SWFL shares concerns over emergency funding after HeleneBonita Springs urging residents to be safe ahead of potential flooding
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SWFL shares concerns over emergency funding after Helene On the heels of Helene, there’s some anxiety surrounding FEMA. This comes after comments from the Homeland Security secretary, who said the agency can meet immediate needs but does not have enough money to make it through the rest of hurricane season.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs urging residents to be safe ahead of potential flooding The City of Bonita Springs is urging people who live near the Imperial River and canals to be cautious ahead of a potential tropical system and rainmaker.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers High School assistant football coach under investigation An assistant coach with the Fort Myers High School football team is under investigation.
Awake kidney transplant: a medical breakthrough There are more than 780,000 people living with kidney disease. On average, 25,000 people will get a transplant each year.
The Islander gift shop reopens on Fort Myers Beach, 2 years after Hurricane Ian Hurricane Helene’s storm surge spared Santini Marina Plaza on Fort Myers Beach, where The Islander Gift Gallery & Boutique reopened Oct. 4
Citizens form group to protest Charlotte County development When residents living in Charlotte County’s Peace River Shores and surrounding communities learned that nearly 140 acres in their area were being rezoned to allow for a 1,188-unit development, they joined forces to oppose it.
Gas leak shuts down power grid in Lee County neighborhood A gas leak has forced the shutdown of a neighborhood power grid in Lee County.
Free sandbag locations available ahead of this weekend’s heavy rainfall The Weather Authority has been tracking a potential rainmaker that will impact our area from Sunday through Wednesday.
PORT CHARLOTTE Man accused of fraudulently buying over $4K in paint supplies in Port Charlotte A man has been arrested after allegedly purchasing over $4,000 worth of paint supplies in Port Charlotte using a fraudulent business account.
ENGLEWOOD Suncoast Humane Society receives $50K grant to sustain life-saving operations Suncoast Humane Society announced that it received a $50,000 grant from an anonymous philanthropic supporter.Â
FORT MYERS Downtown Fort Myers Post Office temporarily closed again The downtown Fort Myers Post Office is closed once again after reopening at the end of May due to Hurricane Ian.
Tim Aten Knows: Naples welcomes colorful new brewpub The Naples taproom for Riptide Brewing Co. changed hands in early September and is now the family owned and operated Kaleidoscope Beer at 987 Third Ave. N.
The Weather Authority Scattered rain and storms Friday afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking more scattered rain and storms that may impact your Friday afternoon and evening plans.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County in need of volunteers for hurricane clean-up The Community Organizations Active in a Disaster in Charlotte County need volunteers to help clear debris following Hurricane Helene.
El Jobean autoshop reopens after Helene A man is determined to keep his business open after facing Helene’s wrath.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SWFL shares concerns over emergency funding after Helene On the heels of Helene, there’s some anxiety surrounding FEMA. This comes after comments from the Homeland Security secretary, who said the agency can meet immediate needs but does not have enough money to make it through the rest of hurricane season.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs urging residents to be safe ahead of potential flooding The City of Bonita Springs is urging people who live near the Imperial River and canals to be cautious ahead of a potential tropical system and rainmaker.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers High School assistant football coach under investigation An assistant coach with the Fort Myers High School football team is under investigation.
Awake kidney transplant: a medical breakthrough There are more than 780,000 people living with kidney disease. On average, 25,000 people will get a transplant each year.
The Islander gift shop reopens on Fort Myers Beach, 2 years after Hurricane Ian Hurricane Helene’s storm surge spared Santini Marina Plaza on Fort Myers Beach, where The Islander Gift Gallery & Boutique reopened Oct. 4
Citizens form group to protest Charlotte County development When residents living in Charlotte County’s Peace River Shores and surrounding communities learned that nearly 140 acres in their area were being rezoned to allow for a 1,188-unit development, they joined forces to oppose it.
Gas leak shuts down power grid in Lee County neighborhood A gas leak has forced the shutdown of a neighborhood power grid in Lee County.
Free sandbag locations available ahead of this weekend’s heavy rainfall The Weather Authority has been tracking a potential rainmaker that will impact our area from Sunday through Wednesday.
PORT CHARLOTTE Man accused of fraudulently buying over $4K in paint supplies in Port Charlotte A man has been arrested after allegedly purchasing over $4,000 worth of paint supplies in Port Charlotte using a fraudulent business account.
ENGLEWOOD Suncoast Humane Society receives $50K grant to sustain life-saving operations Suncoast Humane Society announced that it received a $50,000 grant from an anonymous philanthropic supporter.Â
FORT MYERS Downtown Fort Myers Post Office temporarily closed again The downtown Fort Myers Post Office is closed once again after reopening at the end of May due to Hurricane Ian.
Tim Aten Knows: Naples welcomes colorful new brewpub The Naples taproom for Riptide Brewing Co. changed hands in early September and is now the family owned and operated Kaleidoscope Beer at 987 Third Ave. N.
The Weather Authority Scattered rain and storms Friday afternoon and evening The Weather Authority is tracking more scattered rain and storms that may impact your Friday afternoon and evening plans.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County in need of volunteers for hurricane clean-up The Community Organizations Active in a Disaster in Charlotte County need volunteers to help clear debris following Hurricane Helene.
El Jobean autoshop reopens after Helene A man is determined to keep his business open after facing Helene’s wrath.
The heat we’re experiencing is having a negative effect on important wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. For a while now, Florida has endured one of the hottest summers to date. Now there’s concern about sea-surface temperatures. On the shores of Fort Myers Beach, it’s hot—record-breaking hot. Judi Barbee is visiting from Ohio, and despite being a heat-lover, she can’t even take it. “Holy cow,” Barbee said. “That’s about as polite as I can put it. Holy cow. I love the heat, and I just said to her I have to go sit in the shade. This is too much today.” And the water is not supplying the refreshing dip many are looking for. Our marine ecosystems are feeling it too. “Warming waters are something that coral reefs are going to experience as the change of the seasons occurs naturally,” said Jacquie De La Cour, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Watch program operations manager. “However, when you have temperatures that exceed the maximum monthly average temperature, for the region, by one degrees Celsius or more, that’s when corals are going to start feeling stress.” The Coral Reef Watch program monitors changing heat ​stress on coral reef environments. “Once those corals experienced stress, the process of bleaching can occur,” De La Cour said. “Coral bleaching is not a death sentence, but if a coral is stressed, and it bleaches, and the algae don’t return, because the heat stress is long-lasting, or it’s very, very, very hot, then what you’re going to face off with is death of the corals.” That heat and stress are expected to continue. De La Cour said that right now there is a 90% probability that significant bleaching will develop around Fort Myers in early August, and that severe bleaching and significant mortality could develop in early September. Coral reefs are the big cities of the sea, a home and feeding grounds for a wide array of marine life. If a reef is unhealthy, fish are not going to be there, but we too rely on a reef’s health. “They also provide coastal protection against things like tropical storms. They provide a resource for medicines and the important development of those medical technologies,” De la Cour said. De La Cour said her big concern is how early these marine heat waves are occurring. Coming this early in July means the corals are going to be exposed to multiple months of this severe heat stress, lowering their ability to recover.