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.
The process of adopting a child is different for everyone, but Michelle Reed’s passion has always been to adopt children into her family. In 2022, she followed those passions when she adopted 9-year-old Vidal and 8-year-old Jiberson from Haiti. The boys flew from Haiti to Miami with just the clothes on their backs. “I have two older children that are biological, and they just think these boys are the greatest blessing to our family,” said Reed. “Adoption has always been something that I just knew it’d be part of my life. When the opportunity arose to adopt them, I just knew it was the right thing to do.” It turns out Vidal and Jiberson have a younger brother, 6-year-old Esai, whom they haven’t seen in years and who is still stuck in Haiti. Reed said she’s been trying to adopt Esai for the past year and a half but hasn’t received consistent and clear communication from the U.S. Department of State, the Office of Children’s Issues. This is an organization that provides information on preventing and assisting in cases of international parental child abduction and is the central authority charged with the implementation of the Hague Abduction Convention. “The process in Haiti to adopt is a long, arduous process,” said Reed. “The U.S. Department of Office of Children’s Issues sent us an email on March 22, saying that they’re going to get our kids out after some advocating that we did. They asked us to send them some documentation and choice of escort to have the children escorted to Miami.” After Reed sent the required documentation to adopt Esai and the 70 other children from Haiti approved for adoption in the U.S., she received an email stating the opposite of what she had hoped for. “On the 12th of April, they sent an email out and said there is no path forward for families that don’t have an adoption decree a finalized adoption in Haiti, and that they were no longer going to get our kids out. So of course, that was very difficult to hear,” said Reed. The ever-growing humanitarian crisis in Haiti is exposing young Esai to danger and uncertainty. “The crisis has escalated so severely that my son was evacuated three times to get away from the gangs that infiltrated his orphanage,” said Reed. “My son is now living in a different part of the country, and I have no idea where he is. To have a six-year-old son unsupervised or somewhere I don’t know where he is is very difficult.” Despite the roadblocks and fear, Reed won’t stop until Esai is home safe with his two older brothers. “Our plea is just that the State Department would consider emergency humanitarian parole immediately for the 71 children that are matched with U.S. families in the adoption process in Haiti, to bring them to safety so we can continue the adoption process under Hague law, Haitian law and U.S. law and complete it and finalize it, but have the children home safely with us so that we don’t have to experience loss of life.” The U.S. Department of Children’s Issues is chartering a flight from Haiti to Miami on Thursday, May 30. Reed urges the Department of State and Homeland Security to board all 71 kids, including 6-year-old Esai, to bring him home safely.