Charlotte County offers showers and laundry facilities post-HeleneGov. DeSantis sends rescue operations to North Carolina after Helene
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.”
MATLACHA Sisters fly to Matlacha to help father rebuild after Hurricane Helene’s destruction Hurricane Helene has affected people not just in southwest Florida but also people across the country.
Recovery efforts at Sugar Sand Beach RV Resort Almost everyone on Matlacha and Pine Island is focused on the same thing: Recovery.
MANASOTA KEY Cleaning up Manasota Key after Helene Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding that seemed to spare no one on Manasota Key. Two families share their cleanup stories with WINK News.
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.”
MATLACHA Sisters fly to Matlacha to help father rebuild after Hurricane Helene’s destruction Hurricane Helene has affected people not just in southwest Florida but also people across the country.
Recovery efforts at Sugar Sand Beach RV Resort Almost everyone on Matlacha and Pine Island is focused on the same thing: Recovery.
MANASOTA KEY Cleaning up Manasota Key after Helene Hurricane Helene caused severe flooding that seemed to spare no one on Manasota Key. Two families share their cleanup stories with WINK News.
President Donald Trump’s sudden demand for $2,000 checks for most Americans was swiftly rejected by House Republicans on Thursday as his haphazard actions throw a massive COVID relief and government funding bill into chaos. The rare Christmas Eve session of the House lasted just minutes, with help for millions of Americans awaiting Trump’s signature on the bill. Unemployment benefits, eviction protections and other emergency aid, including smaller $600 checks, are at risk. Trump’s refusal of the $900 billion package, which is linked to a $1.4 trillion government funds bill, could spark a federal shutdown at midnight Monday. “We’re not going to let the government shut down, nor are we going to let the American people down,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the majority leader. The optics appear terrible for Republicans, and the outgoing president, as the nation suffers through the worst holiday season many can remember. Families are isolated under COVID precautions and millions of American households are devastated without adequate income, food or shelter. The virus death toll of 327,000-plus is rising. Trump is ending his presidency much the way he started it – sowing confusion and reversing promises all while contesting the election and courting a federal shutdown over demands his own party in Congress will not meet. The congressional Republican leaders have been left almost speechless by Trump’s year-end scorching of their work. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy helped negotiate the year-end deal, a prized bipartisan compromise, that won sweeping approval this week in the House and Senate after the White House assured GOP leaders that Trump supported it. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin boasted that the $600 checks all sides had agreed to for Americans would be in the mail in a week. Instead, Washington is now hurtling toward a crisis with COVID aid about to collapse, as the president is at his Mar-a-Lago club. He has been lashing out at GOP leaders for refusing to join his efforts to overturn the election that Joe Biden won when the Electoral College votes are tallied in Congress on Jan. 6. “The best way out of this is for the president to sign the bill,” Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said Thursday. “And I still hope that’s what he decides.” Racing to salvage the year-end legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mnuchin are in talks on options. Democrats will recall House lawmakers to Washington for a vote Monday on Trump’s proposal, with a roll call that would put all members on record as supporting or rejecting the $2,000 checks. They are also considering a Monday vote on a stop-gap measure to at least avert a federal shutdown. It would keep the government running until Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20. Lawmakers will also be asked to override Trump’s veto of a must-pass Defense bill. After presiding over the short House session, an exasperated Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., decried the possibility that the COVID assistance may collapse. “It is Christmas Eve, but it is not a silent night. All is not calm. For too many, nothing is bright,” she said on Capitol Hill. A town hall she hosted the night before “had people crying, people terrified of what is going to happen,” she said. One father recently told her he had to tell his children there would be no Santa Claus this year. The president’s push to increase direct payments for most Americans from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples drives support from Democrats but splits the GOP with a politically difficult test of their loyalty to the president. Republican lawmakers traditionally balk at the big spending, never fully embracing Trump’s populist approach. Many have opposed larger $2,000 checks as too costly and poorly targeted. On a conference call Wednesday, House Republican lawmakers complained that Trump threw them under the bus, according to one Republican on the private call and granted anonymity to discuss it. Most had voted for the package and they urged GOP leaders to hit the cable news shows to explain its benefits, the person said. Yet the president has found common ground with Democrats, particularly leading liberals who support the $2,000 payments as the best way to help struggling Americans. Democrats only settled for the lower number to compromise with Republicans. Even if the House is able to approve Trump’s $2,000 checks on Monday, that measure would likely die in the GOP-controlled Senate, which is due back in session on Tuesday. The president’s unpredictable demands are creating more Trump-related headaches for Georgia GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are fighting for their political lives – and for continued GOP control of the Senate – in a pair of Jan. 5 Georgia run-off elections. They are being forced to choose whether to back or buck Trump, potentially angering voters on all sides. The clash Thursday unfolded as the Democratic-controlled House convened for a routine pro forma session, which had been scheduled before Trump’s sudden moves, when lawmakers anticipated no business being conducted. Instead, the 12-minute House session morphed into a procedural brawl as Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, sought the unanimous approval of all House members to pass the bill with Trump’s proposal. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who was not present in the nearly-empty chamber, refused. House Republicans then tried, and failed, to win unanimous approval of their own proposal to revisit routine foreign aid funding, which Trump had cited as one of his key objections to the overall spending package. The year-end package Trump railed against as a “disgrace” is the product of months of work. It would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses, restaurants and theaters and money for schools. Money is included for health care providers and to help with COVID vaccine distribution. Trump took aim at foreign aid funds in the package he has agreed to in the past and asked for in his yearly budget. The final text of the more than 5,000-page bill required days to be compiled but Pelosi announced Thursday that it was completed and being sent to the White House for Trump’s signature. The year-end timing complicates the schedule ahead. Even if Trump doesn’t formally veto the package, he could allow it to expire with a “pocket veto” at the end of the congressional session. The Senate cleared the huge relief package Monday by a 92-6 vote after the House approved it by 359-53. Those votes totals would be enough to override a veto should Trump decide to take that step.
