Charlotte County residents fear Helene debris will worsen with incoming MiltonTS Milton continues to organize and strengthen in the SW Gulf, heading east
Charlotte County residents fear Helene debris will worsen with incoming Milton Some in Charlotte County are worried about piles of debris leftover from Hurricane Helene as Tropical Storm Milton makes its way to Florida.
TS Milton continues to organize and strengthen in the SW Gulf, heading east Tropical Storm Milton continues to strengthen in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, and it is predicted to reach hurricane status in less than 24 hours.
FORT MYERS Lee County officials to hold Facebook Live update ahead of Milton The Lee County Public Safety Director, Ben Abes, and the county commissioners are set to provide updates regarding Tropical Storm Milton.
SANIBEL Sanibel officials to provide live update on storm preparations ahead of Milton Sanibel’s mayor, Richard Johnson, and the city manager, Dana Souza, are set to provide a live update on storm preparations.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Rain & storms across SWFL throughout Sunday The Weather Authority is tracking heavy rain and storms on Sunday, especially in the afternoon and evening.
TALLAHASSEE DeSantis urges Floridians to prepare for Milton Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference to update the public on preparations for Tropical Storm Milton, which is expected to become a hurricane in less than 24 hours.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY NHC has bumped up Milton’s peak intensity forecast to 120mph The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Storm Milton, the latest named storm which will lead to a week of heavy rain for southwest Florida beginning Sunday.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents loading up on sandbags ahead of Milton With Tropical Storm Milton developing in the tropics and heavy rain expected Sunday, people in Charlotte County are getting prepared by loading up their cars with sandbags.
NORTH FORT MYERS Debris from Helene has neighbors worrying about Milton While many are still trying to pick up the pieces left from Hurricane Helene, residents in North Fort Myers still have a lot of leftover debris piling up.
Free sandbag locations available ahead of this Sunday’s heavy rainfall The Weather Authority has been tracking a potential rainmaker that will impact our area from Sunday through Wednesday.
FEMA urging Florida residents to prepare for Milton FEMA is monitoring Milton which is set to become a Category 3 Hurricane as it makes landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
DeSantis declares state of emergency in 35 Florida counties ahead of Milton In an X post on Saturday evening, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 35 Florida counties ahead of Milton.
SANIBEL Sanibel residents preparing for Tropical Storm Milton Another tropical system is taking aim at Florida. The devastation from Helene is still fresh on the minds of Sanibel residents, and they aren’t wasting time preparing.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County opens resource center for those affected by Helene Charlotte County has opened a multi-agency resource center at the Port Charlotte Town Center to help those affected by Helene.
High-speed chase leads to PIT maneuver in Lee County A high-speed pursuit between a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a vehicle ended in a PIT maneuver in Lee County.
Charlotte County residents fear Helene debris will worsen with incoming Milton Some in Charlotte County are worried about piles of debris leftover from Hurricane Helene as Tropical Storm Milton makes its way to Florida.
TS Milton continues to organize and strengthen in the SW Gulf, heading east Tropical Storm Milton continues to strengthen in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, and it is predicted to reach hurricane status in less than 24 hours.
FORT MYERS Lee County officials to hold Facebook Live update ahead of Milton The Lee County Public Safety Director, Ben Abes, and the county commissioners are set to provide updates regarding Tropical Storm Milton.
SANIBEL Sanibel officials to provide live update on storm preparations ahead of Milton Sanibel’s mayor, Richard Johnson, and the city manager, Dana Souza, are set to provide a live update on storm preparations.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Rain & storms across SWFL throughout Sunday The Weather Authority is tracking heavy rain and storms on Sunday, especially in the afternoon and evening.
TALLAHASSEE DeSantis urges Floridians to prepare for Milton Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference to update the public on preparations for Tropical Storm Milton, which is expected to become a hurricane in less than 24 hours.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY NHC has bumped up Milton’s peak intensity forecast to 120mph The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Storm Milton, the latest named storm which will lead to a week of heavy rain for southwest Florida beginning Sunday.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents loading up on sandbags ahead of Milton With Tropical Storm Milton developing in the tropics and heavy rain expected Sunday, people in Charlotte County are getting prepared by loading up their cars with sandbags.
NORTH FORT MYERS Debris from Helene has neighbors worrying about Milton While many are still trying to pick up the pieces left from Hurricane Helene, residents in North Fort Myers still have a lot of leftover debris piling up.
Free sandbag locations available ahead of this Sunday’s heavy rainfall The Weather Authority has been tracking a potential rainmaker that will impact our area from Sunday through Wednesday.
FEMA urging Florida residents to prepare for Milton FEMA is monitoring Milton which is set to become a Category 3 Hurricane as it makes landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
DeSantis declares state of emergency in 35 Florida counties ahead of Milton In an X post on Saturday evening, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 35 Florida counties ahead of Milton.
