Historic home and lives upended in Charlotte Harbor floodingGov. DeSantis reviews the damage done by Hurricane Helene
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.
BONITA SPRINGS Damage in Bonita Springs from Helene It seems like nearly every place on the water was left with significant damage. In Bonita Springs, storm surge pushed into the city.
FORT MYERS BEACH Closer look at rescue operations during Helene All across Southwest Florida, we saw stories of bravery and selflessness during Helene.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Neighbors hit with flooding in Dean Park community On Friday, roads in downtown Fort Myers were fairly dry. It’s a stark contrast to Thursday night’s storm surge caused by the outer bands of Hurricane Helene.
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.
BONITA SPRINGS Damage in Bonita Springs from Helene It seems like nearly every place on the water was left with significant damage. In Bonita Springs, storm surge pushed into the city.
FORT MYERS BEACH Closer look at rescue operations during Helene All across Southwest Florida, we saw stories of bravery and selflessness during Helene.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Neighbors hit with flooding in Dean Park community On Friday, roads in downtown Fort Myers were fairly dry. It’s a stark contrast to Thursday night’s storm surge caused by the outer bands of Hurricane Helene.
We have a gorgeous afternoon on tap for Southwest Florida! Highs will peak in the mid-70s with a mixture of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower is possible late this evening, but most spots stay dry. On Saturday, a few showers will be possible ahead of a cold front early next week. Here’s some good news if you like warm weather: temperatures are back to the 80s all weekend long!
The third round of online applications for LeeCARES utilities assistance ends Friday. The program has consisted of three rounds of application periods. Round 1: October 19-30, 2020 Round 2: November 2-27, 2020 Round 3: November 30-December 11, 2020 LeeCARES programs were extended to assist residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including new rounds of utility payment assistance, expanded childcare assistance and more funding for area food banks. The program extensions approved on Oct. 19 included: Three new rounds of utility assistance in October, November and December to pay up to $1,000 in water and electric bills for eligible applicants during each round. Assistance may be provided regardless of whether the applicant has received previous utility assistance. LeeCARES provided water/sewer and electric bill payment assistance through nearly 10,000 applications made between May and September. Increased funding for LeeCARES Childcare Assistance to $3.6 million because Lee County School District programs for after-school care have been added to the eligible program list. The assistance program, administered by United Way of Lee County, Inc., already has committed $2 million in childcare scholarships. An additional $1.7 million of funding to existing contracts with Harry Chapin, Midwest Food Bank and Community Cooperative. LeeCARES committed over $2.5 million for food security through September. The LeeCARES programs are funded through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund through the $150 billion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES). Lee County received $134,459,744.
Lee County parents have until Sunday to change how their children are learning. Right now, the district says 16,000 students are seriously struggling with their grades, and they want those students to return to in-person learning. But some parents still don’t feel safe. Karina Lopez, a mother of two from Lehigh Acres, says she wants to keep her children home for now, because her daughter has asthma. But while she wants to change her children from Lee Virtual to Lee Home Connect, it hasn’t been as easy as she thought it would be. “Those with low grades could not go into Lee Home Connect, and I think that’s not good, because these children might have relatives or they might have a health issue that can make it dangerous to catch COVID[-19],” Lopez said. Lee County Superintendent Greg Adkins says there are a lot moving parts that go into sending a child back into the classroom, and that the main issue is altering so many students’ schedules to fit them into the current curriculum. “It has been a challenge, it really has been a challenge, because you think about 10,000, more than 10,000 schedules that need to be changed, and then to be able to fit that into the current high school schedule or middle school schedule, that’s a tremendous effort,” Adkins said. The Lee County School District says around 3,000 students have elected to return to campus so far. If you want to change the form of learning your child is participating in, you will need to fill out an online form.
