Coastal Breeze News

The Marco Island Marriott Resort held a Wine Dinner featuring the exclusive Boutique Wines of Haras Winery of Chile. Eduardo Matte, owner of the Chilean winery and the new Marriott Executive Chef worked together on this Evening of Fine Wine and Food pairing. The event was limited to only 40 guests. Some of the local attendees to the event were Dave & Jeanne Rice, Deryk Young, Clark Shaw, Malenda Trick and Doug and Angelica Andrews. Once again, Marco Island is put on the map and recognized as one of most desirable places to hold a memorable event.     Read More »

Two cadet members of the Marco Island Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol had the opportunity to take the controls of the squadron’s Cessna 182 aircraft recently during one of several orientation flights all cadets will experience, if they choose, as members of the United States Air Force Auxiliary unit. The Cessna 182 in which they flew is equipped with a glass cockpit, the latest technology using flat glass screens to display flight information. This replaces many of the “steam gauges” traditionally used. Civil Air Patrol is gradually replacing many of their fleet with this advanced design. Cadet SSgt ... Read More »

Lt Col Frank Damico has been selected and is recognized by the Marco Island Composite Squadron as the 2010 Senior Member of the Year in recognition of his tireless support and valuable contributions in all aspects of the Squadron’s activities. The award was presented March 21 by Lt Col Ray Rosenberg, Marco Island Squadron Commander. Lt Col Frank Damico first joined Civil Air Patrol in 1959, as a cadet, and rejoined in 2009. Frank has served in many roles during his short tenure with the Marco Island Composite Squadron. He is very dedicated to CAP, always being available to bring ... Read More »

This weekend will see the running of the annual Bud Light Regatta off Keewaydin Island. This year it is hoped that local boaters might enjoy viewing the race from out on the water. Keewaydin Island is located just north of Marco Island. The race committee boat is a trawler named “Kinship” and will be flying an orange flag. The start/finish line runs from the left side of the committee boat to a large orange inflatable buoy. Spectators can anchor about 20 yards past the buoy opposite the direction of the committee boat. Racers will pass between the committee boat and ... Read More »

The Shelter for Abused Women & Children is encouraging individuals and businesses to “Follow” the nonprofit domestic violence center on Twitter at TheShelterTweet and select the “Like” button on the organization’s Facebook page at Naples Shelter. The Shelter has been reaching out through Twitter, at http://www.twitter.com/TheShelterTweet, for more than a year and recently launched the organization’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Naples-Shelter/194493523915442. “Social media allows us to interact with people in new and exciting ways,”explains The Shelter’s Executive Director Linda Oberhaus. “We look forward to the feedback we receive and the information that our followers share as we work together to prevent ... Read More »

Marco Island Parks and Recreation will be hosting its annual Spring Jubilee event on Saturday, April 23rd from 10:00am – 12:00pm. This year’s event will include over 18,000 Easter eggs for ages 11 and under with 24 special golden eggs to be found. Age groups include: 3 years and under, 4 – 5 years, 6 – 7 years, and 8 – 11 years old. Easter Egg Hunt will start promptly at 11:30am. Additional activities this year include: music and games by Mobile Sound Entertainment, Marco Magic Cheerleader demonstration at 10:30am, Caricatures by John Salustro, Sand Art, Legos, crafts by Island ... Read More »

SFWMD has imposed the following watering restrictions: • In the City of Marco Island, residents can irrigate between midnight and 8 a.m. • For even numbered addresses, the scheduled days are Thursday and Sunday. • For odd numbered addresses, the scheduled days are Wednesday and Saturday.   Read More »

Beautiful weather and beautiful beaches made Marco Island buying and selling activity for February 2011 very busy. Statistics are up on a year-to-year, February 2010 to February 2011, comparison, and also on a month-to-month, January 2011 to February 2011, comparison. Active listings on the market continue to decrease in both comparisons. A year-to-year comparison shows the decrease is nearly 5% meaning fewer properties on the market now. Now is the time to buy on Marco Island. Pending listings, all property types, are up from a month ago by 20% and a year ago by 30%. Single family, closed properties, Marco ... Read More »

On Thursday March 24th, the Greater Marco Family YMCA and the NFL Players Association partnered up to put on a youth football clinic with NFL players. We worked hard to make sure the kids had a fun day filled with different skills and drills.   It was a great turnout and everyone had a blast! There were17 NFL players at the clinic and 150 kids that participated. The field was set up with 5 different stations that worked on different skills and drills. Each station consisted of 3 to 4 NFL players. As soon as the players got there, the kids ... Read More »

The Paradise Coast Paddlers Club invites the public to its 6th Annual Kayak Festival, to be held on Sunday, April 17th, on the Isles of Capri. This year’s Festival will feature guided tours to Gulf beaches and through mangroves, displays of hand-built wooden kayaks, a kayak camping clinic, kayak rolling demonstrations, a kayak rescue clinic, displays by local conservation groups, and a raffle for a 14 ft. recreational kayak. Held behind the Capri Fish House on Capri Blvd, the Festival will be open from 9am to 4pm. Off-loading assistance will be available to visitors bringing their own boats, and kayaks ... Read More »

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will post signs and temporarily close some Collier County beach areas to help protect nesting shorebirds. Portions of Big Marco Pass Critical Wildlife Area, known locally as Sand Dollar Island will be closed as of April 1. Caxambas Pass Critical Wildlife Area will be closed as of April 8. Areas of Keewaydin Island and Cape Romano Shoals (aka Second Chance) will be posted by April 21. Portions of Marco Island city beach (just south of Tigertail Beach) will be closed in mid-April. Areas will remain closed until the end of ... Read More »

If offered an opportunity to save a life, would you? 90% of Americans say “yes” to organ donation, yet only a few more than 30% of Florida’s population has signed up on our state organ and tissue donor registry. April is Donate Life Month, now is the time for those who have not yet done so to sign up on Florida’s donor registry online by visiting www.DonateLifeFlorida.org, or when getting or renewing their driver license. One organ donor can save the lives of eight people, and impact nearly 50 more through tissue donation. There are more than 110,000 people waiting ... Read More »

The Marco Eagle Sanctuary Foundation is hosting the first annual “Nest Fest” on Sunday, May 1st from 4:30 to 7 PM at Marco Island’s Art League Center for the Arts. This wine and hors d’oeuvres fundraising event will focus on the protection of the bald eagles and the preservation of their 11.6 acre habitat, the Marco Eagle sanctuary on Tigertail Court. Naples’ nature photographer, Dennis Goodman, will graciously donate matted eagle photographs for this event. Admission is $15 per person but free to all Five year Founding Members. Bald eagles, our national symbol for the United States, are a state ... Read More »

The Tradition Continues The twenty-third annual Marco Island Easter Sunrise Service on the Beach will be held on Sunday, April 24, at 7:00 a.m., at the Marriott Marco Beach Resort, 400 South Collier Boulevard. Beach access will be north of the Marriott Spa and the public access north of the Madeira Condominium. What began as a gathering of 200 on the beach has grown to a celebration of over 7,000, as people gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with music, scripture, prayer, praise and a brief message. Attendees are urged to bring their own blanket or chair. For ... Read More »