Andrea Melendez

Tricia LaPointe, CEO/Executive Director of Peace River Wildlife Center, in Punta Gorda Florida. She talked about the damage back to back hurricanes caused at the center and wildlife hospital. A demo crew from Big Cat Habitat in Sarasota showed up with heavy equipment to help us clear out debris as well as members of the Zoo Disaster Response, Rescue, and Recovery - ZDR3 USA showed up to help. The team is now working on getting the habitats cleaned up so the residents can come back home.

Peace River Wildlife digs out after Helene and Milton's one-two punch

Andrea Melendez

The Peace River Wildlife Center in Punta Gorda is moving forward and officials are hopeful that the facility's education center will soon be back open. They have removed buildings at the education center and will use temporary structures so they can bring the wildlife residents home and reopen. PRWC has resumed medical care at their hospital facility.

Valentina is using the gym to help get some of her weight off. A couple of shelter dogs took their turns on one of the slatmills that were inside “My Dog’s Mobile Gym” located in Naples, Florida. Jaime Daniel owns the mobile dog gym and will give sessions to shelter pups around Naples. This day she was at Humane Society Naples but she also services Domestic Animal Services of Collier County. My Dog's Mobile Gym houses two slatmills in a climate-controlled atmosphere. Slatmills are non-motorized treadmills. They only move if the dog moves, and the dog controls the speed.

Pets

Mobile dog gym helps make Naples pups more adoptable

Cary Barbor

In Naples, My Dog's Mobile Gym makes the rounds to help dogs get plenty of exercise. Its most important stop may be the Humane Society of Naples.

A steady stream of people arrived at polling locations throughout Lee County on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.

Elections 2024

Southwest Floridians go to the polls: a photo gallery

Amanda Whittamore

Southwest Floridians go to the polls: a photo gallery

John Tierney of Valrico helps a friend remove debris from his property on Manasota Key on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. Behind Tierney, the damage to Manasota Key Road can be seen. The road was washed away by Hurricane Milton.

Hurricane Recovery

"Paying the price for living in paradise" | Video essay

Andrea Melendez

WGCU's videographers visited Englewood and Manasota Key to explore the damage and to talk with residents as they recover from Hurricane Milton.

Natasha Agarwal, founder of BelieveNBooks, with a copy of her children’s book, Tales of African Women Trailblazers. The book highlights African-born women who have overcome adversity. She is 17 and a senior at Canterbury in Fort Myers, Florida.

Arts & Culture

Canterbury student publishes book; continues book distribution nonprofit

Cary Barbor

A Fort Myers high school student has published a book. And it’s not her first foray into the publishing business.

A fire truck is stalled in the deepest part of Bahia Vista Street in Sarasota. Phillippi Creek runs through this part of town and has flooded a large area. A massive amount of rain fell on the Sarasota area as well as Southwest Florida, Sunday into Monday. Now neighborhoods along the Phillippi Creek area are dealing with power outages and flooding from Hurricane Debby’s impacts leaving streets, cars and even homes underwater. The tropical storm produced more than a foot of rain and eventually turned into a category 1 hurricane once it made land fall.

Weather

TD Debby, on its way to hurricane status, leaves Sarasota flooded

Andrea Melendez

According to the National Weather Service more than 12 inches of rain fell from Tropical Depression Debby during it's passage by Sarasota last weekend and most of the day Monday.Here's where you can get a look at the NWS rain data chart.All tropical storm and storm surge warnings for Sarasota County have been cancelled but there are still several other watches, warnings, and advisories in effect for Sarasota County.

Jake Brown, ADA Coordinator for the City of Sarasota, demonstrates how the EcoRover works. .Citizens with Disabilities Advisory Board and City of Sarasota ADA, purchased a beach-friendly accessibility chair called EcoRover. This chair promotes independence for individuals with disabilities and is now available for public use at Lido Beach at no cost. The EcoRover is an electric hand-controlled wheelchair with all-terrain tread that can easily traverse sand allowing for independent enjoyment of beautiful Lido Beach. EcoRover Chairs was founded by Cordell Jeter. They are fabricated in Tampa and assembled in North Port. The $14,000 vehicle was funded through handicap parking violation fines.

Health

Access to Sarasota's Lido Beach opens up for those with disabilities via a new tracked chair

Michael Braun

While Florida takes pride in its beaches, some beachgoers with disabilities find enjoying the sandy spaces difficult.Enter the EcoRover. The powered track chair debuted Thursday at Lido Beach in Sarasota County.

Campers study the cored samples from the lagoon. Hurricane Ian destroyed the first floor of FGCU’s Vester Field Station in Bonita springs. This is the first Marine Science Summer Camp held at the site and renovations are almost complete. Wednesday, June 26, 2024, was the geology day where the campers learn about beach erosion in camp. Due to rain, the campers stayed at Vester and built a beach environment to withstand a hurricane as well as studied core samples from the Lagoon.

Environment

Vester Station's Marine Science Summer Camp returns to learning after Ian causes a gap year

Michael Braun

The Vester Marine & Environmental Science Research Field Station, basically scoured by Hurricane Ian's storm surge, is once again taking middle school students on an environmental journey of discovery.

Members of the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club Inc. of Lee County, FL, participated in the national amateur radio Field Day exercise. The Group were stationed at two locations, North Fort Myers Community Park and Tice Firehouse Station #201. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of amateur radio.

Human Interest

Fort Myers 'Hams' have a field day showing their amateur radio chops

Andrea Melendez

Something that many people look at as "just" a hobby actually fulfills an important emergency niche during times when regular communications fail or aren't sufficient.Amateur radio operators — "Hams" in the vernacular — are often called upon to use their equipment during difficult times.Showing those skills recently were members of the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club Inc. who participated in a national amateur radio Field Day exercise.

Inmate, Travis Palmer of Bokeelia, harvests cherry tomatoes in one of the hydroponic greenhouses. Charlotte County jail rebuilt the destroyed hydroponics farm in the year after Hurricane Ian. Completing this rebuild has been a big sense of pride for the inmates since the farm has become more productive than ever. The hydroponic farm supplies food for the inmates as well as gives them skills for jobs on the outside.

Agriculture

Completing repairs on hydroponics program after Ian is a huge relief for Charlotte County Jail, inmates

Sandra Viktorova

Hydroponics program rebuilt after Ian is more fruitful for Charlotte County Jail and inmates who tend to the farm.