PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda battles debris after dual hurricanes It’s been hard for some to move forward after facing Milton; every time they step outside their homes, they’re greeted by piles of debris.
BOCA GRANDE Boca Grande businesses clean up after Milton No matter how much you prepare for a hurricane, you never know what awaits you in the aftermath.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA All you need to know if you are applying for FEMA disaster assistance One of the biggest hurdles southwest Florida had to deal with after Hurricane Ian was FEMA. Many didn’t know how to apply, which forms needed to be filled out and how to get money.
MANASOTA KEY North Manasota Key picks up the pieces while south waits to see their home Homes in North Manasota Key have been hollowed out from the storm surge after Hurricane Milton. Now, residents living on Manasota Key are trying to figure out their next steps moving forward while coping with the loss.
FORT MYERS Acting now helps avoid storm PTSD Even with storms Helene and Milton behind us, stress levels remain high. It’s leaving many people to manage post-hurricane anxiety.
PUNTA GORDA Preventing mold in Punta Gorda after Milton Right now, families with flooded homes from the hurricanes have to race to action. The water can cause black mold in damp areas of homes, but you can take steps to prevent the mold from forming or spreading.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda faces devastation with resilience An entire street in Punta Gorda was flooded, forcing the community out of their homes.
ESTERO FPL answers questions about power surges and outages, days after Milton Days after Hurricane Milton tore through Florida, people coast to coast are still experiencing power outages and power surges, and now we’re hearing from Florida Power and Light (FPL).
FORT MYERS Miracle Moment: Basketball player bouncing back A basketball player, Karsten Schafer, is preparing to get off the bench and back in the game after doctors told him he might never play again.
CLEWISTON Clewiston teen killed by stray bullet during dance A Clewiston teenager lost her life after multiple shots were fired into a building during a dance on Friday night.
NORTH FORT MYERS 3 arrested after 2 carjackings in Lee County leaves cars totaled A woman was carjacked at gunpoint on McGregor Blvd. early Sunday morning. The accused carjacker is in jail.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach comes together to move forward after Milton Fort Myers Beach is slowly getting back on its feet after Hurricane Milton, with some businesses just now opening.
FORT MYERS Volunteers at Harry Chapin helping out after Milton The Harry Chapin Food Bank has been extending its resources to assist in recovery efforts in response to Hurricane Milton.
SANIBEL Boil water advisory rescinded on Sanibel The precautionary boil water notice issued on Sanibel during Hurricane Milton has been rescinded.
County vote on Lee Health conversion delayed by Hurricane Milton The final vote by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners on Lee Health’s conversion from a public nonprofit to a private nonprofit was scheduled during an Oct. 8 special meeting, but Hurricane Milton’s approach of Florida’s Gulf Coast led to its cancellation.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda battles debris after dual hurricanes It’s been hard for some to move forward after facing Milton; every time they step outside their homes, they’re greeted by piles of debris.
BOCA GRANDE Boca Grande businesses clean up after Milton No matter how much you prepare for a hurricane, you never know what awaits you in the aftermath.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA All you need to know if you are applying for FEMA disaster assistance One of the biggest hurdles southwest Florida had to deal with after Hurricane Ian was FEMA. Many didn’t know how to apply, which forms needed to be filled out and how to get money.
MANASOTA KEY North Manasota Key picks up the pieces while south waits to see their home Homes in North Manasota Key have been hollowed out from the storm surge after Hurricane Milton. Now, residents living on Manasota Key are trying to figure out their next steps moving forward while coping with the loss.
FORT MYERS Acting now helps avoid storm PTSD Even with storms Helene and Milton behind us, stress levels remain high. It’s leaving many people to manage post-hurricane anxiety.
PUNTA GORDA Preventing mold in Punta Gorda after Milton Right now, families with flooded homes from the hurricanes have to race to action. The water can cause black mold in damp areas of homes, but you can take steps to prevent the mold from forming or spreading.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda faces devastation with resilience An entire street in Punta Gorda was flooded, forcing the community out of their homes.
ESTERO FPL answers questions about power surges and outages, days after Milton Days after Hurricane Milton tore through Florida, people coast to coast are still experiencing power outages and power surges, and now we’re hearing from Florida Power and Light (FPL).
FORT MYERS Miracle Moment: Basketball player bouncing back A basketball player, Karsten Schafer, is preparing to get off the bench and back in the game after doctors told him he might never play again.
CLEWISTON Clewiston teen killed by stray bullet during dance A Clewiston teenager lost her life after multiple shots were fired into a building during a dance on Friday night.
NORTH FORT MYERS 3 arrested after 2 carjackings in Lee County leaves cars totaled A woman was carjacked at gunpoint on McGregor Blvd. early Sunday morning. The accused carjacker is in jail.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach comes together to move forward after Milton Fort Myers Beach is slowly getting back on its feet after Hurricane Milton, with some businesses just now opening.
FORT MYERS Volunteers at Harry Chapin helping out after Milton The Harry Chapin Food Bank has been extending its resources to assist in recovery efforts in response to Hurricane Milton.
