Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference at Florida CapitolWeb Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up
TALLAHASSEE Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference at Florida Capitol Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference at the state capitol building.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
the weather authority Near-record heat this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking more heat as near-record highs are to be expected this Friday afternoon.
FORT MYERS Sibling rivalry brewing between SWFL Super Bowl champions Philadelphia may be known as the city of brotherly love, but here in southwest Florida, there’s a brotherly rivalry brewing between two of our own.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mother warns others after falling victim to ticket fraud A mother’s intended surprise turned into a disappointment when she paid for Savannah Bananas tickets but never received them. The tickets were meant to be a special gift for her son.
Legal expert weighs in on 17-year-old found not guilty of murder of mom Collin Griffith, a 17-year-old, has been found not guilty in the death of his mother, Catherine Griffith, who was fatally stabbed in the neck.
FORT MYERS $150k worth of equipment stolen from Lee Health Fort Myers police arrested a hospital employee accused of stealing more than 150 thousand dollars worth of medical equipment from Lee Health.
NAPLES Award-winning stylist to host event during Naples Automotive Experience On Friday, an Emmy Award-winning Hollywood stylist will host Forever Fabulous, a charity event with the St. Matthew’s House.
FORT MYERS Colonial and I-75 diverging diamond to be completed by spring The diverging diamond at Colonial Boulevard and Interstate 75 in Fort Myers is diverting drivers.
NAPLES 20th Annual Spring Home & Garden show coming to Naples The 20th semi-annual Spring Home & Garden show is coming to Naples.
NAPLES Collier Publix worker spreads joy with kindness cards In Collier County, one person stands out for his daily acts of kindness, bringing smiles to those around him.
FGCU FGCU softball pitcher ranked among the best in the country FGCU softball pitcher Allison Sparkman enters her sophomore season ranked as one of the top pitchers in the country.
Congress steps in as Port Charlotte widow searches for husband’s ashes A Port Charlotte woman continues to fight to find her husband’s ashes, lost in the mail. Members of Congress are now backing her efforts.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mom recounts dramatic chase to find kidnapped daughter A mother’s worst nightmare unfolded when her 2-year-old daughter was taken from her in Fort Myers on Monday.
ESTERO Copperleaf Community fights hunger through fundraising The Copperleaf Country Club community in Estero is making a significant impact in the fight against hunger.
TALLAHASSEE Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference at Florida Capitol Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference at the state capitol building.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
the weather authority Near-record heat this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking more heat as near-record highs are to be expected this Friday afternoon.
FORT MYERS Sibling rivalry brewing between SWFL Super Bowl champions Philadelphia may be known as the city of brotherly love, but here in southwest Florida, there’s a brotherly rivalry brewing between two of our own.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mother warns others after falling victim to ticket fraud A mother’s intended surprise turned into a disappointment when she paid for Savannah Bananas tickets but never received them. The tickets were meant to be a special gift for her son.
Legal expert weighs in on 17-year-old found not guilty of murder of mom Collin Griffith, a 17-year-old, has been found not guilty in the death of his mother, Catherine Griffith, who was fatally stabbed in the neck.
FORT MYERS $150k worth of equipment stolen from Lee Health Fort Myers police arrested a hospital employee accused of stealing more than 150 thousand dollars worth of medical equipment from Lee Health.
NAPLES Award-winning stylist to host event during Naples Automotive Experience On Friday, an Emmy Award-winning Hollywood stylist will host Forever Fabulous, a charity event with the St. Matthew’s House.
FORT MYERS Colonial and I-75 diverging diamond to be completed by spring The diverging diamond at Colonial Boulevard and Interstate 75 in Fort Myers is diverting drivers.
NAPLES 20th Annual Spring Home & Garden show coming to Naples The 20th semi-annual Spring Home & Garden show is coming to Naples.
NAPLES Collier Publix worker spreads joy with kindness cards In Collier County, one person stands out for his daily acts of kindness, bringing smiles to those around him.
FGCU FGCU softball pitcher ranked among the best in the country FGCU softball pitcher Allison Sparkman enters her sophomore season ranked as one of the top pitchers in the country.
Congress steps in as Port Charlotte widow searches for husband’s ashes A Port Charlotte woman continues to fight to find her husband’s ashes, lost in the mail. Members of Congress are now backing her efforts.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers mom recounts dramatic chase to find kidnapped daughter A mother’s worst nightmare unfolded when her 2-year-old daughter was taken from her in Fort Myers on Monday.
