The Naples Press - February 28, 2025

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Q: What happened to the 239 project on Bayshore? It is dead in its tracks. – D.R., Naples

Q: What is going on (or not going on) with the 239 building on “Kelly Road”? – Charles Brady, Naples

A: Plans for a new boutique hotel with a restaurant at 3467 Bayshore Drive in East Naples are still alive but they are undergoing revisions. Changes in the plans have slowed down the project.

Initially announced as The 239, the local project was redubbed The Hotel on Bayshore last year, but the four-story, eight-suite hotel is expected to be rebranded again before opening.

“The owners, which are me and my partner, Adam Homan, hired a hotel operator/manager, a management firm that is helping us with sort of a redesign,” said Michael Whalen of New Era Construction LLC. “They’re called the Palisociety. They’ve got 40 or so boutique hotels around the country and 20 or so restaurants inside of them, and it’s a perfect fit for us.”

A hospitality operating company, Palisociety specializes in distinctive hotels and residences. While the majority of its properties are near its California headquarters, the lodging company has locations in nine states, including one in Florida: the 36-suite Palihouse Hyde Park Village in a historic neighborhood of Tampa.

“So, they have helped us tweak our design and our direction since they’ve come on board with these

See ATEN KNOWS, Page 7A

Collier Senior Center-Golden Gate recipient of March to a Million Meals

By Aisling Swift

It’s 10 a.m. on a Friday at Collier Senior Center-Golden Gate, and cars and people are lined up in the parking lot to receive their monthly “Care & Share” meal kits.

The program, funded by Harry Chapin Nutrition for Seniors, ensures more than 200 seniors at the center get a nutritious meal kit that supplements their nutrition each month.

“Our emergency direct-assistance program ensures no senior has to choose between life-saving medication, safe housing and their next meal,” Center Director Esther Lully said. “We’re a hub of vitality, connection and care — a place to socialize, engage in meaningful activities and receive essential services that enhance your life.”

The center, at 4898 Coronado Parkway, Naples, is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and serves more than 1,900 seniors.

Care & Share is offered free to senior county residents at 10 a.m. the third Friday of the month,

income information, and a caregiver or other proxy can pick it up as long as they contact the center.

Costco presents plans amid public pushback

By Tim Aten tim.aten@naplespress.com

The more than 200 vocal residents who converged Feb. 18 at a neighborhood information meeting at Florida Sports Park could have an effect on Costco Wholesale Corp. landing a second store in Collier County. The majority of the crowd opposes the project and lives in Hacienda Lakes off Rattlesnake Hammock Road, near where the Costco member-

ship store and freestanding gasoline pumps are planned just north of Physicians Regional Medical Center-Collier Boulevard. Traffic from an estimated 4,500 cars daily is the main concern, because the 158,316-square-foot store’s only entrances would be off Rattlesnake Hammock.

A sticking point for Costco is the county’s land development code requirement that lots with automobile service stations be separated by 500 feet. Costco’s proposed lot with a fueling station is only 132 feet from the 7-Eleven convenience store with gas pumps on the northeast corner of Rattlesnake

Hammock Road and Collier Boulevard. A waiver from the county would be necessary even if Costco moves the proposed location of the gasoline pumps from the northwest corner of the property to elsewhere on the more than 20 acres, because the 500-foot stipulation measures from property line to property line.

“They could move them, but it doesn’t make the requirement for the waiver go away,” said Jaime Cook, director of development review for Collier

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SWFL INSIDER

Tickets available for March 1 gala

Fostering Success, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational and enrichment opportunities to help foster children thrive, has tickets available for its Candy Dreams Gala being held Saturday, March 1, at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón.

Following a record-breaking event in 2024 that celebrated the nonprofit’s 25th anniversary and raised more than $630,000 “to support valuable, lifechanging programs for foster children throughout Southwest Florida,” according to information provided, this year’s “whimsical event” will feature a cocktail reception, dinner and entertainment, as well as exclusive live and silent auctions. All proceeds from the gala will directly benefit local foster children.

A live auction will offer “incredible experiences,” including an Italian getaway to Lake Como and Milan, a European adventure, an ultimate sports enthusiasts’ package, a tequila tasting trip in Mexico plus dinner led by the master distiller of Cantera Negra Tequila at The Maddox, and a Kenny Chesney concert at the Sphere in Las Vegas. A variety of spectacular silent auction items showcase something for everyone — from a threenight stay in Kan Tulum and a beautiful, whimsical bon bon cocktail ring from A.

Jaron Fine Jewelry to a Naples Tiki Fun Tour for six, top hotel stays, spa and wine baskets and more.

Salvation Army closing Thrift Store

The Salvation Army announced the sale and closure of its Thrift Store at 2255 Davis Blvd., Naples, effective April 30, “marking a purposeful and strategic step in its ongoing mission to meet the needs of the community with greater impact,” according to information provided.

“This decision is rooted in a commitment to strengthen and enhance vital services for children, youth and families while bolstering our Emergency Assistance Social Services for individuals in crisis. The closure of the store allows The Salvation Army of Collier County to channel resources more effectively into programs that address critical needs within the community.”

By reallocating funding and focus, The Salvation Army says it will: expand and enhance children and youth programs, “ensuring that young people in the community have access to life-changing opportunities for growth, learning, and enrichment;” and strengthen the emergency assistance social services, “providing robust support to individuals and families facing crises such as natural disaster, food insecurity, utility shutoffs

and housing instability.”

“This decision was not made lightly,” said Captains Will and Veronica Conley, commanding officers of The Salvation Army of Collier County. “We have been intentional and thoughtful in evaluating how to best serve our community. The Thrift Store had become more costly to operate, and the revenue simply was not as strong as in the past.”

For more information, call 239.210.4006.

Whiskey Park hosts two-day celebration

Whiskey Park is bringing the St. Patrick’s spirit to Naples with a two-day celebration featuring live music, whiskey specials and festive giveaways, according to information provided.

Saturday, March 15: St. Paddy’s Parade After-Party. Doors open at 11 a.m. “Green beer flowing all day.” Monday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day Bash. Doors open at 9 a.m. with breakfast. Live music beginning at noon includes Matty Jollie, West of Galway and Donnacha Tierney. The menu will include classic Irish fare, whiskey specials and surprise giveaways. For more information, call 239.404.0570.

AAUW to host scholarship luncheon

The AAUW Greater Naples Branch and Greater Naples AAUW Charitable Foundation will hold their Annual Scholarship Celebration Luncheon, recognizing their 2025 scholarship recipients, at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 5, at Tiburón Golf Club, 2620 Tiburon Drive, Naples. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Amy Miller, assistant professor, Sociology, Department of Justice Studies, Florida Gulf Coast University, who will address “Current trends surrounding

women in higher education and why they matter.” To register, send a donation in the amount of $75, payable to Greater Naples AAUW Charitable Foundation, Inc., marked “Scholarship Luncheon” by March 28 to P.O. Box 9742, Naples, FL 34101 or go to eventbrite.com. Note your choice of lunch: Salad with grilled chicken, salad with grilled salmon or a vegetarian selection. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Naples Charity Clays Fundraiser set

The 4th annual Naples Charity Clays Fundraiser will be held Saturday, March 1, at 8 a.m. at Gulf Coast Clays in Naples. Funds from this event will support the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Test your skills with 75 rounds of clays (ammunition available for purchase) and enjoy a continental breakfast, complimentary golf cart rentals, awards to celebrate your accomplishments, giveaways and an opportunity to bid on a variety of silent auction items. There will also be an opportunity to “Win a Porsche for a Weekend” in an exclusive raffle care of Porsche Naples.

Anthony Dwyer, real estate agent with The A Team of Compass Real Estate, was inspired to organize this event in honor of his brother, Michael, who died after a long battle with Parkinson’s. The Parkinson’s Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson’s disease by improving care and advancing research towards a cure, according to information provided. Nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s disease. This number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. Parkinson’s is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, go to naplescharityclays.org

COLLIER NOW

Operation of dog park may require more green

By Aisling Swift

After 14 years, the original donations to Naples Dog Park have dwindled as maintenance costs have risen, so city officials plan to survey dog owners about their needs, desires and funding.

City officials will be seeking input and considering a public-private partnership, user fees and fobs and private fundraising to continue maintaining the park at 99 Riverside Drive, across from Baker Park. A proposed survey for dog owners will be outlined at the Community

City of Naples to survey users as donated funds start to run out

Services Advisory Board’s March 18 meeting.

Chad Merritt, the city’s director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities, told the Board on Feb. 19 that the original 2010 resolution by City Council said if donated funds were no longer sufficient, they’d have to consider usage fees.

“We mulch it, we maintain it, we put out dog bags and we empty the trash,” Merrit said, adding the eight-member Naples Dog Park Committee was supposed to maintain the 1.35-acre

park. “The staff is always going to be involved, and there’s always going to be a little bit of a cost that we absorb.”

Donations are nearing their end, he said, and $40,000 can’t maintain a projected $150,000 operation.

Naples Dog Park was approved by Council on May 19, 2010, after a push by a group of residents, Naples Dog Park Committee and its ambassadors, who raised about $250,000 for

Neapolitan Neighbors

‘Every day with a smile’

Publix worker spreads kindness in Collier County

By Alexandra Cavalier

“If you don’t know Princeton, then you haven’t lived in Naples very long,” said Allison Ballarino about her son, who is redefining what it means to live with autism.

Princeton Ballarino, 26, has been working at the Publix in the Pine Ridge Crossing shopping center in Collier County for more than eight years. Every day, he goes to work with one objective: to spread kindness.

“I love working at Publix,” Ballarino said. “I come every day with a smile.” Around 2020, Ballarino started an initiative to hand out kindness cards to customers.

“I feel like every time I give somebody a kindness card or a smile, I’m making an impact right there just by doing those things,” he said.

Ballarino relies on his friends to help him create the cards decorated with nice sayings, a popular one being “Sprinkle kindness like confetti.” After they are made, the goal is to hand them out to as many people as possible.

