ESTERO 1 injured after shooting at Coconut Point Mall According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, one person has been injured after a shooting at the Coconut Point Mall on Friday.
CAPE CORAL CCPD cruiser damaged after officer involved crash An officer-involved crash leaves a Cape Coral police cruiser smashed.
PORT CHARLOTTE Sweet’s Diner in Port Charlotte reopens After months of fundraising and rebuilding, this diner, which had a car fly-through it, is back open.
FWC pushing to protect Florida’s endangered manatees Florida Fish and Wildlife is pushing to protect endangered manatees. One danger that animals face is when boats bash into them, leaving deep scars across their backs.
FORT MYERS The Fort Myers Fire Department looks towards new year Fighting fires is always top of mind for the Fort Myers Fire Department. The Fort Myers Fire Department leads the way when it comes to protecting your property when a fire breaks out.
WINK NEWS Palisades Wildfire devastates SWFL family Just hours after evacuating their Malibu home, the Wohl family learned they would never go back.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral expands with development The Cove at 47th The Cove sits in south Cape Coral between Cape Coral Parkway and Southeast 47th Terrace right next to Cork Soakers.
FORT MYERS ‘Operation Ghost Buster’: 16 arrested in Fort Myers drug operation The Fort Myers Police Department Narcotics Unit conducted an operation targeting drug traffickers and individuals unlawfully selling and possessing firearms in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS ‘A Distinctive Honor’: Bank of America award benefits FSW Nursing Program Bank of America has been awarded Florida Southwestern State College the 2024 Neighborhood Champion Award.
CAPTIVA One step closer to decision on South Seas building density After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge said he stood by his earlier decision in favor of the Captiva Civic Association.
Governor signs death warrant for man accused of 1997 killing of 2 in Charlotte County Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the death warrant for a man accused of killing two people in Charlotte County in 1997.
Community input needed for renaming Challenger Boulevard While Lee Health continues construction on the area’s newest hospital, there are decisions to be made.
ESTERO SWFL Lady Hammerheads find community through rugby The southwest Florida Lady Hammerheads are the Florida Women’s Rugby Union’s newest team.
Heavy law enforcement presence near Arcadia Popeyes According to the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, there is a heavy law enforcement presence near a Popeyes restaurant.
Punta Gorda City Council searches for new home Punta Gorda City Council sought a temporary solution when it was unable to meet Jan. 9 at the Military Heritage Museum because elevators weren’t working, which would have been a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
ESTERO 1 injured after shooting at Coconut Point Mall According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, one person has been injured after a shooting at the Coconut Point Mall on Friday.
CAPE CORAL CCPD cruiser damaged after officer involved crash An officer-involved crash leaves a Cape Coral police cruiser smashed.
PORT CHARLOTTE Sweet’s Diner in Port Charlotte reopens After months of fundraising and rebuilding, this diner, which had a car fly-through it, is back open.
FWC pushing to protect Florida’s endangered manatees Florida Fish and Wildlife is pushing to protect endangered manatees. One danger that animals face is when boats bash into them, leaving deep scars across their backs.
FORT MYERS The Fort Myers Fire Department looks towards new year Fighting fires is always top of mind for the Fort Myers Fire Department. The Fort Myers Fire Department leads the way when it comes to protecting your property when a fire breaks out.
WINK NEWS Palisades Wildfire devastates SWFL family Just hours after evacuating their Malibu home, the Wohl family learned they would never go back.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral expands with development The Cove at 47th The Cove sits in south Cape Coral between Cape Coral Parkway and Southeast 47th Terrace right next to Cork Soakers.
FORT MYERS ‘Operation Ghost Buster’: 16 arrested in Fort Myers drug operation The Fort Myers Police Department Narcotics Unit conducted an operation targeting drug traffickers and individuals unlawfully selling and possessing firearms in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS ‘A Distinctive Honor’: Bank of America award benefits FSW Nursing Program Bank of America has been awarded Florida Southwestern State College the 2024 Neighborhood Champion Award.
CAPTIVA One step closer to decision on South Seas building density After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge said he stood by his earlier decision in favor of the Captiva Civic Association.
Governor signs death warrant for man accused of 1997 killing of 2 in Charlotte County Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the death warrant for a man accused of killing two people in Charlotte County in 1997.
Community input needed for renaming Challenger Boulevard While Lee Health continues construction on the area’s newest hospital, there are decisions to be made.
