Coastal Breeze News

DEP and South Florida Water Management District fund irrigation reuse project to reduce phosphorus~ The Florida Department of Environmental Protection took a major step forward in drawing up a detailed restoration plan for Lake Okeechobee and met with key area stakeholders. At the same time, the Department has committed $4 million toward restoring the lake through an Istokpoga Marsh water quality improvement project. This restoration plan, called a basin management action plan, or BMAP, will identify additional water quality projects moving forward, funding sources and an implementation schedule necessary to bring the Lake Okeechobee watershed back to health. Lake Okeechobee is a source of water for the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries as ... Read More »

Calling all fishermen to the 17th Annual LCEC United Way Fishing Tournament happening April 27, 2013 at D&D Matlacha Bait and Tackle. Cost is $60 per angler before April 24, $75 thereafter. In addition to great fishing, there will be delicious food and a huge raffle! For the first time ever, a separate raffle will be held for a boat package valued at $4,650. This package includes a 15’4 NMZ Custom Gheenoe, Boatmaster Trailer and Minn Kota Trolling Motor. Boat package tickets are $10 each and you do not need to be present to win. Visit www.uw.lcec.net/fish.html for information on registration and raffles. ... Read More »

The Education Foundation—Champions For Learning is proud to announce that 40 new students were inducted into the Take Stock in Children Scholarship and Mentoring Program. The program identifies eighth grade students who are economically challenged, do not have discipline records, promise to maintain a 2.5 grade point average, meet weekly with a mentor and remain drug and crime free. Students who successfully complete all requirements are awarded a scholarship to a Florida state college or university of their choice. Read More »

From patriotic ballads to Broadway show tunes and old classics, residents of the Fiddler’s Creek golf course community will enjoy a variety of live music entertainment this season. The Concerts on the Green series takes place over the next couple of months and will boast a wide assortment of entertainment. The annual series is traditionally held out on the Tennis Lawn at The Club & Spa at Fiddler’s Creek. And the best part, it’s complimentary for Fiddler’s Creek homeowners. In February, residents were treated to a special President’s Day Concert featuring a number of holiday themed songs and unique instrumental renditions. Highlighting patriotic ... Read More »

First there was pink and now RED!  When a representative from the American Heart Association saw the Ochopee Post Office painted pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month she approached Manager of Postal Operations Richard Barber with a request.  The American Heart Association was searching for local landmarks in the Collier county community to trim in red lights for American Heart Month. The Ochopee Post Office, smallest post office in the country, is a popular tourist attraction in addition to being a local landmark.  On any given day, buses full of tourists stop to purchase stamps, take photos and obtain the ... Read More »

Noreen Carr of Cape Cod, Mass and Miss Dottie Noreen won 4 different BINGO games during the Tuesday Afternoon BINGO at the YMCA. Read More »

In games last week,  Kretch’s stayed hot winning its third in a row , this time defeating Marco Island Vacation Properties 19 to 4. Wally Kroschel led Kretch’s with 3 hits including a HR. Christian Polanco added 4 hits of his own with a triple, and Bruce Kretschmer added four singles.  Chris O’Connor and Mike Graczyk led MIVP with two hits each. Cocomo’s stayed on Island Pizza heals with a victory over the slumping Joey’s 19 to 7.Curt Withoff had 4 hits including a HR and two doubles. Mike Watkins added four hits as well. Stephen Pahr led Joey’s with ... Read More »

Meet Author Marya Repko and Learn About “the Amazing Deaconess of the Everglades”  On Saturday, March 16, from 1:00-3:00 pm local historian and author, Marya Repko, will give an illustrated presentation at the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center about Deaconess Harriet Bedell, missionary to the Seminoles in the Everglades, who was canonized by the Episcopal Church in 2009. She will talk about early settlers, the building of the Tamiami Trail, its impact on the native Seminoles and Deaconess Harriet Bedell, logging in the Fakahatchee, development in the Picayune, and the efforts of environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. After the lecture, she ... Read More »

The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) on Tuesday, Feb. 26 endorsed a four-month plan to accept local projects eligible for RESTORE Act funding, compensation for the tragic Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire in April 2010 that killed 11 workers and spilled about 200 million gallons of oil unabated into the Gulf of Mexico. Until the civil penalties are settled in a federal trial in New Orleans that began Monday, Feb. 25, the exact amount of funding Collier County will receive is undetermined. But Collier like the other 22 counties along the Gulf are preparing project lists in advance. The civil ... Read More »

Until we all have equal rights and equal protections under the law, we will not eliminate violence. Currently, the US Senate has passed a comprehensive Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), S 47, that expands protections to address the face of the domestic violence epidemic in our nation today. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives, also comprised of men and women we elected into office, is debating a plan that denies protections to very specific, often marginalized, groups of individuals – the GLBT community, Native Americans and immigrants. It’s truly astounding that in 2013, our nation, or at least its leaders, ... Read More »

The final “Music for the Soul” concert will be 6 p.m., March 10.  The organ and piano duo of Babs Hillenbrand and Marv Hollenbeck will play favorite hymn arrangements on the church’s grand instruments, the three-manual Allen Organ and the seven foot six inch Yamaha Grand Piano.  Local music teachers, Sandy and John Stein, playing a variety of musical styles from sacred to jazz, will join them on the flute and piano. This is the eighth year for Marco Presbyterian Church’s concert series.   The concert is free; a love offering will be received. The church is located on 875 West Elkcam Circle, Marco ... Read More »