Christmas is almost here, which means post-Christmas sales are right behind. We look at what you can save on and how to approach the deals. If you want first dibs on discount wrapping paper, ornaments or decorations, head to the stores on Dec. 26 or 27. There are traditionally good sales on clothing, TVs and fitness equipment. According to Kyle Jame, owner of Rather-Be-Shopping.com, don’t spend just for the sake of it. “Have a list in mind of gifts you might need in the next six to eight months. These after-Christmas sales present a really good opportunity to save on some of those items that you might have to buy at full price down the road.” That means you should think ahead for birthdays in the first half of the year, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, or even wedding gifts. You can also use price comparison websites. Check out our previous story on those here. MORE: How to get the best price when shopping for the holidays
Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers are looking for a suspect in a Wednesday night robbery in North Fort Myers. The man pictured entered the Dollar General at 141 Pondella Road at around 10:52 p.m. wearing a mask and holding a sharp object in hand, demanding money before running away with an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect is described as a 5’10” Black man of medium build. If anyone has any information that will help identify the suspect, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477 or submit an anonymous tip online. You can receive a cash reward of up to $3,000.
OK, procrastinators: If you’re planning on squeezing in some last-minute shopping today, the malls will certainly be busy, but not as much as in past years. Many stores close early on Christmas Eve, so make sure you double-check the hours before you head out. Some last-minute shoppers who offered their own advice agreed: the earlier, the better. “Hurry up and get in here, because the aisles are looking pretty empty in there,” said Randy Olscamp of Fort Myers. Olscamp says most of the presents he ordered online are facing shipping delays and won’t make it on time, so he went to Target to buy some last-minute gifts. But he went Wednesday, to avoid the long lines he expects Christmas Eve. “It’s frustrating, but I understand, because people didn’t get to travel this year, so I think people shipped a lot more stuff through the mail this year, since grandparents didn’t get to see their kids this much,” Olscamp said. Eileen Casey of Fort Myers says it’s always better to go as soon as the store opens. It helps you avoid the crowds and longer checkout lines. “If I don’t have my list then forget it, so I make a list and strategize where I’m gonna be going, so the nice thing about here is they have everything all in one store, so there’s not much running around,” Casey said. “But without a list, I’d be in there all day and come out with not what I was supposed to be getting.” At Gulf Coast Town Center, stores are open Thursday morning, but according to its website, they are all closed on Christmas.
Excedrin has recalled over 430,000 bottles of painkillers due to manufacturing issues that may have left holes in the bottom of some of the bottles, posing a health risk to children. “This recall involves 50, 80, 100, 125, 200, 250 and 300-count bottles of Excedrin Migraine Caplets, Excedrin Migraine Geltabs, Excedrin Extra Strength Caplets, Excedrin PM Headache Caplets, and Excedrin Tension Headache Caplets,” according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. A full list of products is available on Excedrin’s website. Excedrin bottles without holes can be kept and used as directed. Those with holes, however, can be returned to GlaxoSmithKline for a full refund. The company issued a “stop sale” alert in October, but only now upgraded that to a full recall.
