Trash pile on San Carlos Island continues to growLaw enforcement presence at Alfie Oakes’ North Naples home and Immokalee packing house
Trash pile on San Carlos Island continues to grow Residents of San Carlos Island have grown tired as garbage and debris from hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton piles up.
Law enforcement presence at Alfie Oakes’ North Naples home and Immokalee packing house Several federal and state law enforcement agencies were at Alfie Oakes’ home and packing house for an investigation that remains undisclosed.
MATLACHA Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s reopens after six weeks Popular Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s has reopened just six weeks after enduring damage from back-to-back storms.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Accused Dollar General thief arrested A man accused of robbing a Dollar General store is behind bars.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Ward 4 candidate seeks vote recount In the race for Fort Myers city council, Cindy Banyai lost the Ward 4 race to incumbent Liston Bochette by just 77 votes or 1.58% of the vote.
FORT MYERS Lee County considers adding second fixed-base operator to RSW The Lee County Port Authority is officially moving forward with negotiations for a new fixed-base operator at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW).
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral roofing business owes $2M to IRS after guilty plea The owner of a Cape Coral roofing business owes the Internal Revenue Service over $2 million after pleading guilty to fraud charges.
FDA approves new shoulder implant From high school seniors to senior citizens, more than 100,000 people will need a shoulder replacement each year.
Private Sky sues future competitor at RSW Private Sky Aviation Services will be getting future competition from a company with trillions of dollars in assets.
Taberna Burntwood opens rebranded tavern at Mercato in North Naples The Mercato restaurant’s difference in decor is clearly striking. Taberna is less rustic and more modern.
IONA Iona home catches fire, at least 2 vehicles also ruined A person lost their home and at least two vehicles after a fire engulfed their property.
FORT MYERS LeeTran scheduled to resume trolley system this month LeeTran brings back the popular seasonal River District trolleys and Fort Myers Beach tram later this month.
MBA Transportation no longer sole transporter at RSW After serving Southwest Florida locals and travelers for nearly 20 years, MBA Transportation is being forced to leave its booth at Southwest Florida International Airport.
WINK NEWS Veterans Day events across Southwest Florida Veterans Day is a time to honor and celebrate the sacrifices and bravery of those who have served in the military.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man accused of possessing child pornography A Cape Coral man has been arrested this week after allegedly being caught in possession of child pornography.
Trash pile on San Carlos Island continues to grow Residents of San Carlos Island have grown tired as garbage and debris from hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton piles up.
Law enforcement presence at Alfie Oakes’ North Naples home and Immokalee packing house Several federal and state law enforcement agencies were at Alfie Oakes’ home and packing house for an investigation that remains undisclosed.
MATLACHA Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s reopens after six weeks Popular Matlacha restaurant Miceli’s has reopened just six weeks after enduring damage from back-to-back storms.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Accused Dollar General thief arrested A man accused of robbing a Dollar General store is behind bars.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Ward 4 candidate seeks vote recount In the race for Fort Myers city council, Cindy Banyai lost the Ward 4 race to incumbent Liston Bochette by just 77 votes or 1.58% of the vote.
FORT MYERS Lee County considers adding second fixed-base operator to RSW The Lee County Port Authority is officially moving forward with negotiations for a new fixed-base operator at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW).
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral roofing business owes $2M to IRS after guilty plea The owner of a Cape Coral roofing business owes the Internal Revenue Service over $2 million after pleading guilty to fraud charges.
FDA approves new shoulder implant From high school seniors to senior citizens, more than 100,000 people will need a shoulder replacement each year.
Private Sky sues future competitor at RSW Private Sky Aviation Services will be getting future competition from a company with trillions of dollars in assets.
Taberna Burntwood opens rebranded tavern at Mercato in North Naples The Mercato restaurant’s difference in decor is clearly striking. Taberna is less rustic and more modern.
IONA Iona home catches fire, at least 2 vehicles also ruined A person lost their home and at least two vehicles after a fire engulfed their property.
FORT MYERS LeeTran scheduled to resume trolley system this month LeeTran brings back the popular seasonal River District trolleys and Fort Myers Beach tram later this month.
MBA Transportation no longer sole transporter at RSW After serving Southwest Florida locals and travelers for nearly 20 years, MBA Transportation is being forced to leave its booth at Southwest Florida International Airport.
WINK NEWS Veterans Day events across Southwest Florida Veterans Day is a time to honor and celebrate the sacrifices and bravery of those who have served in the military.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man accused of possessing child pornography A Cape Coral man has been arrested this week after allegedly being caught in possession of child pornography.
Huge clumps of sargassum seaweed washed up on a beach near Miami, May 2023. Credit: CBS Beachgoers along Florida’s east coast are encountering enormous clumps of seaweed from a colossal seaweed blob drifting in from the Atlantic Ocean. Known as sargassum, the brown seaweed has the ability to blanket beaches as far as the eye can see, and the influx could persist for months. Oscar Vasquez, who has owned a Miami Beach condo for over 20 years, said he has never seen this much sargassum this early in the season. “There are parts of the beach where there’s so much sargassum on the shoreline where it’s undesirable and difficult to get into the water,” Vasquez said. Specialized tractors tirelessly rake up the brown weed clusters that litter the beaches, yet by each following morning, the seaweed tends to return. The collected sargassum is eventually destined for landfills, but in the interim, it is piled just offshore, emitting a foul odor. Vasquez expressed concern over whether he made the right choice in purchasing his retirement property and said the sargassum is not what he bargained for. While sargassum is a naturally occurring phenomenon, the extent of this year’s sargassum bloom has caught the attention of scientists. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt swelled to an estimated 13.5 million metric tons of seaweed this year, and it could wash up on the beaches of Florida and the Caribbean in the coming months. Afeefa Abdool-Ghany, a doctoral candidate studying sargassum at the University of Miami, attributes the phenomenon to a rise in nutrient-rich wastewater resulting from the growing global population. The nutrients, which are discharged into rivers and ultimately reach the ocean, act as fertilizers for the sargassum, contributing to its exponential growth. Researchers like Abdool-Ghany are actively investigating potential productive uses for sargassum. “Instead of putting it into a landfill, we wanted to compost it into a usable product can be made from it,” Abdool-Ghany said. The efforts are still in the research stage, and viable solutions are yet to be implemented. In the meantime, Miami-Dade County officials are ensuring daily beach cleanups to protect the region’s vital tourism revenue and maintain property values. Miami-Dade County has allocated $3.9 million for cleanup efforts this year and are requesting an additional $2 million from the state. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava emphasized the delicate balance required to protect both the beaches and the local wildlife from sargassum. Federal guidelines and permits restrict certain cleanup methods to prevent harm to native species, including sea turtles and fish hatchlings.