Collier County Commission approves arts grants but not without disagreements
Kaleidoscope Beer Co. plans to add some color to the local brewpub scene.
The Naples taproom for Riptide Brewing Co. changed hands in early September, and is now the family owned and operated Kaleidoscope Beer at 987 Third Ave. N.
“I kept all the staff here. We just basically did a turnkey-style where we took over operations. In fact, all month it’s been kind of a transition period,” said Bill Vaughan, who co-owns Kaleidoscope Beer with his wife, Heather, and sister, Amy Vaughan.
After operating for nearly nine years, Riptide Brewing decided to part ways with its original taproom in Naples and turn its attention to its much larger taproom in Bonita Springs.
“The Naples taproom has been our home, where we poured our first pints, shared countless memories and built the foundation of who we are today. We are endlessly grateful to our loyal guests and neighbors, who made it such a special place,” Riptide posted Sept. 2 on its Facebook page. “While saying goodbye is never easy, we believe this change will allow us to better focus on serving the Southwest Florida community from our larger space in Bonita.”
Riptide has been working closely with the new owners of its former Naples taproom to ensure a smooth changeover. The local business had a blowout Saturday night Sept. 28, as a sendoff
ATEN KNOWS, Page 5A
MAKING HOME AFFORDABLE?
By Aisling Swift
By Aisling Swift
By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
In the wake of deadly accidents on Collier County roads that have claimed 42 lives so far this year, the board of county commissioners and the sheriff’s office are looking for additional ways to improve traffic safety—especially at red lights.
On Sept. 5, a Collier County mother was killed, and her son and another child were seriously injured, when witnesses said the driver of a semitruck ran a red light at Immokalee Road and Logan Boulevard and struck the vehicle she was driving. The accident, which is still being investigated by Florida Highway Patrol, set off a wave of concern and criticism and led to a petition being circulated by a group of mothers asking the Board of County
and impose stricter consequences for
lations. As of Sept. 30, the petition had collected more than 3,300 signatures.
Days after the Immokalee Road accident, two more people perished, one in a
and
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Oct. 7 service to recall attack on Israel, advocate for hostage return
One year after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples will host a community memorial service to honor the massacre’s nearly 1,200 victims and focus public attention on the more than 100 remaining hostages.
The event, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Temple Shalom, 4630 Pine Ridge Road. Advance registration is required at jfgn.regfox.com
“Oct. 7 marked the deadliest day of violence against Jews since the Holocaust, with terrorists targeting unarmed civilians, the elderly, women, children and babies while gleefully livestreaming their victims’ executions on social media,” said Jeffrey Feld, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples in a news release announcing the service.
“One year later, Jews and non-Jews alike will come together here in Southwest Florida to make sure we never forget those who perished in the attacks— and to keep public focus on the return of the remaining hostages, both those alive and those killed in captivity.”
The Oct. 7 event in Naples will feature representatives of the local Jewish community and political, civic and faith leaders from multiple denominations.
In 2023, just days after the Hamas attacks, an overflow interfaith crowd of more than 500 packed the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center in Naples for a community solidarity gathering. Since the outbreak of war, the local Jewish community has contributed more than $1 million to an Israel Emergency Relief Fund managed by the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples.
Moorings Park Foundation awards $30,000 to Collier Resource Center
The Collier Resource Center received a $30,000 grant from Moorings Park Foundation to expand its Senior Outreach Program, providing essential support to underserved Collier County seniors. This grant will significantly enhance CRC’s ability to assist seniors with vital services and resources, improving quality of life and independence.
Holocaust Museum CEO to retire
The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center announced the retirement of President and CEO Susan Suarez, effective March 14, 2025. During her leadership over the past seven years, Suarez spearheaded numerous initiatives, including a capital campaign
to purchase and renovate its current North Naples facility and the development of new educational programs and partnerships that have increased public engagement, museum officials said. The museum’s board of directors plans a comprehensive search process for Suarez’s successor.
Flavors of 5th provides economic boost in offseason
The inaugural Flavors of 5th dining campaign delivered an economic boost of about $450,000 to the downtown Naples area during a traditionally slow season for local business, officials from the Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District said. Throughout August, the BID partnered with local nonprofit Beverly’s Angels to introduce the Flavors of 5th Prix Fixe Restaurant Month. Eleven of Fifth Avenue’s restaurants—Chops City Grill, Del Mar Naples, Keewaydin’s on Fifth, Ocean Prime, Pazzo Cucina Italiana, Roma Italian Bistro, Sails, The French Brasserie Rustique, Truluck’s, Tulia Osteria and Vergina—offered multi-course, prix fixe menus starting at $23.99. In addition to driving business, participating restaurants raised $10,924 for Beverly’s Angels, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children of essential workers.
Warrior Homes of Collier awards scholarships to local veterans, family members
Four Collier County students with military ties are the latest recipients of $5,000 college scholarships from a local nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans find stable housing while also providing mental health and educational support. The Warrior Homes of Collier Scholarship recipients are Lely High School graduate and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student Ayden Abreu, Community School of Naples graduate and Florida Atlantic University student Alexandria Lagergren, Palmetto Ridge High graduate and David Lawrence Centers Case Manager Marc Michel and Lorenzo Walker Technical College graduate and University of Central Florida student Hazel White.
General contracting company proposes partnership with Marco Island Earthwerks Land Improvement & Development Corp., an Illinois- and Florida-based general contracting company specializing in blue-green infrastructure, began discussions with the city of Marco Island to form a public-private partnership aimed at improving water quality and restoring
critical wildlife habitat throughout the island’s canals. The proposal is called the Marco Island Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Initiative. In 2018, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection declared the canals were impaired due to increased nutrients present in the waterways. A city consultant, Environmental Research and Design, estimated it would cost approximately $189 million to perform a traditional maintenance dredge of the canals. The C-HAWQ Initiative proposes a public-private partnership to assist in obtaining funding to dredge the 100 miles of Marco canals and use that dredged sediment to design and build approximately 33 new island habitats. Oyster reefs will be installed with mangroves and other native species to be planted to improve water quality and storm resilience, enhance biodiversity and provide 100 additional acres of natural space to the island.
El Car Wash acquires Downtowner Car Wash locations in Naples area Doral-headquartered El Car Wash acquired two Downtowner Car Wash locations in Collier County. This acquisition consists of two locations, 7387 Devonshire Blvd. and 5080 Tamiami Trail E. With the addition of Downtowner Car Wash, along with the previous acquisitions of Ultimate Express Car Wash and Suncoast Car Wash in 2023, El Car Wash operates five express car wash locations in the Naples-Fort Myers area. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. El Car Wash has more than 100 operating and development locations between Florida and Michigan.
Community Foundation awards $30K grant for affordable homes Habitat for Humanity of Collier County received a $30,000 grant from the Collier Community Foundation. The funds will go toward the purchase of building materials for homes in the nonprofit’s new affordable community, Majestic Place, in eastern Collier County.
Cocktails for a Cause Collier Resource Center, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting individuals and families with essential health and human service resources at no charge, will host its annual Cocktails for a Cause Nov. 14. The benefit will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. at Artis—Naples and will include heavy hors d’oeuvres, a top-shelf open bar, music, raffles and prizes. Call or text 239.434.2030 or visit collierresourcecenter.org
COLLIER NOW
COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS APPROVE 305-UNIT DEVELOPMENT ON IMMOKALEE ROAD
By Aisling Swift
An Austin, Texas-based developer got the go-ahead to build a 305-unit development featuring 92 affordable-housing apartments off Immokalee Road.
The Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 on Sept. 24, with Commissioner Burt Saunders opposing, to approve a growth-man-
agement plan amendment and a rezoning of vacant agriculturally zoned land to allow JLM Living to build up to 305 multifamily dwelling units with affordable housing on 37.2 acres.
Commission Chair Chris Hall made the motion, provided that JLM makes another written offer to a neighboring charter school to add a traffic light.
Saunders, whose district the project is in, objected to changing the comprehensive plan to allow residential.
“This is … a very nice-looking project,” Saunders said. “It’s in an area that is not all single-family, but the issue still is … the increased traffic on Immokalee Road.”
A traffic study showed it would generate 295 two-way trips during peak hours, which landuse attorney Rich Yovanovich told commissioners Immokalee Road can accommodate without degrading the roadway.
The property sits between the LaMorada and Ventana Pointe developments, on the south side of Immokalee Road, just east of Woodcrest Drive. JLM, a private investment firm, was founded in 1992, and JLM Living LLC, which builds, owns and operates developments, was established in 2021 to address the lack of affordable housing.
“We’re doing a rental project that’s a little unique,” Yovanovich said. “You’ll either have basically small single-family homes for rent or
COUNCIL OKS ARTS GRANTS, BUT NOT WITHOUT DISAGREEMENTS
By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
Arts institutions received grants from Collier County funded at the rate the Tourism Development Committee recommended, but not easily or without misunderstandings.
After nearly an hour’s worth of testimony Sept. 24 from arts leaders and a tug of war among themselves, Collier County commissioners voted 4-1, with Chris Hall (District 2) opposed, to approve the recommended $750,000 for 17 organizations. The discussion on whether to fund them targeted several points:
• The principle of continued grant funding for arts organizations
• The observation that requests were getting more regulation and documentation
• The question of the arts as economic driver or contributor to the quality of life, or both, for residents Hall was especially critical of the amount of grant money after the county commission last year warned arts groups that the grant money would likely be cut.
“As it is, we’ve reduced the amount 9%. Everybody claps, yay, we reduced it. It went from $750,000 to $672,000. We did a great job. We did. Kudos to us,” he said. “I think that’s a bunch of bull. That’s really all I’m going to say about it. I’m just fundamentally opposed to it.”
He said he would make an exception for new organizations that needed “a little bump in the butt” to get their organization going.
Hall’s figure did not take into account that the arts grants funding is divided into two different grant categories; it will actually total $750,000 in fiscal 2024-25. That is still down from $850,000 that was approved for this fiscal year, 2023-2024. The Tourism Development Committee also had already cut the amount recommended to commissioners by nearly half; the original applications totaled $1.4 million in requests.
That $750,000 also is being spread around a larger number of applicants, with four more this year, including the Naples Zoo.
Arts vs. Sports
Hall said he wanted to see the arts grants sunset in the way they are for the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, for which the county is underwriting a declining portion of the sponsorship, it will decrease in increments from $345,000 in 2025 to zeroing out in 2032.
“I’ll just say, I do think I think at a higher level, and I couldn’t disagree with you more on this,” Rick LoCastro (District 1) told him. “Those museums you enjoy with your grandkids could actually disappear if they didn’t have a little bit of investment from the county.
“You can’t compare the Marco Island Historical Society with the soccer team. Or the Marco Island [Center for the] Arts. We’ve got Hyla Crane here. Her organization does bring an incredible amount of culture and all the other things that go with it, but, yeah, it doesn’t fill up 5,000 seats to watch a soccer game, so that’s apples to chairs. These or-
ganizations aren’t cash cows in many respects, and that’s why they look to these tourism dollars.”
LoCastro continued, “I think having all of it is what makes our community diverse, which makes it interesting, which does attract tourists, but also makes it a great place during the non-tourism season to live and work and play.” He pointed out that people want arts institutions but wouldn’t buy a ticket based on supporting the entire museum budget.
“Everyone wants to walk into the museum for
free,” he said. “Well, they’re not printing money in the basement.”
Melanie Kalnin, executive director of Opera Naples, affirmed that quality-of-life approach in her own comments to the board. Her family’s move to Naples, rather than Fort Myers or some other area city, was heavily influenced by the arts.
“The whole reason we initially started vacationing down in Naples was because the Chicago
See ARTS GRANTS, Page 9A
LoCastro cleared, charge dropped
A state prosecutor dismissed a misdemeanor domestic battery charge against Collier County Commissioner Rick LoCastro after mounting defense evidence that his accuser lied and had made similar false accusations against other boyfriends and her ex-husband.
