Coastal Breeze News

By Natalie Strom [email protected] In honor of the Second Annual National Everglades Day, April 6th, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (RBNERR) was ready to throw a party. Just last year the date was chosen as it is the birthday of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, a champion of the Everglades, known best for her book, “The Everglades: River of Grass.” She was at the forefront of the fight towards redefining the Everglades as a treasured river rather than a useless swamp. Much has been learned about “The River of Grass” since Douglas wrote the book in 1947, but the devastation to ... Read More »

By Noelle H. Lowery - [email protected] People thought Andrew Delgado was crazy when he opened his custom home building company — Andrew Hunter Homes LLC — in 2010. “That is what I heard from everyone,” quips Delgado. One look at the depressed real estate and home building markets of the time coupled with a global economy trudging through “The Great Recession” was proof enough for Delgado’s detractors back then. Fast forward three years, though, and the latest home sales and building permit activity on Marco Island may prove Delgado was crazy like a fox. In fact, anyone driving around the island ... Read More »

James C. Riviere, PhD. announced today that he will  be retiring from serving  as the Marco Island City Manager at the end of the current fiscal year, September 30, 2013. Dr. Riviere was appointed as the interim city manager in April 2010, and became the permanent city manager in August 2010. Prior to serving as the city’s chief operating officer, Dr. Riviere served as Chairman of the Marco Island Planning Board, Chairman of the Charter Review Committee, and held numerous civic positions with the Collier County School Board. He is a full member of the Florida City & County Management ... Read More »

By Jane A. Marlowe Marco Island joined thousands of communities all around the country on April 13th in launching Relay For Life, one of the most successful and recognized events in American Cancer Society’s history. Ken Hobson, MC for the two-day Relay, welcomed survivors, volunteers and supporters to the opening ceremonies which began with Marva Sutt singing The Star Spangled Banner. Raul Medina of Suntrust Bank and Chair of Relay-Marco Island, described the phenomenal growth of Relay since its inception in 1985. More than four billion dollars has been raised worldwide, “to support the American Cancer Society’s mission to Save ... Read More »

By Karen Swanker The Marco Island Public Library and the Marco Island Center for the Arts work cooperatively to provide monthly art shows at the Marco Library branch on Heathwood Drive. Each artist will exhibit for two months. March and April 2013 will feature the works of Marco Island artist Joan Scherer. Joan Scherer, artist and art educator, has been teaching watercolor at the Center For The Arts on Marco Island since 1991. Her classes are geared to several levels, including beginners. Joan has a facility for teaching the basics of watercolor and making it fun and successful. Color is ... Read More »

By Jeff Johnson On April 13th and 14th the Sailing Association of Marco Island (SAMI) will host its annual Bud Light Regatta. Proceeds from the regatta help to support the Civil Air Patrol, the Marco Island Community Sailing Center (MICSC) and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. The race attracts sailors from all over the area in boats of all sizes. Although racers of top standing will be competing, novice racers are invited and encourage to join in on the fun. Registration and check-in starts at 5:30 PM on Friday the 12th at Stonewall’s Restaurant (551 S Collier Blvd, Marco Island) ... Read More »

Vision 2013 was a “state of the real estate” seminar presented by Alan Rice and Ken Gandy. Ken Gandy is a realtor/broker associate on Marco Island with Keller Williams and is treasurer of the board of directors of the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors. Alan Rice is an operating principle of a real estate office in Bedford and Londonderry, New Hampshire, Andover, Massachusetts and Marco Island. Originally planned for an audience of up to 50, response to the seminar was so positive the venue had to be moved to accommodate the increased audience. Ken and Alan kept the presentation, ... Read More »

The Rotary Club of Marco Island is proud to announce that Keith Dameron, Vice President of Iberia Bank; Rick Medwedeff, General Manager of the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort; and Barb and Lou Prigge were selected as recipients of the 2013 Spirit of Marco Island Award. A final recipient for 2013 will be announced in the coming week. Keith Dameron was surprised by the presentation in front of over 100 people at a recent Men’s Club meeting at Mackle Park where he was the guest speaker. Ian Small of the Noontime Rotary Club made the presentation to the delight of ... Read More »

For the third year, Jewish Family & Community Services of Southwest Florida (JFCS) has partnered with four local congregations to provide Passover food through a program called “Seder in a Box.” Beth Tikvah, Jewish Congregation of Marco Island, Naples Jewish Congregation and Temple Shalom collected money to purchase Kosher food for Passover for the financially challenged individuals and families who are part of the JFCS financial assistance program. This year, through a separate fund-raising drive, the program was expanded to include “Easter in a Basket.” Fully cooked Easter dinners were provided to those families who celebrate Easter and who participate ... Read More »

By Craig Woodward So, have you been to Karina Island or Pelican Island? Even readers who are very familiar with the Marco Island area and the adjacent 10,000 Islands may ask “Where?” to that question. But even more amazing, for some local residents the answer is not only “Yes,” but that they currently live there. Many others have actually been there often without realizing it! We need to travel back in time 120 years to 1893 and take a peek at a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Nautical Chart of that era to help answer the question. First a little background ... Read More »

