Co-founders Gus Evans and Scott Moore opened their first Maple Street community store in Jacksonville in late 2012. Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel purchased Maple Street Biscuit in 2019.
The chain is in nine Southern states and expanded into Ohio last year. It has more than 60 locations, the nearest of which are in Sarasota and Pembroke Pines.
Known for its biscuits and gravy, Maple Street has a menu with biscuit sandwiches, waffles, bowls and tacos, as well as beverages that include a variety of coffee drinks, peach-berry lemonade and mimosas. The Squawking Goat, which was featured on the Food Network, is a biscuit sandwich
FLOOD PROTECTION, GULFSHORE BEAUTY
Stormwater project to reduce flooding without industrial eyesore
By Aisling Swift
Jon and Rebecca Zoler didn’t want ugly stormwater pipes, pumps and generators to destroy their beautiful beach and Gulf views. They worked with the city of Naples for two years to change the industrial look of a proposed pump station.
In August 2022, Council had voted 4-3 to approve Erickson Consulting Engineer’s plans, despite Jon Zoler branding them an “enormous monstrosity” that would ruin the charm of Old Naples.
The Zolers, who purchased their $6.9 million Third Avenue North home for $1.4 million in 2004, were shocked at the plans, so they developed images to show city officials what the
GROWTH OF BIKES, E-BIKES, SCOOTERS PROMPTS NAPLES TO MULL NEW CODES
By Aisling Swift
Bayfont residents Maria Mair and husband Andrew don’t have cars. Instead, they ride one of their six bicycles or a Segway to get around Naples.
Last week, Maria Mair hopped on her Segway and rode a mile along city sidewalks and across streets to Naples City Hall to speak to City Council, which is considering updating its codes to control the growth of bicycles, e-bikes, Segways and other micromobility devices.
“I run, walk, bike and scooter,”
Mair told Council at the Oct. 14 workshop, noting she uses a bell to alert others she’s passing on the left. “Every single day I go shopping on my bikes. I go all the way up to Publix, I go all the way to dentist appointments up to 4 or 5 miles away. … I use the roads as if I’m driving a car.”
Mair rides on U.S. 41, but uses sidewalks on Goodlette-Frank Road, and when she runs between 6 and 7 a.m., she said most bicyclists don’t use lights or bells to alert others. She suggested groups who rent
finished project would really look like.
“They didn’t know what they were buying,” Jon Zoler explained, calling the original 18foot pump and 40-foot concrete platform design “ugly beyond belief.”
The Zolers and some of the 18 other residents who hired local attorney Matthew Mc-
STORMWATER, Page 7A See WHEELS, Page 5A
DEVELOPER GETS GREEN LIGHT ON LUXURY PROJECT
By Aisling Swift
After suing the city of Naples, an Aspen-based developer’s plans were approved, paving the way for a luxury project of condominiums, boutique retailers and restaurants that will serve as a gateway to downtown.
Naples City Council unanimously approved a subdivision replat that changes the boundaries of the 900 block of Fifth Avenue South, 936 Fifth Ave. S. and Sixth Avenue South, nearly 2.5 acres of a 4.32-acre
site owned by Colorado-based M Development as 5th Avenue South Holdings LP. The approval formalizes terms of a June 19 lawsuit settlement. That agreement reduces intensity, improves traffic circulation and agrees alleyways and rights of way won’t be vacated — allowing them to be used for public utilities and a tree-shaded pedestrian shopping walkway. Key terms involved dropping plans for underground parking and big-box retailers, including
DEVELOPMENT, Page 11A
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Forum on Four: A Community Conversation
There is much misinformation and confusion regarding Amendment Four, which will be on the ballot Nov. 5. Many people may feel strongly about their views on Amendment Four, but also want to be more fully informed before they vote. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples will host the free event Forum on Four: A Community Conversation 11:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at 6340 Napa Woods Way, Naples. The focus will be on the effect of a “yes” vote or a “no” vote on this amendment for all citizens. Speakers will discuss three aspects of this amendment: The medical, legal and political. Moderator: Rebeca Seitz, 1C Story Network. Medical: Betsy Brothers, MD, on the real medical implications of a 6-week ban. Legal: James R. Chillemi, Esq., Colosseum Counsel, PLLC, on government interference in health decisions and legal implications of passing or not passing the amendment. Political: Kait Thomson, Yes on 4 Board, on the pros and cons of yes or no votes on the amendment. Q&A will follow these presentations. Please arrive by 11:15 a.m. Parking and security on-site.
Khalilah Camacho Ali to join Naples CEOs at leadership event
Khalilah Camacho Ali, actress, author, motivational speaker and former wife of Muhammad Ali, will be a special guest at LIVE2LEAD 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 1 at Off the Hook Comedy Club, 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Unit 1100, in North Naples. LIVE2LEAD is an annual global leadership and personal growth event developed by Maxwell Leadership. In addition to Ali, the leadership forum features John C. Maxwell alongside a panel of thought leaders via simulcast, followed by a panel of in-person CEOs representing Collier County businesses. Proceeds will benefit the Lead with Love Foundation.
Guadalupe Center to host Elevate gala Jan. 10
Guadalupe Center will host its annual fundraising gala, Elevate, at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón. This year’s theme, Elevate the Dream, reflects Guadalupe Center’s goal of creating endless possibilities for students in Immokalee by providing access to high-quality education and life-changing academic opportunities. Guests will enjoy cocktails, dinner, inspiring talks, a student performance, a live auction and post-event entertainment. Guadalupe Center’s annual Jump Up for Education, an interactive call to action in which attendees can donate
and show their support, will provide additional funding for programs. Individual tickets for the black-tie gala are $750.
Our Daily Bread awarded grant to expand school programs
Our Daily Bread Food Pantry received a $10,000 grant from the Marco Island Community Fund of Collier County Community Foundation. The funds will support providing fresh and nutritious food options for a total of 100 new student participants at Tommie Barfield Elementary and Marco Island Academy. For the 2024-25 academic year, the food pantry will expand its roster to seven local schools, serving 700 food-insecure students through recurring weekly deliveries.
Baker Senior Center receives $5K grant
Baker Senior Center Naples was awarded a $5,000 grant from Senior Friendship Centers Foundation to support its recently introduced Memory Cafe program. The monthly Memory Cafe provides a welcoming and supportive environment for older adults living with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias and their caregivers. The program combines onsite activities at Baker Senior Center Naples and field trips to provide social engagement and respite from the effects the disease has on the daily lives of attendees.
Greater Naples Chamber supports recovery from Hurricane Milton
Greater Naples Chamber is offering support to help businesses and community organizations as Southwest Florida recovers from Hurricane Milton. The chamber reached out to the business community leading up to and immediately following Hurricane Milton to provide resources to support recovery efforts. The organization launched a survey to assess the fallout on the business community. Businesses are encouraged to complete the survey, which will be used to focus on business recovery efforts.
Humane Society Naples relocates animals following Hurricane Milton
Nearly 200 animals from shelters in Hurricane Milton-affected areas were transported by plane from Sarasota to receiving shelters across the Midwest. Humane Society Naples sent 14 animals to Adopt Pet Shelter in Wisconsin, and Collier County Domestic Animal Ser-
vices and Gulf Coast Humane Society also sent animals. These transfers allow Southwest Florida shelters to make room to receive animals from storm-impacted partner organizations, Humane Society officials said. Humane Society Naples locations sustained no structural damage or flooding from Milton, said CEO Sarah Baeckler. Prior to the hurricane, the organization evacuated all animals from its main shelter on Airport-Pulling Road in Naples to foster homes and to HSN’s Oaks campus, located east of Interstate 75, where staff remained throughout the storm to provide on-site care.
Cancer Alliance Network’s Retro Revival celebration set for Nov. 3
A Southwest Florida nonprofit dedicated to supporting local cancer patients on their healing journeys is hosting its Retro Revival celebration of the ’70s and ’80s as its signature fall fundraiser. The Cancer Alliance Network benefit will take place 5-8 p.m. Nov. 3 at Kalea Bay, 13910 Old Coast Road in Naples. CAN is devoted to providing dignity to local cancer patients and their families in Collier and Lee counties through financial aid, resources and support. The Retro Revival fundraiser will include a dinner buffet, a top-shelf open bar and dancing.
Salvation Army’s Rally for Good car show fundraiser set for Nov. 9
Salvation Army of Collier County and Ultimate Garages will host their sixth annual Rally for Good car show and fundraiser 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 9 at 1472 Airport-Pulling Road S. in Naples. The event will display exotic and custom cars, and provide live entertainment, food trucks and family-friendly activities. All proceeds will benefit Salvation Army of Collier County Fran Cohen Youth Center and youth programs.