“Those kindness cards really touch somebody and make a difference. One kind of work can really impact somebody’s day in a positive way,” he said. “I reach out to everybody I know to help me make kindness cards. Even devoting a few minutes over a Zoom call can make a difference in our lives. You can strike kindness wherever you are.”

Naples resident Lori Gian met Ballarino through her best friend Gina Palermo, and now the three of them meet monthly to make the cards. The two will pick up Ballarino after his shift ends and bring him to one of their houses in Poinsettia Village to begin working. Living in the small neighborhood has its advantages, because the whole community gets involved in his mission.

The positivity doesn’t go unnoticed; Ballarino has become a local celebrity, and many Publix customers know him by name.

“I am blown away by the ripple effect of Princeton,” Gian said. “I am so blessed to be a part of it because that’s who I am in the world. I feel like we’re on the same frequency with kindness for everyone, it elevates all of us when one person has that. So, it’s no coincidence that we’re doing this together, that we met and we’re all spreading kindness.” Ballarino was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old. Though he experienced some bul -

lying when he was younger, he also found friends who supported him. These friendships helped him learn that people with disabilities can do great things.

“He always noticed when a kid was alone. He always wants to become a friend,” said Claudia Nelson, Ballarino’s middle school teacher. “He always had a nice word to say to me in the morning. Sometimes, in the morning, it’s hard to wake up and he comes with that bright smile and is like, ‘Good morning, sunshine.’ Princeton is our sunshine.”

Throughout his school career, Ballarino competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

When asked about her thoughts on his accomplishments, Ballarino’s mother said she was proud.

“I said, ‘Princeton, you’ve accomplished what most people do in a lifetime, and now you’re working, and life isn’t quite as exciting, but you’ve moved on to helping people

See BALLARINO, Page 5A

construction and $15,000 more for maintenance costs.

Designed by Naples architect Matt Kragh, it was nicknamed Central Bark and opened March 9, 2011. It features fenced, lush green landscaping, dog-friendly mulch, a 1-acre Bailey Tobin Big-Dogs Run and a 0.35-acre Dolce Sherman’s Small Dog Playground. The Palmer House offers shade, benches, washing stations, water fountains for dogs and people and a picnic area. All vaccinated dogs can use it, but are required to register here: bit.ly/naplesdogparkregistration

‘Treasure blocked by six laser beams’

By Aisling Swift

Marco Island City Council continued attempts to fill its vacant seat, but remained deadlocked again with repeated 3-3 ties, with the same councilors pitted against each other as before.

However, councilors on Feb. 18 unanimously agreed to reopen the application process to seek additional candidates. The deadline is 5 p.m. Feb. 28.

The meeting was the third special meeting held solely to select a seventh councilor. The deadlock has continued since November during additional twice-monthly meetings that resulted in ties with the same two factions: Erik Brechnitz, acting chair, and councilors Stephen Gray and Tamara Goehler vs. councilors Darrin Palumbo, Deb Henry and Bonita Schwan.

After nearly 90 minutes, City Manager Mike McNees likened the vacant seat to a “treasure” blocked by six “laser beams” with alarms going off each time a candidate didn’t meet a councilor’s strict qualifications.

“The laser beams are so densely overlapped that no human being could ever fit through that maze,” McNees said. “… There will never be anyone who won’t trigger some of those laser beams … How many of those beams have you set that you could reconsider and say, ‘Maybe that one’s not so critical?’”

“… If we can turn off half those laser beams, we might find somebody who’s limbo savvy enough to get through there and find their way to that chair,” he continued. “But without that, we might as well just wait until 20 months and let the electors pick.”

The seat was vacated mid-term by Councilor Greg Folley, who was required to resign Nov. 5 after a failed bid for the State House District 81 seat. The elections brought in four new councilors, including two who ousted incumbents — leaving Brechnitz and Palumbo as senior members.

Despite hopes newcomers would lessen divisiveness, the mix prompted 3-3 ties by the two factions on votes to select a chair, vice chair and the seventh councilor. In the past, a suggestion to flip a coin, a state-approved tie-breaking method, resulted in a tie. They urged others to apply, interviewed them and tied. There were accusations of passing notes and texting, which prompted Brechnitz last week to ask councilors to place their cellphones on the dais for the public to see, and two aligned councilors moved to different seats so separate

Talking about health:

The new senior moment

That’s

so

Naples

Jeff Lytle

Many seniors think it’s funny. They recognize their habit of drifting into conversations about their health — what conditions they have faced recently.

The topic of conversation has become part of the soundtrack of our times, whether seniors are aware of the pattern or not. Sort of cocktail party chatter.

Remember our neighborhood chats during the pandemic? Topics included COVID experiences of ourselves, relatives and children/ grandchildren. Topics wandered to include helpful tips for new (and used) jigsaw puzzles and binge-worthy movies and series on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

The pattern of neighborly patter has even taken on an important social role, according to someone in Naples who listens and leads such conversations for a living.

“It is probable that older adults (seniors) have faced, and continue to face, more health-related challenges than younger folks, both personally and among family members and friends,” observed Jackie Faffer, president and CEO of the Baker Senior Center Naples.

“Therefore, talking about their health is not only relevant, but at times urgent as they — of course, I should say ‘we’ since I am among this group — seek to find information about what doctors to see, what treatments are available and what

others in their cohort have experienced with similar illnesses, either of their own or their loved ones.”

Faffer put the sharing of health care conditions in a context of what’s important in everyday life and compiling a natural support system.

“We also know that when you are young you have a feeling that you are invincible, and barring unforeseen circumstances, you have a long lifetime of experiences ahead,” she said.

Faffer went on matter-of-factly, as if delivering a newscast for and about seniors.

“At Baker Senior Center Naples, we have support groups for caregivers of loved ones with dementia, frequent presentations on health-related issues and wellness fairs,” she said. “It is the norm because these are all topics our members and clients are concerned about.

“Having said that, one of our major goals is to enable our seniors to find ways to live healthy lifestyles, because after all, our Baker Senior Center Naples tag line is ‘looking forward.’ We believe that even our members who are 90 and above have a lot to look forward to.”

Offering solutions

A different, broader perspective is offered by an official at Avow Hospice of Naples. Dawn Kolderman, senior clinical director and a nurse leader for outpatient care, shared personal views she has gleaned from experience.

She believes more seniors are airing and sharing more about their health, because:

• Society as a whole is becoming more educated and speaking

up about its health.

• Medical providers are doing a better job offering solutions, or at least options.

• The discussions are consistent with what Avow preaches about “living your life to the fullest,” which includes early diagnosis and focusing on palliation of symptoms.

• Increased education and buy-in from family members help facilitate better outcomes.

Additionally, said Kolderman, she believes there are generational changes.

“Our Boomer generation seniors are much more electronically savvy and have more access to information than our octogenarians and older folks,” she observed. “They are more likely to participate in chat groups and such that foster open dialogue.”

Quiet about mental health

Meanwhile, Angela Lopez, a community outreach leader with David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health, also offered her personal insight as to why the aging population may chat more about their health issues.

“Deteriorating health is more common and expected as one ages that it becomes normalized, therefore making it more comfortable for some to discuss because they are not alone in this and it’s ‘normal’ more so than strange,” Lopez said.

“This alone makes it easier to talk about, and makes it easier to bring up in conversation based on common ground among older adults. After all, when we are among people we know, our conversations naturally tend to gravitate to a discussion

on a shared, common interest or experience, and that is not specific to just older adults. Having a shared experience to discuss among a group of people is comforting and often serves as support. This in itself is reinforcing, and so it is more likely to be repeated.”

Also, she went on, “Older adults are also curious; many love to learn and hear about other’s experiences and are aware of the fast-changing world of health and science. Sharing insights and experiences related to one’s health issues can be a way to gather resources and insights among peers. Older adults also tend to have more visits with health professionals, which naturally opens up that specific topic of conversation more than those who perhaps only visit a doctor for yearly well visits or preventative care.”

On the other side of this, Lopez reasoned, are many older adults who experience shame disclosing their health issues due to risk of losing independence. There are concerns of how increasing ailments can create financial burden, and some people find it very difficult coming to terms with aging and the increasing limitations often associated with growing health issues, she explained.

Although conversations among older adults often include topics surrounding physical ailments, Lopez said, concerns and symptoms related to mental health are topics that tend to go undiscussed. Unfortunately, depression, anxiety, substance use and even suicide have been rising among many older adults.

“The lack of conversation about

mental health among the geriatric population is concerning to many mental health professionals as older adults silently struggle with their emotions,” she said.

By air and water

How times change. One of the last times that an airliner crashed in the Potomac, the carrier had Florida in its name, and a survivor made it a Naples-based national news story.

In January 1982, the husband of the secretary of the Democratic National Committee, who proudly issued the roll call of states at conventions for more than 40 years, until 1988, skipped lunch with a friend and flew home to Naples for the couple’s anniversary the next day.

Imagine the joyous surprise that Jack W. Bush, a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission, gave to the community when he walked into a Naples newsroom the next day clutching an unused Air Florida ticket from the flight that bounced off a bridge near Washington National Airport and killed 78 passengers. It was strange enough that the Bushes chose to make Republican stronghold Naples their retirement home until Dorothy Bush died in 1991 at age 75.

The era was long before partisan rivalry did away with those kinds of things. The Bushes were popular figures on both sides of the aisle, which was much easier to find in those days.

Jeff Lytle has been covering and commenting on Southwest Florida since 1975.

Childcare shortage sparks new solutions

By Melanie Pagan

Naples parents might be waiting a while for proper childcare access. Some waitlists for early education facilities extend more than a year, underscoring the urgent need for more facilities.

Malcolm Robertson, a former financial advisor, has faced this issue firsthand while trying to secure a spot for his child in Collier County. His 2-year-old remains on several waitlists, some for a year to a year-and-a-half, with no immediate openings in sight. Frustrated by the lack of availability, he decided to take matters into his own hands, and is planning a Children’s Lighthouse — a childcare and early learning franchise that provides educational programs for infants, toddlers and young children — to Naples. The business originated in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1997 and has locations nationwide.

