The Naples Press - April 25, 2025 by Gulfshore Life

New businesses sprouting in Ridgeport Plaza

The

Airport-Pulling and Pine Ridge roads.

An opening date is still to be determined for the new Sprouts grocery store, which will be slightly smaller than the Phoenix-based chain’s first regional location in North Naples. That initial 29,843-square-foot store launched in 2019 to anchor Logan Landings at Logan Boulevard and Immokalee Road.

The new Golf Galaxy will be downsized considerably from its existing 35,355-square-foot freestanding building nearby in the Promenade at Naples Centre. The retail chain plans to relocate less than a half-mile south on Airport-Pulling Road to the inline space in Ridgeport Plaza. Owned and operated by Dick’s Sporting

See ATEN KNOWS, Page 8A

A BATTLE WITHIN

By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com

Robert Hilliard, with the typical curiosity of a journalist, was fascinated with the idea of Holocaust survivors offering a concert at St. Ottilien.

It would make a great story for his Army base newspaper, he reasoned. These rescued people were performing what they termed a “Liberation Concert” with the instruments the Nazis had issued them for sham performances, to disguise their killing grounds as “work camps.” Part of the monastery and its village near his base had become a hospital and displaced persons camp for Holocaust survivors. The camp was now under the administration of U.S. and Allied occupied forces, at the close of World War II.

But the audience, not the music, would haunt him. Some of them were too weak to sit up, thin and frail and still starving under what should have been life-giving care by Allied forces at the end of World War II.

“They looked like they were dying in front of my eyes,” he said, reflecting on that day. “And in fact, they were.”

It led an 18-year-old serviceman to risk court-martial for publicly calling out the U.S. on its deadly neglect of Jewish survivors — both Jewish and Roma people — under its care. For his courage, Hilliard is on the list of honored rescuers displayed in the Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Naples. His work and that of others in Southwest Florida are why there are also prayers of gratitude during the 4 p.m. Sunday, April 27, Yom Hashoah

See HILLIARD, Page 5A

Naples might reinstate New Year’s fireworks

By Aisling Swift

New Year’s fireworks may return to the city of Naples, just not on New Year’s Eve.

Naples City Council is mulling holding fireworks on New Year’s Day or a weekend instead of New Year’s Eve, when police officers are needed to focus on drunken drivers and other illegal activities, and an added event would strain the 95-officer police force.

“New Year’s Eve fireworks has become something that [residents] are particularly passionate about and it stands at the very top of the list — or near the top of the list — of things that are important to them as an event,” Councilman Ray Christman said at an April 15 workshop discussion on special events. “So this is the dilemma and the reality that we’re facing.

“And they say, ‘Look, this is why I live here, this is what I pay taxes for, this is what is important to me and cities and communities across Flor-

ida and the nation find a way to put it on, so why can’t we?’ ”

The decision to cancel this past year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks occurred in September, when two fireworks contracts were up for approval; July 4th fireworks remained. The New Year’s fireworks cost $141,000 because they require a barge, increased police staffing and overtime salaries, plus other costs to ensure safety.

Police Chief Ciro Dominguez had pointed out police resources are strained during the holidays due to

heavy traffic, drunken drinking and large gatherings, and money could be better spent paying 10-12 more officers to patrol key areas and respond to noise complaints. He wanted to focus on fireworks being set off on beaches — a hazard to people and wildlife — in addition to traffic congestion, parties and drunken driving. The decision to cancel wasn’t communicated to Collier County until December, when it hit social media, giving the county little time

 Wasson: Minto US Open Pickleball Championships a worldwide sensation

11B | GROWING

Tim Aten Knows Tim Aten

Robert Hilliard talks about his efforts to call out the U.S. on its neglect to care for Jewish Holocaust survivors.

Photo by Liz Gorman

Reader Services

OFFICE ADDRESS

26101 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, FL 34134 Call or text 239.498.8501 | naplespress.com info@naplespress.com

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Send old and new addresses and a mailing label, if possible, to Naples Press, 26101 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, FL 34134. Visit naplespress.com/subscribe to login and update your address, call or text 239.498.8501 or email subscriptions@naplespress.com.

Please send all correspondence to: Naples Press 26101 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, FL 34134 Call or text us at 239.498.8501.

WEBSITE naplespress.com

TEXTING KEYWORD

Text 'Naples' to 239.498.8501. You'll receive a link to naplespress.com to find forms for you to subscribe, either as a residential subscriber or a commercial subscriber.

PLEASE NOTE: Subscription refunds are unavailable for this publication due to the excessive discounting from the cover price. You may transfer the remaining issues of your subscription to someone else or to a local business or charity.

SWFL INSIDER

Naples urging dog owners to take dog park survey

City residents and dog owners have until April 28 to complete the Naples Dog Park survey, which will gauge the park’s use, funding options and residents’ needs and desires.

The survey, which opened March 31, asks basic questions, including how often a dog owner uses the park, what times, how many dogs they have, their weight, whether the dogs are registered and vaccinated for rabies and whether the owner has a dog park pass. Other questions include whether dog owners would support a user fee, whether they’re willing to donate or volunteer and if the park should be restricted to city residents.

The survey is available on the city’s website, Facebook and Instagram pages and by scanning QR codes on signs at the park, at 99 Riverside Drive, across from Baker Park.

City Council approved the park in May 2010, after a push by residents, the Naples Dog Park Committee and ambassadors, who raised about $250,000 for construction and $15,000 for maintenance. After 14 years, original donations to Naples Dog Park, nicknamed Central Bark, dwindled to about $40,000 as yearly maintenance costs rose from $12,000 to $100,000 to $150,000, just for mulch.

City officials decided to survey dog owners, residents and even those who don’t use the park to determine its value and funding options; there are no plans to close it.

There is no entry counter to determine usage, but city officials are considering that.

Naples OKs new 3-year firefighter contract

After seven months without a renewed contract, Naples firefighters will get a 4% retroactive pay increase, higher starting pay and other benefits. Naples City Council on April 15 ratified a threeyear contract with the Professional Firefighters of Naples, IAFF, Local 2174, whose contract expired Sept. 30.

“This is a pivotal step in making sure that our firefighters and our employees have a substantial quality of life, they want to still be here, they can afford to be here and provide for their families and longtime stability,” City Manager Gary Young told Council, thanking Fire-Rescue Chief Phillip Pennington, Employee & Labor Relations Manager Russell Thomas, Human Resources Director Charlotte Lowell and the negotiating committee for their efforts.

Over the years, service calls have increased due to population growth, visitors and tourists. Calls totaled 1,900

in 1991 and rose to 7,490 in 2023, yet the number of fire department employees has only increased by 10. The contract provides firefighters with a 10-step pay plan that provides a 4% increase and $62,000 starting pay retroactive to Oct. 1, 2024. Firefighters will get another 4% increase this October and in October 2026. Other increases were provided retroactively to October, including a $250 increase to $2,250 yearly for Special Operation Teams and Aircraft Rescue Firefighters, up from $1,500. Boat operators also will receive increases ranging from $250 to $750, and firefighters can elect to receive up to 168 hours of comp time instead of overtime.

Collier to auction surplus vehicles and more

Collier County will hold an auction April 25-26 to sell older and surplus items that are no longer needed. The Board of County Commissioners on April 8 unanimously voted to allow Royal Auction Group Inc. of Fort Myers to hold the live auction.

Items up for auction include pickup trucks, cars, ambulances, trailers, golf carts, pumps, compressors, lawn mowers, blowers and ice machines. The Procurement Services Division plans to hold several auctions throughout the fiscal year. Items being auctioned are deemed to no longer have a useful business purpose, or to be obsolete, uneconomical or inefficient.

Commissioners also agreed to accommodate donation requests from government entities or Florida nonprofit groups before the auction and allow more items to be added after the vote. The county already had a contract with Royal Auction Group to provide services, including event preparation, sale and disposal of all county-owned property, and transfer and disposition of all property titles. For more information on the auction, go to bit. ly/collierliveauction and check Royal Auction Group’s Facebook page.

St. Elizabeth Seton School robotics team takes 1st in Lions Cup tournament

The robotics team at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School placed first at the fourth annual Lions Cup Robotics Tournament, held recently at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers. The team — comprised of students Tomas, Matteo, Connor and Gunner — competed against 21 middle school teams from across the Diocese of

Venice, demonstrating exceptional skill, collaboration and creativity to secure the top spot, according to information provided.

“We are incredibly proud of our students and their hard work,” said Melissa Born, teacher and coach of the robotics team. “Their commitment to learning, problem-solving and working together truly paid off.”

The Lions Cup is an annual event that showcases the growing talent and innovation of young students across the Diocese in STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math). For more information about St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School and its programs, visit saintelizabethseton. com or call 239.455.2262

New Balance Naples reopens at new space

New Balance Naples hosted a ribboncutting ceremony and grand reopening celebration April 4 at its new space in The Marketplace at Pelican Bay at U.S. 41 and Vanderbilt Beach Road in North Naples. The store is celebrating its 25th anniversary after moving to 8799 Tamiami Trail N., Unit 102.

A pedorthist and trained fit specialists provide professional fittings to find the shoe that provides the best fit based on an individual’s gait and natural biomechanics. Store hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and noon-3 p.m. Sundays.

Boys

Girls Club

of Collier starts national search for CEO

Boys & Girls Club of Collier County has begun a national search for a new CEO after Megan McCarthy Beauvais recently resigned from the role. While a national search is being conducted, Jaime Buitrago, vice president of administration, will serve as interim CEO. Officials from the nonprofit said it will continue to reach and influence youth in the community, including through its upcoming summer camps and programs.

Boys & Girls Club of Collier County serves 3,500 youth on two campuses — one in Naples and one in Immokalee, along with seven school-based sites in Immokalee — and provides afterschool and summer, winter and spring break programming. It serves children attending more than 70 schools and boasts a 97% high school graduation rate. Last year, it provided 1.2 million hours of out-of-school time instruction and served more than 110,000 meals to children and teens.

COLLIER NOW

NAPLES COUNCIL

City funds beach access restoration

By Aisling Swift

Thirty beach accesses damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, followed by hurricanes Helene and Milton last year, will soon be transformed with an Old Floridaw look.

City Council unanimously approved a $2.59 million contract with Infinite Construction LLC and added $259,132 in contingency fees for unforeseen problems. The Fort Myers-based contractor was selected over another responsive bidder, and already has done work for Naples, reconstructing part of Eighth Avenue and an Americans with Disabilities

Act project at Lowdermilk Park.

The money will come from the city’s Hurricane Ian beach recovery fund.

“Three hurricanes later, we’ve come up with a plan to be able to move this project forward,”

City Parks & Facilities Director Chad Merritt told Council. “What we’re really trying to do when we coordinate which ones we’re working on is to try to lessen the impact on the residents and their access to the beach.”

The contractor will try to spread out the work so it’s not concentrated in one area. “We asked that they construct a minimum of two at a time, no more than four,” Merritt said, adding that Infinite Construction will try to maintain public access and not affect parking

in the area. “My phrase was to spread the love a little bit.”

Two priorities, he said, are Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South, but they won’t be done simultaneously. A webpage enables residents and visitors to see which beach accesses are open or closed.

Merritt said the Admiralty Point beach access just opened, with the help of Admiralty Point condo owners.

A few beach ends are closed due to work on the city’s stormwater outfall project and Collier County’s emergency berm project, and some have fences to prevent turtles from nesting there before construction; turtle-nesting season begins May 1.

Government protest

ABOVE: Rally attendees brought a variety of homemade signs, as well as American flags to the protest.

Photos by Liz Gorman

“There’s a chance you get a turtle and we can’t do them, so that was why the fencing went up,” City Manager Gary Young told Council, adding that seawall work takes two months, while beach access reconstruction will take one month.

On Sept. 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian caused extensive damage to the city’s 40 public beach accesses and since then, staff has worked to reopen accesses in a “safe” condition, with a primary goal of providing residents and visitors with paths to the beach. Last year, hurricanes Helene and Milton in September and October caused further damage, causing numerous

By John Guerra

Some airport commissioners say they are troubled by a new survey that shows Naples Airport has a high favorability rating among Naples and Collier County residents.

The NAA recently hired American Pulse Research and Polling of Alexandria, Virginia, to conduct a Community Sentiment Survey, the results of which can help the NAA shape future strategy. The polling company said it surveyed 1,421 registered voters via live phone interviews and by phone texts. Dustin Olson, managing partner with American Pulse Research, revealed the results of the poll during the NAA’s April 17 meeting. He said the survey began with open-ended questions so residents could say what came to mind.

“These gave respondents ample opportunity to talk about whatever they wanted to and in their own words,” Olson told commissioners.

Later questions were designed to determine whether the airport’s messaging on specific issues had reached the public, Olson told the board members. The questions led to higher favorability among respondents, he said.

One of those first open-ended questions was, “In a few words, how would you describe the Naples Airport?”

