ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva 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 Alva 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 NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Lawyers for the government and oil giant BP head to federal court Tuesday for a trial in that could add more than $13 billion in penalties to the billions BP already has shelled out as a result of 2010 Gulf oil spill. Federal lawyers say BP should pay Clean Water Act penalties as high as $4,300 per barrel spilled after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion at BP’s Macondo well. Based on a court finding that 3.19 barrels polluted the Gulf, the penalties could reach $13.7 billion. BP will argue for a lower figure, although it hasn’t stated a specific dollar amount. It says its costs already have hit $42 billion, including a $14 billion response and cleanup. Its pre-trial briefs say a low-end penalty would accomplish the Clean Water Act’s purposes: deterring environmentally dangerous behavior and encouraging effective responses. The trial in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is expected to last three weeks. A ruling isn’t expected until April at the earliest and, barring a settlement, appeals are likely. As a result of two earlier trials, Barbier has already ruled that BP Exploration and Production Inc., an affiliate of BP PLC, acted with “gross negligence” in the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig at the Macondo well site. BP is appealing that finding, which will be one factor in determining the penalty. Barbier also determined, in a ruling handed down Thursday, that 3.19 million barrels – just under 134 million gallons – were discharged, roughly midway between BP’s estimate of around 2.45 million barrels and the government’s figure of 4.2 million. (The higher figure would have meant potential penalties of around $18 billion.) At issue in the new trial is how much BP should be penalized per barrel. Federal lawyers argue that the law in a matter of gross negligence sets a maximum penalty of $4,300 per barrel and that BP should be forced to pay the maximum, which would result in the $13.7 billion penalty. Barbier will hear arguments on eight factors that, by law, must be considered in his decision. Among them: the seriousness of the violation, the effect of the penalty on the economic health of BP, the effectiveness of BP’s cleanup efforts and BP’s past environmental violations. “If ever there was a case that merits the statutory maximum, this is it,” the government’s pretrial brief states. BP will argue that, in the words of its pre-trial briefs, its cleanup response was “extraordinarily effective” and that its efforts to mitigate spill damage “extraordinarily effective.” BP attorneys also argue that a high-end fine would also have too severe an economic impact on a business already weakened by the $42 billion in Macondo-related liabilities it already faces – a problem exacerbated, the briefs note, in light of the falling price of oil. Both sides will call experts who will testify on the overall environmental effects of the spill. “Based upon the government’s own data, and data collected by BPXP and academics, the harm caused by the spill was far less than many feared,” BP states. The government, meanwhile, previews its own experts on human health, the economy and the environment. “These experts will refute BP’s claim that there has been a full recovery with no future risks and will document extremely serious harms to the physical and human environment – all of which clearly refute BP’s argument for a downward departure from the maximum penalty,” the government states. The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and sending oil spewing into the Gulf for 87 days.