Coastal Breeze News

Collier County’s Tourism Bureau Brings Home Three Flagler Awards from annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), Collier County’s official tourism destination marketing and management agency, received top honors in VISIT FLORIDA’s annual Flagler Awards competition honoring the state’s top tourism marketing initiatives at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism held September 5-7 in Orlando. This year’s Flagler Awards were presented for work completed in 2011. Collier County’s tourism bureau brought home three awards including The Henry, the top level award in the Internet Advertising category, for its Paradise Coast Orbitz Winter ... Read More »

Are you dreading the thought of having to face this Holiday season without a loved one who has died? Our Surviving the Holidays seminar will help you prepare for the challenges that can make this time of year so difficult for those who are grieving, and find the strength, comfort and hope you’ll need to make it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and every other day. To learn more about the seminar and find other helpful resources, please visit www.griefshare.org/holidays. We encourage grieving families to attend this event together. Teens may view the seminar video with adults, then break into a separate group ... Read More »

Walter Kopka has officially been named Chief of Collier County’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Kopka, who began his EMS career as an emergency medical technician/paramedic cadet in 1986, has served as both the assistant and interim EMS Chief since August 2011. Kopka holds an associate of science degree in emergency medical services technology from Edison State College, a law enforcement officer certification from Southwest Florida Criminal Justice Academy, and a state of Florida firefighter certification from the Collier County Fire Academy. Chief Kopka recently completed the Harvard Kennedy School for Senior Executives after receiving a scholarship from the International Association ... Read More »

Dear Sir or Madam: I was disappointed, but not surprised, that City Council candidate Sacher filed an ethics complaint against Council Chairman Larry Magel. On the other hand, I was shocked when Mr. Sacher used the last City Council meeting as a political forum to trumpet his complaint. That was neither the time nor the place for a political attack. Mr. Sacher is wrong as a matter of law and as a matter of personal conduct, in my opinion. The nature of the complaint itself is a matter even beyond the way this attack is being conducted. As a lawyer ... Read More »

The Tale of Two Cities by Paul Meyer For the past few years, I’ve had questions on how the city runs. This is the reason why I decided to run for one of the city council seats, to better understand the workings of the city. I believed my ideas would help the city move forward and I chose to run as an independent candidate, not with any other persons or groups. I wanted to be able to project my own ideas into the city’s workings. In my quest to gain one of the city council seats, I have learned a ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!” is an award-winning University Series coming to the Everglades area for the first time this October. Avid female anglers will settle in at the Port of the Islands Everglades Adventure Resort for a weekend of education, hands-on fishing activities, habitat conservation and local recreation. Founded by Betty Bauman in 1997, the Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing University (LLGF) boasts 7,000 female graduates. LLGF is a national organization dedicated to attracting more women to sport fishing and to promoting conservation, responsible angling and emphasizing mentorship between novice and experienced members. The organization has earned rave ... Read More »

GOODLAND LIFE Natalie Strom [email protected] It’s that time of year again. The hurricane boards spray painted with “See you in October” have been removed and Goodland is back in business. The Little Bar’s answering machine no longer vaguely states, “we will be closed until we reopen” and the dance floors at Stan’s and The Old Marco Lodge are polished and ready. Not to mention that the Interpretive Center at MarGood Park is also now open to the public. A soft opening was held on October 2, at MarGood’s main building which now features historic artifacts relating to Goodland and a small ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom [email protected] The United States Postal Service has implemented a new system called the POST Plan to better align its service with customer demand. In order to do this, a review of nearly 14,000 Post Offices is taking place throughout the country and the Goodland Post Office is on that list. Those who have P.O. Boxes at the Goodland Post Office recently received a letter outlining possible changes to Postal service within the community. As the letter stated, “The Goodland Post Office was among the offices evaluated under the POST Plan criteria. The Postal Service is now soliciting ... Read More »

By Patricia Huff For the past six months, visitors to the historic Smallwood Store & Museum have had to drive through the unsightly property owned by Florida-Georgia Grove LLC. In early August, Collier County Code Enforcement Office issued a “Notice of Violation” for the overgrown weeds and disrepair of the fence on the construction site. After the owners received notice from the County in early September that a “Nuisance Abatement” process had been initiated for the violation, the owners requested a “vegetation removal” permit. The property is now scheduled for re-inspection by the County. Currently, there is an active building ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff Coastal Breeze News asked the nine candidates vying for four 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. This is the third installment of responses; the first ran in the September 7th edition of Coastal Breeze News and the second on September 21st. All but one candidate have responded. Responses run in the order they ... Read More »

