What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride alongThe Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
MGN LOS ANGELES (AP) – Teach your dog or cat a few tricks, and your golden years will be better for it. The movement to improve care for older pets has been going on for some time. But the idea of training pets to help out aging baby boomers is relatively new. Between 1946 and 1964, 76.4 million baby boomers were born. By this time next year, about a third of them will be between 65 and 70. Millennials will outnumber their predecessors, but boomers were the generation that made cats and dogs part of the family. Gayle Krigel of Kansas City, Missouri, just turned 65 and doesn’t need help now, but she’s training her dogs so that when the time comes, they’ll be ready. She has two rescues, a very intelligent husky mix named Shammy and a slightly less brilliant St. Bernard mix named Mousse. After Shammy learns how to fetch the newspaper from the yard during the winter, the dog will start learning to find the remote, which is always lost. And then, because they live in a three-story house, Shammy will learn some “upstairs, downstairs, fetch” commands. Krigel also drills the dogs twice a day on “sit and stay.” Those commands and a few others are crucial to keeping you and your pet safe, especially for older owners who may have a harder time physically restraining an active animal. “Sit and stay” will keep dogs from jumping on you or a visitor, from darting out the door and from straying, said Krigel’s trainer, Geralynn Cada. If you drop your medicine, “leave it” or “wait” will stop your dog from taking it. “Off” will warn him off a table, chair or even you. Teach your dog or cat to come immediately if you call, in case you need help or the pet is in danger. Then throw in some fun commands like “shake,” ”give me five” or “roll over,” Cada said. A well-trained dog should walk on a leash without pulling so he doesn’t jar achy old bones or pull you down on an icy street. A short leash with a fat handle works best, Cada added. Treats and/or praise are key to reinforcing the learning. (Treats work better than praise for cats because feline attention spans are shorter, only minutes at a time, while dogs can pay attention for 20 or 25 minutes.) Some retirement homes offer training classes for seniors with pets, Cada said, and some veterinarians and trainers have training videos online. Cada’s are free to watch at http://www.petcha.com , a site owned by Dogster and Catster magazine. You can mentally challenge your dog if you go through a series of commands – sit, stay, lie down, shake, off, roll over, speak, come – in random order at least once a day, Cada says. Dr. Janet Cohn treats cats at her Purrfect Care Feline Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. She already makes house calls and in January will open a hospital to allow longer visits for clients who can’t come and go easily. She recently visited a sick cat owned by a 93-year-old. The owner told Cohn how she only left the cat alone once a week – on Fridays to play chess. “For a lot of older people, a huge part of life is having another living being in the house,” Cohn said. “Their routine, cats or dogs, give a lot of people purpose,” she added. Here are some products that can make taking care of pets easier, for aging owners or anyone else: -iFetch is an automatic ball launcher, using a miniature ball for small-to-medium dogs ($115) and tennis-sized balls for bigger dogs ($199.99), http://www.goifetch.com . -Groom Genie is a detangling brush that doubles as a calming massaging brush. Large and paw-like, easy to grip ($19.99), http://www.groomgenie.com . -Raised food bowls help dogs, but also keep owners from having to bend down too far. Cats can be trained to jump on a counter for meals. -Some vets, groomers, trainers and stores will make house calls or deliver for a fee. Pooper-scooper services will keep your yard clean. -Lightweight cat litter can be a godsend, and if you can’t bend down to a litter box on the floor, you can put it on a table or platform and teach the cat to jump up. You can also get automatic scooping litter boxes and litter delivery services that clean the box. -Stickers on doors letting firefighters or paramedics know what pets are in the house will alert first responders in case of an emergency.