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O C T. 4 - 1 0 , 2024
3A | ARTS FUNDING
4A | VOTING HELP
5B | BLESSED BOATS
grants but not without disagreements
election ballot; we break them down
community of Everglades City together
Collier County Commission approves arts
Blessing of the stone crab fleet brings
Six amendments crowd Florida’s
HOUSING IN COLLIER COUNTY
Tim Aten Knows Tim Aten
Naples welcomes colorful new brewpub Kaleidoscope Beer Co. plans to add some color to the local brewpub scene. The Naples taproom for Riptide Brewing Co. changed hands in early September, and is now the family owned and operated Kaleidoscope Beer at 987 Third Ave. N. “I kept all the staff here. We just basically did a turnkey-style where we took over operations. In fact, all month it’s been kind of a transition period,” said Bill Vaughan, who co-owns Kaleidoscope Beer with his wife, Heather, and sister, Amy Vaughan. After operating for nearly nine years, Riptide Brewing decided to part ways with its original taproom in Naples and turn its attention to its much larger taproom in Bonita Springs. “The Naples taproom has been our home, where we poured our first pints, shared countless memories and built the foundation of who we are today. We are endlessly grateful to our loyal guests and neighbors, who made it such a special place,” Riptide posted Sept. 2 on its Facebook page. “While saying goodbye is never easy, we believe this change will allow us to better focus on serving the Southwest Florida community from our larger space in Bonita.” Riptide has been working closely with the new owners of its former Naples taproom to ensure a smooth changeover. The local business had a blowout Saturday night Sept. 28, as a sendoff See ATEN KNOWS, Page 5A
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MAKING HOME AFFORDABLE?
Arthrex will build its own employee housing, a trend that is increasing in Naples. Rendering courtesy Arthrex
Arthrex seeks approval for transitional apartment complex to attract employees
Super 8 Naples to become employee apartments, affordable housing
By Aisling Swift
By Aisling Swift
North Naples-based medical device manufacturer Arthrex plans to build contemporary transitional corporate housing in North Naples to make it easier to attract and retain employees. It’s the first petition under the zoning category of transitional corporate housing to come before the county. “Arthrex and other employers, candidly, are struggling in getting employees or people to relocate to Collier County to come in and work,” Arthrex land-use attorney Richard Yovanovich told the Collier County Planning Commission on Sept. 20, adding that Arthrex has 300 vacancies. “One of the
The old Super 8 Naples motel is heading toward a transformation into 110 contemporary, fully furnished multifamily apartments primarily for Moorings Park employees, with 33 reserved for affordable housing. Collier County Planning Commission on Sept. 20 unanimously recommended a small-scale amendment to the county growth-management plan to allow 110 affordable housing units on 5 acres at 3880 Tollgate Blvd., a multifamily development, instead of a commercial use. It also approved amendments to a county ordinance and master development plan for the Tollgate Commercial Center Planned-Unit Development to allow
See ARTHREX, Page 11A
See TOLLGATE, Page 11A
COLLIER SEEKS TO IMPROVE ROAD SAFETY FOLLOWING DEADLY ACCIDENTS By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
In the wake of deadly accidents on Collier County roads that have claimed 42 lives so far this year, the board of county commissioners and the sheriff’s office are looking for additional ways to improve traffic safety—especially at red lights.
On Sept. 5, a Collier County mother was killed, and her son and another child were seriously injured, when witnesses said the driver of a semitruck ran a red light at Immokalee Road and Logan Boulevard and struck the vehicle she was driving. The accident, which is still being investigated by Florida Highway Patrol, set off a wave of concern and criticism and led to a petition being circulated by a group of mothers asking the Board of County
Commissioners to do more to ensure safer roads and impose stricter consequences for traffic violations. As of Sept. 30, the petition had collected more than 3,300 signatures. Days after the Immokalee Road accident, two more people perished, one in a crash in Naples on Sept. 8 and one in a crash in Immokalee on See ROAD SAFETY, Page 5A
MORNINGS Taylor Petras
Corey Lazar
Lindsey Sablan
Zach Maloch
Rachel Cox-Rosen