The case was dropped Sept. 24, the day Eden Blythe Looney, 48, of Marco Island, was to undergo a deposition by top defense attorney Donald Day, who had gathered evidence and numerous witnesses to prove she lied.
“I am now exploring legal options to protect others from similar vindictive false accusations by this individual,” said LoCastro, 58. “False accusations are damaging—but filing a false police report is a crime. I trusted the professionals and system to handle this unfounded story, as I remained totally focused on what truly matters—serving the citizens of District 1 and all of Collier County.”
Declining prosecution
LoCastro always maintained his innocence, noting his girlfriend of four months changed her story after speaking to Naples Police on Oct. 28 following his breakup with her at a Naples restaurant.
According to taped phone calls, witnesses and video, Looney was intoxicated the night she accused LoCastro and didn’t understand why he wanted to break up. She told a 911 dispatcher “the Naples Police Department would ‘get’ LoCastro.”
Due to LoCastro’s county position, Monroe County Assistant State Attorney Nick Gastesi was assigned to prosecute. Gastesi’s dismissal said only: “[Looney] submitted an affidavit stating the reasons for not feeling comfortable proceeding with this case. State declines further prosecution.”
In March, Gastesi declined to prosecute another charge involving Looney in LoCastro’s home, citing a
See LOCASTRO, Page 10A
This scene from 42nd Street demonstrates the work that local arts groups like The Naples Players provide. Submitted
By Aisling Swift
Rick LoCastro
6 AMENDMENTS CROWD ONTO FLORIDA’S ELECTION BALLOT
By John Guerra
An amendment to turn back abortion restrictions, one to legalize recreational marijuana and four other state constitutional amendments will be on the ballot on Election Day. Each amendment must get at least 60% of the vote to pass.
The deadline to register to vote in the general election is Monday, Oct. 7. The deadline to request a vote-bymail ballot is Thursday, Oct. 24.
Amendment 4
Abortion access
Like voters in at least seven other states, Florida voters have collected enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to preserve the right to abortion access.
Florida statutes now ban abortions after six weeks, which opponents say is not long enough for a woman to learn that she is pregnant.
Amendment 4 reads: No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.
The Associated Press says abortion rights advocates have turned back statewide laws banning the medical procedure in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont since 2022.
In Naples, however, some elected officials have come out publicly against Amendment 4. In a sym-
bolic vote in June, the all-male Collier County Commission unanimously opposed the amendment.
Lee County commissioners did the same in September.
Jane Schlechtweg, chair of the Collier County Democratic Party, called the commission vote an “outrage,” noting that a different Collier County Commission passed an ordinance in 2023 that declared people had the right to choose.
“We’re going to have more and more volunteers out canvassing as the elections approach,” Schlechtweg said. “We hand out an information card with all the information on Amendment 4 and tell people if you want your rights protected, you
have to vote for a Democrat.”
While anti-abortion forces in Collier argue abortion is murder, abortion rights advocates say women are left to their own devices during life-threatening pregnancy crises.
Voting yes would expand the timeframe from six weeks to 2324 weeks, the beginning of fetal viability. It would also allow abortions when necessary to protect a patient’s health—when a health care provider determines that is the case.
Voting no would leave abortions illegal in Florida after six weeks unless two physicians are willing to state that the pregnant person would die without one.
Amendment 3
Recreational marijuana
Florida Politics in June reported that 64% of 1,065 likely voters are in favor of Amendment 3, which would allow possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana for personal use without a medical prescription card.
The approval of the amendment might not help Collier County or Naples residents looking for a marijuana dispensary, though. The Collier County commission last year prohibited medical marijuana dispensing facilities in unincorporated Collier. Not only that, the county planning board at one point voted against land use changes to allow the dispensaries.
Voting yes means anyone 21 years old and older would be able to use and possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana. Pot could be sold through marijuana dispensaries without the need for a medical marijuana card.
Voting no keeps recreational marijuana illegal.
Amendment 1
Partisan school board elections
Local school board elections in Florida are currently nonpartisan, which means all registered voters regardless of party can vote in the primary and general election for the candidates of their choice. If Amendment 1 passes, only voters registered with a political party can vote for candidates of that party.
Schlechtweg said partisan school board elections could disenfranchise thousands of voters in
Collier County.
“If it passes, it will freeze out voters,” Schlechtweg told The Naples Press. “Florida is a closed primary state, which means if you’re not registered in any particular party, you may not be able to vote for the person you want to.”
And that could be a lot of voters.
According to the League of Women Voters, some 4 million Florida voters don’t identify as Democrat or Republican. They claim no party or belong to minor parties. Those who support Amendment 1 say partisan school boards contribute to transparency, as a candidate’s party affiliation indicates to voters how a candidate will vote on controversial board issues.
Voting yes on Amendment 1 would make district school board elections partisan again by listing candidates’ political parties on ballots.
Voting no would leave the races nonpartisan.
Amendment 2
Right to fish and hunt
Amendment 2 would provide and preserve “forever” a state constitutional right to hunt and fish—“including by the use of traditional methods.” It also would define hunting and fishing as the “preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife.”
It may seem a non-issue because the state issues hunting and fishing permits all day long, but the amendment is designed to enshrine the
See AMENDMENTS, Page 6A
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Florida Politics reported in June that 64% of 1,065 likely voters were in favor of Amendment 3, making possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana legal in the state. Collier County has prohibited marijuana dispensing facilities, however, even medical ones. Photo by Getty Images
celebration for Riptide, before the Naples taproom closed for three days for interior painting and remodeling. Kaleidoscope reopened there this week with a colorful new look—an appropriate transformation considering that a kaleidoscope symbolizes endless and ever-changing possibilities.
Riptide’s beer is still being served on tap until Kaleidoscope can craft some of its own inventory, which will be made on location in shiny fermentation tanks visible from the bar.
“It takes a few weeks for beer to get done, so I knew when I took over I wasn’t going to have my own beer on day one,” Vaughan said. “We had inventory from Riptide left, so we’ve just been pouring that through the month.”
Vaughn said he is excited to bring the brewing system back to life in Naples. “So, we’re brewing everything right here. It’s made right here,” he said. “The original owners who opened the place as Riptide had a whole brewing system in here. Lately, they haven’t been using it because they have a larger system up at their Bonita location.”
Vaughan has connections to the early days of craft brewing in Southwest Florida; industry connections brought him and Riptide together.
“It was a win-win for everybody,” he said. “The reception has been overwhelmingly positive from people. It was the right situation for everybody.”
Formerly operations manager at Bone Hook Brewing in North Naples for five years, Vaughan was head brewer at Bone Hook for more than three years and was the head brewer at the former Big Blue Brewing in Cape Coral, and brewmaster at the former Bury Me Brewing Co. in Fort Myers.
Vaughan left Bone Hook for his own venture, but is still assisting the new brewers at the North Na-
ples brewery during the transition. “We made some great beers, and we had good food and a lot of fun up there, so hopefully they continue to do well,” he said.
Brewing beer is both an art and a science. It also requires some personal passion. While people are familiar with the fun and end result of the business, they often don’t
Sept. 9. An alleged DUI accident in Immokalee claimed two lives on Sept. 13, and on Sept. 14 four young people were killed and one was seriously injured in a one-vehicle accident involving high rates of speed on I-75. And on Sept. 28 a one-vehicle accident in Naples claimed the life of another Collier County resident when the driver went into a canal at a high rate of speed, making September the deadliest month this year on county roads with a total of 10 fatalities in six crashes.
Now, after hearing presentations from county traffic management staff and Sheriff Kevin Rambosk at the Sept. 24 County Commission meeting, commissioners are focusing on specific steps to help improve safety.
In a motion after Rambosk’s presentation, District 3 Commissioner Burt Saunders asked Transportation Management Services staff for a budget request to fund “blue light” cameras at intersections throughout the county; asked the sheriff to come back with “what he needs for staffing and resources to help make these intersections safer”; and asked the county productivity committee to evaluate the cost and benefits of red-light cameras. Saunders emphasized that the commission was not “taking a position” in support of the controversial red-light cameras, which were discontinued in Collier County in 2013, but “simply asking our productivity committee to come back over a reasonable period of time … [and] let us know what other communities are doing with red-light cameras and whether or not this is something we want to consider down the road.”
see the hard work and countless hours behind the brewing process to get there, Vaughan said.
“So much work and so much effort has to go into it,” he said.
Although Vaughan owns the business with his wife and sister, he’ll be the face of the business and the most hands-on. His wife is the full-time director of merchan-
dising at Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, and his sister lives in California.
The brewpub has about two dozen taps, but Vaughan doesn’t plan to use all of them. “We’re going to probably keep anywhere between 15 and 20, but probably lean more toward 15,” he said. “It will, at some point, become all Kaleidoscope. There may be a guest tap or two. We make keep a cider on and something else on here or there, but for the most part, I’ll be able to fill those lines up myself.”
Patrons can expect a variety of beer types at Kaleidoscope.
“We’re not going to pigeonhole ourselves into one specific type of beer, as far as style goes,” Vaughan said. “One thing I found myself gravitating back to is more of an English style, bringing back an English mild, you know, a low ABV
cial operations, both with commercial vehicles and general operations. He said he has also met with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office attorney to explore increased penalties for red-light running violations, which was at the suggestion of the group organizing the current petition.
In the 10 days prior to the Sept. 24 meeting, Rambosk said CCSO had “increased enforcement” with 38 red-light operations “in addition that what we normally do,” that had resulted in 269 citations for red-light running. Regarding red-light safety, CCSO said in notes prepared for the county meeting that as part of its focus on community education and engagement it is creating a “comprehensive public education campaign designed to positively impact the driving culture of our community—starting with red-light running.”
Rambosk said he does believe positive efforts can be made to reduce accidents, even as the county continues to grow, but that it will take the entire community to make that happen.
“Everybody knows that as the community grows, there will be more vehicles on the road, which is going to mean more congestion, which is going to mean more attentiveness that drivers should be paying to the road and predictably slower traffic,” he said. “We have contracted for a study for the projection of growth which will help us determine what we need for staffing and particularly for traffic enforcement.”
The sheriff said the proposed addition of “omnidirectional law enforcement confirmation blue lights” at some county intersections could help when it comes to enforcement of red-light violations.
[alcohol by volume], full-bodied easy drinking beer, things of that nature. I’ve built up a repertoire. We’re going to do an Irish red; I’ll have a couple lagers and IPAs and things like that. So, kind of a broad spectrum.”
Other taps at Kaleidoscope will be rotated with experimental and seasonal offerings. But count on an IPA, or India pale ale, which is a popular, hoppy beer that rules the craft scene in America, Vaughan said.
Vaughan plans to eventually bottle and can his beers.
“It will all be very small batch, only available here, though,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of space here, so I don’t have space for a large system or really even a small system.”
Vaughan intends to obtain a tabletop system for hand-canning his beers and small-batch bottling, as he notes that a few other regional brewpubs began.
“That’s what I’ll probably do and just offer them in my taproom— do 20, 30 cases at a time,” he said. “Then, most of the bottles I do will probably be higher alcoholic, higher ABV beers like imperial stout and barley wines and things like that that I’ve bult a reputation for.”
Meanwhile, the Vaughans are in the midst of a rebranding effort with Kaleidoscope to make the neighborhood hangout their own.
“I just hope people enjoy what we’re putting together. We’re trying to make it a cozy atmosphere,” he said. “It’s a cozy place by default. They set it up very well. So, we’re just trying to bring our added touch to it. We’re going to hopefully make it comfortable and just a fun spot to hang out.”
Kaleidoscope’s regular hours are noon-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Hours may expand during season to stay open later on weekends, Vaughan said.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim. aten@naplespress.com.