• 20% had a generally positive sentiment

17.7% had “no opinion”

13.3% considered Naples Airport a “small, private airport”

• 10% consider it a “community asset”

• 9.9% had “noise, location” concerns The next general question — also designed to let respondents say what came to mind without new information — was, “What would you change or improve?” The oneword answers, which were indicated in a word cloud, did not include context.

Flights

• Commercial

• Nothing • Move

Did respondents mean more flights? Fewer flights? Those answers would come in later questions.

When asked, “What would you change or improve?” most respondents said they had no idea.

20% – Don’t know, not familiar

• 18.9% – Want commercial flights

• 18% – No change, leave as is

• 11.6% – Relocate or move airport

OPINION

Delving deeper into missed opportunities

A few editions ago, I wrote about the pattern of extremes on the Naples area landscape.

The examples of highs and lows stretched from the weather to local development and wealth.

Now I see the opportunity to revisit the phenomenon, to point out an even deeper trend and wonder whether we let civic needs build up on purpose.

As it turns out, when local elected officials these days vote on a major project such as municipal golf in Golden Gate or new mid-sized roads all over the place, chances are good that there will be at least one more civic amenity or road involved as part of a package.

Needs have been allowed to build up; infrastructure priorities have not been cherrypicked one little road, stop sign or sewer system at a time.

A striking example of multiple issues piling up where only one project was on the radar is with regional airports. The common knowledge is that Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is the North Star of the

From page 3A

• 6.8% – Noise or flight path

region’s airport network.

We start with a proposed example of expanding Southwest Florida International Airport, which leads us to cite growth to the north at Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda, base to the burgeoning discount Allegiant Airlines.

The company turns hotelier at Charlotte Harbor’s Sunseeker Resort, which is learning the importance of being squarely on a natural beach rather than just shoreline next door when competing for tourists and conventions. Guests demand the real thing.

Administrators of Naples Airport wound up opening many cans of worms by proposing a single yet mind-boggling idea: moving the airport and its seemingly mounting plane noise out of

According to Olson, the airport’s favorability in the poll “starts high, and grows with awareness.” In other words, when Olson introduced new information in the polling questions, respondents expressed a far more favorable impression of the airport.

Those new facts, which introduced “informed favorability” to the poll, were:

First, the airport is self-supporting; no tax dollars go to the airport’s budget

• Second, the airport contributes $781 million annually to the city’s economy (including more than $1 million to first responders)

Third, the airport is home to Collier County Mosquito Control District, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit, Naples Fire-Rescue Department Station #3 and other first responders.

At the start of the survey, airport favorability was:

• 66.6% in the City of Naples

58.4% in the rest of the county

59.1% in the city and county

political harm’s way.

Collier County commissioners to the south wrestled with adding public golf to vacated open space on Golden Gate Parkway. Before saying “yes,” they also managed the political courage to embrace long-needed medical and nursing care for veterans, and affordable housing — plus the bonus of an administrative partnership with the Collier Community Foundation and others.

The joint project offers a tutorial in bundling and pooling resources — strength in numbers.

The scope allows for the bundling of needs, as well as the collaboration of business and public advocacy interests. Needs and resources do not have to wait to wait for each other to align. They can start to work before all the funding is on hand.

One safety option seldom heard includes limits, such as capacity and speed on highways.

Imagine the public furor that would come from a proposal to cap the daily numbers of cars on U.S. 41 East or Naples Bay South, north of Keewaydin

Favorability rose after introducing the three facts. When learning about the contribution to the economy, favorability rose to 90.4% throughout the county; 82.9% in the City of Naples, and 89.8% overall. Likewise, favorability rose to 87% among the three groups when respondents were told that the airport hosts first responders.

“Later on in the survey, when we informed respondents of the airport’s economic impact and activities in the community, the public rated the airport even more favorably,” Olson said.

In addition to learning what local and county residents think about the airport, the board wanted to measure whether its public education efforts have worked. It is a form of message-testing, a legitimate process for learning what the community knows about an organization.

Though they said they hadn’t had enough time to review the results of the survey, commissioners John Crees and Robert Burns wondered whether some poll questions were designed to elicit a positive response.

NAA Commissioner John Crees questioned the methodology Olson used in his survey.

“My initial thought looking at the questions is, we’ve asked softball questions,” Crees told

and Marco Islands — a logical yet improbable logistics approach.

The foundation launched the format when pressing needs, such as housing damage, overwhelmed residents after our most recent hurricanes.

That makes fundraising boosts more powerful and timely, when there is little time to wait for federal or state assistance.

While it is better to keep up or solve-as-you-go, neglect can tangle work on public dangers that have piled up.

The community witnesses repeated calls for action in Collier and Lee counties since amply senseless accidents have taken place at busy and well-lit intersections. Some wrecks were so prevalent that they commanded their own probe of a single type of electric bicycle.

In memoriam

The community notes the passing of a pillar of public service.

Jerry Sanford, 86, was a public relations icon for the former North

the board. “There are no references to recent crashes, nothing about health effects of aircraft exhausts; it’s been referred to as a push poll survey.”

Crees got the phrase from a March 29 email from Joseph Migliara of the Old Naples Association. In his email. Migliara, who for years has criticized the airport over aircraft noise, accused the poll of being intentionally biased.

Olson defended his work before the board.

“It’s unethical to do a push poll,” Olson told Crees. “I would lose my (certification with) the American Association for Public Opinion Research if I were to do that. We would not have a business if we did push polls.”

Commissioner Robert Burns also cited questions he believed were designed simply to draw favorable responses.

“The airport provides $781 million in economic activity and a million to firefighters — who would disagree with that?” Burns said. “I can’t think of anybody that would respond to it any other way than to think of the airport more favorable just by the nature of the question.”

He wanted questions aimed at specific issues.

“I would like to know what they know about noise,” he said.

NAA Chairman Rita Cuddihy — who said she

Woman arrested on animal cruelty charge

By Aisling Swift

A Collier County Sheriff’s detective rescued a severely neglected dog and arrested his 29-year-old owner on a felony charge.

Ida Marko, a North Naples social media influencer employed by OnlyFans, was arrested April 14 and charged with aggravated animal cruelty after an investigation by the CCSO Animal Cruelty Investigations Alliance. Detectives say Marko repeatedly refused to provide necessary medical care and grooming for her 12-year-old white samoyed, Sammy, despite repeated citations and fines.

“This was a heartbreaking case,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. “Thanks to the coordinated effort by our detectives and local animal welfare agencies, Sammy is safe and on the mend, and the suspect will now be held accountable for her neglectful actions.”

During the April 16 Domestic Animal Services Advisory Board meeting, board member Kelly Hyland questioned how Sammy was released back to Marko in March. DAS Director Meredith McLean said her hands were tied due to state laws.

The arrest report shows the investigation began Nov. 5, when Tom Kepp, SNIP Collier’s founder, caught Sammy running loose on Sable Ridge Lane and brought him to Collier’s Domestic Animal Services office on Davis Boulevard. Sammy’s gums were bleeding and he appeared to be suffering from severe dental

distress. His fur was so matted that DAS staff initially couldn’t determine his gender.

County animal control officers issued two citations ordering Marko to obtain veterinary care and grooming for Sammy and she was ordered to appear in court. Despite multiple attempts by animal control officers to check on Sammy, Marko refused and admitted he hadn’t received care.

When she didn’t show up in court in January, Special Magistrate Patrick Neale found her guilty, fined her $500 and referred the case to the CCSO for further investigation.

It wasn’t the first time. DAS records show she’d been cited numerous times for dogs running loose, aggressive dogs, failure to vaccinate or register dogs and not providing veterinary care, resulting in $1,114 in unpaid fines and fees.

In March, Detective Sgt. Gregory Hinchliffe discovered Sammy’s condition had worsened. He went to Marko’s Sable Ridge Lane home and spotted him, shuffling, barely able to walk due to severely matted fur, dirty and ungroomed, with feces stuck to his rear. When Sammy nuzzled against him, there was a foul odor and a red and black discharge — signs of oral and ear infections. No food or water was in sight.

Marko laughed and told an animal control officer she couldn’t afford food.

Sammy was taken to DAS. An exam by Patty Baker Humane Society of Naples’ veterinary team revealed the full extent of Sammy’s suffering after they shaved off about 5 pounds of

hair. Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Morton diagnosed him with severe matting, bleeding gums, gum loss, rotting and broken teeth, an advanced tooth infection and chronic arthritis — all painful conditions that were preventable or treatable. He concluded Sammy had endured ongoing and unnecessary pain for months or years, which could have been significantly reduced or avoided with proper care and attention.

But he was released to Marko, who was ordered to groom him and provide veterinary care, and she took him to Diamond Dogs Grooming at The Strand, where he was cleaned up and groomed.

Hinchliffe concluded he’d endured prolonged, unnecessary suffering due to willful neglect. An animal control officer confirmed his observations, so Hinchliffe obtained a search warrant and seized Sammy. The warrant granted CCSO temporary custody, ensuring Sammy received immediate veterinary treatment.

Sammy is now recovering at DAS and the CCSO has petitioned the court for full custody of Sammy, while Marko posted $2,500 bond and is to return to court on May 12.

Last May, the Board of County Commissioners approved setting up an Animal-Abuser Registry — bit.ly/ccanimalabuseregistry — to help pet adoption groups, pet stores, breeders and shelters to weed out abusive pet owners and make it illegal for them to possess pets. Animal activists hope the county will step up education, training and enforcement.

Naples Fire District and put his NYFD career credentials to handson volunteer dirty work in the aftermath of 9/11.

Completing his challenge in 2016, Sanford harnessed his passion for patriotism to lay groundwork for the Freedom Memorial at Golden Gate Parkway as he sought to leverage his goodwill to erect a lasting granite memorial to past and present first responders and armed service veterans.

A fitting, no-cost, high homage to that monument — taking it to the next level — might be enhanced public welcome and access to more public tributes via ceremonies on national holidays and other occasions.

That would invite attendees to linger afterwards, stroll the grounds and honor their loved ones, as happened on the memorial’s dedication.

A nice reunion there on patriotic occasions would be just the ticket.

Jeff Lytle has been covering and commenting on the Naples area since 1975.

once headed marketing for two Fortune 500 companies — pointed out that Olson’s early poll questions sought an honest response from survey participants, while later questions were designed to weigh the success of the airport’s public messaging.

“They did in fact, ask those questions without giving any other information,” Cuddihy said. “That’s the real basis of what we want to know. The first thing we want to know is, how do people feel? Those early questions … got that very well established here.”

Message-testing is a normal aspect of such polls, she said.

“The pieces I see you asking are also to say, ‘How are we doing against our messaging, is it getting through? Do people understand where we are?’ So you would expect to see those numbers jump dramatically, in some cases the highest you ever saw.”

Each commissioner vowed to review the Community Sentiment Survey over the next several weeks and talk about it at the next monthly NAA meeting, which is May 15.

To view the complete survey, including the questions and results, visit flynaples.com/ naples-airport-authority-survey-to-measure-community-sentiment

BRIEFS

Suncoast Credit Union awards Our Daily Bread $5,000 grant

Suncoast Credit Union awarded Our Daily Bread Food Pantry a $5,000 grant for 2025. This grant will support the organization’s Healthy Kids School programming, currently serving 700 food-insecure K-12 students attending seven Collier County public schools, including Tommie Barfield Elementary, Lely Elementary, Lely High School, Manatee Elementary School, Manatee Middle School, Marco Island Charter Middle School and Marco Island Academy. Specifically, this grant will provide 500 Weekend Bags for low-income K-12 students with two days of easy-to-prepare meals when they are not in school.

Naples Bike Brunch & Walk raises $32K

Naples Pathways Coalition hosted more than 500 cyclists, walkers and runners for the 19th annual TD Bank Naples Bike & Brunch Walk at Cambier Park in March. The event raised more than $32,000 to further its mission to create safe, bikeable and walkable communities in Collier County through two keystone projects — Paradise Coast Trail and the Hands-Free Florida campaign and coalition. When complete, Paradise Coast Trail will be a paved, multiuse trail of more than 100 miles for nonmotorized recreation and transportation. It will be separated from the road and connect Naples to Ave Maria and eastern Collier County, Bonita Springs, Marco Island and Collier Seminole State Park.

Mayor: Toss evidence in DUI case

By Aisling

Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann’s defense attorney has filed a motion to suppress all the evidence, videos and statements resulting from her arrest last summer on a drunken driving charge.

“The Naples Police Department did not observe each element of the offense of DUI being committed by the defendant, the Naples Police Department was not investigating an accident and the ‘fellow officer rule’ is not applicable, as no officer observed the defendant driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle,” defense attorney Derek Verderamo argued, noting police also didn’t obtain an arrest warrant, so they had no probable cause to make the arrest.

