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.
Crews from the U.S. Sawfish Recovery investigating mysterious fishkill. CREDIT: U.S. Sawfish Recovery Scientists are urgently searching for answers to understand why smalltooth sawfish are dying at an alarming rate or have been seen acting bizarrely at the shoreline. According to the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has 21 documented smalltooth sawfish deaths in 2024. Tagging smalltooth sawfish in the Florida Keys. CREDIT: FSU Coastal & Marine Lab To help FWC authorities uncover details about the fish mortality events at Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys, commissioners secured $2 million in state funds. The FWC is not going into this research blind. FWC is eliminating some of the possible causes of the fishkill based on results from recent necropsies: There have been 21 total documented smalltooth sawfish deaths since the first was reported on Jan. 30, 2024. There are no signs of a communicable pathogen and specimens were negative for bacterial infection. Additional sawfish tissues are still being processed for analysis. Dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH and temperature are not suspected to be the cause of the fish behavior or kills. To date, Red Tide toxins (brevetoxins) produced by Karenia brevis have not been detected in water samples. At this time, the cause of the abnormal behavior and mortalities is not known, and efforts to collect and analyze samples are ongoing. “We know there is a lot of frustration in the community not knowing what is going on,” said Monroe County Commissioner Michelle Lincoln. “We are all extremely concerned about our ecosystem and what is causing this to happen.” Kudos to @SawfishRecovery team member Gregg Poulakis & crew at @MyFWC who have necropsied 20+ #sawfish recovered in the Keys to help identify the cause of this mass mortality event. Research conducted pursuant to NMFS ESA Permit No. 25864. Latest info at https://t.co/2q2MbvhkGF pic.twitter.com/wFwkra0j9H — U.S. Sawfish Recovery (@SawfishRecovery) March 18, 2024 The FWC will work side by side with nonprofit organizations to collect vital information to get to the bottom of the mysterious fishkill. “We are fully supporting our State scientists and experts in working as quickly as possible to discover what is happening,” said Monroe County Mayor Holly Merrill Raschein. Smalltooth sawfish death investigation. CREDIT: U.S. Sawfish Recovery Videos of the endangered species acting strangely at the shoreline in the Florida Keys have been spreading on social media. RELATED: $20K reward offered after finding endangered smalltooth sawfish missing its snout The Calusa Waterkeeper retweeted a map pointing out the 60 reported smalltooth sawfish sightings FWC received between Jan. 30 and March 5. Again….shared adversity…. pic.twitter.com/Ob8JP9Pwbk — Calusa Waterkeeper (@calusawater) March 15, 2024 Lake Okeechobee has been releasing water into the Caloosahatchee for the past few weeks. This has caused some concerns over water quality in Southwest Florida. It’s unclear if it is related to the fishkill or what is happening to the endangered smalltooth sawfish. Folks from the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory posted to social media about a recent trip to the Florida Keys for routine smalltooth sawfish sampling. Crews set a new winter trip record by tagging 11 large juveniles and adult sawfish. The Grubbs lab traveled to the FL Keys with @BiminiSharkLab for smalltooth sawfish sampling. They tagged 11 juvenile & adult sawfish w/10-year acoustic tags! If you encounter a sawfish, please report it to: 1-844-4SAWFISH. Research conducted under ESA permit 22078 and SAL 1345. pic.twitter.com/57pneWTzsp — FSU Coastal & Marine Lab (@FSUMarineLab) March 18, 2024 The acoustic trackers will last ten years. Receivers will log the date and time whenever one of the tagged sawfish swims past them. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, authorities believe the species’ decline is due to overfishing, habitat loss and the fact that the species takes a long time to reproduce. Smalltooth sawfish research. CREDIT: FWC Despite historically having habitats from Texas to New York, the smalltooth sawfish has one final stronghold on the planet: from Charlotte Harbor to the Florida Keys, including Everglades National Park. Click here to learn more about the species from NOAA. You can report a sawfish sighting to FWC by calling the hotline at 844-472-9347. You can also report a fish kill to the FWC by clicking here.