Punta Gorda man dies after fire is sparked by Helene’s floodingSanibel businesses work to recover after Helene
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man dies after fire is sparked by Helene’s flooding Hurricane Helene was not kind to Charlotte County, and on Monday night, people are picking up the pieces and grieving the loss of a neighbor.
SANIBEL Sanibel businesses work to recover after Helene There’s no “Going back to normal” on Sanibel after Ian, but Helene isn’t stopping people as they work towards a “New normal.”
MATLACHA Sisters fly to Matlacha to help father rebuild after Hurricane Helene’s destruction Hurricane Helene has affected people not just in southwest Florida but also people across the country.
Recovery efforts at Sugar Sand Beach RV Resort Almost everyone on Matlacha and Pine Island is focused on the same thing: Recovery.
MANASOTA KEY Cleaning up Manasota Key after Helene Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding that seemed to spare no one on Manasota Key. Two families share their cleanup stories with WINK News.
PUNTA GORDA Historic District in Punta Gorda recovering after Helene So much of Southwest Florida continues to recover in the aftermath of Helene, especially in areas on the coast.
Florida Blue and NCH reach an agreement Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) and Florida Blue have until midnight on Monday to reach a deal on a new contract.
Fort Myers Beach cleans up after Helene For many, Fort Myers Beach has been the epicenter of hope and recovery after Ian. Now people are looking back at the island town again after Hurricane Helene.
NORTH PORT New details emerge confirming state investigation into Heritage Insurance WINK News is breaking new details on a criminal investigation into an insurance company where customers claim they were left with wrecked homes after Ian and no money to rebuild.
LABELLE Linemen get superhero sendoff as they help with Helene recovery Local linemen get superhero sendoff as they head North to help with Helene recovery efforts in other states
FORT MYERS Man arrested after Fort Myers police confiscate nearly $1M and almost 700g of fentanyl The Fort Myers police department has arrested a man in connection with a large-scale drug operation.
PORT CHARLOTTE Animal shelter in Charlotte Harbor devastated by Helene is seeking support Dogs looking for homes have had their temporary home taken away by the storm surge of Hurricane Helene.
FORT MYERS Dean Park residents continue dealing with flooding issues after Helene Dean Park in Fort Myers looks different than it did a week ago. Couches, tables, mattresses, and an assortment of people’s possessions litter the neighborhood leftover from Hurricane Helene.
LEE COUNTY Heritage Farms community recovering from Hurricane Helene Just like Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Helene sent water into homes in the Heritage Farms community, sending people back into clean up mode.
FORT MYERS BEACH Cleaning up after Helene on Fort Myers Beach Hurricane Helene brought havoc to Florida, especially on Fort Myers Beach. Residents were forced to evacuate, and homes even flooded. It also triggered anxiety from Hurricane Ian.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man dies after fire is sparked by Helene’s flooding Hurricane Helene was not kind to Charlotte County, and on Monday night, people are picking up the pieces and grieving the loss of a neighbor.
SANIBEL Sanibel businesses work to recover after Helene There’s no “Going back to normal” on Sanibel after Ian, but Helene isn’t stopping people as they work towards a “New normal.”
MATLACHA Sisters fly to Matlacha to help father rebuild after Hurricane Helene’s destruction Hurricane Helene has affected people not just in southwest Florida but also people across the country.
Recovery efforts at Sugar Sand Beach RV Resort Almost everyone on Matlacha and Pine Island is focused on the same thing: Recovery.
MANASOTA KEY Cleaning up Manasota Key after Helene Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding that seemed to spare no one on Manasota Key. Two families share their cleanup stories with WINK News.
PUNTA GORDA Historic District in Punta Gorda recovering after Helene So much of Southwest Florida continues to recover in the aftermath of Helene, especially in areas on the coast.
Florida Blue and NCH reach an agreement Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) and Florida Blue have until midnight on Monday to reach a deal on a new contract.
Fort Myers Beach cleans up after Helene For many, Fort Myers Beach has been the epicenter of hope and recovery after Ian. Now people are looking back at the island town again after Hurricane Helene.
NORTH PORT New details emerge confirming state investigation into Heritage Insurance WINK News is breaking new details on a criminal investigation into an insurance company where customers claim they were left with wrecked homes after Ian and no money to rebuild.
