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 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Officials in North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration are telling a string of misleading half-truths about the safety of well water containing a cancer-causing chemical near Duke Energy coal ash pits, a veteran state toxicologist said Wednesday, and he charged that they are the ones responsible for any resulting fear and confusion. Toxicologist Ken Rudo’s comments in a statement issued through his attorney came a day after high-ranking state environmental and health officials blamed Rudo for sowing fear about dangerous chemicals near Duke Energy sites with “questionable and inconsistent scientific conclusions.” The back-and-forth charges are the latest developments in a longstanding dispute over whether water in the affected wells is safe to drink. In a deposition last month, Rudo said the state’s top public health official acted unethically and possibly illegally by telling residents living near Duke Energy’s coal ash pits that their well water is safe to drink when it’s contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a chemical known to cause cancer. North Carolina’s state public health director Dr. Randall Williams and Department of Environmental Quality Assistant Secretary Tom Reeder said Tuesday that Rudo had established a too-cautious health standard for hexavalent chromium in groundwater. The standard – one chance in a million that people drinking contaminated water could develop cancer over a lifetime – was set by the state agencies before warning letters were issued last year to about 330 neighbors of Duke Energy coal sites. Officials this year decided that standard was too high. Williams and Reeder reversed course and declared the water safe to drink in a March letter to well owners. McCrory worked for Duke Energy for nearly three decades before his election in 2012. Environmentalists complain that under his leadership state environmental officials have shown deference to the governor’s former employer. McCrory denies showing any favoritism. Rudo said in a statement first provided to The Associated Press that he was simply following procedures required by state law when calculating the cancer-risk standard for hexavalent chromium. State legislators passed a new state law requiring residential wells near Duke’s coal ash pits to be tested for contamination after a massive 2014 spill at one of the company’s dumps coated 70 miles of the Dan River in gray sludge laced with harmful heavy metals. The state Department of Health and Human Services, where Rudo has worked for nearly 30 years, initially applied a far looser standard – a level for public water supplies set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the 1990s before the cancer risk posed by hexavalent chromium was known. State law requires a “do not drink” recommendation if there’s a stricter one-in-a-million cancer risk, so that’s what health and environmental agencies calculated and eventually agreed upon, Rudo said. Rudo’s job is to perform human health risk assessments related to chemicals in water, soil and air. “This consensus, regarding what health protective values to use to protect the well water of the NC residents adjacent to the coal ash ponds, and how to communicate these to folks, was what Dr. Rudo followed, based on specific instructions from his superiors at DHHS,” the statement issued by Rudo’s attorney said. But if that hexavalent chromium standard were applied evenly, it would mean North Carolinians who depend on the 900,000 wells in the state would be urged against using their water, Williams and Reeder said Tuesday. Williams and Reeder did not respond Wednesday to interview requests. Rudo said that’s what the science shows. “Dr. Rudo’s request to extend this protection to all well water was denied, and is still denied,” the statement said. Hexavalent chromium can cause lung cancer when inhaled, and the Environmental Protection Agency says it’s likely carcinogenic when ingested. Based on the most-recent scientific studies, Rudo concluded the chemical would cause an increased lifetime risk of causing tumors in those who drink it, especially pregnant women and children. A byproduct created when coal is burned to generate electricity, coal ash also contains other toxic heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic. Duke denies its massive coal ash dumps are the source of the harmful chemicals showing up in residential wells, though it agreed to voluntarily provide bottled water to the affected households ringing its power plants. The company has suggested the contamination occurs naturally.