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.
This Oct. 2, 2015 photo provided by the Lane Thomas Foundation shows Lane Thomas Graves, in Omaha, Neb. Graves died in 2016 after an alligator attacked him at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The Lane Thomas Foundation his parents created after his death is moving beyond the small-scale donations it has been making so far to individual families with children undergoing transplants to raise awareness nationally about the need for pediatric organ donation. (Lane Thomas Foundation via AP) A Nebraska couple whose 2-year-old son died tragically at Walt Disney World nearly five years ago wants more families to consider donating their children’s organs if their child is ever facing death. Matt and Melissa Graves created the Lane Thomas Foundation after their son was killed by an alligator in 2016. The Omaha couple said they decided to focus on pediatric organ donation because they wanted to help other families fighting for their children’s lives and they wanted to help kids because their son loved other children. “Because we know the pain of losing a child, we wanted to focus on an issue where we believe we can help prevent other parents from knowing our pain. We chose pediatric organ donation because we saw those families struggling with very limited resources to care for their children,” Matt and Melissa Graves said in a statement. Lane Thomas Graves was playing on a beach outside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in June 2016 when an alligator grabbed him and dragged him into the lake. He was gathering sand for a sandcastle when the alligator attacked. Matt Graves jumped into the water but was unable to rescue his son. Lane’s body was found 16 hours later. At Disney World, a sculpture of a lighthouse similar to the one the foundation uses as its logo was later erected near where Lane was killed. Matt and Melissa Graves say they want parents to talk about organ donation long before they ever face the unthinkable prospect of their child dying. “No parent is prepared to lose a child ever. The loss is unbearable,” Matt Graves said. “Organ donation may seem like a hard choice to make. … But people who donate their child’s organs are heroes.” The Graves family’s foundation is moving beyond the small-scale donations it has been making so far to families with children undergoing transplants in Omaha to raise awareness nationally about the need for pediatric organ donation. They cite statistics saying that roughly 100, of the nearly 2,000 children on the national transplant waiting list, die each year while waiting. Finding transplant organs for children is challenging because the pool of donors is so small. “The real and ever-present issue the foundation is trying to address is … the donor organ availability which is markedly limited,” said University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor Dr. Jeffrey Gold, who serves on the foundation’s board. Even though the foundation is small, Gold said he believes it can get more people to consider organ donation with its plan to tell the stories of parents who donated their child’s organs and the families that received them, and that can make a difference. “Anything that can be done to reduce time on these waiting lists for both for adults and children will be lifesaving and produce a stress relief that is immeasurable,” Gold said. The foundation, which has nearly $5 million in assets and two part-time employees, created a public service announcement focused on Lauressa Gillock of North Platte, Nebraska, meeting the now 7-year-old boy from McComb, Mississippi, who received her daughter’s heart. Gillock said organ donation helped ease the pain of losing her 3-year-old daughter to brain cancer in 2015 because she knew her daughter’s organs helped five people. “I’m so grateful that I have this to help me in my grief process,” Gillock said. “It’s such an honor to have been part of that decision and to know that these families were pleading for a savior and my daughter was the savior. What better honor.” Since the foundation was created, it has helped pay travel and living expenses for nearly 100 families being treated in Omaha. That included donating $112,275 to 30 families in 2019, according to the foundation’s tax forms. Families of children getting transplants typically have to spend weeks or months in Omaha after an operation, and the long recovery time often forces one parent to take leave from their job or quit to be with the child. Gillock said those grants really help families. “The Lane Thomas Foundation is amazing to help these families that are going through organ donation to not worry about financials. It should never be an issue when your child is on their deathbed. Never,” she said.