LABELLE Linemen get superhero sendoff as they help with Helene recovery Local linemen get superhero sendoff as they head North to help with Helene recovery efforts in other states
FORT MYERS Man arrested after Fort Myers police confiscate nearly $1M and almost 700g of fentanyl The Fort Myers police department has arrested a man in connection with a large-scale drug operation.
PORT CHARLOTTE Animal shelter in Charlotte Harbor devastated by Helene is seeking support Dogs looking for homes have had their temporary home taken away by the storm surge of Hurricane Helene.
FORT MYERS Dean Park residents continue dealing with flooding issues after Helene Dean Park in Fort Myers looks different than it did a week ago. Couches, tables, mattresses, and an assortment of people’s possessions litter the neighborhood leftover from Hurricane Helene.
LEE COUNTY Heritage Farms community recovering from Hurricane Helene Just like Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Helene sent water into homes in the Heritage Farms community, sending people back into clean up mode.
FORT MYERS BEACH Cleaning up after Helene on Fort Myers Beach Hurricane Helene brought havoc to Florida, especially on Fort Myers Beach. Residents were forced to evacuate, and homes even flooded. It also triggered anxiety from Hurricane Ian.
Dennis Capati / MGN/ Michael Gil / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Drunken-driving charges against an upstate New York woman have been dismissed based on an unusual defense: Her body is a brewery. The woman was arrested while driving with a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit. She then discovered she has a rare condition called “auto-brewery syndrome,” in which her digestive system converts ordinary food into alcohol, her lawyer Joseph Marusak said in interviews this week. A town judge in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg dismissed the drunken-driving charges this month after Marusak presented a doctor’s research showing the woman had the previously undiagnosed condition in which high levels of yeast in her intestines fermented high-carbohydrate foods into alcohol. The rare condition, also known as gut fermentation syndrome, was first documented in the 1970s in Japan, and both medical and legal experts in the U.S. say it is being raised more frequently in drunken-driving cases as it is becomes more known. “At first glance, it seems like a get-out-of-jail-free card,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. “But it’s not that easy. Courts tend to be skeptical of such claims. You have to be able to document the syndrome through recognized testing.” The condition was first documented in the U.S. by Barbara Cordell of Panola College in Texas, who published a case study in 2013 of a 61-year-old man who had been experiencing episodes of debilitating drunkenness without drinking liquor. Marusak contacted Cordell for help with his client who insisted she hadn’t had more than three drinks in the six hours before she was pulled over for erratic driving Oct. 11, 2014. The woman was charged with driving while intoxicated when a Breathalyzer test showed her blood-alcohol content to be 0.33 percent. Cordell referred Marusak to Dr. Anup Kanodia of Columbus, Ohio, who eventually diagnosed the woman with auto-brewery syndrome and prescribed a low-carbohydrate diet that brought the situation under control. She is currently free to drive without restrictions. During the long wait for an appointment, Marusak arranged to have two nurses and a physician’s assistant monitor his client for a day to document she drank no alcohol, and to take several blood samples for testing. “At the end of the day, she had a blood-alcohol content of .36 without drinking any alcoholic beverages,” Marusak said. He said the woman also bought a Breathalyzer and blew into it every night for 18 days, registering around .20 every time. The legal threshold for drunkenness in New York is 0.08. While people in cases described by Cordell sought help because they felt drunk and didn’t know why, Marusak said that’s not true of his client. “She had no idea she had this condition. Never felt tipsy. Nothing,” he said. Marusak submitted medical evidence of his client’s condition to the judge, who dismissed the DWI charges Dec. 9. Assistant Erie County District Attorney Christopher Belling said the matter is being reviewed and his office doesn’t comment on open cases. Marusak declined to name the woman, citing medical confidentiality laws. He said the case has been sealed since the charges were dropped. The Buffalo News described her as a 35-year-old school teacher, and quoted the arresting officer as saying she had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and failed several field sobriety tests. Turley noted that auto-brewery syndrome was only a valid defense in this case because the woman was unaware she had it. He said courts have long recognized that people who know they have medical conditions can be found liable for failing to take reasonable measures in light of that knowledge. Kanodia, the Ohio doctor, said two DWI cases where auto-brewery syndrome is being used as a defense are currently being tried in Texas and Oregon.