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.
Friday afternoon brings a major milestone in Hurricane Ian recovery: Lowdermilk Park in Naples has reopened. The beachfront hotspot was left unrecognizable after the storm plowed through, but it has come a long way in five months. Still, visitors this month should not expect the postcard-pristine place they may remember from before Ian. It’s still beautiful, but it’s not the same, and work is still being done. Naples city workers spent countless hours working on the beach to prepare it to welcome people back. They repaired the concession stand, rounded up picnic tables that were scattered all throughout the area by Ian’s strong winds, and removed heaps of sand and mud. Naples city workers repairing the Lowdermilk Park concession stand after it was wrecked by Hurricane Ian. Credit: WINK News “When we got here, we had probably 3 or 4 feet of sand from the beach,” said Chad Merrit, director of Naples Parks and Recreation. “We had a lot of debris… it destroyed the concessions pretty bad.” Merrit hopes the park and beach reopening will bring visitors some sense of normalcy. “This is not going to look like Lowdermilk before the storm; we’re going to have to do some major landscaping; we’ve got to come in and replant grass,” Merrit said. “You’re not going to have every amenity, but we did want to provide the parking, we wanted to provide the beach access, and that was our main goal, and trying to do that safely.” “It’s wonderful. It feels great to be back. It’s been such a long wait,” said Donna Wilson. The city wants people to remember the park is not going to look like it did before Ian, and more work must be done. “We are not in a pre-Ian environment at this park. There’s a lot of damage that this park sustained, so we’re trying to prioritize the repairs and rehabilitation of this park,” said Jay Boodheshwar, Naples city manager. If you’re wondering if you’re good to go in the water, it’s really up to you. “We just try and tell people, be safe. We don’t know what’s in the water. We don’t know what’s still up underneath, there was a lot of debris washed, so for us, we encourage people to wear sandals, shoes, on the beach,” said Merrit. The health department said not to go in the water if you have an open cut. They also said they don’t know for sure if there is debris under the sand or water because they don’t regulate debris cleanup. The only amenity the city planned to have ready was the bathrooms, but they came across an issue and had to get porta-potties. Wilson and her friends are just happy to be back. “We usually are back there, underneath in that destroyed little tiki hut, and there’s other women that join us from our game night screw, but it’s just the three of us. We’ll break the ice,” said Wilson. The city is still working on getting the bathrooms working, as well as the concession stand. Everyone WINK News talked to here agrees as long as Lowdermilk is open, they’re happy.