Coastal Breeze News

Charles Young has been honored with an award for his twenty-five years of service to the Civil Air Patrol. The award, from the CAP National Headquarters, was presented to Young by to the Squadron Commander. Richard Niess, Lt. Col CAP of the Marco Island Composite Squadron, Florida Wing, Civil Air Patrol, United States Air Force Academy, writes, “Charles Young has demonstrated consistent service to his community wherever he lived and certainly has been a great asset to the Marco Island CAP Squadron.” Like all the other members of CAP, Charles has served in the CAP as a volunteer, both here ... Read More »

Salute to Veterans: Continued from last issue When I was young we were children of the depression. My father had no work and raised four kids. So, I poured my heart into sports; it was free.” He dreamt of being in the big league someday. At 17 he was offered an opportunity to be in the minor leagues, 3-I League (Illinois, Indiana and Iowa). Joe laments, “I didn’t have the guts to take the offer. I didn’t think I could handle eating in greasy spoons all the time while on the road and with so little pay. After I graduated ... Read More »

In spite of a wet weather day, the rain cleared for Marco Island’s splendid fireworks display and Islanders were able to enjoy the traditional celebration from the beach or, in many cases, from their homes. We got some good shots of the exploding sky from right outside our front door!  Thanks to everyone who  made the fireworks possible. Have you ever noticed how, from time to time, a certain subject will be brought to your attention, then very soon after, you are reminded of that same topic by something someone says, or you read, or hear on the radio or TV? It’ll ... Read More »

Some times we take our garbage and recycling collection for granted. Seldom do we even think about the issue unless the pickup isn’t made on time. Here are a few facts that you might not be aware of: Marco Island is part of the County’s Solid Waste Collection program, and as such, your current cost for the level of service you receive ? twice weekly garbage collection; once weekly recycling collection; once weekly yard waste collection; on-demand collection of bulky items such as appliances, furniture, batteries, etc., and on-demand collection of electronics ? is $171.26 per year. The current cost ... Read More »

Collier County Emergency Services stress oil spill threat still LOW Rick Zyvoloski of Collier County Emergency Services addressed Marco Island City Council meeting Monday, emphasizing that according to Captain Close, USCG Sector St. Petersburg, “The oil spill threat to SW Florida has been LOW and continues to be low.” To date, eddies off the West Florida coast have not connected with the loop current.  Some sheen has been observed, according to Zyvoloski, but “no goopy oil”! The state has appealed to NOAA not to restrict fishing in our waters.  The original strategy for SW Florida waters has been reviewed with ... Read More »

Shanghai – 1980 We’re leaving Xian, bound for Shanghai. No one can possibly find the Xian airport without a guide. It’s off an unmarked road heavily guarded by the military. Our non-stop flight is scheduled for two-and-a-half hours. However, there are some muckety-mucks on the flight, and they want lunch. So, we plunk down at Chengchou, get off the plane and have lunch in the terminal. After we re-board our old Soviet Antonov 24 we find out that we’re making another stop at Nanking. On our flight there are two fascinating experiences: my Chinese seatmate has a large, live duck ... Read More »

On  Saturday, June 26, members of the community and visitors to Marco Island met at South Beach to hold hands and form a line to say “no” to new offshore drilling and “yes” to clean energy. People started arriving at the beach around 11 a.m. for this event, and waited until noon when the “official” line was made. More than fifty people held the line for fifteen minutes. This event was also held at Residents and Tigertail beaches. Randy Dudenbostel, a participant in today’s event, found out about this get together through an email his mom sent him, the same ... Read More »

It is late in the year for the final count of the Island’s Burrowing Owl population, but it is better late than never. Typically, for the last ten years of monitoring, nesting behavior of this species is seen as early as November and continues through January. First the pairing up of the adult owls; then new burrows may be dug, and old and even burrows that have been abandoned for a two or more seasons will once again be occupied. Next “decoration,” material (ranging from shredded pieces of debris, foil, flowers, coconut husks to feathers and feces of dogs) collected ... Read More »

It was 1995, and I was five years old. I played with my cowboys and Indians; I had fun building and morphing my Mr. Potato Head, and I also had a Buzz Lightyear. I played with my Buzz Lightyear day after day. I pretended that we were flying around in deep space, in a rickety old spaceship, and if we would stop moving, the evil Dr. Pepe, my dog, would have us for dinner. The year 1995 was also the year when the first Toy Story came out. I saw the movie twice in theaters with my parents, and when ... Read More »

The “Greatest Storms on Earth” Part IV This is a continuation of a series on the history of hurricanes in our area. If you missed part, you can find it online at coastalbreezenews.com under Tales told Twice archives. 1935 “The wind, it was tremendous. You couldn’t hear. And the pressure inside the packing house was so much greater than what was outside that the windows blew out. My nephew was pulled right out of my arms. My mother went, too. I never saw them again. I managed to grab hold of the doorway. I felt the house start to rises ... Read More »