“We really like the way they bridge the gap from home to school with the morals they’re teaching the kids,” Robertson said. “They’re just teaching them how to be good people, and that resonated.” Currently, Robertson is searching for real estate to break ground on the new childcare center, which implements a proprietary curriculum fostering child development while prioritizing parental engagement and community connection.

The process could take at least 18 months before accepting childcare applicants. However, the challenge of securing a location in Naples is proving to be another obstacle.

“Real estate down here is expensive, but we knew that, getting into it,” Robertson said. Despite high costs, he remains focused on finding the right corner of town for the business.

The 2022-23 Collier County Community Assessment, conducted by Q-Q Research

Consultants in partnership with the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation and the Collier Community Foundation, cited childcare as a critical challenge. Residents expressed concerns about the availability and affordability of such services.

Between March 2020 and February 2022, Collier County saw 15 childcare centers close, eliminating 712 childcare slots, according to multiple reports from the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, which serves more than 1,300 U.S. chambers of commerce. The ACCE said Greater Naples Chamber prioritized childcare as a legislative issue, recognizing its influence on workforce retention and economic growth.

The child development part is vital. Across

Florida, just 49% of kindergarteners were classified as “Ready for Kindergarten” according to their scores on the Florida Assessment of Student Learning Star Early Literacy Assessment, conducted within the first 30 days of the 2022-23 school year. Future Ready Collier also published stark statistics: fewer than 25% of low-income children are enrolled in any formal childcare program, and significant gaps exist for children from birth to age 3, particularly in access to early literacy materials for home libraries.

This makes access to quality early education a crucial factor in long-term success. Efforts to address the issue include expanding affordable, high-quality childcare, an area where Robertson is getting involved.

“Naples area has grown in the last five years. The demographics have shifted slightly younger. It’s gotten more year-round.”

—Malcolm Robertson, on how the Naples area is drawing younger families with childcare needs

He attributes the increased demand for childcare to a demographic shift in Naples: Once known as a retiree haven, the region is now drawing younger families and professionals looking to establish roots.

“Naples area has grown in the last five years,” he said. “The demographics have shifted slightly younger. It’s gotten more year-round.”

With the cost of living in Collier County rising, dual-income households are becoming the norm to be able to support life in sunny Southwest Florida, making childcare all the more necessary.

“There are very few families that can afford to have stay-at-home parents,” Robertson said. “So, anybody living down here in this area tends to be coming from a dual-income family.” Robertson’s initiative represents a critical effort to alleviate the burden on Naples families in a tightening market, but the challenge remains significant as more families seek reliable options for their young ones.

Naples chief tapped for state immigration council

Naples Police Chief Ciro Dominguez has been appointed to the Florida State Immigration Enforcement Council.

Dominguez, who started his 43-year law-enforcement career in Naples, was appointed Feb. 19 by state Attorney General James Uthmeier. The chief called it an honor and a tremendous responsibility.

“The mission is to collaborate with other lawenforcement executives, chiefs and sheriffs to offer ideas, best practices and compassion to the challenges we face related to illegal immigration,” Dominguez said.

“Together, we can ensure the state of Florida has the strongest illegal immigration measures in place to foster safe communities and safe streets, all while providing compassion, dignity, and respect to all. We, as a council, will address the dangers of illegal immigration to keep Florida safe, strong and free.”

The council was established under strict immigration measures Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two weeks ago. The eight-member council will be composed of police chiefs and county sheriffs who will serve four-year terms, except for the initial two to ensure staggered terms.

It will make recommendations to DeSantis and the state cabinet on local immigration-enforcement needs and efforts, and share information. The cabinet will act as the State Board of Immigration Enforcement. The council also will seek training and guidance from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and provide DeSantis and the cabinet with strategies to increase available detention beds ICE can use in various municipalities.

Naples officials urge homeowners to seek guidance before floodproofing homes

After finding that flood panel vendors told homeowners flood panels required no building permit, the city of Naples wants to educate residents and businesses about floodproofing methods to minimize future hurricane damage.

On Jan 2, staff was alerted by the Florida Department of Emergency Management that a residential building had been “dry floodproofed” in violation of the Florida Building Code and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); the definition of dry floodproofing requires that a building be designed to be impermeable to water. A building violation can affect all city properties because it can result in higher insurance premiums or bar the ability to obtain insurance.

“We want to provide clear and concise guidance as to how we look at these buildings and what’s possible,” Steve Beckman, city building official, told City Council at its Feb. 18 workshop. “What are the options to protect against flooding and … whichever options are used, make sure that they’re complying with what the codes require, permitting requirements.”

After Hurricane Ian in September 2022, insurance companies paid out nearly $150 million citywide, Beckman said, noting damage costs were far higher. Naples has a Class 5 rating in the NFIP Community Rating System, giving policy holders up to 25% in discounts — about $6 million yearly in savings for about 13,000 flood insurance policies citywide.

The Florida Building Code, NFIP and Federal Emergency Management Agency prohibit dry floodproofing as a method to meet flood-code compliance on residential buildings, but non-residential buildings can use it for compliance if proper procedures are followed.

City staff found other homes that violated the permitting process and issued stop-work orders. They also learned some vendors were selling and installing floodproofing panels, claiming permits were not required, and the city Building Department was never consulted.

After a city investigation and discussions, FDEM agreed with the city that it’s possible to use those products in some cases if strict guidelines are followed and documented by the city Building Department. City officials found homeowners were floodproofing for mitigation, not to achieve floodcode compliance for insurance.

Permits aren’t required if floodproofing is put up 48 hours before a hurricane and removed 48 hours after, and anything that doesn’t physically attach to a building mechanically, or with anchors, bolts and fasteners, doesn’t require a permit. After Hurricane Ian, Beckman said some homeowners used dry floodproofing, which did minimize flooding during Hurricane Milton.

Council also discussed backflow-preventer valves, Dam Easy flood barriers, sandbags, plywood and other ways to protect and seal buildings. Beckman plans to update the city’s website to make it easier for homeowners and residential building owners to understand the rules — and the city’s Communications Department will publicize them.

To view approved city flood-mitigation methods, go to: bit.ly/ naplesfloodmitigationmethods and bit.ly/sfhomefloodmitigation and  bit.ly/ multifamilybuildingfloodmitigation

Swift

— Aisling

“... what I say to other people is to never be discouraged, always be encouraged. If you can believe in it, you can do it.”

—Princeton Ballarino

From page 3A

spread what autism is about,’” Allison Ballarino said. “The spectrum is very vast. Fortunately, he’s as high functioning as he is. We talk all the time about ‘How proud I am of you. That you go to work every day and everybody knows you.’ He’s very outgoing, and that’s not something that he was born with; that’s something that he learned.”

Ballarino’s influence has expanded past the shopping center by working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness Collier County and educating first responders on how people with disabilities respond in emergencies.

“I think about how far he’s come and the road he’s been on,” Allison Ballarino said. “Meeting all the people along the way that have helped him achieve and become the person who he is, be

sides the support that he’s had at home. When my mom was alive, she was one of his biggest champions. It’s kind of championing the underdog or the person that you never thought would do much, except for the basic. He’s beyond basic.”

Her son believes anyone can do what they set their minds to.

“I mean, I was diagnosed with au-

tism at 3 years old and I’ve been shown what I’m definitely capable of,” he said. “It’s more of an ability to do what’s possible and

what I say to other people is to never be discouraged, always be encouraged. If you can believe in it, you can do it.”

March 22 - 2 , 2 25 Cambier

ART IN THE PARK

April 5, 2 25

Cambier

MEALS

“For a senior, a meal kit is more than just food,” said Richard LeBer, Harry Chapin Food Bank CEO. “It’s a personal message of care and support to seniors who often live alone or have limited contact with others … As the region’s population continues to age, additional seniors will need our support.”

WINK’s March to a Million Meals fundraiser, which continues through February, helps fund the senior center’s meal kit program and others. Donations help the food bank purchase and distribute nutritious food to Southwest Florida’s shelters, soup kitchens and pantries. Food that usually goes to waste is donated by supermarkets, food manufacturers and farms, then supplemented by community food drives to feed hungry children, families and seniors, feeding more than 250,000 residents monthly.

About 2,600 Southwest Florida seniors will receive the meal kits this fiscal year, about 31,200 meals totaling 250 tons.

Seniors are the fastest growing segment of the nation, with 10,000 people turning 65

years old daily. According to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, the state’s 65+ population is expected to increase 82.5% from 2010 to 2040.

By 2030, about 38% of Collier’s population will be over 65. One in 12 Southwest Florida seniors experiences food insecurity, meaning they don’t always know where their next meal is coming from, LeBer said.

little bit of changes,” Whalen said. “I’ve got to change some of the drawings and resubmit to the county for permitting purposes. So, officially I tell people we’re in redesign.”

While the pouring of the concrete roof has been delayed, work continues on the mixed-use development on the southeast corner of Bayshore Drive and Areca Avenue.

“We’re trickling along with what we can do without removing anything that will affect the redesign,” Whalen said. “We’re doing the plumbing underground right now. It’s all good.”

Palihouse also will operate the hotel’s restaurant, but it’s too early in the process to report details such as the restaurant’s name or cuisine.

“It’s a super-cool themed restaurant that’s going to anchor our hotel,” Whalen said. “It’s going to be something else, I’ve got to tell you, after many, many talks with the Palihouse people. It’s a great partnership we’re entertaining.”

At the same time, New Era’s adjacent companion project will upgrade and repurpose a dozen garden villas on Areca Avenue as extended-stay accommodations.

“We’re conjoining our property behind us, to the east of us, that we own that has 12 bungalow units that we’re making the same design concept,” said Whalen, noting that the combination of the hotel suites and bungalows will bring the available transient units there to 20.

