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.
FILE – In this July 27, 2020, file photo, nurse Kathe Olmstead prepares a shot that is part of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., in Binghamton, N.Y. Moderna said Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, its COVID-19 shot provides strong protection against the coronavirus that’s surging in the U.S. and around the world. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File) With two vaccines expected to receive federal approval in the U.S. within a matter of weeks, hopes for beating the coronavirus are looking up. Yet for millions of workers and businesses, the emerging immunizations also raise a host of questions, not the least of which is this: Can your employer require that you get vaccinated? For now, vaccination plans are focused on prioritizing who will receive the first doses, beginning with those who are most vulnerable as well as most exposed to the disease. But employers will soon have to consider how to communicate with their workforces about the vaccine and decide whether to require staffers to get vaccinated as part of their duty to keep their workers, clients and communities safe. “Generally speaking, employers are free to require safety measures like vaccination with exceptions for certain employees,” said Aaron Goldstein, a labor and employment partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney. “So the answer is likely to be yes, with an asterisk.” What the flu vaccine tells us The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) already allows companies to require employees to be vaccinated for the flu. Workers who don’t wish to be vaccinated for medical reasons can request an exemption under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as can those for whom taking a vaccine would violate their religious beliefs, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “Referencing back to that, the likelihood is the guidance EEOC will issue relative to a COVID vaccine is that an employer will be allowed to do that,” said attorney Helen Rella of Wilk Auslander. “And considering COVID is much worse than the flu, we anticipate they will issue guidelines stating it’s their position that it would be reasonable for an employer to require an employee to get the vaccine.” What’s different in this case is that COVID-19 vaccines are expected to first become available under an “emergency use authorization,” or EUA. That means the Food and Drug Administration approves a drug without first having all the usual evidence that a drug is safe and effective. “At first, most places are unlikely to make the vaccine mandatory. It will initially be available under an EUA, and with it not having gone through the whole approval process, most employers will strongly encourage it,” said Katie Passaretti, medical director for infection prevention and epidemiologist at Atrium Health, a nonprofit health system in North Carolina. Requirements will also vary by workplace setting. At hospitals and in other high-risk settings, for example, vaccination is likely to be mandatory, according to Carri Chan, a Columbia Business School professor and expert on hospital operations. “The plan in a number of hospitals in New York City is to require vaccination of all their employees,” she told CBS MoneyWatch. Some employees may be reluctant to work with those who refuse to get vaccinated. But given that an employer sets the terms of employment, that individual would need to request — and substantiate their need for — a reasonable accommodation under the law. From a practical viewpoint, most employers may find that encouraging — rather than requiring — workers to get a vaccine is likely to prove more constructive. Take the issue of wearing masks. “Companies that navigated that the best made masks free and available at every entrance, and were polite and offered curbside delivery, and tried to get around the problem,” Dorsey & Whitney’s Goldstein said. “We recommend the same tack with employees who don’t want to get vaccinated. If someone doesn’t want to get vaccinated and they can work remotely, don’t fight with them.” Nudge, don’t push Offering incentives for employees to get vaccinated, like gift cards or other perks, also could be more effective than mandates, said Bunny Ellerin, director of health care and pharmaceutical management at Columbia Business School. “Give them the time — no penalty, and a bonus like a gift card — something that makes it a positive, not a negative,” Ellerin said. “We are ultimately a country based on freedoms and choices,” she added. Ordering workers to get vaccinated without exception “seems somewhat like not the right thing to do also in terms of engendering employee respect and admiration and wanting to work for a company.”