SANIBEL Boil water advisory rescinded on Sanibel The precautionary boil water notice issued on Sanibel during Hurricane Milton has been rescinded.
County vote on Lee Health conversion delayed by Hurricane Milton The final vote by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners on Lee Health’s conversion from a public nonprofit to a private nonprofit was scheduled during an Oct. 8 special meeting, but Hurricane Milton’s approach of Florida’s Gulf Coast led to its cancellation.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters and press in Jupiter, Fla. following primary and caucus victories on Tuesday. (Stan Chambers Jr./WINK News) BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – With a triumphant pile of delegates in hand, Republican Donald Trump on Thursday claimed support from “almost everybody” in his party and turned his attention to his likely Democratic presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton, who is still locked in a divisive primary contest. The New York billionaire reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination hours earlier, according to the Associated Press count, just before a North Dakota campaign stop. It completed his unlikely rise that has upended the political landscape and set the stage for a bitter fall campaign. “Here I am watching Hillary fight, and she can’t close the deal,” he told reporters. “We’ve had tremendous support from almost everybody.” Trump’s good news was tempered by his own continuing campaign problems. Those include the abrupt departure of his political director and continuing resistance by many Republican leaders to declare their support for his upstart candidacy. Trump was put over the top in the AP delegate count by a small number of the party’s unbound delegates who told the AP they would support him at the national convention in July. Among them was Oklahoma GOP chairwoman Pam Pollard. “I think he has touched a part of our electorate that doesn’t like where our country is,” Pollard said. “I have no problem supporting Mr. Trump.” It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination. Trump has reached 1,239. Of those, 95 are unbound delegates who have endorsed him. With 303 delegates at stake in five state primaries on June 7, Trump will easily pad his total, avoiding a contested convention in Cleveland. Trump, a political neophyte who for years delivered caustic commentary on the state of the nation from the sidelines but had never run for office, fought off 16 other Republican contenders in an often ugly primary race. Many on the right have been slow to warm to Trump, wary of his conservative bona fides. Others worry about his crass personality and the lewd comments he’s made about women. But millions of grass-roots activists, many of them outsiders to the political process, have embraced him as a plain-speaking populist. Steve House, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party and an unbound delegate who confirmed his support of Trump to the AP, said he likes the billionaire’s background as a businessman. “Leadership is leadership,” House said. “If he can surround himself with the political talent, I think he will be fine.” Trump’s pivotal moment comes amid a new sign of internal problems. Hours before clinching the nomination, he announced the abrupt departure of political director Rick Wiley, who was in the midst of leading the campaign’s push to hire staff in key battleground states. In a statement, Trump’s campaign said Wiley had been hired only until the candidate’s organization “was running full steam.” His hiring about six weeks ago was seen as a sign that party veterans were embracing Trump’s campaign. Some delegates who confirmed their decisions to back Trump were tepid at best. Cameron Linton of Pittsburgh said he will back Trump on the first ballot since he won the presidential primary vote in Linton’s congressional district. “If there’s a second ballot I won’t vote for Donald Trump,” Linton said. “He’s ridiculous. There’s no other way to say it.” Trump’s path to the Republican presidential nomination began with an escalator ride. Trump and his wife, Melania, descended an escalator into the basement lobby of the Trump Tower on June 16, 2015, for an announcement many observers had said would never come: The celebrity real estate developer had flirted with running for office in the past. His speech then set the tone for his ability to dominate the headlines with provocative statements, insults and hyperbole. He called Mexicans “rapists,” promised to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and proposed banning most Muslims from the U.S. for an indeterminate time. He criticized women for their looks. And he unleashed an uncanny marketing ability in which he deduced his critics’ weak points and distilled them to nicknames that stuck. “Little Marco” Rubio, “Weak” Jeb Bush and “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz, among others, all were forced into reacting to Trump. They fell one-by-one – leaving Trump the sole survivor of a riotous Republican primary. His rallies became magnets for free publicity. Onstage, he dispensed populism that drew thousands of supporters, many wearing his trademark “Make America Great Again” hats and chanting, “Build the wall!” The events drew protests too- with demonstrators sometimes forcibly ejected. When voting started, Trump was not so fast out of the gate. He lost the Iowa caucuses in February, falling behind Cruz and barely edging Rubio for second. He recovered in New Hampshire. From there he and Cruz fiercely engaged, with Trump winning some and losing some but one way or another dominating the rest of the primary season – in votes or at least in attention – and ultimately in delegates. He incurred relatively low campaign costs – just $57 million through the end of April. He covered most of it with at least $43 million of his own money loaned to the campaign. Trump entered a new phase of his campaign Tuesday night by holding his first major campaign fundraiser: a $25,000-per-ticket dinner in Los Angeles. Trump, 69, the son of a New York City real estate magnate, had risen to fame in the 1980s and 1990s, overseeing major real estate deals, watching his financial fortunes rise, then fall, hosting “The Apprentice” TV show and authoring more than a dozen books.