The new name for the hotel has not been decided, but Palisociety’s hotel brands include Arrive, Le Petit Pali,

“Many seniors rely on Social Security, pensions and their hard-earned savings to meet their expenses,” he said. “However, these sources are often not enough to cover the rising cost of housing, health care, transportation, utilities and food. No senior — or anyone else, for that matter — should miss a meal because of limited financial resources, a lack of reliable transportation or

Palihotel and Palihouse.

“It probably will be a Palihouse type of wording — one of their coined words,” Whalen said.

The hotel’s opening date is targeted within the next year; the plan is to be open for next winter season.

“We still have about nine to 10 months of work once we get going. We cross our fingers that it’s this year,” Whalen said.

Future hotel for sale

DSH Hotel Advisors has been retained as the exclusive broker to market for sale The 239 Hotel & Resort, soon to be Palihouse Naples. Tampa-based DSH brokers Dennis Hopper and Randy Taylor added the unpriced listing Feb. 21 for the 20-key boutique hospitality venue and retail development on 1.08 acres in the

MORE SENIORS

According to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, the state’s 65+ population is expected to increase 82.5% from 2010 to 2040.

health challenges.”

A Feeding America report shows that having enough of the right kinds of food leads to better health and increased longevity for seniors. In addition to Care & Share and other free activities, Collier Senior Center offers 1,100 hot lunches to seniors in need monthly, and provides 1,050 seniors with food at a Meals of Hope food pantry.

Last year, Harry Chapin Food Bank and its 175 partner agencies, including Collier Senior Center, distributed 39.5 million pounds of food. Of that, 1.354 million meals were paid for by WINK News viewers who donated to March to a Million Meals, where each dollar donated provides $2 in meals. To contribute, go to: winkfeedsfamilies.com

heart of the Bayshore Arts District.

“Set for completion in 2025, this best-in-class asset is crafted to attract affluent travelers and discerning retail tenants, offering an unparalleled luxury experience in one of Florida’s most sought-after coastal destinations,” reads the marketing brochure.

“While full acquisition is preferred, ownership is open to strategic partnership or joint venture opportunities, subject to approval.”

A property overview on LoopNet sums up the investment opportunity and provides more details for the hotel:

“Selected as the operating brand, Palihouse is a highend boutique hotel concept renowned for its sophisticated lifestyle experience, catering to elite travelers in major luxury markets. The hotel will feature eight expansive luxury suites, each spanning over 1,000 square feet with a private bedroom, kitchenette and balcony, offering an elevated, residential-style retreat. Complementing these accommodations, 12 mid-century modern garden villas will be nestled within a lush Zen garden and tiki lounge area, creating a serene and exclusive atmosphere. Guests will also enjoy a rooftop pool and bar, delivering a refined social experience with curated cocktails and breathtaking views. The property will include 6,915 square feet of prime retail space, catering to high-end tenants, along with a signature 155-seat restaurant, offering a destination-worthy dining experience for both visitors and locals. Designed to blend luxury, lifestyle and investment appeal, The 239 on Bayshore is poised to become Naples’ next premier hospitality and retail destination.”

The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress. com.

Maintenance costs were initially $12,000 yearly, but they’ve risen and city staff is maintaining it after the committee and ambassadors became inactive and donations decreased. Deputy Director Aaron Hopkins said it will cost $100,000$150,000 to mulch it four times yearly and power wash monthly.

The CSAB is considering whether it should become the Naples Dog Park Advisory Committee, and if the city should subsidize maintenance; require fees and key fobs; add oversight; or provide only facility maintenance and management.

Merritt noted Naples will still maintain it as much as possible, but his department maintains beaches, parks, medians and Fifth Avenue South and empties trash at 40 beach

accesses. “We have to make sure that the funds that we have are going toward those items,” he said.

He noted the 2023 Naples Pier survey provided invaluable information, so surveying dog owners could provide a solution, showing

the needs and where users live. He also suggested posting a QR code, as at the pier, to encourage donations.

CSAB members discussed using color-less mulch so dogs’ paws are not stained, and resurrecting the committee, but most didn’t favor

user fobs while agreeing registration needs to be enforced.

“I have grave doubts that we can do it without any rules and without tags,” Smith said of requiring and monitoring an entry system. “There are a lot of people using it who aren’t paying a dime who feel as though they don’t have to follow any rules.”

The committee also considered safety due to a May 2022 shooting incident involving an East Naples man who shot a bulldog-pit bull mix after claiming it was attacking his German Shepherd. Detectives found no evidence; the shot dog’s owner said they were just growling, and she was pulling her dog away when he ordered her to control her dog or he’d shoot.

As part of a plea deal, the shooter pleaded no contest in Collier Circuit Court to animal cruelty and discharging a firearm. He was barred from entering the park.

Dog owners said they appreciated

the city for supporting and maintaining the park.

“The dog park is a very special place for us, not only for my dog, but for me,” said Margaret Puya, a county resident. “I’ve made a lot of friends here and it’s really become my second home. I’m there every day.”

City resident Tracy Gough suggested absorbing maintenance costs into Baker Park’s budget, with dog owners assisting with donations. She noted 75-100 dog owners are there on weekends and she wanted tourists to be able to use it, not restrict it to city and county residents.

“If we do a charity event every year, it’s just very important that we get at least a little bit of funding from the city,” Gough said. “I don’t think any of us have a problem stepping in and giving donations.”

To view the presentation and dog park options, go to: bit.ly/dogparkoptions

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County government, who attended the meeting. “Honestly, if they could do it that way, they probably would have done that and none of us would be here right now.”

The fact that the neighborhood information meeting was held, though, shows that Costco has progressed beyond an initial exploratory phase and intends to move forward with a store on that property. Costco plans to continue discussions with the county about the new store, said Brad Wester, vice president of land use and planning for Jacksonville law firm Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow, who represented Costco at the meeting.

The county’s Growth Management staff still will need to review Costco’s site development plan and other specific details for the project.

“Once they complete all the staff reviews, it would be scheduled for hearing,” Cook said. “Typically, these items like these waivers go to the hearing examiner. He’s appointed by the board [of county commissioners] and his decision is typically final and it stops there.”

Based on the number of people opposing the project at the neighborhood information meeting, county staff may recommend that the matter be ultimately decided by the county commission, Cook said. According to county code, commissioners can pull any item that they

feel they should hear, and based on the meeting turnout and vocal opposition, that is liable to be the case with this issue, she said.

The meeting’s turnout was orchestrated by Frank Cipolla, a resi-

State shuts down SunPass scammers

The state has closed hundreds of fraudulent SunPass websites that targeted SunPass and E-ZPass users with fake toll notices in an attempt to steal personal and financial information.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Cyber Fraud Analytical Support Team, shut down the websites and released a guide to help consumers avoid the text and emailed phishing scams.

“… Floridians need to be cautious when receiving texts or emails claiming they owe money for tolls, as it could be a scam,” Attorney General John Guard said.

The scammers created websites that closely resembled official SunPass or E-ZPass payment portals and sent phishing emails and text messages with links to the sites. The messages often included claims of unpaid tolls and fines and directed users to the fraudulent site to resolve the issue. But then victims were asked to provide personal and financial information.

To view “Scams at a Glance: SunPass Safety,” go to: bit.ly/sunpasssafetyguide

To learn about other scams, visit myfloridalegal. com/scamsataglance. To report SunPass, E-ZPass or other suspicious activity, file a complaint at: bit. ly/reportacybercrime

• Aisling Swift

dent of Hacienda Lakes’ Esplanade community.

“We don’t think they grasp the gravity of putting a monstrosity of a big-box store at this corner; there are two neighborhoods

factions wouldn’t look so obvious.

Many had requirements, such as past history on a Marco advisory board, or a high school and college degree, and business experience. Several refused to go against City Attorney Alan Gabriel’s advice not to put it up for a special election because the city charter says Council should make the selection.

When Brechnitz suggested asking the state attorney general for an opinion, Gabriel noted his job is to write opinions on state issues, but if they voted 4-2, he’d seek an opinion. However, McNees pointed out they unsuccessfully sought an opinion on another matter.

State records show a similar request by the city of Parker in Bay County resulted in an October 2011 opinion telling that city council to follow its city charter.

When Schwan suggested appointing former Planning Board member Nanette Rivera, that prompted a tie. And when Brechnitz suggested holding a special election, they deadlocked again, prompting laughter from the audience.

“Clearly that didn’t work,” Brechnitz said. “I don’t know why anyone would be afraid to have an election.”

He noted three councilors were willing to vote for someone who wasn’t one of their top two picks, yet both sides are still inflexible. Palumbo, who refused to appoint someone who didn’t apply or get

back here,” Cipolla said.

Bill Kutner, president of Hacienda Lakes’ Azure homeowners association, expressed concerns about local traffic and safety issues because of additional projects within the Hacienda Lakes planned unit development.

“We have 2,700 apartments being built, and the Naples Fire Department is straight down this road, which will also cause a delay in services,” Kutner said. “I can tell you that my community is vehemently against this Costco being placed here for a myriad of reasons.”

The crowd in attendance at the public information meeting grew increasingly louder when some of their questions went unanswered. Cipolla said members of their community are not anti-growth. They just ask Costco to find a more suitable location for a new store.

“We understand Naples is growing and we appreciate the hard work the city and county are doing to manage that growth. We also understand that Costco wants to serve the growing communities of East Naples and Marco Island,” he said. “We wonder, however, with the major intersection of Collier Boulevard and Route 41 not more than two miles south of the proposed site and home to many businesses large and small, including Lowe’s and soon Home Depot, as well as being closer to Marco Island, that there is not a more suitable site which would not be on an already busy corner, right next to a hospital, and easier for Marco

interviewed, didn’t trust the process and noted 17 of 18 votes at the last meeting involved the same split.

Henry suggested Planning Board Chair Jason Bailey, while Schwan recommended Allyson Richards, who has served on city advisory and non-profit boards. She was Marco Island Civic Association’s 2019 Humanitarian of the Year. Both were urged to apply for the next round.

