ALVA Woodpeckers build home in woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
MGN Online HONOLULU (AP) – President Barack Obama rang in 2014 by declaring a “year of action,” vowing to strengthen the nation by focusing on fairness, competitiveness and the power of American diplomacy. Since Congress seemed unwilling to help, the president said he’d act alone. On immigration, climate change and U.S.-Cuba relations, at least, Obama stayed true to his word, reshaping on his own decades of American policy he argued had outlived its time. In a flurry of executive decrees taken over the heads of lawmakers, Obama added major notches to his legacy and tackled important issues for key support groups. He also angered Republican lawmakers along the way and suffered a crushing midterm election defeat. “America does not stand still, and neither will I,” Obama said in his State of the Union address in January. All told, Obama issued more than 80 executive actions and related measures this year, according to a report by the White House Monday compiling the president’s memoranda, orders and directives to federal agencies. Many were designed to use existing laws to meet new objectives, accomplishing what Congress couldn’t or wouldn’t get done through new legislation. Yet other initiatives fell flat, never took off or had only modest impact. These were particularly the case with Obama’s economic agenda, where the president’s ability to act unilaterally was largely limited to small-bore steps like creating regional manufacturing hubs, new student loan payment options and higher federal contractors’ wages. Although the economy improved measurably in 2014, it was unclear what role Obama’s actions played. “This was a year of near-zero accomplishment on the legislative front – the way the government that James Madison designed is supposed to work,” said William Galston, a Brookings Institution scholar who served under President Bill Clinton. “On the other hand, it was a year in which the president took surprisingly large steps through the exercise of his executive authority.” After being stymied by Congress on climate change for much of his presidency, Obama went on the offensive this year. He set unprecedented greenhouse gas limits on power plants despite the energy industry saying the restrictions would shutter coal plants across the country. He directed the government to increase fuel standards for trucks and protected major swaths of U.S. waters. In Beijing last month, Obama sealed a historic climate agreement with China after secret negotiations. On immigration, too, Obama took matters into his own hands. After his party’s heavy losses in November, Obama shielded from deportation some 4 million people in the U.S. without legal status. The action elicited GOP lawsuits and even impeachment threats. Obama then sent shockwaves across the hemisphere by restoring U.S. diplomatic ties with Cuba after more than a half-century of estrangement. On other fronts, the president could only do so much. He sought promises from community groups, universities and the private sector to expand high-tech education and boost key sectors, with no guarantee they’d follow through. He is still looking for ways to fulfill a $3 billion pledge to a global climate fund. Hiking the salaries of federal contractors failed to spur Congress to raise the national minimum wage, although 14 states did so this year. By acting alone, Obama has also assumed an inherent risk. Nearly all of these steps can be reversed by his successor. Jeff Zients, a top Obama adviser, said Obama’s executive actions would be sustained, arguing they were being “hard-wired” into the economy. Obama’s aides say acting without Congress was never the president’s preferred approach, but one forced upon him by the inability of lawmakers to pass far-reaching legislation. Republican lawmakers say his inclination to impose his will has created deep mistrust, poisoning the atmosphere for compromise during Obama’s final two years. “The president needs to listen to the American people, who want us to work together on their priorities – especially jobs and the economy,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “Instead, he still seems intent on a ‘go-it-alone’ strategy that stretches – or exceeds – the limits of his constitutional authority.” With Republicans taking full control of Congress next month, Obama will face stepped-up efforts to rein in his authority. Obama seems ready for the fight. “There’s no shortage of ideas here,” Zients, the National Economic Council director, said in an interview. “By no means is the president done.”