Opera Naples set to make land offer with seven-figure giftEnglewood Chamber distributes over $167K in hurricane relief funding
Opera Naples set to make land offer with seven-figure gift A seven-figure gift has provided the base for Opera Naples, Theater in the Garden and the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation to build an international center for the arts.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Chamber distributes over $167K in hurricane relief funding The Englewood Chamber of Commerce announced over $167,000 in critical funding has been provided to individuals affected by Helene and Milton.
Cyclist group riding 500 miles for charity to pass through LaBelle Thirty-six Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure cyclist members participating in the annual 500-mile Tour de Florida charity ride will be passing through LaBelle next week.
marco island YMCA to break ground on healthy living facility in Marco Island The YMCA of Collier County is set to break ground for a healthy living facility in Marco Island.
NAPLES Naples Airport Authority in need of volunteers for Noise Compatibility Committee The Naples Airport Authority is seeking applications to fill three volunteer positions on its Noise Compatibility Committee (NCC).
Body found following Port Charlotte house fire Charlotte County deputies have found a body in the ruins of a house in Port Charlotte after a fire destroyed most of it.
the weather authority Cold front brings less humid air this Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a cold front, which will bring in less humidity and cooler temperatures this Tuesday.
golden gate city Collier County launches pilot program to fend off mosquitoes, diseases The Collier Mosquito Control District is launching a pilot program to use sterilization to target invasive insects in Golden Gate City.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Man accused of burglarizing several businesses in Fort Myers A crime spree came to an end Sunday night after deputies arrested a man they found hiding in some bushes.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers cross country runner reflects on state championship Fort Myers High School senior cross country runner Masha Dorofeev reflects on her state championship win and committing to UCF.
CAPE CORAL Coyote kills beloved family pet in Cape Coral For 16 years, Sarge and his owner, James Stewart were inseparable.
FORT MYERS Local artist AHZUWOP to hold fashion show at tattoo shop A local artist is throwing a fashion show at a tattoo shop, an event that will also feature music performances and an art exhibition.
NAPLES Identity released of body found in Collier County retention pond According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, a body was found in a retention pond on Sunday. The body was found on Lindsey Lane.
FORT MYERS City leaders looking to improve Fort Myers infrastructure with AI When people think of artificial intelligence (AI), they typically think of online apps like Chat GPT but the City of Fort Myers wants to use it to make a real-world difference.
Opera Naples set to make land offer with seven-figure gift A seven-figure gift has provided the base for Opera Naples, Theater in the Garden and the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation to build an international center for the arts.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Chamber distributes over $167K in hurricane relief funding The Englewood Chamber of Commerce announced over $167,000 in critical funding has been provided to individuals affected by Helene and Milton.
Cyclist group riding 500 miles for charity to pass through LaBelle Thirty-six Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure cyclist members participating in the annual 500-mile Tour de Florida charity ride will be passing through LaBelle next week.
marco island YMCA to break ground on healthy living facility in Marco Island The YMCA of Collier County is set to break ground for a healthy living facility in Marco Island.
NAPLES Naples Airport Authority in need of volunteers for Noise Compatibility Committee The Naples Airport Authority is seeking applications to fill three volunteer positions on its Noise Compatibility Committee (NCC).
Body found following Port Charlotte house fire Charlotte County deputies have found a body in the ruins of a house in Port Charlotte after a fire destroyed most of it.
the weather authority Cold front brings less humid air this Tuesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a cold front, which will bring in less humidity and cooler temperatures this Tuesday.
golden gate city Collier County launches pilot program to fend off mosquitoes, diseases The Collier Mosquito Control District is launching a pilot program to use sterilization to target invasive insects in Golden Gate City.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Man accused of burglarizing several businesses in Fort Myers A crime spree came to an end Sunday night after deputies arrested a man they found hiding in some bushes.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers cross country runner reflects on state championship Fort Myers High School senior cross country runner Masha Dorofeev reflects on her state championship win and committing to UCF.
CAPE CORAL Coyote kills beloved family pet in Cape Coral For 16 years, Sarge and his owner, James Stewart were inseparable.
FORT MYERS Local artist AHZUWOP to hold fashion show at tattoo shop A local artist is throwing a fashion show at a tattoo shop, an event that will also feature music performances and an art exhibition.
NAPLES Identity released of body found in Collier County retention pond According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, a body was found in a retention pond on Sunday. The body was found on Lindsey Lane.
FORT MYERS City leaders looking to improve Fort Myers infrastructure with AI When people think of artificial intelligence (AI), they typically think of online apps like Chat GPT but the City of Fort Myers wants to use it to make a real-world difference.