The motion, filed April 10, came nine days after Collier County Judge Deborah Cunningham denied a motion to disqualify herself from presiding over the misdemeanor case due to a Facebook photo and post. It showed Police Chief Ciro Dominguez and

page 1A

The inverse enlistment

Hilliard, who will be 100 on June 25, chuckles when he’s asked if he had enlisted to serve in World War II. He was called up for the draft at the end of his freshman year of college in May of 1944. But he was sure he would be rejected because of his poor eyesight; reading the alphabet mix of an ophthalmologist’s chart was one of the requirements.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to read beyond the letters on the first line. But the way they did it was that we lined up for the examination, and one took it while the other stood outside … So when the man in front of me went in, I memorized the first two lines,” he recalled, with an impish smile. “So I guess you could say I enlisted in my own way.”

His first visit to Florida was to Fort Blanding, near Starke, for basic training in 1944. He was referred to a communications team, taught Morse code and sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, for further training — “Otherwise I would have been sent to D-Day,” he recalled. It turned out to be similarly perilous for Hilliard. As one of the troops in the Battle of the Bulge, his feet froze during the 41-day ordeal.

“That’s another story entirely,” he added.

After his dire experience there, the U.S. Army had transferred Hilliard to the Army Air Corps in what was to be a non-combat position, starting up a newspaper for its base in occupied Germany. The concert at St. Ottilien was to be one of his first feature stories.

But it galvanized Hilliard, who saw the rescued still in their threadbare prison uniforms, starving and sick in a German hospital that had only reluctantly given up space. They were getting no help from either the British or the American occupation forces.

Zalman Grinberg, the doctor who had commandeered the space for the victims, told Hilliard it was close to becoming a mortuary: “We’re dying. We have no food. We have no clothing. We have no medicines. The only help we get is from individuals, American soldiers, who literally gave the shirts off their backs, and the food out of their mess kits, to keep other people alive.”

At the same time, the Americans were contributing to their deaths — some of the U.S. servicemen were actually selling supplies meant for the victims on the black market.

Still, not enough Hilliard and another serviceman, Edward Herman, began buying food on the same black market to give to the victims. They eventually drew a small band of supporters of all faiths, and all ranks, from the troops to help support

two Naples Police officers congratulating the judge after her Dec. 13 investiture ceremony. The motion also cited the mayor’s past disputes with the police department.

According to the police report, Heitmann was arrested at about 10:45 p.m. Aug. 28 after a couple who lives on the 500 block of 16th Avenue South reported a silver Porsche nearly drove through a stop sign, causing them to slam on their brakes, then started tailgating them and followed them home, while flashing headlights. They said the driver parked at their home and confronted them.

The couple said they called police after the driver claimed to be the mayor, seemed drunk and urged them to call police because “nothing will happen.” When an officer arrived, Heitmann told him the couple had cut her off in a roundabout on her way home.

Heitmann failed the sobriety test and was arrested. She agreed to take a Breathalyzer test at the jail, where she registered a .155% and .169% blood-alcohol level, double the .08% definition of drunken driving.

In the motion to suppress, Verderamo said all statements, videos and evidence should be thrown out due to alleged unlawful search, seizure and arrest. He argues three Naples Police officers responded and found Heitmann standing at the rear of her car —

all captured on their dash cams.

The motion cites their testimony during a state Bureau of Administrative Review hearing, which is required by state law within 10 days after an officer confiscates a driver license and issues a Notice of Suspension. The notice acts as a temporary driving permit and is valid for 10 days after the arrest, when a driver must request a hearing to challenge the suspension.

Testimony shows the officers detained Heitmann, saying she could sit inside her car to wait for a sergeant to arrive. The sergeant testified he was called because it involved the mayor, but Verderamo argued no officer witnessed Heitmann driving or in physical control of her car — called a “wheel witness’’ — and they didn’t seek an arrest warrant.

The motion notes Florida courts ruled there are only three circumstances in which an officer can make an arrest on a misdemeanor DUI charge: an officer witnesses the evidence needed; an officer is investigating an accident and develops probable cause to make a DUI arrest; or one officer calls another for assistance and the combined observations of two or more officers establish probable cause for an arrest.

The prosecutor hasn’t filed a response, and Cunningham will hear arguments on July

the survivors.

“It was an ecumenical group,” he said. They even pranked several local mayors by wearing American officers’ loaned uniforms — with the rank removed to avoid impersonation charges – and insisting they provide rations. Hilliard, by a double stroke of good fortune, had studied German in high school … and was a fan of Erich von Stroheim films.

“He played Prussian soldiers in the movies. I imitated him in the uniform, took a cane and walked in,” he said, recalling his brusque German orders to the officials. With a threat of being replaced by the occupation forces, burgermeisters were quick to produce the foods they wanted.

“But you couldn’t do this very long and you couldn’t get enough things, and these people were dying,” he continued. St. Ottilien was the only hospital for Holocaust survivors, and the 420 that Grinburg had commandeered space for were being joined by others around Europe. “Dozens were coming in every week. And dozens were dying. What could we do?”

They needed a drastic measure. To move the military would be nearly impossible. General Dwight Eisenhower had toured the camps and had changed nothing.

“I was a private — I had no power, no standing,” he said.

But he and Herman were sure the American people would not condone this.

“So we decided: We’re going to inform the American people,” he recalled. And so began a letter writing campaign from Hilliard and Herman, and eventually other servicemen.

25. On April 16, Heitmann failed to attend a pretrial conference; she was at a City Council meeting. The judge set the next hearing for May 21.

In the motion to disqualify the judge, the mayor cited concerns that the police department was “attempting to provide undue influence upon Judge Cunningham,” leading a reasonable person to question whether she’d give more consideration to police officers.

The motion also argued that as mayor, Heitmann has had multiple public disputes with the department and they classified a “routine DUI investigation” as a “major incident” and held a debriefing a day later to confirm “everyone did what they needed to do.”

Heitmann’s disputes with the department date back 16 years, when she was a councilwoman, and involved her older teenage son, who was arrested several times on marijuana, resisting arrest and traffic charges. Heitmann believed police were targeting the teen, who has since moved away. By law, judges must rule immediately whether the disqualification arguments are legally sufficient and are advised not to explain reasons for a denial or take issue with the motion.

The letters laid out the horrible conditions and treatment, and each was addressed to “Dear Friend,” because to address them to any government official was a political act, strictly forbidden. And accusing America of such a crime could even be considered traitorous.

“[It was] purple prose. I accused the American people of continued genocide by neglect,” he said.

They were printed in bulk, churned out by the same printing press that handled Hilliard’s newspaper — but done quietly at night, and paid for in cigarettes. Hilliard still remembers that first midnight printing: “I sat at my typewriter, and Ed paced back and forth.”

They mailed the letters to friends in the U.S. who would forward their message. And word reached the right person: President Harry Truman, who dispatched Earl Harrison, his envoy to the international refugee organization, to St. Ottilien. The floodgates opened.

Hilliard recalled, with some relish, the result: “Sept. 30, 1945, front page headline in The New York Times , ‘President orders Eisenhower to end new abuse of Jews; likens our treatment to that of the Nazis.’”

By now the two knew they were facing the wrath of the military. There was no love lost between Truman and Eisenhower. They were called up, separately, before a colonel who reminded them that there was still enough time to transfer them both to a base on the frigid Aleutian Islands if their campaign continued.

“You need not send out any more letters,” he told them pointedly. The two sat down and wrote more letters that night. Hilliard admitted he worried about the consequences, but Herman allayed his fears: “We have the president of the United States at our backs.”

He was right: “Nothing ever happened to us,” Hilliard said, but he added, “You can imagine my attitude toward Eisenhower the rest of my life.”

Hilliard never lost his journalist’s inquiring mind and his interest in communicating. He eventually became president of public broadcasting in the U.S., through its structuring as PBS. He wrote his memoirs about the war, Surviving the Americans ; a novel about the life of a Jewish woman who had hoped to escape the Nazi dragnet of World II, Phillipa ; and even a musical on the adventures of two GIs during that war, Picadilly. It was produced in Fort Myers — where he now lives — several years ago.

But the narrative Hilliard treasures most comes from that life-changing decision at St. Ottilien.

He summarizes it simply: “Essentially my story is of two Army privates at the end of World War II who defied the personal orders and threats of the General of the Armies Dwight Eisenhower, in order to continue to save the lives of Holocaust survivors.”

It is without a doubt his finest one.

Anti-choking devices go to Naples police

NCH Health System, The Collier Community Foundation and LifeVac have donated 76 LifeVac chokingrescue devices to the Naples Police Department.

The donation ensures all city police patrol vehicles will be equipped with a potentially life-saving tool in the event of a choking emergency.

“Equipping first responders with this simple but powerful device reflects our shared commitment to protecting lives in every corner of Collier County,” said Dr. Jim Mahon, NCH’s Senior Vice President. “We’re proud to support the Naples Police Department in their life-saving mission.”

A donation ceremony was scheduled to take place Wednesday at police headquarters, attended by Mahon, LifeVac Chairman Mike Plunkett and Community Foundation President and CEO Eileen ConnollyKeesler.

The patented device is designed to provide a quick, safe solution for choking emergencies. LifeVac CEO and founder Arthur Lih, of Long Island, New York, invented it in 2012 after hearing of a woman whose son died after choking on a grape that remained lodged in his windpipe despite attempts to dislodge it using the Heimlich Maneuver.

Since 2012, LifeVac has saved more than 3,800 lives. Each kit, which never expires, can be used for adults and children and includes a free replacement, if used in an emergency.

The initiative builds on a growing partnership among the three entities. Since 2023, they have collaborated to provide nearly 3,000 LifeVac devices to Collier County schools, restaurants, hotels and daycare centers — bolstering emergency preparedness communitywide.

Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional-injury deaths, according to Injury Facts. It’s a leading cause of injuries and deaths in children aged 5 and younger. Food is often responsible for elderly choking incidents, and risks increase if someone lives alone, wears dentures or has difficulty swallowing.

For more information, go to lifevac. net

• Aisling Swift

Teresa Heitmann

Swift

Holocaust Remembrance Service at Temple Shalom.

Among Hilliard’s writing accomplishments was Phillipa a novel about the life of a Jewish woman who had hoped to escape the Nazi dragnet of World War II. Photo by Liz Gorman

COLLIER COUNTY

Tourism drops for first time this fiscal year

By Aisling Swift

Collier County tourism experienced declines in February — the first year-over-year drop this season — with tariff, economic and border concerns prompting a 23% decrease in Canadian visitors, usually a top market.

February 2025 tourist development tax revenue, the latest data, totaled $6.46 million, resulting in $16.7 million year-to-date. Occupied room nights decreased by 2.8% year-over-year to 76.6%, but when adjusted for the extra leap year day in February 2024, it amounted to a 0.6% increase. And average daily revenue per room declined 5.9% yearover-year, prompting an 8% decrease from February 2024.

“While we’re seeing some softening in specific segments, the outlook remains cautiously optimistic,” Jay Tusa, director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the Tourism Development Council on April 15. “Internationally, there has been a noticeable shift in sentiment, particularly among Canadian travelers.”

Tusa attributed the February decline in Canadian visitors to uncertainty regarding tariffs, increased border scrutiny and economic concerns, including the weak Canadian dollar.

President Donald Trump’s tariff wars imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum and 10% on energy, prompting Canada to counter in March with reciprocal 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, computers, sports equipment, food items and other items.

Tusa said February visitation from Canada decreased about 23% compared with last February. “However, the destination remains top of mind and Canadian tour operators have not reported widespread cancellations,” he said,

noting cancellations were due to timing and perception.

James Brendle, project director of Downs & St. Germain Research, a tourism partner, told the TDC Canadian-based travel agencies are reporting a 70% to 90% drop in business in the near term, but that represented business that would have taken place in the next few months being postponed to later this year, or next year.

In January, he said, Tourism Economics, a respected industry partner, predicted a 9% increase in international visitation in 2025, but by February, it had revised that to a 5% drop.

“Their most recent update is closer to a 10% drop,” Brendle said. “Obviously things are changing quickly, so we’ll continue monitoring that.”

Tusa said direct spending by visitors and tourism’s total economic impact declined 4.4% and 4.7% respectively, partly due to a shorter February this year, with Collier also seeing a 3% decline in international visitation.

However, he added, “In the U.K. and Ireland markets, Florida continues to be a preferred destination.

“The geopolitical concerns do not appear to be influencing travel decisions at this time,” he said. “German and Benelux markets are showing mixed trends, with some tour operators shifting volume to Canada, while luxury and boutique operators are remaining steady with their visitation to the U.S.”

Other U.S. areas are experiencing more significant downturns in Canadian travel due to geopolitical concerns, he said, “so we’re lucky in where we are and that people still want to come here.”

He noted interest in attending IPW in June in Chicago — a top international inbound travel-trade show that drives international visitation and future travel to the U.S. — is consistent with last year, with more than 270 tour operators registered.

For the first quarter of 2025, October until January, group meetings decreased about 25% compared to the same period last year.