Improper driving that is threatening to safety on roadways—distracted or aggressive drivers, excess speed—can be reported at this number; to report dangerous driving or accidents immediately, call 911.
go through. But we can’t testify to it. So, these lights, which are being used in other places, are going to help us significantly in red-light enforcement.”
Rambosk said his department’s new campaign to promote safer streets should
He
or distracted driving as examples. When it comes to distracted driving and how the community can help, Rambosk said he would like people to “[commit] themselves and all the drivers in their family to ‘slow down and put the phone down.’”
Rambosk told the commissioners that since the Sept. 5 accident on Immokalee Road, he has been meeting with community groups to hear their concerns, and as a result of those meetings has requested additional staffing from Florida Highway Patrol to assist in spe-
He said, “We’re going to build a very strong program and let people know that you’re either going to drive safely and within the laws of the state of Florida, or you will be cited. But more importantly, to try and reaffirm to people: What about your life, the life of your passenger, your spouse, your family, and the potential for injury? That’s what we’re trying to stop.” From page 1A
In a phone interview following the county commission meeting, Rambosk was asked whether he thought increased traffic accidents are an inevitable result of the unprecedented growth Collier County is experiencing and how they can be reduced.
“It will enable a deputy who may be by themselves to know when the other side of the light is red,” Rambosk said. “Right now, we have to be able to
and
testify that somebody entered the intersection on a red signal,
Kaleidoscope Beer Co., a new local brewpub, recently took over the Naples taproom of Riptide Brewing Co. on Third Avenue North.
Photos by Tim Aten
Kaleidoscope Beer Co. creates its own craft brews at its taproom in Naples. Its fermentation tanks can be seen from the bar at the new brewpub, which is located in the city on Third Avenue North between U.S. 41 and 10th Street North.
BLACKBIRD ASIAN RESTAURANT BEGINS CONSTRUCTION AT NAPLES BAY RESORT
By Tim Aten
Blackbird Modern Asian waterfront restaurant began its interior buildout Sept. 23 at Naples Bay Resort & Marina in the former longtime space of Bonefish Grill, which was flooded by Hurricane Ian’s storm surge two years ago.
The Naples Design Review Board also unanimously approved final facade changes this week for Blackbird, coming to the groundfloor corner suite near the roundabout driveway and parking area at 1500 Fifth Ave S. The upscale dining concept has a sister property on Florida’s east coast.
“It’s an amazing atmosphere. We’re really excited about bringing them to Naples,” said Mark McLean of MHK Architecture, presenting the project’s plans to the Design Review Board on Sept. 25.
“It’s going to be a really, really special place.”
Blackbird plans to open before the third anniversary of Hurricane Ian, promising an elevated dining experience with top-notch food artfully plated in a restaurant with swanky decor.
“We are small business owners, and we are so excited to be part of this beautiful community. We look forward to serving everyone late spring or early summer of 2025,” said Cleve Mash of 3 Amigos LLC, the Florida restaurant group that operates the critically acclaimed Blackbird.
The partnership of Mash, Scott Frielich and Angelo Abbenante launched Blackbird in Jupiter in October 2022 with executive chef/ partner Tim Nickey. The hospitality team signed a lease April 1 for the 5,425-square-foot gutted restaurant space in Naples.
“It’s great to have a restaurant back there again,” said DRB Chair Stephen Hruby.
While Blackbird won’t be overhauling the exterior architecture of the space, it does plan a few ornamental changes.
“We’re putting a mural on the building. We’re adding some Asian-inspired sculpture, a little bit of themed entryway to the outdoor dining spaces,” McLean said.
The mural will depict a colorful floral theme with butterflies and a Chinese lantern. “It really ties into the interior architecture. There’s a lot of reds, a lot of vibrant colors,” McLean said.
Initially, a larger mural was designed to wrap around the building, but plans were toned down a bit for Naples.
“It’s very Diego Rivera-looking,” Hruby said. “It’s restrained and it’s very nice.”
Blackbird’s guests will be greeted by a 6-foot-tall bronze Buddha head just outside the main en-
From page 4A AMENDMENTS
right in the state constitution so there are no future bans on fishing and hunting.
Environmental groups, naturalists and fishing and hunting organizations both support and oppose the amendment.
Those who support the amendment—All Florida, American Sportfishing Association, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Coastal Conservation Association and others—say it preserves a $15 billion industry.
Opponents—Humane Wildlife Consulting of South Florida, American Ecosystems, Inc., Animal Wellness Action, Bear Defenders, Center for a Humane Economy and others—say the
amendment could be used to limit conservation of lands and waters. Not only that, but “traditional methods” could mean a return to steel traps, baiting wildlife, spearfishing and gill nets.
Voting yes supports a constitutional right to hunt and fish in Florida.
Voting no would leave things as they are.
Amendment 5
Homestead annual inflation adjustment
This amendment from the Legislature would tie a portion of homestead property tax exemptions to inflation rates.
The amendment would give the owners of a primary residence a $25,000 homestead exemption from all property taxes. For homesteads valued between $50,000 and $75,000, another $25,000 homestead exemption is applied,
which exempts that amount from all property taxes, except school district taxes. The adjustment would occur only if the Consumer Price Index increases.
The Florida League of Cities opposes the amendment because it could reduce tax revenue to Collier County and other counties combined by $22.8 million in 2026, and by $111.8 million in 2028-29.
Voting yes could mean savings for homeowners who apply for homestead exemptions.
Voting no would leave homestead exemption rates as they are now.
Amendment 6
Public Campaign Financing
The state constitution now provides candidates for governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture ac-
trance, and bamboo will be added to an adjacent planter. Outdoor tables will remain under the resort’s covered walkway, while indoor dining options will include new banquette seating, a bar, lounge and small private dining area. The kitchen space will remain the same, McLean said.
“We’re not adding any square footage or outdoor dining. We’re taking over the existing outdoor dining that was there,” he said. “We’re using the same number of tables and chairs that were there that were all previously approved [but] we’re putting them in a different layout and configuration.” The outdoor dining request still must be approved by City Council. Bonefish Grill operated for nearly 15 years at Naples Bay Resort, which also includes the dining options Nosh on Naples Bay and Cafe on the Bay. The local resort on the Gordon River also connects to Naples Bay Club, which features BlueWater Bar & Grill and Indulge Restaurant & Lounge.
As for another Bonefish Grill landing in the Naples area, the parent company for the seafood restaurant chain hasn’t found the right spot yet.
“While we remain interested in the area, we do not have plans at this time,” said Elizabeth Daly, director of media and community relations for Bloomin’ Brands, the Tampa-based restaurant holding company for the brands of Bonefish Grill, Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
cess to public campaign financing if they agree to spending limits. This amendment would repeal that section.
The Florida Legislature wants this because the campaign financing, which comes from Florida’s general fund, could be used for other programs such as education, health care or housing. Not only that, but those candidates—from governor to agriculture commissioner—won’t have to adhere to campaign spending limits.
Voting yes means there would be no more public funding for candidates for governor/ lieutenant governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner. A previous amendment to ban public financing in Florida failed in 2010, gaining less than 53% of the vote.
Voting no would maintain the public funding of campaigns.
Blackbird Modern Asian, which operates its first location (above) in Jupiter, is building out a second restaurant and bar at Naples Bay Resort in Naples. Photo by Kat Solomon Design
Photo by Tim Aten
WITH LAST HURDLE CLEARED, PORT ROYAL CAN REBUILD ITS CLUB
By Aisling Swift
Two years after Hurricane Ian decimated the posh Port Royal Club, members cleared their final hurdle and were given the green light to move forward with the $100 million reconstruction.
Naples’ Design Review Board on Sept. 25 voted unanimously to grant final design-review approval for an expanded three-level clubhouse with recreational amenities and parking at 2900 Gordon Drive. Last November, the DRB granted preliminary design approval subject to numerous conditions, which have since been met, and the full project was approved by the Planning Advisory Board and then City Council in August—after months of compromises with a neighbor and numerous required conditions. DRB design approval was the final step before it could receive construction permits.
The 65-year-old one-story clubhouse was destroyed by Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022, and the new club will be elevated and built to current standards.
“We thank our building committee and professional team, as well as the city staff for their ongoing efforts and support,” the club said in a statement. “This milestone comes just ahead of the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian, marking a significant step forward in our community’s recovery. We are excited to begin construction and look forward to breaking ground in December.”
Completion date: late 2026
Estero-based Suffolk Construction is building the West Indies-inspired project, which is expected to be completed in late 2026. The design by Hart Howerton, of New York and San Francisco, adds additional amenities, including a gulffront infinity pool and numerous dining options. The multi-layered, colorful landscaping plans by Naples-based Outside Productions received lavish praise by the DRB. DRB Chairman Steve Hruby, an architect, noted that working on designs with a club committee is an “arduous task” and commended Tim McCarthy of Hart Howerton for the patience and skill it took to incorporate everyone’s demands to reach a consensus. He noted that a complicated project that undergoes committee input and numer-
ous city approvals often is delayed for years.
“Your 18-month time frame is rather impressive to come up with a design that’s complicated and as sophisticated [as this] and then go through the review process—us and everybody else,” Hruby said.
City Council on Aug. 21 unanimously approved a conditional-use petition that allows the club to build an expanded three-level,
48.6-foot-high clubhouse with indoor and outdoor dining, a new pool and deck, outdoor seating areas, a two-story garage, new landscaping and lighting in a public-service district.
Council also voted 5-2, with Mayor Teresa Heitmann and Councilwoman Linda Penniman opposing, to approve a waiver allowing an 11-foot wall between the club and neighbor Terry Mullen’s home to
the south; city codes limit walls to 6 feet but the newly designed club is much closer to Mullen’s home than before. Council also voted 6-1, with Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison opposing, to allow outdoor dining.
Neighbor-inspired changes Mullen, who purchased his $31 million, 7,752-square-foot beachfront estate 14 months before Hurricane Ian, didn’t attend the
hearing and declined to comment afterward. He thanked Council and the club last month for working on his concerns, and plans to invest in decibel-metering equipment to measure noise.
The club sits on about 11 acres, but the three petitions involve 5.5 acres. The plans increase the size of the clubhouse from 32,000 square feet to 77,000 and move the pool and dining next to Mullen’s home, rather than at the center of the property, which shielded noise. Before the hearing, the club made $2 million in changes to appease Mullen, who was concerned about views, noise, traffic, lights, building height and odors.
Council also imposed numerous conditions—primarily due to concerns by Mullen and his attorney, architect and acoustics expert— that included enclosing dining areas and bars closest to his home and shortening pool hours. The conditions also required landscaping along the wall, new emergency-access paths and removing a beach path next to his home that’s been there since 1959.
The plans were approved by 93% of club members and Port Royal residents sent more than 100 letters and emails to the city urging approval. The club, which is capped at 700 members and currently has 623, is borrowing $20 million to finance construction and assessed members $45,000 on Aug. 1. The cost and wait prompted 45 members to leave, but 23 Port Royal residents on a waiting list joined, according to a newsletter to members from Club President Nancy Carlson.
At the hearing, McCarthy emphasized the larger club was needed to “right-size it” due to club growth and demand, noting club members are often turned away due to dining-capacity restraints.
The approval came just a week after the club’s plans for a temporary 5,000-square-foot, 130-seat dining tent, with 1,632 square feet of modular trailers for a kitchen, equipment and staff, were shot down by Council 5-1 with Bill Kramer opposing. The structures had been intended to accommodate club member dining while the new building was under construction.
Council contended that 30 months to three years, which is the time frame for completion of the new club, didn’t comply with city codes, which allows temporary structures for only six months.
The Port Royal Club, destroyed by Hurricane Ian's storm surge, will be rebuilt much larger than the original. Renderings by Hart Howerton
East Naples Community Park will get six more covered US Pickleball Open Championships courts and a new sound system as part of a $2.09 million deal that should save the county millions over the years and launch a year-round pickleball academy.
