Charlotte County homeowners consider elevating homesClewiston man shoots friend over alleged sexual crime against relative
Charlotte County homeowners consider elevating homes Recent hurricanes and flooding events prompted some Charlotte County homeowners to either demolish or elevate their homes.
CLEWISTON Clewiston man shoots friend over alleged sexual crime against relative There is new information about a murder in Clewiston earlier this month.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Bridge design vote aims to improve traffic flow Residents and drivers in Cape Coral have long shared a common frustration: traffic congestion, particularly on Cape Coral Parkway.
Symptoms and treatment for pleurisy, the inflammation of lungs’ lining This winter season in Southwest Florida has been rampant with illness, from flu to viral infections.
Lee county approves major road projects to improve traffic flow, safety The Lee Board of County Commissioners continued its commitment to improving the county’s transportation network.
NAPLES Young bobcat injured by car; rehabilitated, released into Naples A young bobcat has been released back into the wild after recovering from its injuries through the collaborative efforts of several Florida environmental agencies.
Florida house speaker appoints Charlotte County sheriff to state immigration enforcement council Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has appointed two sheriffs, one of whom is Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, to the state immigration enforcement council.
Man sentenced to 15 years for drug trafficking in SWFL A drug dealer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine in Southwest Florida.
Craft supplier Joann to shutter 3 SWFL stores, 500 nationwide The big box craft chain based in Hudson, Ohio, is closing its North Naples store at 6424 Naples Blvd., the Estero store at Coconut Point and the Fort Myers store in South Plaza on Cleveland Avenue.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda Police Department Chaplain Rev. Bill Klossner passes away The Punta Gorda Police Department announced the passing of their Chaplain, Reverend Bill Klossner.
Car strikes, kills man who tried to pick up trash bag on SR-80 The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash involving a pickup truck and a car on State Road 80 in Hendry County that killed a man.
the weather authority Partly cloudy and milder this Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking increased cloud coverage along with milder conditions this Tuesday afternoon.
WINK NEWS Shell Factory & Nature Park’s final auction begins The Shell Factory & Nature Park has launched its final auction, allowing fans of the now-closed Southwest Florida landmark to take home several valued items.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers to discuss fluoride in water during next city council meeting The debate over fluoride in drinking water has been reignited following an announcement by the Florida surgeon general urging cities to halt fluoride treatment.
ESTERO Gator stuck on Estero porch gives homeowner a wild surprise Sunday night Imagine glancing out your back door and seeing a gator sliding around on your deck. That’s exactly what happened to an Estero homeowner who found an unexpected visitor on their property.
Charlotte County homeowners consider elevating homes Recent hurricanes and flooding events prompted some Charlotte County homeowners to either demolish or elevate their homes.
CLEWISTON Clewiston man shoots friend over alleged sexual crime against relative There is new information about a murder in Clewiston earlier this month.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Bridge design vote aims to improve traffic flow Residents and drivers in Cape Coral have long shared a common frustration: traffic congestion, particularly on Cape Coral Parkway.
Symptoms and treatment for pleurisy, the inflammation of lungs’ lining This winter season in Southwest Florida has been rampant with illness, from flu to viral infections.
Lee county approves major road projects to improve traffic flow, safety The Lee Board of County Commissioners continued its commitment to improving the county’s transportation network.
NAPLES Young bobcat injured by car; rehabilitated, released into Naples A young bobcat has been released back into the wild after recovering from its injuries through the collaborative efforts of several Florida environmental agencies.
Florida house speaker appoints Charlotte County sheriff to state immigration enforcement council Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has appointed two sheriffs, one of whom is Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, to the state immigration enforcement council.
Man sentenced to 15 years for drug trafficking in SWFL A drug dealer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine in Southwest Florida.
Craft supplier Joann to shutter 3 SWFL stores, 500 nationwide The big box craft chain based in Hudson, Ohio, is closing its North Naples store at 6424 Naples Blvd., the Estero store at Coconut Point and the Fort Myers store in South Plaza on Cleveland Avenue.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda Police Department Chaplain Rev. Bill Klossner passes away The Punta Gorda Police Department announced the passing of their Chaplain, Reverend Bill Klossner.
Car strikes, kills man who tried to pick up trash bag on SR-80 The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash involving a pickup truck and a car on State Road 80 in Hendry County that killed a man.
the weather authority Partly cloudy and milder this Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking increased cloud coverage along with milder conditions this Tuesday afternoon.
WINK NEWS Shell Factory & Nature Park’s final auction begins The Shell Factory & Nature Park has launched its final auction, allowing fans of the now-closed Southwest Florida landmark to take home several valued items.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers to discuss fluoride in water during next city council meeting The debate over fluoride in drinking water has been reignited following an announcement by the Florida surgeon general urging cities to halt fluoride treatment.
ESTERO Gator stuck on Estero porch gives homeowner a wild surprise Sunday night Imagine glancing out your back door and seeing a gator sliding around on your deck. That’s exactly what happened to an Estero homeowner who found an unexpected visitor on their property.
(CREDIT: WINK News) Watermelon farmers are struggling to control disease in their crops and are constantly on the hunt for ways to fight it. WINK News talked to a watermelon farmer about diseases and the agriculture engineer who may have the solution. One such disease, downy mildew, has the nickname ‘wildfire’. That’s because if left unchecked, it can destroy an entire crop within days. But there is new technology to detect disease before farmers even see it. Farmers don’t just grow fruits and vegetables, they’ve got to be experts in plant disease. If they miss the signs they could lose some, most or even all of their crop. Chad Chastain, JDI farmer in Alva said, “All of a sudden you show up and it’s like, oh, boy, we’ve got an issue.” Chastain said downy mildew is one of the top threats he faces. Downy mildew starts as a yellow spot on the watermelon that grows every day until eventually the leaf turns brown, cracks, and dies. “If you don’t catch it a week and a half, you know, 10 days before that, you’re screwed, you can slow it down and you can try to stop it, but you’re not going to,” Chastain said. Chastain said early disease detection is a must. And that’s what drives the Precision Agriculture researcher Dr. Yiannis Ampatzidis of the University of Florida’s Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Using artificial intelligence, Ampatzidis can tell whether a watermelon is infected with downy mildew before the naked eye can see it. Ampatzidis and his team developed A-I “Sensing systems” to create plant “Signatures”. Drone used to fly over watermelon crops to search for downy mildew. (CREDIT: WINK News) “Think about it like a fingerprint. So we have these fingerprints, the signatures of the plant diseases, then we will going to be able to identify the disease, and again we’re going to target the early stage,” Ampatzidis said. This technology can be used in the lab and out on a farm. It is armed with a camera and sensing system, a drone flies over a farmer’s field. The researchers compare the data to a plant’s “Signature” and then tell a farmer whether the disease is present and exactly where. “And I welcome that because it’s gonna be a good tool that we can use in the future,” Chastain said. Chad Chastin is Ross Chastin’s brother. Ross is a two-time winner on the NASCAR circuit this year. The good news for all farmers is that researchers are working on bringing the cost down of their new technology. Right now it costs around $50,000. The hope is to get it to $3,000 to $5,000 so all farmers can use it very soon.