7-year-old dead after crash on Gazelle DriveCharlotte County couple struggling after damage from Milton
NORTH FORT MYERS 7-year-old dead after crash on Gazelle Drive A 7-year-old girl has died after a collision on Gazelle Drive in North Fort Myers.
Charlotte County couple struggling after damage from Milton A Charlotte County couple’s home was damaged by Helene and Hurricane Milton, leaving them struggling to find a comfortable place to sleep.
Tracking Milton: Power outages across SWFL The Lee County Electric Cooperative has reported power outages throughout the area due to the effects of Hurricane Milton.
CAPE CORAL CCFD gives generator safety tips following two house fires Following Hurricane Milton on Wednesday, two house fires in Cape Coral occurred due to improper generator usage.
Sheriff: 39 homes damaged from Milton in Glades County area Hurricane Milton damaged approximately 39 homes in the Twin Palms area in Glades County, according to the Glades County Sheriff’s Office.
ENGLEWOOD Manasota Key closed following Hurricane Milton Due to safety concerns following Hurricane Milton, residents of Manasota Key do not have access to their homes.
SWFL schools affected due to Milton Southwest Florida schools are responding ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
Hurricane Milton destroys Mucky Duck restaurant People across Southwest Florida were picking up the pieces and putting as many as they could back together Oct. 10, the day after Hurricane Milton brushed the region along the coastline before making landfall near Siesta Key and Sarasota at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 9.
CAPE CORAL Cape home bursts into flames; fire department unable to respond Hurricane Milton caused significant damage to a Cape Coral home.
Post-Milton recovery efforts, damage assessments begin in Collier County Collier County management began assessing damage Oct. 10 after Hurricane Milton and warned residents to exercise caution and to check for a license when hiring a contractor to perform work.
What’s open and closed after Hurricane Milton In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, services and businesses in Southwest Florida are beginning to reopen.
Collier County residents urged to minimize water use Collier County Public Utilities crews are working to restore services after Hurricane Milton and are urging residents to minimize water use.
RxOpen: your tool to find open pharmacies after Hurricane Milton RxOpen has been activated in Florida following Hurricane Milton. This website is a mapping tool that helps patients and their providers locate open pharmacies in areas affected by natural disasters like Milton. When activated, RxOpen provides status updates on pharmacies, indicating whether they are open, closed or have new restricted hours. The website will be […]
FORT MYERS BEACH Water restored on Fort Myers Beach, boil water notice in effect The Town of Fort Myers Beach announced Lee County has restored water to the island following Hurricane Milton. Although residents now have access to water, all of Fort Myers Beach is currently under a boil water notice. According to an announcement on the town’s website, once the water is turned back on, two consecutive days […]
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs begins Hurricane Milton recovery The City of Bonita Springs and Lee County Emergency Management are emphasizing the importance of residents staying in place on Thursday morning, regardless of Hurricane Milton’s passing the previous night.
NORTH FORT MYERS 7-year-old dead after crash on Gazelle Drive A 7-year-old girl has died after a collision on Gazelle Drive in North Fort Myers.
Charlotte County couple struggling after damage from Milton A Charlotte County couple’s home was damaged by Helene and Hurricane Milton, leaving them struggling to find a comfortable place to sleep.
Tracking Milton: Power outages across SWFL The Lee County Electric Cooperative has reported power outages throughout the area due to the effects of Hurricane Milton.
CAPE CORAL CCFD gives generator safety tips following two house fires Following Hurricane Milton on Wednesday, two house fires in Cape Coral occurred due to improper generator usage.
Sheriff: 39 homes damaged from Milton in Glades County area Hurricane Milton damaged approximately 39 homes in the Twin Palms area in Glades County, according to the Glades County Sheriff’s Office.
ENGLEWOOD Manasota Key closed following Hurricane Milton Due to safety concerns following Hurricane Milton, residents of Manasota Key do not have access to their homes.
SWFL schools affected due to Milton Southwest Florida schools are responding ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
Hurricane Milton destroys Mucky Duck restaurant People across Southwest Florida were picking up the pieces and putting as many as they could back together Oct. 10, the day after Hurricane Milton brushed the region along the coastline before making landfall near Siesta Key and Sarasota at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 9.
CAPE CORAL Cape home bursts into flames; fire department unable to respond Hurricane Milton caused significant damage to a Cape Coral home.
