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.
Credit: WINK News The State Board of Education is slated to scrutinize LGBTQ support guides and bathroom policies for transgender students in 10 school districts, as state officials question whether they are violating a law known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” and other measures. The Parents’ Bill of Rights relates to what families are entitled to know about their children’s education and health care. Jacob Oliva, senior chancellor for the education department, wrote letters to school superintendents in the districts on Nov. 18, outlining parts of policies that Oliva said “may have not yet been updated” to comply with state law and education board rules. The state board will discuss the policies during a meeting Wednesday. For example, in a letter to Alachua County Superintendent of Schools Shane Andrew, Oliva pointed to four policies within a district guide. One of the policies focused on “student privacy.” “All students’ privacy rights will be respected and personal information about the student, including their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, will not be shared without the students’ or parents’ consent,” the policy said, with the word “or” in bold and underlined. Oliva also cited a controversial law (HB 1557) passed this year that, in part, was designed to prohibit classroom instruction in early grades about sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the law, parents must be notified of a “change in the student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being and the school’s ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment” for the student. “This could include matters related to a student’s privacy, name and pronoun usage, and restroom and locker room usage,” Oliva wrote. Scrutiny of LGBTQ support guides was initiated after State Board of Education member Ryan Petty during an August board meeting expressed “grave concerns” about whether certain parts of some districts’ support guide documents ran afoul of state law. Education Commissioner Manny Diaz during the August meeting gave his staff the go-ahead to review LGBTQ support documents at all school districts. But Brandon Wolf, the press secretary of the LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality Florida, criticized the education department’s targeting of the guides. “Equality Florida’s grave concern is for the protection of LGBTQ students. The Department of Education’s record on these issues has demonstrated clear hostility toward those protections,” Wolf told The News Service of Florida after the August meeting. Oliva’s missives to school officials in Alachua County and other districts similarly aimed at policies regarding students’ pronouns and rules guiding bathroom and locker-room access. In a letter to Brevard County Superintendent of Schools Mark Mullins, Oliva took issue with parts of a document entitled “Brevard County Schools: LGBTQ+ District Guidance.” One part of the Brevard document said that all students “are allowed to access locker rooms and restrooms that are consistent with their gender identity or be provided appropriate accommodations.” Decisions about such accommodations, the document said, “should be student-driven and with district support on a case-by-case basis.” Oliva again noted that the policy, and any others that may not correspond with state law, would need revision. “After initial review of the policies and procedures submitted by Brevard County Schools, it appears that some of these policies or procedures may have not yet been updated to comply with revised Florida law and State Board of Education rule. This list is not exhaustive, and your district should strive to review all its policies and procedures for other provisions that may not comport with Florida law,” Oliva wrote. The state education board’s scrutiny of bathroom and locker-room policies came after the board in October approved a rule that requires districts to notify parents of such guidelines. “This rule will allow both students and parents to have full knowledge if bathrooms and locker rooms will not be separated by biological sex at birth, therefore; allowing them to make informed decisions and requests for accommodations or modification,” a summary of the rule posted to the Florida Administrative Code said. Policies that deal with other issues, such as a racial-equity policy used in Indian River County Schools, also will come under scrutiny during Wednesday’s meeting. “This policy confronts the institutional racism that results in predictably lower academic achievement for students of color than for their white peers,” a part of the policy said. But Oliva wrote in a letter to Indian River County Superintendent of Schools David Moore that the policy may not comply with a state law related to discrimination against public school students and employees. The board’s meeting this week will focus on policies in Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Policies within a parent-student handbook for the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind also is slated for discussion during the meeting.