Coastal Breeze News

By Coastal Breeze News Staff  This year’s sports program under the guidance of Roger Raymond, Athletic Director, brought Marco Island Charter Middle School four prestigious Gulf Coast Conference Championships. In a ceremony on Thursday, the schools’ athletes were recognized for their participation. Each head coach recognized one player for as an Outstanding Member of the team. Each Outstanding Team member is highlighted in bold. CO-ED GOLF  Head Coach: Joe Jarrett. Bayan Dadressan, Jonathon Irigoyen (Outstanding Teammate Award), Brian Kocak, Conner McClain, Christopher Nyhuus, Hunter O’Neill, Zach Rodriguez, Cody Webb. CO-ED TENNIS  Head Coach: Jerra Minning. Angela Alcala, Stephanie Alvarez, Jordan ... Read More »

The Veterans’ Memorial Fundraising Committee has reconvened to consider future enhancements to the Veterans’ Memorial, and will raise funds to support future Memorial projects. Lee Rubenstein will continue as chair of the panel. Rubenstein is a Vietnam era Veteran, a former Commander of the local VFW Post, and chaired the Traveling Vietnam Wall Committee. He was recently honored by the Marco Island City Council for his service to the community on veterans’ issues. Other members of the reconvened Committee include: Bill Duncan, Lee Henderson, Don Hopkins, Bryan Milk, Carole Roberts (cochair), Ray Rosenberg, Mike Stapleton, and Keith Wohltman. They represent ... Read More »

After 4 weeks it seems that the teams are starting to come together with all games being very close and lots of fun. In the first game of the night undefeated Rookies got all it could handle from the Snook Inn, winless but coming on strong,. After being ahead the entire game, The Snook mounted a 7th inning rally with hits from Lindsey Bott, Greg Curry, Anthony Palermo, Kristin Rotkvich and a HR from Damon Jobin and suddenly the game was tied 9 to 9. But Rookies Sean Shea answered the call and with a hit to deep left field ... Read More »

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners celebrate this year the 40th anniversary of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), one of the nation’s most important conservation laws. The groundbreaking legislation, enacted on October 21, 1972, helps to conserve our nation’s marine mammals – including polar bears, sea otters, walruses, and manatees – as well as the ocean ecosystems that support them. Under the MMPA’s protections, populations of formerly declining species such as the West Indian Manatee, California sea lion, Pacific harbor seal and elephant seal have steadily increased. The MMPA has also played a key role in ... Read More »

While I have not been a part of any discussions or plans involving consolidation, nor have I received a formal request to consider a consolidation plan, I believe the current economic conditions and everyone’s desire to find operational efficiencies make this the appropriate time to discuss the concepts of consolidation with the community. How a consolidation is accomplished and configured, what entities are involved and the operational and organizational impacts require a thorough assessment and plan so that we as a community can make an informed decision as to what course is best in providing public safety in Collier County. ... Read More »

The Shelter for Abused Women & Children hosts a Friends & Families gathering for individuals who have loved ones in abusive relationships on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m., Cedar Hammock Golf & Country Club (dress code applies), 8660 Cedar Hammock Circle, Naples. This free presentation will help the friends and family members of domestic violence victims understand: Root of abuse Different forms of abuse Effects of domestic violence on the family Why she stays What can be done and more The meeting also provides a question and answer session, allowing the loved ones to further explore their ... Read More »

The voter education department at the Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office partnered with 25 elementary and middle schools, conducted 40 elections, and 5,412 students voted on real voting machines for their favorite book – an increase of 1,000 voters over last year’s total. Since 2003, the Supervisor of Election Office has partnered with public and private schools by taking an active role to conduct the Sunshine State Young Reader’s Award Program (SSYRA) elections and provide students an opportunity to vote for their favorite book on real voting machines.  The SSYRA program is an annual statewide reading program designed to ... Read More »

Inaugural National Curves Day; Curves partners with Office on Women’s Health to deliver information and programs to Marco Island women Curves of Marco Island will give a free 30-day membership to any non-member who visits the club during regular operating hours throughout the month of May, in honor of National Women’s Health Week.  This annual awareness week, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Women’s Health (OWH), begins each year on Mother’s Day and brings together communities, businesses, government, health organizations, and other groups in an effort to promote women’s health. Curves International has partnered ... Read More »

The U.S. Postal Service has continued its tradition of honoring the Stars and Stripes by issuing Four Flags Forever stamps. This quartet of stamps features a U.S. flag against a white background. A single word appears on each of the four stamps in large letters: “Freedom,” “Liberty,” “Equality” and “Justice.” The black typeface recalls the look of Colonial-era printing. The Four Flags stamps are available in booklets of 20 and coils of 100. They are being sold for 45 cents each, $9 per booklet and $45 per coil. They can be bought at Post Offices nationwide, online at usps.com and ... Read More »

From Paula Brothers President Naples Zoo Board of Directors By now, many of you have heard that a component of the Collier County Greenway project impacts the pond along Goodlette-Frank Road. We love the pond. It’s been an iconic part of our history for decades and we share your concerns. It is important to distinguish that this is a County project. Naples Zoo is a nonprofit organization that leases land from Collier County. It is by the nature of the County Greenway project location that this activity affects Naples Zoo. While it appears that Naples Zoo has become the public ... Read More »

