Punta Gorda man dies after fire is sparked by Helene’s floodingSanibel businesses work to recover after Helene
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.
PUNTA GORDA Historic District in Punta Gorda recovering after Helene So much of Southwest Florida continues to recover in the aftermath of Helene, especially in areas on the coast.
Florida Blue and NCH reach an agreement Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) and Florida Blue have until midnight on Monday to reach a deal on a new contract.
Fort Myers Beach cleans up after Helene For many, Fort Myers Beach has been the epicenter of hope and recovery after Ian. Now people are looking back at the island town again after Hurricane Helene.
NORTH PORT New details emerge confirming state investigation into Heritage Insurance WINK News is breaking new details on a criminal investigation into an insurance company where customers claim they were left with wrecked homes after Ian and no money to rebuild.
LABELLE Linemen get superhero sendoff as they help with Helene recovery Local linemen get superhero sendoff as they head North to help with Helene recovery efforts in other states
FORT MYERS Man arrested after Fort Myers police confiscate nearly $1M and almost 700g of fentanyl The Fort Myers police department has arrested a man in connection with a large-scale drug operation.
PORT CHARLOTTE Animal shelter in Charlotte Harbor devastated by Helene is seeking support Dogs looking for homes have had their temporary home taken away by the storm surge of Hurricane Helene.
FORT MYERS Dean Park residents continue dealing with flooding issues after Helene Dean Park in Fort Myers looks different than it did a week ago. Couches, tables, mattresses, and an assortment of people’s possessions litter the neighborhood leftover from Hurricane Helene.
LEE COUNTY Heritage Farms community recovering from Hurricane Helene Just like Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Helene sent water into homes in the Heritage Farms community, sending people back into clean up mode.
FORT MYERS BEACH Cleaning up after Helene on Fort Myers Beach Hurricane Helene brought havoc to Florida, especially on Fort Myers Beach. Residents were forced to evacuate, and homes even flooded. It also triggered anxiety from Hurricane Ian.
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.
PUNTA GORDA Historic District in Punta Gorda recovering after Helene So much of Southwest Florida continues to recover in the aftermath of Helene, especially in areas on the coast.
Florida Blue and NCH reach an agreement Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) and Florida Blue have until midnight on Monday to reach a deal on a new contract.
Fort Myers Beach cleans up after Helene For many, Fort Myers Beach has been the epicenter of hope and recovery after Ian. Now people are looking back at the island town again after Hurricane Helene.
NORTH PORT New details emerge confirming state investigation into Heritage Insurance WINK News is breaking new details on a criminal investigation into an insurance company where customers claim they were left with wrecked homes after Ian and no money to rebuild.
LABELLE Linemen get superhero sendoff as they help with Helene recovery Local linemen get superhero sendoff as they head North to help with Helene recovery efforts in other states
FORT MYERS Man arrested after Fort Myers police confiscate nearly $1M and almost 700g of fentanyl The Fort Myers police department has arrested a man in connection with a large-scale drug operation.
PORT CHARLOTTE Animal shelter in Charlotte Harbor devastated by Helene is seeking support Dogs looking for homes have had their temporary home taken away by the storm surge of Hurricane Helene.
FORT MYERS Dean Park residents continue dealing with flooding issues after Helene Dean Park in Fort Myers looks different than it did a week ago. Couches, tables, mattresses, and an assortment of people’s possessions litter the neighborhood leftover from Hurricane Helene.
LEE COUNTY Heritage Farms community recovering from Hurricane Helene Just like Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Helene sent water into homes in the Heritage Farms community, sending people back into clean up mode.
