Man displays sign “hold your nose, not your breath” in response to algal blooms

A Cape Coral father is receiving attention for a pointed message he is displaying in his yard.

A sign of frustration.

“Everyone’s telling me ‘oh Vin, you’re going on vacation!’ No. I’m going on evacuation,” said Vincent Penta of Cape Coral.

Penta, who made a sign that says “hold your nose, not your breath,” is one of many Southwest Florida residents with toxic algae clogging canals in his backyard.

Penta was forced out of his home due to the unbearable smell.

“Well I was thinking about it for a while, it was just bothering me. I said you know I have the wood from the hurricane and I got the spray paint so…”

He made the sign which is near where his kids use to swing outside.

“It’s horrible, you don’t want to smell the stuff.”

A few days later, Lee County crews started to clean up the algae, offering temporary relief.

Now, Penta’s daughters are joining in the effort.

“We were coming back from a meeting and a manatee died and that made me want to make a video to tell people that I want this to stop,” said Sophia.

Their video already has 20,000 views and they are receiving positive feedback on their work.

Neighbors are joining in, appreciating that the issue is receiving national attention.

While the algae machine is cleaning up canals, water releases from Lake Okeechobee are still ongoing and the Army Corps has yet to set an end date.