Sunday brings sun and clouds with chance for a stray showerPedestrian injured in crash on McGregor Boulevard
Sunday brings sun and clouds with chance for a stray shower The Weather Authority forecasts another seasonal day across Southwest Florida, with temperatures reaching the upper 70s to low 80s this afternoon.
FORT MYERS Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person injured Saturday night.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Sunday brings sun and clouds with chance for a stray shower The Weather Authority forecasts another seasonal day across Southwest Florida, with temperatures reaching the upper 70s to low 80s this afternoon.
FORT MYERS Pedestrian injured in crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person injured Saturday night.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Credit: WINK News. Lake Okeechobee discharges will be reduced to the Caloosahatchee River but will continue at the same rate to the St. Lucie River — indefinitely. The Caloosahatchee will get 969 million gallons per day, down from an average 1.3 billion gallons a day since Feb. 13, Col. Andrew Kelly, Florida commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announced in a news conference call Thursday. The St. Lucie will continue to get a weekly average rate of 323 million gallons per day, the same amount since discharges started March 6, Kelly said. “We (released lake water) really early, and really hard to the Caloosahatchee estuary,” Kelly said. “We think we’re achieving a balance, and an equity between those releases.” At 14 feet, 8 inches Thursday (March 25), Lake O’s elevation above sea level has dropped over 6½ inches since March 6, but is still 2½ feet higher than this time last year. The Army Corps projects the lake level will be about 13½ feet by June 1, but the agency typically wants it a foot lower by the start of the summer rainy season, so it can be stored in the lake, not released east and west to the coastal estuaries. “We are working with Mother Nature currently to do the best we can,” Kelly said. The too-high lake level is blamed on Tropical Storm Eta in November, which raised it to a peak of 16 feet, 5 inches, but it didn’t recede as fast as the Army Corps had hoped. Drier weather recently has helped lower the lake level: Martin, Okeechobee and western St. Lucie counties were classified as “abnormally dry” on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s drought monitor Thursday. STILL NO ALGAE THREAT Over three weeks into this latest discharge event, there still appears to be no current threat of cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, being dumped into the St. Lucie River. A true-color satellite image taken Wednesday showed little or no blue-green algae on Lake O, with a clear sky showing the lake’s surface in its entirety. Clumps of algae swooped throughout the lake’s northern half, according to the Cyanobacteria Index, operated by NOAA. High levels of blue-green algae would appear as red on the index, which depicts what the naked eye can’t see, as the algae’s density increased. There are some algae gathered along the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam, where water flows are “minimal,” Kelly said. “It is very, very challenging” to project what the algae threat will be once the warmer, wetter mid-summer months arrive, when algae begin to thrive, Kelly said. That’s why the Army Corps is discharging water now, in hopes of avoiding that in June or July. CORPS RESPONDS TO MAST BILLS U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, announced Monday three water bills to mitigate public health risks from toxic Lake O discharges. The bills aim to keep toxic algae out of the St. Lucie River, prioritize public health and alert people to the hazards of Lake O discharges. If passed, one of the three bills would require the Corps to notify at-risk coastal communities of potential incoming health hazards before releasing water containing blue-green algae. The bill (HR 977), called the Toxic Health Threat Warning Act, would require tests to determine whether the lake water is contaminated. If it is, the Corps would have to notify the public about the human health risks, Mast said. Kelly assured the Corps is doing all it can to notify the public about Lake O releases, and committed Thursday to “utilize every piece of data” to inform the public about potential algae threats. “We’re trying to be as communicative as possible about releases on Lake Okeechobee every day of the year, all the time,” Kelly said. “We’re telling everybody about releases every time we do it, before we do it, what we’re thinking about doing, and what we potentially might do.”