Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort MyersThe Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics
FORT MYERS Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort Myers The Lee County GOP is hosting the Trumparilla Boat Parade in support of the Republican nominee.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
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 charged 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.
FORT MYERS Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort Myers The Lee County GOP is hosting the Trumparilla Boat Parade in support of the Republican nominee.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
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 charged 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.
With hundreds of thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers facing uncertain futures in California, two startups hope drivers will take a chance on their alternative approaches to the ride-hail business. Uber and Lyft, which have built up massive fleets of drivers by treating them as independent contractors, are in the midst of a heated legal battle over how its drivers are classified in the state. Both recently threatened to shut down their services in the state rather than comply with a court order to reclassify their drivers as employees. The future of these workers is uncertain, as a new worker classification in CA, known as AB-5, went into effect on Jan. 1. In late August, the ride-hailing companies were granted a temporary reprieve from complying with the law, and they continue to fight against it applying to the drivers on their platforms. Uber and Lyft support a referendum on the ballot in November that seeks to exempt them from the law. In the meantime, some startups see a chance to show alternative models to the behemoth ride-hail platforms, including what it’s like for drivers to fully control how and to whom they provide a service. Empowering gig workers as small business owners That’s the promise of a new app by Dumpling, a Seattle-based startup originally launched in 2018 to create an alternative to on-demand grocery delivery services like Instacart. Workers that use Dumpling’s platform are effectively small business owners. Dumpling shares information with workers about how to set up a sole proprietorship or LLC and offers a suite of tools, including a personalized website, business coaching, and a pre-funded credit card to shop orders, to help them run their own businesses. Dumpling charges workers a setup fee, and offers both free and paid monthly subscriptions for access to the tools. (There are also additional fees, such as a credit card processing fee.) Workers have the freedom to choose their clients, set their own prices, go to a range of stores for one order and build a direct relationship with clients, who can request the same shopper in the future. “The idea was to have technology aid and help [workers] rather than control them,” Dumpling cofounder and co-CEO Joel Shapiro told CNN Business. Now, in addition to grocery, Dumpling — which has raised $10 million in funding, including $6.5 million since the beginning of the pandemic — wants to aid drivers in starting ride businesses with a separate app called Dumpling Drive. “With everything going on in California, there has been a big uptick in interest of people looking for an alternative,” Shapiro said, noting that Drive is now available nationwide and is offering drivers the first 60 days free of cost. After that, it will charge a $20 monthly subscription. While Uber and Lyft popularized a very different use case for consumers — the ability to get a ride on a moment’s notice at any time — Shapiro said the Drive service intends help drivers go after a subset of the ride-hail market, which he referred to as “scheduled rides,” such as daily commutes, appointments and more. Drive workers, who set their own prices, must build up a client base directly with customers. Drivers are assigned a unique ID code, which they can give to potential riders. If a customer wants to book a ride through Drive, they go to the app, input the code, and request or schedule a ride directly from a specific driver. On Dumpling Grocery, consumers can search for nearby workers with a zip code and this feature will be added to Drive as more workers join. Robert Prather Jr., a gig worker in Sacramento, told CNN Business that he recently started using Dumpling’s grocery app and has started testing out Drive, as well. He set up a Facebook page to market his business, which he says is very much in the beginning stages. “I’m planting seeds right now waiting for it to grow,” he said, adding that Uber and Lyft continue to make up the bulk of his income and that if the companies suspended their services “realistically, I would’ve had to get a 9-to-5.” Making drivers employees On the flip side, Dallas-based rideshare startup Alto is gearing up to enter California by late October, beginning with Los Angeles. The startup, which launched in January 2019, classifies its drivers as employees, which Uber and Lyft have long fought against because they would need to offer them certain benefits. Alto has focused on offering an upscale ride service focused on hospitality and safety. As employees, its drivers are fingerprinted and drive the company-owned vehicles, which are monitored and cleaned regularly. As another differentiating factor, Alto offers healthcare benefits and pays hourly wages to drivers. The ongoing labor dispute in California coupled with the continued health crisis has created a sense of urgency to expand Alto outside of Texas, according to Will Coleman, Alto’s founder and CEO. “We’re currently getting more inbound interest from California drivers organically than in cities we’re currently operating in,” Coleman told CNN Business. Coleman said some of Alto’s driver employees work fewer than 10 hours per week and have “significant flexibility” in choosing when they want to work whereas others work full-time and are guaranteed a certain number of hours in exchange for open availability. “We want to show consumers there really is an alternative,” Coleman added.