City of Cape Coral isn’t offering sandbags, but one Cape Coral local isFort Myers Beach braces for Hurricane Milton after Helene
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral isn’t offering sandbags, but one Cape Coral local is One Cape Coral resident saw a need during Hurricane Milton and decided to do something about it.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach braces for Hurricane Milton after Helene WINK News’ team coverage brings us to Fort Myers Beach, an area prone to storm surge and still recovering from Helene.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral holds press conference; here are 10 takeaways Cape Coral held a press conference Monday morning to discuss Hurricane Milton. Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter says storm surge is the biggest threat of Hurricane Milton to the city. His message to his neighbors Monday morning is to make a plan and execute it now.
NORTH FORT MYERS Charlotte County man prepares what he can ahead of Milton Hurricane Helene ravaged many homes in Charlotte County, and now locals are getting ready for a potentially stronger Hurricane Milton.
SWFL Florida evacuation orders ahead of Milton There are now mandatory evacuation orders for some barrier islands in Southwest Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton.
What’s open and closed as Hurricane Milton looms As Hurricane Milton strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico, services and businesses in Southwest Florida are adjusting their hours or closing temporarily.
Punta Gorda residents, businesses brace for Hurricane Milton With Hurricane Milton expected to make landfall somewhere along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Oct. 9, some Punta Gorda hotels stopped taking reservations, flight disruptions are expected and residents and business owners spent Oct. 7 prepping.
Lee County coastal businesses evacuate merchandise as Hurricane Milton approaches As Hurricane Milton began making its way across the Gulf of Mexico to a precise destination yet unknown on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Lee County business owners on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and other coastal areas weren’t waiting around to find out.
WINK NEWS List of shelters in SWFL ahead of Milton As Hurricane Milton approaches, shelters are opening across Southwest Florida to provide safety and refuge for residents.
Know your zone: Evacuation zones ahead of Milton As Hurricane Milton approaches, get familiar with your evacuation zone.
SWFL schools affected due to Milton Southwest Florida schools are responding ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
NAPLES Collier County Board of Commissioners provide updates for Milton Collier County Board of County Commissioners is holding a meeting for Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Bus routes onto Fort Myers Beach to stop, water to be cut off ahead of Milton The Lee County government announced that LeeTran will stop running routes onto Fort Myers Beach and cut off water to the island as Hurricane Milton approaches.
TALLAHASSEE DeSantis announces that tolls will be suspended in Western Florida, Central Florida and Alligator Alley Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state has suspended all tolls in West Florida, Central Florida and Alligator Alley ahead of Hurricane Milton.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral isn’t offering sandbags, but one Cape Coral local is One Cape Coral resident saw a need during Hurricane Milton and decided to do something about it.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach braces for Hurricane Milton after Helene WINK News’ team coverage brings us to Fort Myers Beach, an area prone to storm surge and still recovering from Helene.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral holds press conference; here are 10 takeaways Cape Coral held a press conference Monday morning to discuss Hurricane Milton. Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter says storm surge is the biggest threat of Hurricane Milton to the city. His message to his neighbors Monday morning is to make a plan and execute it now.
NORTH FORT MYERS Charlotte County man prepares what he can ahead of Milton Hurricane Helene ravaged many homes in Charlotte County, and now locals are getting ready for a potentially stronger Hurricane Milton.
SWFL Florida evacuation orders ahead of Milton There are now mandatory evacuation orders for some barrier islands in Southwest Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton.
What’s open and closed as Hurricane Milton looms As Hurricane Milton strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico, services and businesses in Southwest Florida are adjusting their hours or closing temporarily.
Punta Gorda residents, businesses brace for Hurricane Milton With Hurricane Milton expected to make landfall somewhere along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Oct. 9, some Punta Gorda hotels stopped taking reservations, flight disruptions are expected and residents and business owners spent Oct. 7 prepping.
Lee County coastal businesses evacuate merchandise as Hurricane Milton approaches As Hurricane Milton began making its way across the Gulf of Mexico to a precise destination yet unknown on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Lee County business owners on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and other coastal areas weren’t waiting around to find out.
