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.
SpaceX launched a newer, bigger version of its Dragon supply ship to the International Space Station on Sunday, marking the first time the company has two capsules in orbit at the same time. The Dragon — packed with Christmas treats and presents — should reach the space station on Monday, joining the Dragon that delivered four astronauts last month. You can watch a replay of the launch below or by clicking here. “Dragons everywhere you look,” said Kenny Todd, NASA’s deputy space station program manager. With NASA’s commercial crew program officially underway, SpaceX expects to always have at least one Dragon capsule at the space station. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off with the latest Dragon from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where coronavirus precautions kept staff to a minimum. The first-stage booster — making its fourth flight — landed on an ocean platform several minutes after the late-morning liftoff. It was first used back in May for the first astronaut launch by Elon Musk’s company. The 6,400-pound (2,900-kilogram) shipment includes billions of microbes and crushed asteroid samples for a biomining study, a new medical device to provide rapid blood test results for astronauts in space, and a privately owned and operated chamber to move experiments as big as refrigerators outside the orbiting lab. Forty mice also are flying for bone and eye studies, two areas of weaknesses for astronauts during long space stays. Todd said all this research is “the ultimate Christmas present” for NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, a virus hunter who performed the first DNA sequencing in space a few years ago. As for more personal presents for the four Americans, two Russians and one Japanese on board, “I don’t like to get out in front of Santa Claus. I fear it might mess up my own Christmas,” Todd said late last week. “Let’s see what happens when they open the hatch … I’m optimistic.” For the astronauts’ Christmas feast, the Dragon is carrying roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, shortbread cookies and tubes of icing. This updated cargo-carrying model — as large as the SpaceX crew capsule — will dock to the orbiting lab by itself. Previous SpaceX cargo ships needed the station’s robot arm for anchoring. The capsule will remain at the space station for about a month as usual before undocking with experiments and old equipment, and splashing into the Atlantic. That’s another change from SpaceX’s older cargo ships, which parachuted into the Pacific. Returning closer to Cape Canaveral will save recycling time. This is SpaceX’s 21st station supply run for NASA since 2012. The flight was delayed a day by rough weather in the booster-recovery area offshore. This was the 68th successful booster landing by SpaceX.
A missing toddler from Broward County has been found that had prompted authorities to issue an AMBER Alert. Just before 3 p.m., Sunday FDLE canceled the AMBER alert. Stella Victoria Turley, 2, was last seen early Sunday with her mother, who doesn’t have custody of her, according to Wilton Manors police. Investigators say Christine Ammon, 29, arrived at the girl’s home in the 2300 block of Northwest 9th Avenue in Wilton Manors between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., and then walked away with her. Stella is described as 30 inches tall and weighs approximately 36 pounds. She has brown hair and a distinct red “strawberry” type birthmark on her left temple. She was last seen wearing a dark blue dress with thin white and red stripes. Ammon has blonde shoulder-length hair and was last seen wearing dark-colored legging pants and a floral print shirt. Anyone with information is asked to contact Wilton Manors police at 954-764-HELP (4357), 911 or your local law enforcement agency.
A man was caught with a young girl outside a Marco Island church, according to police. It happened Friday evening St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on North Collier Boulevard when a police officer on a routine foot patrol noticed someone hiding behind a large planter in the courtyard area. After several commands for the person to reveal themselves, the person emerged and turned out to be a young girl, the deputy said. A man later identified as Donaldo Ramos Reyes, 22, was also found in some bushes nearby and eventually had to be hit with a Taser to be brought under control, the report states. Reyes denied any sexual activity had occurred between him and the young girl, but the report goes on to state that he had a “hickey” on his neck and “initially said his girlfriend was responsible for leaving the mark.” The remainder of the report was redacted. Reyes was taken to the hospital for medical clearance before being taken to jail. He faces charges of loitering or prowling and lewd and lascivious behavior with a victim age 12 to 16.
A Marco Island man is accused of striking a waiter Saturday evening at a restaurant on Fifth Avenue South in Naples. The Naples Police Department says the waiter at Vergina Restaurant opened the door for someone to leave when William Hutchinson, 49, “intentionally struck him on the face causing the victim to fall to the floor.” Hutchinson fled and was caught by police a few blocks away. He was taken to the Collier County Jail and faces a battery charge. The arrest report states that Hutchinson was trespassing on the property on Friday.
