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.
Gerry Lauzon / CC BY 2.0 WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) – German carmaker Volkswagen capped two grim days for the country’s auto industry by revealing its diesel emissions cheating cost it a chunky 16.2 billion euros ($18.2 billion) for 2015 alone – and that’s likely only a part of the total bill. The revelation last September from U.S. environmental authorities that the company had been cheating on emissions test rocked one of the most venerable brand names in the auto industry and cost it its chief executive as well as a host of goodwill. It’s also raised questions over the practices of others. On Friday, German government officials said five German brands, including Volkswagen, would conduct a voluntary recall over emissions issues, a day after Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler said it was conducting an internal investigation into its emissions certifications at the request of U.S. authorities. The Volkswagen announcement follows agreement in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco on the outlines of a deal with U.S. environmental authorities. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Volkswagen would offer to buy back almost 500,000 cars sold in the U.S. equipped with software that disabled emissions controls when the car was not being tested. Some 11 million cars worldwide are affected. The company had delayed its earnings announcement until it could get a better estimate of the costs involved. Now that it has revealed the cost of the scandal, Volkswagen said Friday that it is to post a massive net loss of 5.5 billion euros for last year. The writedown of 16.2 billion euros is more than double the 6.7 billion euros the company had previously estimated. Analysts at Warburg Research think direct cost of fines, recalls and settlements worldwide will end up reaching 28.6 billion euros for fines – and that’s excluding any impact on sales and market share. Volkswagen also said it’s not in a position to release results of an internal probe into the scandal this month as expected. The company now says the probe conducted by U.S. law firm Jones Day could be completed by year-end but that early release of partial results would interfere with settlement negotiations in the U.S. and could interfere with cooperation with U.S. law enforcement. Some 450 interviews have been consulted and 65 million documents submitted for electronic review. On advice of the company’s attorneys, management and directors, the company said “a disclosure of interim results of the investigation at this point in time would present unacceptable risks for Volkswagen and, therefore, cannot take place now.” Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller said as he released the headline earnings numbers that the company remains “fundamentally healthy” and that he is “convinced that Volkswagen has what it takes to overcome its challenges.” Volkswagen’s announcement coupled with more negative news about German companies and auto emissions that has weighed heavily on their share prices. Volkswagen’s share price was down 1 percent in late Frankfurt trading while Daimler’s tanked 6 percent. The scandal is not just confined to German automakers – Japanese company Mitsubishi Motors and Italy’s FIAT also have questions to answer. Still, Germany’s car companies appear to be having the most trouble at the moment. On Friday, Germany’s transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, said five German automakers agreed to recall a total of 630,000 diesel vehicles in Europe following an investigation into their emissions levels. He identified the companies concerned as Mercedes, Opel and Volkswagen and its subsidiaries Audi and Porsche. The move followed a probe of 53 models by Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority that was sparked by revelations last year about Volkswagen’s emissions test cheating. VW’s cars could tell when they were on the test stand and turned up the emissions controls, then turned them off in real-world driving to improve performance and mileage. Dobrindt said none of the newly scrutinized models were found to have rigged engine control software devices of the kind used by Volkswagen, but that they displayed elevated levels of nitrogen oxide in both laboratory and real-world tests. Some models used technology to switch off the vehicles’ emissions treatment systems at certain temperatures to protect the engine, he said. While such technology is legal, investigators found that the temperatures at which the emissions treatment systems were throttled didn’t appear to be justified in all cases, so the five manufacturers agreed to voluntarily recall those vehicles. Additionally, all engine protection features would have to be declared and fully explained by manufacturers in future before their cars are approved by German authorities, Dobrindt said. Separately, Italian automaker FIAT is being investigated following a tip from parts supplier Bosch about possible emissions irregularities, he said.