Tickets on sale for annual Farm-City BBQ
Tickets are on sale for the 67th Annual Farm-City BBQ taking place 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at Collier County Fairgrounds, 751 39th Ave. NE in Naples. The charitable event features elected officials volunteering as celebrity servers handing out steak, corn, a salad made from Immokalee-grown vegetables and other lunch items. The $30 ticket includes beer, wine, raffles and music. The fundraiser benefits local youth programs at Collier County 4H Association, Collier County Junior Deputies League, Kiwanis’ Key Clubs and Youth Leadership Collier. For more information, call 239.262.0015.
COLLIER NOW
GOVERNMENT EDUCATION HEALTH
EKOS ALLEGRO OPENS, PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR SENIORS
By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
With affordable housing for the workforce and low-income seniors a top priority in Collier County, the opening of Ekos Allegro in early October was a welcome sign that progress is being made.
The opening of the 160-unit apartment complex for fixed-income seniors was made pos-
sible by the first-ever loan from Collier Community Foundation’s Collier Housing Impact Investment Fund, which incentivizes the development of affordable housing. CCF’s loan of $1.3 million to Ekos Allegro developer McDowell Housing Partners to cover impact and utility connection fees meant that the opening would not be delayed another four to five months.
That was good news for Ekos Allegro residents — including Daniel Mullins
him.
In an interview the day after moving into Ekos Allegro, Mullins, a Vietnam veteran who served in Special Forces, said being able to rent an apartment in the complex makes him feel grateful to the organizations that worked to-
gether to make it possible.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing for the community, because Naples is so expensive to live if you don’t have a good job,” Mullins said. “I don’t know how people can survive here if you don’t have a really good job. It didn’t use to be that way, but it is now.”
The apartments at Ekos Allegro are restricted to those with income between 33% and 60%
Newest Naples Square revision approved
By Aisling Swift
More than a decade after its first approval, Naples Square is continuing to grow as a luxury mixed-use development.
On Oct. 16, Naples City Council voted 6-1, with Mayor Teresa Heitmann voting nay, to approve a downsizing of a proposed restaurant on nearly an acre, Tract C-1, at 325 12th Street S. The mayor cited concerns about condo owners in a neighboring building viewing mechanical equipment on the roof, although they will be screened.
It’s one of the largest developments in Naples’ history, with some of the largest condos, and Heitmann cast the sole nay vote in 2013, opposing the rezoning of nearly 11 acres off Goodlette-Frank Road.
“We’re getting to the point where we’re finally building out this piece of property that used to be a lot of sand and dirt,” Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison said, adding that stormwater runoff used to pool in that dirt.
By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
Two weeks after Hurricane Milton blew along the Gulf coast, your landscaping still looks as if someone spray-painted half of it with chocolate milk. Your patience with waiting for regrowth has grown thinner than the stems left on your penta plants. But two people who deal with both daily are telling you to let nature take its course a little longer.
“Give it some time,” advised Ryan Czaplewski, commercial horticulture agent for the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) extension office. He suggests a couple of months of patience for slow-rebloomers among your shrubs and trees.
“We’ve seen browning on one side, some on entire trees, especially the cypress,” he said. “But cypress naturally turn brown in November or December.” The punches from Hurricanes Helene and Milton have simply ramped up the change, he explained. Queen palms also have lower wind tolerance and show the effects.
“We think a lot of it has to do with wind damage. We can’t rule out aerosol salt damage; you’ll have salt that gets in the air. We definitely think that’s an issue on some trees, especially near the coastline. There could even be abrasions from particles that get blown up, like sand or silt,” he said.
Nicholas Ewy, director of collections for the Naples Botanical Garden, agreed the wind is the first villain, with salt an accomplice. Both were made more powerful by the fact the winds were hitting shrubs
and trees that had already had some drying from weeks without rain before the hurricanes. “Once you have a combination of your dry, strong winds and salty air, you’re going to get a lot of leaf burn.”
The extent of the damage depended in part on location: “If there were some buildings around them, there was some buffering and those didn’t get so much of an effect,” he said. Plants and trees that suffered some storm surge with salty water around their roots, however, are in double trouble.
Both emphasized two words: Watch. And water.
Watch: It’s months, not weeks
Think more in terms of two months, rather than two weeks, they said.
“They’ll sacrifice their leaves, but the majority of the trees that were healthy will flush back out over time. Some will flush back quicker than others,” Ewy said.
“What you want to do is let the leaves fall. It’s the plant’s natural response to stressors,” said Czaplewski. “It just may not be the prettiest December we’ll ever see, but we will get some new growth. I feel pretty positive about that. We’ll get some new growth on these plants, and they’ll be OK.”
“You might get some tip die-back on the more sensitive plants — one or two inches,” said Ewy. Those can be cut back with some discretion, but he warned that it’s “probably not a good time to be doing heavy pruning anyway, because we’re going into the winter season here.”
Naples Square, at the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Goodlette-Frank Road, was first approved by Council in 2013 as a walkable, bikeable community close to downtown shops, restaurants and theaters. In summer 2014, The Ronto Group began construction of the first building, and the development continues growing after its fourth condominium, Quattro, a 61-home community, was completed in late 2022.
The community, which has 300 homes in four buildings, is designed by MHK Architecture of Naples, with landscaping by Architectural Land Design Inc. Homes are currently selling for $1.9 million to $6.39 million.
“The site plan amendment application represents a downsizing in terms of the square footage of the one-story building footprint, as compared to the site plan that the City Council approved in 2021,” land-use attorney Clay Brooker, of Cheffy Passidomo, told Council.
The new plans by WSR Naples Square Commercial, an affiliate of The Ronto Group, reduce the size of the restaurant building from 5,000 square feet to 3,500 square feet, with 500 square feet of outdoor dining space. The maximum development potential was 5,291 square feet. Parking, utilities and traffic circulation remain as approved.
The city’s Planning Advisory Board
NAPLES SQUARE , Page 7A
Damaged trees on Tamiami Trail in Naples. Many local trees were damaged by Hurricane Milton. Photo by Liz Gorman
See HOUSING Page 8A
THIS JAM IS STILL SWEET, BECAUSE IT’S IN MEMORY OF JEBRY
By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
It is 6 p.m. at Dogtooth Sports and Music Bar in North Naples on a Monday that looks like a Friday might anywhere else. The parking lot is nearly full and its dining area is buzzing with a happy crowd digging into platters heaped with homemade chips and buns filled with tartar-friendly grouper fingers or Philly cheesesteak.
But the crowd is not here solely for dinner. In a few minutes jazz will start pouring from the stage by a band that makes music as tasty as the food, with jazz standards and American songbook staples: “Ice Palace,” “Song for My Father,” a jumping version of “Autumn Leaves.”
This Monday the musicians are taking their solo eight bars without one of their own, however, and their liquid jazz licks have an aura of tribute behind talent. Their founder, the singer known as Jebry, is gone.
From Hollywood to Las Vegas Judith Eleanor Branch — universally known as Jebry — was the star for whom this jam is named. And, as everyone on the stage and most of the foot-tapping audience knew, she was the glue that bonded this rotating freeform group.
Most of her fans knew Jebry’s silky vocals, but not that she started singing them with the Harry James Orchestra by the time she was 22, warbling for patrons of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Or that the Hollywood, California, native hung out with an equally musical friend in high school — Cherilyn Sarkisian, who, like Jebry, would trade her maiden name for a shorter one: Cher.
They may not know she chucked jazz for a brief country career, winning a chart spot with “Let Your Fingers Do the Walkin.’” But Jebry — whose nickname came from her father’s idea to round up all her initials into one title — could not stay away from jazz. It had taken her all over the country, to the
Playboy Club in London and to USO performances in Korea. Back then Jebry had already organized her first band with a top-notch jazz pianist she found to back it — a young Bobby McFerrin. She had opened for Count Basie and Bobby Darin.
Her return to jazz brought Jebry to Marco Island for a seasonal stint at the Marco Lodge in 1986. That stint turned into the rest of her life after she met Bobby Phillips, the band’s new drummer. They wed, and together they performed everywhere, putting together bands that became a North Star for jazz lovers who could hear everything from Jebry’s creamy “How High the Moon” to her growling take on Irene Reid’s “Big Fat Daddy.”
