Coastal Breeze News

By Tara O’Neill I recently slipped into the Marco Island History Museum for a peek at the Theodore Morris exhibit Florida Lost Tribes. It’s been up since January 20, and is so stunningly beautiful that I was ashamed not to have gone sooner – and shame doesn’t come easy to me, heck, I’m an artist. I’m not sure what I expected – I’ve seen so many renderings of historical figures that lack any sign of a life that once was – but I certainly wasn’t expecting what I found. As I moved from painting to painting I felt like I ... Read More »

By Joanie Fuller Think about it. Does the number of pancakes you eat equal the number of friends you can make at a pancake breakfast? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that our Goodland pancake breakfast during Mullet Festival weekend was well attended and everyone had a good time. Now back to the question at hand. Think about it this way. The pancakes are really good in Goodland, but since they are big and fluffy you could probably only eat two or three. All right, if you are a big guy, maybe more. But the opportunities to ... Read More »

By Mike P. Usher After setting a few months ago the Big Dipper has returned to the early evening sky. The Dipper of course is not a constellation but merely an asterism and makes up a portion of the rather large constellation of Ursa Major, the bear. It is an odd fact that roughly half of the world’s cultures regard this grouping of stars as a bear; after all it does not look much like a bear. One possible explanation is that this constellation’s identification as a bear is a shared cultural tradition springing from a common root. If true, ... Read More »

By Nancy Richie Over the years, one, maybe two, Florida Panther sightings on average per year have been reported on Marco Island.  The excited and surprised observer usually reporting a glimpse of golden fur and a long tail…then an adrenaline rush when the realization just moments later that a panther just dashed through their line of sight!  Stories are told from days past on Marco Island, when houses were sparse and roads were quiet, of panther cubs being raised on Inlet Drive; pairs of cats walking the beaches and panthers seen in the mangrove fringe of Barfield Bay.  Just in ... Read More »

By Vickie Kelber Kudos to the city of Marco Island’s Arts Advisory Committee for their “Arts Afire”, a showcase of exhibits and performances, March 12-20.  Check out their planned events at http://marcoislandartsafire.com.  Through the years, a number of arts organizations on the island have worked diligently to incorporate art into the cultural life of our residents. A vibrant arts community is important for economic development.  It attracts visitors and homebuyers and is important to the children of a community and our future workforce.  Research has shown that students exposed to the arts perform better academically and improve development of  the ... Read More »

By Paula Robinson Do you know your own colon cancer risk? We may joke that the big 5-0 is a milestone, but according to the American Cancer Society it’s also a major risk factor for colon cancer. Ninety percent of individuals who are diagnosed with colon cancer are over the age of 50. Where do you fit in? According to a recent Surveillance Study on cancer statistics and diseases of the U.S. populations, it is estimated that more than 147,000 men and women (with men at a greater risk) will be diagnosed with cancer, and of those, almost 50,000 will ... Read More »

Marco Presbyterian Church hosted their twenty-fifth annual mission’s conference early this month. The theme was “To Pray, to Go, To Send.” Representatives from Gideon’s International, Oasis Counseling Center, Habitat for Humanity, the Good News Club, and El Shaddai Haitian Church of Naples shared information with the congregation. The keynote speaker was the Rev. Dr. Frank Barker, theologian, author and chairman of the permanent committee of Mission to North America. Read More »

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Bedtime Bundles Honors Volunteers of the Year on Monday, February 14, 2011. Sandy Boy of Marco/Chicago & Jean Unger of East Naples/Cape Cod. Sandy Boy organized knitters on Marco, as well as around the country to knit hats for our bundles. We interviewed mothers asking if there was something they would like to see added to our bundles; the overwhelming response was hats. That’s all Sandy needed to hear! Within five months Sandy had over 2,000 hats. Jean Unger is the kind of volunteer that we would love to clone. Jean is a organized, a self starter, competent and an ... Read More »

Three new artists are joining the Artist Colony at the Esplanade on Marco Island. Karen Swanker and Tom Gallagher are both joining Waterfront Gallery, while Amanda Ganong, a bead weaver, has united with the Portside Studio. Diversity at the colony continues to grow, adding painting, assemblages, and jewelry respectively. Meet these new artists and view their work at the Art Walk, next Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Snacks and refreshments will be served. Originally a watercolor artist, Swanker’s focus has shifted from acrylics to assemblages using found objects. Similar to collage, her assemblage pieces use groupings of broken metal, plastics, glass, ... Read More »