First responders in Southwest Florida are beginning to get protection from the coronavirus. Getting the vaccine is personal for many first responders in the region. Naples Fire Chief Pete DiMaria says he plans to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as he can, especially after Naples Firefighter Tony Christenson died of COVID-19 in August. “We want to get to a point where we don’t have to worry about losing anymore loved ones or our brothers and sisters in the fire service,” DiMaria said. “But, really, you don’t want to lose anymore members of our community as well.” Deaths like Christensen’s due to COVID-19 were a difficult reality many stations nationwide also faced, as each day fire-rescue crews run the risk of getting in contact with people who have COVID-19. “I think across the fire service there’s been a lot of loss and in law enforcement too,” DiMaria said. “So those losses often hit really close, and it’s a brotherhood no doubt, and we all feel that pain.” It’s a pain DiMaria hopes no one has to feel, now that first responders have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. “That’s the scary part of this pandemic,” DiMaria said. “You just don’t have any idea who is going to be that person, so we need to get vaccinated and use all the universal precautions.” Having just recently recovered from COVID-19 himself, Chief Larry Nisbet of Bayshore Fire Protection and Rescue Service District in Lee County got vaccinated first thing Wednesday morning. It’s something Nisbet recommends not just to his team, but other first responders to do as well. “Having the vaccination and being able to add that layer of protection is going to be a big asset to the public safety community,” Nisbet said. Firefighters in Lee County started getting vaccines for COVID-19 Wednesday. Both fire chiefs we spoke to in the region say it is up to each first responder whether they get vaccinated. Chief DiMaria says most at his station are likely to get the vaccine after the loss of Tony Christensen.
A rise in car burglaries is being seen by police on an island city in Southwest Florida. Marco Island Police Department is looking into whether burglars from last November are responsible for stealing four cars on the island recently. Marco Island police told us all of the thefts have two things in common: Either the cars were unlocked, or the keys were left inside the cars. That led to not only four cars being stolen, but seven others broken into, with things such as cash, electronics and computers stolen. “It just seems insane,” Gina Larsen said. “I mean, Marco Island is such a safe place.” People in this community are shocked to hear about a string of thefts in their neighborhoods. The Salomon family recently moved to Marco from Miami, and said it’s something they expect to hear about back there, not on the island. “Ever since we’re here, we know it’s so safe that we have left the cars actually unlocked sometimes,” Jenny Salamon said. “But now that you’re mentioning this, probably, it won’t happen again.” Last month, investigators say thieves targeted the same communities and broke into 11 cars and stole three others. Police are left wondering if it’s the same suspects involved once again. Police Chief Tracy Frazzano took to social media, urging drivers to protect themselves. “We want to remind everyone to lock your car doors, remove the keys or key fobs, and remove all valuables from your vehicles,” Frazzano said. Police are also urging people to remove valuables from their cars, park in well-lit areas, and report anything that seems suspicious. “It’s just the perfect terrible cherry on the end of 2020, and I hope the grinch is found and brought to justice,” Larsen said. We also talked to people on the island about the license plate readers that were approved to go up on both entrances to the island. Most people told us they think that technology will help cut down on crimes like these and bring the thieves to justice. Out of the four cars that were stolen since recently, two have been recovered. Police are still searching for a 2019 gray Toyota Tacoma and a 2010 White Acura TLX.
A driver says a woman followed him for more than 30 miles over about 45 minutes in Southwest Florida across county lines. Hendry County Sheriff’s Office arrested Elisia Hato, 44, for a road rage incident with another driver Wednesday. The victim told deputies it began at the intersection with Fowler Street and Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers and ended over in LaBelle. According to the HCSO report, deputies say it all started because the suspect did not think the victim moved over fast enough when an ambulance passed by. Investigators say Hato got out of her car and started yelling at the man who was still in his car, but the rage didn’t stop there. Hato is accused of following another driver in a road rage fit and slamming into the driver’s vehicle multiple times. “I can’t believe something like that has happened in this area,” Daphne Young said. “You hear of these crazy stories in the news, but you don’t know how things like that happen.” The driver says Hato yelled at him and followed him closely from Fort Myers, where she lives, all the way to LaBelle. “I mean, 45 minutes of chasing someone, that’s a lot,” Connor Weeks said. “That’s a lot of anger.” The victim called 911 after the first crash, but he says Hato slammed into the back of his car two more times before Hendry County deputies responded and arrested her. “Probably not the best time to chase and attack people with your vehicle during the holidays,” Week said. “It is the holidays, you know?” “It scares me quite a bit,” Young said. “I have a 4-year-old, and there are some crazy drivers out there, so you wanna be safe on the roads.” Florida Highway Patrol says, before drivers engage in a road rage incident, you should consider the consequences. “What’s going to happen is potentially someone is going to get hurt,” FHP Lt. Greg Bueno said. “There’s going to be a traffic crash, or someone is going to go to jail.” Hato denies ever striking the victim’s vehicle with the car she was driving but deputies say they found damage to both cars that was consistent with the victim’s account. She told Hendry County deputies she was following the driver who reported her because she saw a gun on his lap while in Lee County. Fort Myers Police Department says Hato told police she never observed a weapon. They searched the other driver’s car and didn’t see a gun. Hato faces a charge for aggravated battery.