Finally, her fans may not know that Jebry’s body was as fragile as her spirit was strong. She battled both lung cancer and breast cancer twice. There were brain tumors. Fractures of her weakened bones. On Oct. 11 at age 80, not even a year after she had gingerly stepped
down from the bandstand for good, she died — “of just everything just piling up on her,” her husband mourned. “She was worn out from the cancers, from the chemotherapy, from the radiation.
“She kept coming back. She was like the Energizer bunny,” Phillips recalled of her life.
“She had a great personality and a great sense of humor. She was a great balladeer,” he said, recalling his own favorite melody from her, “Inside a Silent Tear.” And she was, as he recalled emotionally in front of the audience, “my best friend.”
Nurturing new talent
Jebry was the rare star who was generous about sharing the spotlight. If you could sing or play an instrument and Jebry found out, you would be up onstage that night. That sharing spirit made Jebry’s Jam an incubator for new and returning performers.
“I walked into the Island Club (the former
IN MEMORIAM
Funeral services for Jebry
(Judith E. Branch) will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at Naples Funeral Home, 3107 Davis Blvd. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples. A musical Celebration of Life will be held Jan. 6 at Dogtooth Sports and Music Bar, 5310 Shirley St., Naples.
Pate’s Island Club on U.S. 41) because I heard there was a jam there. I told my husband I just want to hear what goes on,” recalled Michelle Cooper, who had warned him not to tell anyone she was a singer. He couldn’t resist leaking it to Jebry, who, of course, called on Cooper — after alerting her during a break — to sing.
Jebry’s assessment?
“She said, ‘I want you to come back every Monday,’” said Cooper, who has done just that since October 2017. Cooper took over organizing the session when Jebry could no longer do it, and joined the band to perform a sway-along jazz standard within the first set of the Jebry tribute jam.
“I learned a lot from her. I loved listening to her,” she said of the singer, who became a personal friend, as well.
“She started it all,” Cooper declared, watching the quartet work through jazz favorites with new guest soloists on nearly every tune. “This is a beautiful family. We’ve met a lot of really wonderful people.”
Naples Jazzmasters pianist Lois Kehoe, who frequently drops in to listen and occasionally is the group’s substitute keyboardist, echoed that: “She really brought people together.”
Another singer, who wanted to be known by
ABOVE AND BEYOND IN SENIOR CARE
That’s so Naples
Jeff Lytle
It is so Naples for nonprofit organizations to multi-task while providing vital services beyond what the public sees every day.
Examples: The Conservancy of Southwest Florida does more than police development for environmental damage.
Avow Hospice of Naples does far more than help patients and families with end-of-life care.
Baker Senior Center Naples helps set the pace for multi-tasking — and finding ways to raise capacity rather than cap the number of people who can be helped — by going beyond marquee programs such as convivial group meals, academic and exercise classes, gardening, tutorials for cell phones and computers and tips for avoiding scams.
Dementia respite programs offer fun and friendship for patients, as well as welcome relief for caregivers. Professional counseling has been introduced for seniors struggling with anxieties.
And a case management department has taken root and evolved to take hands-on leadership over fundamental services such as nutrition, safety, housing and medical care for seniors who find themselves without a safety net.
That function of the newly expanded and hyper-active senior center in North Naples comes into the public spotlight with the announce-
ment of the largest grant ever made by the Collier Community Foundation — nearly a quarter of a million dollars — for a nonprofit’s case management department. And the senior center aptly hosts the largest.
For the foundation, the concept of the $242,500 gift is business as usual: surveying the horizon for community needs and earmarking enough resources to make a difference.
In fact, the foundation’s latest community needs survey, in 2023, found affordability gaps at both ends of the quality-of-life spectrum — for children’s daycare as well as seniors’ welfare.
Jaclynn Faffer, president and CEO of Baker Senior Center Naples, said the staff expansion to five team members will enable 50 more seniors — now numbering 120 — of modest means to benefit from increased social engagement, stability and independence.
The public may be surprised to learn case management was one of the center’s initial services, even before the high-profile fun programs and expansion.
Further, she explained, the added oversight will reduce risk of homelessness, enhance mental well-being, increase access to health care and result in overall better management of chronic diseases.
Faffer is on the same page with Laura Simmelink, vice president of grantmaking for the foundation.
“Geriatric case management is a valuable service that helps older adults navigate the challenges of aging — challenges which tend to be amplified by income limitations,”
Simmelink said. “The Community Foundation’s investment into this program at Baker Senior Center Naples will help improve the quality of life for seniors in Collier County.”
The foundation and an affiliate, the Women’s Foundation of Collier County, also invest in senior services at the nonprofit Collier Resource Center, to build collaboration among service providers, and stop-gap crisis funding via Golden Gate’s separate Collier Senior Center.
Beyond appearances
The Baker Senior Center Naples case management program provides a reality check for the image of Naples as a storybook domain where everyone is wealthy, healthy and well-fed, with loads of friends and family.
Since its founding in 2014, the center chips away at that façade and bases its services on research that shows, for example, one-third of single seniors start each day feeling isolated.
Demand for those services is indicated by the surge in memberships since the senior center expanded.
Faffer said the need for case management stems from elder parents who do not have family members willing or able step in. Referrals come from adult children, other relatives, neighbors or hospitals who question discharged patients’ ability to feed and care for themselves or to even take their medicine.
Center case managers, said Faffer, do “deep dives” into each client’s financial and other needs. Managers navigate service providers — including private case management firms
that can confuse or intimidate seniors, even if they can afford them. Stability is monitored.
The big picture
Follow the numbers provided by Baker Senior Center Naples:
The center has experienced significant growth since moving into the new campus in January 2023. Membership has increased from 800 to more than 2,300 people, with programs such as hot lunches growing to match.
The center expanded mental health counseling accepting Medicare and private insurance to serve the estimated 20% of seniors with some type of mental health concern. Two-thirds of them do not get the treatment they need, creating a “treatment gap.”
Full-time staff has increased to 26 and the budget has risen to over $4 million annually.
Over 22,000 seniors are living with dementia in Naples, and a new case of Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed every 66 seconds in the U.S.
Some 125,000 adults 65 and older represent 33% of the total adult population in the county; 27,000 of those people live alone.
Ground level snapshot
Jodi Rubenstein works with the realities daily as a senior geriatric case manager. The hardest part of the job, she said, relates to lack of financial resources and available family support. She cited a lack of affordable housing and Social Security lagging needs. Most rewarding, Rubenstein said, is working with an individual “who feels recognized and
important because of the work we do together.”
Without case managers, she said, many clients “would not be able to cope and would fall through the cracks.”
Rubenstein was asked for an example of how her work made a difference in someone’s life. Her response:
“A woman in her late 70s has been a case management client for three years. I helped her get benefits such as SNAP (food stamps), assistance with utilities and more affordable prescriptions. She uses our food pantry. She also is a senior center member, attending our weekly lunch and a few exercise classes.
“She recently told me that her husband was diagnosed with lung cancer and will be beginning treatment soon. I will be working with her to be sure he accesses needed services. In a recent home visit, she shared how frightened she is about the future. She readily accepted a referral to one of our licensed clinical social workers, and will begin therapy in our Geriatric Mental Health Program.”
The need for Rubenstein’s work and the foundation grant is reflected in the present — and the future, with Collier’s senior population on track to outpace other, strong growth. Collier’s total population is projected to grow by nearly 30% by 2050, to 504,000, while the 65 and over population is projected to grow by nearly 50%.
Jeff Lytle has covered and commented on Naples and Southwest Florida since 1975. Contact him at jlytle@comcast.net.
A photo of Jebry, for whom the Monday night jam sessions are named, stands in front of the band Oct. 14: drummer Bobby Phillips, her husband; bassist Carlo Fusaro; keyboardist John Keevil; and guest trumpet player Marty Krebs. Photo by Harriet Howard Heithaus
See JEBRY, Page 10A
NONPROFIT FARM AIMS TO EMPOWER WITH FALL FESTIVAL
By Melanie Pagan
Tiffany Lehman had one major thing on her mind when Tropical Storm Debby hit Collier County in August: goats.
The detached garage at Empowerment Farm that housed the nonprofit organization’s goats at night sustained significant flooding, forcing their evacuation to a private off-site facility, where they have been ever since.
Proceeds from the 5-acre farm’s inaugural Fall Festival, held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 2 at the 2600 Garland Road campus in Naples, will help the organization recover from storm damage and build a new goat pen so the animals can safely return.
The family-friendly festival will feature a pumpkin patch, market with locally sourced products, themed pumpkin character displays, animal encounters, hayrides and more autumnal activities for all ages.
