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.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- A WINK News investigation uncovered a workplace harassment that cost you thousands, and the issue is a woman who says she was harassed because she’s gay. The five figure settlement was paid with your tax money. “He tells me ‘since you look like a man you might as well work like a man,'” said Lydia Martinez, a custodian for the Lee County School District. Martinez says she was treated poorly many times at North Fort Myers High School because she’s gay. “I can’t even count. I had a daily journal,” said Martinez. She says she was harassed every day for eight years by her boss, the head custodian. “I tried to hide from him,” said Martinez. “If I would see him, I would go the other way, go behind the door, run to the bathroom. I just didn’t want to be around him, I would feel very uncomfortable like here he comes again to pick on me.” In the lawsuit she eventually filed against the school district, Martinez says she reported it from 2005 to 2012. First to the principal then to people at the school district and nothing was ever done. “I would leave my house and my nerves were shot before I even got there,” Martinez recalled. “Then when I got there and I’d see him, I’d go ‘oh, what now?'” So, she found attorney Ben Yormak. “When I heard how long it had been going on it was just offensive personally, professionally, legally, it’s wrong,” Yormak said. He filed a federal lawsuit against the Lee County School District. “The laws are in place to treat everyone equally and nothing could have been further from the truth,” Yormak added. In court documents other witnesses said that they personally heard her boss say that, “Ms. Lydian was a lesbian and that since she’s a man, I will treat her as one and make her work as one.” In the end the school district settled and paid out $30,000. “The fact that she remains employed and now happily employed at a different school under a different supervisor indicates that the problem didn’t exist with Ms. Martinez,” added Yormak. “The problem existed with her supervisor who, ironically enough, is still employed.” WINK News pulled the head custodian’s personnel file and there’s no indication that he was reprimanded. In fact, he’s been employed with the district since 1993 yet of the over 100 page personnel file, there are very few entries after 2005. That’s almost ten years ago and about the time when Martinez says the harassment started. “This has affected me mentally,” Martinez said. “I’m still going to a psychologist because of this. I’ve never had problems before mentally but I’m still going to a psychologist.” We specifically wanted to know why the head custodian wasn’t disciplined but the Lee County School District would not comment nor even issue a simple statement on this matter. WINK News also left messages at the head custodian’s house last week and even spoke with a relative Monday, but was told the man was not going to tell us his side of this story.