Coastal Breeze News

Recently three persons running for City Council banded together and issued a salvo of negativism to proclaim their alliance and to disparage the other candidates, including me. I was so sorry to see this. They said that none of their opponents is “worthy of representing the people of Marco Island.” Let me summarize why I think I’m worthy — an MBA from Harvard, CEO of two public companies, a company commander as a Captain in the Army (with Airborne and Ranger designations). These all require that you know how to cooperate to get things done, how to analyze budgets, and ... Read More »

ART UNCOVERED Tara O’Neill “Times are a-changing.” Well, for me, anyway…and, technically, for the thousands of devoted readers of Art Uncovered. Art Uncovered is finished. Kaput. No mas. The fat lady is singing her head off. Last one, right here. After fifty-two issues, I am putting to rest the vehicle that made me a literary superstar. The original mission of Art Uncovered was simple and sincere: to share with you the exceptional, lesser-known, artists, art venues and events, that grace our artful coast. Together we met talented artists (of which there are so many) who maybe didn’t have the wherewithal for ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff Members of the Marco Island Fire Rescue Foundation came together on September 7th at Mutual of Omaha Bank to learn of the first recipient of the annual Galahad Award. The award, which is meant to honor acts of courage and compassion in an emergency situation, was presented by the Marco Island Fire Rescue Foundation, Mutual of Omaha Bank and Coastal Breeze News. And the 2012 Recipient of the Galahad Award is… Joshua Erickson. Erickson is a former Marco Island resident, a current employee of Dreamlander Tours, and now a resident of Goodland. He has displayed ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff The issue of how to approach seawall construction and repair dominated the discussion at Monday’s city council meeting. The ordinance that passed first reading now limits the use of residential lots for construction staging to a single 120 day permit. Chairman Larry Magel came out firmly in favor of ending such use altogether: “It doesn’t look like a hardship to me to use the commercial lots for staging…I would like to prohibit it altogether.” Magel tasked the Planning Board and Waterways committees to recommend viable alternatives and cited the possibility of the city taking over ... Read More »

By Tara O’Neill Wednesday, September 26, 5-8PM will be the LAST Last Wednesday ArtWalk at the Artist Colony at the Esplanade. After three years in this lovely locale, Marco Island’s artists have lost their lease and are actively reviewing potential new venues. Will there be tears? Will there be sadness? No time for that! The artists are all busy planning an ArtWalk extravaganza to thank everyone who has supported Island art and artists. Live music is being arranged with the help of J.Robert & Friends, and count on plenty of creative refreshments. There will also be numerous deals on some ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff Marco Police Chief Don Hunter is seeking a larger, more responsive police force, and his goals got the green light at Monday’s city council meeting. “We have the same size force [33 officers], that we’ve had since the mid 2000’s,” explains Assistant Chief Dave Baer. Baer points out that the number refers to all law enforcement staff, not 33 patrol officers available for street deployment at the same time. “Right now, we’re responding to things ‘as needed,’ more reactive than proactive.” A shift’s duties can be broken down into several basic categories: calls for service, ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff For the past three years, Coastal Breeze News has been delivering a ‘Fresh Perspective’ to Marco Island and its surrounding areas. The Association of Free Community Papers and the Florida Press Association agree. Thanks to the talented work of columnists, editors, photographers, graphic designers, sales and office staff, the Coastal Breeze has received eight awards between these two associations. Two awards garnered general excellence for the paper and six individuals received recognition for their talents. The Florida Press Association, which is open to all newspapers in the state of Florida, granted awards to three contributors ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff Coastal Breeze News asked the nine candidates vying for three seats on City Council the same question:  What are your priorities if you are elected to the city council? The candidates, Jerry Gibson, Larry Honig, Ken Honecker, Paul Meyer, Amadeo Pettrica, Frank Recker, Larry Sacher, Wayne Waldack and Duane Thomas, had to respond in 400 words or less.  Responses are run in the order they were received. This is the second installment of responses; the first ran in the September 7th edition of Coastal Breeze News with Larry Sacher and Paul Meyer responding. The article ... Read More »

Donna Fiala [email protected] Have you noticed or is it my imagination??? It seems a few more cars are on the road recently – a sign that our winter residents are beginning to come back home. If you remember, last year these wonderful people started coming back early. It used to be that the influx started in November, then it moved back to October, and now it seems they are coming back even earlier. Also, you may have noticed that as soon as they start coming back, our volunteer corps starts swelling and the events begin to happen – the region ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus [email protected] Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes purportedly said, “All generalizations are false; including this one.” Thus, let me begin with a generalization: Canadians are just plain nice people. We have just returned from our annual Cultural Fix in the town of Stratford, Ontario, about an hour-and-a-half west of Toronto. Stratford was once a bustling rail hub; but it ran into severe economic problems as the railroads declined. A gent named Tom Patterson had the wild idea of making Stratford a theatre centre (Canadian spelling) and thus build a tourism base while providing some cultural experiences. With private funds, ... Read More »