“The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is just seeing people out there enjoying themselves,” said Lehman, who co-founded the farm with Ashleigh Ebrite in November 2022. “There’s so much work put into it, and so much hope and dream.”
A seasoned philanthropist, Lehman sold her insurance agency and traded office attire for “jeans and a layer of sweat” as her new uniform, to provide a place where the public can connect with nature through hands-on farm-based experiences and learn about sustainable agriculture.
Currently, the campus is open for programs such as a Pastures & Palettes guided painting evening, Farmyard Tales farm life lessons for ages 0-5 and Effing Fridays on the Farm, an evening of conversation, education and beverages.
Remaining funds from the Fall Festival can help the nonprofit with future expansion plans, including working
FALL FESTIVAL
The public can attend the Empowerment Farm fall festival by purchasing tickets at empowermentfarm.org/fall-festival Admission is $15 per person when purchased in advance online and $20 at the gate. Children under 3 enter for free.
with area schools and other organizations for nature-based teachings, and creating a commercial kitchen for farmto-fork concepts.
“We want to be really community-centric, where we’re working with other local nonprofits, community leaders and businesses to say, ‘Look, we’re right in your backyard. Let’s work together to develop a stronger community within our community that truly supports and highlights the benefits of what we can offer to people,’” Lehman said.
Essentially, Empowerment Farm will grow and exist as a place for people to gain wisdom and relief through nature’s bounty.
“There is a true benefit in just the simplicity of being in nature. It doesn’t mean you have to take your shoes off and get your feet in the dirt, but when you come see the animals or work in the garden and get that natural therapy from taking a few moments from crazy busy life, your heart rate will come down, and you’ll naturally have a sense of ease,” Lehman said.
Witnessing that enjoyment in others is part of what keeps Lehman going.
“When there’s an activity on the farm and I hear kids’ voices and happiness and see families interact, I am so beyond fulfilled,” she said.
COUNTY SEEKS INPUT FOR BIKING, WALKING PLAN
bikes should be shown how to ride properly and where to ride, and said it’s important not to restrict seniors who can’t drive or need to bike for exercise. She also urged Council to consider dismount signs before the underpass to Tin City, where bikes, scooters, e-bikes and pedestrians are trying to pass each other.
“It is so dangerous when people come past,” she said. “It’s virtually impossible to pass people.”
As the number of bikes, e-bikes, scooters and other micromobility devices grows nationwide, local governments now consider them essential to the transportation system and take them into account when making planning decisions.
From March 2020, the official start of the pandemic, to March 2023, the latest data shows bike spending nationwide increased 620% to about $8 billion monthly. Since 2000, employees who bike to work nationwide increased 43%, but the U.S. Census believes there are far more ride bikes because its dataset is small.
Roughly 2% of crash fatalities yearly involve bicyclists. In 2023, 1,149 bikers were killed on U.S. roadways, up 4% from 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. City statistics weren’t immediately available.
In Florida, state statutes govern how bicycles and micromobility devices use sidewalks, roads and crosswalks and require them to yield the
The Collier Metropolitan Planning Organization is holding a series of virtual workshops to gather feedback to further develop its Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan and create a safer, more connected transportation network.
The MPO’s first workshop, coordinated by county consultant Capital Consulting Solutions LLC, will be 5-7 p.m. Oct. 29 online.
It will gather community input to help shape the future of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Key topics include:
• Analyzing and updating the master plan;
• Goals and the vision for the future;
• Mapping current and future bicycle-pedestrian facilities;
• Ranking priorities for future projects.
To register, go to: bit.ly/mpoworkshopregistration
To view the Collier MPO Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan, go to: bit.ly/mpobikepedmasterplan
To view the MPO Bicycle-Pedestrian Interactive Map, go to: bit.ly/mpointeractivemap
To read the user guide, go to: bit.ly/mpomapuserguide And to take a survey and provide input, go to: bit.ly/ mposurvey2
right-of-way to pedestrians.
“Where are bicycles allowed?
They’re allowed anywhere a driver or pedestrian may go, so long as they operate like a driver or pedestrian where appropriate,” City Engineer
Dan Ohrenstein told Council. “So if a bicyclist is on the road, they have to operate like a vehicle. If they’re on the sidewalk, they have to operate like a pedestrian.”
State law allows e-bikes to oper-
ate anywhere a bicycle is allowed, and anyone riding a micromobility device, such as an electric scooter or Segway, has the same rights and duties as bicyclists and must use an audible signal before passing pedestrians.
But state statutes allow local governments to enact their own regulations on streets and sidewalks. In 2022, Naples sought public input to update its Bicycle and Pedestrian
Master Plan in an effort to increase safety and accessibility while maintaining Naples’ small-town feel.
Now, Public Works Director Bob Middleton and city engineers are seeking Council’s input on whether to alter regulations to better achieve Naples’ community vision.
The discussion comes shortly before the Collier Metropolitan Planning Organization plans to hold a virtual workshop from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 29 to update the county’s Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan. (For details and registration, see the sidebar with this story.) Council member Linda Penniman, an MPO member, said Commissioner Dan Kowal, a retired Sheriff’s detective, is rewriting the county’s language, but she believes cars, pedestrians, bicycles and micromobility devices aren’t compatible.
“It’s wishful thinking to think that they’re all going to work harmoniously together,” Penniman said.
“Someone has to give somewhere.”
Naples city codes prohibit bicycles, skateboards, roller and inline skates on sidewalks in a business district, within shopping centers and on beaches, and require bicyclists to obey biking signs. Because Naples’ code doesn’t define a business district, the sidewalk prohibition may not be enforceable.
“This is an opportunity for us to update our code to be very specific about where these bikes are not allowed, so at a minimum, if we do nothing else, it would be appropriate for us to get some clarification for enforcement purposes,” City Manager
Jay Boodheshwar said. “Otherwise it’s difficult.”
Several Florida cities, such as Jacksonville and Orlando, prohibit bikes downtown, while Tampa, Venice and Miami bar them in certain areas.
Council member Berne Barton suggested motorized devices should stick to roads.
“If you don’t feel safe doing that, then don’t ride them,” Barton said. “We’ve got families and women with strollers and everything else walking down the sidewalks.”
City Attorney Matthew McConnell noted state law changed in 2018 to add e-bikes to the micromobility definition, so if Naples incorporates that, it can regulate them.
Mayor Teresa Heitmann called current city paths fragmented, noting trucks and construction trucks are sharing roads with bicycling residents and tourists renting bikes — and bike and scooter rental franchises are growing.
“To me, it’s a safety issue that we need to really address,” Heitmann said.
She and Barton said large tours using Segways and motorized scooters delay traffic. McConnell said the code could be amended to prohibit large groups and limit rental franchises. Deputy City Engineer Alison Bickett said they also could require tour operators to provide the city with tour routes.
McConnell said he’ll work with staff and the city manager and return to Council with some ideas to discuss.
Proceeds from the nonprofit organization Empowerment Farm's Nov. 2 Fall Festival, will help the organization in it's recovery efforts from Hurricane Milton. Contributed photo
U.S. SENATE RACE: NIP, TUCK AND DOUGHNUT SHOPS
By John Guerra
Rick Scott, the Republican incumbent U.S. Senator, faces former U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in the Nov. 5 election.
Scott, who won his primary by 84.4% of GOP voters, is polling slightly ahead of Mucarsel-Powell statewide but within the margin of error. While Mucarsel-Powell ranged from 43% to 46% in late September polling, Scott ranged from 44% to 54% in the same handful of polls.
Though Scott lists How to Win Friends and Influence People among his most meaningful books, his approval rating is at 35%. His opponent said his low approval rating is due to his full support of Florida’s six-week abortion ban, his vote to raise taxes on the middle class and his vow to end Social Security and Medicare in their present forms.
Meanwhile, Scott — a beachfront resident of Old Naples — painted the Democratic administration with the same brush as Donald Trump:
“I am running for re-election to get our country back on track after four years of Democrat (sic) destruction,” Scott answered. “Thanks to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ reckless agenda, prices have skyrocketed for Florida families and the border is wide open to criminals and deadly drugs.”
Mucarsel-Powell, who was born in Ecuador and is an American citizen, blames Scott and his fellow Republicans for the pain Floridians feel. She also warns there is worse to come should Scott be re-elected.
“Rick Scott backs Florida’s abortion ban and wrote the plan to raise taxes on the middle class and sunset Social Security and Medicare,” Mucarsel-Powell said. “I’m running to expand op-
portunities, protect your hard-earned benefits and champion Floridians’ freedoms.”
