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.
A home in Cape Coral suffering significant damage from Ian. (CREDIT: WINK News) A couple is sleeping on a pool table after Hurricane Ian passed by their home in Southwest Cape Coral. Stephen Weir is making progress while he works to fix up his home for the past 27 years in Cape Coral. The roof of Weir’s home was torn up and walls ripped off from where they stood before. It hasn’t been easy for Weir and his girlfriend Marnie Shore. “Still rough I mean I hope to get back to work next week. get to sleep in my own bed. We’re sleeping on the pool table,” Shore said. That’s right since the storm, Weir and Shore are sleeping on a mattress that’s placed on top of a pool table. The mattress the Weir and Shore slept on after Hurricane Ian. (CREDIT: WINK News) “I’ve never seen him scared,” Shore said. “I mean he left a little peephole because we don’t have the window covers with the plywood. Just waves kept coming in that’s when I said we got to go next door.” Weir and Shore went to their neighbor’s home and stayed there for eight hours waiting for the storm to pass. “It was rough,” Weir said. “We were just laying there and we just hear the winds just howling again and when was it ever going to stop.” At a time like Ian, you never know who is going to join you in your shelter. And that’s exactly what happened to another one of their neighbors who joined them and rode the storm out altogether. “They came down the river in a paddle board and their dog,” Weir said. “A swimming pool with black trash bags of their stuff. And we all waited the storm out together.” Cape Coral has 160 trucks a day picking up everything they can, and so far, they’ve collected about 350,000 cubic yards of debris out of an estimated 1,800,000 cubic yards. Terry Schwitzer is Cape Coral’s solid waste manager, and he is urging people to be patient. “It will get picked up,” Schwitzer said. “This is a temporary situation and we’ll get stuff off the streets so people can get their lives back and start turning around.” Like many others, Weir never wants to endure something like Ian again. “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Weir said. One person was creative and began using an RV shipped down to Southwest Florida from Tennessee to live in. It’s been almost three weeks since Hurricane Ian hit the Southwest Florida area, and the devastation left behind can be seen all around, in particular in Southwest Cape Coral. Bodo Knoche is a Cape Coral resident and he shared what it’s like in the city. “We have helped out neighbors and neighbors have helped us. I have a handyman he tried very hard to organize everything a little bit better, but it’s still a big mess. But, everything can be replaced,” Knoche said. Knoche is working on doing just that, but he’s using a different place to rest his head. Parked in his front yard is an RV acting as his temporary home and it came all the way from Tennessee. “A lot of people have their own problems so we don’t find any house where we can move in,” Knoche said. “Of course, it’s not the same like you have your own bed your own room. So, but for the moment we have air conditioning, we have internet we have everything.” Submit Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.