Man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at occupied vehicle in Charlotte CountyLongest tenured Cape Coral K-9 police officer and partner retire
port charlotte Man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at occupied vehicle in Charlotte County The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at an occupied vehicle in his driveway.
CAPE CORAL Longest tenured Cape Coral K-9 police officer and partner retire An officer for the Cape Coral Police Department and his K-9 partner are retiring after a distinguished career in law enforcement.
north naples WWII veteran celebrates 100th Christmas A milestone one century in the making, as a World War II veteran recently celebrated his 100th Christmas.
sanibel Sanibel firefighters rescue turtle stuck in drain for multiple days The Sanibel Fire Rescue District took to the sewers to save a stranded turtle from a drain located near a strip mall.
Lee County Schools provides bus for kids walking 2 miles without sidewalk A mother won a safety battle with the Lee County School District after her kids had to walk over two miles to school without a sidewalk.
cape coral Local restaurant owner recalls cherished memory of President Jimmy Carter President Jimmy Carter has left a lasting memory on many Americans posthumously, including the owner of a Southwest Florida restaurant.
wink news What new Florida bills will go into effect starting Jan. 1 With the new year comes new laws. Nine bills will become effective in Florida starting on Wednesday, January 1.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm and humid for your Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer Monday with increased humidity. There will be increased cloud coverage throughout the afternoon.
Florida officials react to the passing of Jimmy Carter The 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, passed away on Dec. 29. An immediate cause was not given.
FORT MYERS Chabad Lubavitch of SWFL holds menorah lighting ceremony The Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida joined together on Sunday evening for its annual menorah lighting ceremony.
Man dead after single-vehicle crash on I-75 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, one man is dead after a single-vehicle crash on I-75, Saturday afternoon.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old.
lehigh acres Man wanted for robbing a Family Dollar in Lehigh Acres Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a man wanted for robbing a Family Dollar in Lehigh Acres.
Events to be held on the 5th night of Hanukkah in Southwest Florida Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday that lasts for eight nights, is entering its fifth day as many gather to observe the nightly menorah lighting.
NORTH FORT MYERS Two arrested after crashing vehicle into occupied North Fort Myers home According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a vehicle collided into a home on Williamsburg Drive in North Fort Myers on Saturday.
port charlotte Man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at occupied vehicle in Charlotte County The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at an occupied vehicle in his driveway.
CAPE CORAL Longest tenured Cape Coral K-9 police officer and partner retire An officer for the Cape Coral Police Department and his K-9 partner are retiring after a distinguished career in law enforcement.
north naples WWII veteran celebrates 100th Christmas A milestone one century in the making, as a World War II veteran recently celebrated his 100th Christmas.
sanibel Sanibel firefighters rescue turtle stuck in drain for multiple days The Sanibel Fire Rescue District took to the sewers to save a stranded turtle from a drain located near a strip mall.
Lee County Schools provides bus for kids walking 2 miles without sidewalk A mother won a safety battle with the Lee County School District after her kids had to walk over two miles to school without a sidewalk.
cape coral Local restaurant owner recalls cherished memory of President Jimmy Carter President Jimmy Carter has left a lasting memory on many Americans posthumously, including the owner of a Southwest Florida restaurant.
wink news What new Florida bills will go into effect starting Jan. 1 With the new year comes new laws. Nine bills will become effective in Florida starting on Wednesday, January 1.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm and humid for your Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer Monday with increased humidity. There will be increased cloud coverage throughout the afternoon.
Florida officials react to the passing of Jimmy Carter The 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, passed away on Dec. 29. An immediate cause was not given.
FORT MYERS Chabad Lubavitch of SWFL holds menorah lighting ceremony The Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida joined together on Sunday evening for its annual menorah lighting ceremony.
Man dead after single-vehicle crash on I-75 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, one man is dead after a single-vehicle crash on I-75, Saturday afternoon.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old.
lehigh acres Man wanted for robbing a Family Dollar in Lehigh Acres Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a man wanted for robbing a Family Dollar in Lehigh Acres.
Events to be held on the 5th night of Hanukkah in Southwest Florida Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday that lasts for eight nights, is entering its fifth day as many gather to observe the nightly menorah lighting.
NORTH FORT MYERS Two arrested after crashing vehicle into occupied North Fort Myers home According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a vehicle collided into a home on Williamsburg Drive in North Fort Myers on Saturday.
Researchers will inspect the waters in the Gulf to see how Ian affected it. (CREDIT: WINK News) Researchers from FGCU and the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation spent seven days at sea studying Ian’s effects on the ecosystem. They set sail on Oct. 18 aboard the Hogarth, a 78-foot research vessel owned and operated by the Florida Institute of Oceanography. The voyage began in St. Petersburg. From there, the ship traveled south to Marco Island. The floating laboratory has different workstations. At one workstation, a machine can test the total cell count in the water. During the journey, they stopped at least 40 different sites at all different depths. It’s a collaborative effort among many environmental groups and universities in Florida. MORE: Researchers studying red tides off the coast of Southwest Florida The team of researchers looked at various things but were most concerned with the possibility of harmful algal blooms. During the first two days, the team used a machine to pull up water from different sites to test for things like chlorophyll and DNA. Eric Milbrandt, with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, is the marine lab director. He focused on hypoxia or oxygen levels in the water. Milbrandt studied the levels of oxygen because when hurricanes occur, they deposit freshwater on coastal waters, which creates a layered cake effect in the sea, meaning it traps saltier water on the bottom. That results in a lack of oxygen in the bottom layer, which can be detrimental to invertebrates and other sea life. Fish can swim away and survive, but this is devastating to corals. During the trip, scientists noticed a lack of oxygen in areas around Gasparilla. On Oct. 24, near the end of the voyage, researchers spotted what looked like reddish water. The water mostly looked green, murky and dirty from both above the surface and below but this one was different. Milbrandt determined the red-colored water could be associated with red tide blooms. Scientists also found that sea life was hurting. A reef called 240 Ledge, about 25 miles off Fort Myers Beach, was changed. Once teaming with life, many of the specimens were caked over in muck. 240 Ledge before Hurricane Ian. (Credit: Dr. James Douglass, associate professor of marine science at the Water School at FGCU) “It was very beat up down there,” said Dr. James Douglas, an associate professor of marine science at The Water School at FGCU. 240 Ledge after Hurricane Ian. (Credit: Dr. James Douglass, associate professor of marine science at the Water School at FGCU) “It almost looked like the moon,” he added. Hard corals at 240 Ledge were completely wiped away. They spotted fish, but many native species were gone, allowing invasive species like the lionfish to move in. The ecosystem could improve if the water quality does, but advocates are worried about what renewed Lake Okeechobee water releases to the Caloosahatchee could do to the water quality in Southwest Florida. “What we hope is in the meantime we don’t get any further after effects to the storm like algae blooms because if we have this physical disturbance of the waves and the burial in mud and then we have algae blooms afterward that can really be a knockout punch for the life down there,” Douglass said. Red tide is now appearing as far north as Sarasota down toward Lee County. While red tide is a natural phenomenon, humans contribute and storms are known to churn up the waters. “The thing that is we really just no one honestly knows is where it’s gonna go. So where’s it gonna move? Is it gonna grow more? Is it gonna get bigger? Or is it just gonna kind of wobble and just move around in the same area? We don’t know,” said Adam Catasus, an education and research coordinator at the Vester Field Station. Hogarth researchers will continue to analyze their results to try to determine how to manage and understand the conditions making the red tide bloom.