On 10/08/12 at 0223 Hrs, Marco Island Police Officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of Jamaica Road reference a single vehicle crash. The caller noted that an individual was observed walking eastbound away from the scene of the crash. Officers arrived two minutes later and observed a 2008 Maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee which had sustained heavy damage and a significant amount of vehicle debris strewn about the roadway and yards. Marco Island Police and Fire Rescue personnel immediately discovered a male who had sustained obvious fatal injuries lying in the swale of 1423 Jamaica Rd. Preliminary investigation at the ... Read More »

By Kathleen Zehler Wednesday, September 26, 2012, marked the date as the first official meeting for the New Chapter of Toastmasters of Marco Island. Toastmasters Club is a driving force with a noble mission: To help more men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking – vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind. The group brings together all walks of life from high school youth to adults in various professions. The meeting was held at Centennial Bank under the direction of Naples Toastmaster Chris Pritchard and ... Read More »

Donna Fiala [email protected] Recently the Chamber had a marvelous After 5 event at the Marco Island Florist showroom. I had no idea that they had anything more than flowers, but what a delightful surprise to step into a shop of lovely gifts and decorations, PLUS flowers! Remember the old Hallmark shop that Lou & Pat Smith owned and that we all loved? I would have to say this darling shop filled that gap………..plus the staff was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable! Just to mention a few treasures they offer besides gorgeous floral arrangements are: blooming plants, home décor and accents, candles ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus [email protected] It finally happened…I’m “Macified”; or you might say “Appleized.” In any event I’ve come under the spell of the brooding omnipresence of Steve Jobs. After many years I’ve abandoned P.C.; and a MacBook Air has joined my relatively new iMac. It’s painful. It’s expensive. It’s destiny. It all began years ago when I bought my first computer – a $5,000, clunky, creaky, nasty IBM. It cost the equivalent of a BMW, but performed a lot worse. The original was heavy and huge. It had a single floppy drive that accommodated only one large droopy (hence “floppy”) ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff The Marco Island Academy football team played their first ever homecoming game against Imagine High School. Thundershowers in the area threatened the start of the game. It was an intense game but many fans in attendance wondered if ‘replacement refs’ were on the field after some questionable calls left coaches and players a bit frustrated. Regardless, the Rays worked the field and although the loss of 42-6 stung, Coach Andy Delgado pledges more hard work will produce a tighter team. Support for the school, and their football team, was evident on the sidelines and in ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom [email protected] The collaborative effort between the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida and Meals of Hope couldn’t be stronger. Closing out September’s Hunger Action Month, the two organizations came together to celebrate their latest joint venture. At an open house held on September 25, guests were treated to a tour of the Meals of Hope warehouse, which it will now be sharing with the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Based out of Fort Myers, the Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed 15 million pounds of food last year to hungry Southwest Floridians in five counties: Lee, Charlotte, Collier, ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff Physicians Regional Healthcare Systems’ parent company, Naples-based Health Management Associates (HMA), recently donated $10,000 to both Mike Davis Elementary School in Naples and Lake Trafford Elementary School in Immokalee. Each school ultimately chooses how best to use the money, however, Mike Davis Elementary Principal Melanie Fike has shared plans to help fund the school’s computer-based Ticket to Read program. For his part, Lake Trafford Elementary School Principal Brian Castellani has several initiatives in the works including the purchase of new PE equipment, positive behavior incentives, and grade-level performances to showcase student talent. Both donations are ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom Dogs, cats, hermit crabs, goldfish and their owners gathered at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on September 25, for the annual Blessing of the Animals. After a brief service that celebrated pets no longer with us and included songs like “All God’s Critters,” and “Dog Breath,” animals in attendance had a chance to be blessed by Father Kyle. Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff A small girl slurped on her thumb as 12 Cub Scouts of Den 6, Boy Scout Troop 234 gathered on Thursday night at the Wesley United Methodist Church. The wee lassie and a number of young girls were enjoying the side room as their brothers met under the direction of Jim and Linda Chute. It was a kickoff meeting celebrating the local cub scouts’ First Annual Cake Bake. One dozen newly iced cakes rested comfortably in the church’s kitchen thanks to the efforts of various mothers and the assistance of their sons – the icers. ... Read More »

By Kathleen Zehler There are numerous events that take place in our communities that support very worthy causes and it is in the giving of ourselves that makes these charitable events a success; thus forming the exceptional community that we live in. Meals of Hope exemplifies this truth as you see many organizations, individuals and local businesses coming together to give of their time, talents, and monetary means. The group’s mission is to bring communities together to feed needy children and families in Collier County. A project of the Marco Island Sunrise Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, and the Noontime ... Read More »