Coastal Breeze News

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By Val Simon In 1938 Walt Tucker was 18 years old. A priest told him he should go in the army or end up in jail. The army it was! “I had a buddy who went into the Civilian Conservation Corp and then onto Hawaii. I decided I wanted to go somewhere exotic like Panama. The next day I woke up and had a change of heart, I don’t want to be a hero, Hawaii would be a better choice. I was assigned to Pearl Harbor.” At the time, Walt says the population of Hawaii was dominated by people of ... Read More »

The Rotary Club of Marco Island is proud to announce that Myrt Rose was selected as the first recipient of the 2011 Spirit of Marco Island Award. Mrs. Rose was surprised by the presentation in front of nearly 250 people at the Marco Island Historical Museum in the Rose History Auditorium Hall, which was named after Bill and Myrt Rose who personally contributed to its construction. Linda Sandlin presented the award to Myrt Rose on behalf of the noontime Rotary Club and noted that the club also wished to honor the memory of Bill Rose as together he and Mrs. ... Read More »

Once again Marco Islanders opened their wallets to support a vital cause – The American Cancer Society. The Annual Hope Ball was a huge success! Thanks to the generosity of attendees and sponsors the goal of $50,000 was beaten by leaps and bounds. Funds raised at the Ball are targeted locally to support their R.O.C.K. programs designed for kids with cancer. The Hope Ball was held on February 26th at Marco Island’s Historical Museum, and featured best-selling author Nicholas Sparks. Nicholas is most well known for “Dear John”, “The Notebook” and “Message in a Bottle” each adapted into movies. Among ... Read More »

Our world changed on September 11, 2001. In common with the Alamo and Pearl Harbor we will never forget that tragic day. This September marks the 10th anniversary, and there will be commemorations throughout the country. One of those events, starting a bit early for fund-raising purposes, was the display of a two ton steel beam retrieved from the Twin Towers. Mike Fagan, owner of Kerry’s Café in Shops of Marco, showed the beam outside Kerry’s on recent Sunday in February. The display was in conjunction with an ongoing fund raiser for the building of a Freedom Memorial Wall in ... Read More »

By Donna Fiala It’s a busy time of year, but isn’t it fun! Our weather has been gorgeous, our visitors have been flocking in to enjoy the area, and we are grateful that they are here. We’ve had so many events that a person could never get bored, that’s for sure. Sunday, March 6th was another marvelous St. Paddy’s Day Parade with Father Tim and Father Pat leading the parade, Steve Stefanides orchestrating the procession, Kathleen Reynolds organizing the teams, and so many more involved that it is impossible to name all the wonderful people who participated. Our Supervisor of ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus Marco Island has a lot of nifty amenities besides the beach and the periodic comedy routine at City Council meetings. One of those amenities is the $5 a session workout for “Over 55 Year Olds” at Mackle Park. Although my wife clearly looks younger than 55, she managed to dupe the authorities into believing she qualified, and they cheerfully accepted her credentials and her five bucks. The first session went swimmingly or, rather, physically terrific. She returned home, tired, exuberant, and certainly thinner. The exercises include lifting some free weights and doing a lot of roly-poly stuff ... Read More »

By Tarik Ayasun It never ceases to amaze me when most of the Western world chooses to act like ostriches in the desert and bury their heads in the sand when the evidence is before them, as bright as a sunny summer day. First, it was Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq who turned his own people into a listless crowd of voiceless slaves; killed masses of them using chemical weapons; spent and plundered the treasures of Iraq as if it was his own; invaded a neighboring country, stealing their treasures, raping their women and destroying their homes; and fought a ... Read More »

By Camden Smith On your mark, get set, go! The March 5 Summer County Games for Special Olympics Collier County hosted 71 athletes in more than 10 athletic events serving as qualifiers for the regional or Area Summer Games in Charlotte County the end of March. Lori Lefferts, 33, has been competing in Special Olympics since the age of eight, and her father Dale says her pride in participating is what drives her. “In her bedroom, she has a trophy case literally of 25 years of metals and ribbons she’s earned throughout the years, and it’s truly a matter of ... Read More »

By Gina Sisbarro All that yapping means “The 3rd Annual Mutt’s & Martinis Yappy Hour” is happening on March 23rd from 5 – 7 pm at CJ’s on the Bay. The event is the largest fundraiser for the organization Bedtime Bundles, which is a not for profit that supplies basic necessity bundles (items stuffed in a pillowcase) to migrant children throughout Collier County. The original event goes back to the year 2009 when it was called “Doggie Happy Hour” co-chaired by volunteers Cheryl Mueller and Jan Temkiewicz. The event has grown both in number of participants, number of auction items, ... Read More »