The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 24 to spend $1.05 million over seven years to extend Spirit Promotions’ agreement for the 2026-2032 championships, and up to $1 million for a new sound system and six new championship courts covered by a waterproof canopy that also will house the US Open Pickleball Academy. Spirit Promotions will match the county’s $1 million capital improvements payment, and plans to spend millions in the future.
“The way that those pickleball courts look and the way they feel reflects on them, and we get the benefit of it,” Chairman Chris Hall said. “That’s a million-dollar swing of savings for Collier County taxpayers. I love this deal. We get 15% of the proceeds. … That’s a win-win.”
The funds come from a 5% bed tax tourists pay for overnight stays at hotels and other overnight rentals. State statutes require they be used for tourism-related activities. Two other votes involved lease and concessionaire agreements and taking over Naples Pickleball Center, NPC.
It’s the second time a public-private partnership has resulted in the private entity agreeing to pay millions and to assume management and maintenance. Pelican Bay Foundation is spending about $6 million to build 20 pickleball courts at Pelican Bay Community Park, take over management and make numerous other park improvements.
Three speakers, including Collier NAACP President Vincent Keeys, urged commissioners to approve the three agreements. Paige Rhodes, sales director for Edgewater Beach Hotel and Capri Inn, said the championships boost tourism and adding a waterproof canopy is essential to its continued success.
From page 3A
Symphony Orchestra played at Artis—Naples. We started coming down here. When we came down here, where did we stay? The old Trianon, the Inn on Fifth, La Playa, The Ritz. Where did we dine? Campiello, Bellini, HobKnob on Fifth Avenue. We actively were participating in this tourist activity that we’re all talking about today,” she said.
Kalnin and her family were from Chicago and were accustomed to a sophisticated arts array, she said, so the orchestra series at Artis—Naples was a pleasant surprise: “Then we started to get to know more about the local art scene, and how totally culturally vibrant it was.”
A look inside the process
Jonathan Foerster, CEO of the Golisano Children’s Museum, asked commissioners
“This event brings increased visitors to our hotels during a time that we historically see a slowdown after Easter,” Rhodes said. “We have seen the positive impacts of this event and have seen increased occupancy year-over-year during the championship dates. … I am excited to see the launch of the Pickleball Academy and think this will be a positive addition for our residents, as well as attract more guests to our hotels during needed times.”
The academy’s goal is to increase the US Open Pickleball brand and promote it as the nation’s premier pickleball center by teaching about 500 players monthly during season and 1,000 off-season.
This year’s championship drew 50,000 attendees, 40% from outside Collier. That’s a 22% increase over last year, according to Tourism Director Jay Tusa, who said the April championship’s economic impact totaled $12 million, with average daily revenue increasing 18.68% over 2023 and revenue per available room jumping 18.51%.
The vote includes spending up to $40,000 in tourist tax development funds for an infrastructure project study, which is required by the state to show a tourism benefit.
Pickleball4America, which merged with Spirit Promotions in December 2022, fully took over the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships after this spring’s championships. Partners Mike Dee and Bob Bowman have extensive major league experience and now live in Naples.
In January, commissioners renewed their contract for one year, not five, agreeing to $345,000 in 2025, and asked Dee to reduce reliance on tourist tax funds. The county has spent $5 million in tourist tax funds on improvements over 10 years in pickleball improvements and maintenance.
Dee’s long-term strategy includes payments that decline $50,000 yearly, from $300,000 in 2026 to $50,000 in 2031, with no funding in 2032. His team developed a master plan with numerous improvements and agreed to take over maintenance.
The lease agreement covers the park and
if they were aware of the reimbursement requirements. Foerster said he was glad to do it because the organizations are proud to show their integrity in requesting the funds, but it was an exacting procedure.
“It’s a real hard process by default,” he said. “I have to print out the bank statement. I have to print out the thing that my accountant said paid it. I have to give him a copy of the check and the purchase order, all for each individual expenditure that we come through, to get that money. So we are beyond transparent to the point of a paper-thin see-through. It’s an impressive amount of work that we have to do in order to get these funds.”
To be eligible in the first place, organizations must fill out a roughly 15-page grant application that was developed by Collier County’s arts and culture manager, John Melleky. Before that, the application was simpler—four to five pages long—with three additional pages of stipulations from the county. There were still formal requirements for documenting each
championships, all 64 pickleball courts, welcome center, all indoor and outdoor spaces, designated parking areas and parking at nearby Sugden Regional Park.
“East Naples (Community Park) would receive $56,000 for the rent and Sugden would receive $8,400 … with a 2.5% annual escalation,” Interim Parks & Recreation Director James Hanrahan told commissioners, noting it includes access to a welcome-center office and storage area.
The concessionaire agreement enables Dee’s team to officially take over Naples Pickleball Center, which was managed by Bob Strommen as NPC. Complaints by players and the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board led to the former Parks & Recreation director recommending severing that partnership.
Dee’s team will take over US Open Pickleball Academy, provide six to 12 courts and pay $21,000 yearly rent that increases 2.5% annually—and the county receives 5% of gross revenues, Hanrahan said. The county will continue to maintain the restrooms, except during the US Open, when Spirit pays for cleaning at both parks. Dee also assumed maintenance of all 64 pickleball courts, nets, windscreens, fences and court resurfacing for championship and academy courts, saving the county $600,000.
Commissioners approved the five-year concessionaire agreement extension after Dee agreed to enhance services, including expanded youth programs and improved leagues and instruction, and to provide food and beverages, including beer, seltzer and wine. Pickleball4America will pay $50,000 for utilities over three years and $30,000 yearly after that. Currently, Hanrahan said, the county is paid only $100 monthly.
Dee’s team will add courts at NPC and increase public hours to 10 p.m.; they’re currently noon to 5 p.m. In July, Dee told the Parks & Rec board the academy will train Collier kids to become the next generation of elite players, but expects the academy’s pro instructors will draw players nationwide. He plans to add up to 12 academy courts on a rear parking lot, move the community center to double parking and the double the size of the community center.
expenditure, however.
The history is somewhat at odds with LoCastro’s suggestion that “it just seemed like, tongue in cheek, you could put something on the back of a cocktail napkin and if you got $100,000 every year, you automatically got $100,000 the next year.”
Still, LoCastro praised Melleky for creating and the arts organizations for putting together strong, well-documented applications. Crane, who was among the members of the public who spoke, acknowledged their wisdom.
“Marco Island Center for the Arts and the Arts Center Theater isn’t as large as some of the other organizations that could potentially receive this funding. But even so, in 2023 and 2024, we offered 217 events, provided 692 virtual performing and teaching artists opportunities and served 25,126 children, adults and seniors,” she said.
“How do we know that? Through this grant process, we have learned to track our data. We have been meticulous with our metrics. We
you’ll have duplexes for rent, so it’s not your typical apartment complex that’s three or four stories tall.”
The horizontal single-family rental units will be attached and detached, with about 10% duplexes. Homes won’t be stacked on top of each other, which Yovanovich called consistent with the surrounding single-family and multifamily communities.
JLM Living East Residential Overlay is located within the Rural Fringe Mixed-Use District Receiving Lands, about 77,000 acres 1.6 miles east of Collier Boulevard. The smallscale growth management-plan amendment wasn’t to increase density, Yovanovich said, but was needed because the county hasn’t created an amendment to allow density for rental projects that include people making 100% or less of the area median income.
“We’re doing this because we’re just a little ahead of the county on getting the 100% and below rental incomes to qualify for the density bonus,” he said.
Yovanovich said 30% of the homes will be income-restricted, with 46 renting for below 80% of the county’s area median income and 46 below 100%. Collier’s area median income is $104,300, so they’d rent for $1,958 for a one-bedroom home to $2,713 for a three-bedroom apartment at 100%, and $1,462 to $1,878 at 80%. The smallest rental would be 650 square feet.
No one spoke out at the meeting; neighbors’ concerns had been satisfied after being voiced at neighborhood information meetings. Based on those, JLM increased buffers on both sides and changed its plans to build only one-story homes on the west side, next to LaMorada, and to extend an existing preserve on the east side, near Ventana Pointe.
The development received a unanimous recommendation in January by the Planning Commission. Chair Edwin Fryer suggested that JLM should first reach out to essential-services personnel, such as police, teachers and active-duty military, once the income-restricted units are ready to rent, and JLM agreed.
now can look at that not-so-fuzzy ROI and know what we are achieving in the work that we are doing.”
So, she suggested, the center knew it was justified in its grant application: “We’re an economic driver, because the arts mean business.”
In the end, four of the five commissioners agreed with the observation of Commissioner Dan Kowal (District 4) that arts funding was moving in “the right direction,” and voted yes. It has been a brutal year for local arts. Collier’s arts organizations received no funding at all from the Florida Division of Arts and Culture this year after Gov. Ron DeSantis summarily vetoed all $32 million in funding across the state. Only two organizations that applied under a different category received money. Collier Community Foundation offered help: a $250,000 grant awarded on the basis of need across those organizations. But the organizations are still far behind in funding on both a state and local level.
lack of evidence.
LoCastro, a 24-year Air Force veteran who retired as a colonel, was elected county commissioner in 2020 and is running for another four-year term Nov. 5. As District 1 commissioner, he represents East Naples, Marco Island, Goodland, Isles of Capri and Port of the Islands. A write-in candidate who is not on the ballot is his only challenger.
The alleged incident
In the battery case, Looney called 911 at 10:48 p.m. Oct. 28 and police found her visibly upset, her nose bleeding, bruised forearms, red marks on her left shoulder and leaves in her hair. LoCastro, whose pants leg was torn, had no apparent injuries. The two denied having a physical altercation and she repeatedly told police she fell into the bush, and he’d done nothing wrong. Police determined she was heavily intoxicated, and her speech was slurred. She declined medical attention.
LoCastro told police they had an argument at The London Club on 9th Street South due to her “high level of intoxication” and while settling the bill, she tore his pants. Both told police her bloody nose was due to a deviated septum.
He told police they left and as LoCastro headed north on U.S. 41, she opened the car door, so he pulled onto 1st Avenue South and she fell out, got up and fell into a bush, which scratched her. LoCastro said she fell because she was intoxicated and was wearing high heels on a cobblestone pavement.
Looney got in his car and called 911; dispatchers heard her screaming about their breakup and cursing him. He drove home after getting her an Uber. On Nov. 3, she went to Marco Island Police, saying she was initially afraid to press charges, but changed her mind, claiming he pulled her out of the car and threw her into the bushes.
Mounting evidence ends case Court hearings show Day’s law partners and investigators found evidence Looney had a history of making false claims and reports against men who “rebuffed her advances.” Day said “multitudes of witnesses familiar with her pattern of behavior” were prepared to testify in LoCastro’s defense.
In August, County Judge Rob Crown granted Day’s motion to depose her over the prosecutor’s objections. He had argued that Looney changed her story; that she had accused other men, including her ex-husband, of physical abuse; and that medical records showed she injured her wrist years ago and her nose bleeds often due to a deviated septum.
In a 2020 magazine article, Looney described overcoming an abusive relationship with her ex-husband, who she said beat and injured her, fracturing her wrists as she tried to leave him in 2010, which caused her rheumatoid arthritis. That convinced her to launch her fitness program in 2013. Her ex-husband didn’t respond to calls for comment.
Helene's 'near miss' still affects Naples
Low-lying coastal areas along Naples and Collier County dealt with water, sand, muck and debris pushed inland Sept. 26 from Hurricane Helene, a powerful tropical event that churned heavy wind and rain off Florida's Gulfshore before making a devastating landfall in the Big Bend area.
