Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCUFGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
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 Caught on Camera: Firefighters respond to dumpster fire at FGCU San Carlos Park Fire District responded to a dumpster fire Sunday afternoon.
FORT MYERS FGCU students affected by Covid celebrate first commencement ceremony Graduation is a right of passage from school to the real world, but for these students, reality hit them in 2020.
PUNTA GORDA Motorcycle crash leaves 1 dead One person has died after a motorcycle crash in Charlotte County.
LEE COUNTY Lee Deputies work to track down transient sex offenders who fail to register WINK News Anchor Corey Lazar goes on patrol with Lee County Deputies in search of transient sex offenders who don’t register.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week: Know your risk Hurricane season starts on June 1st, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designated the week of May 5 through May 11 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Each day, Meteorologist Lauren Kreidler will be highlighting ways to stay prepared ahead of this year’s hurricane season.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Stay alert – chance of showers and storms on Sunday Hot, humid, and more rain for parts of Southwest Florida on Sunday.
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.
Photo via AP CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) It will be tough eclipsing this eclipse. The sun, moon and Earth will line up perfectly in the cosmos on Aug. 21, turning day into night for a few wondrous minutes, its path crossing the U.S. from sea to shining sea for the first time in nearly a century. Never will a total solar eclipse be so heavily viewed and studied – or celebrated. “We’re going to be looking at this event with unprecedented eyes,” promises Alex Young, a solar physicist who is coordinating NASA’s education and public outreach. And the party planning is at full tilt from Oregon to South Carolina. Eclipse Fests, StarFests, SolarFests, SolFests, Darkening of the SunFests, MoonshadowFests, EclipseCons, Eclipse Encounters and Star Parties are planned along the long but narrow path of totality, where the moon completely blots out the sun. Vineyards, breweries, museums, parks, universities, stadiums – just about everybody is getting into the act. The Astronomical League for amateur astronomers is holing up at Casper, Wyoming. Minor league baseball teams will halt play for “eclipse delays” in Salem, Oregon, and elsewhere. By a cosmic quirk of the calendar, the Little Green Men Days Festival will be in full swing in Kelly, Kentucky, as will the American Atheists’ annual convention in North Charleston, South Carolina. And where better to fill up on eclipse T-shirts and safety glasses – and eclipse burgers – than the Eclipse Kitchen in Makanda, Illinois. Scientists are also going gaga. “This is a really amazing chance to just open the public’s eyes to wonder,” says Montana State University’s Angela Des Jardins, a physicist in charge of a NASA eclipse ballooning project . The student-launched, high-altitude balloons will beam back live video of the eclipse along the route. Satellites and ground telescopes will also aim at the sun and at the moon’s shadow cutting a swath some 60 to 70 miles wide (97 to 113 kilometers) across the land. Astronauts will do the same with cameras aboard the International Space Station. Ships and planes will also catch the action. “It’s going to be hard to beat, frankly,” says Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA’s science mission office. At the same time, researchers and the just plain curious will watch how animals and plants react as darkness falls. It will resemble twilight and the temperature will drop 10 to 15 degrees. Expect four hours of pageantry, from the time the sun begins to be eclipsed by the moon near Lincoln City, Oregon, until the time the moon’s shadow vanishes near Charleston, South Carolina. NASA will emcee the whole show, via TV and internet from that coastal city. The total eclipse will last just 1 1/2 hours as the lunar shadow sweeps coast to coast at more than 1,500 mph (2,400 kph) beginning about 1:15 p.m. EDT and ending at 2:49 p.m. EDT. The sun’s crown – the normally invisible outer atmosphere known as the corona – will shine forth like a halo. Sure, full solar eclipses happen every one, two or three years, when the moon positions itself smack dab between the sun and Earth. But these take-your-breath-away eclipses usually occur in the middle of the ocean somewhere, though, or near the sparsely populated top or bottom of the world. In two years, Chile, Argentina and the empty South Pacific will share top billing. The United States is in the bull’s-eye this time. It will be the first total solar eclipse in 99 years to cross coast-to-coast and the first to pass through any part of the Lower 48 states in 38 years. NASA’s meteor guru, Bill Cooke, was in Washington state for that one in 1979. This time, he’s headed to his sister’s farm in eastern Tennessee. “It is the most weird, creepy, awe-inspiring astronomical event you will experience,” Cooke says. No other country but the U.S. will be privy to the path of totality. Originating in the wide open North Pacific and ending in the Atlantic well short of Africa, the path of totality will cover 8,600 miles (13,800 kilometers) from end to end. In all, 14 states (two of them barely) and 21 National Park locations and seven national historic trails will be in the path. Darkness will last just under two minutes in Oregon, gradually expanding to a maximum two minutes and 44 seconds in Shawnee National Forest in southernmost Illinois, almost into Kentucky, then dwindling to 2 1/2 minutes in South Carolina. Staring at the sun with unprotected eyes is always dangerous, except during the few minutes of totality. Even then, most pros recommend eclipse glasses. With an estimated 200 million people living within a day’s drive of the path, huge crowds are expected. Highway officials already are cautioning travelers to be patient and, yes, avoid eclipses in judgment. The view from the sidelines won’t be too shabby, either. A partial eclipse will extend up through Canada and down through Central America and the top of South America. Minneapolis will see 86 percent of the sun covered, Miami sees 82 percent, Montreal gets 66 percent, while Mexico City sees 38 percent. But who wants to settle for not quite when you can experience the whole eclipsed enchilada? Not Kevin Van Horn, an astronomy buff from suburban Pittsburgh who will make the 8 1/2-hour drive to Nashville with his wife, Cindy. Nashville is the biggest metropolitan area along the eclipse’s main drag. “It would be like going to the Super Bowl and sitting outside the stadium rather than being inside and watching it,” says Van Horn, a total solar eclipse newbie. By contrast, it will be the 13th total solar eclipse for Rick Fienberg, spokesman for the American Astronomical Society. He’s headed to Oregon. “Going through life without ever experiencing totality,” Fienberg declares, “is like going through life without ever falling in love.” To give everyone a shot at the cosmic drama, which falls on a Monday, many schools are canceling classes, while offices plan to take a break or close for the day. The true beauty of the experience, according to NASA’s Young, comes from sharing “arguably the most amazing astronomical event that anyone can see” with millions of others. Those multitudes are what terrify Jackie Baker, who owns and runs the Eclipse Kitchen with her father in a village of 600 that’s tucked into a valley in southernmost Illinois. The 18-seat cafe – which had its grand opening last Aug. 21 – is named for this eclipse and the one coming up in 2024. The Eclipse Kitchen is in the crosshairs of both. While it won’t span coast to coast, the April 8, 2024 eclipse will still be a doozy, coming up from Mexico into Texas, moving through the Midwest and into Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. Darkness will last four minutes. The world record is just over seven minutes. Baker expects to sell out of food well before showtime on Aug. 21. Then she’ll just enjoy the eclipse. That’s Cooke’s plan, too. “You just need to sit back and take it all in.” Photo via AP Photo via AP Photo via AP Photo via AP Brittany Randolph/The Star via AP