ESTERO SWFL Lady Hammerheads find community through rugby The southwest Florida Lady Hammerheads are the Florida Women’s Rugby Union’s newest team.
Heavy law enforcement presence near Arcadia Popeyes According to the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office, there is a heavy law enforcement presence near a Popeyes restaurant.
Punta Gorda City Council searches for new home Punta Gorda City Council sought a temporary solution when it was unable to meet Jan. 9 at the Military Heritage Museum because elevators weren’t working, which would have been a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Crews from the U.S. Sawfish Recovery investigating mysterious fishkill. CREDIT: U.S. Sawfish Recovery Scientists are urgently searching for answers to understand why smalltooth sawfish are dying at an alarming rate or have been seen acting bizarrely at the shoreline. According to the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has 21 documented smalltooth sawfish deaths in 2024. Tagging smalltooth sawfish in the Florida Keys. CREDIT: FSU Coastal & Marine Lab To help FWC authorities uncover details about the fish mortality events at Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys, commissioners secured $2 million in state funds. The FWC is not going into this research blind. FWC is eliminating some of the possible causes of the fishkill based on results from recent necropsies: There have been 21 total documented smalltooth sawfish deaths since the first was reported on Jan. 30, 2024. There are no signs of a communicable pathogen and specimens were negative for bacterial infection. Additional sawfish tissues are still being processed for analysis. Dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH and temperature are not suspected to be the cause of the fish behavior or kills. To date, Red Tide toxins (brevetoxins) produced by Karenia brevis have not been detected in water samples. At this time, the cause of the abnormal behavior and mortalities is not known, and efforts to collect and analyze samples are ongoing. “We know there is a lot of frustration in the community not knowing what is going on,” said Monroe County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln. “We are all extremely concerned about our ecosystem and what is causing this to happen.” Kudos to @SawfishRecovery team member Gregg Poulakis & crew at @MyFWC who have necropsied 20+ #sawfish recovered in the Keys to help identify the cause of this mass mortality event. Research conducted pursuant to NMFS ESA Permit No. 25864. Latest info at https://t.co/2q2MbvhkGF pic.twitter.com/wFwkra0j9H — U.S. Sawfish Recovery (@SawfishRecovery) March 18, 2024 The FWC will work side by side with nonprofit organizations to collect vital information to get to the bottom of the mysterious fishkill. “We are fully supporting our State scientists and experts in working as quickly as possible to discover what is happening,” said Monroe County Mayor Holly Merrill Raschein. Smalltooth sawfish death investigation. CREDIT: U.S. Sawfish Recovery Videos of the endangered species acting strangely at the shoreline in the Florida Keys have been spreading on social media. RELATED: $20K reward offered after finding endangered smalltooth sawfish missing its snout The Calusa Waterkeeper retweeted a map pointing out the 60 reported smalltooth sawfish sightings FWC received between Jan. 30 and March 5. Again….shared adversity…. pic.twitter.com/Ob8JP9Pwbk — Calusa Waterkeeper (@calusawater) March 15, 2024 Lake Okeechobee has been releasing water into the Caloosahatchee for the past few weeks. This has caused some concerns over water quality in Southwest Florida. It’s unclear if it is related to the fishkill or what is happening to the endangered smalltooth sawfish. Folks from the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory posted to social media about a recent trip to the Florida Keys for routine smalltooth sawfish sampling. Crews set a new winter trip record by tagging 11 large juveniles and adult sawfish. The Grubbs lab traveled to the FL Keys with @BiminiSharkLab for smalltooth sawfish sampling. They tagged 11 juvenile & adult sawfish w/10-year acoustic tags! If you encounter a sawfish, please report it to: 1-844-4SAWFISH. Research conducted under ESA permit 22078 and SAL 1345. pic.twitter.com/57pneWTzsp — FSU Coastal & Marine Lab (@FSUMarineLab) March 18, 2024 The acoustic trackers will last ten years. Receivers will log the date and time whenever one of the tagged sawfish swims past them. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, authorities believe the species’ decline is due to overfishing, habitat loss and the fact that the species takes a long time to reproduce. Smalltooth sawfish research. CREDIT: FWC Despite historically having habitats from Texas to New York, the smalltooth sawfish has one final stronghold on the planet: from Charlotte Harbor to the Florida Keys, including Everglades National Park. Click here to learn more about the species from NOAA. You can report a sawfish sighting to FWC by calling the hotline at 844-472-9347. You can also report a fish kill to the FWC by clicking here.