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Blythe Looney
Flooding on Gulfshore Boulevard near 13th Street South in Naples on Sept. 27. Hurricane Helene, which mostly missed Southwest Florida, brought some flooding and debris to Naples streets, almost two years to the day after Hurricane Ian. Helene devastated Florida’s panhandle and brought major flooding to North Carolina and Georgia, with dozens killed and missing.
Photos by Liz Gorman
the conversion.
“Moorings Park is a significant investor in this,” land-use attorney Rich Yovanovich told planning commissioners, referring to the continuing-care retirement community. “They want to make sure that all of their employees would be eligible, if they meet the income categories to reside on these premises, because not every Moorings Park employee is a nurse.
“Not every Moorings Park employee would meet our typical definition of essential-service personnel commitment for income-restricted units,” he added, referring to 33 apartments. “… We’re going to have long-term leases with employers, and we’ll make sure that their employees meet the income categories.”
The recommendation will go before the Board of County Commissioners for final approval; the growth-management plan amendment requires state approval by the Department of Commerce.
converting the Golden Gate Inn into 230 affordable, contemporary studio apartments. K2’s conversion will add six units to 104 existing rooms and limit occupancy to two.
Moorings Park is an investor with developer K2 Housing Naples LLC, an affiliate of Denver-based K2 Developers, which creates workforce-housing communities nationwide by acquiring motels and hotels that it converts into residential units with kitchenettes. It takes months, a quicker process than ground-up construction, which can take years.
for $7 million. The hotel is currently being used as transitional housing by NCH Health Care System and Moorings Park as part of an earlier K2 conversion. Rooms were set aside for employees on a first-come, first-served basis.
Landscaped buffers will be added and parking will be reconfigured.
County Planning & Zoning Director Mike Bosi told planning commissioners K2 would provide long-term leases and commitments to various employers so they could retain and attract employers, and called the adaptive re-use a good plan. “It highlights the absolute need,” Bosi said.
For the past few years, the county has been requiring developers seeking additional density to set aside 30% of units as affordable, split between 80% and 100% of the area median income (AMI), which is $104,300.
For Tollgate, 12 units will be restricted to rents and incomes less than 80% AMI ($83,440), while 21 will be restricted to rents and incomes less than 100% AMI. The remaining 85 apartments will be limited to rents only, of no more than 120% AMI ($125,160). The restrictions last 30 years, and the county requires advertising that says essential-services personnel get preference over other employees.
A one-bedroom apartment would rent for $1,958, while a studio rental would be $1,828 under 100% AMI. At 80% AMI, a one-bedroom rental would be $1,566 or $1,462 for a studio. At 120 AMI, a studio would rent for $2,193 and a bedroom for $2,349.
The motel is located on the east side of Collier Boulevard near Interstate 75, north of Beck Boulevard. It’s a similar conversion to one being done at the Golden Gate Golf Course by Styx Cos., which is
Now K2, which is working with Bonita Springs-based Ravi Planning + Landscape Architecture, wants to increase the 104-room hotel, which was built in 1990, to 110 units by consolidating and reusing unneeded spaces. Most are 250 square feet and will remain that way.
“Housing has to be affordable, but it’s also going to take a lot of creativity,” Planning Commission member Christopher Vernon said. “It seems to me that this hits that button. It’s a little troubling to me that a lot of our best employers are having to buy property, build buildings or rehab buildings just so they can get people to work here. But this sounds like a solution to that problem, so I think it’s great. I like the concept.” From page 1A
In September 2022, K2 Housing Naples purchased two Tollgate properties totaling just over 5 acres
reasons is the sticker shock at what it costs to either rent or buy a unit.
“And they believe—and other employers believe—that if they can offer this transitional housing opportunity, people will come, they’ll work here and then they’ll find a place where they wish to live and reside in Collier County,” he added.
Planning commissioners unanimously recommended that the 2.06acre site at 208 Palm River Blvd. be rezoned from multifamily to Residential Planned-Unit Development and to amend the county’s Growth Management Plan to add the Palm River Corporate Housing Residential Subdistrict. It would allow up to 41 furnished rentals—eight more than currently allowed—for Arthrex employees and others relocating here, on assignment or undergoing training. If there’s a vacancy and Arthrex doesn’t need it, the apartment would be available to other county employers, including NCH, which once used the property for transitional employees, such as traveling nurses.
A new presence in Palm River Property records show an Arthrex affiliate, Palm River Accommodations LCC, paid $5.75 million in May
2023 for the property. It currently houses a 12-unit multifamily apartment complex in three buildings, with two stories over garages, that were built in 1989; they will be demolished. It’s north of Immokalee Road, near LaPlaya Golf Club in Palm River, and the staff noted that the multifamily development would be consistent with the surrounding neighborhood, the goals and policies of the growth management plan and state statutes.
Current zoning allows 33 units and a 75-foot-high building, but Arthrex is seeking eight additional units in a tiered five-story, 65-foot-high building—four stories over parking. The recommendation will go to the Board of County Commissioners for a public hearing and final approval, and the land change must be accepted by the state Department of Commerce.
The amendment and PUD applications define transitional corporate housing as renting a furnished apartment, condo or home on a temporary basis to employees of companies located in Collier County while seeking permanent housing as an alternative to a traditional apartment, hotel or an extended hotel stay for a minimum of 30 days. Florida statutes allow local governments to adopt small-scale amendments to growth management plans if they affect less than 50 acres.
County officials say Arthrex’s economic benefit to the county totals $2 million. It employs 4,500
The hotel is near the Forest Glen Golf & Country Club and Bishopwood Court East condos, which worked with K2 to satisfy concerns.
in Southwest Florida and 3,800 in Collier County, but Arthrex says it “consistently averages double-digit annual employee growth” and the housing crisis has made it difficult to fill positions.
Staying longer in transition
The length of stay by employees in Arthrex’s 40 current transitional housing properties has increased from about 60 days or less to more than 135 due to challenges finding permanent housing. Arthrex has been using transitional housing units countywide over the past two years, which allows employees to save up for a down payment or a deposit for a permanent dwelling. It added more after Sept. 28, 2022, to help employees displaced by Hurricane Ian.
Arthrex projects transitional housing requests will increase by at least 10% annually, and says that even after building the Palm River transitional units, it will need more. Yovanovich said nine months is the longest employees usually stay in Arthrex’s transitional housing.
“Providing interim corporate housing, which allows many employees to live near each other, allows new employees to meet other similarly situated employees and allows them to assimilate into the Arthrex corporate community,” Arthrex’s petition says.
“This type of interim housing also allows them to become familiar with
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Yovanovich said workers prefer a multifamily apartment over an extended-stay hotel. “There will be significant renovations to the rooms,” he said. “… We anticipate people will be coming and staying and probably at some point moving on to something larger.”
the benefits of living in Collier County. This will result in higher employee satisfaction and assist in retaining employees in Collier County.”
Yovanovich said Arthrex is “thinking outside the box.” The apartments will provide below-market-rate housing for employees at various income levels. Collier County’s market rate ranges from $1,965 monthly for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,379 for a two-bedroom to $2,946 for three bedrooms.
Arthrex’s planner is Q. Grady Minor, engineers are Agnoli Barber & Brundage and JMB Transportation Engineering and the architect is MHK Architecture.
‘A five-story hotel’
Although several Palm River residents emailed concerns, only one neighbor spoke out, a River Royale Condominiums resident who lives closest to the apartments.
“We basically will have had a five-story hotel just plunked in the middle of a pretty quiet residential neighborhood,” said Tim Cannon, a retired Ohio judge whose family bought their home in 1982.
County staff initially recommended denying the project because the county has for several years been requiring developers seeking additional density to reserve 30% of units for affordable housing, which would be 12.3 units for this project. Planning
commissioners also cited other concerns, prompting a discussion. In the end, County Planning & Zoning Director Mike Bosi called the concept a “unique commodity” and said the county would allow it—with provisions. If just one unit isn’t being used as transitional housing by an employee working within the county, the eight additional units would revert to income-restricted rentals for 30 years at 100% of the area median income (AMI) for singles and families. Collier’s AMI is $104,300. At 100%, AMI, rentals would range from $1,958 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,348 for two bedrooms to $2,713 for three.
Palm River Corporate Housing will have to submit annual reports to the county Community & Human Services Division to prove compliance— that employees working in Collier are staying from 30 days to a year, a period that could be extended if more time is needed to build a home or finalize a lease. It could be audited, or if the county questions the length of stay, it could go to the Code Enforcement Board.
Noting that the county requires 30% of units be affordable when seeking increased density, Bosi said this new concept could be explained to county commissioners: “We recognize that there has to be somewhat of an adjustment to the board’s policy.”
Denise Brown is the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, ex-wife of O.J. Simpson who was acquitted of her murder in 1994.
Denise and her sisters were recently featured in a Lifetime docuseries, The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. In the three decades since her sister’s murder, Denise has advocated for victims of domestic violence and helped pass the Violence Against Women Act.