Cape Coral’s Holiday Boat-A-Long is set to get underway, but it will see changes due to health concerns during the pandemic. The land portion of the event is canceled, but boats will still parade in the water. Toys for Tots hopes people can still help make children smile through the event this Christmas. Organizers told us the need is great because of the pandemic. Boats decked with lights have a long tradition of bringing the Christmas spirit to Cape Coral, a tradition that will continue Dec. 19. “I’m thinking this year it’s going to be a huge turn out because everything else has been canceled,” said Heather O’Brien, the owner of Sea Tow. Families can still celebrate in small groups on their boats this holiday season. “You are on your own boat in your own space, so that’s why I think it’s fine to keep going,” O’Brien said. Giving back to the community is part of the holiday tradition. Sea Tow organizes the Holiday Boat-A-Long every year, and it collects toy donations for Toys for Tots as part of the celebration. Usually, Sea Tow’s office is already overflowing with toy donations, but this year, more people are struggling because of the pandemic. “This year, we are not seeing as many donations, and people really need it,” O’Brien said. Patricia Kucik, the president of Toys for tots of North-Central Lee County, says the need is greater than ever, with more than 20,000 children in need of toys and more requests rolling in by the day. “This is going to be our biggest year to date, and I really believe it’s a combination of people out of work,” Kucik said. “We have people texting us and emailing us saying, ‘I am embarrassed to do this. You know, I’ve never done this before.’” Sea Tow is accepting new toy donations for toys for Tots through the event, which begins at Four Freedoms Park in south Cape Coral. “I can’t say enough how much we need your help, even if you only have $5, even if you only have a dollar,” Kucik said. “No child should wake up Christmas morning without a toy.”
FGCU researchers completed a red tide mission Thursday, where they studied the blooms in the Gulf off Southwest Florida’s coast. Visitors on some beaches told us they felt the impacts of red tide. We spoke to a man who walks along the beach at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in North Naples every morning, and he said it seems to be worse during that time of day. Researchers had some good news: They did not see too many signs of red tide while out on the water. “We were doing a bunch of different sampling trying to detect red tide to see when it’s coming looking at water quality and improving new techniques that can improve our detection,” said Adam Catasus, a FGCU research and education coordinator. The researchers say, compared to two weeks ago, the water looked a lot better while they were out for about 12 hours. “Two weeks ago, there was a layer. You could see it. The water was red. There were cells in there, but it wasn’t to a bloom level,” Catasus said. “Today, we didn’t really see it, which is a good thing.” The crew left around five this morning and went about 75 miles offshore. Even though they did not see many signs of red tide, they did see something worth keeping an eye on. “There was a bloom of a different bacteria that is kind of a jump-starter, and the red tide can use that nitrogen,” Catasus explained. “It was [definitely] interesting to see the bacteria in the water,” said Chloe Mikus, and FGCU red tide researcher. “Whether or not it’s a bloom, we don’t know.” People we spoke to Thursday night said they didn’t feel any effects. “It didn’t stop us from coming to the beach,” beachgoer Deb McCarthy said. McCarthy says she knows what it’s like to go through a bad red tide season “We stayed away from the beach the last time they had a severe incident of the red tide,” McCarthy said. “It was tough to breathe, definitely coughing.” Most people say the blooms off the coast bow don’t compare to those experienced in 2018. “Have not noticed it, have not smelled it,” Cassandra Lloyd said. “It hasn’t been a problem.” The FGCU researchers are testing all the samples they collected. They say they still don’t know if this means the red tide is gone or not. It all depends on the right conditions for it to bloom. They will be heading back out soon for more samples.
