SWFL 12-year-old swimmer earns statewide recognitionCaptiva restaurant surrounded by sand after Helene
ESTERO SWFL 12-year-old swimmer earns statewide recognition Last season Kallen Garnier-Chan achieved a national ranked top three time in the 800 and 1000 meter freestyle.
NORTH PORT Family continues legal battle with Heritage Insurance A husband and wife will not quit the fight with their homeowner’s insurance.
CAPTIVA Captiva restaurant surrounded by sand after Helene A Captiva restaurant was left almost unrecognizable after Helene, with piles of sand reaching the doors and windows of the establishment.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County offers showers and laundry facilities post-Helene Charlotte County has opened a comfort station equipped with showers and laundry facilities to aid residents struggling with storm recovery.
Horseshoe Beach Gov. DeSantis sends rescue operations to North Carolina after Helene Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference at Horseshoe Beach.
Punta Gorda restaurants reopening after Hurricane Helene Punta Gorda restaurant owners vow to reopen after Hurricane Helene clean up. While some restaurants opened quickly, others might take longer.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY Charlotte County man accused of luring child for sex A Charlotte County man has been arrested for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to a minor and luring her to have sex.
WASHINGTON (AP) Walz and Vance will meet in their first vice presidential debate Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to argue their case before the election.
NCH, Florida Blue reach last-minute agreement on new contract With negotiations going down to the wire, Naples Comprehensive Health and Florida Blue agreed on a new three-year contract late in the day Sept. 30 that will keep almost 40,000 of the insurance carrier’s members in network with the health care system.
Three Oaks Firefighters pull intoxicated man from pond in Three Oaks The San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue responded to a scene where they pulled an intoxicated man from a pond in Three Oaks.
FORT MYERS Phase 2: $1 billion RSW expansion project begins The Lee County Port Authority will begin Southwest Florida International Airport’s Terminal Expansion Phase 2, a more than $1 billion project.
PUNTA GORDA Sen. Rick Scott to survey damage in Charlotte County Florida Sen. Rick Scott is set to visit Charlotte County, receive a briefing on Hurricane Helene, and survey the damage.
The Weather Authority The Weather Authority: Scattered rain and storms return for your Tuesday The Weather Authority is tracking rain and storms throughout this Tuesday afternoon and into your evening commute.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man dies after fire is sparked by Helene’s flooding Hurricane Helene was not kind to Charlotte County, and on Monday night, people are picking up the pieces and grieving the loss of a neighbor.
SANIBEL Sanibel businesses work to recover after Helene There’s no “Going back to normal” on Sanibel after Ian, but Helene isn’t stopping people as they work towards a “New normal.”
ESTERO SWFL 12-year-old swimmer earns statewide recognition Last season Kallen Garnier-Chan achieved a national ranked top three time in the 800 and 1000 meter freestyle.
NORTH PORT Family continues legal battle with Heritage Insurance A husband and wife will not quit the fight with their homeowner’s insurance.
CAPTIVA Captiva restaurant surrounded by sand after Helene A Captiva restaurant was left almost unrecognizable after Helene, with piles of sand reaching the doors and windows of the establishment.
PORT CHARLOTTE Charlotte County offers showers and laundry facilities post-Helene Charlotte County has opened a comfort station equipped with showers and laundry facilities to aid residents struggling with storm recovery.
Horseshoe Beach Gov. DeSantis sends rescue operations to North Carolina after Helene Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference at Horseshoe Beach.
Punta Gorda restaurants reopening after Hurricane Helene Punta Gorda restaurant owners vow to reopen after Hurricane Helene clean up. While some restaurants opened quickly, others might take longer.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY Charlotte County man accused of luring child for sex A Charlotte County man has been arrested for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to a minor and luring her to have sex.
WASHINGTON (AP) Walz and Vance will meet in their first vice presidential debate Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to argue their case before the election.
NCH, Florida Blue reach last-minute agreement on new contract With negotiations going down to the wire, Naples Comprehensive Health and Florida Blue agreed on a new three-year contract late in the day Sept. 30 that will keep almost 40,000 of the insurance carrier’s members in network with the health care system.
Three Oaks Firefighters pull intoxicated man from pond in Three Oaks The San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue responded to a scene where they pulled an intoxicated man from a pond in Three Oaks.
FORT MYERS Phase 2: $1 billion RSW expansion project begins The Lee County Port Authority will begin Southwest Florida International Airport’s Terminal Expansion Phase 2, a more than $1 billion project.
PUNTA GORDA Sen. Rick Scott to survey damage in Charlotte County Florida Sen. Rick Scott is set to visit Charlotte County, receive a briefing on Hurricane Helene, and survey the damage.
The Weather Authority The Weather Authority: Scattered rain and storms return for your Tuesday The Weather Authority is tracking rain and storms throughout this Tuesday afternoon and into your evening commute.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda man dies after fire is sparked by Helene’s flooding Hurricane Helene was not kind to Charlotte County, and on Monday night, people are picking up the pieces and grieving the loss of a neighbor.
SANIBEL Sanibel businesses work to recover after Helene There’s no “Going back to normal” on Sanibel after Ian, but Helene isn’t stopping people as they work towards a “New normal.”
A husband and wife will not quit the fight with their homeowner’s insurance. On Tuesday, the water poured through the couple’s home like it does every day it rains, and there’s no end in sight. When the rain started pattering on the roof Tuesday afternoon, the water rushed through Jeff and Ginny Rapkin’s home. There wasn’t much room for it in the buckets already overflowing from Monday night’s storm. Hurricane Ian ripped off the roof, and It’s been open ever since. When the rain stopped, Ginny started to cry, and Jeff got angry. He is angry with Heritage Insurance, as he has been so many times in the last two years. “I’d like to set them on fire. I really would. I like to beat them all to a pulpit. What’s happened here is wrong? This is a lack of common human decency, a lack of humanity,” said Rapkin.“I’m as mad as a person could be who’s been rendered homeless for two years. You know, nothing like being 54, years old, paying for a house.” RELATED: New details emerge confirming state investigation into Heritage Insurance The Rapkins believe Heritage changed the licensed adjuster, Jordan Lee’s initial damage report. Lee said there was $231,000 worth of damage. Heritage sent them a check for $15,000. “If I’m making up fraud. Take a look. Page four, page five, page six, page seven. This isn’t a matter of him making a mistake and yanking things out,” said Rapkin. “This is a 261-page report that the adjuster did for us, and somebody at Heritage decided they would change it to a 14-page report, and they numbered it separately, and they just yanked some things out, put some things in.” That’s why Jeff filed a lawsuit. After he said, he first filed this claim with the state’s Department of Financial Services. “My father passed February, and he was a retired circuit judge, and before he passed, he helped me draft a breach of contract lawsuit,” said Rapkin. The Rapkins tried living in this home for 7 months. “It killed our dog. The mold you’re about to see killed our dog and almost killed our kid. My daughter, like I said, she has autism. Both went into kidney failure,” said Rapkin. Now, the family lives in an apartment, but they still make trips to the home. Each trip, Jeff told WINK, is painful. “A home is more than the sum of its parts. We spent Christmases here. We learned how to make strawberry jam downstairs in that kitchen. You know, my kids, I’ll never forget,” said Rapkin. The Raskins are still paying Heritage insurance. They can’t drop their coverage, and their premium is now four thousand dollars a year. Jeff is representing himself in his lawsuit. He is a lawyer but an adoption lawyer. Jeff told me he fears he won’t win his case, but he’s going to court because he knows there are tens of thousands of people like him fighting their insurance companies and can’t stand up to them like he can.