A rts & LEISURE
Ongoing events
Simon’s ‘Rumors’ at Sugden 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays Oct. 2-20 at Kizzie Hall, Sugden Theater, 701 Fifth Ave. S., Naples. Neil Simon wrote only one farce, Rumors, but he gave it every ounce of zaniness he owned. The Naples Players production has fun with characters who pop up and disappear, get involved in elaborate lies and try to explain that pesky sound of gunfire to police. $50-$55. naplesplayers. org or 239.263.7990
Ocean art exhibition
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays through Oct. 31 at Rookery Bay Learning Center, 300 Tower Road, Naples. Curated for the United Nations Ocean Decade, this richly colorful contemporary photography exhibition demonstrates the significance of the ocean in our everyday lives and how we, in turn, influence it. rookerybay.org or 239.530.5972
Shroud of Turin sculpture at Ave Maria
On exhibition indefinitely at Canizaro Exhibit Library, 5050 Ave Maria Blvd., Ave Maria. “The Shroud of Jesus: And the Sign John Ingeniously Concealed” is an exhibition following 40 years of study and research by Gilbert Lavoie, M.D., an author and medical doctor. It includes descriptive panels, a sculpture of the shroud commissioned by Lavoie and a 14foot shroud replica for visitors to view. The exhibition also includes detailed photos of the shroud by photographer Vernon Miller. Free. 239.280.2500
‘Twenty-five Years of Our Collections’ continues
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; 10 a.m.8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 17 at Naples Art Institute, 5858 Park St., Naples. Naples has been home—or winter home—to amazing talent. Renowned contemporary artists including James Rosenquist; national and regional notables such as Elsie Dorey Upham; and self-taught artists and former students have contributed to the collection in Naples Art Institute over the years. Recent additions include photographs by Suzanne Camp Crosby and paintings by Reisha Perlmutter and Carmelo Blandino. A survey of just some of that collection is on display. $15, $10 members. Call for information on docent tours. naplesart.org or 239.262.6517
Ran Adler Art in the Garden Regular garden hours through Oct. 27 in Kapnick Hall and the Fogg Cafe at Naples Botanical Garden, 4820 Bayshore Drive, Naples. “Internalizing the External: A New Perspective on Nature” brings the art of Ran Adler to the Naples Botanical Garden. The exhibition offers a glimpse of the transformation of natural materials when handled with harmony and intention. Garden admission $25 adults, $10 ages 4-17; summer discount for Collier, Lee and Charlotte county residents, $10 adults, $5 ages 4-17. naplesgarden. org or 239.643.7275
Baker Museum: contemporary art, photos 10 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdaysSaturdays, noon-4 p.m. Sundays at The Baker Museum, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. “As We
CALENDAR
27TH ANNUAL MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 3 and 2-3:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. More than 100,000 film lovers in 500+ cities across six continents view and vote on the finalists’ films in the 27th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival, and you can be among the voters. Festival attendees receive a voting card and an official program and asked to vote for the one film and actor they feel should win. Votes are tallied by each host venue and emailed to the festival’s NYC headquarters. Finalists will become eligible to enter the Oscars 2025. $10-$15. marcoislandart.org
Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic” photography from the Wedge Collection, and through Jan. 5, “Becky Suss: The Dutch House,” new paintings inspired by American author Ann Patchett’s 2019 novel, The Dutch House, which chronicles two adult siblings recalling their childhoods and the subsequent dissolution of their family over several decades. $10; full-time student or active military (with I.D.), $5; SNAP benefits (with SNAP EBT card), $1; ages 17 and younger, free. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
This weekend (Oct. 4, 5, 6)
Opening: Arsenault’s South Florida reflections 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays now through Feb. 15 at Marco Island Historical Museum, 180 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island. Artist reception 4-6 p.m. Oct. 17. Name a landmark—in fact, name a secret spot—in Collier County and Paul Arsenault has been there, and with his paintbrushes, creating his own appreciative vision of them. “Reflections of South Florida: A 50-Year Art Adventure” is a retrospective of some of those places, beginning with Marco Island, where he helped inspire the building of the museum that stands there
today. Free. themihs.info/museum/ or 239.389.6447
‘A Few Good Men’ on Marco 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 and 11 and 3 p.m. Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at Marco Island Center for the Arts’ Arts Center Theatre, 1089 N. Collier Blvd. No. 432, Marco Island. Fort Myersbased 7Mary34 Productions brings Aaron Sorkin’s riveting courtroom drama, A Few Good Men, back to the stage, where it began before the Tom Cruise-Jack Nicholson film. The story of two soldiers facing trial for the death of a fellow soldier and the cover-up that is protecting them gets creates emotional intimacy in the live production. $40. marcoislandart.org/arts-centertheatre/ or 239.784.1186
‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’ 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4-5 and 1012, 3 p.m. Oct. 6 and 13 at Joan Jenks Auditorium, Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples. The Studio Players production posits the question: What do you do when the cellphone next to you starts ringing—but its owner has collapsed and died? This slightly dark Sarah Ruhl comedy spins what-ifs for the museum underling who picks up that phone into an intriguing mix-up with the black market, a turbulent free-fall into a
largest remaining old-growth bald cypress forest, thanks to its protection for Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. This is a three-hour tour along the 2.25-mile boardwalk highlighting history, ecology, stories and the ancient cypress trees. There are rest opportunities. $30 for nonCorkscrew members; $27 Audubon and $12 Corkscrew members. corkscrew.audubon.org/events or 239.348.9151
Pepper Ranch Sunflower Viewing
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 9-11 at Pepper Ranch Preserve, 6316 Pepper Road, Immokalee. The annual Pepper Ranch Preserve Southeastern Sunflower Viewing offers a profusion of native sunflowers and photo ops to viewers who drive through any time during those dates, no reservation needed. The weekend views Oct. 12 and 13 do require timed registration and are usually sold out long before their dates; check the website. conservationcollier.com
Corkscrew Night Tour
dysfunctional family and, strangely, romance. $37.75 ($35 phone orders). thestudioplayers.org or 239.398.9192
Thrift Shops North trip
8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, meeting at 5991 Pine Ridge Road, Naples. A thrifting bus dayaway trip will spirit you and your friends, this time north to stops in Englewood, Venice and Sarasota. Thrifting Bus Tours supplies the comfort coach transportation; box lunch including turkey, beef or veggie sandwich or wrap; onboard games and prizes; and the stops— resale shops and thrift stores. Any purchase that could fit in your car can also fit in the bus undercarriage luggage compartment. You can BYOB or bring your soft drink or coffee in your personal cooler.
$75. Tickets at eventbrite.com Information at thriftingbustours. com
Forest bathing experience
9:30-11:30 a.m. Oct. 5 at the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center, 300 Tower Road, Naples. Forest bathing takes you out of the stress zone and into a zen of experiencing the color, the sound, the peace and the natural fragrance of the woods. Research shows it reduces stress, anxiety and depression and improves sleep and immune function, as well as cardiovascular and respiratory health. $50. rookerybay.org or 239.530.5972
27th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival
5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 3 and 2-3:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. See Featured Event.
Next week (Oct. 7-10)
Ancient Forest tour
9 a.m.-noon Monday, Oct. 7, at Audubon’s Blair Visitor Center, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 375 Sanctuary Road W., Naples. Learn about Corkscrew Swamp’s ancient bald cypress forest, the world’s
7:15 p.m. Oct. 9 at Audubon’s Blair Visitor Center, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 375 Sanctuary Road W., Naples. Enjoy a night in the swamp on this Audubon Naturalist guided tour. Your guide will bring you into the areas where nocturnal animals are out and vocal and the sky on a clear night is a huge blanket of stars. A night visit could bring the sounds of calling insects, owls and alligators, along with a surprise or two. $40, $20 ages 12-16. corkscrew.audubon.org/events or 239.348.9151
BYO Bicycle Backcountry Bike Tour
8:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 375 Sanctuary Road W., Naples. A three-hour off-road wilderness and eco-friendly adventure over 8 miles of gravel and dirt paths exploring different habitats found in the 13,000-plus-acre preserve, observing the wildlife and learning about the purpose of the Corkscrew watershed and local history. Ages 16 and up; see the website for selfsupport requirements. $50, $30 ages 16-18. corkscrew.audubon.org/ events or 239.348.9151
Jazz night at the art center
5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. The first Musical Interludes of the season stars guitarist Dan Heck and vocalist and piano virtuoso Rebecca Richardson. The pair bring jazz classics, music from the Great American Songbook and original compositions to performances that have the smooth sophistication of George Benson and Diana Krall. $30, $25 members. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
‘Rest in Paradise’:
A cemetery photo tour
2-3 p.m. Oct. 8 at Collier Museum at Government Center, 3331 Tamiami Trail E., Naples. There are at least a dozen cemeteries in Collier County, from the formality of Palm Royale in Naples to small family plots hidden away in rural corners of the county. At one time the more well-off had their burials in Fort Myers, but many families had no money for that and family members were interred right on the homestead. Museum Director Amanda Townsend offers a photographic tour of our
Alarms, a 17-minute French film, pits workers against each other in a battle over whether to do the job safely or get it finished, as the contractors want; it’s in the Manhattan Short Film Festival this weekend. Publicity photo
“Jungle Trail, Vero Beach” is one of the Paul Arsenault works that depict his Florida in a 50th anniversary exhibition which opened Oct. 1 at the Marco Island Historical Museum. Contributed photo
THEATER WITH A BITE: 3 HIGH-ENERGY PLAYS OPEN
By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
Rip another page off the calendar and you have autumn— and with it, the opening of the season for almost every theater in Naples. Every one of them is starting big, from the Helen Hayes award-winning dive into the surrealistic world summoned by a Dead Man’s Cell Phone to the all-out frantic cover-ups of Rumors to a grim war between justice and the easy exit in A Few Good Men
‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’ at The Studio Players
It has happened to most, if not all, of us: We’ve found ourselves enmeshed in the web of someone else’s family dysfunction, and we have the deluded hope we can help untangle it. Perhaps we were the exchange student in the home that was always on the brink of exploding. Perhaps we worked in the office of a family company for whom the directives were arrows slung back and forth among siblings who had lost the will to communicate directly.
But it’s unlikely we have found ourselves in the situation that Jean does when the man next to her in a restaurant simply will not answer his incessantly ringing cellphone, and the reason turns out to be because he is dead.
And his mother is calling.
Dead Man’s Cell Phone, which opens Friday, Oct. 4, is a play by Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House, In the Next Room [Or The Vibrator Play]). Like her other plays, there’s an overlay of the fantastic—we’ll get to meet the dead man, the shady and venal Gordon. And there’s a good deal of dark humor, as in Jean fighting with a spicy blonde simply known as The Other Woman over Gordon’s briefcase, which holds a black book of organ buyers. The laughs here come from absurdity, and there are abundant helpings to go around.
Delinah Rosario-Mercado, a New York native and FGCU grad, has been moving from musicals to plays, and she’s found comedy every bit as challenging as dance and drama in her role as the central character.
“Usually comedy isn’t what I gravitate toward,” said Rosario-Mercado, whose Jean finds herself being sucked into an emotional abyss, thanks to the constant calls on Gordon’s
cellphone and her hapless tendency to answer them and make promises to each caller. She’s learned to take Jean seriously, even when she is behaving laughably.
“With comedy, the main thing is not to try to be funny. When you try to be funny, it’s a little too much, I’d say.”
“I was very interested in it because I’m certainly anti-cellphone myself, even though I have to live with one and it’s part of my life,” conceded Frank Blocker, who is directing this one and has a playwright’s feel for it; he’s written and produced several himself. As someone who would rather go to the bank to check on a payment than navigate the website on his cellphone, Blocker finds the character’s propulsion into a new and awkward existence a delicious karma of cellphone servitude.
As the dead man’s mother, Mrs. Gottlieb, Melissa Hennig sees the cellphone as her lifeline to her dead son. That makes
the woman who answered it part of her bizarre family, including Gordon’s widow and her other son—who is, in her eyes, far back in second place.
“She’s not very nice,” Hennig confided of her character. But she finds Ruhl’s handling of her characters well honed. With Mrs. Gottlieb, there is a polished veneer of concern: “There’s some major dysfunction going on.”
As Gordon, the dead man, T.J. Albertson gets his turn to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience about his checkered life.
“It’s funny, but also it kind of deals with some existential ideas that I don’t think we talk about enough in media,” he observed of the situations that have been simmering around the dead man.
See THREE PLAYS, Page 10B
Senate hopeful Glenn Cooper (Aseem Upadhyay) and his trophy wife Cassie (Alanna Dachille) don't see
things, and the dinner party in Rumors isn't helping that.
Photo by Olga Hayes
Dwight (Christopher Noonan) is falling for Jean (Delinah Rosario-Mercado) but she has his deceased brother on her mind in Dead Man's Cell Phone Photo by Harriet Howard Heithaus
¡ARTE VIVA! BLOOMS INTO 3RD SEASON WITH HISPANIC ARTS, CULTURE
¡ARTE VIVA!, the celebration of Hispanic culture in Southwest Florida, will return for a third season to celebrate its art, music and dance.
The Naples, Marco and Everglades City Convention and Visitors Bureau has encouraged inclusion of Hispanic themes in the area’s performance season, and arts groups have responded heartily. The bounty includes both performance and visual, from the prize-winning Mariachi Herencia de Mexico at Artis— Naples to an exhibition at the Marco Island Center for the Arts, “Miami to Marco,” with Cuban, Latin American and Hispanic artists.
There is even a South American Trail, with its wildlife area, at the Naples Zoo.
While there are more events that include Hispanic culture, the ones included here emphasize its creativity and depth in collaboration with the 2024-25 season of ¡ARTE VIVA!
‘The Face of Immokalee’: Through July 30 at 200 E. Main St., Immokalee. The public art installation “The Face of Immokalee” by Michelle Tricca champions the Immokalee community and its Hispanic population through a series of larger-than-life black-and-white photographic portraits on two 50-foot walls and two 53-foot semi-truck-trailers owned by the Immokalee-based Lipman Family Farms. Free; open all day.