“We’ve not seen cancellations, only some postponements,” Tusa said, noting a group with Canadian and Mexican representation postponed an event until next year.

Air service at Southwest Florida International Airport continues to show encouraging trends, he said; there were minor adjustments, including Air Canada downsizing one RSW flight, but there were no significant reductions in overall service. Lufthansa’s RSW routes are performing well, he said, with passengers increasing month over month and future bookings rising.

Domestically, seat capacity for the summer is up compared with last year, he said, and airports report stable passenger volumes overall.

“So while the summer is currently looking a bit soft, especially for weddings and smaller events, there are no major red flags at this time,” Tusa said. “We’re closely monitoring these trends and maintaining open communication with our partners, both locally and abroad, to ensure we are positioned to respond as needed.”

City may help Stillwater Cove pay bills

By Aisling Swift

The city of Naples is considering loaning Stillwater Cove $11.69 million to keep its management and preserve the 95-unit complex in River Park East as affordable housing • preventing redevelopment into a market-rate complex or gated community.

City Council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, asked its consultants, CBRE and Trinity Commercial Group, to ask Corridor Ventures Inc. if it would consider a lending option, with a right of first refusal for a potential purchase, and to determine whether the city can restrict affordable rentals to city employees as workforce housing.

“The unintended consequences of not taking action are going to haunt this community for years to come if we don’t take this opportunity,”

Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison said during the April 3 meeting. “I believe that there are financing mechanisms that allow us to do this in a way where we control it and that’s what’s most important.”

Hutchison, a 7-Eleven franchisee with stores in Collier and Lee counties, said he and his employees all desire affordable housing. “Find us a path to ownership. That’s my ask,” he said.

Corridor Ventures purchased the 11-building, riverfront complex at 1400 Fifth Ave. N. • the former Gordon River Apartments • for $17.5 million in 2021 and plans to put it back on the market this month. It first approached the city to negotiate, but it’s also interested in lease-back and lender options. The city had considered purchasing it in 2020.

Corridor Ventures also owned 104-unit Jade at Olde Naples apartments, which provided affordable rents, but sold it last month; a deed hasn’t been filed yet. However, sales information suggests 47 units could be converted and sold as condos and apartments and could be rented at market rate. Both complexes were damaged by flooding during hurricanes Ian and Milton and have since been renovated.

Dan O’Berski, of Trinity Commercial Group, presented the CRA with three options:

Purchase the 4.6-acre property; the current counter is $23.5 million.

A purchase leaseback at $25 million with a ground leaseback at $600,000, with 2% interest.

Debt take-out. The city would become a lender, extend bond financing with a land-use restriction agreement and a goal of eventually purchasing it with a partner, such as NCH healthcare system, between years 10 and 20.

CRA members agreed the price was too high and the city couldn’t pay it but wanted to consider their options to ensure rentals remained affordable.

Gordon River Apartments was built in 1969, when the area was developed to house Black workers in a segregated community, and has since been renovated. Stillwater Cove features 12 apartment buildings and a leasing office and laundry building. It’s managed by Corridor Ventures and occupancy has been 97%, but many were being paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency until about six weeks ago, O’Berski said, adding that new tenants are moving in.

“We would consider the property to be in fair or poor condition. It’s nothing beautiful,” O’Berski said.

About $4.8 million is needed to achieve key priorities, including $801,700 in immediate repairs and $1.63 million in short-term costs over five years. Key issues are compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, adding a retaining wall and replacing electrical panels. CBRE and TCG recommended infrastructure upgrades, such as improved drainage, roofing and HVAC elevation and completion, with repairs and replacements completed in phases to reduce deferred maintenance.

Under current zoning, it could be redeveloped into 56 units, or up to 74 units of affordable housing, with 40% rented at 65% of area median income and below and 30% between 65% and 80% AMI; Collier’s AMI is $104,300. If the city became the lender, it would cost between $15 million and $18 million, but the consultants calculated options at $20 million, the “highest potential exposure.”

“The benefit here is you have passed off 100% ownership exposure to the owner,” O’Berski said. “The downside is control. You don’t own it, so you can’t change your mind. You get one time to put your land-use restriction agreement against this and they have to live under that land-use restriction.”

The restriction ranges from 80% to 100% AMI, he said, leaving a total cost over 20 years of $11.699 million of cash flow out versus cash flow in.

River Park East residents and its homeowner association president, James Whittaker, have been coming to City Council and CRA meetings since January, when the CRA decided to negotiate their options, to oppose a purchase. Three spoke at the recent meeting.

“Our stance as a community is how can you spend CRA money to develop a project that’s in the same infrastructure that’s been ignored for decades?” Lauren Battle asked. “We’re … cringing every time a big rainstorm comes. We’re all on pins and needles, wondering how fast it’s going to flood … The water comes right up to my back door.”

But Mayor Teresa Heitmann noted that’s the situation almost citywide and they want to prevent a developer from coming in and building something higher and more dense. She urged Council to act so they could put deed restrictions on it to ensure it remains affordable.

Vice Chair Linda Penniman opposed any investment, citing other priorities, as did CRA members Berne Barton and Beth Petrunoff, who called it a “terrible location.” CRA member Bill Kramer wanted to pursue the opportunity, while CRA Chair Ray Christman noted that, until recently, River Park East residents favored keeping workforce housing there. He wanted more input from residents and employers citywide.

Unlike unincorporated Collier County, which has thousands of undeveloped acres, Naples is built out. Two other affordable-apartment complexes totaling 142 subsidized units in River Park West remain in the city. The affordability period for the 70-unit George Washington Carver Apartments expires in 2037, and that of 72unit Jasmine Cay Apartments expires in 2044. A full-time worker earning $17.53 hourly, the county’s median wage, can only afford $912 rent per month with utilities, if the recommended maximum 30% of income is used for rent. Stillwater Cove’s two- and three-bedroom apartments range from 776 to 876 square feet and rent for $1,650 to $1,800.

Stillwater Cove is a 95-unit complex in River Park East.

Restoring lives of trafficked minors

By Jean L. Amodea

In 2014, Ana Stevenson was invited to hear the story of a young girl who was trafficked for two-anda-half years and who, in one night, was sold 52 times. Stevenson was touched and encouraged to act. She knew she had to do something to help these underaged victims rebuild their lives ruined by abuse.

Stevenson and her husband Jon incorporated Path2Freedom as a nonprofit organization in April 2015. They provide housing, education, practical living skills training, spiritual guidance, aftercare services and security to the minor survivors of the human sex trafficking trade.

Built on the foundational pillars of commitment and collaboration, integrity, faith and passion, Path2Freedom is making a difference.

“Last year, there were 483 minor female survivors, and only 43 beds in the state of Florida, and the number keeps growing, and these are just the numbers that we know — imagine those who are underground,” said Ana Stevenson, founder and president. The organization opened a safe house in Lee County in March 2020 with seven beds for residents.

A second safe house in Collier County opened in July 2024 with four beds, with hopes to expand to three more beds.

“The total number of girls served in both safe houses is 33, with seven in the aftercare program that assists the girls with housing and guidance toward finishing their GED and post-high-school education,” Stevenson said. “We are a long-term facility, so we want to keep them for at least two or three years. This type of trauma cannot be taken care of in a year; it’s pretty much a lifetime.”

Many are under 18 and are wards of the state, referred from the Department of Children and Family Services, a sheriff’s office and other

social service agencies.

“The referral includes a background report, and we determine if they would fit in with our program and current residents,” Stevenson said. “If we feel they are appropriate, we interview them, explain the program and then allow them to decide whether or not they want to join.”

The beginning At first, the organization focused on advocacy services by providing transportation to medical appointments and depositions and locating housing.

“It was during that time that I realized there weren’t enough homes for the girls, and I knew we had to open a safe house,” Stevenson said. “I found a property and went to the board with an idea to sign a 45day contingency plan; if we didn’t raise the money, we could back out.

We raised the money in 30 days and bought and renovated the house with the community’s support that made this possible. The safe house opened in March 2020, and is a testament to what we can achieve when we come together.”

A trauma-informed facility

Path2Freedom is a long-term trauma-informed care facility where security is of the utmost concern to protect the girls’ privacy, provide a sense of safety and deter traffickers from returning for their victims.

“Employees who work with trafficking survivors are traumainformed,” Stevenson said. “They need to know exactly how to work with these girls, as their way of thinking is not ours. We go through 40 hours of training and eight levels of background checks. It’s important that the right people

PATH2FREEDOM

What: Rescue and restoration of child survivors of human trafficking

Where: P.O. Box 9916, Naples (correspondence and donations) or 1200 Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples (corporate mailing address)

To volunteer: Visit the website

Contact: path2freedom.org or info@path2freedom.org

with the right heart and intentions interact with the girls.”

Programming

Programming includes a development side and a program side with a program supervisor. The girls are supervised in a familystyle model of care, where they have their own bedrooms.

“Many girls who come from the system have never met their fathers or have ever lived in a safe environment with parents who love them without violating them,” Stevenson said. “We have a husband-and-wife team that provides that mother and father role.”

Education is provided on the property, and compensates for many girls being educated at a level far behind their chronological age. With some on first- and secondgrade levels at age 17, individualized education plans are implemented by hired teachers.

“Many girls are paired with life coaches who teach them how to shop at a grocery store, how to balance books and how to manage money,” Stevenson said. The girls also grow spiritually by attending Sunday church services.”

to set up an event. But officials discussed a possible fireworks show at Paradise Coast Sports Complex next year.

The annual event, which takes 20 minutes and begins at 7:30 p.m., brought about 20,000 people to city beaches to watch fireworks being launched near Naples Pier. The decision to cancel prompted hundreds of emails and angry social media posts and a recent push to reconsider.

Aqualane Shores Association

President Jerry Belle emailed city officials this month to say the association had conducted a survey and of 62 respondents, 50% love New Year’s Eve fireworks, 15% hate them and 35% would support them, but only if safety, crowds and traffic can be effectively managed — or if they weren’t on New Year’s Eve.

Last month, the city’s Presidents’ Council, which represents dozens of homeowners associations citywide, emailed to suggest a smaller family event, possibly on New Year’s Day. At last week’s workshop, the chief called New Year’s Eve an “extended cultural holiday,” with fireworks, a lull and “then the real shenanigans start … If you want to keep a safer town, dealing with the things that happen during New Year’s Eve, I would rather have my staff on New

Year’s Eve working DUIs and traffic and those kind of things.”

This year, he said, extra patrols walked along Fifth Avenue South and drove along streets, prompting about 60 traffic stops and numerous arrests, including for guns, and there were disturbances, including a plane crash at Naples Airport in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Fire Chief Phillip Pennington said crowded streets make it harder to get to people quickly and fire truck access is “very difficult” and less safe.

“On a regular day, where there’s a delay because of the amount of traffic on the road, now exponentially, that’s worse on New Year’s Eve, which is typically a busy night for fire-rescues across the nation,” Pennington added.

But Presidents Council member Mary Young, who is president of the Old Naples Association, urged council to consider a smaller event so residents get what they want — and possibly the Presidents Council could sponsor it or chip in money.

“Not just move it a day but also shrink it in size and definitely work on a different way to communicate the invite,” Young said of not publicizing it.

Council members were divided, agreeing safety is the top concern, but opted to continue the discussion. City Manager Gary Young said city officials can talk with the Presidents Council, then bring those recommendations to city council. From page 1A

From page 3A

BEACH ACCESS

park benches to float away, sustain damage or get covered in barnacles. Beach ends also were covered by sand.

A second phase will make beach accesses whole again by beautifying and rebuilding structural components, but city officials had to wait for the county’s beach renourishment project to be completed and for Federal Emergency Management Agency inspections.

Some designs had to be handled by an engineer or architect — engineering firm Q. Grady Minor, which won the bid, designed components for 30 accesses, including landscaping, irrigation, signs, walkways, benches and picnic tables, rinse stations, showers, bike racks and sidewalks.

The reconstruction comes at a time when the city is juggling projects, Merritt said of the beach outfall and

emergency berm projects and awaiting FEMA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval to proceed with reconstruction of Naples Pier. And, he said, Council will soon vote on seawall projects.

Councilwoman Beth Petrunoff asked how beach accesses will be more resilient to future hurricanes. Merritt said the city already had plans in place to act quickly after Hurricane Ian, enabling it to quickly bid the process out and approve a contractor. Officials also switched to a stronger concrete-aggregate design that will hold up better, such as at Lowdermilk Park, where concrete walkways weren’t damaged while pavers were, setting off a domino effect. Adding more vegetation to build the health of the dune system, he said, will help keep storm surge off streets. Petrunoff said it was good the city is constantly learning and getting more resilient, adding, “That’s a good thing to tell people, because it looks like it’s going to be tough here.”

