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.
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and House Appropriations Chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, are negotiating a state budget. Credit: Jim Turner With legislative leaders trying to meet a Tuesday deadline for finishing a new state budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis will get more money than he requested for a reactivated Florida State Guard and to relocate undocumented immigrants out of the state. Budget chiefs also agreed Sunday night to provide money for DeSantis’ effort to attract law-enforcement officers from other states, while numerous other issues remained unresolved. Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and House Appropriations Chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, said they expected talks to resume Monday morning. With a legally required 72-hour “cooling off” period before the House and Senate can vote on the budget, leaders must finish a spending plan Tuesday to end the annual legislative session as scheduled Friday. The budget likely will top $100 billion and will take effect July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year. Trumbull acknowledged his attention has at times been diverted to wildfires that raged throughout the weekend in Bay County, his home county. “It’s incredible to be able to watch what fire-rescue is doing and what state resources there are making sure that people are safe,” Trumbull said Saturday, noting he traveled to Bay County that morning. Trumbull added that lawmakers could add more money for dealing with wildfires with conditions for the blazes growing statewide. “I don’t think it’s specific to Northwest Florida,” Trumbull said. “I think from looking at the agriculture silo (of the budget) as a whole, maybe looking for opportunities to put more resources there.” The House and Senate leaders Sunday night fixed at $10 million an amount to re-establish the Florida State Guard, which was a defense force set up during World War II to replace Florida National Guard members who were deployed abroad. DeSantis requested $5.4 million to train and equip a 200-member force that would be used to assist the Florida National Guard during emergencies. Trumbull said the budget line “gets us about 400 people.” Also, the Department of Transportation is expected to receive a one-time payment of $12 million to set up a program for the “transport of unauthorized aliens from this state.” The budget would allow the department to contract with a private provider or reach an agreement with a federal agency to undertake the relocation work while maintaining that any of the work would remain consistent with federal law. DeSantis requested $8 million and has made that part of his campaign speeches, drawing cheers when saying undocumented immigrants would be rerouted to President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware. The Senate also agreed to spend $20 million that the House had approved as part of bill (HB 3) that includes establishing a program to provide one-time payments of up to $5,000 to newly employed law-enforcement officers. The bill also would set up a Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program to cover basic-training tuition and fees for new officers and reward officers who adopt children. DeSantis, who is running for re-election this year, has made beefing up law enforcement a hallmark of his policies through such things as the proposed bonuses. The Senate also dropped a push to provide a more-permanent allocation of $50 million a year for the Visit Florida tourism marketing agency. The two sides had agreed early in the talks to spend $50 million in the coming year on Visit Florida, the same amount as this year. But the Senate wanted to make that amount “recurring,” which would have more firmly established it as an annual amount. House leaders had concerns about some past spending by the agency and preferred to handle the issue on a year-by-year basis. “One of the best ways we, as the appropriators, have to remedy bad behaviors is to put non-recurring on it,” Trumbull said Saturday. “They have done a good job as of late of making good decisions, using the state’s resources.” The Senate this week will take up a House proposal to extend Visit Florida’s legal authorization to operate until Oct. 1, 2028. Under current law, Visit Florida would be repealed Oct. 1, 2023, without an extension, and the Senate had sought to move the date to Oct. 1, 2031.