In an interview after the meeting, Brechnitz said the stalemate comes down to following the city’s comprehensive plan, which he supports, versus the desires of the business community.

“Three of us believe that tourism needs to be balanced carefully with the businesses, and if you read our comprehensive plan, it says that we should have enough people on the island to take care of our current businesses,” Brechnitz said. “But we seem to be growing businesses rapidly and there is a huge growth of people taking place down [SR] 951.

“All those developments are growing like crazy … so there should be as much as a half a million people living in that corridor,” he added. “We live on a barrier island that has a fairly sensitive ecosystem and we have to be mindful of that. There’s only so much that we can take in terms of traffic.”

He believes the city should hold a special election to let residents decide, because the city charter says council shall select a new councilor within 60 days and that hasn’t been done. The charter is silent on what to do if that fails, he said, so an opinion from the attorney general could guide them — and Council is split on that.

Island residents to get to.”

A new store obviously would provide relief for the chain’s busy longtime location on Naples Boulevard in North Naples. That’s why Costco zeroed in on a second home in the Naples area.

“When they know the other facility is at its maximum load capacity and it’s older and there’s an emerging, growing population in this area, they decide what the value of the properties are, what’s the right size property for us,” Wester said.

Although Costco does not own the East Naples property yet, the company has the exclusive right to buy it because last February the company entered into an option to purchase the real estate from Hacienda Lakes of Naples LLC, according to a property ownership disclosure form filed with Collier County Growth Management. The anticipated closing date for the real estate transaction is Aug. 20, 2025, records show.

Costco expects the entitlement and permitting process to extend through this summer and fall, Wester said. Then, Costco takes about a year to build a new store, he said.

“The reality of it is, we don’t have public hearing dates set yet for what we’re doing right now,” he said. “So, we have to go through this comment response period and all these requests and applications we have in queue with the county.”

WINK News contributed to this report.

To be eligible to apply, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Be a registered voter on Marco Island.

• Have been a resident of the city for at least one year prior to the application date.

• Have not served on City Council for more than eight years during their lifetime.

• Must submit an application by 5 p.m. Feb. 28.

To apply, go here: bit.ly/miccapplication

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Cohen

By Melanie Pefinis

The Beach Boys sang about “The Warmth of the Sun.” And as much as they loved California, this simple feature of coastal living continues to draw people to Florida, putting the Sunshine State in a unique position in the real estate industry. The scenery and the appeal of outdoor living often outweigh other factors when people consider making a move.

Paddleboarding on the Gulf or golfing on the greens can be enough motivation to homebuyers. But buying and owning homes in Southwest Florida is often far from smooth sailing. Changes in the economy, unpredictable weather and a troubled insurance climate may overwhelm homebuyers. That’s where the help of a Realtor is vital. REMAX Hall of Fame Realtor Denise Henry believes, even with turbulent times, the lure of Florida will continue to draw relocators in search of its “Good Vibrations.”

“The common element for all Florida buyers is the ability to enjoy the beautiful climate,” she said. Mortgage fluctuations, the pandemic and storm frequency influence the industry, but buyers constantly return to embrace the tropical lifestyle.

“There will always be an appeal to move to

REAL ESTATE

Having insurance doesn’t cure the pain of affording it

Florida despite hurricanes,” Henry said, adding that rather than fearing hurricanes, experienced buyers are more concerned about “the cost of insurance coverage. Flood insurance is a deterrent for many buyers who want to live waterfront.”

According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors, “The higher cost of owning due to rising insurance costs has dampened buying activity. Condominiums are taking a bigger dip in sales and prices compared to single-family homes due to the extra maintenance cost and reserve funds necessary in the condo market.” But on the sunny side, he added, “The price declines are a single-digit percentage after the robust 50% gains since 2000, so this is not too concerning.”

REMAX’s Henry is quick to offer her ideas on how those interested in the market can work around challenges — “There are many beautiful communities out of the flood zone,” she said — and works to offer her clients a

See HOMES, Page 11A

Despite the warmth and beauty that lures homebuyers to Southwest Florida, buying and owning homes in this area is far from smooth sailing.

Sales data, lot location and inventory help set home values

With each issue of The Naples Press that includes a real estate page, we will ask a real estate professional a question about issues of the day. For this edition, we spoke to Angela Lutzi Dellatore, a broker associate and co-owner of The Dellatore Real Estate Company.

Q: What is the most effective way to determine my home’s market value to ensure a quick and seamless sale?

A: A skilled, experienced agent can provide insights into current, pending and recently sold properties in your area. To estimate property values, we analyze recent sales data (past 120 days) and consider factors like upgrades, lot location and views. We also evaluate the current market and available inventory.

Angela Lutzi Dellatore

In today’s real estate market, the dynamics of pricing and selling a home have evolved. While the overall market remains robust compared to pre-pandemic levels, the increased inventory and stabilization of prices have tilted the scales toward a more balanced negotiation environment.

When determining the listing price for your property, it’s crucial to consider the micro-market within your community. If there’s a surplus of homes for sale, a competitive pricing strategy closer to the lower end of the market value might be advisable. However, if your property is located in a sought-after community with limited inventory and boasts attractive updates, a higher listing price could be justified.

The key in the current market is to avoid overpricing. Setting a realistic listing price at or near the expected sale price can lead to a quicker and smoother transaction. This approach acknowledges the empowered position of buyers and the willingness of sellers to negotiate.

Both buyers and sellers stand to gain from the prevailing market conditions. Buyers have a wider selection of properties to choose from and greater bargaining power. Sellers, on the other hand, can still benefit from the historically high property values and the motivated pool of buyers.

The real estate market has become more complex, and requires a strategic approach. Working with an experienced real estate agent who understands the current market conditions will increase your chances of success.

Angela Lutzi Dellatore specializes in the listing and sale of luxury properties. For inquiries, contact her at angela@thedellatoregroup.com or 239.675.9464.

feet of office space at 5150 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 300, in Naples from Tamiami Newgate Ltd. Tara L. Stokes of Investment Properties Corp. represented the lessor, and David Wallace of CRE Consultants represented the lessee.

Week of Feb. 3-7

SALES Roers

Education, advocacy critical in raising awareness of water conditions

By Jean L. Amodea

Red tide blooms, a recurring threat to our beaches, bring with them a potentially deadly mix of respiratory distress, skin irritation, rashes, burning eyes and the unpleasant sight and smell of decaying fish. This issue affects both visitors and locals, necessitating the public’s attention.

In Florida, red tide is often caused by Karenia brevis algal species that color the waters red. It is unpredictable and can move quickly with wind and currents. In addition to causing human malaises, red tide alters the conditions needed for vibrant marine life, and negatively affects commercial and recreational fishing industries. Although the phenomenon is a natural occurrence — as rivers flood and transport soil, rich in nutrients, from grasslands and forests into the coastal waters — in 2016, red tide episodes were intensified by a discharge of industrial pollutants, causing a water crisis.

That event spurred captains Chris Whitman and Daniel Andrews, a pair of Southwest Florida fishing guides and buddies, into action. In 2016, the duo co-founded the nonprofit Captains For Clean Water, whose mission is restoring and protecting aquatic ecosystems. Today, it is supported by 22 employees with expertise in communications, policy and governmental affairs. The organization works on an Everglades restoration initiative to reduce damaging discharges to the coastal waters from Lake Okeechobee, sending the cleaned fresh water south to the Everglades, where nature intended, according to Whitman.

The problem

“We had a red tide bloom of epic proportions off the coast of Southwest Florida that was fed by massive Lake Okeechobee discharges,” Whitman said. “The tide was more toxic and lasted longer than normal, and was the result of the decades of mismanagement of the water infrastructure and water practices at the time.” When the lake’s waters rise, according

to the organization’s website, “massive amounts of polluted lake water [are diverted] to Florida’s east and west coasts, threatening human health, supercharging red tide, killing marine life and crippling Florida’s economy for months. With their political influence, the sugarcane industry adds to the pollution by using the lake as a personal reservoir to irrigate their crops.”

Action and solution

“So instead of discharging billions of gallons of water from Lake Okeechobee, which is very high in nutrients and pollutes down rivers, we can send that water into the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir where it historically flowed, clean it through engineered wetlands and then send that clean water south to the Everglades where it’s needed, instead of to the coast,” Whitman said.

“In this way, we can mitigate a repeat of a 2018-19 bloom fed by discharged waters event. Once finished, Everglades restoration will provide significant relief, but it is a long-term project that will take years to complete.”

At the heart of the organization’s mission is the need for public awareness and engagement. “The public’s role in advocating for the Everglades Restoration is crucial,” Whitman said. “Without their voice, legislators would succumb to the influence of special interest groups.”

CFCW progress report

According to Whitman, speaking engagements, discussions with key stakeholders and deep roots in the outdoors industry drive the mission of public awareness.

“Currently, hundreds of thousands of people have become involved, and the EAA reservoir is under construction,” Whitman said.

“We’ve seen yearly record funding from the state and the federal government, and the Everglades Restoration is moving along due to that continued public pressure. The real challenge is keeping the public engaged in keeping their voice, keeping that pressure on policymakers and water managers both in years with water issues and when our water is beautiful; we have to keep that pressure up until the Everglades restoration is completed.”

MORE RESOURCES, INFORMATION ON RED TIDE

To report dead fish, call the

From page 10A HOMES

selection of properties fitting their needs and budgets. “Buyers relocating from Northern states are typically looking for open-floorplan homes with pools and three-car garages,” Henry said. For those with simpler tastes, coach homes and villas may be suitable options. “Typically,” she added, “villas are more desirable and affordable than maintaining a single-family home year-round.”

NAR’s Yun agreed that the influx of Northern residents can only be good for

the market. “One continuous positive factor for all Florida markets, including the southwest gulf region, is the large number of new residents moving from other states. This trend will likely push up home prices again after these initial slight declines.”