The common area in the Path2Freedom Safe House is conducive to socializing and encourages the girls to discuss their challenges, goals and dreams. Photos courtesy Path2Freedom

Jon Stevenson, executive director of Path2Freedom, and his wife, Ana, founder and president, started their nonprofit organization to assist minor girls who have survived human trafficking in regaining their lives.

The Naples City Council recently approved a $2.6 million contract with Infinite Construction of Fort Myers to transform 30 beach accesses – damaged by hurricanes in 2022 and last year – with an Old Florida look. Rendering contributed

From page 1A

ATEN KNOWS

Goods, Golf Galaxy promotes itself as the world’s largest golf superstore for golf clubs, equipment, accessories, gear and apparel.

Plans show that Sprouts plans to file a variance request by May 5 to permit the supermarket to install a more than 380-square-foot wall sign where only 150 square feet is allowed by the county’s land development code. The Sprouts name also is proposed for the main spot atop the monument signs at Ridgeport Plaza’s main entrances at both Airport-Pulling and Pine Ridge roads.

A marketing brochure for the retail center promotes a color scheme change proposed for the plaza’s façade, replacing the existing warm colors of its barrel roof tiles and painted stucco with grays and white. These plans, though, could not be confirmed with the center’s owner, Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp., doing business locally as Ridgeport Limited Partnership.

Preserving access to Big Cypress

By Kelly J. Farrell

Welcome to wilderness, to Big Cypress National Preserve, where the evolving relationship between humans and the natural world plays out in politics, in daily life — and sometimes, over a cold beverage in the wooded swamps.

“Wilderness Designation, it’s confusing. It’s a bit of an oxymoron to begin with,” said Lucky Cole, who lives off Loop Road in Ochopee, within Big Cypress National Preserve.

He sits outside at a table, a glass jar of bullets in front of him.

“Look around, it is wilderness already,” he says, a gun in its holster on his hip. Cypress, maple and other trees abound.

The only intruder that Cole is likely to shoot on this day is an invasive Burmese python, not native to Florida. The species has eaten seemingly every small mammal in sight, leaving no squirrels in the trees — not even other rodents, said Cole’s wife, Maureen.

The massive snakes are said to have originated as escapees from a commercial reptile breeder during a hurricane decades ago.

What is a wilderness designation?

A wilderness designation has been proposed in Big Cypress National Preserve for years and management as wilderness began without its formal approval by Congress. The designation is meant to minimize human access, to protect land and waters.

However, as of January, a public announcement from the National Park Service and Department of the Interior stated that the wilderness designation was no longer proposed in the Preserve at this time. Areas are eligible but not proposed after a lot of pushback throughout 2024 from Florida legislators, tribes and Gladesmen who live, work and recreate in the area.

The National Park Service, as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, conducts Backcountry Access Plans to determine if an area is eligible for wilderness designation. Initially, about 150,000 acres, including areas along Loop Road, were recommended for the wilderness designation, which prohibits vehicle use and buildings.

The federal Wilderness Act of 1964 defines wilderness as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

Living in a wilderness proposed area

However, humans have long influenced the lands and waters of Big Cypress National Preserve, particularly Miccosukee and Seminole people, who called the area home long before the Preserve was called a Preserve.

The premise of wilderness designation is the land and water are better without people, said William “Popeye” Osceola, secretary of the Miccosukee Council.

This is not true from an Indigenous perspective, particularly for the Miccosukee with a constitution that leads with environmental stewardship as its primary goal, Osceola said.

“I remind the people that people put themselves above nature, when

we are nature,” Osceola said.

“We can’t act above it,” he said. Luckily, for now, the threat of losing access to Big Cypress through the designation is not imminent, he said.

But the National Park Conservation Association and some other groups still advocate

for wilderness designation there. For Cole, who is among the people living along Loop Road, wilderness designation is a lived experience.

There are areas where one side of the road is Big Cypress National Preserve and the other side is Everglades National Park, he said.

wilderness designation in Big Cypress are likely good, Miccosukee tribal members and other opponents maintain that they are misguided.

“Their grandparents aren’t living out here. Mine do live here,” Osceola said. “The past, present and future are at stake and tied to this land.”

In addition to the Miccosukee Tribe, the Cypress Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and other organizations are looking to preserve the land and water through means other than wilderness designation. This includes purchasing mineral rights from the Collier family to prevent oil exploration within the Preserve. Purchasing the mineral rights is an endeavor that has spanned many years.

Progress on the purchase continues as a fair market value is assessed, said Edward Ornstein, attorney and legislative advocate for the Tribe.

In the National Park, you can’t do much, Cole said. Wilderness designation is already enacted in much of Everglades National Park.

On the other side of the road, in the Big Cypress Preserve — where it’s not enacted — you can hunt and fish, he said.

“We have a lot more freedom here in Big Cypress,” Cole said.

He hopes it stays that way.

As do tribal members, who live on their own camps in the area, and thousands of visitors who come through Big Cypress hunting, camping and touring.

Visiting Big Cypress National Preserve

Big Cypress National Preserve is 729,000 acres between Naples and Miami.

“I recommend people come out here,” Osceola said.

A visit to Big Cypress from Naples could begin along U.S. 41 East at State Road 29 near Carnestown and continue past the Skunkape Headquarters in Ochopee and toward the Miccosukee Village.

Campgrounds, swamp walks and tours abound in the area.

Advocating for wilderness designation

The National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit supporting park preservation and expansion nationwide, is among the biggest champions of wilderness designation.

“For decades, the one-of-a-kind natural wonders of Big Cypress National Preserve have suffered a slow, steady degradation,” Marisa Carrozzo of the National Parks Conservation Association wrote in a prepared statement.

“Oil and gas operations and rampant off-road vehicle use have wreaked havoc across the preserve and threatened its rare species and rich biodiversity,” she wrote.

“We believe the situation in Big Cypress has become dire, and that designating parts of the preserve as wilderness is one of the pathways to better protect the Preserve’s threatened habitat and wildlife,” Carrozzo wrote.

The NPCA also wants to ensure that tribal access and usage remain, Carrozzo added.

Other ways to preserve the Preserve Though intentions for

The purchase is sought using royalties from offshore oil drilling held by the federal government in the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Ornstein said.

Also, the Miccosukee Tribe has offered tribal police patrols to prevent damage from offroad vehicles, with jurisdictional negotiations continuing, Osceola said.

Maintenance of the Preserve requires vehicular access for oversight of trails; maintenance of exotic species; wildfire protections and prescribed burns in addition to maintaining access to the sacred sites, including the Green Corn Ceremony, wilderness designation opponents say.

Visitors’ access to Big Cypress allows them to appreciate the land and thus work to protect it, said Mike Elfenbein, executive director of the Cypress Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America.

The newest Backcountry Plan includes reopening about 100 miles of trails now that the wilderness designation is on hold.

Legislation to oppose wilderness designation

“This is near and dear to my heart. Big Cypress National Preserve allowed me to create a connection between myself and the natural world,” Elfenbein said.

Elfenbein encourages people to advocate for Big Cypress and against wilderness designation, garnering support from many legislators.

Wilderness designation might seem to protect nature from man but what it does is create separation, Elfenbein says.

“The idea that removing man from nature is better is naive at best,” he said.

Through Elfenbein’s advocacy, legislators, including U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Florida) of Lake Placid and at least 13 other members of Congress, reintroduced and supported bills in February, as they did in 2024, attempting to prevent wilderness designation in the Preserve.

HR 1192 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and S446 was introduced in the U.S. Senate. The bill has been read twice and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is reviewing it.

A lake along Loop Road, near Everglades National Park’s Loop Road Education Center, is home to many animals and aquatic plants.

It’s a part of the park with wilderness designation protecting against much human activity, and near Big Cypress National Preserve, where legislation is proposed in Congress to prevent wilderness designation and maintain more human access. Photos by Kelly J. Farrell

Husband and wife Lucky and Maureen Cole open their home along Loop Road in Ochopee, which is located within Big Cypress National Preserve, so visitors can enjoy a cold beverage and a chat outside.

An old bridge is overgrown by tree roots visible from Loop Road, which runs through Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park.

By M. Melanie Pefinis

Southwest Florida is a dream location for those who hope to embrace its sunny lifestyle. But home ownership is often merely that — a dream — for those priced out of the housing market due to the lack of affordable housing options.

Multiple bills currently making their way through the Florida Legislature address affordable housing. One, HB 247:

• Requires local governments to allow accessory dwelling units — including “so-called ‘granny flats’” — to be constructed in certain areas.

REAL ESTATE

Common goal: affordable home ownership

• States that ADUs that provide affordable rental housing will apply toward satisfying elements of a local government’s comprehensive plan.

• Prohibits denial of homestead exemption for certain portions of property (on a specified basis) and requires that rented ADUs be assessed separately from homestead property and taxed according to their use.

• Authorizes local governments to provide density bonus incentive to landowners who make certain real property donations to assist in providing affordable housing for military families.

Ultimate passage of any bill that makes affordable housing more accessible will hopefully help more families see the dream of home ownership materialize. The dream extends from local communities to Tallahassee and back again.

“We’re working on a local level; working for homeownership,” said

Ashon Nesbitt, CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition, a multifaceted group providing technical assistance, local resources and policy advocacy. It also hosts an annual conference: Registration is now open for the 38th annual Statewide Affordable Housing Conference, set for Aug. 25-27 in Orlando. This bill likely will be a hot topic.

The Legislature has addressed affordable housing several times before. The Live Local Act, Senate Bill 102, was signed into law March 29, 2023.

“Each expansion of the original bill serves to better define ways that the local community and government can unite to assure homes within an appropriate price range are available for those who want to live and work here,” Nesbitt said. “There are a lot of moving parts.”

Some of those moving parts involve incentives to encourage builders to construct reasonably

Staging brings home’s essence to life

With each issue of The Naples Press that includes a real estate page, we will ask a real estate professional questions about issues of the day. For this edition, we spoke to Amy Kodak, a Realtor with Gulf Coast International Properties.

Q: Should I have my vacant home staged before selling?

A: As a luxury real estate agent in Naples, one of the most common — and important — questions I receive from sellers is: “I just moved out of my home and took all of the furniture with me. Should I have it staged?” My answer is a confident yes, and here’s why.

Staging isn’t simply about decorating a home. It’s a strategic tool designed to maximize appeal and drive value. The goal of staging is to present your home in the most compelling, buyer-friendly way possible. It creates a neutral, welcoming environment where potential buyers can easily envision themselves living — and that’s essential in today’s market.

According to industry data, physically staged homes sell significantly faster and often at higher prices. In fact, over 80% of buyers say it’s easier to visualize a property

priced housing and expanding the eligibility standards to qualify for various programs. Nesbitt said certain points resulting from the newest iteration of the bill are crucial to moving forward.

“Key to the latest changes are policies effecting property taxes, eligibility standardization and issues of zoning,” Nesbitt said.

The land use mandate involves housing development in commercial zones without changing the zoning rules. This mostly regards new construction.

“We hope to spur redevelopment along transportation corridors,” he said. There also are property tax exemptions and, for those still not ready to commit to buying a home, relief for workers paying too great a percentage of wages on apartment rents. “There is also more money going into affordable rentals, which will continue to funnel back over 10 years,” he said.

as their future home when it’s staged. Vacant homes can feel cold and uninspired, while a thoughtfully staged space feels aspirational and emotionally engaging.

There are various types of staging to consider depending on your budget and timeline: Physical staging provides the most tangible experience, with luxurious furnishings, rugs, art and accessories placed throughout key living areas. It sets the tone for the lifestyle your home offers and gives buyers the opportunity to purchase a fully furnished option.

If full staging isn’t in the cards, even an accessory stage — adding select pieces to highlight areas such as the foyer, living room or primary suite — can elevate the overall perception of the property.

In the luxury segment of Naples, first impressions are everything. You’re not just selling a home; you’re selling a lifestyle. Staging brings that lifestyle to life, helping your home stand out in a competitive market and reach its full sales potential.

So yes, stage it — and stage it well. It’s not just an expense; it’s an investment in maximizing your return.

A native of Massachusetts and veteran real estate professional, Amy Kodak moved to Southwest Florida in 2009. For inquiries, contact her at amy@gcipnaples.com or 239.877.6319.

SALES

Housing is considered affordable when monthly rents or monthly mortgage payments do not go above 30% of a family’s income. For many whose work allows Southwest Florida to thrive as a tourist destination — those in the service sector, hospitality, restaurant and retail spheres — these changes will make a big difference.

Expect more discussion about affordable housing as these changes take effect. The goal of the Live Local Act was that those who work here should be able to afford to live here. Developers, policy makers and agencies such as the Florida Housing Coalition will continue their collaboration to assure that housing is within the reach of those who work at keeping life in Naples moving as smoothly as the tides on the Gulf.

The entire bill — “An act relating to affordable housing” — is available online at flsenate.gov

Week of April 14-18

OTS Restaurant Group LLC purchased a 3,600-squarefoot retail unit at 600 Goodlette-Frank Road in Naples from Bambusa Bar & Grill Inc. for $215,000. Frank Kupiec and Mike Concilla of LQ Commercial represented the seller.