Maureen St. Laurent was the BIG prize winner at the season’s last Bingo  game at JCMI on Monday night. She is being congratulated by committee member Dr. Herb Kern. Bingo will resume at JCMI on Monday, October 1, 2012 We have lots of money to give away! Read More »

During the month of May, come in to St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store and sign-up to win a $100 shopping spree at the thrift store. There is no purchase necessary. Store hours are Monday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, located at 3196 Davis Boulevard in Naples, receives donations of new and gently used furniture, bedding, clothing, holiday items, collectibles, and household goods for resale. All proceeds stay in the Naples area and help those in need with utility and rent payments as well as food, clothing, furniture, bicycles for transportation, etc. ... Read More »

Representatives of Naples Children & Education Foundation, founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, recently accepted the 2012 William J. Gies Award in Orlando at the national American Dental Education Association conference. The Gies Awards honor individuals and organizations dedicated to the highest standards of vision, innovation and achievement in dental education, research and leadership. The award, which was one of nine presented at a formal dinner celebration, recognized NCEF’s superior demonstration of outstanding vision as a private partner in support of dental education. In 2008, NCEF, in collaboration with University of Florida College of Dentistry and other public/private ... Read More »

Daniel Guzman-Ramos was selected as one of the 1,000 Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) for the GMS Class of 2012. His strong leadership, community service and academic achievements contributed to his selection as a Gates Millennium Scholar recipient. A tutor for two years, Daniel Guzman-Ramos has maintained a 4.48 GPA. He has been involved with CROP, Beta, Altar Servers Group, Security Team, and in the Immokalee Foundation. Nominated by the Guadalupe Center, Daniel was chosen as the 2011 Outstanding Youth Philanthropist for all of Collier County and received the Bob Lisbon Scholarship Award. Guzman-Ramos is planning to major in environmental engineering ... Read More »

A series of free home interior decorating classes will begin in May and continue throughout the summer at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store at 3196 Davis Blvd in Naples. The first class will be Saturday, May 26, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.  The topic for this free class is “Accessories and Color.”  Moises Tristao, of Alpha Omega Construction, will conduct the class in the store.  A home interior designer, Moises has a professional philosophy of “Your life, Your style, My passion.”  He will incorporate this philosophy during the class to give suggestions for use of color and accessories ... Read More »

MARCO LUTHERAN CHURCH invites all the local children WITH their parents or grandparents to join us at We’re ready for a “Vacation Bible School” your children will never forget,”         said Pastor Kevin Koenig of Marco Lutheran Church! Our Vacation Bible School is called Family Bible Bash and you, along with your children or grandchildren will have fun in the Son at this free event!  Children, along with their favorite adults, will have a great time singing songs, enjoying snacks, creating crafts and playing games. But most important, when they meet up with Jesus they’ll discover just how much God loves ... Read More »

According to J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study     For the sixth year out of the past eight, financial-services firm Edward Jones ranks highest in investor satisfaction with full service brokerage firms, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study. The study measures overall investor satisfaction with full service investment firms based on seven factors: investment advisor, investment performance, account information, account offerings, commissions and fees, website and problem resolution. Edward Jones places its branch offices in the communities where its clients – long-term individual investors – live and work. ... Read More »

Collier County Domestic Animal Services volunteer Bob MacKenzie simply loves shelter cats. Bob spends his time at the shelter taking pictures of homeless cats to promote their adoptions. Bob’s devotion to the cats served as a catalyst for a large donation with the purpose of placing homeless cats with loving families. The generous donor, Lesley Brown Robert, donated $5,000 to underwrite adoptions for adult cats that have been available for some time, but not yet adopted. “Cats generally have a more difficult time getting adopted than dogs,” DAS Director Amanda Townsend says. “We hope a little financial break will help ... Read More »

The Collier County Lodging & Tourism Alliance (CCLTA), a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing regional issues of mutual importance to the tourism industry and the Naples community, today announced the appointment of long-time Naples businessman Randy Smith to the organization’s Board of Directors. Smith is Chief Executive Officer of Naples Transportation, Tours & Event Planning (NTTEP). Based in Naples, NTTEP employs more than 80 associates and operates a fleet more than 55 luxury vehicles including sedans, SUV’s, executive vans, stretch limousines, mini-buses, party buses and trolleys. NTTEP is also a full-service destination management company (DMC) that works with Fortune 500 ... Read More »

Authors provide practical tools for implementation Response to Intervention (RTI) is one of the most important educational initiatives in recent history and plays a key role in teacher education and practice. In The Complete Guide to RTI: An Implementation Toolkit (2012), published by Corwin, authors Dolores Burton and John Kappenberg offer a user-friendly introduction to using RTI to improve outcomes for all students. The book demonstrates innovative ways to use RTI to inform instruction and guide curriculum development in inclusive classroom settings. School RTI implementation teams will find strategies, techniques, and checklists for evaluating existing programs and implementing RTI effectively. ... Read More »