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 LONDON (AP) – Oil and gas company Shell has agreed to buy British rival BG Group for 47 billion pounds ($69.7 billion), in a deal that may signal a new wave of mega-mergers as the energy industry tries to adapt to lower prices. Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it will pay the equivalent of 13.67 pounds in cash and stock for each share of BG Group, 50 percent more than Tuesday’s closing price. The deal will boost Shell’s oil and gas reserves by 25 percent, including offshore projects in Australia and Brazil, and give it a bigger presence in the fast-growing liquefied natural gas market, Shell said. Other energy giants may follow suit as they look to boost growth through acquisitions after increased production in the U.S. helped trigger a plunge in oil prices. The last wave of oil mergers took place in the 1990s after new production from the North Sea, Alaska and Mexico led to excess global capacity and companies linked up to protect themselves, or bought weaker rivals at lower prices. “Will this be the opening shot in a new wave of mega-mergers like the 1990s?” asked Christian Stadler, associate professor of strategic management at Warwick Business School in Britain. “Quite a few oil companies are under cost pressure with no sense of the oil price recovering. Companies had got used to $100 a barrel, and many need $40 to $60 to break even so we could see more of these deals.” The international price of crude oil has plunged from over $115 a barrel last summer to a low around $45 before recovering somewhat in recent weeks to trade at $58 a barrel on Wednesday. Global natural gas prices have also dropped, because most of the natural gas traded internationally is linked to the price of oil. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie say low prices have prompted most major oil companies to weigh acquisitions, though only a few have the size and resources to pull off a mega-merger. “If you’re looking to the next big deal, ExxonMobil stands out as most likely to pull the trigger,” they wrote in a research note. Exxon made the last giant oil and gas acquisition when it agreed to buy the U.S. shale driller XTO Energy for $31 billion in 2009. The takeover of BG Group allows Shell to replace reserves at a time when exploration budgets are being cut and after its attempts to join the U.S. shale boom did not amount to much, Stadler said. Wood Mackenzie said BG’s large position in the deep waters off of Brazil were likely the most attractive target for Shell. “It’s all about the deepwater oil,” analysts wrote. The merger also combines the two largest investor-owned sellers of liquefied natural gas in the world. As new projects come on line in the coming years, the combined company will become the world’s biggest seller of liquefied natural gas by 2018, Wood Mackenzie said. The boards of both companies recommended that shareholders approve the deal, which they say will create a more competitive, stronger company amid the volatility in oil prices. Shareholders seemed to think that Shell did not get much of a discount for BG, however, despite the low oil and gas prices. Shares in Shell were down about 7 percent Wednesday while those in BG Group soared 32 percent. BG shareholders will own about 19 percent of Shell after the deal is complete. Combining the two companies will produce savings of about 2.5 billion pounds a year, Shell said. “This an incredibly exciting moment for Shell,” Chief Executive Ben van Beurden told reporters. “It is bold and strategic moves that shape our industry.” BG’s Norwegian CEO Helge Lund was conspicuously absent from Wednesday’s press conference. Organizers said he remained at BG headquarters in Reading – a two-hour drive from London – to handle internal communication with the company’s workforce. He will stay with BG only until the deal is completed. He said in a statement that BG would benefit from the takeover. “BG’s deep water positions and strengths in exploration, liquefaction, and LNG shipping and marketing will combine well with Shell’s scale, development expertise and financial strength,” he said.