LEASES

Cleveland Clinic Florida Concierge Medicine LLC leased 4,511 square feet of office space at 4501 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 101, in Naples from FLP 4501 LLC. Rob Carroll, CCIM, MAI, of Investment Properties Corp. represented the lessor, and David Schwartz of A Premier Real Estate Agency Inc. represented the lessee.

Whitman Designs LLC and owner David Alger leased a 3,000-square-foot showroom and a 600-square-foot adjacent warehouse at 553 Airport-Pulling Road N. in Naples. Ed Boeder of SWFL Properties LLC represented the lessee.

Sell Your Gadgets leased 1,200 square feet of retail space in Imperial Shoppes, 1250 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 307, in Naples from Naples II LLC. Edward Larsen and Mike Concilla of LQ Commercial represented the lessee.

Trinity Medical Partners leased 1,200 square feet of medical office space in Cambridge Square, 3431 Pine Ridge Road, in North Naples from KAB Real Property Holdings LLC. Adam Palmer, CCIM, SIOR, of LQ Commercial represented the lessor.

Flood Pros of SWFL Corp. leased 760 square feet of industrial space at 5630 Yahl St., Unit 2, in North Naples from Yahl Street Properties LLC. Shawn Stoneburner and Hanna Ray of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property of Southwest Florida represented the lessor and lessee.

Amy Kodak

Ashon Nesbitt

As an icon rises along the Vanderbilt Beach skyline, there will be a new address in Naples to surpass all others. With coastal residences of unrivaled space and finishes, 50,000 square feet of inspired amenities, and impeccable service by the first name in luxury, every moment of every day will be yours to enjoy at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Naples. With its topping off now complete, this marks a milestone moment in the creation of these extraordinary luxury residences. A rare opportunity reserved for the few, the time to select your residence is now.

Occupancy Early 2026

The best time to select one of these incomparable homes for yourself is now. 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Road Suite 106, Naples, Florida 34109 Phone 239-249-6260 The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Naples Pricing from $5.2 million. RCRNaples.com

A rts & LEISURE

Photo by Jeffrey Michael

Ongoing events

‘The Half-Life of Marie Curie’ Various times through April 27 in Price Studio Theater at Sugden Community Theatre, 701 Fifth Ave. S., Naples. Trailblazing scientist Marie Curie was already an unusual person, having won a Nobel Prize with her late husband and working long hours at more discoveries in the early 20th century. But she was locked out of her own laboratory, picketed and shamed in public. To the rescue comes Hertha Ayrton, a fellow scientist who spirits her away from Paris so she can recover her destroyed identity and selfesteem. $50-$55. naplesplayers. org or 239.263.7990

Everglades exhibition

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 21 at The Baker Museum, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. “Entangled in the Mangroves: Florida Everglades Through Installation” features the work of nine Florida-based artists who explore the critical importance of the Everglades through diverse media. $10, $5 students or full-time military with ID, $1 for SNAP benefits visitors. artisnaples.org or 239.252.2611

Phil Fisher’s local eye

9 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdaysSaturdays through April 30 at the Collier Museum at Government Center, 3331 Tamiami Trail E., Naples. The longtime plein air painter’s look at Naples landscapes, present and past, that’s an education for longtime residents and newcomers alike. Free. colliermuseums.com or 239.252.8476

Those historic little homes

9 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdaysSaturdays 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 the Mackle Brothers envisioned as the latest and greatest Florida architecture for Marco. Free. colliermuseums.com

Florals exhibition

1-4 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays through April 30 at North Line Plaza, 2171 J & C Blvd., Naples. Viewers can see Melissa Belz’s acrylic floral paintings. Free admission. naplesart.studio or 239.821.1061

Eternally Curious

9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 26-June 29 at Naples Botanical Garden, 4820 Bayshore Drive, Naples. Tanya Trinkaus Glass displays her garden-centered artwork in an exhibition. The event is free for members and included with garden admission ($27 for nonmembers). naplesgarden.org or 239.643.7275

This weekend (April 25, 26, 27)

‘Good Jew’

Various times April 2426 at the Norris Center, 755 Eighth Ave. S., Naples. A solo comedy/drama written from the experiences of Holocaust survivor Henryk Altman, who escaped the Nazis at least four times in the most ingenious ways. $36. 239.409.2588

CALENDAR

ROOKERY BAY’S BIG DAY

9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center, 300 Tower Road, Naples. There are all kinds of activities available for families at this annual free community day: kayaking, paddleboarding demos, face painting, photo booths, science and nature activities, an art exhibit with pieces displayed by FGCU students and onsite food trucks. Admission is free but “sneak peek” 30-minute boat tours that take you deep into its ecosystem are offered for $20; registration is required for those. rookerybay.org

Tamiami Trail/ museum birthdays

9 a.m.-2 p.m. April 26 at the Museum of the Everglades, 105 Broadway Ave. W., Everglades City. This combination of festivities celebrates the 97th anniversary of the completion of the Tamiami Trail and the “birthday” of Museum of the Everglades, which opened on the 70th anniversary of the Trail in 1998. There’s music, classic cars, a walking tour, free hot dogs, cake and laundry cart races beginning at 11 a.m. Free.

Music for the missions

6:30 p.m. both nights at two Naples churches — Moorings Presbyterian Church, 791 Harbour Drive, April 25; St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 625 111th Ave. N., April 26; and 6 p.m. April 27 at The Bean of Ave Maria (open air concert), 5068 Annunciation Circle, Ave Maria. The 5 Tenors of Jamaica are raising missionary funds in a tuneful way. They’re performing solos and group renditions of audience favorites and Jamaican melodies, and even songs that came from their sponsor’s founding missionary — look for melodies such as “Rejoice My Soul,” “Praise Him” and the “Caribbean Alleluia” among them. Their Naples-area concerts are to support the Missionaries of the Poor, an international monastic order dedicated to service to those in deepest poverty. $20, $10 students/ children. Tickets at tututix. com/missionariesofthepoor; information at missionariesofthepoor.org

Schubert the Great

7:30 p.m. April 24 and 26 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Pianist Inon Barnatan plays Piano Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4 and Schubert’s Symphony in C Major, also known as “The Great” with the Naples Philharmonic, Andreas Ottensamer conducting. Tickets

start at $29, and Masterworks tickets include same-day admission to The Baker Museum from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and light fare at Heidi’s Place. artisnaples. org or 239.597.1900

Naples Pier beach cleanup

9:30-11 a.m. April 26 at Naples Pier, 25 12th Ave. S., Naples. Healthy Earth organization is sponsoring a community cleanup on a Naples beach to help clear trash left over from Hurricane Milton. The group suggests volunteers bring reusable water bottles and wear comfortable clothes, including sun protection such as a hat and sunglasses. Garden gloves may be helpful, too. The organization is offering the tools needed, sunblock, water refill jug, light snacks and designated team members who take pictures and ensure safety. Reserve a spot at eventbrite.com; type in Naples Pier Cleanup.

Lifesaving luxe brunch

11:15 a.m. April 26 at Sails Restaurant, 301 Fifth Ave S., Naples. Brunch, Champagne and both a silent auction and live auction from Dunkin’s Diamonds benefit the Florida Drowning Prevention Foundation, which educates adults and children about water safety and funds swim lessons, lifeguard training and water safety instructors. There’s indoor and outdoor seating available on request as available. $195. floridadrowningpreventionfoundation.com

From Bach to Stravinsky

3 p.m. April 27 in the Daniels Pavilion at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Musicians of the Naples Philharmonic with Inon Barnatan, piano, and Andreas Ottensamer, clarinet, play a Rachmaninoff suite of a Bach partita and short works by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Stravinsky. $51. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900

Yom HaShoah, with the theme “For a Better Future” this year. There will be a service, candlelighting ceremony to honor those killed in the Holocaust and remarks from clergy, survivors and their descendants. This is a free event. jewishnaples.org or 239.263.4205

Next week (April 28-May 1)

National Day of Prayer

7 p.m. May 1 at Naples High School football field, 1100 Golden Eagle Circle, Naples. This event includes prayers from local church leaders and elected officials, uniting people of all faiths. National Day of Prayer is rooted in history as President Harry Truman created it in 1952 and in 1988, President Ronald Reagan amended it to be celebrated every first Thursday of May. This year the theme is “Pour Out to the God of Hope and Be Filled!” The event is free. For more information, contact Susan Thigpen at New Hope Ministries at 239.348.0122

All-Chopin evening

7:30 p.m. May 1 in the Daniels Pavilion of Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Eric Lu for the Grand Piano Series. SOLD OUT.

Next weekend (May 2-4)

Day, See CALENDAR, Page 10B

EVENING AT THE MUSEUM

p.m. April 30 at The Baker Museum of Art, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Evening hours on the final Wednesday of each month, The Baker Museum turns into a special event — music; food available from its al fresco cafe, Heidi’s Place; docent tours — with Art After Hours. Visitors can tour the sound cornucopia of Rafael LozanoHemmer’s “Obra Sonora,”

Guests at a previous free community day at Rookery Bay get up close with local creatures in the touch tank at the Environmental Learning Center. Photo Courtesy Rookery Bay Research Reserve

Holocaust Remembrance Day 4 p.m. April 27 at Temple Shalom, 4630 Pine Ridge Road, Naples. The Jewish Federation of Naples hosts an event for Holocaust Remembrance

FINE ART

Baker Museum wins accreditation, and with it, opportunities

By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com

After 13 years of documenting, fine-tuning its practices and jumping the hurdles of two hurricanes and a pandemic, The Baker Museum has won accreditation with the American Alliance of Museums.

Those visiting the museum won’t notice the difference immediately. That’s because some changes have already been developed — for instance, its policy since 2023 of remaining open during the summer, and its outreach to lower-income residents with $1 admission for SNAP (assistance-benefits) cardholders.

In a gesture to widen access, an emphasis with AAM, the museum also has issued passes to Collier and Lee County public libraries that can be checked out for free admission to the museum. It has piggybacked museum tours onto the annual class field trips to Naples Philharmonic student concerts. Trained members of the museum’s visual arts staff even bring its current exhibitions, figuratively, to Collier County schools with art projects that feature concepts from them. David Filner, executive vice president, artistic operations, counted 533 classroom visits for this school year alone.

The museum’s new status will bring even more visible changes: Accredited museums have faster entrée to prestigious exhibitions.

“Whenever we request a loan from another museum or even a private collector, what you have to send with that request is the AAM-templated facilities report,” explained Courtney McNeil, director and chief curator of The Baker Museum.

“One of the very first questions on it is: ‘Is your museum AAM-accredited?’ The fact that that question is first and foremost on this facility report … says a lot about the importance in the field about the value of accreditation.”

Even without the practical applications, it’s an honor, according to Kathleen van Bergen, CEO and president of Artis—Naples, under which the museum operates.

“That’s a statement to the community — that what they’ve invested in over the course of 25 years has grown to the point of pride for the community in meeting the standards that are set by the association of museums,” she said last week.

“It’s a validation from highest authority that could grant [it] that we’ve met a standard of excellence.”

That long and windblown road

The museum opened in 2000 and celebrates its 25th year in November. It applied for accreditation around 2012, a year after van Bergen joined what was then the Philharmonic Center for the Arts and when Frank Verpoorten was brought on board as director and chief curator of the museum.

When McNeil took over that post in 2021, it was with the understanding that the museum would continue to pursue accreditation.

“It showed me the entire organization and the Artis—Naples board had this commitment to excellence for the museum,” she said.

The organization had completed its Museum Assessment Program,

analyzing its organizational health and structure, its collection care practices, its education components and its engagement with patrons and community. Now it needed core documents verification, centered on its collections and everything that affects them.

“We did a deep dive with two professionals, one collections professional and one architectural professional. We went up on the roof of all the buildings, looked at offsite storage, as well as onsite storage and

our onsite vault. And they gave us recommendations on steps we could take to further improve what we were doing,” McNeil said.

“But they also gave us tremendous reassurance that the vast majority of our practices and activities were really commendable,” she added.

Running the last few metaphorical miles would be strenuous. The museum’s application had been veritably frozen in time for two years after Hurricane Irma blew water into its walls in 2017; a new stone facade

was delayed because of slowdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

AAM wanted its mission statement, institutional code of ethics, strategic institutional plan, disaster preparedness/emergency response plan and its collections management policy.

Because the museum and the performance and continuing education building are all intertwined, it would be, in essence, a review for all of Artis—Naples. The meetings expanded from officials to the museum board committee, other board committees and the full Artis—Naples board of directors.

One particular point that officials are proud of is that it meets AAM standards for safety and security, increasingly a topic in institutional planning. That is critical to a museum that drew slightly more than 45,000 visitors in 2024; the entire venue drew 300,000. Last August Artis—Naples hired Eric Balmer as chief administrative officer; his duties include structuring 24-hour safety and security at the entire institution.