Outdoor living, the idea of year-round

“Fun, Fun, Fun,” will continue to motivate people to buy. “I have been a Realtor for over 20 years in Southwest Florida,” Henry said. “The pandemic years saw an influx of younger remote-working buyers and the shift toward Northeast transplants, which really speaks to how Southwest Florida’s appeal is broaden-

ing. Our coastal communities are not just for retirees.”

Finding a property that is as harmonious to your needs as a Brian Wilson tune is possible if you take your time and consider your priorities.

“It’s not the fear of hurricanes that’s concerning today’s buyers,” Henry said. “It’s the rising cost of flood insurance for coastal properties. That’s why many homebuyers are seeking homes outside the flood zone, eliminating the added expense while still enjoying the beautiful Gulf Coast lifestyle.”

“Don’t worry, baby; everything will turn out alright …”

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A rts & LEISURE

Ongoing events

‘The Lehman Trilogy’

Various times TuesdaysSundays through March 2 at Gulfshore Playhouse, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples. The saga of three brothers who change the American economic culture. $40-$124. gulfshoreplayhouse.org

‘Death of a Salesman’ Various times WednesdaysSaturdays through March 2, Studio Theatre at Sugden Community Theatre, 701 Fifth Ave. S., Naples. SOLD OUT; see the website to be added to the wait list. naplesplayers.org or 239.263.7990

Those historic little homes

9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays through June 7 at the Marco Island Historical Museum, 180 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island. Marco Island Historical Society presents “The Florida House,” a trip back in time to 1960s Marco Island. See the homes as the Mackle Brothers envisioned them, as the latest and greatest Florida architecture for Marco.

“The Florida House” marks and celebrates the 60th anniversary of modern Marco Island and the construction of the island’s first model homes by the Mackle Brothers and Deltona Corporation. There’s a public reception

4-5:30 p.m. March 13. Free. colliermuseums.com

Matisse at NAI

10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m.-

4 p.m. Sundays through April 13 at Naples Art Institute, 795 Park Ave., Naples. “Art in Balance: Matisse and His Illustrated Works” features a selection of more than 140 works that reveal Henri Matisse’s genius as a printmaker and his unique approach to composition, color and form. Spanning from the late 1930s through his final years. $15, $10 members. naplesart.org or 239.262.6517

This weekend

(Feb. 28, March 1, 2)

London Symphony debut

7:30 p.m. Feb. 27-28 at Artis— Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. SOLD OUT Feb. 28. The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, brings a dynamic mix of works by Walker, Bernstein, Walton, Elgar and Mahler. $103-$168. artisnaples.org

Master classes

3:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Chris Richards and Naoko Neatley, members of the London Symphony Orchestra, will offer master classes that provide unique insights into the art of performance and musicianship. Free general admission. artisnaples.org

‘The Magic Flute’

7 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 2 at Naples Cambier Park, 755 8th Ave S., Naples. Part of Opera Naples’ Festival Under the Stars. See featured item.

‘Ladies of Disco’ tribute

7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Norris Community Center, 755 Eighth St. S., Naples. The Girls of Motown perform favorite disco songs by Gloria Gaynor, The Emotions,

CALENDAR

‘MAGIC FLUTE’ AT CAMBIER

7 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 2 at Cambier Park west (off Park Street), 755 Eighth St. S., Naples. Opera Naples Festival Under the Stars brings the comic tale of The Magic Flute as the opening opera, with the bird catcher Papageno, who is forever looking for a wife, and Prince Tamino, whose quest to find his kidnapped kindred soul, Pamina, leads him to the temple of the Zoroastrians and into the wrath of their archenemy, the Queen of the Night. With one of opera’s most famous arias from the vengeful queen and some of the silliest characters in the genre, it’s near the top of the list of all-time favorite operas. $29 general seat to $1,500 for a front table of six at operanaples.org

Chaka Kahn, Evelyn “Champagne” King and many more. $30. eventbrite.com

Family & Community Day

10 a.m.-1 p.m. March 1 at Naples Cambier Park, 755 8th Ave S., Naples. Friends and family can enjoy operettas, arts and crafts with Opera Naples’ Festival Under the Stars. Free admission. operanaples.org

Old Growth Forest

Network Milestone Hike

8:30 a.m. March 1 at Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 375 Sanctuary Road West, Naples. A guided hike explores ancient bald cypress trees, showcasing their preservation during the past 70 years. corkscrew.audubon.org

‘116 Years of Broadway’

Various times March 1 at Artis— Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Neil Berg’s “116 Years of Broadway” brings together Broadway veterans to perform a selection of timeless songs from the stage. 3 and 7:30 p.m. in Hayes Hall. $69-$105. artisnaples.org

Classic Hits with Chris Ruggiero

Various times March 1 at Artis— Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Chris Ruggiero brings the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll to life, performing timeless classics with a fresh and enthusiastic perspective. 6 and 8:30 p.m. in the Daniels Pavilion. $62. artisnaples.org

Country Jam Naples

4 p.m. March 1 at Paradise Coast Sports Complex Stadium, 3865 City Gate Blvd. S., Naples. Country Jam Naples features performances by Justin Moore, Walker Montgomery and Jay Webb, bringing highenergy country music to the stage.

favorites under the baton of Jim Castaldi. Bring seating. Freewill offering.

Paul Todd Jr. plays

7 p.m. March 4 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 3901 Davis Blvd., Naples. Paul Todd Jr. — son of the organ virtuoso who has his own singular talents, including vocal — comes to St. Paul’s for a concert of audience favorites and his tribute to the “Rat Pack” with music of Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. $30.

Tuesdays at Twilight trio

7 p.m. March 4 at Beverly Hall, Naples United Church of Christ, 5200 Crayton Road, Naples. Askar Salimdjanov, violin; Tamila Salimdjanova, cello; and Alexandra Carlson, pianist, perform in the church’s “Tuesdays @ Twilight” series, followed by a reception in the Gathering Place. $35. Reservations at 239.261.5469

‘The Cher Show’

Various times March 4-9 at Artis— Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. The Tony Award-winning musical tells the life story of Cher. $129-$175 depending on show date. artisnaples.org

‘Boeing, Boeing’

$75-$160. countryjamnaples.com

Naples Concert Band

2 p.m. March 2 at Cambier Park, 755 Eighth St. S., Naples. It’s “Blues in the Park” with the Naples Concert Band and guest artist Chris Hill, plus Clarinet Lalapalooza. Bring seating. Freewill offering.

‘Running on Sand’

7 p.m. March 2 at the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center, 4720 Pine Ridge Road, Naples. The 2025 Naples Jewish Film Festival kicks off with Running on Sand, about a young Eritrean refugee who is deported from Israel but then is mistaken for the new foreign player of a struggling soccer team. In Hebrew with English subtitles. Post-film discussion by Zoom with director Adar Shafran. $35. jewishnaples.org

The Beach Boys March 2 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. SOLD OUT. The Beach Boys perform their iconic hits, bringing the sound of sun, surf and harmony to the stage. artisnaples.org

Next week (March 3-6)

Luciano Pavarotti’s

Birthday Anniversary

7 p.m. March 3 at Opera Naples, 2408 Linwood Ave., Naples. Opera Naples’ Festival Under the Stars celebrates Luciano Pavarotti’s 90th birthday. Wife Nicoletta Pavarotti will share details about the tenor’s life and accomplishments. $39$119 including fees. operanaples.org

Naples Big Band

7 p.m. March 3 in Cambier Park, 755 Eighth St. S., Naples. Big-band

Next weekend (March 7, 8, 9)

Big Band bops

7 p.m. March 7 at Norris Community Center, 755 Eighth St. S., Naples. The Naples Big Band puts out hit after hit from the 1940s and ’50s. $30 at eventbrite.com

‘The Mikado’ 7 p.m. March 7 and 7:30 p.m. March 9 at Naples Cambier Park, 755 8th Ave S., Naples. Opera Naples’ Festival Under the Stars puts on Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera set in a fictional Japanese town of Titipu. $28-$152. operanaples.org or 239.963.9050

The Temptations

8 p.m. March 7 at Seminole Casino Immokalee, 506 S. First St., Immokalee. Joined by The Four Tops, The Temptations are celebrating 40 years of making music. Listen to the No. 1 Pop singles: “My Girl,” “I Can’t Get Next to You,” “Just My Imagination” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.” $125. Attendees must be 21+. casino.hardrock.com

Immokalee Cattle Drive and Jamboree

7:30 Wednesdays-Fridays and 3 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays March 5-23 at Art Center Theatre, 1089 N. Collier Blvd., No. 432, Marco Island. Bernard, who styles himself a smooth operator, has Italian, German and American fiancées, each an airline hostess with frequent stops in Paris at his bachelor pad. But some unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, ready for Bernard’s undivided attention, at the same time. $30 at marcoislandart.org, under the Art Center Theatre drop-down.

Evening of Dvořák

3 and 7:30 p.m. March 6 at the Daniels Pavilion, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. See Hot Ticket for details.

‘La Bohème’

7 p.m. March 6 and 8 at Naples Cambier Park, 755 8th Ave S., Naples. Opera Naples’ Festival Under the Stars presents Giacomo Puccini’s opera about young bohemians living and loving in Paris. $28-$1,500 for front table of six. operanaples.org

7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. March 8 at Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch, 1215 Roberts Ave., Immokalee. Experience history come to life at the Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch. Bring a seat and watch the cattle herd mooo-ving on down Main Street Immokalee, on State Road 29, in an old-fashioned cattle drive. There’s a pancake breakfast at 7:30 a.m. ($8, cash only) to support the local 4-H, a lineup of live entertainment, stands and food trucks. Road closures begin at 9, but there’s bus service to Main Street. colliermuseums.com or 239.252.2611

Naples Jazz Society

2 p.m. March 8 at River Park Community Center, 301 11th St. N., Naples. This standards group plays classic jazz from the 1930s and ’40s. Freewill offering.

Gulf Coast Big Band 2 p.m. March 9 at Cambier Park, 755 Eighth St. S., Naples. The sounds of standards and jazz. Bring seating. Freewill offering.

