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3A | PIER'S RETURN?
5A | A LIFE WELL LIVED
3B | ALL TREATS
rebuild the battered pier even stronger
looks back on an extraordinary life
tell you where the happy haunts will be
Naples City Council awards $23.5M to
Tim Aten Knows Tim Aten
Updates on planned Immokalee Road projects
Find some local Halloween fun; we'll
Having turned 100, Paul Gibfried
A FUTURE WITH LESS FLOODING?
See ATEN KNOWS, Page 11A
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Council to tackle fluoride question with 2 public hearings By Aisling Swift
fall Project event at 10 a.m. on the beach at the Third Avenue North beach access. Beach parking at Second Avenue North, Third Avenue North and Fourth Avenue North will be reserved for attendees from 7-11 a.m. City officials said the landmark project will significantly enhance water quality through a state-ofthe-art “stormwater-treatment train,” improve flood
Armed with a federal court decision questioning the safety of fluoridating water, residents, doctors and health activists succeeded in getting Naples City Council to consider suspending fluoridating drinking water. Council on Oct. 2 asked City Attorney Matthew McConnell to draft a resolution so it could hold two public hearings and hear both sides of the issue. Fluoride supporters, who weren’t at the meeting, still maintain fluoride is needed to prevent tooth decay, despite a Sept. 24 California Federal District Court ruling that said fluoride levels considered “optimal” by the Environmental Protection Agency pose an unreasonable risk to children’s IQ and brain development. “We’ve heard ad nauseum about the amount of time used to research the topic—years,” Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison said before council reached a consensus. “Now a court decision has been rendered. We might disagree with the ruling. However, we should not ignore it. We also don’t have months or years to research the same issue, and then do what? Continue with what we’re doing to the residents and the public unnecessarily? “We don’t have to wait and risk children’s health,” he said, adding that the community would have “ample opportunity” to engage at two public hearings. The issue wasn’t on the agenda, but seven speakers lined up to encourage the council, citing the recent federal ruling. In the lawsuit Food & Water Watch vs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. District Judge Ed-
See STORMWATER, Page 11A
See FLUORIDE, Page 9A
Q: Are you able to tell us what is coming to the land that is being cleared next to the fire station on the south side of Immokalee Road just west of Randall Boulevard? — Adiel Pineiro, Golden Gate Estates A: Local developers are still dealing with generalities rather than specifics when it comes to development plans on property recently cleared on the south side of Immokalee Road between Wilson and Randall boulevards in Golden Gate Estates. Developers have proposed 125,000 square feet of commercial use, which includes a possible neighborhood retail center and up to 80,000 square feet of indoor, air-conditioned self-storage for the more than 10 acres of vacant land. Specific tenants are not lined up yet for the development, said Michel Saadeh, a principal of GM Advisors LLC, which owns the recently rezoned property with partner Habib Georges “George” Chami. “We’re not there yet,” Saadeh said. “You’ve seen the public record. That’s all I can comment on. We’re not close to figuring out exactly what’s going to go in; we’re about a year or two out on that yet.” When the developer was pressured that it must have some idea what it wants to build there, Saadeh didn’t elaborate other than implying that residential develop-
NAPLES
Public Works Director Bob Middleton is overseeing an $86.2 million project that is aimed at reducing street flooding in Naples. Photo by Liz Gorman
City of Naples to break ground on stormwater beach-outfall project By Aisling Swift
The city of Naples will host a groundbreaking ceremony on the beach Tuesday, Oct. 15, to start an $86.2 million project that will improve the quality of stormwater discharged into the Gulf of Mexico — and reduce street flooding. The public is invited to the Stormwater Beach Out-
COLLIER MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT NEARLY DOUBLES IN SIZE By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
As Collier County grows eastward, the Collier Mosquito Control District is expanding its boundaries from 400 square miles to more than 700 square miles in its efforts to help keep the pesky insects’ population in check and lessen the threat of mos-
quito-borne illnesses. The new boundaries went into effect Oct. 1 and encompass communities including Port of the Islands, Ave Maria, Naples Reserve and other recently developed areas east and north of Golden Gate Estates, according to a CMCD press release. Also included in the new boundaries are areas that are approved for development, according to CMCD,
allowing residents in those areas to receive services as soon as they move into a new home. A 2022 local referendum seeking expansion of the district passed by 71%, and it was subsequently approved in May of this year by both houses of the Florida Legislature. CMCD was created by the Legislature in 1950 and originally served just 6 square miles of downtown Na-
ples; it is funded by Collier County ad valorem taxes. During an Oct. 1 media briefing and tour of CMCD facilities, Executive Director Patrick Linn said the expansion will help with the district’s mosquito control efforts as part of its mission to protect the health and comfort of the communiSee MOSQUITOES, Page 6A
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Zach Maloch
Matt Devitt