League Club of Naples awards record $683K in grants to Collier, Lee nonprofitsMan convicted for murder of 17-year-old girl will be in court for resentencing
League Club of Naples awards record $683K in grants to Collier, Lee nonprofits At a mid-April breakfast event, the 35 area nonprofit agencies—chosen from a record number of applicants—were awarded grants from the women’s volunteer organization in areas ranging from arts education, to fighting hunger and homelessness, to providing bikes and wheelchairs to children in need
Tim Aten Knows: Chick-fil-A drive-thru proposal faces criticism in Naples Chick-fil-A is proposing a drive-thru restaurant at the site of the former Red Lobster restaurant on U.S. 41 in Naples, but the project is facing early criticism.
Man convicted for murder of 17-year-old girl will be in court for resentencing A convicted man will be in court for resentencing for a murder that he committed as a teenager almost 20 years ago.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Holly, Slim For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Dust Devil spotted spiraling in Fort Myers A dust devil was spotted and recorded by a WINK News viewer on Hanson Street in Fort Myers.
Warm, dry and breezy afternoon after a comfortable morning The Weather Authority is tracking a comfortable Friday morning start with dry and breezy afternoon conditions expected.
NAPLES Event held in Naples for National Crime Victims Week The City of Naples and Project HELP held an event in Baker Park for National Crime Victims Week.
NAPLES 25-acre brush fire off I-75 in Collier County lowers air quality The Greater Naples Fire Rescue responded to a 25-acre brush fire at Mile Marker 96 on I-75 in the Picayune Strand State Forest.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral softball coach arrested for alleged inappropriate conduct with student released on bond A former Cape Coral volunteer softball coach arrested for alleged sexual contact with a student was released from jail on bond.
FORT MYERS A prom like no other at Golisano Children’s Hospital Logan Stryker may be a little young for high school prom, but he’s the prom king of Golisano Children’s Hospital.
FORT MYERS Group protests death of Christopher Jordan Their messages were aimed at the Fort Myers police department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and State Attorney Amira Fox.
FORT MYERS A least 3 cars involved in crash near Top Golf Way and Challenger Blvd. It happened near Top Golf Way and Challenger Boulevard in Fort Myers.
Hendry County Fired deputy charged with crimes had troubled past in law enforcement A local police officer resigned in lieu of termination after dozens of disciplinary actions against him, so how was he hired at another SWFL law enforcement agency?
New resolution could help fend off FEMA’s threat to pull flood insurance discount Some United States representatives are taking matters into their own hands to help those threatened by more expensive flood insurance.
NAPLES Local group rallies in solidarity with Israel Passover week is an important time for the Jewish community, but hostages are still being held.
League Club of Naples awards record $683K in grants to Collier, Lee nonprofits At a mid-April breakfast event, the 35 area nonprofit agencies—chosen from a record number of applicants—were awarded grants from the women’s volunteer organization in areas ranging from arts education, to fighting hunger and homelessness, to providing bikes and wheelchairs to children in need
Tim Aten Knows: Chick-fil-A drive-thru proposal faces criticism in Naples Chick-fil-A is proposing a drive-thru restaurant at the site of the former Red Lobster restaurant on U.S. 41 in Naples, but the project is facing early criticism.
Man convicted for murder of 17-year-old girl will be in court for resentencing A convicted man will be in court for resentencing for a murder that he committed as a teenager almost 20 years ago.
NAPLES Friday’s Furry Friends: Holly, Slim For this week’s Friday’s Furry Friends, WINK visits the Collier County Domestic Animal Services to showcase two adorable animals ready to be adopted.
FORT MYERS Caught on Camera: Dust Devil spotted spiraling in Fort Myers A dust devil was spotted and recorded by a WINK News viewer on Hanson Street in Fort Myers.
Warm, dry and breezy afternoon after a comfortable morning The Weather Authority is tracking a comfortable Friday morning start with dry and breezy afternoon conditions expected.
NAPLES Event held in Naples for National Crime Victims Week The City of Naples and Project HELP held an event in Baker Park for National Crime Victims Week.
NAPLES 25-acre brush fire off I-75 in Collier County lowers air quality The Greater Naples Fire Rescue responded to a 25-acre brush fire at Mile Marker 96 on I-75 in the Picayune Strand State Forest.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral softball coach arrested for alleged inappropriate conduct with student released on bond A former Cape Coral volunteer softball coach arrested for alleged sexual contact with a student was released from jail on bond.
FORT MYERS A prom like no other at Golisano Children’s Hospital Logan Stryker may be a little young for high school prom, but he’s the prom king of Golisano Children’s Hospital.
FORT MYERS Group protests death of Christopher Jordan Their messages were aimed at the Fort Myers police department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and State Attorney Amira Fox.