Florida will receive 179,400 doses of Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine in its first shipment from the federal government, Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a video recording released Thursday evening. More than half of the vaccines — 97,500 doses — will be sent to five Florida hospitals to be administered to high-contact and high-exposure health care personnel, DeSantis said. The remaining 81,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be sent to CVS and Walgreens and the Department of Health for use in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. DeSantis has made clear that residents of long-term care facilities are his top priority. “We are working to get as much vaccine for our citizens as possible, but Florida will not, nor will any state, have enough to vaccinate everyone right off the bat,” DeSantis said in the video. According to DeSantis, 60,450 doses will be sent to CVS and Walgreens, which are under contract with the federal government to provide vaccines to residents and staff at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Another 21,450 doses will be sent to the Florida Department of Health. The state agency, along with the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida National Guard, will administer the vaccine in areas of the state that “have a high concentration of facilities,” DeSantis said in the video. The governor didn’t provide any additional details on which areas are considered to have a high concentration of facilities. Florida was required to submit its final COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan to the federal government by Dec. 4. The News Service of Florida has made repeated requests for the public document but the governor’s office has not responded. Thursday’s video was the first time DeSantis publicly said how many vaccines the state will receive. While the governor said Thursday that the five hospitals will receive 97,500 doses, he did not say how many vaccines each of facilities — Jackson Memorial in Miami, AdventHealth in Orlando, Tampa General Hospital, the Memorial Healthcare System in Broward County and UF Health Jacksonville — will be provided. DeSantis’ office released the video about the vaccines hours after Florida Senate Democrats criticized his handling of the coronavirus. “The vaccine distribution needs to be done in a scientific manner, and we haven’t seen that that’s happening at all here in the state right now,” Sen. Lori Berman, D-Lantana, told reporters during a virtual press conference. At a White House summit earlier this week, Trump administration officials said the vaccine would be shipped to states within 24 hours of receiving emergency approval. Pfizer’s vaccine candidate has not yet received emergency authorization approval from the federal government. Clearing the way for final approval, the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee on Thursday endorsed the vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer in conjunction with BioNTech Manufacturing. Florida is closing in on 20,000 COVID-19 deaths and has logged more than 1.08 million cases of the virus since the onset of the pandemic. Since the beginning of December, Florida has reported daily averages of 9,338 new COVID-19 cases and about 98 daily deaths tied to the virus. The daily average of cases is the highest for a nine-day period since late July. The release of the vaccine information also comes amid a national spotlight on Rebekah Jones, a former Department of Health employee who was fired earlier this year. State agents and local police showed up at Jones’s Tallahassee home Monday morning to serve a search warrant. Later in the day, Jones tweeted a video of armed police entering her home. Jones’ video shows officers brandishing guns and telling Jones to exit the house. The video also shows a law enforcement officer commanding Jones’ husband to “come down the stairs now.” Jones can be heard saying in a high-pitched voice, “He just pointed a gun at my children.” The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has contended that none of the agents pointed their guns at anyone in Jones’s house. On Thursday, FDLE released body-camera video from one of the officers outside Jones’ home. The video shows agents repeatedly on her front door. Jones did not respond for more than 13 minutes, the video shows. The video “demonstrates that FDLE agents exercised extreme patience,“ FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said in a prepared statement accompanying the body-camera footage. “Agents afforded Ms. Jones ample time to come to the door and resolve this matter in a civil and professional manner. As this video will demonstrate, any risk or danger to Ms. Jones or her family was the result of her actions,” he said. Jones was fired earlier this year after complaining that DeSantis’ administration was manipulating COVID-19 data to make the virus appear less prevalent as the governor pushed to reopen Florida’s economy. Monday’s search was part of an investigation into an unauthorized message that was sent on an internal state communications system.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worked together Thursday night to safely remove a 7-foot, 1-inch alligator from a neighborhood in Bonita Springs. According to LCSO, deputies responded to reports of a nuisance alligator near homes on Flat Stone Loop on the Hawthorne community. Deputies found the alligator and watched it until a trapper with FWC arrived to safely relocate it. There were no injuries related to the alligator in the neighborhood. FWC trapper has arrived! pic.twitter.com/TghfPu3mO4 — Lee County Sheriff (@leesheriff) December 11, 2020 Anyone having trouble with a nuisance alligator is encouraged to call the Florida Wildlife Commission’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at (866) 392-4286.
