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 Natalie Strom - [email protected] Only weeks ago, BuzzFeed.com came out with its list of “The 33 Most Beautiful Abandoned Places in the World.” Just after the underwater Christ of the Abyss in Italy and the Kolmanskop ghost town in the Namib Desert, is listed, in third place, the “Abandoned Dome Houses in Southwest Florida.” A photo and nothing more accompanies the third place title. With well over 1.5 million views on BuzzFeed.com and over 60,000 Facebook shares, it seems that the dome home of Cape Romano is no longer Southwest Florida’s secret treasure. Many may recall the September 8, 2012 issue ... Read More »

Marco’s own Alessio Luna, a local seventh grade student at Manatee Middle School, successfully passed a bill through the House and Senate. “I loved the debate! It was realistic and you felt as though you were really in Congress.”  Alessio was among local students from Marco Island Charter Middle School, Manatee Middle School and St. John Neumann attending the 8th Annual YMCA Youth in Government Junior State Assembly held in Haines, Florida. This was Alessio’s second visit to the assembly. Students develop legislation and present their bill to their peers at the assembly, modeling the state legislature. These delegates serve ... Read More »

Native to Brazil, Bougainvillea is truly one of the showiest shrubs we have during the fall and winter months here in South Florida. Its spectacular color comes from its heart-shaped papery bracts. The tiny flower itself is usually white and located in the center of the colorful bract. A sprawling shrub with long thorny branches, Bougainvillea is commonly mistaken as a vine. Unfortunately, it lacks the tendrils that allow it to attach itself onto fixed objects. Bougainvilleas come in myriad colors including orange, pink, purple, red and white. Bougainvilleas begin blooming after the rainy season; when the length of days ... 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 »

Waste Management, with its green toters and green recycling trucks, has unintentionally  colored its company with the idea behind its latest campaign. Currently, the company is working to increase its recycling awareness program through public festivals and events, partnering this year with the Marco Island Seafood Festival. The two entities have come together and announced the ZERO Waste Challenge for the two-day Seafood Festival held March 23rd and 24th at Veterans Park. “This is something new we are doing,” explains Stephanie Kissinger of Waste Management’s Public Sector Solutions. “We are basing this off of Waste Management Corporate’s sponsorship of the ... Read More »

By Noelle H. Lowery - [email protected] Last Monday’s Marco Island City Council meeting was a tale of two of councils. While the meeting was marked by decisive acceptance of a $500,000 grant to create artificial reefs, it also was mired in confusion over City Manager James Riviere’s performance evaluation. Early in the evening, the council unanimously adopted a $500,000 grant from BP’s Gulf Tourism and Seafood Promotional Fund. The grant money will be mingled with similar BP grants awarded to the city of Naples and Collier County to fund a system of 36 artificial reefs planned to stretch along the southwest ... Read More »

It was “A Day of Fashion” on Thursday, February 21st as the ladies of the Marco Island Woman’s Club held their 13th Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show. Held at Hideaway Beach Club, proceeds from the event go towards the Club’s scholarship program. The Marco Island Woman’s Club was founded in 1966, and has always taken pride in its goal to serve the community. Current work includes providing educational scholarships for Marco Island students. The Woman’s Club also founded the Marco Island Public Library, funded the gazebo at the Marco Island Historical Museum, donated funds to the Marco Health Care Center ... Read More »

By Noelle H. Lowery - [email protected] It is no secret working families have been tormented by a stormy economy in recent years. According to the US Census Bureau, 10.4 million families — nearly one-third of all working families in the US — probably did not make enough money to cover their basic needs in 2011. In Florida, that amounted to 642,000 working families, or 37 percent of the state’s hardworking households. That means a family of four bringing in nearly $46,000 a year still struggled to feed and clothe itself. “Collier County and Marco Island are not immune,” says Steve Sanderson, ... Read More »

Eleven years after the first event, the Marco Island Yacht Club Fleet is still sailing on to an ever growing event. One hundred and sixty sailors and observers descended on the Marco Island Yacht Club, Saturday February 23, 2013. This annual event is greatly anticipated by the community and the entire Yacht Club membership as the fleet presents itself to the New Year’s Commodore and Bridge Officers. On shore the Rear Commodore Dick Irwin, Chaplain Neil Hunt and Commodore Jim Marr, saluted and blessed the Yachts as they passed in review. From the beginning of boating, mariners have brought their ... Read More »

Marco Island Parks and Recreation will be hosting its annual Spring Jubilee event on Saturday, March 30th from 10 AM until 12 PM. This year’s event will include over 20,000 Easter eggs for ages 10 and under. Age groups include: 3 years and under, 4 to 5 years, 6 to 7 years, and 8 to 10 years old. The Easter Egg Hunt will start promptly at 11:30 AM. Additional activities this year include: music and games by Mobile Sound Entertainment, a Marco Magic Cheerleader demonstration at 10:30 AM, Magic by John, face painting, five different inflatable games, train rides from ... Read More »

