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.
Naples Botanical Garden is doing its part to help clean up our waterways by making a massive swale filled with plant life for filtering parking lot runoff. “We’ve got algal blooms, red tide, and blue-green algal blooms; those tie back to how we manage our landscapes and reducing nutrients going through the systems out to the Gulf, and we can do that through plants,” said Chad Washburn, vice president of conservation at Naples Botanical Garden. “We had an opportunity to take on some freshwater from an off-site project and ensure that that water gets treated before it goes back to our natural systems.” The botanical garden is planting native flora 3,500 times across the winding, sloping channel. The plants will slow water that would have otherwise poured off a parking lot and eventually reach the Gulf of Mexico, rich in nutrients to encourage algal growth. “Things like phosphorus and nitrogen, which are definitely present on roadsides from fertilizer being used, that ends up being going into the ocean,” said Eric Foht, natural resource director for Naples Botanical Garden. “It’s been shown that those types of fertilizers and nutrients can accelerate naturally occurring algae.” This creation mimics a natural ecosystem, absorbing water and naturally filtering it to avoid propagating red tide and blue-green algae. “What we really want is as much contact time with that water in this ecosystem,” Washburn said. “So, as it flows through those plants, we slow it down, we ensure that any pollutants that are in that water can either precipitate out, or they have time for uptake into the plants. The plants in the swale are all collected on-site and are native to Southwest Florida’s ecosystem. “They’ll survive cycles of drought and flooding; we don’t need to add irrigation, we don’t need to add fertilizer,” Washburn said. “This is something that really, we need to do across the community. We have significant stormwater systems, stormwater ponds—many of us have stormwater ponds in our backyards, and those can be more efficient at filtering water.” The longer water’s in the swale, the cleaner it is once it gets to the coast. “It’s going to filter through all of these plant materials and into our own lake system, which is a whole nother process, and then finally to the bay,” said Jessica DeYoung, conservation horticulture manager. “So anytime we do a planting, we look to nature, we look to natural ecosystems. So with the swale, we look to an ecosystem like the Everglades that goes through cycles of heavy rains, where it’s gonna get flooding,” said Washburn. A useful function considering the storms we see. “When we get storm surge like that, it prevents a lot of that flooding from reaching the higher areas,” DeYoung said. While the plants are no match for a “Hurricane Ian” storm surge, they will help with our typical summertime storms. In a month, the team will plant more up along the banks to better channel rainwater runoff. If you have spots in your own yard where water collects, there are steps you can take to help. Planting around these areas, ideally using native plants, can create a buffer zone to keep pollutants like fertilizer or pesticides out of the water.