Coastal Breeze News

Awareness, Education and Empowerment – Celebrating 25 years The Power of Pink ‘Pink Heals’ is the motto of the Guardians of the Ribbon. So, who are these Guardians of the Ribbon? Firefighters, police officers and community leaders who volunteer their time to drive around the country in pink fire trucks in an effort to increase awareness of breast cancer. Recently, the fire trucks rolled into Naples, including one pulling the enormous 10’ tall stainless steel ribbon (shown). These trucks carry the signatures of thousands of people they’ve come in contact with across the country. One man signing the truck said ... Read More »

Look Good… Feel Better By Pamela Broad Just exactly what is “Look Good Feel Better?” It is a free program offered by the American Cancer Society for women who are undergoing treatment. Perhaps they have lost their hair, lost weight, had a change in skin color or developed dry skin or a rash. It is not unusual for women to feel unattractive after living with some of the side effects of their treatment. This is where ACS steps in with its “Look Good Feel Better” program. Volunteers have been trained in skin care and make-up, choosing the best wig for ... Read More »

Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) erected a pole at Mackle Park that has an American Osprey nest platform attached. The platform, shown at bottom of photo, was designed by Boy Scout Ricky Grootveld. Read More »

When addressing Marco Islanders at the recent Marco Island Police Foundation’s Luncheon, Connie Mack, Republican, U.S. Congressman for the 14th District of Florida, endorsed the newly released GOP Pledge to America and urged his audience to read the document. When asked (by Marco Island Councilor, Jerry Gibson) what had brought about his “epiphany,” Mack responded that earlier he had “felt we were going in the wrong direction.” Mack said he had been a “skeptic” and had “wondered if Republicans had the ability to lead, but then they produced this document to which every Republican has had input.” He added that, in ... Read More »

By Ken Gandy A day doesn’t pass that I’m not asked… “How is the real estate market on Marco Island, have prices stabilized, and when will our values start going up again?” The answers I give my friends and clients on Marco are based upon a daily study of statistics, trends, and the overall confidence levels observed from the dozens of buyers and sellers I speak with each week, both locally and nationally. Often, they are quite surprised to hear that properties are moving and there is a constant flow of sales. Yes, foreclosures and short sales have been commonplace ... Read More »

by Amber Prange Congratulations, and “Good Luck!” from Coastal Breeze News to the more than 45 young athletes of Marco Island who participated in the nationwide NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition hosted by the City of Marco Island’s Parks and Recreation Department on September 27 at Mackle Park. This was the City’s fifth year hosting the Punt Pass & Kick competition. The NFL Punt, Pass & Kick football competition allows young athletes to showcase their talents in the skills of punting, passing and kicking. Their scores are based on distance and accuracy and the highest cumulative score for one ... Read More »

The Collier County School Board will vote on the charter application for the Marco Island Academy on October 21 at 3:30 p.m. at Immokalee High School. The charter school application is not required to identify a location and therefore is not a reason for denial. The application merely states options, but not definite plans for any specific location. According to charter school law, if the County school board does not approve the charter application, Marco Island Academy can appeal to the State. If charter status is approved, the Marco Island Academy becomes eligible to apply for grants and can continue ... Read More »

”We’re building, building, building, building it all. Yet college took a backseat in the car, headed for a wall.” This quote from the song Clutch Life on The Wholetones’ new EP, Clutch Life, is a great description of the sacrifices that most bands and artists make to create music and pursue their dreams. The Wholetones had to make some sacrifices in order to do what they love most–make music; and music is what they do best. The Wholetones are Taylor Freydberg, Alex Dorris, and Russ Dega. When I received their album over two months ago, I instantly fell in love ... Read More »

Probably most of you have heard of the plight of Clayton Lietz, who wants to build a mausoleum within the Marco cemetery but is reaching roadblocks every step of the way. I had a few questions for Clayton. Shouldn’t the Marco cemetery be listed as an Historical treasure? I understand the founding families of Weeks and Colliers are buried there. That in itself is a treasure! Why don’t people who are the decision makers want to round out the services to the community by adding a mausoleum within the cemetery? This will all be done with donations, right? Does the ... Read More »

The other morning I looked into the mirror and saw the thing in life I most fear…The Geezer. To be sure: I was staring at a Chronological Geezer, sometimes known as the “Automatic Geezer”. At a certain age, everyone becomes a Geezer. The only question is where the age line is set. With an aging population, the limit tends to get a bit higher, as in my case. The Chronological Geezer is a member of a relatively benign species, keeping to itself, and responding primarily to the ravages of the calendar. What is more significant is the Behavioral Geezer. This ... Read More »

by Capt. Carl Kelly During the morning of September 2, shore bound people around Smokehouse Bay watched several boats raft up in an unusual configuration. Two of the largest boats dropped anchors, leaving room for the others to raft in a row with them. The crews brought their boats into line, tied their sterns snug together, and ran bow lines and spring lines from one to the next. Finally, they ran long lines from the sterns of the end boats and pulled inward while slacking the bow lines. Voila! They had created a semicircle of eleven boats centering on Sea ... Read More »

