City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safetyCollier County mental health center receives $4 million donation
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 11, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
Second leading cause of chest pain The leading cause of cardiac chest pain is coronary artery disease, which affects over 18 million adults in the United States.
Vicky Bakery opens 26th location, first in Fort Myers A Fort Myers location just opened at 4429 Cleveland Ave., at El Dorado Plaza, just east of the Ginza sushi restaurant.
WINK News’ Matt Devitt, officials address resident flooding concerns In a slide presentation, WINK News Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt showed surrounding coastal counties have the sensors that are installed and monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
Lee County man found guilty of manslaughter A 47-year-old man from Lee County has been found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing his neighbor multiple times in 2022.
SNIP Collier volunteer traps her 1000th feral cat A Spay and Neuter Initiative Program has reached a milestone as a Collier County volunteer has captured 1,000 feral cats.
SAINT JAMES CITY Saint James City man sentenced to 5 years for possessing child sexual abuse material A St. James City man has been sentenced to five years for possessing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
CAPE CORAL Sword-wielding Cape Coral man accused of threatening person with Molotov Cocktail The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a man who allegedly threatened another person with a sword and Molotov Cocktail.
PORT CHARLOTTE Tampa Bay Rays announces spring training season in Port Charlotte The Tampa Bay Rays have announced spring training ticket information for the 2025 spring season in Port Charlotte.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 11, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
Second leading cause of chest pain The leading cause of cardiac chest pain is coronary artery disease, which affects over 18 million adults in the United States.
Vicky Bakery opens 26th location, first in Fort Myers A Fort Myers location just opened at 4429 Cleveland Ave., at El Dorado Plaza, just east of the Ginza sushi restaurant.
WINK News’ Matt Devitt, officials address resident flooding concerns In a slide presentation, WINK News Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt showed surrounding coastal counties have the sensors that are installed and monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
FORT MYERS RSW offering remote parking for the holidays Southwest Florida International Airport, RSW, is offering passengers RSWRemote, a reserved holiday parking option.
Lee County man found guilty of manslaughter A 47-year-old man from Lee County has been found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing his neighbor multiple times in 2022.
SNIP Collier volunteer traps her 1000th feral cat A Spay and Neuter Initiative Program has reached a milestone as a Collier County volunteer has captured 1,000 feral cats.
SAINT JAMES CITY Saint James City man sentenced to 5 years for possessing child sexual abuse material A St. James City man has been sentenced to five years for possessing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
CAPE CORAL Sword-wielding Cape Coral man accused of threatening person with Molotov Cocktail The Cape Coral Police Department arrested a man who allegedly threatened another person with a sword and Molotov Cocktail.
PORT CHARLOTTE Tampa Bay Rays announces spring training season in Port Charlotte The Tampa Bay Rays have announced spring training ticket information for the 2025 spring season in Port Charlotte.
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.