by Carol Glassman The City of Marco’s Code Enforcement Board met Tuesday, September 11 at City Hall. Members present were: Dick Adams, Dawn Henderson, Phil Kostelnik, Rony Joel, Chairman Lou Prigge, and two new appointees, Debra Shanahan and Martin Roddy. Debra Shanahan said she was encouraged to volunteer for the Code Board realizing there were openings and a lack of volunteers. She approached Councilman Frank Recker, she said, and volunteered to accept the appointment, “So that the city could get on with its business”. She said she hopes to bring her own knowledge of situations to help advise on cases. ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom [email protected] The mangroves along San Marco Road are dying. It is visible, it is getting worse and it has been years in the making. Top researchers, mangrove experts, concerned citizens, the City of Marco Island and the state have all come together in a joint effort to hopefully solve this crisis. After a groundbreaking ceremony held in November of 2011 at the site, little activity was seen. Thanks to donations of time and money, Phase 1A of the Fruit Farm Creek Restoration was finally completed over Labor Day weekend. According to Jeff Carter, Project Manager for Rookery ... Read More »

By Julia Barnett Saturday, September 8, twenty three volunteers gathered at the Pelican Bend Restaurant on Isles of Capri at 8 in the morning, smelling of sunscreen and loaded down with bottles of water, smiling despite the already stifling heat. These were the men and women who willingly gave up their Saturday morning to participate in the fourth annual Keeywaydin clean-up, picking up trash off the island’s beach. Waiting at the dock was the catamaran Calusa Spirit, ready to bring the volunteers to Keewaydin Island and back. Donated by Marco Island Water Sports for the morning, along with the time ... Read More »

BEYOND THE COAST Tarik Ayasun [email protected] Exactly eleven years to the day, primitive savages in Libya attacked the American Consulate in Benghazi and assassinated our Ambassador Christopher Stevens along with three others; two of whom happened to be former SEALS. Earlier in the same day more primitive savages in Cairo, Egypt attacked the American embassy, climbed over the walls, entered the embassy grounds, shredded our flag and burned it. Further attacks followed on September 12 and 13, in Yemen and Tunis as well as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Morocco. Official reason given was the showing of an obscure movie; a 15 minute ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom [email protected] By Natalie Strom Where do doctors, nurses, teachers, factory workers, contractors, realtors, engineers, dancers, karate black belts, retirees, athletes and business professionals all come together on a Wednesday evening on Marco Island? At the YMCA for Tai Chi class, of course. “I don’t have any lawyers,” jokes Instructor, Jane Kiester. “I challenge a lawyer to come to my class!” One of the greatest attributes of Tai Chi, explains Jane, is that people of all ages and all walks of life can benefit from the ancient Chinese form of martial arts. Jane, herself, is a perfect example ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff How well have you been studying the Sea Turtle Tidbits printed each edition of the Coastal Breeze? Sea turtle nesting season is coming to a close as females have finished laying their eggs on Marco, and 17 of those nests have now hatched. Here’s a quick quiz to test your knowledge of the endangered species.   1. How often do male sea turtles leave the sea? a.) Whenever they feel like it      b.) Once a year c.) During mating season           d.) Never 2. What is the incubation period for loggerhead sea turtles? a.) 95 – ... Read More »

Bonnie Douglass Menaker, JD, 73, a resident of Marco Island, died on September 11, 2012 at The Aristocrat Nursing Home of Naples, under the care of Vitas Hospice. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia in 1998. Bonnie was born in Harrisburg, PA, the daughter of William Tyler Douglass, Jr., MD, and Mary Hicks Douglass. She is survived by her husband of 52 years, J. Thomas Menaker, JD; and her siblings: Jill M. Douglass, Kim A. Douglass, and William T. Douglass, III. Bonnie was known and admired for her vibrant personality, unabashed enthusiasm, wit and love of life. She was a ... Read More »

BOOK REMARKS Diane Bostick [email protected] Author: Alex Stone Publisher: Harper, June 2012 Kind of an intimidating title, I will admit, but don’t let it keep you from discovering the delights of this book. It is quite fascinating. I know that I told you that the new kid on the block, Maggie Gust, would be doing the non-fiction stuff in the future but I was not totally truthful. If I find a book I really enjoy I am not going to hold back from telling you about it just because it is not fiction. And in some ways this is fiction ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff The Bingo Committee is excited to open its 14th season on Monday, October 1st at the Jewish Congregation of Marco Island, 991 Winterberry Road. The Committee consists of many of the same volunteers who served since the beginning of the game, 14 years ago. One such volunteer is Miriam Slavich who said, “Our enthusiastic volunteer Bingo committee is looking forward to our 14th year of Bingo. We welcome seeing our old friends of Bingo and making new ones. Join us and have a great evening every Monday night!” Volunteers can easily be identified by their ... Read More »

MUSIC NOTES BY GATOR NATE Nate Augustus [email protected] I know what you’re thinking. (Or at least I think I do?) It has been way too long since we’ve chatted. Let’s see, what have we missed… So much fun that it won’t fit into one tweek. It was a summer complete with boatloads of musical marvels, many miles logged in the Econoline and plenty of stories to tell! It is great to be back home, from what turned out to be an awesome trip. Dubbed “The Gator Nate Only Child Family Band Southern Americana Tour 2012” (quite a mouthful, now try to put ... Read More »