COVER STORY

Mancini art: Love the color, perfect the composition

By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com

When the design school creates a three-credit independent study class just for you — despite the fact you’re a political science major — chances are it sees you as an artist.

When you call 3M and tap its chemists for advice until the department chief wants the formula you developed for colored resin, it’s likely you’re an artist.

When your wife walks into a gallery with a book of your works, and suddenly you have a show on its walls, your business cards had better say “artist.”

Stephen Mancini, whose arresting, high-color works have dominated the Bayshore Art Gallery this month, answers to all three descriptions. He has only come to full-time art since his retirement from the advertising agency he founded in his home state of Rhode Island.

No degree, but practice credits

Mancini has been creating art all his life. He even helped pay his college expenses at the University of Rhode Island by drawing caricatures for his schoolmates.

“I was so voracious about it, I was doing nothing but painting all the time,” he recalled of the chance to paint as an independent study class. “I had a major in political science and I didn’t find that very stimulating.”

Mancini gravitated toward the university’s historic Rhode Island School of Design.

“I didn’t get enrolled there, but I went to Saturday classes and I did take every art course, and then some … that the university had. By the time I got to be a junior, I had taken all their art courses, and they came to me and said, ‘If you just keep painting, we’ll give you a course. You don’t have to come [to class]. Just keep painting.’”

The school even sent several of his pieces to a show in Japan, he recalled: “They were very nice to me.”

Mancini and his political science degree went on to found a marketing agency, which required its own creativity. But he also took the school’s advice and kept painting.

A quick look at a Mancini work gives the impression he labors over the paintbox, mixing the best complementary colors in exact depths. It’s especially apparent in works such as “Aquarium,” juxtaposing schools of fish outlined in orange, gold and blue in a marine flow that suggests a marriage of M.C. Escher and Monet. Another, a piece infused with sunny yellow and blue, was inspired by walking his daughters to their school bus stop; it incorporates his copying of their own primary grade stick figures.

Those two stick figures are seminal. The artist, who divides his time between Naples and Rhode Island, said he frets over composition most.

“It’s critically important to me that, if I have subject matter, I

sketch and sketch as to exactly where the shape — where it’s going to get thick, where it’s going to get thin — and then where the features, the focal points, are going to be, and show myself on a sketch pad,” he said, adding, “Although it may take 20 sketches.”

Taking texture to the experts

Mancini admitted to being a texture fanatic, too. “Texture is always an issue with me and I like to work with materials that are unusual. I like cloth — this is cloth,” he said pointing to a drape in a cello performance depiction. “I like paper — lots of stuff in here is paper.”

Some of it is subtle, such as the lightly stubbled surface against

which flamingos flutter in the luminescent “Sanctuary.”

He revealed he’ll go to extremes, as in trying to create a striated, blue-tinted resin waterfall to course down his painting of “Rainbow Connection.” Mancini wanted stability — resin that would hold its shape — and color, a transparent blue. He engaged 3M chemists repeatedly to find out what reactions their resin would have to various coloring agents. His last call was with the department chief, who told him, “If you find something that really works, let me know.”

Mancini did. The stylized waterfall is on the painting with its combed edges and small, burp-y bubbles.

Mancini’s show as featured art-

ist ends when the new show for the Bayshore Art District’s artwalk goes up March 7. But a good number of his works will remain. He’s delighted to have been included in the Bayshore Art Gallery because its owner, Catherine Ehrenberger, is a fellow artist who asks questions about his art and his techniques. Her gallery, he added, reflects his own attitude — essentially upbeat.

“Look around you. This is a very, very positive setting,” he said. “It doesn’t just say, ‘Oh, this person’s good at this and this person does that,’ and it’s contemporary in that regard. In addition to that, it’s really, really happy — and it’s happy at an intellectual level.”

MANCINI ART AND MORE

If the gallery location here sounds familiar, it is because Bayshore Art Gallery is the former Things I Like By Catherine. The Bayshore neighborhood has become so known for its arts that owner Catherine Eherenberger felt a new name acknowledging that, Bayshore Art Gallery, was more appropriate.

What: Bayshore Art Gallery Where: 3954 Bayshore Drive, Naples

Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; open until 8 p.m. Fridays

Information: thingsilikebyc.com or 239.778.4665; information on the artists, mancinifineart.com

Good to know: There are first-Friday receptions with artists at the gallery; Stacie Krupa, Catherine Ehernberger featured 5-8 p.m. March 7

Naples New Horizons stage open to everyone, including newcomers

By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com

John Salminen is both teaching his band and teasing them.

“Remember that MP stands for mezzo piano, not molto poundo,” he half-kids his attentive group.

Salminen is the leader of a band like no other, Naples New Horizons, which takes both musicians and wannabes — from those who only had elementary school lessons to those who have never picked up an instrument in their lives. The Naples New Horizons Band now has 50 to 60 such musicians, and they run the gamut of those groups.

Some of these musicians have even played professionally for a time. Four or five of them, he’s seen so far, are compete novices who picked up their first instrument when they joined New Horizons.

That means some of them can breeze through Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” and others can only add one note of each measure, which they’re encouraged to do because they’re not quick or are still new to reading music. It works: The meeting room of the Vineyards Park community center on a sunny Saturday morning was filled with the sound of the jazz classic as the band performed.

Because many of them are learning or relearning, Salminen is careful to make sure his terms are understood and to level his coaching with the right amount of humor: “Stagger your breathing as opposed to breathing through your stagger,” he tells the trumpet section on a particularly intense passage.

An infectious enthusiasm Salminen took over as conductor in November from Ken Carper, the group’s founder and still a faithful musician. Salminen is impressed with what he found, a library of music for which arrangements would work with varying levels of expertise, as well as a band who is enthusiastic about music.

“Everybody’s there because they want to play,” he emphasized of the two-hour Saturday morning practices.

The enthusiasm nurtures synergy: The Thursday before Valentine’s Day members brought decorated cookies and heart-topped cupcakes for the break. One group member rose to give pointers to those for whom the band’s concert on Marco Island would be their first: water, bug spray, sunblock, clips to hold their music to the stands and an ear-

ly arrival time to allow for traffic on the Jolley Bridge and parking complications. As the sun moved across the sky, a hat might be a welcome accessory onstage, he added.

“I’ll have band hats with me for sale!” Treasurer Bobbie Schuster called out, waving her arms and getting a round of laughter.

Some people, including Carper, are in the New Horizons Band because they couldn’t stop playing.

The trumpet player also was in both the Naples and Bonita concert bands and a jazz band in Fort Myers until he realized one of the four had to go.

“We couldn’t quit this, because it’s really our family here,” said Carper, who was the band’s director for 20 years. So he left the Naples Concert Band.

He has also left his trumpet to be-

come the band’s jack of all trades on an electronic wind instrument that re-creates the sound of most other band pieces and has a speaker that can give it extra presence. He was clearly having fun with it. Generally, Carper is called on to play a tuba score, since the band only has one tuba. But he takes advantage of every mode.

“We had a concert a couple days ago, and to get everybody together after intermission, I switched to timpani and did a timpani roll. That didn’t do it, so I switched to chimes and it was bong, bong, bong, bong!” he said, delighted. “I’m having more fun than anybody.”

Experienced tutors, eager learners

What Carper calls his fun is based

on a wealth of experience. He holds a doctorate from the University of Hawaii and his master’s degree in music from the Eastman School of Music. The two paid staff for this group also have enviable credentials: Salminen and his wife taught music in American-run schools around the world, and Phyllis Olex, the percussion section leader, played professionally in New Jersey and has performed in Carnegie Hall.

She’s now mentoring two novices on the wide assortment of percussion instruments that have a defining influence on many of its pieces.

Some of her training must start from the ground up. She recalled asking one if she could see the quarter note in a phrase. Came the reply:

“What’s a quarter note?”

“It’s music composition — learning how to read music and understand music, understand the terms,” explained Olex of her work. She makes the drive from Ave Maria to play and perform with the group.

“They’re just great people so it’s fun to help them,” she said. One of the people she’s teaching is Mary Lee Martin, who was the sole member of her family in Syracuse, New York, who didn’t grow up playing a band instrument, “so it’s my turn,” she declared.

Her challenges are counting and watching the music and conductor at the same time.

Schuster is her colleague in percussion and also a novice. She leads a ukulele group in Naples.

“I have great fun with that,” she said, “but I also don’t have to read music for that.” Her reading expe-

About New Horizons

The Naples New Horizons Band is part of a national movement begun in 1991 specifically for senior citizens that developed into the New Horizons International Music Association, now open to all ages. It has so many benefits it could qualify as medication, as New Horizons points out on its website:

Socialization, which group performance requires, is an important factor for good health.

The constant mental challenge of learning music is an ideal form of exercise for the brain.

Music making, some early studies say, can reduce depression and increase the strength of the immune system.

Upcoming Naples New Horizons Band concerts, all three of them indoors and all freewill offerings:

• 2 p.m. March 1, Imperial Bonita Estates Clubhouse, 27700 Bourbonniere Drive, Bonita Springs • 2 p.m. March 15, Del Webb Clubhouse, 6010 Del Webb Way, Ave Maria

• 2 p.m. March 22, Island Walk Clubhouse, 6155 Town Center Circle, Naples

For more information on the band, see its website, naplesnhband.com GIVE A LISTEN

rience was during clarinet lessons in elementary school — “about 65 years ago,” she warned.

“The idea of playing percussion was just great fun. All the toys, all the noisemakers here,” Schuster added proudly, pointing to an array of sticks and jingle bells. The lineup also includes hoisting the 20-inch cymbals, nearly 10 pounds of noise making.

They create an incidental benefit of being in the New Horizons Band, Schuster added: “I don’t need a gym membership!”

Food Network episodes turn Naples into Flavortown

By Tim Aten tim.aten@naplespress.com

A series of Naples restaurants spotlighted on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” proves that “Triple D” doubles business for venues featured on the national TV show hosted by Guy Fieri.