Tropical Storm Idalia descended on the Carolinas on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, leaving a trail of flooding and destruction in the Southeast stretching back to Florida, where it first roared ashore as a major hurricane. Rescue and repair efforts continued in Florida’s remote Big Bend area where Idalia made landfall Wednesday. Thus far, authorities have only confirmed only one death, that of a man hit by a falling tree in Georgia. The storm’s ferocious winds left as many as a half-million customers without power in Florida and other states as it ripped down power poles and lines. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he planned to tour the area with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday. He noted that Idalia was far less destructive than feared, providing only glancing blows to Tampa Bay and other more populated areas as it came ashore with 125 mph (201 kph) winds in rural Florida. In contrast, Hurricane Ian last year hit the heavily populated Fort Myers area, leaving 149 dead in the state. Ian “came in basically at a Category 5 … in a much more populated area, so more opportunity I think to have destruction, whereas I think this one, there was definitely a lot of destruction but it was so much debris and so much woods and that’s just going to require a lot to clean all that up,” he said. Idalia was still blowing with winds up to 60 mph (96 kph) when it reached coastal North Carolina on Thursday morning. Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 185 miles (295 kilometers). Idalia was expected to travel just off the North Carolina coast Thursday without losing much of its strength and gradually weaken as it rolls off into the Atlantic Ocean through the weekend. Swells were expected to affect the southeastern coast, likely causing life-threatening surf and rip current conditions into the Labor Day weekend. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who declared a statewide emergency earlier this week as Idalia approached, had warned residents in coastal and eastern inland counties to prepare for heavy rainfall and localized flooding and urged them to stay off roads covered by water. In South Carolina, the storm coupled with king tides to send seawater flowing over sand dunes and spilling onto beachfront streets. In Charleston, a surge from Idalia topped the seawall that protects the downtown, sending ankle-deep ocean water into the streets and neighborhoods where horse-drawn carriages pass million-dollar homes and the famous open-air market. Preliminary data showed the Wednesday evening high tide reached just over 9.2 feet (2.8 meters), more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) above normal and the fifth-highest reading in Charleston Harbor since records were first kept in 1899. Bands from Idalia also brought short-lived tornadoes. One flipped a car in suburban Goose Creek, South Carolina, causing minor injuries, authorities said. No major damage was reported. After traveling across the Gulf of Mexico, Idalia came ashore Wednesday morning near Keaton Beach, pummeling Florida’s remote and lightly populated Big Bend region with powerful winds. The area, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula, saw streets turned into rivers that submerged cars and homes, while the howling winds tore off roofs, snapped tall trees, sent sheet metal flying and shredded homes. “All hell broke loose,” said Belond Thomas of Perry, a mill town located just inland from the Big Bend region. Thomas fled with her family and some friends to a motel, thinking it would be safer than riding out the storm at home but the roof was torn away and debris showered onto her pregnant daughter, who fortunately wasn’t injured, Thomas said. No hurricane-related deaths were officially confirmed in Florida, but the state’s highway patrol reported two people killed in separate weather-related crashes just hours before Idalia made landfall. Even so, Idalia appeared to be far less destructive than first feared. It avoided large urban regions, striking only glancing blows to Tampa Bay and other more populated areas while focusing its fury on the rural Big Bend section. However, damage there was likely to be extensive. At Horseshoe Beach in central Big Bend, Jewell Baggett picked through the wreckage and debris of her mother’s destroyed home, finding a few pictures and her mother’s pots and pans. Jewell Baggett stands beside a Christmas decoration she recovered from the wreckage of her mother’s home, as she searches for anything salvageable from the trailer home her grandfather had acquired in 1973 and built multiple additions on to over the decades, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Jewell Baggett stands beside a Christmas decoration she recovered from the wreckage of her mother’s home, as she searches for anything salvageable from the trailer home her grandfather had acquired in 1973 and built multiple additions on to over the decades, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Her grandfather built the home decades ago and it had survived four previous storms, she said. “And now it’s gone,” she said. “Nothing left. A few little trinkets here and there.” Baggett, whose mother had left before the storm hit, said at least five or six other homes also were destroyed. In Tallahassee, the power went out well before the center of the storm arrived, but the city avoided a direct hit. A giant oak tree next to the governor’s mansion split in half, covering the yard with debris. State officials, 5,500 National Guardsman and rescue crews went into search-and-recovery mode, inspecting bridges, clearing toppled trees and looking for anyone in distress. More than 30,000 utility workers gathered to repair downed power lines and poles. In Georgia, a man in Valdosta died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree out of the road, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said. Two others, including a sheriff’s deputy, were hurt, he said. Officials in Bermuda warned that Idalia could hit the island early next week as a tropical storm. Bermuda on Wednesday was being lashed by the outer bands of Hurricane Franklin, a Category 2 storm that was on track to pass near the island in the North Atlantic Ocean. President Joe Biden called the governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina on Wednesday and told them their states had his administration’s full support, the White House said. Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in St. Louis, Missouri; Curt Anderson in Orlando, Florida; Laura Bargfeld and Chris O’Meara in Tampa, Florida; David Fischer in Miami Beach; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Jeff Amy and Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Megerian in Washington; and Julie Walker and David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.