What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride alongThe Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
The Weather Authority: A wet Saturday evening as storms move through Southwest Florida A rainy Saturday evening across much of southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS Lee Health Touch-A-Truck event educates families on Trauma Awareness On Saturday morning, sirens were ringing to celebrate Lee Health Trauma Center’s 30 years of service and to provide the public with trauma education and prevention methods.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (CBS) CDC says bird flu viruses “pose pandemic potential,” cites major knowledge gaps Bird flu continues to appear to pose a “low risk to the general public” for now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. But the agency’s scientists ran into roadblocks investigating a human case of this “pandemic potential” virus this year, they said in a new report.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Bay Street Yard set to open in late May A new place to hang out in Downtown Fort Myers is opening this spring.
Aetna agrees to settle lawsuit over fertility coverage for LGBTQ+ customers Aetna has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the health insurer of discriminating against LGBTQ+ customers in need of fertility treatment.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Robbery, Pawn Shops, and Child Porn This week’s segment of Wink Neighborhood Watch features an armed robber, fraud at a pawn shop, and possession of child pornography.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Sun, clouds, humidity, rain – it’s all in your weekend forecast Saturday afternoon will be hot and humid, with a mix of sun and clouds.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
Photo by AP Mail delivery for many Americans will slow starting on Friday, part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s blueprint for overhauling the U.S. Postal Service in order to slash costs. But critics say the slower delivery standards could cause problems such as late bill delivery while more broadly undermining the public’s faith in the USPS. Almost 4 of 10 pieces of first-class mail will see slower delivery, according to Paul Steidler, senior fellow at the Lexington Institute and an expert on the postal service. That “means mail delivery will be slower than in the 1970s,” he said, calling DeJoy’s plan “disastrous.” Starting tomorrow, the postal service’s current three-day delivery standard for first-class mail — letters, bills, tax documents and the like — will drop to delivery anywhere within the U.S. within five days. In other words, Americans should now expect that letters and other mail could take up to five days to reach their destinations, and vice versa. The Washington Post created an interactive map to determine how long it will take mail to arrive based on location, compared to current times. The USPS will continue to have a two-day delivery standard for single-piece first-class mail traveling within a local area, a USPS spokeswoman said, adding that the postal service has improved its delivery standards in 2021. “The postal service has shown steady improvements for all first-class mail, marketing and periodical mail categories over the last seven months,” she said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch. “We have worked tirelessly to overcome challenges from recent storms and continue to recruit thousands of employees for the upcoming holiday peak season.” But critics like Steidler say people in rural areas, the disabled and the elderly will feel the effects of the new mail delivery standards. “It’s the least fortunate who will be hurt hardest by this,” he said. “Everything in American society is getting faster, it seems, except for the mail delivery — which is now going to get slower.” It’s possible that people who are paying their bills by mail and not prepared for the change could incur late fees, for instance, if their checks don’t arrive on time. Others may face longer delivery times for important documents such as tax forms or passports. The change could further undermine customers’ faith in the U.S. Postal Service, which took a hit in 2020 when delivery delays snarled everything from prescription medication to election ballots, experts say. $160 billion projected loss The USPS contends that its 10-year plan is necessary to erase a projected $160 billion loss over the next decade. The effort aims to boost revenue through expanded parcel delivery and postage hikes, with the latest postage increase having gone into effect in August. But the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), the federal regulator that oversees the USPS, earlier this year questioned if the postal service’s plan to slow delivery standards would save money. “Reducing service will only discourage use of the U.S. Mail, which is not a formula for long-term financial health and stability,” said Christopher W. Shaw, the author of the forthcoming book “First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy and the Corporate Threat,” in an emailed statement. Slower delivery for Western states Among the regions that will feel the greatest impact are Western states like California and Nevada, as well as Florida, according to a Washington Post analysis of the USPS delivery changes earlier this year. Other pockets across the nation will also suffer from slower delivery times, according to an analysis from Steve Hutkins, a retired New York University professor who runs a blog called Save the Post Office. Earlier this year, a group of 21 state attorneys general asked the PRC to reject the USPS’ plan to slow deliveries, calling it a “misguided effort” that would harm election mail and mailings of essential documents such as passports. They also said the slowdown would have a disproportionate impact on the elderly, rural residents and the disabled. The USPS on Monday said consumers should expect “a day or two of transit time” added for some first-class mail and magazines “traveling the greatest distances.” “We’ll make better use of our trucks and existing surface network to move the mail, relying less on costly air transportation,” the agency said in a statement. “By improving service reliability and increasing efficiency, we can keep costs at reasonable levels and help keep postage rates affordable for our customers.” That might help the USPS’ bottom line, but consumers should be aware that their mail could take longer to reach their destinations — and that the change is permanent, unless Congress gets involved or attorneys general sue the USPS, experts said. “When you reduce standards you perpetuate a vicious downward cycle,” Steidler said. “You tell people you can take your time delivering it. It causes people to lose confidence in the mail.”