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.
Rumors are buzzing on social media, as the Federal Reserve begins rolling out its new instant payment system called FedNow. The idea is to streamline payment processes in the U.S., but there’s a lot of confusion about what the Federal Reserve is aiming to do. According to the Federal Reserve, the FedNow service is a new instant payment infrastructure that allows financial institutions to provide safe and efficient instant payment services. The service will be available to all banks and credit unions within a few months. However, according to NerdWallet, there’s no requirement for them to join. On Friday, ‘WINK Investigates’ reporter Kellie Miller spoke to a financial expert about FedNow. “It’s essentially venmo provided by the federal government,” said Dr. Thomas Smythe, professor of finance at Florida Gulf Coast University. According to Smythe, the purpose of FedNow is to allow consumers to send and receive money within seconds, 24/7 and 365-days a year. The Federal Reserve claims their program accommodates the growing number of individuals, businesses, and organizations demanding instant payments. However, critics argue that money will essentially be funneled through a federal account, posing many questions about freedom and privacy. “Well, I think that’s one of the issues very specifically that is going to have to be addressed,” Smythe said. “And I think the issue will become more acute if we start seeing a push towards the central bank digital currency…Now, will they have some idea about how transactions flow and things like that? Absolutely.” When FedNow officially starts operating in July, will companies such as Zelle, PayPal, and Venmo still be useful? According to Smythe, it’s too early to tell. “I think the question will be, how competitive are they going to be relative to FedNow,” he said. “There’s a strong possibility that some of these payment apps will struggle. But what I hope would happen is with the competition, they’ll try to find other value-added services as part of their package that will allow for even more benefits to consumers. But it’s a little bit too early to tell.” “The other thing that I actually believe this may be, is a first step for the Federal Reserve to introduce a central bank digital currency,” Smythe said. “This is essentially the movement of money that a central bank digital currency would need…I’m not suggesting that’s imminent by any stretch of the imagination. But central banks have been looking at central bank digital currencies for about four or five years now.” Currently, more than 110 organizations, such as American Bank, Capital One Financial, and First Citizens State Bank, are taking part in the pilot program. “I do believe that the intent behind the program is sound,” Smythe said. “Unfortunately, quite often, especially when the government gets involved, we tend to see unintended consequences. So that will be sort of what I’ll be looking for, within the first year or so, to see if there are things that occur, say in the broader economy associated with this that we are just not aware of.”