Sanibel couple remaining hopeful following damage from HeleneSanibel residents recovering from Helene two years after Ian
SANIBEL Sanibel couple remaining hopeful following damage from Helene A Sanibel couple is remaining hopeful after flooding impacted their home during Helene Thursday night.
SANIBEL Sanibel residents recovering from Helene two years after Ian Due to Helene, The City of Sanibel has postponed a two-year Ian celebration and turned the event into a cleanup.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach seeking to avoid unnecessary traffic after Helene The town of Fort Myers Beach is asking some people not to visit the island.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Historic home and lives upended in Charlotte Harbor flooding While Hurricane Helene was not expected to cause a life-threatening storm surge in the county, the residents were walloped by rising flood water.
Dekle Beach Gov. DeSantis reviews the damage done by Hurricane Helene Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Dekle Beach.
Tracking power outages after Helene There are still several thousand neighbors in southwest Florida without power as of Saturday.
The Weather Authority The Weather Authority: Scattered rain and storms throughout your Saturday The Weather Authority is tracking scattered rain and storms throughout your Saturday afternoon.
Southwest Florida remembers Hurricane Ian 2 years later; what happened before and after the storm The storm that had devastated Southwest Florida, Hurricane Ian, has now reached its 2nd anniversary of landfall.
High School Football Scoreboard Week 6 Hurricane Helene couldn’t keep all the Friday night lights off in Southwest Florida. Week 6 was a loaded slate included a classic in the WINK News Game of the Week.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs begins clean up operations On Friday, the Department of Transportation pushed sand off the road on Hickory Island after Hurricane Helene ripped through
MANASOTA KEY Manasota woman recovers after home destroyed by Helene Whipping winds – the sound of Hurricane Helene ripping through Manasota Key, as swells smashed into the island. Even so, Marsha Viglianco stayed to watch from her back porch.
El Jobean residents fighting to recover from Helene In Charlotte County, people living in El Jobean are in recovery mode Friday night. Many were flooded out of their homes, and now they’re figuring out their next steps.
NAPLES Restoration efforts begin in the aftermath of Helene in Collier County Helene gave Naples Beach flash flooding a debris Thursday night.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda couple deals with flooding after Helene A Punta Gorda couple is recovering as the storm surge from Helene went through their dream home.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Flooding affects business in downtown Fort Myers In downtown Fort Myers, the streets may be drying up, but for one business owner on Bay Street, the true struggle is just getting started.
SANIBEL Sanibel couple remaining hopeful following damage from Helene A Sanibel couple is remaining hopeful after flooding impacted their home during Helene Thursday night.
SANIBEL Sanibel residents recovering from Helene two years after Ian Due to Helene, The City of Sanibel has postponed a two-year Ian celebration and turned the event into a cleanup.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach seeking to avoid unnecessary traffic after Helene The town of Fort Myers Beach is asking some people not to visit the island.
CHARLOTTE HARBOR Historic home and lives upended in Charlotte Harbor flooding While Hurricane Helene was not expected to cause a life-threatening storm surge in the county, the residents were walloped by rising flood water.
Dekle Beach Gov. DeSantis reviews the damage done by Hurricane Helene Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Dekle Beach.
Tracking power outages after Helene There are still several thousand neighbors in southwest Florida without power as of Saturday.
The Weather Authority The Weather Authority: Scattered rain and storms throughout your Saturday The Weather Authority is tracking scattered rain and storms throughout your Saturday afternoon.
Southwest Florida remembers Hurricane Ian 2 years later; what happened before and after the storm The storm that had devastated Southwest Florida, Hurricane Ian, has now reached its 2nd anniversary of landfall.
High School Football Scoreboard Week 6 Hurricane Helene couldn’t keep all the Friday night lights off in Southwest Florida. Week 6 was a loaded slate included a classic in the WINK News Game of the Week.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs begins clean up operations On Friday, the Department of Transportation pushed sand off the road on Hickory Island after Hurricane Helene ripped through
MANASOTA KEY Manasota woman recovers after home destroyed by Helene Whipping winds – the sound of Hurricane Helene ripping through Manasota Key, as swells smashed into the island. Even so, Marsha Viglianco stayed to watch from her back porch.
El Jobean residents fighting to recover from Helene In Charlotte County, people living in El Jobean are in recovery mode Friday night. Many were flooded out of their homes, and now they’re figuring out their next steps.
NAPLES Restoration efforts begin in the aftermath of Helene in Collier County Helene gave Naples Beach flash flooding a debris Thursday night.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda couple deals with flooding after Helene A Punta Gorda couple is recovering as the storm surge from Helene went through their dream home.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Flooding affects business in downtown Fort Myers In downtown Fort Myers, the streets may be drying up, but for one business owner on Bay Street, the true struggle is just getting started.