FORT MYERS BEACH Cleaning up after Helene on Fort Myers Beach Hurricane Helene brought havoc to Florida, especially on Fort Myers Beach. Residents were forced to evacuate, and homes even flooded. It also triggered anxiety from Hurricane Ian.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, there have been 1,223,105 positive cases of the coronavirus recorded in the state. The case count includes 1,202,660 Florida residents and 20,355 non-Florida residents. There are 20,754 Florida resident deaths reported, 298 non-resident deaths, and 60,471 hospitalizations at some point during illness, according to the Florida Department of Health. *Numbers are released by the DOH every afternoon. STATEWIDE NUMBERS Total number of recorded cases: 1,223,105 (up from 1,212,581) Florida resident deaths: 20,754 (up from 20,680) Non-resident deaths: 298 (up from 296) Total deaths in state (Fla./non-Fla. residents combined): 21,052 (up from 20,976) 10,524 total new cases reported Tuesday 74 new resident deaths reported Tuesday 2 new non-resident deaths reported Tuesday Percent positive for new cases in Fla. residents: 8.78% This percent is the number of people who test PCR- or antigen-positive for the first time divided by all the people tested that day, excluding people who have previously tested positive. SOUTHWEST FLORIDA NUMBERS Total recorded cases in SWFL: 71,790 (up from 71,269) Deaths: 1,291 (up from 1,279) 521 total new cases reported Tuesday 12 new deaths reported Tuesday Lee County: 37,507 cases (up from 37,170 ) – 643 deaths (6 deaths) Collier County: 21,050 (up from 20,971) – 321 deaths (4 new) Charlotte County: 6,665 (up from 6,610) – 217 deaths DeSoto County: 2,758 (up from 2,737) – 51 deaths Glades County: 742 (up from 740) – 11 deaths Hendry County: 3,068 (up from 3,041) – 48 deaths (2 new) Click HERE* for a case-by-case breakdown – updated daily. *If not linked, the final report has not yet been made available. TESTING DATA Effective Oct. 27, the Florida Department of Health ceased releasing data showing overall testing numbers. Their statement: “The Florida Department of Health is making adjustments to the COVID-19 dashboard and daily report to provide clear, accurate information for Florida families. Moving forward, the daily report will focus on the number of tests reported to the state by day and the corresponding positivity rate by day. The previously reported cumulative number did not reflect the current status of the pandemic in Florida. This change is in line with the CDC recommendation that calculation of percent positivity [is] applied consistently and with clear communication, will allow public health officials to follow magnitude and trends effectively, and the trends will be useful for local public health decision making.” RESOURCES NOW HIRING: SWFL companies adding jobs FOOD PANTRIES: Harry Chapin mobile food pantry schedule, week of Dec. 21 REPORT COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS/TEST: International self-reporting system VACCINES: State of Florida’s COVID-19 vaccine reports IF YOU FEEL SICK: The Florida Department of Health has a 24-hour COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours. LINK: Florida Department of Health COVID-19 updates *The map is best viewed on a desktop computer. If you don’t see the map above tap HERE for a fullscreen version.
Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers continues to search for a killer 33 years after a woman’s body was found in an alley. On Dec. 4, 1987, the body of Sharon Jones, a 27-year-old woman, was discovered in an alley just north of the 1200 block of Central Avenue in Naples. Jones was whose body was found bound, the woman strangled with portions of her own dress. She was last seen on November 30, 1987, at the Gordon River East apartment complex in the company of two males, Arthur Nesmith and Robert Richet. Her death was ruled a homicide. The investigation continues. If you have any information about this investigation, please call SWFL Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477). All callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000. Tips may also be made online at their website or by submitting a tip on the P3 Tips mobile app.
Cape Coral police are investigating an officer-involved crash near Santa Barbara Boulevard and SW 24th Street. No one was injured in the crash, Cape police said. Drivers should avoid the area.
After collapsing on the court in a game earlier this month, Florida star Keyontae Johnson is being released from the hospital Tuesday, his family announced in a statement via the Gators athletic department. Johnson had been hospitalized since Dec. 12 after the scary incident during Florida’s road game against Florida State. “Today is a great day! Keyontae is being released from the hospital,” the statement said. “We continue to be amazed at the pace of his recovery and look forward to spending Christmas together as a family.” The cause of Johnson’s collapse remains unknown. His family said “the process to draw definitive conclusions” about the cause and extent of Keyontae’s illness continues, and that a medical team is continuing its work to learn more. “We are committed to sharing not only updates on Keyontae but also any information we think could help others,” the family said. “When we have that, we will share it. Until then, we continue to be grateful for the care and support Keyontae is receiving.” pic.twitter.com/COYSuIujkp — Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 22, 2020 At the time of his hospitalization, Johnson was listed as being in critical but stable condition. He was then upgraded to stable condition before several videos last week — one of him dancing, and another of him updating his own status — showed that he was making good progress in his recovery. The Gators program has yet to play a game since the incident took place more than a week ago. They announced last week that they were postponing their next four games, slating their return to action for the SEC opener against Vanderbilt on Dec. 30.
