Coastal Breeze News

Marco Airport Taxiway Project According to Bob Tweedie, Marco Airport Manager, work on the airport project is well on the way to completion of the car parking and apron extension. The main taxiway work will take approximately 270 calendar days. However, environmental resource permit restricts the workers from doing any construction within wetland areas during crocodile nesting season, that is, during the months of October through February. The project has been designed, bid, and funded. A grant and contract are expected to be in place by approximately the middle of October or beginning of November at which time the construction ... Read More »

There was good attendance at the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors®’ luncheon on September 14 at the Hideaway Beach Club. The upbeat atmosphere at the event reflected the theme of the luncheon, “Looking Up-Moving Forward”. Association President, Susan Ackerson, presented the newly appointed officers of the association, including President Elect Bill Filbin, who will assume the office for 2011, to the real estate agents, brokers, and the supporting businesses gathered at the luncheon. Kathleen Passidomo, Esq., was Guest Speaker at the luncheon. She has won several awards for her work, including Attorney of the Year 2008, has worked on ... Read More »

On Thursday, September 16, personnel from SeaWorld Orlando released twelve turtles, previously rescued from contaminated Gulf oil spill waters, into the waters off Marco Island. SeaWorld workers left SeaWorld Orlando by 7 a.m. with the turtles secured in bins for the four-hour drive down South. Working with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), they loaded them onto a boat, and then released them into the waters of Gullivan Bay. The group of turtles, consisting of eleven Kemp’s Ridley and one green sea turtle, were young – probably 2-3 years old, and were in great condition when released. All the ... Read More »

The Marco Players Theater, dubbed “The best little theater in Southwest Florida”, is located in the Marco Town Center Mall shopping center. The Marco Players began in the 1970s as a children’s play-reading group, and then evolved into The Marco Island Players as a for-profit theater. Now, as a non-profit corporation, the Marco Players group, with the cooperation of Marco Town Center Mall, is based in its own theater and a devoted volunteer base of between 50 and 60 theater fans. In its thirty-fourth year, the Marco Players are getting ready to tread the boards for another group of delightful ... Read More »

While most area children were busy playing this summer, little ten-year old Tia Nielsen showed just how bighearted our kids can be. Tia is a fifth grader at Tommie Barfield Elementary. Prior to the start of school, Tia took it upon herself to collect clothes, toys, towels, and more for those less fortunate than herself, specifically, to give them to migrant families at 6L Farms. In late July, Tia was asked by Linda Garcia, Office Manager at 6L Farms to assist with bagging items together for families just arriving. Tia took it a step further and began collecting other items ... Read More »

In spite of hard times, some area fishing guides were willing to show their appreciation to Active Duty Personnel from MacDill Air Force Base and guide them on a free fishing charter last weekend. Volunteer captains had a brief Captains Meeting on Friday, September 17th where names were drawn to determine which boats participants would board the next morning. The volunteer captains departed from Calusa Island Marina at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 18th, and there was a cook-out at the Marina at 2:30 p.m. to share fishing stories and celebrate good times. Following is Captain Pam Stop’s account of this special day. The inaugural “Take a ... Read More »

Does anyone out there have any PBA or Marco Island Airways memorabilia? I am donating all of my items to the new museum that will soon open at the Depot in downtown Naples. From what I understand, the museum will dedicate some of the space to transportation of the past, and PBA and Marco Island Airways were certainly a huge part of our transportation system in Collier County. This was only a few years back, yet young people today have never heard of them. If you have anything to donate, please call Ron Jamro at the Collier County Museum main ... Read More »

Nate “GatorheadRed” Augustus, also known as RubeeJaw, is a prolific musician from Marco Island, Florida. Nate has lived on Marco island for nearly all of his life, and has many influences coming from the swampy, backwater ‘hood of southwest Florida. He has spent most of his life on Marco Island and Naples, but has moved around Florida, living in such places as Tallahassee, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Nate’s life is inspired by his art, and his art is inspired by his life. Living in Florida, his music transcends into an epic opera of the Florida lifestyle that captures the fortunes and ... Read More »

It is a wonderful autumn morning in Marco Island. The Cardinals are singing as loud as they can before they attack the feeders I put out for them in the back yard. The Eastern sky is turning brilliant red, signaling the sunrise over Barfield Bay. But something seems to be missing. Other than the Cardinals’ morning songs I hear nothing else. It is very strange yet very normal in my neighborhood. The sun rises, it gets warmer and sometimes I hear the engines of a few cars in the distance. I sit back and listen carefully for familiar sounds, and ... Read More »

Meet Officer Linda Guerrero Sergeant Linda Guerrero describes herself as a “rare bird”, as she is one of very few native Floridians who live and work here on Marco Island. Linda was born and raised in Miami, where, playing piano, guitar and percussion, upon leaving high school, she studied to be a music teacher. Unable to continue her studies, Linda left college and worked for a while in retail management until she moved to the west coast of Florida where she had friends who encouraged her to pursue a career in Law Enforcement. Linda attended Police Academy in Fort Myers ... Read More »