Here is what each one plans to accomplish in the Senate:
Scott said he would:
• balance the budget;
• rein in the government’s wasteful spending to bring prices down and climb out of staggering national debt;
• secure our border and stop the flow of illegal immigrants and deadly drugs into our country.
Mucarsel-Powell said she would:
• address the rising cost of everyday items;
• support a present Senate bill that would cut the cost of property insurance by 25%;
• crack down on Big Oil “price-gouging”;
• champion legislation to promote buying American;
• increase Florida housing supply and renter protections;
• introduce new legislation to address sea level rise.
The two candidates do have something in common, however: Both say they worked in doughnut shops when they were younger.
EXTENSION GARDEN SHOW SATURDAY
What: UF/IFAS Extension Service Yard and Garden Show, featuring wares from growers, nurseries and landscapers, along with garden decor and accessories. There are presentations on gardening in Southwest Florida and a demonstration garden to give visitors an idea of what some of the plants look like at maturity.
Marco Island Library, 210 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island
North Collier Regional Park, 15000 Livingston Road, Naples
South Regional Library, 8065 Lely Cultural Parkway, Naples
Supervisor of Elections Office, 3750 Enterprise Ave., Naples
ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF ID
Florida Statute 101.043 requires a person to bring photo and signature identification before a person can vote. The acceptable forms of identification are: Florida driver license; Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; United States passport; debit or credit card; military identification; student identification; retirement center identification; neighborhood association identification; public assistance identification; veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; a license to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to F.S. 790.06; employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the Federal Government, the state, a county or a municipality. Source: colliervotes.gov
From page 3A
DAMAGE
Water: Helping the healing
Some shrubs and trees that have knocked sideways can be saved by the homeowner.
“They’re on a case-by-case basis. If it’s a little bent over — not a problem. Stand it back up,” Czaplewski said. But heavily listing trees should be entrusted to an arborist, he added.
Those that have had roots out of the ground need to re-establish them below, so generous watering is important in the first weeks. For those gardens that haven’t received a good rain, which has been much of Collier County, Ewy prescribed a spraying down of tree canopies affected by the winds to get the salt off their leaves.
Bromeliads — not all, but many, he said — can be extremely susceptible. It’s a good precautionary measure to wash out their water-holding cups to eliminate any salt. Orchids, too, can be vulnerable to salt and to any
wind abrasions that might allow a bacterial infection, so those need continuing observation.
For a greener future
“Some of the invasives — Brazilian pepper and I’ve even seen some of the dodder vine, which is very invasive — show signs of stress. So that’s a little good that comes out,” Czaplewski noted. Now may be the time to tackle removing those if you can keep the dodder vine seeds from scattering and propagating new little vines.
Some plants have more resistance to wind and salt, and both Ewy and Czaplewski offered some alternative landscaping plants: Jamaican caper, with its impressive white-to-pink blooms and glossy leaves, is a good accent shrub, and cocoplums and buttonwoods — either blueor green-leaved — do well for hedges or wall plantings.
For those who lost plants and trees, the UF/IFAS Extension Office is holding its annual Yard and Garden Show in the nick of time: this weekend. There are vendors, growers, presentations and nonprofit gardening organizations, and the extension’s demonstration garden is on display with ideas for your own yard. See the info box with this story for details.
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.
Rick Scott Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Connell after the initial approval were successful in preserving views at beach ends, moving pumps to more discreet locations and hiding pipes underground. They joined city officials on Oct. 15 for the ceremonial groundbreaking on an $86.2 million stormwater project to improve the quality of filtered water discharged into the Gulf of Mexico, and reduce significant flooding to homes along Gulf Shore Boulevard.
The ceremony was held under a tent on the Third Avenue North beach, where the north wwwqwpump station will be constructed, while a southern pump station will be located at the Eighth Avenue North beach end. Work will extend from Oleander Drive south to Second Avenue South, and completion is expected in late 2026.
Long time on the drawing board It took more than a decade to get the project to that ceremony.
Mayor Teresa Heitmann thanked the Zolers and others for fighting for the best plans.
“The Zolers were very persistent. I appreciate that,” Heitmann told the crowd of about 50 people. “They went through drawings and really worked with us. That’s really what it’s about, coming together over a project. Even though no one really wanted it at that location, it was necessary. It’s going to be a better project because of the two of you and those who worked with you.”
Heitmann said she’s glad McConnell is on the city’s side now — he was hired this year as the city attorney.
The first phase began two years ago, with design, which cost $11 million, and preconstruction. Citywide, 12- to 54-inch backflow preventers were installed inside outfall pipes — the pipes that empty runoff into the Gulf of Mexico — to prevent rain from backing up into the stormwater-collection system and flooding streets.
This second phase will remove eight industrial-size stormwater outfall pipes from the city’s beaches and add 6,000 feet of new 24- to 54-inch pipes underground. Considered a landmark project, it is planned to lessen flooding, improve water quality, reduce beach erosion and protect critical habitats, such as sea turtle-nesting areas, through a state-of-the-art treatment system.
Stormwater will be filtered before being pumped 1,500 feet offshore by new pump stations, replacing an existing gravity-based system. The city’s project exceeds Florida Depart-
ment of Environmental Protection (FDEP) standards, ensuring flood protection, environmental conservation and increased resiliency to climate change — the ability to handle a 25year storm event.
“Although a lot of preconstruction work has taken place over the summer months, we’re very excited to finally put a shovel in the ground and begin the physical phase of this very important project,” City Manager Jay Boodheshwar told the crowd, which included staff and state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.
“Hurricane Milton was yet another reminder about the importance of not only this project, but many projects that we will be contemplating in the years ahead.
“Without her help, this may not have been possible,” Boodheshwar said of Passidomo, a Naples resident, pushing for $40 million in state funding.
Moving runoff out to sea
when she was on City Council, she drove to Tallahassee to speak with the FDEP about the need for the project, while fellow Councilman Gary Price drove there to meet with economic development staff.
“When I went to DEP, they said, ‘You must remove those outfalls or we will not do another beach renourishment,’” Heitmann said. “I pushed and pushed. … Year after year, the Council wouldn’t approve it and I kept persisting. … I pray and I’m thankful that we have this right and that this will solve everyday flooding now — maybe not Ian and maybe not Milton, but everyday flooding, which has changed just so recently where the flooding of our streets just gets worse and worse.”
This phase comes 14 years after the FDEP ordered Naples to remove the beach outfall pipes, two years after the mayor’s verbal warning. Naples gets an average annual rainfall of 56 inches — about 14 billion gallons — mostly during four to five summer months, causing flooding on streets.
“The current system collects that water and discharges it … very close to the shore,” said city Public Works Director Bob Middleton. “The current system is a gravity-based system. … It’s not being pumped, so it’s very susceptible to tides.”
As a result, he said, heavy rains currently pool on roadways, but the new pump system will pump it out quickly. Stormwater will be collected in a new trunk main system, he said, and water will be treated and diluted at North Lake, South Lake and Alligator Lake, reducing nutrient levels — phosphorus and nitrogen — and street-runoff particulates. Pump-station screening systems will then further reduce particulate matter and improve water quality.
To help pay for the project, the city will request $10 million in tourist development tax funds from the county Tourist Development Council. That money comes from a 5% bed tax on revenues from hotels, Airbnbs and other rentals of six months or less. From
Heitmann told the crowd that in 2008,
voted 4-3 for approval, but cited concerns about stormwater and maintaining the stormwater system. Since then, Brooker said, they met with the president of the master residential association, which agreed on an annual inspection plan and to share system-maintenance costs.
Engineer Jeff Wasko, of Barraco and Associates Inc., said drainage will connect to
Naples Square’s water management system, a retention rock chamber that captures all runoff, including roof drainage. Water quality volume was approved by the South Florida Water Management District. City staff agreed the infrastructure is sufficient to accommodate the additional development.
Mark McLean of MHK said it’s a small restaurant that’s almost identical to the preliminary design approved by the city Design Review Board; it must return to the DRB for a final review.
On Sept. 18, Council voted 4-3 to approve a new three-story building at Naples Square,
Encore, which features 15 luxury homes on two floors sitting atop 6,825 square feet of retail, commercial and office space. The mayor, vice mayor and council member Beth Petrunoff opposed it, after citing traffic and stormwater concerns and pointing out that Naples hasn’t complied with a yearly state-required level-of-service concurrency report in about a decade.
Brooker had assured Council the Naples Square Property Homeowners Association is responsible for maintenance that meets or exceeds the city’s level-of-service standards.