Now, the fun part

When Alexander Shelley joined Artis—Naples with the title artistic

and music director, it was to create liaisons between museum exhibitions and the music being presented in Hayes Hall, where Shelley conducts its Masterworks Series.

Shelley’s final season as the Music Director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra ends next year, and he’s currently looking for an apartment or condo for his family in Naples, which portends more time in the community.

He was delighted with the accreditation announcement.

“It is … another step in enabling us to attract the most brilliant artistic partners to work with us because a big part of my job is exploring these avenues, these intersections between the arts,” he said. Musicians, composers, visual artists, dancers and filmmakers — the opportunities are broad, he emphasized.

“We’re thinking about how music and visual art and film play off one other and what stories can be told. We’re thinking about commissioning choreographers and dance companies to work with composers on new creations. I mean, it’s such an exciting sand pit. That’s a wonderful thing to have under one roof.”

At the same time, Shelley has taken on artistic and music direction of the Pacific Symphony, an orchestra based in Orange County, California, with a history close to that of the Naples Philharmonic. It was founded only 10 years before the orchestra here was formalized. He was enthusiastic about the synergy possible between them.

“That’s a very interesting aspect of having these two roles,” said Shelley, who added he had discussed the possibilities thoroughly with van Bergen before he accepted the position. “With Pacific Symphony, the initial conversations have been that discussion of: Are there works we could collaborate on, co-create, co-commission? There’s stuff in the works, absolutely.”

Visitors pass “The Face of Immokalee” exhibition, which features portraits of that area’s residents by Naples photographer Michelle Tricca. Photo by Jeffrey Michael

community days — the next one is May 10

offer

chance to hear both the Naples Philharmonic and student musicians. Patrons also may try their hand at art projects and enjoy tours of the museum. Photo by Nate Lane

Art After Hours at The Baker Museum offers a free monthly opportunity

Photo by Darron Silva

TWO VIEWS. ONE PARADISE.

SPRING2025 GROUNDBREAKING

Only at Park Place on Gulf Shore where 15 exclusive residences command views of both the Gulf and Moorings Bay. An extraordinary enclave that also includes a membership to The Moorings Beach Club and 11 bayside boat slips. Live life in paradise in a community like none other. Now accepting contracts. Pre-construction pricing from the mid $7Ms.

WILLIAM RAVEIS REAL ESTATE

850 5th Avenue South Naples, FL 34102 ParkPlaceNaples.com

WILLIAM RAVEIS REAL ESTATE SALES TEAM

Karl Faerber: 239-248-1961

Andrew Christopher: 239-821-3560

Madleine Porter: 239-529-7747

Gulfshore gives ‘Sweet Charity’ a meticulous production

You do not buy a Big Mac for the taste of prime grade sirloin. You buy it for the blend of flavors, those juicy condiments, the cheese and the convenience of scarfing it down via a bun transportation system.

Sweet Charity is something of a Big Mac musical. It may not be the creative pinnacle for Neil Simon, who had to be corralled into writing the script after the failure of its first writers; the Cy Coleman-Dorothy Fields team also has written scores with more critical acclaim. But taken together with Bob Fosse’s precision choreography and the prime matter of a Federico Fellini film for its plot, producers can assemble a tasty meal here.

Gulfshore Playhouse has twisted itself into a pretzel to do that, beginning with bringing in Kate Marilley as Charity, the eternally optimistic taxi dancer whose luck is so bad her profession is even obsolete now. Marilley’s Charity isn’t brash but has no use for small persona: She doesn’t speak when she can explode; her arms are punctuation. And she not only wears her heart on her sleeve — it’s tattooed on her arm. She’s an irresistible, if slightly airheaded, Charity.

Marilley is so flexible she can kick her foot to her forehead, which she does any number of times in the show. And her comic skills turn funny moments into hilarious ones. Just wait for the scene of her night stuck in a closet listening to the celebrity who brought her home make up to his volatile girlfriend.

Even playing three characters, it’s tough for Benjamin Lurye to keep up. But Lurye is a master of multiple roles. He is convincingly all three of Charity’s would-be sweethearts, slipping seamlessly from the money-grubbing Charlie, who steals her purse, to a fragile Italian film star to the neurotic Oscar Lundquist. CEO & Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury pointed out his triple duties before the performance to save people from looking for three different actors — as we would have.

Some of the show’s finest moments, however, come in the ensemble numbers. They’re an inspired pairing of costumes by Leon Dobkowski and choreography by Dan Dunn, who is also the director here. The routine of jaded young women enticing ticketholders to dance with them in “Big Spender” oozes glitter and grind, heightened by their mesmerizing octave slurs and one-to-two-word rounds (Fun! Laughs! Good time!) But there’s kinetic art in the synchronized black-and-white geometrics — squares, dots, opart waves, even tiger stripes — on the dancers flouncing in an assortment of hemline styles to “The Rich Man’s Frug” in the swank Pompeii club. That number alone is worth the price of admission.

Sweet Charity counts several songs that have crept into the American songbook. “Big Spender”

is so infectious playgoers around me were singing along softly. “If My Friends Could See Me Now” is also on that list, and if “Where Am I Going?” sounds familiar, it was given an easy-listening boost as a track in Barbra Streisand’s breakthrough album.

Much of the music can play outside the work itself, except for the “Rhythm of Life,” the sendup of a hippie church to which Oscar invites Charity as a destination date for his “Church of the Month” club. Its lyrics, clever in print, aren’t always intelligible onstage, so we miss some of the pokes at organized religion and the Love Generation. The flashlights used in the underpass “sanctuary” dance are also blinding, so it was lost on some of us who had to shut our eyes. It’s more proof church isn’t meant to be easy.

The scene does give Maya J. Christian a chance to shine as a female version of the jazz-fueled pastor, Daddy Brubeck, which she does. So do Kelly MacMillan,

TO SEE IT

What: Gulfshore Playhouse production of Sweet Charity When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, with 2 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday matinees and 3 p.m. Sunday matinees, now through May 4

Where: Gulfshore Playhouse, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road S., Naples Tickets: $44-$114 at gulfshoreplayhouse. org; information at 239.261.7529

Cayla Primous and Kyra Source as Charity’s dance hall chums, never without comment on their friend’s vulnerability and with the same advice for her they want for themselves (“There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This.”) Matt Wolpe is the perfect Herman, their boss, whose brusqueness is total bluff. All this plays against Kristen Martino’s suave set of geometric shapes with neon. They’re somewhat kinder than the actual environment would have been for Charity’s workplace, but they’re versatile for mood and location changes. A dressing room rolled expeditiously onstage as needed, as did the aforementioned closet where Charity is stashed. An elevator even appears. Everything flows compatibly with the story, song and dance they hold. Perhaps Sweet Charity is not Cordon Bleu theater material. But it rises to the top of its Big Mac potential in this Gulfshore Playhouse production: a satisfying and tasty evening of theater.

The cast of the Gulfshore Playhouse production of Sweet Charity Photos by Matthew Schipper

Front Row

Harriet Howard Heithaus

Kelly MacMillan as Nickie, Cayla Primous as Helene and Kate Marilley as Charity in Sweet Charity

Benjamin Robert Lurye as Oscar and Kate Marilley as Charity in the Gulfshore Playhouse production of Sweet Charity

‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ comes to Naples with fresh faces, grand scale

By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com

If you’re an opera lover, the upcoming Gulfshore Opera production of Lucia di Lammermoor is solid gold. Its five principal performers come with Metropolitan Opera experience, either as characters or role covers. Even the rehearsal conductor is a former Met Opera conductor, the venerable Paul Nadler.

If you’re not an opera fan, Lucia is one of those guilty-pleasure Hallmark movies you watch when your kids aren’t around to roll their eyes — Will the lovers get back together? Will her brother ruin everything? — set to music.

And if you’re a psychologist, Lucia is a milestone, striking a 19th-century blow for the concept of women as complex, thinking human beings. Composer Gaetano Donizetti was an innovator in championing female central characters in operas such as this one, Anna Bolena and La Fille du Regiment Gulfshore Opera is bringing Lucia to Artis—Naples May 2 and the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers April 29 as its 2025 grand opera, and it intends to live up to the billing of grand. There’s full staging, rich costuming and the Naples Philharmonic as its musical partner. Jorge Parodi, the opera’s resident conductor, has the baton for both performances.

Learning ‘Lucia’

This production also promises a fresh take on the classic story of lovers fatally thwarted by family plans: Neither the three major characters’s actors nor the stage director have worked with Lucia de Lammermoor before.

“Yes, this is baby’s first Lucia,” joked Rose Freeman, its stage director. “But this is where Gulfshore really shimmers. I was teasing Steffanie (Pearce, General and Artistic Director) last night that getting the Steffanie stamp of approval on a project secretly helps you through so much in the national scene. She really has excellent taste.”

Freeman’s baptism here is by immersion: She must stage it in two different halls within three days of each other. She’s visited each to determine what they need, and they aren’t the problem people might think, she said.

“Really, opera, in the end of the day, is about relationships. When you’re creating stage pictures, it’s about how you create a relationship between your architecture and also your performers. So you can have very flexible staging.” Freeman explained. “You can create many things that can live in any environment when your first priority is how your singers are interacting with each other and interacting with the story itself.

“The stories still matter. We still have Lucias in the world. This is a story that is of coercion and asking a woman to sacrifice for her family. And I can’t think of a woman who hasn’t been asked to sacrifice something for her family, when her needs and wants were just disregarded.”

The fact that it treats its heroine so frankly is what Susanne Burgess, the Lucia of this production, likes about the story.

“Oftentimes in opera women

are more plot points than they are personalities,” she said of opera.

“Oftentimes things happen around us and we don’t have a whole lot of character development, so I love playing these roles where we see the person change, and there is a lot of choice that can be made as

an actress within this human who is changing in front of our eyes.”

Javier Arrey also sees his character — Enrico, Lucia’s brother — as a complex one. Bent on pushing her into a financially beneficial marriage, Enrico disrupts Lucia’s romance with the neighbor who

is his family’s enemy, stealing her letters from Edgardo and ordering her confessor to steer her toward a loveless union.

“But I don’t see him as an evil person per se,” Arrey said. “That’s the detail I’m trying to put on this part; showing him more like

7 p.m. May 2

Hayes Hall, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples Tickets: $65-115. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900

a person, a normal person.” Enrico is lord of Lammermoor, an estate that has fallen into hard times, and he’s responsible for resurrecting it.

“It’s a time period that’s different than this one that we have now … This guy is under huge pressure for the family, all of them, to have staff.”

Running a musical marathon

This opera could be titled “I Love Lucia” for all three of them. It is rich with harmonies, from the lovers’ duet in Act I to its famous sext in Act II. The orchestra becomes a character of its own, said Derrek Stark, who plays the jilted Edgardo: In the famous “mad” scene in which a totally deranged and wrongfully wed Lucia imagines herself with Edgardo, the orchestra’s flute joins her in an imaginary dialogue.

“He [Donizetti] was definitely thinking of the orchestra on the stage, as well,” he said.

There are no easy moments in its score. Because this opera runs on a high dramatic level, conveying its story without becoming exhausted is a major challenge, all three said.

“You can do a lot in your singing to emote, and then you’re wrecked for the rest of the performance,” Stark said. “It’s a delicate balance — trying to find that space where you can still communicate, but then protect your voice a little bit.”

That is laid over adjust to the anxiety of two different venues in two different locations — “And you know the traffic down here,” he added.

Plus, Burgess is in nearly every scene. After her marathon role as the vulnerable Lucia, she moves to another Donizetti role elsewhere, playing the sassy, sly Norina in his comic Don Pasquale

“It’ll be therapy,” she said, laughing.

Susanna Burgess as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor Photos by Liz Gorman

Rehearsal conductor Paul Nadler gives direction during a dress rehearsal.

Javier Arrey as Lord Enrico Ashton and Susanna Burgess as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor

COMICS & PUZZLES

3. TELEVISION: What was the last name of the family in the sitcom "Married

4. LITERATURE: For which category is the Caldecott Medal awarded?

OLIVE

By Emi Burdge

THE NAPLES PRESS CROSSWORD

2 major restaurants coming to Coastland Center mall in Naples

By Tim Aten tim.aten@naplespress.com

Two major sit-down restaurants are coming within the next year along the exterior of Coastland Center mall in Naples.

The Rodizio Grill Brazilian steakhouse and Oar & Iron Raw Bar & Grill will join the other highly visible restaurant chains on the northern and western edges of the mall, which include Bahama Breeze Island Grille, The Cheesecake Factory, CMX CinéBistro, Twin Peaks and Uncle Julio’s Mexican restaurant.

Rodizio Grill will build out the former space of Aurelio’s Pizza, which closed last fall on the northwestern edge of the mall.

Oar & Iron will be built in a new outparcel lot in Macy’s parking lot on the southwest corner of the mall.