Over the many years that we spent cruising throughout New England, and then years later heading southward to the Bahamas and continuing on throughout Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Island chain to South America and back, we have encountered many cruising boats that had students of all ages aboard. If, like us, you continue southward to Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, you will encounter families. Many such cruising buddies sail together so that there is something and someone for everyone on board. The ages of the families we met ran the gamut of pre-school, middle school, and ... Read More »

SALUTE TO VETERAN FRED BURNHAM, JR. When Fred Burnham, Jr. considered enlisting, apples were only 24 cents a pound and donuts were only 10 cents a dozen! If that doesn’t put a time line in perspective for you, his father, who had the foresight to suggest Fred enlist, was born in 1875. His father loved to read and had some college education. In 1937, Fred was a junior in college. “I came through the front door and my dad was in his rocking chair.” He said, “Fred, if I were you, I’d seek something in the military. It would be ... Read More »

Bill Filbin, President Elect of the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors, was recognized by the National Association of Realtors® REALTOR® magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards with a Certificate of Appreciation for his work on Special Olympics. At the MIAAOR luncheon on September 14, Shirley English presented Filbin with the certificate and a letter from 2010 President of the NAR, Vicki L. Cox Golder, CRB. Filbin was the only Realtor from Florida who was recognized for the award by REALTOR® magazine, a national publication. Filbin has been volunteering for over twenty years with Special Olympics of Collier County. He has worked ... Read More »

A discussion with Roger Raymond, Marco Charter Middle School Athletic Director Coastal Breeze News met with Roger Raymond to update our community on what an incredible success the Charter School Sports Program has been over the past twelve years. The school successfully competed against larger schools. They did it through excellent and dedicated coaching, and the players’ determination and hard work to improve their sporting skills and team play. (Q) Sporting Activities–how have they developed over the past twelve years? (A) When we first started the programs we were new and Collier County private schools had no organized program for ... Read More »

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this year area artists are stepping up and helping out with Bras for Life, a live-auction benefit to be held at Art League, Marco Island’s Center for the Arts on October 5. The preview reception starts at 5:30 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will go directly to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Southwest Florida. Right now, as you read this, artists throughout the community are busy constructing, deconstructing, designing, and decorating women’s brassieres. All artists are encouraged to participate, but keeping quality standards at top notch will be the job of ... Read More »

Award-winning clay artists Annabelle Johnson and Richard Rosen have volunteered their time to teach an introductory Raku class to a dozen local school children, ranging from second grade to middle school age, through the Marco Island Center for the Arts’ popular program ‘Artists Visiting Kids’. Annabelle and Richard teach the kids a little of everything, from the history of pottery-making and Raku to creating clay pieces, glazing options, and the firing process. The purpose of the program is for the children to develop their interest in the art of Raku. The entire class has worked on a large-scale fish project ... Read More »

A guidebook can be invaluable when traveling. But, which one? There are so many choices. Some guidebooks are focused on different target audiences; some discuss history and culture; others just travel details. Some emphasize a few major places, while others discuss an entire country. You don’t want a book about France if you are only visiting Paris. And, when traveling, weight is always an issue. To decide which book is best for you, ask yourself what you want from the guide and then visit a local bookstore to browse through the travel section to see which ones meet your needs. ... Read More »

Concentrating on the bedroom When preparing your home for sale, make sure your home is in peak selling condition before it goes on the market. However, keep in mind that the concept and purpose of keeping your home environment as a place you are proud of is not only because the property is listed for sale. It is easy to accumulate masses of items and piles of ‘stuff’ living in the same place year after year. We get used to, and really don’t ‘see’, the rougher edges. Start to de-clutter, organize, and eliminate items that no longer serve purpose. Because ... Read More »

Medical professionals and health care organizations have been discussing the progressive growth of aging adults and the number of informal caregivers. Caregivers are providing more than $350 billion annually in uncompensated care for several years, as baby boomers age and become part of an enormous movement of those seeking or giving care to family members or loved ones. It is estimated that over 10 million Americans provide more than 150 million hours of care to approximately 5.2 million elders each week, with a large proportion of participants having some degree of cognitive impairment. Informal caregivers have been the backbone of ... Read More »

This column is the opinion of a 3-year-old African Grey Parrot named “Simba” who has an extremely high intelligence level. While he does not possess a degree from any college or university, he does have a strong opinion of himself and feels that he is the best candidate to answer the complex questions of today’s discerning pets…and the humans they own… Dear Simba: Being as you are an adored pet I found it compelling to ask you this question. My son is seven years old and I think it is the right time for him to have a pet and ... Read More »