33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee CountyCool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther was killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking cold morning conditions before temperatures warm up to the low 70s this Thursday.
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Milton.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
33rd endangered Florida panther death of 2024; killed by vehicle in Hardee County Another Florida panther was killed by a vehicle, this time in Hardee County, increasing the death toll of the endangered species to 33 for 2024.
the weather authority Cool and breezy for your Thursday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking cold morning conditions before temperatures warm up to the low 70s this Thursday.
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Milton.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
As of 6 p.m. Friday there are 563 positive cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Florida, 43 up from this morning. 510 of the cases are Florida residents, 53 of them are non-Florida residents. There are 10 total deaths in Florida. Friday morning, one person who previously tested positive for COVID-19 in Broward County was reported to have died. Doctors Hospital of Sarasota confirms a physician with the hospital tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) Friday. STATEWIDE NUMBERS Total number of cases: 563 (up from 520) Number of Florida residents: 510 (up from 474) Number of non-Florida residents: 53 (up from 46) SOUTHWEST FLORIDA NUMBERS Total number of cases: 30 Lee County: 14 (up from 13) Collier County: 25 (up from 24) Charlotte County: 2 (up from 1) Glades County: 0 Hendry County: 0 There have been 7,367 total tests administered in the state of Florida, with 563 positive tests. 5,710 tests have come back negative, and the remainder are pending, according to the FDOH website. LATEST CLOSURES: Southwest Florida business updates and store closings Friday COVID-19 headlines: Career Source closing offices across SWFL Virus pandemic tightens grip; 10,000 dead worldwide Charlotte County beaches closing 6 a.m. Sunday US tax filing deadline moved to July 15 Pres. Trump announces suspension of non-essential traffic at Mexican border Gov. DeSantis orders all Florida food establishments to suspend on-premises consumption Seminole Gaming closes all casinos Florida-wide WATCH NEWS CONFERENCES LIVE BELOW: Governor DeSantis to speak at 4:30 p.m. Florida Agriculture Commissioner asks governor to implement “stay-at-home” order Nikki Fried, the Florida Agriculture Commissioner, asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to implement a statewide “stay-at-home” order in response to dramatically increasing COVID-19 cases in the state. She recognized the effort by the governor to stop the spread of COVID- 19 in the state. But Fried said, at the rate of cases that are developing, she believes a “say-at-home” order is necessary. I want to recognize the difficult choices @GovRonDeSantis has made during this #coronavirus crisis. Data shows Florida is a week behind California in #COVID19 cases. So, I’m asking the Governor to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order. This difficult decision will save lives. — Commissioner Nikki Fried (@NikkiFriedFL) March 21, 2020 DeSantis orders elective medical services be prohibited Gov. DeSantis also issued Executive Order 20-72 Friday to prohibit non-essential elective medical procedures. Per the governor’s office, all hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, office surgery centers, dental, orthodontic and endodontic offices and other health care practitioners’ offices in the state are prohibited from providing any medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedure or surgery. The governor’s offices says, if delayed, these are medical services that do not place a patients immediate health, safety or well-being at risk, or will, if delayed, not contribute to the worsening of a serious or life-threatening medical condition. PRICE GOUGING Florida Attorney General activated Florida’s price gouging hotline, encouraging people to report big price differences. Complaints can be filed by phone or online. Price gouging can be reported by calling 1-866-9NO-SCAM or by visiting MyFloridaLegal.com. For tips on reporting price gouging, click here. RESTAURANT DINING ROOMS CLOSE Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-71 Friday afternoon directing all Florida restaurants and other food establishments to suspend any on-premises consumption of food or alcohol. Those establishments, however, will be permitted to operate their kitchens for the purpose of providing delivery or take-out services. MORE. SWFL CASE BREAKDOWN As of the most recent results, this is the breakdown of SWFL cases: COLLIER – 25 cases: 30-year-old woman, traveled to Spain 66-year-old man, traveled to France, Italy, Spain 33-year-old man, traveled to Spain 26-year-old man, traveled to France, Italy, Spain 47-year-old man, traveled to France, Italy, Spain 82-year-old man, no travel 31-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt 59-year-old man, traveled to Japan 77-year-old man, no travel – no contact with known case 49-year-old woman, no travel – no contact with known case 76-year-old man, traveled to NY – contact with known case 28-year-old man, traveled to Italy 73-year-old man, traveled to Egypt 68-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt 64-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt 64-year-old man, traveled to FL/HI – non-FL resident 79-year-old woman, traveled to CT – non-FL resident 19-year-old man, traveled to Italy 80-year-old man, unknown travel 64-year-old man, no travel 59-year-old man, traveled to Canada 62-year-old woman, no travel 61-year-old man, traveled to Canada 76-year-old man, traveled to St. Martin 75-year-old man, no travel – no contact with known case LEE – 14 cases: 80-year-old man, no travel – contact with known case 69-year-old man, no travel – unknown if contact 79-year-old man, no travel – contact with known case 67-year-old man, no travel – no contact 66-year-old man, traveled to Colombia and Ecuador 72-year-old woman, travel unknown – contact with known case 77-year-old man (deceased), no travel 77-year-old woman (deceased), traveled to Dominican Republic 77-year-old man, traveled to Dominican Republic 65-year-old woman, unknown travel, non-FL resident 57-year-old man, traveled to FL, France, UK – non-FL resident 72-year-old woman, no travel – unknown if contact, non-FL resident 67-year-old man, no travel – contact with known case 23-year-old, unknown if travel related CHARLOTTE – 2 cases: 54-year-old woman, traveled to Egypt and Israel 55-year-old man, unknown travel IF YOU FEEL SICK: The Florida Department of Health has opened a 24-hour COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours. LINK: Florida Department of Health COVID-19 updates <span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span> *The map is best viewed on a desktop computer. If you don’t see the map above tap HERE for a fullscreen version. Tweets by winknews