The City of Marco Island’s Beach Advisory Committee consists of residents appointed by City councilmen. Presently serving on the Beach Advisory Committee are Chairman Kevin Donlan, Vice Chairman Ken Kubat, Bernardo Bezos, Mary Ann Kline, Dennis McCann, Pattie Miller, and Susan Purvis. Staff liaison is Nancy Richie, Environmental Specialist, City of Marco Island. The Beach Advisory Committee (BAC) meets the third Thursday of each month at 9 AM in the first floor conference of City Hall. The BAC is “charged with identifying short and long term issues that impact the beach environment, evaluating potential solutions and recommending policy and practices ... Read More »

The Blackwood Brothers Quartet will give a free concert at Marco Presbyterian Church 7 p.m., Friday, March 4. Members of the Blackwood family have been singing gospel music for over 75 years. The concert is the third of Marco Presbyterian Church’s “Music for the Soul” concert series. The final concert in the series will feature Marv Hollenbeck at the piano 6 p.m., March 20. He will play a potpourri of gospel, hymns and patriotic selections. Love offerings will be received at both concerts. The church is located on 875 West Elkcam Circle, Marco Island. For information or directions to March ... Read More »

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Breakfast for 2 delivered to your door! Due to an overwhelming response to a creative and new fundraising concept, another “Lox Box Sunday” is being planned for March 6th. JCMI Sisterhood will again be delivering 6 freshly baked NY style bagels, 8 ounces of cream cheese and 1/4 of lox for $18. Three varieties of bagel are available: plain, sesame seed and onion. Any combination of the three can be ordered. For those you do not want lox, a lox box can be customized to exclude the lox. A box without lox is $15. With every lox box order an ... Read More »

Shabbat, often described as the day of rest, day of peace, and day of wonder, will take on a new dimension at the Jewish Congregation of Marco Island (JCMI) on Friday evening, March 4. 2011. We will have our first Friday Night Live Jazz Shabbat Service. While the service will be conducted by our cherished Rabbi Edward Maline and our Cantorial soloist for the past 17 years, Hari Jacobsen, JCMI will feature jazz musicians Lucille Gaita and Kevin Mauldin. The “family” at JCMI is well-acquainted with the artistry of Lucille – from Jewish music to popular to classical to jazz ... Read More »

Marco Island, Florida — Keller Williams Realty Marco Island announced today that Chris Evensen, current Team Leader/CEO will also be assuming the role as Broker of Record. Ken Gandy will be remaining on as the compliance broker and play a key role within the office. In addition to this change, Keller Williams Marco Island has added two new staff members, Alex Bowes and Kristine Davis. “Due to our significant growth in 2010, we searched for new talent to enhance our support staff for our agents” said Chris Evensen. In October, Keller Williams Marco Island introduced CJ Henderson as thier productivity ... Read More »

Kevin M. Fitzgerald, President of NAI Southwest Florida, Elected Chairman to Leadership Board PRINCETON, NJ, February 14, 2011 – NAI Global, the premier network of commercial real estate firms and one of the largest real estate services providers worldwide, announced changes to the Executive Committee of its NAI Members’ Leadership Board. The Members’ Leadership Board is comprised of representatives of NAI member firms and interacts with NAI Global to provide input and develop key strategic initiatives. Kevin M. Fitzgerald, CSE, was elected Chairman of the Members’ Leadership Board. Fitzgerald is President of NAI Southwest Florida in Fort Myers and Naples, ... Read More »

Did you know that there are over 750 students combined in Tommie Barfield Elementary School and Manatee Elementary School? Can you imagine a teacher being asked to pick the “Terrific Kid” of the month from their 3rd, 4th and 5th graders? When you put everything into perspective, you can see why children selected as a “Terrific Kid” really are special. The Kiwanis Club of Marco Island honored the recipients of the “Terrific Kid” award at their Thursday morning meeting. Gayle Thawley and Gina Sisbarro did a great job in talking with the children to learn more about them, their interests ... Read More »

By Commodore Brent Cook The Marco Bay Yacht Club celebrated its time-honored Presentation of the Fleet in Smokehouse Bay on Saturday morning, February 5th. We had 21 boats that participated in the event on a bright blue-sky day with each boat passing in review of the Bridge boat and the Past Commodores’ boat. The program began with the National Anthem, followed by a brief history of the Club and we were honored to have our Club Chaplin, Alan Sandlin, lead us in our invocation and Blessing of the Fleet. The Club observed a moment of silence in memory of our ... Read More »