Author: Randy Wayne White Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York One of White’s older books, the idea for Twelve Mile Limit is based on a true life tragedy from 1994. Four scuba divers leave from the Marco Island Marina determined to explore the ship wreck, the Baja California which rests on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, fifty-two nautical miles offshore. Friends and authorities begin to worry when the divers do not return as planned. After 36 hours of exhaustive searches, one lone survivor is found atop a light tower, nude and waving a wetsuit. The other ... Read More »

The Marco Island Firefighters depend on one another in life threatening situations. We, the people, depend on these emergency personnel in life threatening situations. How often, though, does the cynical taxpayer wonder how many fires actually occur on Marco Island? Although one is one too many, one might ask, how many life threatening situations are there, really? Marco Firefighters, though, in fact do so much more than fulfill the stereotype picture of the firemen in the fire truck rushing to the nearest blaze. They need to have absolute trust in one another’s instantaneous decision making capability, physical strength, mental alertness ... Read More »

Previously, I have covered the history of football (soccer), the World Cup, and the history and development of soccer boots (cleats). I haven’t talked about the actual soccer ball, which at present is under much scrutiny. Adidas traditionally designs a new ball for each World Cup tournament. It has been reported by both players and goalkeepers that the 2010 ball has a mind of its own. It’s the goalkeepers who suffer: from the goals already scored there have been many examples of the ball suddenly changing direction, dipping and turning in flight. All this fuss over a round aerodynamics-designed piece ... Read More »

When Leland L. (Doc) Loach moved from Dunlop, Tennessee in 1955, he purchased four mangrove islands totaling 600 acres. His dream was to create a hideaway fishing retreat. He built a water processing plant, dredged canals, and built a road to connect to the mainland. Thus the inception of southwest Florida’s best kept secret: Isles of Capri. Our neighbor two miles to the north also has a rich history. In 1870 W.T. Collier, wife, and nine children moved to Marco Island, opened a 20 room hotel in 1896. Known today as the Old Marco Inn. In 1962, Robert, Elliott, and ... Read More »

I magine riding over 2000 miles in three weeks’ time, battling snow, rain, crazed fans, broken bones and even the slight possibility of death. Well, this is what 180 riders will be facing for the start of the 2010 Tour de France. This year the 97th Tour de France, runs from July 3rd through July 25th, covering 2,236 miles. The race starts with a Prologue stage in Rotterdam, then 20 more stages, six of those in the mountains and, of all of those stages, only two rest days! It’s hard to fathom what these men go through on a daily basis ... Read More »

Everglades City will be celebrating Independence Day on Saturday, July 3, with the Opening Ceremony starting at 9:30 a.m. followed by an “Honoring Our Local Veterans” Parade. There will be games, activities, arts and crafts and hot dogs for sale. The highlight of the day will be the Fireworks Display scheduled for 9 p.m.; always a spectacular show! On Sunday, July 4, a free Big Band concert by the Air National Guard Band of the Smokey Mountains will be held in the Community Center at 3 p.m. Everyone is welcome! Chokoloskee and the Everglades area have had the reputation of ... Read More »

I never intended or even imagined that I would be writing this article of “Living on the Hard.” For those of you who are not familiar with this term, it means to stay aboard your vessel while it is out of the water and stored on land. Oh, this is not the first time that we lived aboard Grendel while there was work being done to her. We did it on other occasions in places such as Puerto Rico and Venezuela, but this time it was here in our own neighboring town of Fort Myers. Last month we participated in the ... Read More »

The drive along First Beach was in itself incredible. As we moved along Memorial Blvd. towards Bellevue Ave., we were only moments away from one of the most historic treasures in the sport of tennis. Nestled in the city of Newport, Rhode Island, and only minutes away from area beaches, it is startling to see this amazing tennis facility?perfectly manicured grass courts dominate the look of this tennis Mecca. It is so inviting that you must quickly unpack the bag and start hitting balls. Although almost nine years have passed since my first visit to the International Tennis Hall of ... Read More »

No matter how much stamina they have, caregivers need a reprieve from providing around-the-clock care. If they suffer from exhaustion or become ill, they can no longer fulfill their promises or responsibilities. I can vividly remember telling my parents that, if anything ever happened to them, I would never place them into a nursing home but would take care of them, and I meant it! Have you made this promise to your parent(s) or aging loved one?  Even as a nurse with more than thirty years of training care giving can be an overwhelming task; and although rewarding, it can ... Read More »

I played soccer since the day I could walk and kick a ball all at the same time. We called the game “football” when I was growing up in Istanbul, Turkey. I only learned that the same game was called “soccer” in America when I was twenty years old. That transformation took place when I was offered, and accepted, a full soccer scholarship to attend the University of Maryland in the summer of 1969… My first memories of playing organized soccer go back to when I was six or seven years old. We lived about a mile away from the main ... Read More »