A Naples man was killed and another seriously injured in a crash early Sunday in Collier County. The Florida Highway Patrol says the 35-year-old driver of an SUV was headed east on Golden Gate Parkway near Airport Pulling Road North when he lost control of the vehicle and collided with a tree. The driver was killed and his 42-year-old male passenger was seriously injured. The crash, which happened at about 12:30 a.m., remains under investigation. The Florida Highway Patrol no longer releases the names of those involved in crashes, citing Marsy’s Law.
A new report by a National Academy of Sciences committee has found that “directed” microwave radiation is the likely cause of illnesses among American diplomats in Cuba and China. The study commissioned by the State Department and released Saturday is the latest attempt to find a cause for the mysterious illnesses that started to emerge in late 2016 among U.S. personnel in Havana. The study found that “directed, pulsed radio frequency energy appears to be the most plausible” explanation for symptoms that included intense head pressure, dizziness and cognitive difficulties. It found this explanation was more likely than other previously considered causes such as tropical disease or psychological issues. The study did not name a source for the energy and did not say it came as the result of an attack, though it did note that previous research on this type of injury was done in the former Soviet Union. In its report, the 19-member committee noted that it faced significant challenges in trying to get to the bottom of the medical mystery. Among them, not everyone reported the same symptoms and the National Academy of Sciences research did not have access to all the previous studies on the illnesses, some of which are classified. “The committee found these cases quite concerning, in part because of the plausible role of directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy as a mechanism, but also because of the significant suffering and debility that has occurred in some of these individuals,” said committee chairman David Relman, a professor of medicine at Stanford University. “We as a nation need to address these specific cases as well as the possibility of future cases with a concerted, coordinated, and comprehensive approach.” The health effects were experienced by about two dozen Americans affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Cuba as well as Canadian diplomats and personnel at the U.S. consulate in Guanghzhou, China, in early 2017. Some of the Americans have been critical of the U.S. government’s response to their health complaints and at least one has filed suit against the State Department. Between late 2016 and May 2018, several U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Havana complained of health problems from an unknown cause. One U.S. government count put the number of American personnel affected at 26. Some reported hearing high-pitched sounds similar to crickets while at home or staying in hotels, leading to an early theory of a sonic attack.
An endangered Florida panther has died after being struck by a vehicle. It’s the 17th panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of 20 total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The remains of the 2-year-old male panther were found Tuesday in Hendry County on SR-80, six miles east of LaBelle, wildlife officials said. Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.
A strong cold front is on its way to Florida and will reach us on Monday. Ahead of it, clouds will be on the increase during the day as low pressure develops over the Gulf of Mexico, though we should stay dry during the daytime hours. Rain will quickly overspread the Florida Peninsula tonight, as the Gulf low crosses over the region. A few rumbles of thunder can’t be ruled out. Overall, it should be a good soaking rain, with half an inch to an inch of rain expected. The rain will end from west to east on Monday morning as the cold front pushes across the area, though cloudy skies and breezy conditions will continue through the rest of the day. Much colder and drier air will usher in behind it, with the lows once again falling into the 40s Tuesday through Thursday mornings! During the day, expect cool sunshine with highs in the 60s and 70s! By late week, we thaw out before another front approaches next weekend!
Actor David L. Lander, who played the character of Squiggy on the popular comedy “Laverne & Shirley,” has died after a decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis, his wife said. He was 73. Lander died Friday in Los Angeles, surrounded by his wife, daughter and son-in-law, Kathy Fields Lander said in an email Saturday to the Associated Press. “It was very peaceful,” Lander said. “He had a tough battle with MS for 37 years and he persevered like no one I have ever seen, and it taught me a great deal about the important things of life.” Lander had a longtime comedic partnership with Michael McKean, whom he met at Carnegie Mellon University. Together they created the characters of Lenny and Squiggy that they would play on the show, which ran from 1976 to 1983. Lenny and Squiggy — or Lenny Kosnowski and Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman — were friends and upstairs neighbors of Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams), bottle-cappers in 1950s Milwaukee, Wisconsin. McKean tweeted a photo in tribute to Lander on Saturday of the two actors in the early days. Lander is survived by his wife and a daughter, Natalie Lander.