This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year, or at least 400,000 more than in 2019. U.S. deaths increase most years, so some annual rise in fatalities is expected. But the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15%, and could go higher once all the deaths from this month are counted. That would mark the largest single-year percentage leap since 1918, when tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands of Americans died in a flu pandemic. Deaths rose 46% that year, compared with 1917. COVID-19 has killed more than 318,000 Americans and counting. Before it came along, there was reason to be hopeful about U.S. death trends. The nation’s overall mortality rate fell a bit in 2019, due to reductions in heart disease and cancer deaths. And life expectancy inched up — by several weeks — for the second straight year, according to death certificate data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But life expectancy for 2020 could end up dropping as much as three full years, said Robert Anderson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC counted 2,854,838 U.S. deaths last year, or nearly 16,000 more than 2018. That’s fairly good news: Deaths usually rise by about 20,000 to 50,000 each year, mainly due to the nation’s aging, and growing, population. Indeed, the age-adjusted death rate dropped about 1% in 2019, and life expectancy rose by about six weeks to 78.8 years, the CDC reported. “It was actually a pretty good year for mortality, as things go,” said Anderson, who oversees CDC death statistics. The U.S. coronavirus epidemic has been a big driver of deaths this year, both directly and indirectly. The virus was first identified in China last year, and the first U.S. cases were reported this year. But it has become the third leading cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer. For certain periods this year, COVID-19 was the No. 1 killer. But some other types of deaths also have increased. A burst of pneumonia cases early this year may have been COVID-19 deaths that simply weren’t recognized as such early in the epidemic. But there also have been an unexpected number of deaths from certain types of heart and circulatory diseases, diabetes and dementia, Anderson said. Many of those, too, may be related to COVID. The virus could have weakened patients already struggling with those conditions, or could have diminished the care they were getting, he said. Early in the epidemic, some were optimistic that car crash deaths would drop as people stopped commuting or driving to social events. Data on that is not yet in, but anecdotal reports suggest there was no such decline. Suicide deaths dropped in 2019 compared with 2018, but early information suggests they have not continued to drop this year, Anderson and others said. Drug overdose deaths, meanwhile, got much worse. Before the coronavirus even arrived, the U.S. was in the midst of the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in its history. Data for all of 2020 is not yet available. But last week the CDC reported more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12 months ending in May, making it the highest number ever recorded in a one-year period. Experts think the pandemic’s disruption to in-person treatment and recovery services may have been a factor. People also are more likely to be taking drugs alone — without the benefit of a friend or family member who can call 911 or administer overdose-reversing medication. But perhaps a bigger factor are the drugs themselves: COVID-19 caused supply problems for dealers, so they are increasingly mixing cheap and deadly fentanyl into heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, experts said. “I don’t suspect there are a bunch of new people who suddenly started using drugs because of COVID. If anything, I think the supply of people who are already using drugs is more contaminated,” said Shannon Monnat, a Syracuse University researcher who studies drug overdose trends.