By Joan Kelly The Isles of Capri has struggled with electric outages and flickers for years. It got worse year by year. The citizens of Capri have complained loud and often. February 22nd at the Capri Community Center Capri people paced the building to get answers. The agenda for the evening was an overview of the electric infrastructure and causes and outages for 2010 and 2011. Five representatives of FPL presented a power point program and explained, “We have a great plan in place, some things are already being done, and will definitely address any concerns you have.” Charlotte Miller, ... Read More »

By Jane Marlowe On Friday, February 25, 2011, the Marco Town Hall Speaker Series was launched with the 43rd governor of Florida as guest speaker. Jeb Bush, a member of the distinguished Bush political family, was introduced by Rick Borman, President and Producer of the Series, who thanked the audience for its enthusiastic response. More than 500 attendees filled the ballroom at the Marco Island Marriott Resort and following a brief update on the Bush family, Governor Bush presented an articulate commentary on the fiscal status of the country and four specific areas where revised and forward looking strategies could ... Read More »

In a small real estate office at 855 Bald Eagle Drive, a 21 year resident of Marco Island is engaged in an exciting and fascinating technological advancement. With a simple click of any smart phone, Sun Realty’s Dennis MacDonald demonstrates how a prospective real estate buyer can instantly download complete information about a home or lot. He does it simply by photographing a barcode his system has put on a version of one of the common real estate signs that advertise available property. With a single click of a smart phone the prospective buyer gets just about everything he needs ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom I recently had the chance to enjoy a nice dinner on Marco Island. As I am usually serving people in the evenings, this was a rare treat. Unfortunately, my lovely evening was rudely interrupted by an intoxicated gentleman who claimed to live on Marco. He immediately began to talk to me as I sat down. “Where are you visiting from?” he asked, innocently enough. I explained that I lived here. “On Marco?” he continued. “No, I live in Goodland, actually,” was my reply. “Goodland?!?!?! If I lived in Goodland, I would be as useless as everyone there!” ... Read More »

By Gina Sisbarro Meet Jere Fluno When you sit down next to Jere Fluno you are instantly taken in by his gentlemanly mannerism, the heartwarming smile and the passion he shares concerning “finding the cure” for Type I Juvenile Diabetes. It is easy to see why the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation chose him as the Honoree for the 2011 Hope Gala. Jere resides on Marco Island with his wife seven months out of the year. His hometown is Chicago, Illinois and that’s where the story begins, fifteen years ago. At the time his family had never had to deal with ... Read More »

By Joan Kelly Every year we participate in the Audubon Backyard Bird Count by land and by sea. This year during the February 18- 21 event we did two locations, Port of the Islands and Isles of Capri, with surprising results. On days prior to the count we saw the usual birds that pass our house daily. On the days of the bird count some of these birds just did not show. Maybe they did not want to be counted. A green heron sits on our dock ladder every day, dipping for breakfast. He was a no show. The flock ... Read More »

by Tara O’Neill I know where a tiny gem has been secreted on Marco Island for decades. Okay, not so tiny, It measures-over 16 feet long; and okay, not so secret, it’s at the Library. Right next to Mystery H-Z The diorama of Napoleon’s Retreat is a plexi-enclosed frozen micro-world of Cossacks, Sappers, the Emporer himself with attending staff, Chasseurs, Lancers, Imperial Guardsmen, bedraggled stragglers, horses, dogs, and all the accoutrements of 19th century warfare – including death. It’s comprised of over a thousand hand-painted metal pieces. The diorama was constructed in the late sixties by a man named Paul ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom The small village of Goodland is celebrating its 62nd birthday on Saturday, March 12th. The party will take place at the new Goodland Boat Park which is located at the end of Goodland Drive West. This family friendly event will take place from 10 am to 4 pm and will host activities that those of all ages can enjoy. As Goodland is and always has been a fishing village, many of the activities will be based around this tradition. The day will begin with a Fishing Seminar presented by Marco Island fishing guru, Don Robb. The seminar ... Read More »

Saturday, March 12 will be another big day for the Marco Island Academy! At 7:30 a.m. all are invited to register to join in the second 5K race. It’s not only a chance to walk or run on beautiful Marco Island, but also an opportunity to meet the Academy’s new principal, Chris Pellant. Anyone who does not choose to do the entire five kilometers will be able to take on a shorter course. Participants have a sliding scale of entry fees: Kids up to 9 run free, youths from 10-17 pay $20, adults 18 and up pay $25. Tee shirts ... Read More »

Marco Island is a lot more than a sleepy little island on the edge of the Everglades. It’s a place where painters, writers and photographers do their stuff – and do it very well indeed. Want a good sample of local writer’s? Mike Held, proprietor of the Keep in Touch Store, located at the Shops of Marco (site of the “Big Publix”) is holding a Local Author’s Week at his store featuring works of four of our local writers. On March 15, the main attraction will be KG Dowling’s “Mango Island”, a comic look at diverse personalities that migrate to ... Read More »