Naples Zoo’s South America Trail: Zoo hours through July 30 at the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, 1590 Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples. Along with all the Zoo’s other attractions, discover the South America Trail, featuring many new species, including the Baird’s tapir, capybaras, Toco toucan and Southern Screamers. napleszoo.org or 239.315.7626
Día de los Muertos Grass Wall Outdoor Art Installation: Outdoors through Nov. 21 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. Visit the installation of the multidimensional Grass Walls that will be decorated with crafts celebrating the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in the Art Center’s courtyard. Free. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
Honrando Nuestra Historia: Dia de los Muertos Family Fun Day: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct 12 at Marco Island Historical Museum, 180 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island. Part of the Honrando Nuestra Historia Series, this family-friendly event with craft calaveras (skull decorations) and ofrendas (altars) will include the importance of Día de los Muertos and how it differs from Halloween. Free. themihs.info or 239.252.1440
Día de los Muertos Art Exhibition: Gallery hours, Oct. 21-Nov. 11 at Method & Concept, 111 10th St. S., Suite 112, Naples. The exhibition highlights include a large-scale ofrenda (altar), as well as traditional hand-made wares from Mexico. Artist interpretations of the traditional Mexican mask will also be on display. Free. methodandconcept.com or 239.529.2633 Naples Philharmonic Masterworks—
communities’ known final resting places and an update on what’s being done to recognize long-forgotten gravesites you may pass every day. Free. 239.252.8476
Next weekend (Oct. 11, 12, 13)
Adventures in Antiquity Family Day
10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at Collier Museum at Government Center, 3331 Tamiami Trail E., Naples. Ancient civilizations come to life with this family-friendly look at eons past with exhibits and games. After you marvel over the mysteries of mummies, see how fast you can “mummy the dummy.” Build a toothpick-and-marshmallow pyramid; learn the Mesopotamian (cuneiform) way of writing your name in clay; or try your hand at jousting. Free. Especially suited for ages 5-12. colliermuseums.com or 239.252.8476
Dias de los Muertos Family Fun Day
10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at Marco Island Historical Museum, 180 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island. Part of the “Honrando Nuestra Historia” series, this family-friendly event will talk about the importance of Dias de los Muertos and how they differ from Halloween. There are crafts with calaveras (skull decorations) and ofrendas (altars). Bilingual instructions will be available. colliermuseums.com or 239.252.1440
Plan ahead
‘Electoral College--Obsolete or Absolutely Necessary?’
6-8 p.m. Oct. 15 at The Village Spot, 3150 Village Walk, Naples. The Center for Critical Thinking, which discusses potent issues of the day, begins its season with Carole C. Leher presenting the pros and cons of this decision-making institution that has been so critical, and so embattled, over the last several elections. $39.95 includes buffet dinner, gratuity,
Pablo Sáinz-Villegas: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1-2 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. The Naples Philharmonic Masterworks series begins with Pablo Sáinz-Villegas on guitar with the Naples Philharmonic and Artistic and Music Director Alexander Shelley. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Día de los Muertos Experience: 7-10 p.m. Nov. 1 at Method & Concept, 111 10th St. S., Suite 112, Naples. An evening event for Dia de los Muertos transforming the Method & Concept gallery into a Mexican market with themed artwork, festive décor, Mexican food and drink and live mariachi bands. $50-$75. eventbrite.com
Community Day Celebrating Dia de los Muertos: Noon-4 p.m. Nov. 2 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Hands-on activities in The Baker Museum, musical performances and special activities throughout the day including music, activities and vendors that celebrate Mexican culture. Free. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Mariachi Herencia de Mexico: 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Romantic, passionate, emotional and expressive, the 14-member mariachi band celebrates Mexican tradition and culture through song and music, transporting listeners to the rural streets of Guadalajara during its New Generation Tour. $49-$75. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Musical Interludes with Leslie Cartaya: 5:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. Grammy and Latin Grammy nominee singer-songwriter Leslie Cartaya, a native of Cuba, performs a wide range of repertoire from danceable Latin rhythms to soothing sounds that incorporate salsa, son, rumba, reggae, more. $25-$30. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
Encanto—The Sing-Along Film Concert: 7 p.m. Nov. 27 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Experience Disney’s Encanto in Hayes Hall with a sing-along to the Academy Award-winning film and Banda de la Casita performing its hits: “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” “Surface Pressure” and “Dos Oruguitas.” $39-$89. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer—'Obra Sonora’: Museum hours Dec. 7-June 15 at The Baker Museum, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. This multimedia exhibition includes works from the Mexican-Canadian multimedia artist such as Atmosphonia, a sound and light environment featuring 3,000 audio channels playing back natural field recordings. $10, $5 students and military with ID, $1 SNAP card holders. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900 Los Lobos: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. The Mexican-American rock band Los Lobos (“La Bamba”). Offering a blend of tunes from the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic that catapulted them into international stardom, as well as the music that has won them four Grammys. $55-$85. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
presentation and discussion. Reservations at centerforcriticalthinking.com
Golf and good times for the arts
2-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Marco Island Golf and Garden, 971 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. It’s an afternoon of miniature golf, entertainment and community spirit at the Marco Island Golf and Garden to raise funds for the Marco Island Center for the Arts and the Arts Center Theatre. You need not be a golfer; if your skills aren’t so great with a 9-iron, you still may have the eye to get that ball through the mazes on the course. Afterward, at the Marco Island Center for the Arts, there are games, art activities, wine and lemonade, music by Joe Byrne, prizes, a raffle and more. Adults $25, ages under 12 $15. Tickets, hole sponsorship or information at marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
Cocktails for a Cause
5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Artis—Naples Event Center, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Collier Resource Center, a nonprofit
dedicated to connecting individuals and families with essential health and human service resources at no charge, is hosting its annual Cocktails for a Cause. The party includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, a top-shelf open bar, music,
Rookery Bay Classic Car Show has more than 100 cars representing everything from pre-1930s antiques to icons from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, muscle cars from the ’60s and ’70s and exotic/high performance race cars from yesterday and today. The day will include food and specialty vendors, family-friendly activities and entertainment. Admission to the pet-friendly car show is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 3-12 and free for children 3 and younger. The organization is seeking cars for the show; car registration will be $35 per vehicle on event day or $25 per vehicle at
Special to the Naples Press
CRAB FLEET GIVEN BLESSINGS
By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
two-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene—saw about a half-dozen boats with their crews blessed and attracted a crowd of about 100 visitors to the docks around Camellia Street Grille where the festivities took place. Kirk said more fishermen from up the Gulf coast had planned to attend but couldn’t because of Hurricane Helene.
about the industry as the stone crab season—which runs from mid-October to May 1—gets underway, according to Kelly Kirk, director of the Florida Stone Crabbers Association. This year’s event on Sept. 28—held on the
She said that in the early years of the event, the blessing of the fleet was primarily a way for the area’s commercial fishing families to celebrate the start of the season with prayers for protection and prosperity from local pastors. Through the years, Kirk said, the event has grown into an opportunity for people to understand exactly what goes into providing the
stone crab claws that are such a popular delicacy on Florida restaurant menus during season.
“So many customers who enjoy stone crabs throughout the state don’t realize what goes into stone crabbing; they don’t realize the full picture of it,” Kirk said in an interview prior to the event. “Being able to open the blessing of the fleet up to people that just like to eat stone crabs, and not restricting it to any one group of people, I think has given even a lot of our locals a bit more insight into our industry.” Kirk, along with FLSCA co-directors Carrie Doxsee and Holly Levingston-Dudley, advocates for stone crabbers in the face of increasing regulation of the industry, and said she wants the public to understand that commercial fishermen are conservationists. She sees
the blessing of the fleet as a good way to convey that message.
“We can’t earn a living off the water without protecting what we’re harvesting,” Kirk said.
“And they might look a little gruff around the edges or it might be intimidating to see them on their big boats out there, but they’re stewards of the land and some of the most knowledgeable people that you’ll ever meet.
“I think a lot of people [really enjoy getting the chance to talk to them, to see a boat up close and personal and see the families that ride in on the boat,” Kirk said. “It’s not just one guy that drives a boat—it’s a whole family operation behind it. It’s something that we’re so passionate about because it’s our whole lives, and our whole world is around stone crabbing.”
Endangered Species, a stone crab boat, is moored to a dock in Everglades City before the Blessing of the Stone Crab Fleet on Sept. 28. Photos by Liz Gorman
Monsignor Tim Naven of San Marco Catholic Church, left, and Associate Pastor Craig Daniels of Chokoloskee Family Church bless
boat with a prayer and holy water at the Blessing of the Stone Crab Fleet.
Pastor Jesse Wilson of Chokoloskee Family Church leads a prayer before the Blessing of the Stone Crab Fleet.
Ramon Gomez, left, and Rene P., who both work on a stone crab boat, stand outside the Camellia Street Grill in Everglades City during the Blessing of the Stone Crab Fleet.
Monsignor Tim Naven of San Marco Catholic Church blesses a stone crab boat with holy water on Sept. 28.
Senne, on
COMICS & PUZZLES
Posting Date September 30, 2024
1. MOVIES: Which animated film was the first to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture?
2. SCIENCE: What is a common name for the Aurora Borealis?
3. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the third U.S. president?
4. GEOGRAPHY: Where are the Maldives (islands) located?
5. MUSIC: Who was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
6. TELEVISION: What is Dorothy's job on "The Golden Girls"?
7. MATH: Which number doesn't have a Roman numeral equivalent?
8. LITERATURE: In the Harry Potter series of novels, what was Lord Voldemort's name before he changed it?
9. ANIMAL KINGDOM: Which dog breed doesn't "bark"?
Fastener that’s one letter ahead of ‘‘U-bolt’’ in the dictionary
Org. with the Artemis program
What a police escort may offer
Classic cover-ups for spies
Fumble or
of everyday life,’’ per Picasso
78 Lane for carpoolers
79 Six-foot-tall Aussie sprinter
80 Grows dimmer
81 ‘‘Are you ____ drive?’’
82 Certain online video snippet
GOLFERS SEE BETTER SCORES WITH HELP FROM HIGH TECH
Whether providing personalized technique tips or golf clubs for their members, the efforts of local golf pros are being enhanced more and more by high-tech, stateof-the-art systems. Here are some of the many current examples of such applications.
The Golf Learning Center opened at The Club at Mediterra in 2007 “principally as a hitting bay area,” said Kevin Swan, a PGA Master Professional and director of golf operations. “Its growth since then has been phenomenal.”
Located at the south end of its double-sided driving range, the facility recently added its second Trackman launch monitor, the club’s third device of its kind. It also offers a Flight Scope launch monitor, V1 Sports golf video analysis with a pressure mat and leading club-fitting systems, featuring covered hitting bays—all to help members achieve their maximum potential, especially when playing on the club’s two 18-hole courses.
“They can be integrated and are very helpful,” said director of instruction Adam Bazalgette, adding that video analysis serves more as a teaching aid while the Trackman devices are especially helpful in recommending the best golf club.
Grey Oaks Club, with three 18-hole cours-
es, launched its Performance Center 10 years ago. It has offered the Inrange technology, a practice simulation system, since 2021. It encompasses 30 separate stations—including each tee on its driving range, four covered hitting bays and two open-air GO Play bays—where members can use a special app on their iPhones to monitor their ball flight,
speed, distance, height, spin and more.
“Members can also rent the open-air bays for parties. It’s driving range entertainment,” said Bob Usher, director of instruction for 14 years. “They love it. It’s been so popular we’re also forming a special league for them to enjoy it even more.”
The center also has V1 Sports golf video
analysis; pressure mat analysis that measures the positions of three different centers of pressure throughout the golf swing; and SAM PuttLab, a comprehensive putting analysis system.
The Pelican Marsh Golf Club, which upgraded its 18-hole course this summer, launched a practice facility and learning center in its back range area last February. “We talked about it for five years,” said Nick Baumhart, a 15-year pro at the club and director of instruction since 2021. “It’s a dream come true.”
Features include the Trackman program that helps “detect motion, impact positions, club speed, what the ball spin rate is, what part of the club face is meeting the ball and more;” a pressure mat that “helps provide clarity on their foot positioning and setting up for the swing;” and a 4-D motion sensor system that “shows on TV what the body is doing. We’ve received great feedback from members.”
He added that the club expects to install a second Trackman system by early next year that’ll be used for member entertainment, as well.
