| StrmTrckrMiami |
| (Weather Guru) |
| Mon Aug 18 2008 04:06 PM |
|
Re: Preparations, Closings and Conditions in Your Area
|
Updated 3:04pm from News-Press:
Fort Myers
• Edison Mall will be closing at 4 p.m. today and remain closed until further notice.
For the update on the mall reopening, customers and employees can call the mall’s shopping line at 939-5464.
• Lee County Commission Chairman Ray Judah announced county government operations, not including emergency services, will be closed as of 5 p.m. through tomorrow.
• All Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida offices will be closed Tuesday.
• A spokeswoman from the U. S. District Court said that the court and the clerk's office is closed as of 2:30 p.m. today and will remain closed Tuesday.
• The Chamber of Southwest Florida has postponed the iROX I-75 Road Expansion Project Update Luncheon originally scheduled for Wednesday at the Forest Country Club in Fort Myers.
The event will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 3, with registration beginning at 11:30 a.m.
• All Circuit 20 courts will be closed Tuesday, according to spokeswoman
Sheila Mann.
As of today, though, courts in Charlotte and Hendry counties will close at
3:30 p.m., Collier County court closed at 1 p.m. today, while Lee and Glades
county courts will remain open through today.
A hotline number will be released shortly for residents who are expecting to
appear in court Wednesday. The hotline will identify which courts might be
open by then.
Lee County Jail staff is expected to beef up its regular shifts with more
personnel, but other than that, it will be business as usual.
• The Lee Republican Women's Club has cancelled it's Candidates Showcase event scheduled for Tuesday at the Royal Palm Yacht Club.
• St. Francis Xavier School will be closed on Tuesday. Parents and students are urged to check the school’s web site, stfrancisfortmyers.org, for updates.
School officials also plan to e-mail families and provide updates through local media, including news-press.com.
• City Manager William Mitchell has closed all Fort Myers City Government offices on Tuesday.
• Lee Mental Health in Fort Myers will be closed Tuesday. For more information
call 275-3222. A recorded message will update callers on when it will
re-open.
• A check presentation to Susanna Widman, the wife of fallen officer Andrew Widman, scheduled for today has been postponed.
Herocare, a locally headquartered and nationally reaching non-profit organization, raised nearly $25,000 for Widman’s family. The donation was going to be presented during a Fort Myers City Council meeting.
• Both the Imaginarium and Southwest Florida Museum of History will be closed
today through Tuesday.
A determination about Wednesday hours will be made after the storm passes through.
The SWFL Museum of History hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am. to 5 p.m.
and the Imaginarium’s hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Sundays noon to 5 p.m.
• The Edison & Ford Winter Estates is open to the public today, but on a shortened schedule.
According to an advisory from Fort Myers’ historic estates: The last guided tour is at noon. The Edison Lab and Museum will stay open until 2 p.m.
Visitors will receive a discounted admission price of $11 for adults and $6 for children.
The estates will be closed Tuesday.
People hoping to visit Wednesday should call the estates that day at (239) 334-7419, and speak with a staff member before traveling.
The historic homes have been secured, and vulnerable furnishings removed in preparation for the storm.
Sanibel
• Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commercess has canceled its after-hours social event scheduled tonight for Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa. It will be rescheduled.
The chamber’s visitor center will be closed Tuesday.
North Fort Myers
The Citrus Expo scheduled to begin Wednesday at Lee Civic Center, North Fort Myers, has been canceled because of the storm, organizers announced this morning.
The civic center is used for staging many emergency response efforts.
The annual citrus industry expo of seminars and a trade show was called off following Hurricane Charley in 2004.
For further information regarding Citrus Expo, go to www.citrusexpo.net and www.southeastagnet.com.
Cape Coral -Chiquita Boat Lock closes tonight
The Chiquita Boat Lock in southwest Cape Coral will be closed at 10 p.m. today and will not reopen until Wednesday. The lock serves as a gateway between the Cape’s Southwest Spreader Canal System and surrounding waterways.
In addition to the lock, all other city facilities will be closed tomorrow in Cape Coral.
• All Cape Coral Parks and Recreation facilities will be closed and all
programs canceled after 6 p.m. today through Tuesday in anticipation of
Tropical Storm Fay. City officials will make a decision at 3 p.m. Tuesday on
when to reopen the facilities.
• There will be no trash pickup Tuesday in Cape Coral in anticipation of Tropical Storm Fay.
Waste Management, the company contracted for refuse collection in the Cape will not be operating on Tuesday. Residents are asked to keep all trash containers inside and secured. Any trash placed outside is likely to blow away in the storm.
• Cape officials have canceled a ground-breaking ceremony for the cape’s new Public Safety Building, which was scheduled for Wednesday.
Construction crews from Balfour Beatty Construction hoped to being work on the $19 million building this week.
With Tropical Storm Fay set to hit the area tomorrow, the company is putting off work on the project.
Collier County
• The Board of Collier County Commissioners and County Manager’s Agency are open all day today but will be closed Tuesday.
The Supervisor of Elections office is open all day today and closed Tuesday as well.
Early voting is being suspended at 2 p.m. today and all day Tuesday. Early voting will resume on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at all seven locations.
The Clerk of Courts office is closing this afternoon and remain closed Tuesday.
Courts Administration is expected to close this afternoon and stay closed Tuesday.
The Property Appraiser’s office is open all day today and will be closed Tuesday.
The Tax Collector’s Office office is open all day today and will be closed Tuesday.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office will be closed Tuesday for routine business operations. The sheriff has activated the agency’s emergency operations plan.
Estero
Coconut Point Mall will be closing at 5 p.m. today and remain closed until further notice.
For updates on the mall reopening, customers and employees can call the mall’s shopping line at 992-4259.
FGCU
Because of the approaching storm, Florida Gulf Coast University campus will be closed Tuesday. All FGCU activities on campus and at off-campus locations are canceled for Tuesday. FGCU will reopen for regular operations at 8 a.m. on Wednesday unless news updates state otherwise.
As of 10 p.m. tonight, the FGCU campus will be closed for everyone except FGCU-designated essential personnel.
Charlotte County
• The superintendent of Charlotte County Public Schools has announced that all Charlotte County public xchools will be closed Tuesday.
He will be making an announcement on Tuesday afternoon about whether schools will be open on Wednesday.
Edison College
• To ensure the safety and welfare of Edison College students and employees, all campuses will close as of 4:30 p.m. today, and remain closed through Tuesday.
Edison College is not a designated emergency shelter and only authorized individuals will be allowed on campus during the closure.
Edison College will resume normal operations Wednesday, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Synovus Bank will close its branches located in Bonita Springs, Ft. Myers, Naples, Pt. Charlotte, and Venice on Tuesday, August 19. The bank’s ATMs will remain in service assuming power is available.