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.
In this Dec. 8, 2016 photo, Larry and Jennifer Mergentheimer sit at their dining room table with their daughter, Rebecca, in Levittown, N.Y. The Mergentheimers adopted Rebecca with the assistance of the A.M.T. Children of Hope Foundation’s Baby Safe Haven program. FRANK ELTMAN, AP LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (CBS) — To untold numbers of children, he’s simply Uncle Tim. Nearly 3,300 babies across the country who otherwise might have been abandoned and perhaps died have found homes in the past 17 years, thanks in part to the efforts of Tim Jaccard, a retired New York police ambulance medic who grew weary of responding to calls of dead infants abandoned in trash cans and alleys. “To hold a newborn infant in your arms and have to pronounce that child dead is heart-wrenching,” said the 66-year-old father and grandfather from Long Island. “My gut feeling was that I was being sent on these particular calls to try and see what’s going on and change it. I had to stop this insanity.” Not only did he help spearhead a movement in all 50 states to enact “safe haven” laws that give mothers in crisis the option of leaving their newborns at police stations, hospitals or firehouses without fear of prosecution, he also founded the national Baby Safe Haven organization that acts as a go-between to make such drop-offs as safe as possible. Leaving a newborn at a firehouse door in the freezing cold, for example, could still be dangerous for the infant. Mothers can instead call a national hotline (1-866-510-BABY) and arrange a safe handover. Some give birth at a hospital and surrender the child to Baby Safe Haven representatives who work with local social services agencies. Jaccard’s eyes redden when he talks of the tragic abandonments he dealt with in his 37 years as a medic. But there are also the more hopeful cases he documents on a bulletin board jammed with dozens of snapshots of the children relinquished through Baby Safe Haven. “What he’s doing is ensuring that mothers are able to move forward with their lives,” said Tracey Johnson, executive director of the National Safe Haven Alliance in Washington, D.C. “And the kids get the gift of life.” According to the alliance, 3,298 babies had been turned over with the help of Baby Safe Haven nationwide in 17 years, including 167 so far this year. The holiday season often sees an uptick in the numbers. In one memorable case from last year, Jaccard said a distraught mother had called the Baby Safe Haven hotline seeking information about New York’s law just minutes before a healthy newborn boy, his umbilical cord still attached, was left at the manger of a Nativity scene at New York City church. The reasons for such cases are as varied as the children, Johnson said, dispelling a notion that the mothers and fathers are young teenagers. Some are college students reluctant to tell their parents and can’t raise a child alone. Many are women in “toxic relationships,” with spouses already abusing older children in the home and want to shield a new baby from that fate. Larry and Jennifer Mergentheimer, of Levittown on New York’s Long Island, are on the other side of the safe haven equation. Their 18-month-old daughter, Rebecca, was adopted after being born and given up in a hospital on Mother’s Day 2015. They say “Uncle Tim” regularly checks in with the family. “It was like winning the lottery,” said Larry Mergentheimer, a 44-year-old nurse manager who lives in Levittown. “You can’t ask to complete something any more than putting a child in a home. It’s amazing.” His wife, Jennifer, a 41-year-old radiological technologist, says the precocious toddler who loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse completed their family. “We wanted to have a baby and a family for so many years and it was such a struggle. Just to have her in our lives, it’s the greatest thing in the world,” she said.