The holiday season is upon us, meaning many of us are working through our holiday shopping lists. To help with tips on how to do holiday shopping on a budget is Stefan Contorno, senior vice president and partner of Touchstone Wealth Partners UBS – Bonita Springs.
Fort Myers Police Department was actively searching with K9 unit dogs Monday for a missing woman who has dementia. Maria Dilenia Espinal, 65, was reported missing early Sunday morning and is considered missing and endangered due to her condition. She was last seen walking on Luckett Road, east of Ortiz Avenue. Espinal was wearing a light green/blue sweater, gray sweatpants, and black Croc-style shoes. Her daughters are now in search of their mother. They hope to find her safe and bring her home before the holidays. “We know she’s a fighter, and she’s going to be back home to us,” daughter Elizabeth Berri said. “We are hopeful she will come back home.” Berri says her mother disappeared a separate time couple weeks ago, but this time is different. “She was able to come back on her own,” Berri said. “She went around the block. She came back on her own. It lasted two to three hours.” Espinal’s family is holding out hope she will return home safe. “We are hopeful that we are going to be able to find her,” Berri said. “She’s resilient, strong. She’s been always very athletic and has always come out on top.” If you have seen her or know her whereabouts, you can contact Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700. “We are begging to please help us,” Berri said. “It’s holiday season. Everyone wants to spend time with family … just like everyone has been spending holiday season. We just want her home with us.” “Please bring her back to us,” daughter Jessica Michael said.
The Florida Department of Health Collier Mobile Unit will test in three locations this week: Tony Rosbough Little League Park: 1213 Little League Road, Immokalee, FL 34142. Tuesday, Dec. 15 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Veterans’ Community Park: 901 Park Avenue, Marco Island, FL 34145. Thursday, Dec. 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Immokalee South Park: 418 School Drive, Immokalee, FL 34142. Saturday, December 19, 2020 from 9 a.m. 1 p.m. Please note: Testing sites are outside facilities, so heavy rain, gusty wind, lightning, etc. may postpone or close testing. For more information regarding COVID-19, visit the Florida DOH website.
On Monday morning, Tampa General Hospital has received its first doses of Pfizer’s recently-approved COVID-19 vaccine. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week said the federal government allocated 179,400 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to the state. Following emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday, the first shipments of the vaccine exited Pfizer’s facility Sunday morning in Portage, Michigan, to be sent to distribution centers across the country. At 11 a.m., DeSantis and Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz joined Tampa General Hospital CEO John Couris at the hospital for a press conference. During the press conference, a doctor at Tampa General said the first shipment to the hospital included 20,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine. DeSantis said another shipment of 20,000 doses will be delivered statewide on Tuesday. DeSantis also said he is hopeful that Moderna’s vaccine will be approved for emergency use by the end of this week and will delivered starting next week. When Moderna’s vaccine is distributed, he said Florida should receive between 300,000 and 400,000 doses. At the end of the press conference, Vanessa Arroyo, a nurse at Tampa General, was one of the first people to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at the hospital. DeSantis was at TGH Monday morning as the boxes of vaccine doses arrived. The vaccine will first be provided to health care workers and others at higher risk for contracting the coronavirus, such as people living at long-term care facilities. People living in long-term care centers in Broward and Pinellas counties will be among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Credit: 10 Tampa Bay Credit: 10n Tampa Bay Tampa General Hospital is among five hospitals in Florida that will get a portion of 97,500 doses. It says the hospital has the ability to maintain the ultra-cold storage required by the vaccine — 112 degrees below zero. “You’ll see vaccine move into this area, probably by next week. At this time (next week), I would expect there to be vaccine in our freezer at Tampa General Hospital,” said Dr. Jason Wilson, the Associate Medical Director at TGH’s emergency department, said last week. Another 60,450 will be sent to CVS and Walgreens for use in long-term care facilities, and about 21,450 doses are allocated for the Florida Department of Health. Pfizer’s vaccine follows a two-dose schedule, meaning people who receive the first shot must get the second shot about three weeks later. The FDA says the vaccine was 95-percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among clinical trial participants based upon the schedule. The vaccine, like other medications, could cause side effects. Those most commonly reported side effects include pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever, according to the FDA. Among trial participants, more people experienced side effects after the second dose. Still, side effects still could be felt after the first dose. Watch the full press conference below or click here.
