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: CBS News) “We’re gonna need a case of lemons; let’s hope that they got lemons tomorrow.” Life’s not giving lemons to Tony Pertesis, who owns and runs the Southport Diner in Connecticut. And not just lemons: “You order Heinz, it’s not here. I order Gatorade; it took weeks to get Gatorade. The waitress will come out and say, ‘I don’t know where the whipped butter is.’ I’ll call my distributor and say, ‘What happened to the whipped butter?’ They’ll say, ‘Oh, we’re outta stock ’til next week.'” And when he can get his hands on supplies, he pays a lot more for them. “Used to buy bacon for $2.40 a pound. It spiked up to $6,” Pertesis told correspondent David Pogue. “But how are we supposed to sell bacon when it’s costing us so much money?” You’ve probably noticed something weird going on with the supply chain, too. Suddenly, you just can’t buy the stuff you want. Book publishers are having trouble getting paper … car companies can’t buy computer chips … builders can’t get lumber … container ships in port are waiting for days to be unloaded … and everyone is back to hoarding toilet paper! What’s so strange about the shortages is that there’s actually a glut of goods entering the country. And chances are whatever you’re waiting for, is somewhere in shipping containers. Beth Rooney, deputy director of the Port Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, explained: “One of these containers can hold 10,000 pairs of sneakers, 200 queen-size mattresses, 70 giant flat-screen TVs. So, 95% of consumer goods come into the United States in these very containers.” “So, those big container ships, how many of these are they carrying?” asked Pogue. “Anywhere between 9,000 and 16,000 of these boxes at a time.” “And this pile is how many?” “A couple hundred!” she laughed. Rooney is in a perfect position to explain the first part of the supply-chain crisis: “As the pandemic hit various parts of the globe, factories overseas shut down. When production began to ramp up, we then saw a significant increase in cargo volume. We are all seeing about a 30% increase in our cargo activity year over year.” And even better (or worse), the holidays are coming. “Of course, we’re also experiencing Christmas,” Rooney said. “If the goods are not here, in the port, by mid-September, they’re generally not on the shelves for Christmas.” OK, so if there’s no shortage of goods, then where’s the shortage? According to Yosi Sheffi, the director of MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, “The underlying cause of all of this is actually a huge increase in demand. … People did not spend during the pandemic. And then, all the government help came; trillions of dollars went to households. So, they order stuff. They order more and more stuff. And the whole global markets were not ready for this.” So, wait: There’s plenty of goods, and plenty of people who want to buy them – so, where’s the problem? Here’s a hint: Trucks. “I think our drivers are heroes,” said Mark Rourke is president and CEO of Schneider, the country’s third-largest trucking and logistics company. “They didn’t have a work-from-home option, right? And so, the country needed food, the country needed cleaning supplies, the country needed medicine. And they really kept this whole country moving.” Pogue asked, “So, I order something, [it] comes to America on a container ship. Can you outline the steps to get it to my door?” “Well, the first thing we have to do is get that international box off the vessel, into the port,” Rourke said. “And then, we need a trucker to come into that port and bring that generally to another warehouse. And then, we need another driver to come in and then move that across the country or wherever its destination is, a distribution center.” “Sounds like truckers are sort of key to all of that.” “Just about everything that you touch, everything you buy or consume, has been at one point or another on a truck, for sure,” said Rourke. But the national labor shortage plays a role in the supply-chain crisis, too, especially when it comes to truck drivers. “How short are we of what we would need to handle this huge swell?” asked Pogue. “Well, for every order Schneider is accepting today, we could do one more that we can’t.” “So, you’ve got half the person power you really could use?” “I could use right now, absolutely,” Rourke replied. So, there’s our problem: an unbelievably perfect storm. A huge wave of stuff coming into the country, a huge wave of people who want to buy it, and a hopelessly swamped transportation system that wasn’t ready for either one. Back at his diner, Tony Pertesis is busy keeping his customers happy, and waiting for the supply-chain nightmare to end. Pogue asked, “Is this a minor inconvenience? Or is it, like, a losing-sleep situation?” “Listen, I’ve lost sleep a lot,” Pertesis said. “As long as I try my best, I go out fighting, there’s nothing I can do. That’s all up to God.” But MIT’s Yosi Sheffi thinks that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Asked when things will be normal again, he replied, “I would say, without government intervention, it will be at the end of the second quarter next year. But the prices will still be high.” And maybe we’ll emerge with some wisdom, too. “We’re getting so used to the plenty that we kind of lose perspective,” Sheffi said. “And if you didn’t get the right color of sneakers, and your son or daughter doesn’t have the exact brand, and they have to get another brand — live with it. It’s not the end of the world. It may be even good for you.”