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.
Trudy Berlin looks at a book during her weekly Zoom session at the Levis Jewish Community Center in Boca Raton, Fla., Tuesday, March 16, 2021. During the coronavirus pandemic, Berlin moved her in-person classes to Zoom. She’s grown a steady audience of about 50 women from the U.S. and Canada who have come to view the class as a support group. Berlin says it’s “a whole new world out there” and she’s having fun. (AP Photo/Cody Jackson) When the coronavirus pandemic shut down the Levis Jewish Community Center last year, 98-year-old Trudy Berlin sprang into action to keep her weekly women’s group active. For Berlin, who began hosting “The Ladies Room” at the JCC’s Sandler Center in 2000, the show needed to go on. So with a little help from Stephanie Owitz, the Boca Raton, Florida, center’s director of arts, culture and learning, the show went virtual. “When the pandemic hit, of course, she was very disappointed we were shutting down the JCC,” Owitz said. Then, the center decided to make some classes, including Berlin’s, available on Zoom. “At first she was very intimidated by that idea. She’s 98 years old and not that comfortable with the technology, but I assured her I would help her get started,” Owitz said. Since March, Berlin has grown a steady Tuesday morning audience of about 50 women, mostly age 70 and up, from the United States and Canada. They discuss everything from grief to politics. “I’m happiest when I can be talking to a group, and I believe in groups very very much,” Berlin said. At first, Berlin did the show from her Boca Raton apartment. Now that the center has reopened, she does her virtual class from the JCC, sitting at a table with newspapers and notes spread out in front of her. The participants find Berlin inspiring, even dubbing her the “Jewish Oprah.” “She challenges us, she makes us think,” said Marilyn Snider, 79, of Toronto. “Her energy is absolutely unbelievable. She brings out thoughts that you never thought you would ever express.” The virtual group has been especially important to Snider, who usually spends winters with her husband in Boca Raton. For seven years she attended the in-person group. So when the pandemic hit, and she stayed home in Canada, she thought she’d miss out on her weekly women’s group. “That was a horrible thing when we thought, ‘Oh my God, what are we going to do now?’” Snider said. “I can’t imaging having gone through this past year not having the existence of Zoom, to be able to do the things that we are doing. It’s been my sanity, personally.” Berlin is a strong advocate for older women. “As you grow older, I think that the world can become very difficult for old people and they give up,” she said. Berlin said in her younger days she used to get love notes. “Now I get gratitude notes saying thank you, and each has its place,” she said. “I think if communities could learn to do this, and if government could learn to do this, just to listen and then respond. That’s the important thing” Each week Berlin comes up with a theme for the show, and then the conversation moves in whatever direction the woman care to take it. “I always feel when I sit here that I’m on a spaceship,” Berlin said at the beginning of a recent show. “We’re set to go. And we’re all flying off together.” On this day, she holds up a book she recently read, pages marked with colorful sticky notes. Her topic: Had someone told you that the pandemic would last more than a year, would you have prepared differently? Owitz calls on Brenda Soloman to answer that question. “I’ve learned to live more in the moment,″ Solomon tells the group. “And it’s been very, very, very beneficial to me.” Said Owitz: “She prepares. She spends all week preparing for it.” They plan to continue with the virtual class through the summer, and in the fall they’ll see how everyone feels about resuming an in-person class, Owitz said. However, they’ll still record the class and offer it virtually because so many people who don’t live in Boca Raton have joined. “It’s a whole new world out there, and I’m having fun and a good time,” Berlin said. ___ “One Good Thing” is a series by The Associated Press that highlights individuals whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times — stories of people who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the collection of stories at https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing