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.
Backpacks intended for students attending San Carlos Park Elementary because their own schools were ruined by Hurricane Ian. Credit: WINK news Lee County’s public school students are all finally back to class; most are attending school in person, and some are learning virtually. It’s been many tough weeks since Hurricane Ian destroyed many of their homes and disrupted their lives. What do our kids need right now? “We have no idea how we are going to go through this situation and be organized, because we have been dealing with a lot,” said Santiago Enriquez, a sixth grader at Lexington Middle who returned to school virtually on Friday. On Thursday, he and his mother brought his little sister to San Carlos Park Elementary. She originally went to Fort Myers Beach Elementary School, which was damaged beyond repair by Ian. “We got moved because everything got destroyed,” said Santiago’s mother, Erika Martinez. “I need a house, I need somebody to rent [to] me.” With no place to live, they’re staying with friends, but that’s not a long-term solution. “We need a place to live. We need somebody to rent to us because we have nowhere to go,” Santiago said. Licensed clinical social worker Elizabeth Dosoretz spoke to WINK News about how parents and other adults can help struggling kids after the hurricane. “Anything that we can do to allow kids to have a sense that not everything’s changed, not everything’s gone, there is predictability in the world, there is predictability… and there’s that comfort level,” Dosoretz said. Dosoretz says whenever and wherever possible, try to create a sense of life as it was before Ian. For Santiago, that’s being with his friends at school, because with no home, his dad had to leave town to work. “I have good friends very good friends,” Santiago said. “My dad had to leave to Daytona, that’s like four hours away. We miss him a lot, but he had to go so he can get a job so we can have a better life here.” The relocation of students and teachers from the Sanibel School and Fort Myers Beach Elementary to San Carlos Park Elementary has helped a great deal, by keeping groups of friends and classrooms together. “That was my only concern through all this; I just wanted my kids to be together with all their friends, their teachers and their school,” said Jude Sincoskie, parent of a former student at the Sanibel School. “This is our new home,” said Sherri Skipper, literary coach for Fort Myers Beach Elementary. “The school has been welcoming and lovely. It feels very good to have someplace to go.” Santiago says he’s worried about his younger sister, and he’s glad she didn’t have to leave the friends she had made at school. “She doesn’t talk a lot,” Santiago said. “She’s kind of a quiet kid, and making her friends is kind of really special for her, so she was worried that her friends couldn’t be there.” Dosoretz approves of the school district’s approach with San Carlos Park Elementary. “The goal is to minimize that sense of, you know, chaos and catastrophic thinking, where everything’s different, everything’s a mess, we want to kind of say, ‘It does feel hard, but we’re going to help each other, put one foot in front of the other,'” Dosoretz said. Parents are sacrificing much for their kids, but Dosoretz says it’s important that they make sure they’re taking care of themselves, too.