ESTERO Copperleaf Community fights hunger through fundraising The Copperleaf Country Club community in Estero is making a significant impact in the fight against hunger.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, George Gongora, File FILE – In this Jan. 11, 2010, file photo, Candice Mottet, left, and Tony Amos, director of the Animal Rehabilitation Keep in Port Aransas, Texas, hold the smallest and biggest green sea turtles that came ashore because of cold temperatures. (AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, George Gongora, File) PORT ARANSAS, Texas (AP) A rescued green sea turtle will be released this weekend back into the Gulf of Mexico, carrying the ashes of a self-taught Texas oceanographer who founded the rehabilitation center that nursed it back to health. Thousands are expected to attend a ceremony Saturday that effectively allows Tory Amos, who devoted his life to helping the endangered reptiles, to do so once more in death. His final voyage comes on a stretch of beach named in his honor. Amos, 80, died of complications from prostate cancer on Sept. 4, mere days after Harvey roared ashore as a fearsome Category 4 hurricane. It caused extensive damage to the Animal Rehabilitation Keep for ailing sea turtles and aquatic birds that Amos opened nearly four decades ago. But the turtles there weathered the storm well – as their counterparts in the wild also appear to have done, scientists say. An early hatching season meant most turtles headed to sea before the storm arrived, with their eggs already hatched rather than lying on the beach to be subsumed. Also, few turtles became stranded inland as Harvey pulled the tide far out and, since the punishing winds and rains subsided, only a relatively small number has washed back onshore or been found among storm debris. “This certainly could have been worse,” said Tim Tristan, executive director of the Texas Sealife Center, a nonprofit rescue and rehabilitation facility in Corpus Christi, close to where Harvey first made landfall Aug. 25. Five of the world’s seven sea turtle species are found in the Gulf of Mexico and have been documented in parts of Texas: green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback and loggerhead. At Amos’ turtle and aquatic bird center in the Harvey-ravaged beach town of Port Aransas, the hurricane smashed roof tiles and solar panels and collapsed parts of buildings. Partially submerged, concrete tanks housing around 60 rescue turtles were also damaged, but the animals weren’t harmed. Even Barnacle Bill, a 200-plus pound loggerhead who first came to the center in 1997, was fine despite the storm mangling the cover of his pool. Staff arriving by pickup truck had to steer though downed powerlines and assorted destruction to reach the rehabilitation facility just after Harvey passed. They put turtles in the back before returning a second time with plastic tubs. “We had turtles crawling around back there,” said Jace Tunnell, director of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, which encompasses Amos’ rehabilitation center. Animals well enough were released to sea, but those who weren’t went to Tristin’s facility. They will likely remain there for months amid repairs to the Animal Rehabilitation Keep. Sea turtles generally are good at avoiding hurricanes except for eggs that can be flooded or babies who are displaced from floating mats of seaweed where they feed, said Jeff George, executive director of Sea Turtle, Inc., a rescue and rehabilitation center on South Padre Island near the Texas-Mexico border. As Harvey approached Texas, George and volunteers scoured the beach and collected about 280 eggs that waited out the storm indoors, inside insolated containers. All but a few hatched and were released about a week later. Since then, only a few recent hatchlings have had to be rescued after washing up on South Padre area beaches, and George said many of those came from the Caribbean, far from their nesting areas near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Normally the turtle hatching season runs from May through late August, but a mild winter kept the Gulf waters warmer and ensured hatchings began extra early this year – meaning many turtles were born and swam away pre-Harvey. “You wonder if that was luck or if Mother Nature has things balanced,” George said. In Port Aransas, Tunnell said a few turtles were discovered amid Harvey’s wreckage, but “nothing too crazy.” Amos was born in London and went to Bermuda at 17, trying unsuccessfully to engineer a color, flat-screen television. Having never graduated from college, he moved to Port Aransas in 1976 and became an oceanographer for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. Three years later, the Ixtoc I exploratory well exploded in the Gulf about 50 miles from Mexico’s coast, and Amos saw the devastating effects of the resulting oil spill on sea life. He later founded the Animal Rehabilitation Keep, which still helps hundreds of turtles and birds annually – tackling everything from pelicans that swallow plastic to turtles stricken with a tumor-causing virus. Known for a long, white beard that helped him play Santa Claus at Christmas, Amos retired in 2003 but continued working, collecting and analyzing debris on Texas beaches and painstakingly entering findings in databases. He also sailed on marine voyages throughout the world. “I considered him a genius,” Tunnell said. “He was a great oceanographer but he was so humble.”