2 days ago, 02/02/2012 at 4:57pm
As our island fills with visitors for our busiest season, we hear from many visitors wondering what’s been happening on our Island since last season. The answer of course, is quite a bit as we are an active year-round community. What they really want to know is how the issues of last spring turned out.
The highlights for visitors based on the questions we hear are these…
Beach renourishmment for the north end of the Island, begun in May, wrapped up in December. There’s 300 feet of new sand from Bowditch Point to Crescent Beach Family Park.
Speaking of Crescent Beach Family Park, Lee County opened this new Gulf-front park with volleyball courts, tables, landscaping and lots of sand. The county also has been hard at work with Pier renovations, so stop by and visit our new park, pier and sand!
The Seafarer’s mall came down in June. Currently Lee County plans to pave it for a ground level parking lot. That debate continues.
All of the Island beach accesses now have recycling bins. Please use them! Let’s keep our beach clean!
You’ll notice a lot of signage changes on the Island. A sign ordinance was approved after 11 years in the making, so everywhere you look these days a sign is coming down or going up.
The Beach Library broke ground in April for their expansion and expects to have it completed this spring. Look for a Grand Opening this fall after renovations on the existing building are complete. The Town has completed the north end of Estero Blvd, north of the skybridge. New road, bike lanes, sidewalks and landscaping. We can only wish the county will do as well with the rest of Estero when they get around to redoing it. Read more...
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 Water, Water Everywhere,
But Not Enough to Drink"
A week of cloudy skies doesn't keep our motel rooms from filling up, a week of cold weather won't stop our agriculture from feeding the rest of the country, but if we turn on the taps and the water stops coming out, our economy is done.” - Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater Renowned environmental journalist and award winning author Cynthia Barnett was the guest speaker at a Conservation Forum on water sponsored by the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) and the Everglades Foundation Tuesday night. Held at the Sanibel Community House, Barnett spoke to a room packed with over 200 people on the importance of developing a 'water ethic' that will help Floridians to embrace a new way of thinking in order to make sure that enough freshwater remains for future generations. Read more... | |
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 Referendum Defeated
The referendum on whether or not the Town should pursue bonds for up to $7 million for the purchase of a Town Hall was soundly defeated on Tuesday, with 40% of the registered voters on the island turning out to vote. According to the Lee Supervisor of Elections, the final tally – with 2, 005 of the Town's 4, 970 registered voters participating was: 86.33 % or 1, 731 against, and only 274, or 13.67% for the referendum. The only other election that saw close to a 40% turnout was the 2007 council election, where 39% of island voters voted in election that saw Larry Kiker and Herb Acken elected. That 2007 election, incidentally, also included the referendum to finance the Town's water utility - which passed by a 91.17% margin but included no price amount in the referendum language. (For more on this story subscribe to the Island Sand Paper) | |
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 Super Bowl Sunday What comes once a year and is synonymous with great food and drink and tons of fun? Super Bowl!!
Super Bowl XLVI will take place this Sunday, February 5 between the New York Giants and New England Patriots with kick-off at 6:30pm ET. This annual contest between the AFC and NFC Champions of the NFL brings millions to people to parties around the country. Whether they are football fans or just like to catch the edgy commercials, there's no doubt Americans love their Super Bowl! (For more on this story read The Island Sand Paper) | |
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Referendum Defeated
The referendum on whether or not the Town should pursue bonds for up to $7 million for the purchase of a Town Hall was soundly defeated on Tuesday, with 40% of the registered voters on the island turning out to oppose it. According to the Lee Supervisor of Elections, the final tally – with 2, 005 of the Town's 4, 970 registered voters participating – was: 86.33 % or 1, 731 against, and only 274, or 13.67% for the referendum. The only other election that saw close to a 40% turnout was the 2007 council election, where 39% of island voters voted in Larry Kiker over Garr Reynolds and Herb Acken over Pat Smith. That election, incidentally, also included the referendum to finance the Town's water utility - which passed by a 91.17% margin but included no price amount in the referendum language. "I was glad to see the amount of people who turned out to vote, ” said Mayor Larry Kiker. "We asked the question of what the residents wanted us to do with their tax money and it got answered. The council got a clear direction from folks that we need to concentrate on some areas to put the Town in position with the current lease as best we can. Hopefully we can look at something at a minimum of asking for the first right of refusal should the owners decide to sell.” Read more... | |
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 Parrot Key Caribbean Grill and
Big Game Waterfront Grill
Give a Helping Hand to
Operation Open Arms
Parrot Key Caribbean Grill and Big Game Waterfront Grill of Fort Myers Beach gave a helping hand to Operation Open Arms this week by donating $1, 000 in gift cards to be used in assisting service personnel. Operation Open Arms had been storing their donated items at the Pine Island Chamber until a recent fire that completely destroyed the Chamber office. Read more... | |
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Estero Island's attractive features, including miles and miles of white, sandy beaches, have captured the imaginations of visitors from near and far.
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This week’s Back Page Girl is Kimberly, from Chicago. Kimberly likes dancing, doing hair and make-up, going to the beach and hanging with her family and friends.
Click on the image to enlarge it. If you'd like to become a Back Page Girl click here... |
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Space Shuttle Discovery was successfully launched on it's final mission Thursday 24 February 2011. The shuttle is carrying the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, or PMM, to the ISS - International Space Station. The PMM is loaded with supplies, experiments and equipment. The Humanoid Robotic Astronaut Robonaut 2, or as friends nickname R2, is the first robot of its kind to fly into and work in space and is going to become a full time crew member. (Video courtesy of: Ken and Dee Platt)
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