The Port of the Islands Gun Club is at it again. For the third year now, the club is prepping for its Annual Charity Sporting Clays Event, dubbed “Shoot Down Kids Cancer.” On Saturday, March 23rd, from 9 AM until 2 PM, the POI Gun Club hopes to break its record of $28,000 raised last year – aiming for $32,000. The whole thing started when, “a couple of us here have had bouts with cancer and we’ve always wanted to give something back,” explains Gary Landis of the POI Gun Club and one of the founding members of the event. ... Read More »

By Donna Fiala [email protected] What a fun filled month February was! There were so many things to do on Marco Island there was hardly a minute to spare! Coming up is the St.Paddy’s Day Parade at 1PM on Sunday, March 10th. Our wonderful Father Tim will be the Parade’s Grand Marshal. As always, our Irish “princess” Kathleen Reynolds is organizing the parade sponsored by the Sons & Daughters of Erin. Kathleen has so much dedication and enthusiasm over everything Irish that it makes this German/Hungarian woman (that’s me) want to be part Irish! The party actually starts on Saturday at ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus - [email protected] I recently had an unusual visitor. It just dropped by to see me and, using powers of deduction I developed by reading all of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I concluded that it was from another planet. The fact that it was green and that it had only three fingers on each hand like a cartoon character were hints.  What confirmed that it was otherworldly was it was wearing a double knit “leisure suit” with a shirt collar hanging over the lapels. “Aha,” I thought, “Only someone from outer space would still wear one of those outfits.” ... Read More »

Suggested Economic Reforms By Roy Eaton There is no doubt that our immigration policy has been a complete disaster. It is estimated that over the last several decades, between 7 and 20 million immigrants have entered our country illegally, although 10 million is the most widely accepted estimate. Ironically, several of the most vocal among us, who express utter contempt for their presence and wish to immediately expel undocumented individuals from our shores, are often the same ones who looked away when immigrants crossed our borders, because they were in need of their services. Neither political party can escape blame ... Read More »

Growing up in Istanbul in the 50’s and the 60’s the “other side” meant either the Asian side or the European side of the City depending on which side you lived on. The Bosphorus Straits, a waterway which divides the city into two distinct parts and carries the cold waters of the Black Sea in Northern Turkey towards the warmer Sea of Marmara and from there through the Dardanelle straits into the Aegean Sea and eventually into the Mediterranean. It is 20 miles long from end to end. Its width varies from 1640 feet up to 2 miles with an ... Read More »

The Twenty-fifth Annual Marco Island Easter Sunrise Service on the Beach will be held on Sunday, March 31, at 7:00 a.m., at the Marriott Marco Beach Resort, 400 South Collier Boulevard, Marco Island.  Beach access is north of the Marriott Spa and the public access north of the Madeira Condominium. Participating clergy are Marco Presbyterian Church’s Founding Pastor the Rev. Dr. Bruce R. Fiol, New Life Community Church’s Pastor the Rev. Thomas McCulley and   Wesley United Methodist Church’s Pastor the Rev. Kirk Dreiser. The Lely High School Brass Ensemble, John Stein, director; Marv Hollenbeck, keyboard; and Linda Sandlin, soloist will ... Read More »

By Julia Barnett IBERIABANK on Marco Island has held nine shred parties to date, each with a different theme. On Saturday, February 23, they held their tenth, the first to include a most beloved kind of family member, pets. Dubbed the Patriotic Pet Shred Party—shredding paper, not pets—the event included pet professionals, a pet parade, and Shred-It professionals to assist in eradicating any and all personal documents brought to them. Identity theft is a large, widespread issue , and one of the ways an identity can be stolen is by access to personal documents—things like bank statements, contracts, checks, and ... Read More »

By Julia Barnett The Island Theater Company’s recent production was such a big hit, they’re having an encore. The show, A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters, stars Kat Gravatt and Walt Willey, and will be returning to the Rose History Auditorium March 14th through March 17th, tickets at $25. Love Letters, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated show, is a story of a 50-year romance between Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, played by Walt, and his friend Melissa Gardner, portrayed by Kat. The couple are opposites in personality and demeanor, but they write to each other despite the differences, beginning with thank you notes and ... Read More »

Please join the Marco Lions on Saturday, March 9th for our 19th annual super-scrumptious pancake breakfast. This takes place at the United Church, 320 North Barfield.  There will be sausages and scrambled eggs and all you can eat pancakes, plus coffee. Find a friendly Lion before that date and get your ticket for just five dollars…six dollars at the door. Hours are from 8AM to 11AM and we would love to see you there. Just look what the money we raise will accomplish: …All funds raised go to support Southeastern Guide Dogs for the Blind, Conklin Center for the Blind, ... Read More »