Post-Milton recovery efforts, damage assessments begin in Collier County Collier County management began assessing damage Oct. 10 after Hurricane Milton and warned residents to exercise caution and to check for a license when hiring a contractor to perform work.
What’s open and closed after Hurricane Milton In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, services and businesses in Southwest Florida are beginning to reopen.
Collier County residents urged to minimize water use Collier County Public Utilities crews are working to restore services after Hurricane Milton and are urging residents to minimize water use.
RxOpen: your tool to find open pharmacies after Hurricane Milton RxOpen has been activated in Florida following Hurricane Milton. This website is a mapping tool that helps patients and their providers locate open pharmacies in areas affected by natural disasters like Milton. When activated, RxOpen provides status updates on pharmacies, indicating whether they are open, closed or have new restricted hours. The website will be […]
FORT MYERS BEACH Water restored on Fort Myers Beach, boil water notice in effect The Town of Fort Myers Beach announced Lee County has restored water to the island following Hurricane Milton. Although residents now have access to water, all of Fort Myers Beach is currently under a boil water notice. According to an announcement on the town’s website, once the water is turned back on, two consecutive days […]
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs begins Hurricane Milton recovery The City of Bonita Springs and Lee County Emergency Management are emphasizing the importance of residents staying in place on Thursday morning, regardless of Hurricane Milton’s passing the previous night.
A family is paying for a mess they didn’t ask for or create. On “60 Minutes,” Ginny Jeff Rapkin told the nation that they believed their insurance company changed the licensed adjuster’s initial damage report costing the couple more than $200,000. WINK News then confirmed the state opened a criminal investigation. When state chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis confirmed the criminal investigation, WINK News asked him what advice he had for the Rapkins and others trapped in a fight with their insurance company. Patronis told WINK: Don’t file a lawsuit first, come to the state for help. The Rapkins said they did go to the Department of Financial Services, and they told WINK, that didn’t work at all. RELATED: New details emerge confirming state investigation into Heritage Insurance RELATED: Family continues legal battle with Heritage Insurance “This is the room my son stayed in,” said Jeff Rapkin. Just standing in this bedroom gets to Rapkin. “You have all these memories from a home, and this could have been saved. All they had to do was cover the top,” said Rapkin. It pains Rapkin to see the mold growing on the walls, coating the ceiling and the insulation. Hurricane Ian whipped the roof right off the Rapkins’ home and two years later, there’s still this gaping hole. “We were living in this house. We would lie in bed at night thinking, ‘Is it going to crumble underneath us, are we going to die tonight?’ So we had to leave,” said Rapkin. And who can blame them? When it rains, water pours down through the house. Water pouring in through a hole in the ceiling Now, Rapkin and his wife live in an apartment. All because they say Heritage Insurance refused to pay their claim. “What’s happened here is wrong. This is a lack of common human decency, a lack of humanity,” said Rapkin. “We’re out of savings. We’re out of money.” The Rapkins went on “60 minutes” and accused Heritage of changing their licensed adjuster’s initial damage report. Jordan Lee determined there was $231,000 worth of damage, starting with the roof. But Heritage sent the couple a check for $15,000. After watching the story on “60 Minutes,” Florida’s chief financial officer told WINK News his office can’t do much to help the couple because they filed a lawsuit instead of working through the state’s Department of Financial Services. “As soon as they hire an attorney, then it’s in the court system. We can’t do anything,” said Patronis. “That’s why I just tell people, ‘If you’ve got a problem, call our office. You can always hire an attorney. You can always hire a public adjuster, but we offer a lot of services at no cost to the taxpayer, which we’re very good at.'” That’s not Rapkin’s experience. He filed a report with the state’s Department of Financial Services in February of 2023. “Crickets, nothing. Silence, absolute silence. I filed a second complaint with DFS. I’ve gotten nothing,” said Rapkin. Two months later, Jeff and Ginny took matters into their own hands and filed a lawsuit against Heritage. Jeff is a lawyer, an adoption lawyer, who is representing himself. “I’m going to lose. I’m in insurance land, and they’re throwing out rules and laws at me that I’ve never heard before, and I’m struggling to keep up,” said Rapkin. That trial is set to begin in less than three weeks. As for the Rapkins’ claim, no one from the state responded to their complaint. WINK News asked Patronis to look into it, and he said he would, but as of Wednesday, he is busy responding to victims of Hurricane Helene.