ALVA Woodpeckers build home in 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 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.
Fort Myers Beach cleanup. CREDIT: WINK News Southwest Florida has come a long way but there is still a lot more to do and rebuild, especially on Fort Myers Beach. WINK News spoke with the mayor on Friday who said they’re working hard to clear all the debris off the island. Debris on Fort Myers Beach. CREDIT: WINK News And, while he’s excited to welcome visitors back to Fort Myers Beach, he explained now isn’t the time for people to be visiting. “Well, we’re doing fine. You know, it’s been an intense month, there’s no doubt about it. But a lot going on since the event itself, and there’s been a tremendous amount of work accomplished in that month,” Murphy said. Murphy told WINK News, they’re past the initial recovery stage and are in the cleanup and removal process of getting all the debris off the island. While there’s still a lot of work to be done, they’re trying to power through it all as quickly as possible. Power continues to be restored in individual homes and water has been restored on the entire island. Even though residents are allowed back, Murphy said it’s not the right time for visitors to come. “There are no restaurants to go to, there’s no bars to go to, there’s no beach to go to. There’s nothing for anybody outside of beach people to do down here. And there’s absolutely no reason for them to be down here,” Murphy said. “So, we’re asking that you stay away for now. We can’t wait till the day that we can welcome you back down here with open arms, because that’s what we do. That’s our livelihood. That’s our business. And we can’t wait for that day. But right now, we need our time to clean up, to clean up and rebuild.” While most of the island is still unrecognizable, the Lani Kai is one of the few landmarks on Fort Myers Beach still standing. The Lani Kai on Fort Myers Beach. CREDIT: WINK News Melissa Schnider is a spokesperson for the Lani Kai and spoke with WINK News about what’s going on. “As soon as we were able to our staff dove in, it was all hands on deck. It did not matter what department they worked in, whether they were maintenance or housekeeping or kitchen managers, the family members the Conadaris family, everyone teamed up and just dove in clearing debris making a huge dent in the disaster that Ian left on the property,” Schneider said. And if there’s one thing Murphy wants his people to know it would be… “Just know that, you know, we’re down here every day, slugging it out for you, and, and we’re getting there, you know, we’re getting there,” Murphy said. “And I think people, people that are down here, they see it, you know, they see the improvements that are happening daily, and so forth. And, and that’s not going to end, we’re just going to keep going, we’re gonna keep going, we’re gonna keep going in.” Fort Myers Beach has been getting a lot of questions about the iconic town clock that was in Times Square. They said the clock has not been found, but the public works department has been working with the company that produced the original clock for its future replacement.