Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees sceneWest End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a crash involving one vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
SANIBEL Sanibel Causeway construction causing confusion and costing local business Repairing the Sanibel Causeway after recent storms has caused more than just traffic back-ups.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Speakeasy in downtown Fort Myers honors local historic figures Everything inside the Escondido Lounge whispers an authentic speakeasy, from the dim red lights to the fancy vintage glasses.
ESTERO Caught on camera: Man steals money from tip jar in Estero A business manager feels violated after a man took money from a tip jar on Tuesday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral ranked 13th for establishing small businesses A blog set out to find the top U.S. cities where aspiring business owners can thrive in 2024, Cape Coral was named 13th.
NAPLES Minimally invasive balloon procedure for sinus issues Battling a sinus infection is bad enough, but contending with chronic sinus infections can be a real problem.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024.
ESTERO Car crashes into restaurant window in Gulf Coast Town Center Authorities are investigating after an SUV crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero.
WEST PALM BEACH Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State President-elect Donald Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a crash involving one vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
SANIBEL Sanibel Causeway construction causing confusion and costing local business Repairing the Sanibel Causeway after recent storms has caused more than just traffic back-ups.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Speakeasy in downtown Fort Myers honors local historic figures Everything inside the Escondido Lounge whispers an authentic speakeasy, from the dim red lights to the fancy vintage glasses.
ESTERO Caught on camera: Man steals money from tip jar in Estero A business manager feels violated after a man took money from a tip jar on Tuesday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral ranked 13th for establishing small businesses A blog set out to find the top U.S. cities where aspiring business owners can thrive in 2024, Cape Coral was named 13th.
NAPLES Minimally invasive balloon procedure for sinus issues Battling a sinus infection is bad enough, but contending with chronic sinus infections can be a real problem.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024.
ESTERO Car crashes into restaurant window in Gulf Coast Town Center Authorities are investigating after an SUV crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero.
WEST PALM BEACH Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State President-elect Donald Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday.
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com For the first time ever, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it is issuing a national regulation limiting the amount of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, found in drinking water. Commonly called “forever chemicals,” PFAS are synthetic chemicals found nearly everywhere – in air, water, and soil – and can take thousands of years to break down in the environment. The EPA has stated there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS without risk of health impacts, but now it will require that public water utilities test for six different types of PFAS chemicals to reduce exposure in drinking water. The new standards will reduce PFAS exposure for 100 million people, according to the EPA, and prevent thousands of deaths and illnesses. “Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement Wednesday. For public water utility companies to comply with the new drinking water standards, the EPA is making $1 billion available to states and territories to implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems. That money is part of a $9 billion investment made possible by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to assist communities impacted by PFAS contamination. For the first time ever, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it is issuing a national regulation limiting the amount of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, found in drinking water. Commonly called “forever chemicals,” PFAS are synthetic chemicals found nearly everywhere – in air, water, and soil – and can take thousands of years to break down in the environment. The EPA has stated there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS without risk of health impacts, but now it will require that public water utilities test for six different types of PFAS chemicals to reduce exposure in drinking water. The new standards will reduce PFAS exposure for 100 million people, according to the EPA, and prevent thousands of deaths and illnesses. “Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement Wednesday. For public water utility companies to comply with the new drinking water standards, the EPA is making $1 billion available to states and territories to implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems. That money is part of a $9 billion investment made possible by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to assist communities impacted by PFAS contamination. “President Biden believes that everyone deserves access to clean, safe drinking water, and he is delivering on that promise,” said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, in a statement. PFAS have been in use since the 1940s, often to repel oil and water, and are heat resistant, which makes them popular for a variety of products. But according to industry documentation, manufacturers have known for decades that PFAS are toxic. “They can be found in everything from nonstick cookware to cleaning and personal care products,” said Regan during a press briefing. “But there’s no doubt that many of these chemicals can be harmful to our health and our environment.” Research confirms that exposure to certain levels of PFAS in the environment can cause a range of health issues, from reproductive problems, including decreased fertility, to developmental delays in children and low birth weight, as well as a suppressed immune system, increased cholesterol levels, impacts to the cardiovascular system, and certain types of cancer. “I think the strongest data is for kidney cancer and then testicular cancer,” Dr. Linda Birnbaum, former director of the National Institute of Environmental Sciences, told CBS News. “But evidence is growing for several other forms of cancer.” Critics argue the EPA didn’t go far enough because there are more than 15,000 PFAS chemicals, and this standard only regulates six. “I think that we need to begin addressing PFAS as a whole class of chemicals,” Birnbaum said. “And we need to ask the question, do we really need them?” The EPA estimates that of the 66,000 public water utility systems impacted by the standard, 6% to 10% may need to act to comply with the regulations. Operators will have three years to test for PFAS pollution, then an additional two years to identify, purchase and install necessary technology to treat contaminated water. Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director of health at the Natural Resources Defense Council, tells CBS News that the EPA estimates it will cost about $1.5 billion “to treat all this water and to protect people’s health. The benefits, in our view, far outweigh those costs.” Despite knowing the risks for several years, it’s taken a significant amount of time to regulate PFAS on the federal level. “There’s just a huge amount of political opposition from the chemical industry and, frankly, from some of the water utilities, that don’t want EPA to regulate these chemicals, because they know that once EPA cracks down on them, it’s going to cost them a lot of money, and they don’t want to spend that money,” Olson said. While the onus on clean up will come at the cost of the water utility companies, the new regulations do little to hold polluters accountable for the damage PFAS have done to the environment and human health. There have been several major settlements in recent years by chemical companies over PFAS contamination, a notable one being a $10.3 billion settlement reached by 3M in June 2023. If you want to limit your exposure to PFAS in drinking water, you can ask your water utility how it is testing for the chemicals, or have your water tested by a state-certified laboratory using EPA-testing standards. There are several technologies available to purchase to filter PFAS from your home water source. As for PFAS found in other common goods, there are several running lists to help track which companies have banned PFAS from their products.