Plans have gone back and forth since 2021,
when Council approved a revised site plan with two one-floor commercial buildings totaling more than 15,000 square feet that included 1,790 square feet of outdoor dining on a 1.82-acre site. The developer revised it a year later, asking for a mixed-use building with homes and a 7,500-square-foot restaurant with 2,900 square feet of outdoor seating. Ruth’s Chris Steak House was suggested, but neighbors opposed it due to traffic and noise concerns. The DRB also objected to the size, so the commercial portion was then reduced — and reduced again last week.
Naples City Council members, city officials and Sen. Kathleen Passidomo break ground Oct. 15 on the city's $86.2 million stormwater outfall project on the Naples Beach.
Photo by Terry McDevitt
of area median income.
How the CCF Housing Impact Fund works
For the Ekos Allegro project, CCF worked with The Housing Alliance, Inc., an organization formed and funded by the foundation to be the “go-to resource for workforce, lower income and senior housing,” according to a press release announcing the loan.
The CCF Collier Housing Impact Investment Fund will make shortterm, low-interest loans to nonprofit and for-profit developers committed to building affordable housing units who typically need gap funding during early or late stages of development.
Eileen Connolly-Keesler, CCF president and CEO, said the investment fund is currently at $5 million — all from donors — with a goal of $10 million to continue helping with the affordable housing crisis. She said the $1.3 million loan to McDowell Housing Partners was for one year at 3% interest.
She said the timing was right for this project to be the first to benefit from the CCF fund so that seniors could move into their new homes.
“In this project, they were moving forward and had just a few months before opening doors; they had apartments rented and ready to go and they were counting on a chunk of money from the county to pay down the impact fees, because they couldn’t move until the impact fees were paid,” Connolly-Keesler said in a phone interview. “But the county changed their mind on those dollars being used for that, so they would not have been able to open had we not stepped in. It was perfect for us to step in at that moment and be able to give them the loan so that the place could open, and seniors could move in. We had one case of some-
body who was [living] in their car, I believe, that was waiting to get in.”
Michael Puchalla, CEO and executive director of The Housing Alliance, said the CCF loan made it possible for McDowell Housing Partners to pay the final impact fees, get utility connections in place and receive the temporary certificate of occupancy from Collier County so that Ekos Allegro residents could start moving into the complex — which is built to the highest hurricane standards — prior to the arrival of Hurricane Milton.
“There were a handful that were able to actually get moved in before [Hurricane] Milton, so we did have a handful of seniors that were able to be in their safe and secure setting,”
Puchalla said in a phone interview.
“The priority was on individuals that were not in stable housing situations at that point in time, so they prioritized those to get them moved in as quickly as possible.”
MORE EKOS-BRANDED AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMUNITIES ON THE WAY
By Therese McDevitt
Ekos Allegro is one of three Ekos-branded Collier County properties currently developed by Miami-based McDowell Housing Partners, with more on the way, according to COO Chris Shear.
“Over the past four years, McDowell Housing Partners has worked closely with Collier County to address its overwhelming need for more attainable housing options,” Shear said in a statement. “We’ve completed one work-
force community, Ekos on Santa Barbara, and now we’ll be delivering a one-two punch with Ekos Allegro and Ekos Cadenza, which comprise 320 affordable units exclusively for seniors. Collier County’s vulnerable seniors have been crushed by inflation and skyrocketing rents; they’re the pillars of the community and deserve high-quality housing options so they can remain in the community they’ve contributed
to for so long.” Shear said that in early 2025, McDowell will begin construction on a new 160-unit workforce community for low- and moderate-income families and has started the design phase for a second phase of Ekos on Santa Barbara with another 84 units.
According to the company, Ekos on Santa Barbara is a workforce family development, completed at the end of 2023 and currently fully leased, restricted to families with income ranging between 30% and 80% of the area median income in Collier County. Ekos Cadenza is nearly complete, with first move-
ins expected in mid-November, restricted to those 62 and over and between 28% and 60% of area median income.
A fourth Collier County development, Ekos Creekside, will be a 160-unit workforce family development expected to break ground in early 2025; it will be restricted to families ranging between 30% and 80% of area median income. McDowell said it was also recently awarded Florida Housing Finance Corporation funds for another project, Ekos at Santa Clara, an 84-unit workforce family development that is in the early stages of design.
Eileen ConnollyKeesler
Chris Shear
New Ekos Allegro tenant Cynthia Van Bibber takes in the view from the balcony of her new apartment. Photos by Liz Gorman
Michael Puchalla, CEO and Executive Director of the Housing Alliance, welcomes tenants to the Ekos Allegro building.
GROWTH IN NAPLES
NAPLES MAYOR SUGGESTS PAUSING DEVELOPMENT, PROMPTING OUTCRY
By Aisling Swift
Five months after settling a lawsuit accusing the city of Naples of enacting an illegal building moratorium, Mayor Teresa Heitmann suggested a pause on further development until the city adheres to state law.
Her suggestion on Oct. 16 came minutes before City Council formalized that settlement with a resolution that allows Colorado-based M Development to proceed with modified plans to redevelop a 4.32acre parcel that’s considered the gateway to downtown.
When she ran for a second fouryear term this year, Heitmann promised residents she’d preserve
Naples’ small-town charm, fight overdevelopment, increase resiliency and ensure that infrastructure could handle continuing development. As a result, she’s cast the dissenting vote on several of the city’s large commercial and housing developments, including Naples Square, 1111 Central and Hyatt House Naples — and was the lone nay vote again on Oct. 16, when
Naples Square submitted revised plans to downsize a restaurant.
The temporary pause wasn’t on the agenda, but the mayor asked to add it at the start of the meeting. It was opposed by Council and City Attorney Matthew McConnell, who said it wasn’t on the publicly noticed agenda and would require direction from the full Council.
“This is not something that I felt
was something I could ignore, but it’s also something that is very concerning,” Heitmann explained of her surprise proposal.
She referred to a state-required annual concurrency report, which requires public facilities, infrastructure and services needed to support development be available
ROMA RESTAURANT MOVING, REBRANDING AS OTTIMO ON
By Tim Aten
Roma Italian Bistro & Pizzeria will soon be moving about three blocks west on Fifth Avenue South, and rebranding as Ottimo on 5th Cucina & Bar.
When Thai Sushi by KJ closed this summer at 409 Fifth Ave. S., the owners of Roma restaurant recognized an opportunity to expand their hospitality business. The new location has more seating and a larger bar and kitchen than Roma’s space at 655 Fifth Ave. S. “I can expand the menu with different varieties of pasta, more steaks, filet mignon, a couple more seafood dishes,” said Edmond Metaj, who co-owns the local restaurant with his wife, Ledia. “More important, the bar will be a full bar with handcrafted cocktails.”
That’s important for Metaj because he will be behind the bar most of the time. He has been a head bartender or bartender at many area upscale restaurants and resorts for more than 20 years. He and his wife also are both active residential real estate professionals at Coldwell Banker Realty.
Because the Metajes feel that the Roma brand they inherited is mostly known as a pizzeria, they are changing the restaurant’s name when it relocates. “It’s more than a pizzeria; it’s an Italian restaurant. It has other dishes,” Ledia Metaj said.
Roma, open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily, has a menu of Italian-based cuisine with appetizers, salads, pizza, pasta and risotto, as well as seafood, chicken and veal dishes.
“It’s a regular restaurant. Pizza is just one item like anything else,” Edmond Metaj said.
The Collier County couple is working on licensing and permitting the new restaurant now with the goal to open this year. “We’re hoping by December,” Ledia Metaj said.
Roma will close when Ottimo opens so that the owners and staff can focus 100% on the new restaurant, she said. The couple will start fresh with Ottimo.
“The name of Ottimo in Italian is perfection, excellent,” Edmond Metaj said.
The planned relocation will actually be the second big move for the restaurant, which started 15 years ago as Ron’s Italian Pizzeria & Cafe at 690 Fifth Ave. Burhan “Ron” Ruli initially launched Ron’s across the street in August 2009. Ruli had to move the restaurant in 2011 when hotelier Phil McCabe razed its one-story building to replace it with the three-story Club Level Suites expansion of Inn on Fifth across the street. That’s when Ruli renamed the restaurant Roma.
The Metajs bought the business from Ruli
FIFTH AVENUE SOUTH
four years ago. “We took over in 2020 and changed it,” Ledia Metaj said.
When they move this year, they will have the same landlords. M Development leases out both buildings, having purchased the spaces a year ago with other downtown properties from Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate.