Marco Island Charter Middle School announces the Open Enrollment Period for admission to the school for the 2013-14 school year to be held from March 4 until 3:00 p.m. of March 22.  Applications to enroll in next year’s sixth, seventh and eighth grades can be obtained on March 4 and anytime thereafter from school or by going on the school’s website at MICMS.org. When the Open Enrollment Period closes, should the number of applications exceed the number of seats available in each grade level, a lottery will be used to determine which students get admitted to the school, as per ... Read More »

SATURDAY, MARCH 9 – SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2013 10:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.   Sun-N-Fun Lagoon Water Park will open for spring break, Saturday, March 9 through Sunday, March 17, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. daily.   The park is offering a special discount for spring break for Collier County residents. Residents with a Florida driver’s license showing a Collier County address will receive $2 off any entry for those 48-inches or taller (normally $12). Individuals less than 48-inches tall enter for $5.50: children three and under enter free. Sales tax added to all fees.   Sun-N-Fun Lagoon Water Park Facility Attractions ... Read More »

Life Long Learning at The Philharmonic Center for the Arts to offer innovative six week program for people challenged by Alzheimer’s and other associated dementias: ~The Arts and Alzheimer’s~ The program will feature visits to the Patty & Jay Baker Museum with Philharmonic musicians alternatively with studio arts activities & talks with local artists and educators at the Toni Stabile Building located on the campus of The Phil. This unique 6-week, Tuesday morningseries (10:30 am – 12:30 pm) begins March 26th and runs through April 30th.   Under the direction of educator, artist and registered nurse Bernadette La Paglia, BSN, ... Read More »

Gracing the stage at Hideaway Beach Club were a number of Kiwanis ‘celebrities,’ including president, Dennis Pidherny, John Coff, Chief Mike Murphy, Commissioner Donna Fiala, Supervisor of Elections Jennifer Edwards, Shirley Barcic, Neal Snyder, Pat Hagedorn, Gina Sisbarro, John DeRosa and Dick Bolanger. Each model fully ‘worked’ the stage, not only doing a great job showcasing each outfit to the fullest, but bringing the audience to laughter and cheers over and over. Dale DeFeo organized the luncheon with assistance from her husband Bob. It took many Kiwanians and area businesses to put together the huge raffle, door prizes and 50/50. ... Read More »

The 10th Annual RC Laser Regatta is returning to Marco Island on March 1 through March 3. Hosted by the Marco Island Model Yacht Club, this NA National Championship will be taking place at Mackle Park. Participants in the Regatta come from all over the world and follow the 2012 International Sailing Federation Guidelines. This means that the model sailboats—and the participants controlling them—must follow the same rules as full-size racing sailing. This included not touching the buoys and rules of right-of-way. Friday, March 1 will include a cocktail party after registration and a Skipper’s meeting. Saturday the racing begins, ... Read More »

“After some months, Momma’s dream of living happily ever after with ‘Mr. Rodeo’ began to crumble… The dope did her in… Brief periods of calm were now overshadowed by long periods of fighting between Momma and Mr. Rodeo. Violent dramatic battles were followed by tearful reconciliations, and more than once, Momma woke us in the middle of the night and told us to start packing. We obligingly removed our clothing from our drawers, only to have her return a few minutes later and tell us to put everything back… But for me, the climax came one night when Momma and ... Read More »

Event organizers are pleased to announce that the 5th Annual Marco Island Seafood Festival will be held on Saturday March 23rd and Sunday, March 24th at Veterans’ Park on Marco Island. Admission is $6 with Children under 12 free. The Marco Island Seafood Festival is coordinated by Marco Island Rotary Sunrise and Noontime Clubs, the Kiwanis Club of Marco Island, Fresh from Florida Gulf Seafood, and the event’s title sponsor Waste Management, Inc. of Florida. Proceeds from the festival benefit local and international humanitarian programs sponsored by the Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs. More than 10,000 visitors from across South Florida ... Read More »

On Saturday, February 16th, fourteen boats (including the one that I was on) braved high winds and brisk weather to participate in the 17th Annual Goodland Mardi Gras Boat Parade, where all proceeds from the day go to Hospice. This year’s theme was Broadway Musicals and none was more represented than the musical, “Hair,” with three boats entering as such. Other appearances were “The Book of Mormon,” “South Pacific,” The Lion King,” “Cats,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Evita,” to name as many as I can remember. After all, I was on one of the “Hair” boats. Get it? The popular yearly ... Read More »

Soccer not only took the world by storm, and its popularity has filtered right down to the littlest tyke on Marco Island. John Patterson has joined forces with the Greater Marco Family YMCA to form the Soccer Coaching Academy, a program which attempts to instill a lifetime appreciation for the game of soccer, beginning with the “Golden Years of Learning.” The “golden years” deemed to be between four to eleven years of age. So far, two levels of the Soccer Academy have been arranged: Level I ,for four to six year old youths and Level II, for seven to eleven ... Read More »