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.
Credit: WINK News. Florida lawyers are getting ready to file a lawsuit against the state for cutting off extra federal unemployment money early. Gov. Ron DeSantis and 25 other Republican governors stopped allowing the $300 a week the feds offered to supplement regular unemployment payments, called the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program (FPUC). The governor said it would encourage people to get back to work. These kinds of lawsuits have already seen success. Judges in Indiana and Maryland determined those states have to continue making those payments, and many unemployed Floridians hope the same happens in their state. As business owners began to blame benefits for a lack of applicants, DeSantis responded. “Employers have said since we made that change, there’s some that said they had more applications in three weeks than they had in the previous three months,” said DeSantis in a press conference Monday. After June 26, the governor withdrew Florida from the FPUC program, but it wasn’t supposed to end until September. “I think the states that don’t do that are going to have a little bit more of a stagnation,” DeSantis said. But according to a 2020 analysis by the U.S. Joint Economic Committee, five different studies found no evidence to suggest the extra money slowed job growth, and unemployed people say cutting it off isn’t fair. “It’s so detrimental to their financial stability, to their mental health,” said Vanessa Brito, an unemployment benefits advocate in the state. Brito has helped people navigate the unemployment system since last year, and she plans to fundraise to help with attorney’s fees when the lawsuit is filed. “It represents every UI claimant who was eligible for FPUC and now is going without because the state decided to terminate that agreement,” Brito said. Brito says people looking for work still have trouble finding it, especially older folks and people with health and child care concerns. “I have people who are asking me to review their resume or figure out why it is that their profile isn’t getting picked up, or why they aren’t getting calls for interviews,” Brito said. “Florida has had an incredible delay and backlog in paying benefits, so that $300, when it came, if it came, was very helpful.” Brito says the lawsuit might be filed as soon as early as the week of July 19, likely out of Broward County. The governor’s office didn’t get back to us for comment after we reached out. A representative from the Department of Economic Opportunity said in an email, “The Department is unaware of any lawsuit regarding the state’s termination of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program.” WINK News has also been pushing to set up a one-on-one interview with DEO Secretary Dane Eagle to discuss the concerns of unemployed people, including the unemployment website that is still crashing and causing problems for claimants and unanswered phone calls to the department’s help line. We’ve not yet received a response. MORE: Studies Show $600 Weekly Enhanced Unemployment Benefit Has Not Slowed Labor Market Recovery