At 11 a.m., DeSantis and Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz joined Tampa General Hospital CEO John Couris at the hospital for a press conference. During the press conference, a doctor at Tampa General said the first shipment to the hospital included 20,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine. DeSantis said another shipment of 20,000 doses will be delivered statewide on Tuesday. DeSantis also said he is hopeful that Moderna’s vaccine will be approved for emergency use by the end of this week and will delivered starting next week. When Moderna’s vaccine is distributed, he said Florida should receive between 300,000 and 400,000 doses. At the end of the press conference, Vanessa Arroyo, a nurse at Tampa General, was one of the first people to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at the hospital. DeSantis was at TGH Monday morning as the boxes of vaccine doses arrived. The vaccine will first be provided to health care workers and others at higher risk for contracting the coronavirus, such as people living at long-term care facilities. People living in long-term care centers in Broward and Pinellas counties will be among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Credit: 10 Tampa Bay Credit: 10n Tampa Bay Tampa General Hospital is among five hospitals in Florida that will get a portion of 97,500 doses. It says the hospital has the ability to maintain the ultra-cold storage required by the vaccine — 112 degrees below zero. “You’ll see vaccine move into this area, probably by next week. At this time (next week), I would expect there to be vaccine in our freezer at Tampa General Hospital,” said Dr. Jason Wilson, the Associate Medical Director at TGH’s emergency department, said last week. Another 60,450 will be sent to CVS and Walgreens for use in long-term care facilities, and about 21,450 doses are allocated for the Florida Department of Health. Pfizer’s vaccine follows a two-dose schedule, meaning people who receive the first shot must get the second shot about three weeks later. The FDA says the vaccine was 95-percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among clinical trial participants based upon the schedule. The vaccine, like other medications, could cause side effects. Those most commonly reported side effects include pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever, according to the FDA. Among trial participants, more people experienced side effects after the second dose. Still, side effects still could be felt after the first dose.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was reversing an administration directive to vaccinate top government officials against COVID-19, while public distribution of the shot is limited to front-line health workers and people in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Trump made the announcement hours after his administration confirmed that senior U.S. officials, including some White House aides who work in close proximity to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, would be offered coronavirus vaccines as soon as this week under federal continuity of government plans. “People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary,” Trump said in a tweet. “I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time.” It was not immediately clear what the scale of the vaccination program was supposed to be, according to two people briefed on the matter, or what effect Trump’s tweet would have on the government’s efforts to protect top leadership. News that White House staff would receive the vaccine early drew criticism on social media. Trump and his aides have consistently flouted the COVID-19 guidelines issued by his own administration, including hosting large holiday parties with maskless attendees this December. Officials said earlier Sunday that doses of the newly approved vaccine from Pfizer would be made available to those who work in close quarters with the nation’s top leaders. They said the move was meant to prevent more COVID-19 spread in the White House and other critical facilities. Trump was hospitalized with the virus for three days in October. “Senior officials across all three branches of government will receive vaccinations pursuant to continuity of government protocols established in executive policy,” National Security Council spokesperson John Ulyot had said. “The American people should have confidence that they are receiving the same safe and effective vaccine as senior officials of the United States government on the advice of public health professionals and national security leadership.” The two people briefed on the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The New York Times first reported that top U.S. officials would get early access to the vaccine. The move to vaccinate top U.S. officials would be consistent with the rollout of rapid testing machines for the coronavirus, which were similarly controlled by the federal government with kits reserved to protect the White House complex and other critical facilities. According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is not yet enough information to determine whether those who have had COVID-19 should also get the vaccine. Pence has not come down with the virus, and his aides have been discussing when and how he should receive the vaccine as the administration looks to boost public confidence in the shot. The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses administered three weeks apart, meaning Trump administration officials would receive the final shot just weeks before leaving office. Aides to President-elect Joe Biden have been discussing when and how he should receive the vaccine and have been working to establish plans to boost virus safeguards in the West Wing to keep the 78-year-old Democrat healthy. According to a Capitol Hill official, lawmakers have not been informed how many doses would be made available to them, adding it would be premature to speculate who might receive them. The official was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. ___ Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report from Washington.
