Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under wayAlamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
Tim Aten Knows: Next phase of Restaurant Row Naples under way Construction of the final phase of Restaurant Row Naples was stalled for months because of financial issues but the three-building project was recently revived.
NAPLES Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s first Florida theater opens in Naples The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has now opened at the company’s first-ever Florida location at Mercato in Naples.
FORT MYERS Friday’s Furry Friends: Rhett, Tag For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Gulf Coast Humane Society to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
WINK NEWS Recall issued for ground beef sold with possible E. coli at Walmart The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for several ground beef products distributed from Pennsylvania to Walmart’s nationwide.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FILE PHOTO Fort Myers Beach Pier. Credit WINK News FORT MYERS, Fla. – WINK News tested water quality at three locations along the Caloosahatchee to see what is lurking beneath the waves. “Well it wasn’t pleasant because you were wondering, what’s in this?” Dino Halupa was visiting mid-October from Indiana. He didn’t spend every day of vacation at the beach, because of the brown water. “We were told something was let loose, like form the everglades, or some fresh water,” he said. On October 18 we tested the water from three sites: Franklin Lock, Punta Rassa and Fort Myers Beach pier. The Results: “It’s basically organic matter that is dissolved and that makes the water kind of brown looking. It’s not dangerous,” explained Dr. Serge Thomas, Assistant Professor for Environmental Studies at FGCU. While the brown water present when we took samples did not register as dangerous, Dr. Thomas did find a higher nutrient content. “Nitrogen actually jumped by 1.5 times,” he said. That could mean more seaweed growth. “We don’t want much seaweed here, especially the big brown seaweed, the red seaweed you see drifting… when they start decaying, they suck all the oxygen out of the water. So that can create fish kill,” he explained. DOCUMENTS: See a PDF of the full water quality test results taken on 10/18 Back in July we tested the same three locations and Dr. Thomas said the results showed another elevated nutrient level: phosphorous. He says too much of either can throw off the balance of our ecosystem because our ecosystem no longer has the ability to filter them out. “In the past {the water} used to meandre and go through the grasses and be able to be filtered through the vegetation and sometimes be filtered down through the ground recharging the ground water. Now we have a lot of those impervious surfaces where the water doesn’t have time to infiltrate and just flushes down to the estuaries.” Moving Forward While our ecosystem has been changed by growth, Dr. Thomas says there are ways we can help filter the water ourselves and prevent as many nutrients from getting into the system. “Everything you do upstream will eventually make it’s way downstream unless you filter that water,” he said. “So you have retention pond, which are an ecological filter; you have filter marshes; you have better practices with your septic tanks, you basically clean it often; you have good fertilization practices for your lawn, and um you can also plant the right plants like the native plants that don’t need a lot of fertilizer to grow.” As far as when the brown water should clear, Dr. Thomas says as soon as the flow from lake Okeechobee stops, the water should eventually clear up. But we may have to wait until the weather warms up to see if we are in the clear when it comes to algae blooms or seaweed growth.