President Donald Trump pardoned more than two dozen people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, in the latest wave of clemency to benefit longtime associates and supporters. The actions, in Trump’s waning time at the White House, bring to nearly 50 the number of people whom the president has granted clemency in the last week. The list from the last two days includes not only multiple people convicted in the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia but also allies from Congress and other felons whose causes were championed by friends. Pardons are common in the final stretch of a president’s tenure, the recipients largely dependent on the individual whims of the nation’s chief executive. Trump throughout his administration has shucked aside the conventions of the Obama administration, when pardons were largely reserved for drug offenders not known to the general public, and instead bestowed clemency on high-profile contacts and associates who were key figures in an investigation that directly concerned him. Even members of the president’s own party raised eyebrows, with Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska issuing a brief statement that said: “This is rotten to the core.” The pardons Wednesday of Manafort and Roger Stone, who months earlier had his sentence commuted by Trump, were particularly notable, underscoring the president’s desire to chip away at the results and legacy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. He has now pardoned five people convicted in that investigation, four of them associates like former national security adviser Michael Flynn and campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, both of whom pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. “The pardons from this President are what you would expect to get if you gave the pardon power to a mob boss,” tweeted Andrew Weissmann, a Mueller team member who helped prosecute Manafort. Manafort, who led Trump’s campaign during a pivotal period in 2016 before being ousted over his ties to Ukraine, was among the first people charged as part of Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. He was later sentenced to more than seven years in prison for financial crimes related to his political consulting work in Ukraine, but was released to home confinement last spring because of coronavirus concerns in the federal prison system. Though the charges against Manafort did not concern the central thrust of Mueller’s mandate — whether the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to tip the election — he was nonetheless a pivotal figure in the investigation. His close relationship to a man U.S. officials have linked to Russian intelligence, and with whom he shared internal campaign polling data, attracted particular scrutiny during the investigation, though Mueller never charged Manafort or any other Trump associate with conspiring with Russia. Manafort, in a series of tweets, thanked Trump and lavished praise on the outgoing president, declaring that history would show he had accomplished more than any of his predecessors. Trump did not pardon Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates, who was sentenced last year to 45 days in prison after extensively cooperating with prosecutors, or former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes related to his efforts to buy the silence of women who said they had sexual relationships with Trump. Both were also convicted in the Mueller probe. New York City prosecutors, meanwhile, have been seeking to have the state’s highest court revive state mortgage fraud charges against Manafort after a lower court dismissed them on double jeopardy grounds. A spokesman for District Attorney Cy Vance said the pardon “underscores the urgent need to hold Mr. Manafort accountable for his crimes against the People of New York.” Manafort and Stone are hardly conventional pardon recipients, in part because both were scolded by judges for effectively thumbing their nose at the criminal justice system as their cases were pending. Manafort was accused of witness tampering even after he was indicted and was accused by prosecutors of lying while trying to earn credit for cooperation. Stone, who was convicted of lying to Congress about his efforts to gain inside information about the release by WikiLeaks of Russia-hacked Democratic emails during the 2016 campaign, was similarly censured by a judge because of his social media posts. In a statement Wednesday, Stone thanked Trump and alleged that he had been subjected to a “Soviet-style show trial on politically-motivated charges” Kushner is the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and a wealthy real estate executive who pleaded guilty years ago to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009. Prosecutors allege that after Kushner discovered that his brother-in-law was cooperating with authorities, he hatched a revenge and intimidation scheme. They say he hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have a secret recording of the encounter in a New Jersey motel room sent to his own sister, the man’s wife. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has called it “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he ever prosecuted as U.S. attorney. Trump’s legally troubled allies were not the only recipients of clemency. The list of 29 recipients included people whose pleas for forgiveness have been promoted by people supporting the president throughout his term in office, among them former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. One recipient was Topeka Sam, whose case was promoted by Alice Johnson, a criminal justice advocate whom Trump pardoned and who appeared in a Super Bowl ad for him and at the Republican National Convention. “Ms. Sam’s life is a story of redemption,” the White House said in its release, praising her for helping other women in need. Others granted clemency included a former county commissioner in Florida who was convicted of taking gifts from people doing business with the county and a community leader in Kentucky who was convicted of federal drug offenses.