100 percent of eligible claims yet dozens of you reach out to us daily, saying you're missing weeks of payments and some of you say you've gone months and still don't know whether they're approved News investigative reporter Sara Girard joins us live from the newsroom and Sarah.

GLITCHES + MISSING UNEMPLOYMENT PAYMENTS
Americans Americans Americans filed filed. filed filed for for for first-time First-time first-time unemployment benefits benefits this this past this past week, week, past and and week, that that and that number number number may may.

UNEMPLOYMENT PAYMENTS HELD OR MISSING
Unemployment continues to to frustrate people, people, though though here here here in in in Southwest Southwest Southwest Florida, Florida, Florida Florida. the the the state. state's state's state's unemployment dashboard says says 97 97 97 percent percent percent of of of claims claims. claims claims have have have been been been paid paid.

Sara Girard WINK News on Facebook Watch
I've now sent more than 7,300 of your names and concerns to the DEO and Gov. Ron DeSantis' Office, and I'm not done yet. Countless changes have been...

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UNEMPLOYMENT CLASS ACTIONS
"The first goal is to get everybody paid now." Two Tallahassee lawyers are filing an emergency motion TODAY for an order to pay unemployment benefit...

CHANGES COMING TO DEO (PART 2)
The backlog of the state unemployment system could be cleared in 15 days, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity. Tonight. Wink News Investigative reporter Sara Girard spoke with a new person in charge of cleaning up the mess with the state unemployment system.

CHANGES COMING TO DEO (PART 1)
We're challenging the status quo. There's no oversight at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in an effort to revamp the unemployment system. New on weight news at five investigative reporter Sarah Gerard talks with the person put in charge of making sure people are getting the assistance they are applying for.

Sara Girard WINK News on Facebook Watch
Look at this now, we now know more than a million and a half applications have been submitted in Florida for unemployment since March 15.

NEW UNEMPLOYMENT WEBSITE
UNEMPLOYMENT: There's a new mobile-friendly website for unemployment applicants! Good news for those of you struggling to file, but there are still...

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2020

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Montage: One Year at WINK

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2019

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Hemp: Florida's next moneymaker could bring hope to farmers
Hemp is taking the spotlight, as more states around the country rush to get their hands on what's projected to be a multi-billion dollar industry. That's why farmers, business owners and anyone interested in the hemp industry flocked to the Industrial Hemp Pilot Project Workshop in Homestead, hosted by the University of Florida Institute of ...

TONY JOINER PLEADS "NOT GUILTY" FOR 2016 MURDER
WINK INVESTIGATES: It took three years and a TV show to make an arrest in a Fort Myers murder case. But I spent weeks reviewing the same information...

What makes a bus stop safe, according to the law
For nine months a year, around 50,000 students across Lee County get to and from school by riding the bus. Sophia, 12, starts seventh grade this month, and her mom Fabiola Silva wants to make sure she gets to school safely. Because before Sophia hops on the bus, she waits at a street corner in ...

WINK INVESTIGATES: Early wake up calls... - Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Early wake up calls and long routes... Taking the school bus for kids in Lee County isn't exactly a smooth ride. And a bus driver...

WINK INVESTIGATES: Two little girls were... - Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Two little girls were hit and killed at bus stops in Lee County this year. Still, thousands of kids go to their bus stop, walking and...

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: These days parents are having to spend more than their rent or mortgage (and sometimes spending their paycheck) just on child care. And those high child care costs don't only...

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Imagine spending your retirement savings on your dream home, only to be left with a slab... One #swfl woman says it happened to her. WINK News investigates a local contractor and...

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: By now you've probably heard of CBD, a chemical found in hemp praised by users for its health benefits. But with all the confusion over cannabis laws, state and federal, is CBD...

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: One year later, SWFL students are still coping with their fears and feelings about the #Parkland shooting. But has school mental health care improved since? I sat down with three...

Sara Girard WINK News
Oddly enough, this is one of the most fun stories I've ever worked on! WINK INVESTIGATES: How can recycling incorrectly cost you money? I uncover what goes into processing our waste and break down...

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Have you or a family member taken an at-home DNA test? We dug into the fine print to uncover what it means to submit your genetic info to these companies, and you'd be surprised...

2018

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Hundreds of millions of dollars. Maybe even more. That's how much small businesses lost during the peak of the water crisis this summer, and they're only just starting to recover....

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Why is $58 million sitting in Tallahassee when local school districts could be using it? Well, it all has to do with guns in schools. More: https://bit.ly/2qm9n0H

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: We wanted to know -- what is it about specialty grocers that causes such a buzz (other than their healthy food)? We found the "Whole Foods Effect" and the impact stores like it...

Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Faster internet speeds, driverless cars, remote surgeries. All sounds great, right? Not to some people here in SWFL. Tonight on WINK News, I investigate why the upcoming launch...

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Sara Girard WINK News
WINK INVESTIGATES: Fight, flee, or bark?? We take a lighthearted look at what some average pups do when their fur-moms and dads are gone and there's a stranger in their home! Tell me: Do you know...

Sara Girard WINK News
BUYER BEWARE: Flood damaged cars left over from Hurricane Florence are expected to wind up on used car lots all over Florida. Tonight on WINK News, I show you how to break through the disguises......