“I’ve always left lessons with Nick with a specific helpful tip,” said Jim Cattano, both a club member and board of governors member. “Now, the combination of visuals and verbal information is even more beneficial.”
By Randy Kambic
Director of Golf Operations Kevin Swan demonstrates the high-tech systems of The Club at Mediterra's Golf Learning Center. Photos by Randy Kambic
Two Grey Oaks Club members have their golf swings analyzed in an Inrange GO Play pergola.
Photo courtesy Grey Oaks Club
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SPORTS
AN ODE AND APOLOGY TO OFFICIALS
Speaking of Sports
David Wasson
I have a confession to make. When I would take my then-very young daughter to ballgames— sometimes ones I was working, sometimes for funsies—I would educate her on some of the nuances of various sports. Which invariably included yelling at the officials. We would boo the umps. We would chide the refs. We would poke fun at anyone out there with stripes on who also wore glasses. There were plenty of “Three Blind Mice” references and good-natured allusions to just how much those guys have *got* to be getting paid by the other team for all those bad calls!
The problem with effectively programming my kid to carry a healthy disdain for the “third team” on whatever field or court
From page 4B
VIVA!
where we were spectating was that, well, it completely disregards the fact that those folks down there are doing the very best they can … and for not a whole lot of money.
In fact, well before the anecdote above, I actually officiated sports—called some high school volleyball and baseball, along with a few years of adult-league softball. It was equal parts a fun time and a way to earn a couple extra bucks, and I mainly tuned out the idiots like future me and my kid with an internal chuckle.
I bring all this up because I watch a lot of high school football every year, and can’t help noticing the generally good job officials do in administering a progressively faster and more challenging game. Football, perhaps you’ve noticed, is a high-intensity sport—and the third team on the field must fairly and evenly adjudicate the rules even as the athletes are getting bigger and quicker.
The folks from the Greater Na-
Naples Philharmonic Masterworks: Carmen and Ephemerae: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9 and 11 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. The Naples Philharmonic with Spanish guest artist, pianist Javier Perianes, Alexander Shelley conducting. Perianes performs Ephemerae, from Peruvian composer Jimmy López Bellido; the philharmonic, Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1. $15-$83. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Musical Interludes—Terra Guitarra: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 23, at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. Master guitarist Bruce Hecksel and singer-songwriter Julie Patchouli blend mu-
From page 3B
ples Officials Association, under the direction of president Robb Mackett, are the ones who don the stripes and strap themselves to whistles every Friday night across Collier County. They call 15-20 games per week in across all levels and have close to 60 officials—the latter figure not nearly enough to handle the workload.
“I’d like to see at least 70 in Collier County,” Mackett said to me recently. “There are about 50 that can do a varsity game, and others working their way up on a middle school, freshman and JV level. We brought in seven new officials this year, which is really low despite our efforts to recruit more new officials. We could use a new class every year of a dozen.”
The teams you see on Friday night make $125 each, paid out by the home school for every game. And contrary to the thinking of idiots (like me with my kid …) in the stands, they train a lot for these games, including FCA summer
sic from their two musical projects, Patchouli and Terra Guitarra, to bring a fusion of Spanish and world guitar instrumentals and vocal harmonies. $25-$30. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
Latin Surrealism—An ¡ARTE VIVA! Exhibition: Center hours, March 3-31, at Norris Community Center, 755 Eighth Ave. S., Naples. United Arts Collier presents this exhibition celebrating Latin American heritage, featuring works in the spirits of artists such as Leonora Carrington, Frida Kahlo, Wilfredo Lam and Salvador Dali. Free. naplesgov.com/ parksrec/ or 239.213.3058
Man of La Mancha: Various times March 12-April 13 at Sugden Community Theatre, 701 Fifth Ave. S., Naples. Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-century masterwork Don Quixote and set during the Spanish Inquisi-
As an actor, he loves Ruhl’s writing, he added: “I think she’s such a great playwright because she writes with perfect precision—commas, like a dash, a period, everything is a moment. You as an actor just have to memorize those moments and then put your own little spin on them.”
Where: Joan Jenks Auditorium, Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples
Tickets/how to buy: $35, $37.75 online; thestudioplayers. org or 239.398.9192
‘Rumors’ at The Naples Players
What should be a well-mannered and slightly stuffy dinner turns out to be a clown bus of an evening when the host goes missing, or so most of the guests think. New York Vice Mayor Charley Brock has shot himself in the head—actually just the earlobe, but how would that look in the morning papers?
In between the cover-ups, guests arrive with their own woes: a car accident, a less than cordial relationship between a senate hopeful and his argumentative date and the realization that the Brocks’ staff have walked out on them. Charley’s well-meaning friend, in the meantime, has set the gun off accidentally and turned himself deaf.
Then the police arrive, and the cover-up stories pile up thicker than down comforters at a white sale. It’s the only farce from Neil Simon, but a rich one.
“I think the play is very funny. It deals with social status and the rumor mill and people ... trying to protect their self-image, keeping up appearances. It’s really a satire on that, I would say,” observed James Duggan, who’s directing this one.
“The toughest part, as always, is the science behind the comedy. It’s moving as an ensemble—the timing, the rhythm. A lot of people think, watching it, that comedy should be easy. But it really does take a certain skill level, and for people who don’t innately have that, it’s very hard to teach,” he said. “It’s the director’s challenge.”
Even in a comedy, he added, people have to be serious about their character. Duggan quizzes his actors on why their characters do or say something until they feel they understand their
camps and preseason games and in-season training.
“The thing I am most proud about our organization is the mentorship that is provided by our veteran officials to our new officials,” Mackett said. “They take the field their first times and they will always have a mentor standing behind them to help guide them and help them learn the system until they are able to be on their own.”
It helps that GNOA has the support of Collier County Public Schools, the coaches at the area high schools, athletic directors and principals—because they know that without competent officials, games simply don’t happen.
“All of these people, I’m proud to say, recognize how much time, effort and energy is put into becoming a proficient football official,” Mackett said. “They are all very supportive and we are treated very well by all of them.”
Mackett stressed, too, that the camaraderie that comes with being
tion, this is The Naples Players’ production of the musical story of the elderly knight on a quest to right the wrongs in the world. naplesplayers.org or 239.263.7990
Naples Philharmonic Masterworks: Gabriela Montero: 7:30 p.m. April 3-4 at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Venezuelan guest artist Gabriela Montero performs a program of Strauss, Mozart and Prokofiev with the Naples Philharmonic, Alexander Shelley conducting. $15-$79. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
‘Miami to Marco’ Exhibition: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays May 5-July 9 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. “Miami to Marco” is a collaborative exhibition with the Cuban, Latin American and Hispanic artists that are featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art of the
character enough to be them.
It’s Duggan’s fifth show as a director for The Naples Players, his first in the remodeled, expanded for Naples Players’ mainstage theater.
“First of all, I feel fortunate any time I get to direct,” he said. “But directing in the Kizzie is just exhilarating. Even though it’s bigger, it didn’t lose the charm or the intimacy of that space—the sound technician, Brad, (Bradley van Houten) always has our back covered.”
Among other improvements, the theater has invested in a state-of-the-art system that brings the sound to the back row with a front-row clarity. All the better to hear those gunshots— unlike the characters in Rumors, who claim to have not heard a thing.
When: 7:30 Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays now through Oct. 20
Where: Sugden Theater, 701 Fifth Ave. S., Naples Tickets/how to buy: $50-$55; naplesplayers.org or 239.263.7990
‘A
an official is more than most expect when they first sign on.
“Within the organization, it becomes a brotherhood, and some of the best people and best friends you’ll ever meet in your life are the people you’re officiating with,” Mackett said. “They come from all walks of life, all types of professionals, and we are treated as brothers and sisters in our association.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the Greater Naples Officials Association, perhaps to learn how to become an official in any sport it administers, go online to gnoa.info more details.
And when you’re there, let the stripes know I apologize for all those catcalls from the stands.
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.
Americas, Miami. Free. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
Naples Invitational: Center hours July 12-Sept. 14 at the Naples Art Institute, 795 Park St., Naples. The second edition of the Naples Invitational exhibition will highlight the significance of Hispanic arts within the community, including a special IN FOCUS installation in the lobby. naplesart.org or 239.262.6517
The ¡ARTE VIVA! promotion recently earned the CVB two SUNsational Awards from the Florida Festivals and Events Association for its Meet the Artist video series and for its promotional merchandise. For more information or participation, contact John Melleky, Arts and Culture manager, for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB at john.melleky@colliercountyfl.gov
Director-producer Trace Talley saw A Few Good Men as a high school freshman when the Broadway drama came to the Kennedy Center in 1989. Three years later, the blockbuster movie version with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson became the identifying standard for the early Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing”).
But Talley never forgot the live drama, and it’s one of the first plays his 7Mary34 Productions is bringing back to the stage, including the Arts Center Theatre on Marco Island. The story of two soldiers court-martialed for a murder who choose to fight it rather than plead for a lighter sentence implicates higher authorities, hidden ones who are not easy to defy, behind their motives.
Talley specializes in sound and tech work for theaters, but can’t stay away from the footlights as a producer—and in this case, as one of the actors—in small-stage, actor-centric works. The Fort Myers-based 7Mary34 Productions brought a compact version of White Christmas to Marco last year, and it succeeded well enough that the company is back, albeit with a much different offering.
In fact, White Christmas—which also had a military undercurrent—gave Talley the motivation to produce this play.
“When I realized I could, I knew that I wanted to do A Few Good Men,” he said. “The thing about the show is that it puts the movie on a much more personal footing. You can’t really pause it or turn away from it. What’s going to happen is what’s going to happen.
“I think the emotion in that room, because it’s right there in front of you and it’s in a much smaller space, to me, is more intense. It’s a story about honor and justice and the things we do to accomplish our goals, whether they’re right or wrong.”
What it reinforces to him, he said, “is that the brave men and women who serve our country are also people. They react differently in certain situations, and we have to remember that they have dignity and humanity, as well.”
To that end, the Marco Island Center for the Arts, which operates Arts Center Theatre, is offering a discount to veterans, active and retired. They’re asked to use the code MILITARY to receive a $5 discount on each ticket and bring their valid U.S. Government-issued military ID (active duty, active reserved, retired or dependents) to the box office to verify the discount.
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 and 11; 3 p.m. Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13
Where: Marco Island Center for the Arts’ Arts Center Theatre, 1089 N. Collier Blvd. No. 432, Marco Island. Tickets/how to buy: $40. marcoislandart.org/arts-center-theatre/ or call 239.784.1186
Lt. Col. Nathan Jessup (Jesse Stauffer) is getting the screws tightened on him by Lt. Dan Kaffee (Pete Fisher), attorney for two soldiers accused of murder, under the observant eye of Lt. Jack Ross (Trace Talley) in A Few Good Men Photo courtesy 7Mary34 Productions
Game on!
Catch the live action of
WEEK 1 - Aug. 23
WEEK 2 - Aug. 30
WEEK 3 - Sept. 8
WEEK 4 - Sept. 13
WEEK 5 - Sept. 20
WEEK 6 - Sept. 27
WEEK 7 - Oct. 4
WEEK 8 - Oct. 11
WEEK 9 - Oct. 18
WEEK 10 - Oct. 25
WEEK 11 - Nov. 1
WEEK 12 - Nov. 8
North Fort Myers at Cape Coral 7 | 0
Barron Collier at Naples 7 | 58
Fort Myers at Cypress Lake 55 | 28
Aubrey Rogers at Palmetto Ridge 21 | 20
Cypress Lake at Riverdale 27 | 43
Bishop Verot at First Baptist Academy 34 | 28
Naples at Fort Myers 7:30 pm
Naples at South Fort Myers 7:30 pm
Lely at Naples 7:30 pm
Mariner at Cape Coral 7:30 pm
South Fort Myers at Lely 7:30 pm
Playoff game, TBA 7:30 pm
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