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.
This image released by Timber Press shows a Dogbane beetle from the book “Nature’s Best Hope: How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yard” by Douglas W. Tallamy, adapted for a young audience by Sarah L. Thomson, from Tallamy’s original release, “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard.” (Douglas W. Tallamy/Timber Press via AP) Doug Tallamy, the wildlife ecologist and entomologist who urges home gardeners to join forces and create a pollinator-friendly âHomegrown National Park,â is now bringing kids into the effort. Tallamy has become a leading evangelist for the return of native plants and trees that can support birds, bees and other essential wildlife. Anyone with a yard, patio or windowsill can chip in. And they can encourage parks, playgrounds, schools and colleges, hospitals and office buildings, golf courses and even airports to join in, he urges. Tallamyâs new book, âNatureâs Best Hope: How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yardâ (Timber Press), is aimed at middle schoolers (and, he hopes, their parents) in time for Earth Day. It follows his influential 1999 book for a general audience, âNatureâs Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard.â He hopes the book will carry the message into classrooms around the country. âThe idea is that kids are the future stewards of our planet,â he said in an interview with The Associated Press. âMy average audience is retired folks, but we canât wait another generation. I get contacted by kids all the time, and this is stuff you can do and actually see results.â Little things can make a big difference. âYou donât have to worry about the entire planet. Just do something about the little piece of the planet that you can do something about. Thatâs really motivating for parents as well as kids,â he said. The new young readerâs edition lists easy changes that kids can make at home to create better habitat for insects and birds. For instance, switch out a white lightbulb on your porch for a yellow one thatâs less attractive to insects. Reduce the amount of lawn. Or plant some native plants. The book includes a few easy projects like building a âbee hotelâ out of an empty metal can and strips of paper, or covering window wells so little creatures donât get trapped in them. âOr just plant an acorn. Itâs free and easy and you can watch it grow, and it makes a big difference,â Tallamy says. He envisions all the little pollinator-friendly patches â a proliferation of gardens and public spaces â sewn loosely together to form Homegrown National Park. Spreading the word that what we do at home can improve the environment is important, said Tai Montanarella, who teaches kindergarten through high school kids about native plants as the New York Botanical Gardenâs associate director of school and out-of-school programming. âAt the heart of Tallamyâs book is the observation of plants, and the interaction between plants and birds and insects. It underscores the connectivity of our food web and of society,â she says. âKids sometimes feel a greater sense of urgency and call to action than adults. Many of these ideas seem sensible and practical for kids, while they can be a heavier lift for adults sometimes.â For younger children, she recommends the picture book âThe Garden Next Door,â by Collin Pine (River Horse Books), about children who investigate why their neighborâs yard has more birds, fireflies and other natural wonders than their own. And she recommends the list of books for children and teens compiled by the New York Botanical Gardenâs LuEsther T. Mertz Library on its website. Adults, Montanarella said, can be more receptive to messages when they come from passionate kids. In Pelham, New York, Anna Simonsen-Meehan had all the English ivy removed from her property border and gently asked her neighbors if theyâd consider doing the same, since itâs invasive and creeps into her native plantings. Nothing happened. But when her 7-year-old son, Alrik, recently encountered one of the neighbors on the sidewalk and gave him an impassioned lecture about how invasive English ivy is, the man listened carefully. (âI mean, what else can you do when a child is speaking with such sincerity and passion?â his mother said.) And now the ivy is gone. âI said, âDonât you want to remove that ivy? Itâs invasive.â He was definitely listening,â recalled Alrik, who has been involved in removing invasive plants and encouraging native ones both at home and in the community. Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware, starts his new book by asking kids to take a few minutes to look closely at their yard. Did you see âa single animal â a bird, a bug, a snake, a mammal of any size â hop, fly, flutter, slither, crawl, or creep past?â he asks, âYouâre right. You donât. But you should.â âNature is everywhere. Thatâs a good thing because human beings like you and me wouldnât last a day without it,â Tallamy writes. âThatâs what this book is about â how to create a yard that is a real part of the natural world. The kind of yard where, if you look closely, something is moving.â