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.
FILE – Syringes and colorful bandages. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP, File) Florida is the only state that hasn’t preordered COVID-19 vaccines for toddlers in anticipation of their final approval by the federal government. Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he wouldn’t facilitate their distribution but that they’ll be available to those who want them. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, who confirmed Florida’s outlier status on Thursday, said not preordering the vaccines could mean delaying their availability in children’s hospitals and other facilities that have relied on state distribution of the shots. Florida officials said the jabs would be available at pharmacies and community health centers, which can preorder them directly from the federal government, and that children’s hospitals and other clinics would be able to order them from the federal government via a state portal and receive them quickly. “Doctors can get it. Hospitals can get it. But there’s not going to be any state programs that are going to be trying to get COVID jabs to infants and toddlers and newborns,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “That’s not where we’re gonna be utilizing our resources.” The final OK could come this weekend for vaccines for kids under 5. The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up Wednesday to kid-size doses from Pfizer and Moderna for children as young as six months, deciding the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks. Florida’s Health Department does not recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children under 17 but says children with underlying health conditions should be considered candidates. That advice contradicts the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has recommended the vaccines for everyone 5 and older, saying the shots provide strong protection against hospitalization and death. In Florida, pharmacies, several supermarket chains and some community health centers can preorder vaccines directly from the federal government. Other venues such as hospitals have previously benefited from the state’s preordering of shots. However, they also can order them directly from the federal government via a Florida government web portal and receive the doses within days or a week, said health department spokesman Jeremy Redfern. Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital, which has several centers in South Florida, has previously ordered vaccines via the state portal, officials said. “As a healthcare institution, our goal is to keep our community healthy and safe, and we will follow the process in place to order approved vaccines for children,” said spokeswoman Kerting Baldwin. Preordering the shots would mean the Florida health department would stockpile them, ship them to county-level health departments and then out to the hospitals, Redfern said. He said that hospitals that use the portal would receive the shots directly from the federal government. “The timing doesn’t necessarily change” significantly, Redfern said. “This just cuts out the middle man.” Jean-Pierre, at a news conference in Washington, said parents would be able to access children’s vaccines through federal distribution channels at pharmacies and community health centers, “but those are limited options.” “We encouraged Florida on several occasions to order vaccines,” Jean-Pierre said. By not doing so, the state “will not have immediate, ready access to some,” she said. Dr. Michelle Kirwan, a chief medical officer and pediatrician at the Center for Family and Child Enrichment in Miami Gardens, said the center gets its supply directly through a federal program. But she said she was concerned that the state not facilitating the program might confuse parents. She also said some children in this age group might be at a higher risk and their families don’t know it yet. “I think it adds to the anxiety, which leads to indecision and delays,” Dr. Kirwan said. “They will say, ‘Who do I listen to?’ Is this going to harm my baby?’ They are between a rock and a hard place.”