FORT MYERS A least 3 cars involved in crash near Top Golf Way and Challenger Blvd. It happened near Top Golf Way and Challenger Boulevard in Fort Myers.
Hendry County Fired deputy charged with crimes had troubled past in law enforcement A local police officer resigned in lieu of termination after dozens of disciplinary actions against him, so how was he hired at another SWFL law enforcement agency?
New resolution could help fend off FEMA’s threat to pull flood insurance discount Some United States representatives are taking matters into their own hands to help those threatened by more expensive flood insurance.
NAPLES Local group rallies in solidarity with Israel Passover week is an important time for the Jewish community, but hostages are still being held.
President Donald Trump listens during a briefing on Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) A federal agency has reversed course on the question of whether President Donald Trump tweeted stale information about Hurricane Dorian potentially hitting Alabama, upsetting meteorologists around the country. On Sunday, Trump had warned that Alabama, along with the Carolinas and Georgia, was “most likely to be hit (much) harder than anticipated.” The National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama, tweeted later: “Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east.” But the president has been adamant throughout the week that he was correct, and the White House has deployed government resources and staff to back him. The latest defense came out Friday evening, when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a statement from an unidentified spokesman stating that information provided by NOAA and the National Hurricane Center to the president had demonstrated that “tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama.” The advisories were dated from last Wednesday, Aug. 28, through Monday, the statement read. The statement also said the Birmingham NWS tweet Sunday morning “spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time.” The statement from NOAA contrasts with comments the agency’s spokesman, Chris Vaccaro, made Sunday. “The current forecast path of Dorian does not include Alabama,” Vaccaro said at the time. Friday’s NOAA statement, released just before 5 p.m., points to a few graphics issued by the National Hurricane Center to support Trump’s claims. The maps show percentage possibility of tropical storm force winds in the United States. Parts of Alabama were covered, usually with 5% to 10% chances, between Aug. 27 and Sept. 3. Maps on Aug. 30 grew to cover far more of Alabama, but for only 12 hours, and the highest percentage hit 20% to 30% before quickly shrinking back down. Alabama was not mentioned in any of the 75 forecast advisories the hurricane center sent out between Aug. 27 and Sept. 2. From Aug 28 to Aug. 31, a handful of locations in Alabama were mentioned in charts that listed percentage chance of tropical storm force winds or hurricane winds, maxing out at about 11% chance for Montgomery to get tropical storm force winds. Former National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read blasted NOAA leadership Friday night on his Facebook page calling the situation “so disappointing” and saying he would comment because NOAA employees were ordered to be quiet. “Either NOAA Leadership truly agrees with what they posted or they were ordered to do it. If it is the former, the statement shows a lack of understanding of how to use probabilistic forecasts in conjunction with other forecast information. Embarrassing. If it is the latter, the statement shows a lack of courage on their part by not supporting the people in the field who are actually doing the work. Heartbreaking,” Read wrote. “What the Birmingham NWS office sent out Sunday morning was correct and served the public well,” Read continued. “It clearly let the public know that they were not at risk from the impacts of Hurricane Dorian.” Dan Sobien, president of the union representing weather service employees, tweeted Friday, “Let me assure you the hard working employees of the NWS had nothing to do with the utterly disgusting and disingenuous tweet sent out by NOAA management tonight.” Alex Sizemore, a meteorologist at NWS in Birmingham, tweeted, “The irony in all of this Twitter mess is that the tweet we sent out had nothing to do with what Trump tweeted, we had no knowledge of it at the time.” Sizemore said the Sunday tweet came in response to people calling the NWS office. “Now this. Goodness,” he added. Other meteorologists also voiced concerns about NOAA’s actions Friday. “I am very disappointed to see this statement come out from NOAA,” Oklahoma University meteorology professor Jason Furtado told The Associated Press. “I am thankful for the folks at NWS Birmingham for their work in keeping the citizens of Alabama informed and up to date on weather hazards.” Furtado said NOAA’s statement and the president’s Twitter “war on weather” are undermining confidence in meteorologists, adding, “The job just got harder because of this issue.” University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd, former president of the American Meteorology Society, simply responded, “OMG.” Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami, cited the focus that NOAA placed on “tropical force winds” in its Friday evening statement. He said the first assertion about such winds from Dorian affecting Alabama is fine, but the second assertion “seems to be excessive.” McNoldy said the National Weather Service “had the right tone and message for the time. Alabama, for some time, was on the fringe of probabilities of experiencing tropical storm winds. That is not very threatening.” “The Birmingham office was correct,” said a NOAA staffer familiar with the situation but speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired in reprisal. MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel said Trump’s “broadcast of false information is inexcusable.” NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment. It is part of the Commerce Department, overseen by Secretary Wilbur Ross. The White House did not immediately respond to a question of whether someone at the White House had asked NOAA to issue its statement. ___ Associated Press writer Hope Yen contributed to this report.