Wednesday morning showers slowly move out through the dayNew Cape Coral City Council members to be sworn in
the weather authority Wednesday morning showers slowly move out through the day The Weather Authority is tracking rain and showers expected throughout the day before an approaching cold front drops temperatures.
CAPE CORAL New Cape Coral City Council members to be sworn in The City of Cape Coral is experiencing a change in leadership, as two new councilmembers are set to be sworn in.
lehigh acres Florida Highway Patrol investigating fatal hit-and-run involving motorcyclist The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a hit-and-run that left a motorcyclist dead in Lee County.
FEMA agrees to outside investigation into avoiding homes with Trump signs FEMA’s administrator has agreed to an outside investigation to find out why her employee gave orders to deny trump supporters aid after Hurricane Milton.
Denise Carlin sworn in as Lee County Schools superintendent It’s a big night for families with kids attending Lee County Schools! Dr. Denise Carlin was just sworn in as superintendent.
PORT CHARLOTTE 8 illegal immigrants arrested in Charlotte County Eight people have been arrested in Port Charlotte for being in the country illegally.
SANIBEL Memorial statue unveiled for exotic birds at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel Island For over 40 years, Dick Muench displayed many of his exotic birds from Central and South America at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers veteran worried about FEMA code compliance letter One marine veteran is worried sick over having to raise his home.
Residents oppose U-Haul storage unit development in Collier County A lush line of trees in Collier County may turn into storage units, and neighbors are unhappy.
LEHIGH ACRES Parents want changes made to Lee County Schools JROTC The Lee County School District is making changes after 25 students were treated by emergency services for heat exhaustion at a local high school on Friday.
FORT MYERS BEACH La Ola speaks out a day after FEMA deadline A day after the FEMA deadline for temporary structures on Fort Myers Beach to be removed, the scenery remains largely unchanged.
FORT MYERS Neighbors react to plans for new Amazon warehouse in Fort Myers Amazon will soon have the largest building in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Councilman Johnny Streets retires after nearly 20 years of service After nearly two decades of service, Fort Myers City Councilman Johnny Streets is retiring.
Local human trafficking survivor speaks out It’s a question many of us think we know the answer to: What is human trafficking? A Collier County woman told WINK her definition changed after she survived it.
Sheriff’s Office: Teen victim knew suspect in deadly Collier County shooting There is new information on the deadly shooting late Saturday of a teenage girl in Collier County.
the weather authority Wednesday morning showers slowly move out through the day The Weather Authority is tracking rain and showers expected throughout the day before an approaching cold front drops temperatures.
CAPE CORAL New Cape Coral City Council members to be sworn in The City of Cape Coral is experiencing a change in leadership, as two new councilmembers are set to be sworn in.
lehigh acres Florida Highway Patrol investigating fatal hit-and-run involving motorcyclist The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a hit-and-run that left a motorcyclist dead in Lee County.
FEMA agrees to outside investigation into avoiding homes with Trump signs FEMA’s administrator has agreed to an outside investigation to find out why her employee gave orders to deny trump supporters aid after Hurricane Milton.
Denise Carlin sworn in as Lee County Schools superintendent It’s a big night for families with kids attending Lee County Schools! Dr. Denise Carlin was just sworn in as superintendent.
PORT CHARLOTTE 8 illegal immigrants arrested in Charlotte County Eight people have been arrested in Port Charlotte for being in the country illegally.
SANIBEL Memorial statue unveiled for exotic birds at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel Island For over 40 years, Dick Muench displayed many of his exotic birds from Central and South America at Jerry’s Foods on Sanibel.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers veteran worried about FEMA code compliance letter One marine veteran is worried sick over having to raise his home.
Residents oppose U-Haul storage unit development in Collier County A lush line of trees in Collier County may turn into storage units, and neighbors are unhappy.
LEHIGH ACRES Parents want changes made to Lee County Schools JROTC The Lee County School District is making changes after 25 students were treated by emergency services for heat exhaustion at a local high school on Friday.
FORT MYERS BEACH La Ola speaks out a day after FEMA deadline A day after the FEMA deadline for temporary structures on Fort Myers Beach to be removed, the scenery remains largely unchanged.
FORT MYERS Neighbors react to plans for new Amazon warehouse in Fort Myers Amazon will soon have the largest building in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Councilman Johnny Streets retires after nearly 20 years of service After nearly two decades of service, Fort Myers City Councilman Johnny Streets is retiring.
Local human trafficking survivor speaks out It’s a question many of us think we know the answer to: What is human trafficking? A Collier County woman told WINK her definition changed after she survived it.
Sheriff’s Office: Teen victim knew suspect in deadly Collier County shooting There is new information on the deadly shooting late Saturday of a teenage girl in Collier County.
Red tide brings dead marine life on Florida beaches. Photo via WINK News. Florida thrives on beach tourism, which generates $55 billion a year in sales. But, a nationwide report from the non-profit, Surfrider Foundation, gave Florida a ‘D’ rating when it comes to protecting beaches from coastal erosion and climate change. Florida section of the Surfrider Foundation annual report. Photo via WINK News. The biggest impediment to our environmental problem in SWFL is red tide. It is currently creeping back towards Collier County beaches after a brief interlude. But, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent executive order aims to keep gulf coast beaches looking beautiful. The order allocates $2.5 billion over the upcoming four years to protect the Everglades and our water. DeSantis is also looking for a “clean start” after asking the South Florida Water Management Board to resign. One beach owner said the extent of this past year might have been the wake-up call SWFL needed to spark change. “It’s something that sits off of our coast all the time,” said Dan Andre, who works at the Mango Street Inn. “I believe that everything we’re doing is sort of destroying the environment to some degree.” For people exposed to red tide at beaches, they may feel varying degrees of eye, nose and throat irritation, according to Lee Health. But the mostly temporary symptoms will subside once the person leaves the area. In SWFL areas where red tide is seen, whether or not the conditions will be present at the beach depends upon the direction the wind is blowing. If the wind is blowing onshore, the winds may bring red tide particles to beachgoers. However, if the winds move offshore, then the toxins will be pushed towards the Gulf of Mexico. But, the winds can only do so much as the severity of red tide may be increased by people. Florida Gulf Coast University researchers found that people may be responsible for the low-grade Florida received from the Surf Rider Foundation. FGCU Professor Bill Mitsch, along with researchers, collected red tide sample months ago. MORE: Read the Surfrider Foundation State of the Beach Report Card 2018 The team set out to find if the releases from Lake Okeechobee were causing the red tide blooms to intensify. Mitsch said there is not enough evidence to blame the discharges, but because the study was small, there is also not enough evidence to rule them out. What they found is a connection with red tide concentrations and nitrate in the air, which gives rise to a new theory — one Mitsch said points to one particular heavily travel route. “Where I-75 is closer to the coastline sort of hugs the coast all the way over to where?” Mitsch said. “South Lee County, North Collier where it hangs the left and goes across the Everglades. That stretch is exactly where the red tide was this year.”