Scattered storms ahead for your Saturday plans The Weather Authority is tracking weekend temperatures in the low to mid-90s this weekend with a chance for scattered storms this afternoon.
ESTERO Home Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans On Saturday, Copper Leaf Golf Club is hosting Home Base Florida, a national non-profit dedicated to veterans.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 3 Thunderstorms tried to put a stop to week three of high school football on Friday Night, but gridiron action prevailed.
Man accused of plotting murder-for-hire denied bond A man suspected of being involved with a murder-for-hire plot will stay behind bars. Ryan Toranzo had his renewed motion to set bond denied today in Collier County Court.
LABELLE Two dead after crash on State Road 80 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, there was a crash on State Road 80 that has left at least one person dead Friday evening.
DeSoto County looks to recruit more teachers While it can sometimes be easy to fill a classroom with students, it is not so easy for teachers. Schools across the nation and locally in Southwest Florida are still dealing with the challenges of teacher shortages. With class back in session, so is teacher recruiting for DeSoto County schools. The assistant superintendent, Jake Reynolds, […]
IMMOKALEE ROAD Push for change after deadly crash on Immokalee Rd. We’re told the woman was driving with two kids in the car when a semi ran a red light and hit her Thursday morning.
FORT MYERS BEACH Mobi-Mats deployed on Fort Myers Beach A walkway to paradise! Brand new and blue, the Mobi-Mat is making things easier for Fort Myers Beachgoers.
NAPLES Women of Steel business conference inspiring and empowering women Focused, hardworking, empowered. These women have made a name for themselves as Women of Steel.
NAPLES Beloved Collier County bus driver retires after 20 years After 20 years of getting kids to school safely, a beloved Collier County bus driver is retiring.
Wade Wilson has new death row mugshot Convicted double-killer Wade Wilson has a new death row mugshot.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Sizzle Dining is back in SWFL It’s Sizzle Season! Local restaurants are ready to welcome new faces by offering exclusive menu deals to attract new customers.
PORT CHARLOTTE Player of the Week: Logan Flaherty Port Charlotte’s QB found the endzone twice himself and had two passing touchdowns in the Pirate’s week two victory over North Fort Myers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral police investigating scooter crash Authorities are investigating a crash in Cape Coral that injured a scooter rider.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach artist’s paint supplies dumped in canal Rogers is a local artist who has painted iconic Fort Myers Beach landmarks like the pier. Sadly, his supplies were taken away, and now he needs your help finding them.
Scattered storms ahead for your Saturday plans The Weather Authority is tracking weekend temperatures in the low to mid-90s this weekend with a chance for scattered storms this afternoon.
ESTERO Home Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans On Saturday, Copper Leaf Golf Club is hosting Home Base Florida, a national non-profit dedicated to veterans.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 3 Thunderstorms tried to put a stop to week three of high school football on Friday Night, but gridiron action prevailed.
Man accused of plotting murder-for-hire denied bond A man suspected of being involved with a murder-for-hire plot will stay behind bars. Ryan Toranzo had his renewed motion to set bond denied today in Collier County Court.
LABELLE Two dead after crash on State Road 80 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, there was a crash on State Road 80 that has left at least one person dead Friday evening.
DeSoto County looks to recruit more teachers While it can sometimes be easy to fill a classroom with students, it is not so easy for teachers. Schools across the nation and locally in Southwest Florida are still dealing with the challenges of teacher shortages. With class back in session, so is teacher recruiting for DeSoto County schools. The assistant superintendent, Jake Reynolds, […]
IMMOKALEE ROAD Push for change after deadly crash on Immokalee Rd. We’re told the woman was driving with two kids in the car when a semi ran a red light and hit her Thursday morning.
FORT MYERS BEACH Mobi-Mats deployed on Fort Myers Beach A walkway to paradise! Brand new and blue, the Mobi-Mat is making things easier for Fort Myers Beachgoers.
NAPLES Women of Steel business conference inspiring and empowering women Focused, hardworking, empowered. These women have made a name for themselves as Women of Steel.
NAPLES Beloved Collier County bus driver retires after 20 years After 20 years of getting kids to school safely, a beloved Collier County bus driver is retiring.
Wade Wilson has new death row mugshot Convicted double-killer Wade Wilson has a new death row mugshot.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Sizzle Dining is back in SWFL It’s Sizzle Season! Local restaurants are ready to welcome new faces by offering exclusive menu deals to attract new customers.
PORT CHARLOTTE Player of the Week: Logan Flaherty Port Charlotte’s QB found the endzone twice himself and had two passing touchdowns in the Pirate’s week two victory over North Fort Myers.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral police investigating scooter crash Authorities are investigating a crash in Cape Coral that injured a scooter rider.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach artist’s paint supplies dumped in canal Rogers is a local artist who has painted iconic Fort Myers Beach landmarks like the pier. Sadly, his supplies were taken away, and now he needs your help finding them.
A Code Orange alert was issued at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers on U.S. 41 Thursday afternoon after emergency services responded to the Calusa Nature Center for a hazmat situation. A code orange refers to a chemical hazard or spill, a mass casualty incident or a disaster that overwhelms the hospital’s resources. RELATED: An inside look at the Fort Myers hazmat team According to the Fort Myers Fire Department, the incident began at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium. Three employees from Indian River State College were exposed to a mercury spill after a projector light bulb broke during replacement. According to Eric Raddatz, the Executive Director of Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, the planetarium is currently undergoing renovations. The planetarium is donating a projector to Indian River State College. An employee from the University was on-site Thursday dismantling the projector when the mercury bulb was dropped, breaking on her head. Out of precaution, the patient was transported to the hospital, and they are hearing she will be OK. The Fort Myers Fire Department found a small amount of mercury spilled on the floor. The state hazmat team came out to examine it. WINK News has text messages from workers at Lee Memorial of the code orange. They say, “Warning: Stay away. LMH Emergency triage area. Code orange until further notice.” A second message said “Patients arrived at LHM with contamination. Fire department on scene.” CREDIT: WINK News Lee Memorial is diverting EMS patients to other hospitals during the situation. Walk-ins are still welcome. “Mercury is a highly toxic compound,” said Professor Thomas Missimer. “Ingesting it in some form, it can cause … death, and it can cause some other debilitating neurotoxic symptoms.” Missimer said mercury can be found in many things, including rainwater, fish, thermometers, old light bulbs and even Saharan dust. “At atmospheric temperatures, that can volatilize, and then you can breathe it, so, typically, on a one-time event, though, they’ll take the people to the hospital,” said Missimer. When his students at FGCU work with mercury, they have a protocol in place to follow to keep everyone safe. Similar to the protocol WINK News witnessed from the Fort Myers Fire Department on Thursday evening. “We did go in as a team and with the [Florida Department of Environmental Protection],” said Tom Boland with the Fort Myers Fire Department. “We had all of our personal protective equipment on, went down range. We found the product, we cleaned it all up, we did some air monitoring.” Correction: an earlier version of this story identified the patients as students. They are all employees of Hallstrom planetarium in Indian River.