NOTE: The COVID-19 vaccine is NOT currently available to the general public. Lee Health received its first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Gulf Coast Medical Center Tuesday morning. Nurses and health care workers were the first to receive the vaccine during a press conference. Just after the vaccine arrived they were moved in deep freezers to be stored. 4,800 Lee Health front line workers will eventually get the vaccine. Doctors, nurses and staff who work in the COVID-19 units, the Emergency Room and Intensive Care are up first. Those who work at the hospital have been seeing people come in and die from the virus for months. Samara Marin is an ER nurse that describes her past few months dealing with COVID-19 patients as scary. “It was very scary. It was scary for patients. They were, and still, they are still very scared. We had patients that were scared to come into the hospital even though they were sick,” Marin said. While it was scary, it’s fueled Marin to fight even harder for her patients. “The amount of people that I’ve seen gets sick and the people that I’ve seen get gravely sick. And some people, they had no health concerns whatsoever they got sick from it. That was scary and sad,” she said. Samara Marin says it was not scary for herself but she was worried about her family. “That was scary for me. My mom was home and elderly, and I have kids. I was taking everything off before I went home. It’s quite scary,” said Marin. Thing fear of the things she saw in the emergency room followed her home every day. She let the same feeling at work that she’d feel in her own living room, her kids’ playroom and in her mom’s room. “She would tell me oh if I get this I’m gonna get really sick. It would be like ‘oh don’t worry, will deal with it,'” Marin said. She was right. We will deal with it. That started with a simple shot and it wasn’t scary at all. “I feel like this is the beginning of a hope of getting to maybe not completely get rid of the virus but, at least, get it down and not having people get so sick from it,” she said. She’s just one of the many heroes who will get the shot that will give them the will to continue. Watch the press conference below or click here.
Governor Ron DeSantis reiterated his plan on Tuesday to vaccinate the state’s senior population before moving on to younger populations who may be at risk due to comorbidities. DeSantis spoke about the need to vaccinate seniors during a news conference at The Villages. During the news conference, close to 10 residents of the retirement community received the vaccine. They will need a second dose in 21 days. “Some say the younger workers in Florida,” should get the vaccine, DeSantis said. “We have to put our grandparents and parents first,” he added. His message on Tuesday mirrored what he said during a news conference on Monday: “Our whole strategy around COVID has always recognized the dramatic discrepancy in risk based on age. So if you’re trying to mitigate based on age, surely you would want to vaccinate based on age and there’s been some great analysis done to show that if you vaccinate the bulk of the 70 plus population the mortality on this goes really, really down. So that’s really what we’re looking for,” he said. Watch below or click here. A Center for Disease Control panel recommended that the next round of shots will focus on people 75 plus and essential workers, such as teachers, first responders, and grocery store workers. But DeSantis stressed that all of Florida’s senior citizens need to be the next priority, not just those in nursing homes. After that, he said we can move on to other groups of people. DeSantis said the problem with administering to older people is more efficient. “We thought about doing the comorbidities; I just thought functionally, how do you do that?” DeSantis said he continues to send in strike teams to bolster CVS and Walgreens vaccine distributions to assisted living facilities. The governor said he expects Florida to get 750 thousand more doses by the end of this month and between one and a half to two million doses in January.
A 74-year-old man was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital after being struck by a vehicle Monday night in LaBelle. The man, who went unnamed by FHP due to Marsy’s Law, sustained critical injuries. The crash happened just west of State Road 29 on State Road 80 at around 7:45 p.m. The vehicle that struck the man was driven by a 31-year-old man, of Moore Haven, who was also not named.
After a pleasant afternoon, another chilly night ahead for SW Florida with lows falling down into the 40s & 50s. With drier air in place no rain is expected, at least until Christmas Eve. Our rain chances for Thursday are due to a powerful cold front sweeping across the state. The best timing for rain and even a few storms on Christmas Eve will be during the afternoon into the evening. Rainfall totals are currently projected between 0.10 to 0.50″, with a few spots higher. Christmas Day will be breezy and much colder, with lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s. Temperatures continue to drop all the way into Saturday morning, with lows in the 30s and 40s with wind chills even lower. Brrr!
Update: Deborah Beauchamp has been safely located. The Cape Coral Police Department needs your help to find an endangered woman reported missing Tuesday. Deborah Sue Beauchamp, 55, was last seen in the 200 block of Southwest 45th Street in Cape Coral. She is a white woman around 5’6, weighing around 130 lbs. The last person to see her said she was wearing a light colored t-shirt, blue jeans and pink Crocs. If you have any information, call the CCPD at (239) 574-3223.