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.
Fort Myers Beach hurricane damage. (Credit: WINK News) All across Southwest Florida, people are showing what it means to be Gulfshore Strong and vowing to rebuild what Hurricane Ian destroyed. One of the places hit especially hard by the story was Fort Myers Beach. Deputies guard the entrance to make sure no one enters after the curfew, which runs from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. WINK News was on the beach on Saturday, joined by Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy and others for a tour of some of the recovery areas. FEMA relief site. Stops on the tour included a FEMA relief site at Beach Baptist Church and the Fort Myers Fire Department, which was flooded during the hurricane. WINK News also visited the Bay Oaks Recreational Center, where all of the debris from destroyed homes is being taken to before being taken off the island. Bay Oaks Recreational Center debris piles. Robert Akeson was back on Fort Myers Beach for the first time since Hurricane Ian on Saturday. He is a seasonal resident here. “Coming over to Fort Myers Beach, you could see it was almost as if it was black, and then it was white, or it was white, then it was black. In other words, the landscape changed dramatically. If you go five minutes on the other side of the bridge, it looks like, yes, we had a storm, but it doesn’t look like total devastation. It does look like total devastation as you approach the bridge. And as you come over onto the island itself, no question about it’s it’s horrible. It’s true devastation,” said Akeson. Lori Dupuie was also visiting the beach for the first time since the storm on Saturday. “Now, to come here, and you guys caught me here having my little memorial for myself. I’m devastated. I’ve been down here for 30 years. And this has been my home for nine.” Dupuie stayed on the island during the hurricane. “We really didn’t know we went through the survival part of watching it happen and being part of it. And it was terrifying. But we didn’t know this. I mean, it just can’t explain this. I mean, there’s just no words to describe it. So, you know, I started getting snapshots from my, from my daughter who’s in Chicago, showing me the devastation.” Despite the devastation, Dupuie has a place to stay during this rebuilding process. “I found an apartment complex, and I just begged her I said can you just let me put my computers from our work office in there and my jewelry, you know, my social security card just, I didn’t have anywhere to put anything, so that was really vulnerable. But it’s not my story. My story is a one-bedroom apartment in a car, I can handle that. I feel sorry for everybody that lost their foundation, their home with 35 years, 40 years, everything you know, that just crushes my heart,” said Dupuie. Fort Myers Beach’s mayor is optimistic about the community’s future. “The beach is coming back. I mean, there’s, and we’re going to try to retain the same character that we had before. You know, we don’t want a big community, we don’t want the big buildings, we don’t want the big. We want the same sort of feeling that we had before. Except better,” said Murphy. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office says if people would like to get into Fort Myers Beach outside of curfew, they will need to bring something that can prove they live there.