Cape Coral wants to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by bringing you self-administered tests. The city plans to add a testing van or kiosk on city property to make it easier for you to complete the test. Unlike those nose swabs, this test will be administered through the mouth. Cape Coral intends to work with the company Curative, the same one that provides testing at CenturyLink. Many locals say they’re looking forward to testing, only if it means less drive time. “We have a Pine Island Pandemic Task Force, and we’re trying to get testing out there, and one of the reasons is because it’s not convenient, we know a lot of people just don’t get tested,” said Eric McCrea of Pine Island. “The more convenient you make it, the more people will go,” said Lewis Jeffery of Cape Coral. But will the tests be accurate enough if we have to test ourselves? Dr. Jeffrey Collins, chief medical officer at MD Now Urgent Care, says one of the main issues with testing altogether is that it can take anywhere from two days to two weeks for a person to show symptoms, so if you do the test too early, you miss a lot of people with symptoms. “What you want from a screening test in a public health emergency is something as low-cost, as accurate as possible, and it can be done either as a point-of-care test in an urgent care center or an emergency room or at home,” Collins said. “And so if you have those things, you’ll sacrifice a little bit of accuracy for being able to do a lot more testing.” Another question that comes into play is cost: The city says the test is already covered if you have health insurance. If you don’t, it can be covered through a grant.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is being shipped out across the U.S., but when will you be able to get it in Lee County? Lee Health says it will be ready to roll out the vaccine as soon as it receives the doses, and their current expectation is within the next couple of weeks. The Pfizer vaccine requires special ultra-cold freezers, which have already been prepared. Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and CEO of Lee Health, says right now he is waiting to hear from the state on vaccine protocols. “Especially through this holiday season, the virus is still out there, it’s going to take a while before we can get everyone vaccinated,” Antonucci said. “So, please, continue to social distance, wear a mask and handwash, especially if you’re going to be at family gatherings over the holidays.” It seems like the vaccine is headed to bigger cities first, and then we could see it shortly after. Antonucci says the rollout has been a planning-intensive process. “The CDC is making recommendations as to who should be getting the vaccine in a staggered fashion,” Antonucci said. “Obviously we want to give the vaccine to the most vulnerable and the highest risk, because it will not be universally available to the entire population. So we will follow those guidelines and administer the vaccine according to the guidelines that the CDC and, ultimately, the state Department of Health and Surgeon General are going to determine.” He says he understands how long people have been waiting for this, but that right now the key word is “patience.” Lee Health also says it has been working with other hospitals across the state to make this process smoother. Antonucci expects the Moderna vaccine to be made available shortly after Pfizer’s. Their vaccine does not require the deep freeze, so it will be easier to store. Our local hospitals don’t know exactly when they’ll be able to administer the vaccine, so if you see something online promising to tell you when you’ll be eligible, it’s probably not legitimate. WINK News will keep you updated on vaccine eligibility.
A weak cold front is moving through Southwest Florida this afternoon! Ahead of the front, we have a lot of moisture in our atmosphere, which will continue to spark a few showers around the area. The best opportunity for this rain will be between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. We don’t expect a lot of accumulation with this front, so widespread street flooding is not expected. Due to the weak nature of this boundary, it won’t drop our humidity levels or temperatures. Expect 60s to start tomorrow morning with highs near 80° again! By Wednesday, a stronger front approaches Southwest Florida. This WILL have a significant impact on our weather by the later half of the week!
Presidential electors are meeting across the United States on Monday to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. Monday is the day set by law for the meeting of the Electoral College. In reality, electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots. The results will be sent to Washington and tallied in a Jan. 6 joint session of Congress over which Vice President Mike Pence will preside. The electors’ votes have drawn more attention than usual this year because President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election and continued to make baseless allegations of fraud. Biden is planning to address the nation Monday night, after the electors have voted. Trump, meanwhile, is clinging to his false claims that he won the election, but also undermining Biden’s presidency even before it begins. “No, I worry about the country having an illegitimate president, that’s what I worry about. A president that lost and lost badly,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that was taped Saturday. Following weeks of Republican legal challenges that were easily dismissed by judges, Trump and Republican allies tried to persuade the Supreme Court last week to set aside 62 electoral votes for Biden in four states, which might have thrown the outcome into doubt. The justices rejected the effort on Friday. Biden won 306 electoral votes to 232 votes for Trump. It takes 270 votes to be elected. In 32 states and the District of Columbia, laws require electors to vote for the popular-vote winner. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld this arrangement in July. Electors almost always vote for the state winner anyway because they generally are devoted to their political party. There’s no reason to expect any defections this year. Among prominent electors are Democrat Stacey Abrams of Georgia and Republican Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota. The voting is decidedly low tech, by paper ballot. Electors cast one vote each for president and vice president. The Electoral College was the product of compromise during the drafting of the Constitution between those who favored electing the president by popular vote and those who opposed giving the people the power to choose their leader. Each state gets a number of electors equal to their total number of seats in Congress: two senators plus however many members the state has in the House of Representatives. Washington, D.C., has three votes, under a constitutional amendment that was ratified in 1961. With the exception of Maine and Nebraska, states award all their Electoral College votes to the winner of the popular vote in their state. The bargain struck by the nation’s founders has produced five elections in which the president did not win the popular vote. Trump was the most recent example in 2016. Biden topped Trump by more than 7 million votes this year. And then there’s one more step: inauguration.