Memorial benches being removed from Jaycee Park in Cape Coral‘That was the last flight out of Fort Myers’; Local man airlifted to NCH for emergency surgery
CAPE CORAL Memorial benches being removed from Jaycee Park in Cape Coral After years of discussions, the City of Cape Coral will start to remove items from Jaycee Park as part of ongoing improvements.
NAPLES ‘That was the last flight out of Fort Myers’; Local man airlifted to NCH for emergency surgery Hurricane or not, medical emergencies do not wait. A Lee County man learned that after being airlifted before Hurricane Helene to get life-or-death treatment at NCH in Naples
NAPLES Deputies searching for missing Collier County teen The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office are searching for a teenager who was last seen in South Naples and reported missing a week ago.
NORTH FORT MYERS Shell Factory in North Fort Myers closes A landmark in the Southwest Florida community for decades has officially closed its doors over the weekend.
FORT MYERS Truck fire on I-75 in Fort Myers closes 2 lanes The Florida Highway Patrol has reported a truck fire on the shoulder lane of Interstate 75 in Fort Myers.
Steinhatchee Gov. DeSantis provides updates on Hurricane Helene recovery Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Steinhatchee.
The Weather Authority The Weather Authority: Isolated rain and storms for your Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking isolated rain and storms following a dry and sunny start to your Monday.
Charlotte County allowing temporary RVs and mobile homes after Hurricane Helene Charlotte County is now allowing people to live in an RV or mobile home on their property for the next three years.
Fatal crash involving wrong way driver on I-75 in Lee County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal wrong-way crash that occurred on the northbound lanes of Interstate 75.
FORT MYERS BEACH Final day of Island Hopper Fest held despite effects from Helene The last day of the 10th annual Island Hopper Songwriter Festival was held on Fort Myers Beach Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sen. Rick Scott visits Fort Myers Beach in the wake of Helene Sen. Rick Scott traveled to Fort Myers Beach to survey the damage following Helene.
Distribution center provides aid for those affected by Helene Charlotte County received a bit of relief Sunday after being hit by Helene.
Death toll rises from Helene while supplies are rushed to North Carolina and Florida digs out The U.S. Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and the widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became more clear and officials warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild.
FEMA assistance available for some affected by Hurricane Helene Florida homeowners and renters in counties with uninsured damage or losses caused by Hurricane Helene may be eligible for FEMA disaster assistance.
SANIBEL Sanibel Fire & Rescue District traveling to assist with Helene relief The Sanibel Fire & Rescue District sent a crew to Perry, FL, early Sunday morning to assist with disaster relief following Hurricane Helene.
CAPE CORAL Memorial benches being removed from Jaycee Park in Cape Coral After years of discussions, the City of Cape Coral will start to remove items from Jaycee Park as part of ongoing improvements.
NAPLES ‘That was the last flight out of Fort Myers’; Local man airlifted to NCH for emergency surgery Hurricane or not, medical emergencies do not wait. A Lee County man learned that after being airlifted before Hurricane Helene to get life-or-death treatment at NCH in Naples
NAPLES Deputies searching for missing Collier County teen The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office are searching for a teenager who was last seen in South Naples and reported missing a week ago.
NORTH FORT MYERS Shell Factory in North Fort Myers closes A landmark in the Southwest Florida community for decades has officially closed its doors over the weekend.
FORT MYERS Truck fire on I-75 in Fort Myers closes 2 lanes The Florida Highway Patrol has reported a truck fire on the shoulder lane of Interstate 75 in Fort Myers.
Steinhatchee Gov. DeSantis provides updates on Hurricane Helene recovery Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Steinhatchee.
The Weather Authority The Weather Authority: Isolated rain and storms for your Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking isolated rain and storms following a dry and sunny start to your Monday.
Charlotte County allowing temporary RVs and mobile homes after Hurricane Helene Charlotte County is now allowing people to live in an RV or mobile home on their property for the next three years.
Fatal crash involving wrong way driver on I-75 in Lee County The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal wrong-way crash that occurred on the northbound lanes of Interstate 75.
FORT MYERS BEACH Final day of Island Hopper Fest held despite effects from Helene The last day of the 10th annual Island Hopper Songwriter Festival was held on Fort Myers Beach Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sen. Rick Scott visits Fort Myers Beach in the wake of Helene Sen. Rick Scott traveled to Fort Myers Beach to survey the damage following Helene.
Distribution center provides aid for those affected by Helene Charlotte County received a bit of relief Sunday after being hit by Helene.
Death toll rises from Helene while supplies are rushed to North Carolina and Florida digs out The U.S. Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and the widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became more clear and officials warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild.