The chef-owners of The Rooster Food + Drink and Molto Trattoria in Naples and Cracklin’ Jacks in Golden Gate are the first to reap the benefits from being featured on the Food Network show, but episodes featuring Mykonos Kuzina, The 239 and The Local in North Naples are on deck in the publicity pipeline. Fieri told the local scratch restaurateurs to prepare to see business boom after appearing on his popular show.

“What it feels like is that we’ve doubled in business,” said Chef Bryan “Bubba” Sutton of The Rooster. “Everything that Guy said has come true. He’s like, ‘You don’t understand what’s about to happen, but it’s all about to happen for you.’ We have pretty much doubled in our business because of him.”

The Rooster, a small restaurant on Goodlette-Frank Road, already had a strong local reputation for its breakfast and lunch fare, but now it’s off the hook, as Fieri might say. Parking spaces were difficult to find at times even before Fieri drove up in his red 1968 Camaro convertible with its FLVRTWN license plate.

“We’re on a wait every day. It’s an amazing thing. You know I’m blessed. It blows me away that people will wait that long to come in and eat,” Sutton said. “The key is what Guy said: ‘Don’t change the food. Just keep putting out that food and the people will come.’ And they’re coming. It’s crazy.”

The Rooster, which showcased Sutton’s signature Almond Crunchy Grouper and Texas Reuben brisket sandwiches on the show, ran out of food for some menu items the first couple of days after appearing on the Jan. 24 show, but Sutton made corrections.

“I was smoking about a case of brisket a week. We’re now doing three to four cases a week,” he said. “So, we’ve had to ramp everything way up. For grouper — we buy whole grouper — we went from buying 100 pounds a week to right now we’re buying about 300 pounds a week. So, those two dishes that were on the show seem to be affected the most. But everything’s just cranked up.”

Martie Morgan, the executive chef and co-owner of Cracklin’ Jacks restaurant in Golden Gate, saw a boost in business before her episode aired. She was first featured on the show Feb. 21, spotlighting the longtime restaurant’s taste of the Everglades vittles such as gator sausage and frog legs, as well as its legendary fried chicken, which is the most popular item on the menu. The back of the black T-shirts worn by the servers and bartenders at Cracklin’ Jacks promotes the restaurant’s gator tail as “The Best Tail in Town,” so it’s not a surprise that its fried chicken and alligator specialties made the cut for the show.

Morgan, who recently purchased the nearby Saw Grass Grill and folded its operation, menu and customer base into Cracklin’ Jacks, already ran out of brisket and all-you-can-eat crab legs on recent nights, so she’s a little worried about being inundated with more customers during the winter season.

“I’m very nervous,” she said. “I need employees. It’s like a needle in a haystack to find employees

these days.”

Molto Trattoria also has been packed on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples since the dining destination was featured on the show on Valentine’s Day. Francesca and Andrea Neri’s restaurant

was promoted by the Food Network as “a brother-and-sister spot bringin’ their mom’s real-deal Italian recipes to Naples, Florida, with lights-out lasagna Bolognese and mouthwatering meatballs.”

Mykonos Kuzina, a local restau-

Sunday, March 16, 2025

rant off U.S. 41 in North Naples, will be featured on the show March 7. Fieri raved about the Mediterranean restaurant’s lamb shanks over orzo and couldn’t get enough of its dolmades, a classic appetizer of ground beef, rice and spices rolled into grape leaves and drizzled with lemonato sauce.

“After the camera was cut between scenes, he kept eating the dolmades, so that’s a good sign. He said they’re really good. And he’s had a lot of dolmades in his life, and ours were the top ones, because they have a lot of beef and not like your traditional with just rice and filling,” said Emily Martino, who co-owns Mykonos Kuzina with her fiancé, Alex Lekakis.

The young couple updated the recipes for the eight-year-old mom-and-pop restaurant after they took it over in September 2022. Although they applied to be on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” a year and a half ago, they only had about six days of notice when the production team came to their restaurant for a two-day taping last November, because of delays caused by the hurricane season. “It was a whirlwind,” Lekakis said. “It didn’t feel real when we doing it.”

Fieri warned the couple to prepare themselves to be overwhelmed by customers when the show airs. “We need to staff up but it’s hard to find staff,” Martino said. “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” even has groupies who travel to the hundreds of restaurants featured on the show. Sutton said various guests have told him The Rooster was their 148th, 150th and even 168th restaurant featured on Fieri’s “Triple D” that they have visited.

“It’s crazy, all the followers that he has,” he said. “They have an app now so that you can plan your vacation around the restaurants he’s been to.”

Sutton also has personally become as popular as his dishes. “We do a lot of selfies in the kitchen,” he said. “People stop me at Publix, they stop me at the gas station. They’re like ‘Dude, you were on TV.’”

Mykonos Kuzina’s episode will debut at 9 p.m. March 7 on the Food Network. The “World Tour of Flavor” episode with Molto Trattoria is scheduled to air again at 6:30 p.m. March 8. The episode featuring Cracklin’ Jacks will be shown again at 4:30 a.m. March 15. The Rooster’s episode will air again at 4:30 a.m. March 22.

COMICS & PUZZLES

1. TELEVISION: The show "Happy Days" is a spinoff of which older sitcom?

2. LITERATURE: Which author created the character Hercule Poirot?

3. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Where is Barack Obama's presidential library located?

4. GEOGRAPHY: What river forms part of the border between the United States and Mexico?

5. ASTRONOMY: Which planet in our solar system has the strongest gravitational field?

6. U.S. STATES: Which four states intersect at the Four Corners monument?

7. SCIENCE: What is anemophily?

8. MOVIES: How much does an Oscar award trophy weigh?

9. WEATHER: What is a haboob?

10. MEASUREMENTS: How many millimeters are in a meter? © 2025

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OUT & ABOUT

Wonder Gardens held its annual Enchanted Gala on Feb. 13. Guests explored the grounds, with special appearances from pythons and parakeets. A live auction raised funds for construction of an otter habitat and expansion of the orchid garden.

United Arts Collier hosted the Naples International Dance Festival, which was held the weekend of Feb. 21. The three-day festival had dance masterclasses hosted by international dancers, dance talks and classes for both children and adults.

SPORTS

A running role model

Naples mom wins race, sets example for young sons

Speaking of Sports

David Wasson

It takes a special person to run a marathon. At least I assume so, as I haven’t run more than from home plate to second, while trying to stretch a single into a double in adultleague softball, since my high school years. Nowadays, I likely wouldn’t even run if someone was chasing me.

That’s why it takes a special person — an internal coding that I have never and will never be blessed with — to strap on running shoes and compete over 26 miles and 385 yards.

Naples resident Beth Marzigliano is one of those special people. And that internal coding has already matriculated into her family.

Marzigliano, 39, captured the women’s marathon division of the 2025 Life Time Miami Marathon and Half on Feb. 2, running that 26-plus miles (or 42.195 kilometers for the metric-inclined out there) in 3 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds. That accomplishment alone is worthy of huzzahs, but what makes Marzigliano stand out is that she celebrated by watching more running.

Hours after mom’s win, Leo (6) and Cody (5) Marzigliano participated in the Kids Mile that is part of Life Time Kids Run Miami — the annual initiative of the Life Time Foundation to promote fitness and wellness to the younger generation alongside the Life Time Miami Marathon and Half itself.

More than 1,000 Miami-Dade County students and other kids from across Florida participated in the Kids race. For most of them, it was the final mile of their 15-week-long marathon program where students are encouraged to run 25 miles leading up to the Marathon.

“They did good. Leo ran 10:45 and Cody ran 11:45,” Marzigliano said after her victory. “That was pretty fast for them. They never ran a timed race before.

“Getting them to run and participate also after my race was really cool; it was a fun family event that we got to do together. Leo loved running with the other kids and being competitive.”

Marzigliano said she was surprised that she won after the way she battled humidity that kept rising throughout the race. Coupled with temperatures that ranged from 72 degrees at race time to 77 degrees when most elite runners reached the finish line, it was a grueling test.

“My goal was to just finish and feel proud of however I did,” Marzigliano said. “I’m coming off Lyme disease and I’m trying to get back into marathon shape. Physically, I feel like I got hit by a bus. My legs cramped up so badly the last mile. Despite living in Naples, I feel like I wasn’t prepared for the humidity

of today. I’m just happy to be done.”

Being done running was one thing, but we all know being a parent is a full-time job. So Marzigliano — who won the virtual Boston Marathon in 2020 but had never won a marathon on pavement — hoofed it over to see Leo and Cody put their young skills to the test.

“When they did the mile in gym class, I always loved it, so I’ve always enjoyed running,” said Marzigliano, who spotted husband Mike and the kids cheering her on at the halfway point of her race. “Then I ran in high school. My junior year of high school, our distance medley team won the Penn Relays and we set the high school national record. I was hooked.

“I ran in college at La Salle but got really burnt out after college. I stopped running for a long time, and then I wanted to get back into it to lose weight and get back in shape. I fell off again, but after having kids, I was like, ‘You know what? I want to get back in shape,’ and running just always seems to be that thing I would do. I like the marathon, but I also like 5ks. I love just running and racing.”

Marzigliano juggles taking care of the kids between training runs as a stay-at-home mom back in Naples. And even though she has plenty of trophies and medals, Leo and Cody had never before seen her run competitively. Which is why that moment meant so much for a mom who started running at that same age and was seeing the natural evolution in real time with her children.

“I’m just shocked. At like mile 15, they said, ‘You’re the first female.’ I was like, there’s no f…ing way,” Marzigliano said of her victory. “I just told myself, hang on, run and

just get to that finish line.

“I passed one female around mile 15. After that, I was just thinking, ‘Just run the mile you’re in and any time you see water or fluids, get it, dump it on your head, stay hydrated, just stay cool and stay focused.’ I was a little worried about people behind me because I could tell I was slowing down by the end and

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my legs were cramping. What a crazy experience. I just did not expect to win today.”

Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson airs weekdays from 3-5 p.m. on Southwest Florida’s Fox Sports Radio (105.9 FM in Collier County) and streaming on FoxSportsFM. com.