Rodizio Grill

Known for its rotisserie grilled meats carved tableside by gauchos, Rodizio Grill plans a Naples location significantly larger than the one it has operated since April 2016 at Coconut Point mall in Estero. Rodizio Grill’s “churrascaria” features all-youcan-eat meats and a salad bar with hot and cold sides, as well as a full bar.

The 9,160 square feet of indoor dining at 2048 Ninth St. N. will combine Aurelio’s former space with that of another vacant retail space between the pizzeria’s spot and CMX CinéBistro.

“For a Rodizio Grill footprint, we need the space from both of those spaces. So, we’re combining those spaces into one large restaurant space and then trying on this façade to try to tie those spaces together and improve the look and feel of it,” Jeff Knighton of Utah-based Knighton Architecture + Planning told Naples Design Review Board members March 26 before the project was unanimously approved by the city board with a couple of conditions regarding its façade.

The proposed plans clean up that corner and tie it into the neighboring cinema, DRB Chair Stephen Hruby said, noting that this exterior part of the mall has been a hodgepodge of elements.

The proposal modifies the façade to include stucco finish and masonry elements such as cut stone block veneer and faux wood metal screening and trellises that comply with the Coastland Center planned development.

From page 2B

‘Lucia di Lammermoor’

DRB members pushed back on Knighton’s plan to retain a fencedin area in front of the restaurant that had been used as an outdoor dining space by the previous pizzeria and its predecessors, Pate’s House of Prime Rib and Ted’s Montana Grill. The new steakhouse will not have outdoor dining.

“There’s currently this railing out there for a patio space. We do not intend to use that for any dining,” Knighton said. “There are some of these grill locations that do have outdoor dining. It’s pretty tricky to navigate the serving of the meats. For a Brazilian steakhouse concept, it’s where the gauchos

7 p.m. May 2 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. Gulfshore Opera with the Naples Philharmonic perform Lucia di Lammermoor , Donizetti’s famous opera set in the 17th century and exploring family rivalry, forbidden love and betrayal. $65-115. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900

carry meat on the skewers, they would bring them out. So going in and out of the front door in this case would be tricky from an operations standpoint.”

DRB members agreed that the new restaurant should add furniture or plants if it intends to keep the black metal fence.

“Regarding that fence, I would take it out,” DRB member Doug Haughey said. “If for some reason you can’t, I would definitely like to see some benches and maybe some potted plants or something in there to kind of define that space, because just having the fence there doesn’t make any sense. So,

‘Famlet’ 7 p.m. Fridays, 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays May 2-11 at the Arts Center Theatre, Marco Town Center, 1089 N. Collier Blvd., Suite 432, Marco Island. Cross Shakespeare’s gridlocked hero with a dysfunctional American family and you get something a whole lot funnier than the Bard ever dreamed. By local author Alex Costello. marcoislandart.org or 239.784.1186

just one or the other. Obviously, you choose, but I think, either way, it has to change from what’s currently there.”

Hruby thinks the restaurant can use the DRB’s condition to eliminate the fence, which he said detracts from the entrance.

DRB member Shae duPont also would like to see the long wall on the restaurant’s northern side softened with some natural elements rather than a series of large unspecified photographic murals that the architect proposed.

“I’m not happy with the idea that it’s left to the owner there to decide what is going to be displayed on

Rookery Bay Community Day 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center, 300 Tower Road, Naples. See Featured Event. Marco Island Center for the Arts Annual Golf Tournament Registration 7:30 a.m. and shotgun start 8:30 a.m. May 4 at Island Country Club, 500 Nassau Road, Marco Island. The golf tournament will support the center’s efforts to re-imagine and expand programming.

that wall and how that’s going to fade, how that’s going to be adhered,” duPont said. “I didn’t understand from the presentation how that was going to work. I’d rather see it be maybe a vine or something green.”

If photographic mural images are going to be used, the board will sign off on the artwork selected.

“Let’s make this condition that you’re going to come back to us with the resolution of that wall, whether it’s artwork or landscaping to soften that wall,” Hruby said.

Oar & Iron

The DRB unanimously granted final design review with conditions in October for the ground-up construction of Oar & Iron at the Naples mall. The surf-and-turf dining concept is planned at 2094 Ninth St. S. on slightly less than 2 acres on a new outparcel in front of Macy’s department store on the northeast corner of U.S. 41 and Fleischmann Boulevard.

The Naples restaurant will be the fourth location for Oar & Iron, which has restaurants that launched in late 2023 in Founders Square at Collier Boulevard and Immokalee Road in Collier County, this January near Topgolf in Lee County and coming this summer to Parrish, near Bradenton. The Naples restaurant is still under review by city staff, but it is expected to open within the next year.

“At this point, the latest time frame I was given was late 2025 or early 2026,” said Rob Luzzi, senior director of marketing for RAVentures Hospitality Group, which owns and operates the Florida franchises for Oar & Iron and Boston-based Kelly’s Roast Beef.

The new Oar & Iron will have an interior space of 5,899 square feet with an 1,833-square-foot outdoor patio, which will include a firepit and louvered pergola. The mostly white building will have gray and muted blue accents.

Oar & Iron is a modified version of the Northeast’s 110 Grill, named after Route 110 where it first opened in Massachusetts. Oar & Iron features lighter, nautical colors to better reflect Florida than 110 Grill, which has darker colors and millwork. Large outdoor dining spaces in the Sunshine State also set it apart.

Oar & Iron’s enhanced menu features a raw bar, more seafood and steaks, cocktails and an upscale presentation. The entire menu is available gluten-free.

The event will conclude with lunch and awards. $225 for a single golfer and $900 for a foursome. marcoislandart.org

Complexions Contemporary Ballet 7 p.m. May 4 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. The dance company with Naples Philharmonic, Alvin Ho, conductor, dances by Complexions cofounder Dwight Roden to Ravel’s Bolero Beethoven, Pärt and more. $65-$109. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900

Rodizio Grill

Brazilian steakhouse at Coastland Center mall in Naples. Rendering by Knighton Architecture + Planning

Minto US Open Pickleball Championships a worldwide sensation

In my more than 52 years on this rock, and over 34 of them professionally observing sports of all kinds

(Super Bowls to Olympic Soling Trials, local 5Ks to Final Fours), I can firmly classify all sports into one of two categories …

Sports I could theoretically compete in, and sports I would have no chance in.

Gymnastics, MMA and rugby are firmly in the latter camp — sports that I couldn’t even fathom doing for fun, much less in any form of competition.

But pickleball? Now here is a sport I feel like I could attempt straight out of nowhere with at least a semblance of ability.

That’s one of the allures of what is arguably the world’s fastest growing sport, and why thousands are set to descend on Collier County this week for the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships.

To say we are all playing pickleball isn’t that far off, as USA Pickleball estimates that more than 4,000

Speaking of Sports David Wasson

new courts were added nationwide in 2024 alone, and more than 16,000 pickleball courts dot the landscape.

Worldwide is the same story, as more than 18,000 pickleball courts emerged in 2024 and almost 69,000 are scattered across the globe.

Estimates vary, but there are as many as 48.3 million people in America who identify as pickleball players — a 311% growth rate over the last three years. That means the yearly pickleball market is somewhere in the $1.5 billion range.

It can certainly be argued (especially by those from the US Open) that Collier County is the epicenter of the sport. Pickleball’s national championship enjoys its ninth season here April 26-May 3, with the self-proclaimed Biggest Pickleball Party in the World crashing East

Naples Community Park.

How big is this event? Try this on for size: the US Open Pickleball Championships boasts competitors from all 50 states and 31 countries — from Armenia to Zimbabwe. In 2024 alone, more than 3,250 players competed, while more than 50,000 fans celebrated the spirit of pickleball.

And oh, what spirit it is. East Naples Community Park’s 65 outdoor courts are a seven-day pickle party, and seats under the canopy of the Zing Zang Championship Court annually are in extreme demand. And whether you like the pock-pockpock-pock sound of pickleballs being slapped around or not, there is no denying that the energy created by this event is something truly unique to Southwest Florida.

About the only thing that can damper the tournament is rain, which has occasionally wreaked havoc on the televised portion of the tournament (CBS Sports Network televises live matches during championship weekend) — but even then,

the wet stuff is just a momentary distraction from the non-stop fun being had across the park.

The US Open is part of the reason why pickleball feels so accessible to the masses. Folks from across Earth itself make the pilgrimage here every year to compete in their various age and skill groups side by side with the pros who are among the first wave of people making a dollar or two playing the sport.

The massive number of US Open vendors on hand every year also plays a huge role in showcasing their players and the latest equipment. Take time to wander through that tent or perhaps enjoy a sit-down couch chat with a pickleball specialist inside the new Welcome Center that includes a big-screen showing live play.

Age and gender mix gracefully via pickleball, too. Don’t believe me?

Anyone over 50 reading this should go to one of our hundreds of courts and get a game with an AARP member who has been playing for a little

while and see how you fare. Odds are you’ll earn an entirely new appreciation both for your elders and the particular skill needed to be good at pickleball.

That’s pickup, though, and the US Open is serious competition. The field has become so big now that it is lottery-driven to enter, and winning the US Open means you have captured the most prestigious title in the sport at a world-class venue surrounded by passionate picklers at the epicenter of the sport.

The best part? It’s free to visit.

Get out to East Naples Community Park this week and breathe in a bit of the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships. Catch the fever of pickleball … you’ll be surprised how easy it is to join the rest of us.

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.

FC Naples endures first league defeat

By Randy Kambic

After what transpired less than 72 hours earlier, a physical and mental letdown was certainly possible when FC Naples faced One Knoxville on Saturday evening at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex. The local team had suffered its first loss of the season — which encompassed 120 minutes of intense, extended overtime play and then penalty kicks — against the higher division Tampa Bay Rowdies in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on April 16. The score was 1-1 at the end of regulation time.

Yet, Matt Poland, FC Naples head coach and sporting director, offered no excuses for the home team’s 1-0 loss to Knoxville two days later, its first defeat in USL League One play. “We came out flat,” he said. “When you are down a goal, it can be hard to come back.

“We rotated the squad,” he added. Coming off the hard-fought battle with Tampa Bay, Poland rested several starters — including Karsen Henderlong, the league’s leading scorer, Andrés Ferrin and Chris Heckenberg — for the first half. A potential big lift early on for FC Naples and the crowd of 3,846 didn’t come to pass, when midfielder Marc Torrellas’ right-footed blast from the top of the goal area banged off the right Knoxville goalpost just two minutes into the match.

Although FC Naples midfielder Ian Cerro and defender Ian Garret exchanged some nifty give-and-go passes and made runs deep into Knoxville’s side in the first half, the visitors applied more pressure.

Goalkeeper Edward “Lalo” Delgado of FC Naples had to make two difficult saves, including from a point-blank shot by Kempes Tekiela. Knoxville was rewarded for its

aggression when forward Jahiem Brown was dragged down in the goal area while lining up a shot. It earned Knoxville a penalty kick just two minutes before halftime, which Tekiela converted. The effect was immediate when

Henderlong and Ferrin went out onto the pitch for the second half. FC Naples created three corner kicks in the first 10 minutes and both players also got off several clear shots that went astray. A left-footed drive by Henderlong

ABOVE: FC Naples found the back of the net in the 27th minute April 16 against Tampa Bay at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, when Luka Prpa finished an assist from Jayden Onen, responding just one minute after Tampa Bay opened the scoring.

LEFT: Midfielder Jayden Onen of FC Naples moves the ball up field. Play ended at 1-1 after 120 minutes, including 30 minutes of overtime. Tampa Bay won 9-8 on penalty kicks.

Photos courtesy FC Naples

sailed just over the goal in the 67th minute of play; a diving save by Knoxville goalkeeper Sean Lewis prevented Torrellas from tying the score 10 minutes later. The final whistle blew just after Lewis caught a header from Hecken-

“We came out flat. When you are down a goal, it can be hard to come back.”

Poland, FC Naples head coach

—Matt

sporting director

and

berg, who entered the fray midway through the second half.

FC Naples ended up with 10 shots on goal to Knoxville’s eight; the visitors had a 5-3 shot advantage in the first half.

“A tough loss,” was defender Julian Cisneros’ post-game assessment. “In this league, one moment [being called for a penalty kick] can be all it takes. They then bunkered in and just defended.”

Midfielder Luka Prpa, who played more minutes than usual and made several strong runs, said, “It’s not the result we wanted. We had our chances. We’re building something special. We play together.”

FC Naples (6-2-2 overall, 4-12 in USL League One play) will host Charleston Battery in the first round of the USL Jägermeister Cup, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.

“Charleston will be a reset,” Cisneros said. “It’s how we respond.” They are “one of the best teams. Now we need to prove people wrong,” concluded Poland.

USL League One standings are based on points, which result from wins and ties. FC Naples is in first place with 14 points through its first seven league matches. Knoxville sits in third place with a 3-0-1 record and 10 points.