WINK NEWS List of shelters in SWFL ahead of Milton As Hurricane Milton approaches, shelters are opening across Southwest Florida to provide safety and refuge for residents.
Know your zone: Evacuation zones ahead of Milton As Hurricane Milton approaches, get familiar with your evacuation zone.
SWFL schools affected due to Milton Southwest Florida schools are responding ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
NAPLES Collier County Board of Commissioners provide updates for Milton Collier County Board of County Commissioners is holding a meeting for Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Bus routes onto Fort Myers Beach to stop, water to be cut off ahead of Milton The Lee County government announced that LeeTran will stop running routes onto Fort Myers Beach and cut off water to the island as Hurricane Milton approaches.
TALLAHASSEE DeSantis announces that tolls will be suspended in Western Florida, Central Florida and Alligator Alley Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state has suspended all tolls in West Florida, Central Florida and Alligator Alley ahead of Hurricane Milton.
A planned east Lee County housing development of about 10,000 homes called Kingston to be built over the next two decades on a former citrus farm will cause a collision between human habitat and panther habitat, a group of environmental activists said. The gathering and news conference, organized by Sierra Club, took place Jan. 16 at the East Regional Library in Lehigh Acres, less than 10 miles west of the 6,676 acres that will comprise the subdivision planned by Cameratta Cos. The development will be on land between Corkscrew Road, east of Estero, and State Road 82, with a planned new north-south road to be paid for by the developer as part of the project. RELATED: 2nd endangered Florida panther death of 2024 by vehicle collision marks 25 in a row Almost a dozen speakers participated and expressed their dismay with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in approving the development to proceed in its next steps after releasing a study that about 23 panthers could die during the construction periods and about 22 per year, every year thereafter. Estimates by the National Wildlife Federation put the current Florida panther population at a little more than 200. The public comment period began Jan. 16 and will end Jan. 23, with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection gathering public comment and feedback on the project. That feedback will be compiled into a report that will be sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said Alexandra Kuchta, a spokesperson for the DEP. “This is an opportunity for concerned citizens to speak with us one-on-one,” she said. The citizens’ top two concerns were further endangering the Florida panther with the coming sprawl and paving over what had been part of the Density Reduction/Groundwater Recharge area, which was formed in the 1980s to protect against sprawl and to protect the integrity of the area’s freshwater supply. That area changed beginning in 2015, as the Lee County Board of Commissioners allowed for increased density. “We believe that this level of take will bring about the extinction of the Florida panther,” said Julianne Thomas of Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Nearby resident Marsha Ellis said, “It is a crushing of our soul in the core panther habitat and breeding area.” Elise Bennett, the Florida director for the Center of Biological Diversity said, “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has to date has failed to meet its core mission, which is to ensure that species will not be prevented from surviving and recovering.” Ray Blacksmith, president of Cameratta Cos., said Kingston would preserve 60% of the land and restore historic water flow-ways. He said the conservation efforts would benefit the remaining panther population. “We’re cognizant of the fact of where this project is located. But we’ve developed a template to do environmental restoration with a residential component,” Blacksmith said. “And the residential component is the funding mechanism to pay for the environmental work that we’re going to do.” Blacksmith said 3,273.62 acres would be set aside for conservation and almost 2,000 acres of current agricultural lands would be converted to native habitats. He shared a document stating 447.33 acres of wetland flow-ways would be restored from agricultural lands and will provide significant foraging habitat for wetland-dependent wildlife and regional water quality benefits. Blacksmith said panthers already have threats against them that are unrelated to the Kingston development. “Traffic impacts is going to impact the panthers,” he said. “But so does panther-on-panther kills and feline leukemia is also a cause of panther deaths.” RELATED: Florida Panthers are falling victim to a rare disease Despite the conservational plan shared by the developer, the concerned residents and environmental activists said this wasn’t an area or an issue on which they could compromise, not with the future of the panther at stake. “How can we have goals of recovery when we’re destroying the core habitat of the panther?” said Patty Whitehead, a concerned resident. “This is the core habitat of the panther. And if you take it away, you don’t have any panthers.” This story is a repost from Gulfshorebusiness.com.