By Bob Devlin Floodplain Coordinator, CFM, City of Marco Island, FL In August representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and staff from Collier County and the cities of Naples, Marco Island, and Everglades conducted a series of community meetings to discuss the proposed new Digitized Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMS). The purpose of the meetings was to provide property owners an opportunity to learn how their property would be impacted by the proposed map, answer their questions with regard to flood insurance requirements, and learn about the timeline for implementing the DFIRMS. When the restudy flood maps are issued, ... Read More »

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Lieutenant Colonel William Howey (Ret) speak to a group of Rotarians on Marco Island. It is an honor for anyone to hear him speak. Lieutenant Colonel Howey readily garners the attention of every member of his audience with his thrilling, and often edge-of-your-seat scary, life experiences. Speaking with him candidly during this interview was even more enjoyable… “In the first game of my junior football season I had my arm broken badly; there were actually thirty-four breaks and chips! It was so bad I spent nine weeks lying in a hospital bed with a ... Read More »

By Joan Kelly The 25th annual Ocean Conservancy Coastal Clean up started with fifteen very clean Isles of Capri residents and ended up with fifteen very hot and dirty people! The group participated in the worldwide effort to remove trash from the world’s waterways, mainly road debris blown into the water and marine discards. “You’ll never guess what we found in the water,” shouted one volunteer to another as the volunteers from Isles of Capri pulled junk, palms, glass, and debris from the Isles of Capri island coast. “What did you find?” was the reply, as the energetic and dirty ... Read More »

The Marco Island Fire Rescue Department conducted High Angle Rescue training on the roof of the Gulfview Condominium on Thursday, September 30. The Fire Rescue personnel deployed a high rise rappelling system on the roof to simulate the rescue of a victim from an elevated platform 150 feet from the ground. The rescue system is designed to lower a rescuer to a victim, secure the victim to the rescuer’s harness system, and then safely lower both the rescuer and the secured victim to the ground. The Marco Island Fire Rescue Department would like to thank the Manager, staff and residents ... Read More »

With the help of local businesses like A-Tech Auto, members of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, Pack and Troop 234 on Marco Island, are selling “America’s Favorite Popcorn–Trail’s End” until November 6. They have new and enhanced changes for this year! The Scouts offer 20% more product in environmentally responsible bags, while pricing has remained the same. All products are made with healthy Canola oil. The Scouts will be taking orders for popcorn on Sunday, October 10, at their Charter Church-Wesley Methodist, located at 350 S. Barfield Drive, from 9 AM until 11:30 AM. Saturday, October 16 ... Read More »

A federal indictment of twelve people has been unsealed after local, state, and federal agencies pooled resources and worked together for the past two years to investigate a dramatic increase in boat thefts in Southwest Florida. The multi-agency agencies who formed the “Island Runners” Task Force included personnel from Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Coast Guard Investigative Services (CGIS), Homeland Security Investigation (HIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The twelve individuals, all from Southwest Florida are charged with Conspiracy to Transport Stolen Vehicles in Foreign Commerce and nine counts of Transporting Stolen ... Read More »

By Hillary Franks The Community Association Managers of Marco Island (CAMMI) held their 13th annual Golf Tournament on Thursday, September 16, 2010. The event was hosted at the private golf course, “The Lely Classics,” located in The Lely Golf Resort. Each year, this locally supported Tournament has contributed to the continuing education of active members of the community. It was well attended by 88 players and approximately forty local vendors. Tim Thomas of Naples was the winner of the Hole in One Grand Prize of $10,000 on the sixteenth hole. Tim recently relocated to Naples and has not been playing long. ... Read More »

After vanishing for half a century, bed bugs are back. In the United States, bed bugs were a problem until after World War II. With the widespread use of DDT in the 1940s and 1950s, bed bugs mostly disappeared in the United States. However, they remained prevalent in other regions of the world. What are bed bugs? What do they look like? Bed Bugs are blood-feeding parasites of human and birds. They are small, flat, broadly oval, wingless bugs. Adult bed bugs reach 5-7 mm in length. They are brown to dark red in color, while nymphs (juveniles) are as ... Read More »

Recently John Patterson sat down with Roger Raymond, Athletic Director at Charter Middle School for an update on the School’s cross country program. Here is some of their conversation: (Q) How is Charter Middle School cross country doing so far since school started? (A) Cross country is going really well so far. Our eighth grade girls have a lot of experience. They have won a lot of meets since they came to school. Partly this is obviously due to ability and, of course, they work hard. This is the year that we predicted we would be really strong. It just ... Read More »