Naples-based David Corban is the architect for Ottimo and also was the architect for that space’s original restaurant, Thai Udon Cafe, which launched in 2016 when a former bank office was transformed into a restaurant. That location of Thai Udon eventually changed hands and became Thai Sushi by KJ, which permanently closed its downtown Naples location in June.
During its regular meeting on Oct. 16, Naples City Council unanimously approved Ottimo’s petition for outdoor dining on private property. The new restaurant will have 34 seats and nine tables on its streetside covered patio.
The restaurant’s exterior plans still must be approved by the Naples Design Review Board, said senior city planner Nathan Jones.
Edmond and Ledia Metaj, the owners of Roma Italian Bistro & Pizzeria, are planning
the local dining spot to a larger space about
Photo by Tim Aten
Photo by Tim Aten
page 9A
“concurrent” with the impacts of a development that’s pending approval. The annual report hasn’t been completed by the city in more than a decade and is similar to the county’s Annual Update and Inventory Report on public utilities.
Heitmann said she’s concerned because the city code says that if Naples’ level-of-service standards dip below acceptable adopted levels, developments cannot be approved.
Illegal moratorium
The city got into trouble last year when it imposed an ordinance that was considered an illegal moratorium after Hurricane Ian. The intent was to improve resiliency efforts and the city’s ability to recover from future hurricanes.
The city’s new ordinance and four others prompted by the hurricane were pre-empted by Senate Bill 250, which became law on June 28, 2023, preventing municipalities from imposing stricter land-development standards until a year after Hurricane Ian. Last November, the state prohibition was extended two years, until October 2026, tying City Council’s hands.
In December 2023, M Development-affiliate Fifth Avenue South Holdings sued the city, three months after Council voted to halt plans for underground garages due to flooding concerns after Hurricane Ian. M Development, which is redeveloping the former St. George & the Dragon property, branded the move an illegal moratorium that halted administrative staff approvals, including its pending plans — just as staff was about to approve them. Its plan included two underground garages.
In June, the city reached a settlement with M Development, which was allowed to proceed with a scaled-down plan without underground parking.
Although most Council members balked at Heitmann’s suggestion, Vice Mayor Ter-
ry Hutchison thanked her for bringing it up and asked the city attorney to assure Council they weren’t breaking laws, as Heitmann suggested.
“I need to know that I’m acting lawfully in considering the items that we’re considering,” Hutchison said.
McConnell, who was hired this year, said he discovered Naples wasn’t complying with the annual report and provided Council with a detailed history of the law, which was enacted in 1985 and required concurrency requirements to avoid urban sprawl, development of areas without roads or infrastructure.
However, after Naples resident Rick Scott took office as governor in 2011, he eliminated the state Department of Community Affairs, which was responsible for land planning and development, McConnell said.
It was replaced by the Florida Department of Commerce, which changed submittal requirements for cities to develop level-of-service standards, alleviating the need to address urban sprawl by establishing codes for concurrency. The law currently requires concurrency reports before developments are approved that ensure costs are paid by developers as impact fees, not by raising property taxes.
City hasn’t adhered to state law
In 2014, Council discussed the standards and directed the Planning Advisory Board and planning staff to review concurrency requirements to determine if changes were needed based on the 2011 standards. That never occurred.
McConnell told Council he, City Manager Jay Boodheshwar and planning staff will complete an internal audit by January and present a proposed annual concurrency report to Council in February. However, he assured Council the city’s comprehensive plan addresses concurrency and staff vets every development.
“Maybe they need to change. Maybe they don’t,” McConnell said. “This is an internal audit of our facilities to determine if we need to modify those, or if we are good
to go with the level-of-service standards that have been adopted.”
Let staff work on concurrency
Other Council members objected to discussing a pause without alerting the public before a meeting. Council member Ray Christman noted the city building official had just advised them that more than 1,000 properties citywide were affected by Hurricane Ian. Since then, he said, Naples was affected by several more hurricanes.
“You’re not just talking about stopping (new) developments from occurring,” Christman said. “You’re preventing homeowners who need to repair their properties in the short term from being able to exercise those rights, as well as people who just want to improve their properties — even if they weren’t impacted by a storm. … I have problems with us even discussing it or entertaining it, let alone implying it.”
He suggested Council allow the city attorney and planning staff to finish their audit and educate Council, so it can make “sound decisions.”
Heitmann explained she wasn’t suggesting a moratorium.
“There were a lot of developers putting the fear out to our community and homeowners that they should sell, and it put our community in a frenzy,” she said. “It was to take a look at what had happened to the community so that we could make good sound decisions moving forward.”
But she said she wants to uphold the law, and the city hasn’t filed a concurrency report.
Land-use attorney Clay Brooker of Cheffy Passidomo, who was there to represent M Development, told Council that a pause on building, especially developments pending city approvals, would be illegal.
“Florida law does not allow a local government to stop development because it has not lived up to its obligations in ensuring that infrastructure is in place,” Brooker said. “… The city of Naples actually does have a concurrency program, and it is enforced. There are level-of-service standards on the books.”
From page 4A
JEBRY
her stage name, Esaeve, was often in the crowd to dance to the music. But she had not performed beyond karaoke at Bambusa — “I figured if I screwed up there nobody would mind” — until she shyly told Jebry she thought she could sing.
“This lady says she can sing. Let her sing!” Jebry shouted to the crowd. Afterward she bestowed her highest compliment: “You’ll be back next Monday?” “I got my start with her. A lot of people got their start with her,” she said.
Building a family
“I have only two words to say, and they are ‘Thank you, Jebry. You made my retirement more than it ever could have been,’” declared Marc Gerber, who now has his own followers as a member of the Naples Jazzmasters band, the summer entertainment at the Norris Center. Gerber had only begun to rehone his trumpet skills at Dixieland musician Bob Gover’s home jam sessions when he wandered into New York Pizza and Pasta, a former home of Jebry’s Jam.
“I was so rusty. I hadn’t played in more than 20 years, and she made me feel very welcome, very comfortable. She was so wonderful to people regardless of their musicianship,” he said.
That generosity of spirit has brought out musicians from teen jazz novices to veteran players including 95-year-old saxophonist Jerry Grillo, who is seated in front of the bandstand this particular night. A Lutheran pastor shows up occasionally with his saxophone, and musicians from touring orchestras drop by to flex their jazz musicianship.
“What Jebry created here is a musical family,” observed vocalist Bob Pieske, another re-bloomer nurtured by Jebry’s Jam. “They’re the finest bunch of people I’ve ever met, top to bottom. They care about each other. They’re talented.
“And she’s the one who’s responsible for all of it,” he said, nodding toward the bobbing heads and intent jazz music.
“It happened because of her. This wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”
Jebry’s Jam continues 6-9 p.m. Mondays at Dogtooth Sports and Music Bar, 5310 Shirley St., Naples; dogtoothnaples.com or 239.431.7004.
BACKYARD BASH BACKYARD BASH
with fried chicken, a goat cheese medallion and pepper jelly.
Still nothing to report yet for a couple of restaurant spaces recently vacated in that area, including the Pollo Tropical drivethru in Restaurant Row and the BurgerFi endcap in Shops at Eagle Creek.
Denny’s status
Q: Do you know what is going in the Rib City building on 41 in East Naples? —Kim Phillips Bernth, Naples
A: Denny’s is building out the outparcel space that formerly was Rib City at 3871 U.S. 41 E. in Naples Towne Centre South in East Naples.
After a few setbacks, that new location of Denny’s is still targeted to launch this fall, said Vic Cuda, vice president and chief operating officer of RREMC Restaurants, a company headquartered in West Palm Beach that is one of the largest Denny’s franchisees in the nation.
“We lost two weeks. Should be open right after Thanksgiving Day,” Cuda said this week.
Although Denny’s has multiple locations in Lee County, the East Naples restaurant will be the first in Southwest Florida for RREMC, which operates 18 Denny’s in Florida.
The local opening will reintroduce the national casual dining concept to the Naples market after more than 17 years. Collier County’s only location closed in early 2007 after operating for more than 15 years at 3350 U.S. 41 N., now home to Blueberry’s restaurant.
Fort Myers-based Rib City permanently closed its East Trail location in the summer of 2020 after operating it for more than 20 years.
Also in Naples Towne Centre South, Tropical Smoothie Cafe is coming to the space that formerly was Benzer Pharmacy. That space also hosted Dunkin’ Donuts many years ago.
