The controversial trolley pilot program on Marco IslandPotential Tropical System 9 forecast to become Cat 3 hurricane before landfall
MARCO ISLAND The controversial trolley pilot program on Marco Island A trolley is causing an awful lot of controversy on Marco Island.
Potential Tropical System 9 forecast to become Cat 3 hurricane before landfall The majority of computer models are currently showing landfall in either the Big Bend or Panhandle of Florida Thursday into early Friday.
FORT MYERS BEACH Shrimping industry’s resilience after devastation As southwest Florida continues to rebuild after Hurricane Ian, one industry hit especially hard was shrimping.
FORT MYERS Police investigating a shooting at a Fort Myers apartment complex A shooting investigation is underway at an apartment complex in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS BEACH Are residents of Fort Myers Beach prepared for another potential storm? Every storm is different, when Tropical Storm Debby hit SWFL last month, it left a mess on Fort Myers Beach.
FORT MYERS Should you expect to lose your power with this potential tropical system? After Hurricane Ian or any major storm, it’s almost a given that there will be some type of impact on your power.
NAPLES Protecting baby squirrels during storms The height of squirrel breeding season means Von Arx Wildlife Hospital has its hands full.
NAPLES From deli dreams to mushroom masters, brothers bring fungi to Naples Since 2020, two brothers have been growing varieties of fungi and selling them at their Naples storefront.
Protect yourself: How to avoid falling for a rental scam The FBI said there are nearly 70 thousand reported instances of real estate and rental cybercrimes with more than $1.4 billion lost from 2018 to 2023.
FORT MYERS 40 Under 40: Chef Lisa Brown mixes ingredients for healthy body and mind I serve as a private chef, which means that I travel to people’s homes to help them prepare delicious and nutritious food,
LEHIGH ACRES For a Lehigh lineman, pigskin and pigs are passed down passions Lehigh lineman Jeremiah Rugama’s two passed down passions are football and showing pigs and steers.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman swims across the North Channel for Multiple Sclerosis A woman is making a name for herself as the first Floridian to complete a 21-mile swim across the North Channel, from Ireland to Scotland, to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.
Truck in canal after hit-and-run crash on I-75; at least 1 injured A crash in Collier County has caused major backups on I-75 in both directions near Immokalee Road.
SANIBEL Sanibel is being proactive in face of potential tropical system Whenever there is tropical activity, our barrier islands face the biggest threat, and Sanibel is preparing for whatever is brewing in the Caribbean.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda homeowners blame nearby demolition for damage A demolition project is apparently demolishing more than it should.
MARCO ISLAND The controversial trolley pilot program on Marco Island A trolley is causing an awful lot of controversy on Marco Island.
Potential Tropical System 9 forecast to become Cat 3 hurricane before landfall The majority of computer models are currently showing landfall in either the Big Bend or Panhandle of Florida Thursday into early Friday.
FORT MYERS BEACH Shrimping industry’s resilience after devastation As southwest Florida continues to rebuild after Hurricane Ian, one industry hit especially hard was shrimping.
FORT MYERS Police investigating a shooting at a Fort Myers apartment complex A shooting investigation is underway at an apartment complex in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS BEACH Are residents of Fort Myers Beach prepared for another potential storm? Every storm is different, when Tropical Storm Debby hit SWFL last month, it left a mess on Fort Myers Beach.
FORT MYERS Should you expect to lose your power with this potential tropical system? After Hurricane Ian or any major storm, it’s almost a given that there will be some type of impact on your power.
NAPLES Protecting baby squirrels during storms The height of squirrel breeding season means Von Arx Wildlife Hospital has its hands full.
NAPLES From deli dreams to mushroom masters, brothers bring fungi to Naples Since 2020, two brothers have been growing varieties of fungi and selling them at their Naples storefront.
Protect yourself: How to avoid falling for a rental scam The FBI said there are nearly 70 thousand reported instances of real estate and rental cybercrimes with more than $1.4 billion lost from 2018 to 2023.
FORT MYERS 40 Under 40: Chef Lisa Brown mixes ingredients for healthy body and mind I serve as a private chef, which means that I travel to people’s homes to help them prepare delicious and nutritious food,
LEHIGH ACRES For a Lehigh lineman, pigskin and pigs are passed down passions Lehigh lineman Jeremiah Rugama’s two passed down passions are football and showing pigs and steers.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman swims across the North Channel for Multiple Sclerosis A woman is making a name for herself as the first Floridian to complete a 21-mile swim across the North Channel, from Ireland to Scotland, to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.
Truck in canal after hit-and-run crash on I-75; at least 1 injured A crash in Collier County has caused major backups on I-75 in both directions near Immokalee Road.
SANIBEL Sanibel is being proactive in face of potential tropical system Whenever there is tropical activity, our barrier islands face the biggest threat, and Sanibel is preparing for whatever is brewing in the Caribbean.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda homeowners blame nearby demolition for damage A demolition project is apparently demolishing more than it should.
After Hurricane Ian or any major storm, it’s almost a given that there will be some type of impact on your power. Here on WINK, we’ve told you to prepare for impacts from the potential tropical system expected to hit the panhandle Thursday. So, we talked with Karen Ryan with Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) about the potential impacts we can see here if this system brings similar impacts to that of our weather event Debby. “We were actually pleasantly surprised with Debby because our system held up very well, we did have some outages, which was to be expected, but it was minimal, and it was as the storm moved through our territory, so we never had a large number of customers out at one time,” Ryan said. Ryan said thousands of customers were without power, but their power was restored within the hour. One of the things that’s brought up during every storm deals with underground versus above-ground powerlines and which one will lead to fewer outages. Here are Ryan’s thoughts on that. “There is always a misconception that underground is better than overhead, and in certain situations, it is, but in search certain situations and locations underground is detrimental,” Ryan said. “With Hurricane Ian, where we had higher than expected storm surge. When you put water and underground power lines together, it’s never good, and so some of our underground facilities that were damaged out on Sanibel, they took the longest to restore power, and it’s because the saltwater corrosion damages them.” Ryan said another issue with underground power lines is that trees have a big root system, and that’s where the wires are, and they just rip the underground facilities out of the ground. So, all in all, depending on where you live depends on how successful underground power lines are in saving you from a power outage. We also reached out to FPL who sent us this statement regarding power: FPL is closely monitoring a tropical disturbance moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. While the forecast remains highly uncertain, we will be ready for potential impacts to Florida. In the meantime, we encourage customers to monitor this system and make sure they have a storm plan. Customers can stay connected by visiting FPL.com or downloading the FPL mobile app.