LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Lake Okeechobee is plagued with blue-green algae, again. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, can produce harmful toxins in our water and along our coastline, killing the animals, fish, and wildlife of Southwest Florida. SOURCE: NOAA Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake in Florida ‘Lake O’ has a surface area of about 730 square miles. New satellite images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), show algal blooms cover about 500 square miles of the lake — quick math — that’s 68.5% of the lake. Remember...
LEE COUNTY, Fla.– Building a high school football team from the ground up is no easy task. “When we took over this program I think we had three kids that had ever played a snap of football before,” said Cullen O’Brien, the first head coach in the history of Lee County’s newest school, Gateway High School. As daunting as it seems, O’Brien and his Eagles have embraced the challenge. “It’s awesome to just put your stamp on something and just be a part of building a program from the ground up,” said O’Brien. For...
Another day of heat and humidity is expected before a push of drier air arrives for the weekend. Above normal temperatures in the low 90s will continue with humidity making it feel more like the mid and upper 90s for Thursday. Inland showers and storms are possible for the afternoon as the coast remains mainly dry again. By Thursday night, a weak cold front will approach the area, leading to shower chances for everyone, although coverage looks low. Model data brings this front in a bit earlier than yesterday’s solutions, so there is a possibility that Friday is dry for...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WTLV) — The man accused of shooting two women and a toddler in New York City’s Time Square on Saturday was detained near Jacksonville. Farrakhan Muhammad was found and taken into custody at a McDonald’s located at 802 South Walnut Street in Starke, according to NBC affiliate WTLV. He was found in his car when it ran out of gas due to gas station closures in Florida, Spectrum News NY1 reports. A senior law enforcement official told NBC that NYPD detectives tracked Muhammad down by checking cameras that showed the suspect leaving Times Square to go to a...
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. – A Charlotte County deputy jumped into action to rescue an osprey that seemed to be unable to fly from out of the water on Saturday. According to the sheriff’s office, Cpl. Williams spotted an osprey in the water near marker 11 north of Palm Island. The osprey appeared to be unable to fly, so Cpl. Williams quickly put on his gloves and rescued the bird from the water as it was desperately trying to to grab onto the boat. The osprey was turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to be taken to a treatment facility.
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COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – Collier County deputies are looking for a missing teen and her one-year-old daughter. The 17-year-old, Sarah Joseph, and her one-year-old daughter, Iyana Victor were last seen by family leaving her Golden Gate home on May 4, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives said she ran away and took her daughter with her. CCSO said Joseph is described as five feet seven inches tall and 135 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call CCSO at (239) 252-9300.
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Lines down the street and gas pumps sheathed in yellow bags: from all appearances, Florida is experiencing a fuel shortage. But contrary to first glance, the state is well supplied with fuel, according to The Auto Club Group [AAA]. Panic buying is real driver of the Sunshine State’s not-so-sunshiney shortage, as the east coast grapples with the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. The Colonial Pipeline, which is responsible for 45% of the east coast’s fuel supply, was cyber-attacked by a Russian criminal group called DarkSide on Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigations confirmed...
LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office helped return a 1,100-pound manatee back to the wild on Wednesday. The manatee, nicknamed “Darling,” was rescued by LCSO deputies on February 13 after it got stuck in some mangroves and needed treatment for red tide-related health issues. Darling was transferred to Zoo Tampa for treatment and rehabilitation. On May 12, Darling was deemed healthy enough to head back to the wild. LCSO deputies joined forces with officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, biologists, as well as...
A woman who is recovering from a liver transplant not only has a new lifesaving organ, but one that made history. That’s thanks to Cecil Lockhart from Welch, West Virginia, who died at age 95 on May 4, making him the oldest organ donor in United States history, according to the Center for Organ Recovery & Education, which coordinated the recovery of the liver. The previous record for the oldest donor was a 93-year-old, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. “CORE is incredibly proud to have been able to make this historic organ donation possible,”...
For the first time at home, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels were introduced to Southwest Florida after COVID-19 canceled the team’s initial first season in 2020. It was a purple and gold debut that has been in the making since 2019 for the rebranded team that fans have been eager to see. “We have waited a long time through the pandemic,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. “We have been very smart operating under the CDC guidelines but tonight it shows. People are everywhere they are having fun, they are eating hotdogs, and they are watching our home team the...