By Nancy Richie - [email protected] Photos by Jean Hall The following are brief updates, “animal bites,” on the unique bird life populations that are monitored in and around Marco Island. All are locally, state and even federally protected. Please enjoy the wildlife life, but do not intrude in their space, feed, water, or harass them in any way – this is against the law. If wildlife acts startled, agitated, or leaves the site as you approach, it is considered harassment. Move away slowly and enjoy the animal and its natural behavior. Burrowing Owls The popularity of the Marco Island Burrowing Owl ... Read More »

By Julia Barnett April is National Poetry Month, and Big Cypress National Preserve is celebrating by hosting its first annual poetry contest. Accepting submissions now through April 15th, the park encourages participants to visit the preserve and write about their experiences there. Big Cypress National Preserve is one of the United States National Parks, open to the public 24 hours a day. It is comprised of freshwater, and is a watershed to Everglades National Park. Set aside in 1974, it was named Big Cypress in reference to the large size of the area, and the expanses of cypress strands within ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom - [email protected] Sunshine Booksellers on Marco Island is known for its regular author book signing events. The week of March 25th was one of the busiest the store at 677 S. Collier Boulevard has seen thanks to three amazing authors who took the time to lecture, answer questions and sign autographs on three separate days. The first author of the week was “National Geographic Travel” Editor Keith Bellows. His book, “100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life,” was especially popular on Marco as it was one of the destinations mentioned. Bellows, on a trip to the island, ... Read More »

At the age of 44 Susan Spenser-Wendel, a Palm Beach Post reporter, was told that she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or as it is more commonly known, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. There is no cure for this disease and sooner or later it is fatal as muscles lose their strength throughout the body. Her first sign of there being something wrong was when she noticed that her left hand had gotten thinner and weaker. Many of us would give up all hope and rail against the unfairness of our situation. But Susan, with a husband and three children, decided that ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom - [email protected] The culinary creativity of Jon Phillips seems endless. With a resume that reaches multiple continents, Phillips has continued to refine his talents, reaching all of Southwest Florida with his catering company, CaterMasters and new restaurant, The Catch. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Phillips moved to England when he was four; he picked up the brilliant (as they say across the pond) English accent but left the often considered bland food of the country behind. That’s because Phillips was lucky enough, as he says, to be able to eat at some of the finer restaurants as he grew ... Read More »

Thursday, March 7th, 200 happy ladies gathered at the United Church of Marco Island to enjoy a luncheon and a delightful fashion show featuring the merchandise at the church’s resale shop, the Bargain Basket; proving that one woman’s “closet shrink” is another woman’s treasure. Ensembles bearing labels such as J Crew, Chico’s, Hagar, Tommy Bahama, Jos. A. Banks and Bill Blass were modeled by church members and “Basket” volunteers. Janet Watson, UCMI’s Mission Chair, stated that the total costs of the outfits shown ranged from a jaw dropping $3 to $45. Not bad considering the retail prices of the donated ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom - [email protected] How old is Marco Island exactly? Currently celebrating its 15th Anniversary as an incorporated City, we all know our island home is much, much older. Thousands of years old, if not more. Thanks to Calusa Indian remnants we know this much. Settlers came in the late 1800‘s; fish camps, schools, general stores and even a hotel or two followed. The era of “Modern Marco Island,” however, began on January 31, 1965. The Tradewinds Condominium along Crescent Beach was the fourth high rise, built in 1973. This may not answer the question as to how old Marco Island ... Read More »

By Nancy Richie To celebrate the upcoming 43rd Earth Day (April 22, 2013), the 6th Annual City of Marco Island Amateur Native Wildlife Photo contest is open for entries. The Coastal Breeze News is again sponsoring this contest and will publish winning photos in its May 3rd, 2013 edition. There will be one winning photo in each of the four categories offered. The City of Marco Island City Council will recognize the winning photographers at the regularly scheduled May 6th City Council meeting. This year, the contest began on March 18th and will be open for submittals of photos through ... Read More »

By Lisa Honig What if you could personally participate in research that could help determine factors that cause or prevent cancer? What if your involvement, and that research, ultimately leads to eliminate cancer as a major health problem for this and future generations? What if you could make it so just one family never had to hear the words “you have cancer?” To better understand ways to prevent cancer, the American Cancer Society is recruiting 300,000 men and women across the US and Puerto Rico for a landmark new research study – Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). If you are between ... Read More »

By Noelle H. Lowery - [email protected] Marco Island Utilities officials may be singing “We’re in the Money” this fall. If the city’s efforts to refinance its 2003 utility system revenue bonds are successful, the island’s water utility will free up $6.7 million in cash this September. The funds currently are held in an escrow account as insurance on the 2003 bonds. The refinancing also will cut the interest rate in half on the bonds — from an average of six percent to three percent. “This is actual cash,” says Marco Island City Councilman Ken Honecker, who has served as a member ... Read More »