WEEk of march 13, 2024 FLIER INSIDE
Cat in the Hat? Firefighters, other islanders read to students at Pine Island Elementary School — INSIDE pINEISlaND-EaglE.com
VolumE 47, NumbEr 45
GPICA introduces new board members, hears presentations on annexations, water quality By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
The Greater Pine Island Civic Association held its general monthly meeting March 5 at the First Baptist Church of Pine Island, introducing its new board members and hearing presentations on annexations from Greater Pine Island Water Association General Manager Mikes Maillakakis and water quality from Calusa Land Trust board member Judy Ott and Abriana Sadler of the DEP. The new 2024 GPICA Board members are Deborah Swisher-Hicks, president; Nadine Slimak, vice president; Mike Sweeney, treasurer; Steve Eldridge, secre-
tary; Tim Heitz and Sue Dahod. Maillakakis began by telling members 2023 brought aspects of voluntary annexation to light, via possible changes in the Lee County Charter Commission. “The Lee County Charter Commission is entertaining language to change the charter that allows the county to review voluntary annexations. This has been a point of great concern for us in our community because the city of Cape Coral has been annexing in a westward direction,” Maillakakis said. There are upcoming public meetings regarding the new language on voluntary annexation, he explained, such as one on March 26 in North Fort Myers.
By CJ HADDAD
cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com
Thousands of little rubber ducks take to the water at Marker 3 Coastal Cantina Saturday, March 2, for the Calusa Land Trust’s 2024 Rubber Duck Race. PAULETTE LEBLANC
Islanders turn out to support CLT’s Rubber Duck Race fundraiser pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Calusa Land Trust president Frank Potter said the attendance at this year’s Rubber Duck Races is in large part a credit to Pine Island’s recovery on the whole. The races, held Saturday, March 2, at Marker 3 Coastal Cantina, went off without a hitch, he said, with food, drinks and a welcoming atmosphere. “Marker 3 really did a fantastic job,” Potter said, with joy to have been invited to hold next year’s Rubber Duck Race there again, as appreciation for a job well done was mutual, he said. Major sponsors for the event, said Potter, were the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, Mike
See GPICA, page 18
Early voting under way across county
And they’re off...
By PAULETTE LeBLANC
Maillakakis encouraged members to attend, if possible. The community has done well in the last year, he said, regarding annexations with Cape Coral. A priority, he said, is to help protect the customer base. “In the last two years, we’ve been pretty successful at keeping this city at bay,” Maillakakis said. Maillakakis described the role of the GPIWA regarding annexation, by explaining that when Cape Coral annexes properties, the GPIWA loses that service area, as it becomes governed under the city and therefore has a vested interest in knowledge of these annexations and
Falkner from JR Wood, Carmen’s Kayaks and at least 20 T-shirt sponsors. “There’s been a lot of support for the Land Trust by the various organizations and businesses on the island,” Potter said. In total, he reports, there were 18 live auction items and 65-plus silent auction items as well as having sold all 3,000 Duck Tickets and all 200 Super Duck tickets, grossing over $35,000 in funds raised, in addition to various spontaneous donations at the event. Final inventory from the event is still weeks away, he said. That notwithstanding, the show of support from the See RUBBER DUCK RACE, page 16
Members of the Republican Party in Lee County should be prepared to cast their ballots in the Presidential Preference Primary Election, as the early voting period began Saturday. From March 9-16, each day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., registered Republican voters in Lee County can cast their ballot at 12 different sites for who they’d like to see represent their party ahead of the March 19 primary date. Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary is a closed primary election that allows voters to vote for the candidate they want to see represent their party in the November presidential election. “We provide all voters with three ways to vote,” said Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle via email. “Early Voting, Vote-by-Mail, and Election Day. One of the great benefits of Early Voting is that it helps to alleviate Election Day lines. “It’s also important for voters to keep Early Voting or voting by mail as an option. Life circumstances can occur where the voter might not be able to go to the polls on Election Day.” This year, only voters registered with the Republican Party will be eligible to vote in the March 19 election. The Florida Democratic Party nominated Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as its sole candidate, and no other contests are on the ballot. Therefore, voters registered with the Democratic Party, a minor political party, or no party affiliation will not have a ballot in this election. Doyle said the office has been working hard in readiness for another election cycle. “We’ve been preparing for the upcoming elections for over a year,” Doyle said. “Part of this includes running multiple tests on our voting systems to ensure accuracy and that everything is in good working condition. “Currently, we are active with poll worker training and have approximately 2,500 poll workers lined up to work this year’s elections.” There are even extra precautions being put in place to ensure votes are tallied accurately. “This year, we are implementing another layer to our checks and balances with the introduction of the indeSee EARLY VOTING, page 18
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