FEMA assistance available for some affected by Hurricane Helene Florida homeowners and renters in counties with uninsured damage or losses caused by Hurricane Helene may be eligible for FEMA disaster assistance.
SANIBEL Sanibel Fire & Rescue District traveling to assist with Helene relief The Sanibel Fire & Rescue District sent a crew to Perry, FL, early Sunday morning to assist with disaster relief following Hurricane Helene.
MGN Online WASHINGTON (AP) – Senior Pentagon officials on Wednesday sought to defend the use of Russian-made rocket engines to send U.S. military satellites into space, telling exasperated lawmakers they are moving quickly to end the practice and rely on American-made rockets for the launches. But Air Force Secretary Deborah James and Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall failed to stem sharp criticism from several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee who view Russia as the chief geopolitical threat to the United States. Led by the committee chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., they said using the Russian engines enriches President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and puts U.S. national security in jeopardy. McCain, his voice rising at times, asked James and Kendall if they knew the names Sergey Chemezov and Dmitry Rogozin. Both are Russians targeted by U.S. sanctions, he said, yet their positions in Russia’s space and defense industry allows them to personally profit from the sales of the Russian RD-180 engines. Each engine costs roughly $30 million. “So we now have senior Russian politicians, friends of Vladimir Putin, that are making tens of millions dollars in the pass-through money that is paid for the Russian rocket engines,” McCain said. He asked James whether she found that disturbing. “Yes,” James responded, although she said she couldn’t be certain whether any Russian officials were directly benefiting from the sales. Disengaging from use of the Russian engines is a priority but also far more complicated than it appears, James said. She recommended a stockpile of 18 of the RD-180s until an equally capable American-made space launch vehicle can be tested and fielded. James also said she asked senior Pentagon officials on Wednesday to work with other federal agencies to ensure that purchase of the engines does not conflict with U.S. sanctions. The Pentagon has actively tried to undermine the committee’s direction to limit that risk and end the use of the Russian RD-180 engines by the end of this decade, McCain said. He also blamed the U.S. contractor that acquires the engines, United Launch Alliance, and two senators who support the company, Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for thwarting the committee’s instructions. McCain and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., intended to introduce legislation Thursday to repeal a provision in law that they said allows the unlimited acquisition and use of RD-180 engines, which are made by NPO Energomash. The manufacturer is owned primarily by the Russian government and controlled by several of Putin’s closest confidants, according to the lawmakers. United Launch Alliance is under contract with the Air Force to launch military and spy satellites. The purchases effectively reward Putin’s inner circle even as Washington continues to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s Crimea region, its continued support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, and other hostile actions, the lawmakers said. Yury Melnik, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington, said Russia considers congressional discussions about the RD-180 “an internal U.S. matter” and would not comment on “specific remarks by different lawmakers.” United Launch Alliance spokeswoman Jessica Rye said the company had no comment. The debate over the Russian equipment also illustrates a longstanding tension between congressional committees that have similar yet distinct responsibilities. McCain’s panel is an authorization committee that writes defense policy and approves annual military spending levels. But the appropriations committees actually allot the money, and their actions can occasionally contradict what the authorizers decided. During a December floor speech, McCain said Shelby and Durbin, both senior members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, reversed a restriction on buying the engines in what McCain called a “triumph of pork-barrel parochialism.” Their provision was added – “in secret, with no debate,” McCain said – to a $1.1 trillion government-wide spending bill passed by Congress late last year and signed into law by President Barack Obama. United Launch Alliance, which uses the RD-180s on its Atlas V launch vehicle, has manufacturing facilities in Decatur, Alabama. Defense industry giants Boeing, based in Chicago, and Lockheed Martin formed United Launch Alliance as a joint venture. Shelby, who faces a GOP primary challenge, helped craft the spending bill but then ended up voting against it because the bill didn’t tighten the vetting process for Syrian refugees seeking to enter the United States. Over the past two years, McCain said, his committee supported measures also approved by Congress that prohibited the Russian engines but allowed a small number to be used during the transition period if the engines were fully paid for before Feb. 1, 2014 – just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. Durbin, also speaking on the Senate floor last month, said nothing was done in secret. He said Defense Department officials told him and other lawmakers that excluding the Russian engines so quickly could leave the Air Force short of all the rockets needed to launch satellites. Durbin also said it prevents United Launch Alliance from bidding on military work, leaving the company SpaceX as the “monopoly source for the engines.” SpaceX, a rocket and spacecraft manufacturing company, is based in Hawthorne, California, McCarthy’s home state. ___ Online: United Launch Alliance: http://www.ulalaunch.com/ SpaceX: http://www.spacex.com/