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.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Credit: Getty Images via CBS News. In response to the weakening of the federal voting rights law by the Supreme Court in 2013, Attorney General Merrick Garland made a commitment to expand the Justice Department’s efforts to protect voting rights, announcing a series of actions aimed at confronting state and local efforts that he said “will make it harder to vote.” “We are scrutinizing new laws that seek to curb voter access, and where we see violations of federal law, we will not hesitate to act,” Garland said at a speech at the Justice Department Friday. “We are also scrutinizing current laws and practices, in order to determine whether they discriminate against Black voters and other voters of color.” Since over a dozen states have passed new laws making it more difficult to vote, Garland pointed to some jurisdictions that, “based on disinformation, have utilized abnormal post-election audit methodologies that may put the integrity of the voting process at risk and undermine public confidence in our democracy.” To counter this, he said that the Justice Department will increase the size of the enforcement unit that tracks state and local efforts to enact voter restrictions and vowed to prosecute those responsible for the rise in violent threats against election workers. In the next 30 days the department will be doubling the Civil Rights Division’s enforcement staff. The addition of more attorneys and resources comes in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, which saw an uptick in threats targeting state and local election officials and poll workers and rising disinformation around access to the ballot box. Garland pledged the department would “investigate and promptly prosecute” any threats that violate federal law, and committed to partnering with other federal agencies to combat disinformation surrounding elections, which he said “intentionally tries to suppress the vote.” There are currently several Republican-led states considering legislation that would add limits to voting access in the wake of President Trump’s electoral loss and a rise in mail-in voting in the 2020 elections due to the coronavirus pandemic. As of mid-May, state legislators have enacted at least 22 bills with restrictive voting provisions in 14 states, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Congress is considering two major pieces of voting rights legislation, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the late congressman and civil rights icon. At the end of the month, the Senate will take up the For the People Act, an expansive but controversial voting and elections reform bill, but it is expected to be blocked by Republicans who argue that it is a federal overreach. The House is currently working on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, or H.R. 4, which has yet to be introduced. The bill would restore a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013. The Voting Rights Act established a formula to determine which areas should be covered by Section 5, which required jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to submit any changes to voting laws to the Justice Department or a panel of federal judges for approval, a practice known as preclearance. But the Supreme Court struck down the formula in Shelby County v. Holder in a 5 to 4 decision along ideological lines. The House subcommittee that oversees federal elections is currently conducting field hearings to compile evidence on whether racial discrimination in voting is occurring in certain jurisdictions, and create a new formula. Once those hearings are concluded, the bill will be written and considered later this year. But, like the For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act faces significant opposition from Senate Republicans and faces an uphill battle to passage. NAACP President Derrick Johnson praised Garland’s announcement in a statement on Friday, but said that it is “a race against time” to protect voting rights as more restrictive state laws on voting rights are implemented. “From the appointment of Kristen Clarke (to lead the Civil Rights Division) to the ongoing fight to pass the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, we are encouraged by the new tone on voting rights set by the Biden-Harris Administration,” Johnson said. “But the uphill battle to protect our most sacred and fundamental right, the right to vote, is far from over. Today’s announcement from the Attorney General speaks to the level of urgency that is needed to protect our democracy and ensure that our voices are heard.”