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.
The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) FORT MYERS, Fla. – 600 pounds of chicken. 1,000 hot dogs. 25 children’s bikes and an entire year of planning. Those are some of the things local filmmaker Curtis Collins said it took to pull off a community event in Dunbar on Saturday. Parked cars lined the streets outside the Fort Myers STARS Complex, a youth recreational center off Edison Avenue, where hundreds of children played under the supervision of parents and law enforcement officers. Collins organized the event, Unity in the Community, as a way to thank officers for assisting him with his latest film project. “The Fort Myers Police Department and the Lee County sheriff were so into helping me out with my film by providing me with street closures, using the jail, inside the jail, so I wanted to do something special for them,” he said. While the large crowds enjoyed food and music, face painting, sports and giveaways, Collins said he was most proud of the interaction he saw between local law enforcement officers and residents. FMPD Interim Chief Dennis Eads attended the event alongside deputies from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol. Dressed in a shirt that read “Unity” in big capital letters, Eads even participated in an intense game of kickball against a group of student athletes. “It feels good to see,” Collins said. “I mean, you don’t want to pat yourself on the back and say ‘Hey, you know you did a good thing’ but — how often do you see the police officers walking around having conversations with the community?” he said. “Intellectual, peaceful conversations. Not often at all. Not often, especially here.” Eads, who is being replaced by FMPD’s new permanent chief Derrick Diggs, spoke highly of Unity in the Community. “It was a good event. You’d have a hard time finding anyone who’d say it wasn’t and if you did, shame on them,” he said. The event was largely sponsored by South Florida Milling. Collins approached the company’s owner, Daniel Banks, for help. “You know this is a start. This somewhere we can start building the community. The community doesn’t trust the police. You know, there’s a disconnect somewhere in that. So when he asked me to start contributing to it, we got behind him and made today happen basically,” Banks said. Unity in the Community was an opportunity for officers to step away from their jobs to make personal connections with residents, Collins said. “Not to say anything bad about our police officers, ‘cause it’s not, but you can’t get to know somebody when you’re driving through a neighborhood and you see them on the street,” he said. “Here they’re having a dialogue and it’s not a bad dialogue. They’re actually communicating and that’s what we needed to do. So I think we did that.” Collins hopes to expand Unity in the Community next year, building it into an annual event. The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) FMPD Interim Chief Dennis Eads at bat in a kickball game (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) Curtis Collins, local filmmaker (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News) The first Unity in the Community drew a large crowd for a day of fun with law enforcement officers. (Chloe Herring/WINK News)