We spoke to investigators of the 2016 Club Blu shooting in Fort Myers who spent years on the case, whose efforts led to the five recent arrests made. This boils down to good detective work and new technology. Lt. Mike Walsh and Sgt. Lisa Breneman with Fort Myers Police Department remember the night vividly of July 25, 2016, and it’s been with them every day since. “We continually worked on this for years,” Walsh said. “What put us on the right path was the resources that Chief Diggs took over. He recognized how big the case was, how important it was for us and the community.” Going through the mountains of evidence was key and then the department brought the case back into the spotlight by creating the Club Blu Task Force 6 months ago, which included the FBI and Lee County Sheriff’s Office. “You were able to separate everything out, just lay everything out and really take a chance to look and analyze everything,” Breneman said. “We had things that were in the case file that we didn’t understand the relevance of it at one point until you really start going through everything.” New technology helped too. “There’s a new way of getting fingerprints off of items and its technology that we don’t have and the sheriff’s office didn’t have,” Breneman said. “We had to reach out to another outside agency too. It’s not the old dust and, and taping way of collecting fingerprints, it’s a much more advanced way of doing it. That was one piece that was very helpful for us.” Still, the case is far from over. “When the club let out, there were hundreds of people in that parking lot, and there were many, many witnesses out there among the many, many shooters,” Walsh said. “Alot of people who were out there know what happened.” Investigators want those who know more about what happened the night 18-yer-old Stef’an Strawder and Sean Archilles were killed and at least 14 others injured to reach out to them and help them continue to work toward justice. A helpful tip could award a tipster a $20,000 reward. If you have any information on the weapons, locations, or events of that night, there are two numbers you can call. Tips can be provided to the State Attorney’s Office Cold Case Homicide Unit Tip Line: 1-833-987-2611 as well as SWFL Crime Stoppers: 1-800-780-8477.
There’s no place like home for the holidays, but health experts are warning everyone not to travel, and stay away from big groups. Some families are finding a way to enjoy each other’s company without risking the spread of the coronavirus. Experts say it’s all about creating a bubble. It worked for the NBA and NHL, and some say it can work for families too. The catch is starting as soon as possible and committing. Given all of the challenges and disappointments in 2020, Connie Powell decided this year needed an extra and early dose of Christmas magic. “This year felt like it just needed a little extra love and light, so I just enjoy sitting under the glow of Christmas lights, so I’ve been doing that every night since late September,” Powell said. Her usual holiday plans of taking trips out of town are canceled due to the pandemic. “For myself, it’s not something that I’m overly concerned about,” Powell said. “I’m more concerned about protecting others.” There is still hope and time to turn things around and celebrate with loved ones while keeping safety in mind. “There’s an old saying that we hope for the best, we plan for the worst,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, the senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine. “Well, in terms of the holidays, if all we do is hope, we’re going to get the worst.” McDeavitt created a holiday bubble checklist to give families who plan to celebrate together the tools they need to do it safely. “It really involves a period of self-quarantine leading up to the holiday, which you have to start pretty soon for Christmas because we’re getting late into December now. It involves testing before you show up in the bubble, and it’s an acknowledgment that, once you get in, you stay there.” McDeavitt says, if everyone commits to the idea, this year’s holiday celebrations could have the cheer, comfort and connection we’ve missed all year. “If you do that and you really do it well, I think you can take your mask off,” McDeavitt said. “I think you can get Bananagrams out; you can play Twister; you can throw the football; you can hug.” McDeavitt says, before you start, you have to make sure everyone you’re inviting into your bubble is fully committed to the plan because it only takes one person to pop it. “It’s more important to have the family time together then it would be to avoid the time,”’ Powell said. “So if that’s what it meant to do to have the families together, then, I’d be open to that.” MORE: Holiday Bubble Checklist (pdf)