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.
To sign or not to sign? That’s the decision facing Gov. Ron DeSantis regarding a bill that could pave the way for using a radioactive waste product to pave Florida roads. Those opposed call it an environmental disaster and a public health risk, while others consider it safe and cost-effective. The bill, passed by Florida lawmakers, could eventually lead to the use of phosphogypsum, or PG, in road construction. Mosaic, a Tampa-based mining and fertilizer company, owns the largest gyp stack in Florida. “When we process phosphate fertilizer, we create a byproduct called phosphogypsum. And due to EPA regulations, we stack this phosphogypsum in what’s called gyp stacks,” said Sarah Fedorchuk, Mosaic’s vice president of government and public affairs for North America. They asked lawmakers last year to let firms sell the waste to the state for road construction companies. Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency bans the use of PG, saying it “poses an unacceptable risk to public health.” “When you’re talking about putting radioactive material into our roadways, putting construction workers at risk or dealing with this potentially putting our ecosystems at risk, once that radioactive material gets out into the ecosystem, it’s not something that we need to be dealing with,” said Matt DePaolis, environmental policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. DePaolis considers it too big a risk with too little reward. “Using a substance like this in our roadbeds, where we have this porous limestone bedrock all over this state, water permeates and percolates down through the soil into our aquifers very readily,” he said. “Putting something like this where it has that interaction, potentially, between water sources and into our drinking water into our ecosystem seems too dangerous an issue to be dealing with haphazardly.” That was also part of the discussion in Tallahassee before the bill passed. “Florida has frequent rainfall. There’s also concern that the material could wash into your driveway, could filter into the aquifer and expose the general public to carcinogenic. Will that be part of the study to safeguard Floridians,” asked Florida Sen. Geraldine “Geri”Thompson. The bill’s sponsor, Florida Sen. Jay Trumbulle, said: “Absolutely. I believe it will take into consideration those things.” Mosaic argues that many countries already use it, but environmentalists argue it doesn’t mean it’s right for us. “What we found is it is there’s no leaching, it doesn’t present hazard to construction crews or drivers. And really, the level of radioactivity, once it’s used in a road base would be similar to any of the other products that are currently used,” Fedorchuk said. “What we’re asking the state of Florida to do is really to do its own test and study on phosphogypsum.” If the governor agrees, the Florida Department of Transportation would have until Jan. 1, 2024 to study the material. DePaolis doesn’t feel that’s enough time to understand the long-term effects. “When we’re messing around with radon, radioactive materials, heavy metals, and a lot of the things associated with these phosphogypsum stacks, this isn’t something that we can afford to get wrong. And this isn’t something that we want to pass on as a problem to future generations of Floridians,” DePaolis said. Every Southwest Florida lawmaker voted yes to the bill. WINK News reached out to each of them. They either didn’t respond or wouldn’t comment. Even if Florida moves forward with this, the EPA would need to approve using the product in road construction, which again, is currently banned.