SANIBEL Sanibel residents preparing for Tropical Storm Milton Another tropical system is taking aim at Florida. The devastation from Helene is still fresh on the minds of Sanibel residents, and they aren’t wasting time preparing.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County opens resource center for those affected by Helene Charlotte County has opened a multi-agency resource center at the Port Charlotte Town Center to help those affected by Helene.
High-speed chase leads to PIT maneuver in Lee County A high-speed pursuit between a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a vehicle ended in a PIT maneuver in Lee County.
Spc. Karen Kozub/ MGN WASHINGTON (AP) – The Army said Thursday that six domestic bases will lose 1,200 or more soldiers as part of a cost-saving plan to reduce the active-duty force by 40,000 troops over the coming two years. If Congress and the White House cannot avert another round of budget cuts this year, even deeper troop reductions would result, Army officials said. The decision to shrink the Army from 490,000 active-duty soldiers to 450,000 was made months ago, but details on how it would be accomplished were briefed to Congress only in recent days. The proposal is drawing fire from many lawmakers, especially those whose states or districts are hit hardest, as critics point to fears of a military crisis with Russia and the prospect of being at war with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria over an extended period. A portion of the Army’s 40,000-troop reduction would be achieved through attrition and adjustments to recruiting, but an undetermined number of soldiers – officers as well as enlisted – would be forced out of uniform, the Army said. The Army’s civilian workforce would be cut by as many as 17,000 over the same period. Army officials said the plan calls for cuts at nearly every installation in 2016 and 2017, with Fort Benning, Georgia, and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, taking the largest reductions. Benning is to lose 3,402 soldiers, or 29 percent of its current personnel, as the Army converts the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division to a smaller unit known as a battalion task force. Elmendorf-Richardson is to lose 2,631 soldiers, or 59 percent of its personnel, as the 4th Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division undergoes the same conversion, according to figures released by the Army. Fort Hood, Texas, the Army’s largest base, would lose 3,350 soldiers, or 9 percent of its personnel. Among others, Fort Bliss, Texas, would lose 1,219 soldiers, or 5 percent; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, would lose 1,251, or 5 percent, and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, would lose 1,214, or 8 percent. The Army estimates that the overall cut of 40,000 soldiers will result in savings of $7 billion over four years. Congressional delegations have been waiting for word on how the cuts would be distributed and timed; troop reductions can inflict significant economic pain on communities reliant on military base populations. If a new round of automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration, goes ahead in the budget years beginning Oct. 1, the Army says it will have to reduce even further, to 420,000 soldiers by 2019. As recently as 2012, the Army had an active-duty force of 570,000. Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, has said he can accept the planned reduction of 40,000 soldiers over the next two years. In his view, being forced to shrink the Army is not the hardest part of coping with years-long budget wrangling between the Congress and the White House. Even more difficult, he says, is the uncertainty for military planners and the nation’s soldiers. “The thing I worry about is it has put a lot of turbulence in the Army and brought a lot of angst to our soldiers,” he told reporters May 28. As he nears the end of his tenure as Army chief, Odierno said the only thing that could push the service off its course toward modernization is more budget uncertainty. “The unpredictability is killing us,” he said. Defense Secretary Ash Carter agrees. “We’ve been going one year at a time budgetarily now for several years straight, and it’s extremely disruptive to the operations of the department,” Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. “It is managerially inefficient, because we’re in this herky-jerky process.” It may not get any smoother anytime soon. Congressional Republicans are proposing to give President Barack Obama the extra billions he wants for defense in the budget year starting Oct. 1. But Obama says he can’t accept their plan because it maneuvers around spending caps in a way that does not also provide spending relief in non-defense areas of the budget. This portends a September showdown between Congress and the White House. The Army says it needs to start moving ahead with planned troop reductions, although most will be accomplished through attrition and forced retirement of officers rather than layoffs or other forms of forced departures. Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the cuts make no sense. “Any conceivable strategic rationale for this cut to Army end-strength has been overturned by the events of the last few years from the rise of ISIL, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ebola crisis, and more,” McCain said Wednesday. At a hearing Thursday, McCain said the problem is broader than the Army. “The Air Force is the oldest and the smallest it has ever been,” he said. “The Navy’s fleet is shrinking to pre-World War I levels. With the present operational tempo and drastic reductions to defense spending, we will continue the downward spiral of military capacity.” Members of Congress generally oppose shrinking the size of the military, especially if the cuts might affect bases in their states or districts. But they also have opposed other forms of savings proposed by the Pentagon, including reforming the military health care or retirement systems, eliminating older weapons systems or closing bases. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, told Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at Tuesday’s hearing that he was opposed to shrinking the size of the 4th Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division, an airborne infantry unit based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, because he wanted to save the Army from a “strategic blunder.” Dempsey told Sullivan that Congress has been “telling us ‘no'” to money-saving changes that could reduce the need for troop cuts. “We have $1 trillion – that’s a T, not a B – a trillion dollars less in budget authority over 10 years. We’ve said from the beginning, it’s a disaster,” Dempsey said.