In the adjoining Naples Towne Centre North, Planet Fitness plans to muscle its way into the 21,000-square-foot space that Save A Lot grocery store vacated years ago.
Midtown tenants
Q: I live in Bonita Springs and have been watching the build of Midtown at Bonita. So many of my neighbors and I are so curious if any stores have committed to opening there. We were all really curious and then I thought, I’ll ask Tim’s in the Know. Do you have any info you can share with me? —Jamie Tuttman Karasyk, Bonita Springs
A: Eight retail tenants recently were announced as coming to Midtown at Bonita, the major mixed-use development planned east of Interstate 75 on the north side of Bonita Beach Road at Bonita Grande Drive in Bonita Springs.
The local development will include Chi -
potle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread, The Hangry Bison restaurant, Club Pilates fitness studio, Good Vets veterinary clinic, Jeff’s Bagel Run, Noire the Nail Bar and Bonita Beach Wine & Spirits. Several local and national retailers are still negotiating leases, so more tenants will be announced.
The 68-acre development by The Zuckerman Group also will include Paradiso Bonita Springs, a 400-unit luxury apartment community that is already under construction on 10 acres there. Scheduled to open in 2026, Midtown at Bonita is designed to prioritize walkability and open spaces.
Coming soon
Q: Wondering if you know what store is being built in the Ollie’s shopping center on the corner of Bonita Beach and 41? Construction has been going on for a while and it looks to be a pretty large space. —Kaitlyn O’Toole, Bonita Springs
A: Ross Dress for Less is coming to that 17,000-square-foot space between Ollie's Bargain Outlet and Harbor Freight in the Springs Plaza shopping center on the southeast corner of U.S. 41 and Bonita Beach Road.
The new store will be the seventh in Lee County for Ross, a California-based chain of department stores. It fills the space Goodwill vacated in 2021 after operating there
Commercial sale
Whole Foods Market and Restoration Hardware, and retaining existing alleys. The replat was required as part of the settlement.
“The purpose of this application before you today is to replace all of these slender rectangular lots with just three larger tracts,” land-use attorney Clay Brooker of Cheffy Passidomo told Council, noting that will accommodate conceptual site plans approved by the settlement.
M Development agreed to reduce the commercial portion of the mixed-use project from 126,000 square feet to 75,000. Fifty luxury condominiums will sit on two floors atop shops and restaurants, with a ground-floor garage that will accommodate residents and commercial uses. There also will be a fitness center and pool. The retailers and restaurants haven’t yet been announced.
And at the request of Naples Airport Authority Executive Director Chris Rozansky, the developer also agreed to disclose the proximity of Naples Airport and associated noise to all potential unit buyers in all documents before purchase.
Designed by MHK Architecture & Planning and New York City-based Morris Adjmi Architects, the project will redevelop the now-vacant St. George & the Dragon restaurant site at 936 Fifth Ave. S. and 1010, 1050 and 1074 Fifth Ave. S.; 590 11th St. S.; 975 and 1041 Sixth Ave. S. The site is near Four Corners, where U.S. 41 meets Fifth Avenue South.
In December 2023, M Development sued the city, three months after Council voted to halt plans for underground garages due to flooding concerns after Hurricane Ian. M Development branded it an illegal moratorium that prevented administrative staff approvals, including its pending plans.
The lawsuit alleged Naples began searching for ways to delay or halt the project in March 2023 by establishing a new ordinance that was pre-empted by Senate Bill 250. It became law on June 28, 2023, and was intended to expedite Hurricane Ian redevelopment work by prohibiting municipalities from imposing stricter land development standards until October 2026.
The settlement means the overall project won’t need further Council approval. Preliminary plans were approved by the Design Review Board on Aug. 28 and return to the DRB for a final review this fall. From
Berkshire Plaza, the retail strip that hosts Beef O’Brady’s, Domino’s Pizza and a few other tenants on the northwest corner of Radio Road and Santa Barbara Boulevard in East Naples, recently sold for $5.2 million, KOVA Commercial Group announced this week. The freestanding 11,496-square-foot commercial strip at 7385 Radio Road is on the corner of Berkshire Commons shopping center anchored by Publix.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress. com.
Come see everything new at YOUR ZOO! Pass through our new, streamlined entrance and visitor complex, and you’ll be welcomed by a flock of flamingos! Stroll along the newly constructed Alligator Bay Boardwalk, then explore the South American Trail, which showcases new species such as tapirs, toucans, and capybaras!
If you haven’t met our family of orangutans yet, you won’t want to miss them. After your adventure, our new, more spacious gift shop allows you to find the perfect way to remember your day!
Denny's restaurant is coming soon to this former longtime location of Rib City at 3871 Tamiami Trail E. in Naples Towne Centre South in East Naples. Florida-based RREMC Restaurants is the franchisee responsible for returning Denny's to the Naples area market 17 years since the chain closed after operating for more than 15 years.
Photo by Tim Aten
for 12 years. In 2021, Goodwill relocated its store east on Bonita Beach Road to Imperial Bonita Plaza.
A rts & LEISURE
The Triangulum Galaxy. Photo courtesy Everglades Astronomical Society member Dave Higgins
Ongoing events
Ocean art exhibition
9 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdaysSaturdays 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 Ave Maria Library, 5050 Ave Maria Blvd., and The Ark Chapel, 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. It includes detailed photos, descriptive panels, a sculpture of the shroud commissioned by Lavoie and a 14-foot shroud replica for visitors to view. Free.
239.280.2500
‘Timeless!’ women’s art on Marco Island
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays through Nov. 25 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island.
“Timeless” — the National Association of Women Artists Florida Chapter exhibition. In La Petite Galerie: Mai Yap (through Oct. 29) and Lynn Nathanson (Nov. 4-Dec. 3) Reception 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 12. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
‘Twenty-five years of 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. 27 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 recent additions such as photographs by Suzanne Camp Crosby and paintings by Reisha Perlmutter and Carmelo Blandino. $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. Garden admission $25 adults, $10 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 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. $30. $10; full-time student or active military (with I.D.), $5; SNAP benefits (with SNAP EBT card),
CALENDAR
IT'S A FULL POPCORN WEEKEND
Various times and locations, beginning Oct. 24. The excitement of the annual Naples International Film Festival begins with opening night festivities at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., continuing with independent films at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in Mercato, 9118 Strada Place, Oct. 25-27, discussions at The Baker Museum’s adjunct meeting center and outdoor screenings in the Norris Garden of Artis— Naples. From those, happy theatergoers can head to closing ceremonies, awards and a live soundtrack screening of Tim Burton’s 1989 version of Batman starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, with the Naples Philharmonic, Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly conducting, at Artis—Naples Oct. 27. Charges vary for events. See artisnaples.org for the full schedule.
$1; ages 17 and younger, free. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
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.
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
This weekend (Oct. 25, 26, 27)
Naples International Film Festival
Various times, beginning Oct. 24 with opening night festivities at Artis—Naples, continuing with films at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Mercato Oct. 25-27. See featured event this page.
Extension Yard & Garden Show
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 26 at University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF-IFAS) Extension office, 14700 Immokalee Road, Naples. If Hurricane Milton made rags out of your landscape — or if you’re simply looking for a new look — this show is the place to be. Vendors of decorative or produce plants and trees, accessories and more bring their best, and there are chances to learn about such concepts as hurricane-proof plantings. $5. Free parking. Tickets
Rocktoberfest at Paradise Coast
6-9 p.m. Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2527, at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, 3940 City Gate Blvd. N., Naples, Rocktoberfest brings three consecutive days of live music, German food — think bratwurst — food trucks and special bier steins to The Cove. Friday evening, the popular local band Rock Republic will take the stage. Saturday and Sunday afternoon, it’s AVYA & 13 South performing. Free admission. playparadisecoast.com or 239.252.4386
Purradise Gardens
Halloween Open House
5-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at Purradise Gardens, 921 No Name Lane, Naples (first left off Rock Road), Naples. It’s the second annual food-raiser for kitties at this cat sanctuary, and the event includes food trucks and a bar, a kids’ corn maze, games and prizes, trick or treating. The Haunted Scare Trail opens at dark — if you dare. Admission is a bag of cat food for the resident felines.
Family Halloween
Monster Bash
6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples. This is a family-friendly event filled with music, egg hunts, games and treats. All guests must be in family-friendly costumes to attend, and don’t forget to bring your candy bag. $3. 239.252.4180
Ghoulden Gate Estates
Trunk or Treat
6-8 p.m. Oct. 25 at Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park,
character costumes to enjoy live music, children’s activities, face painting and more. After the Spooktacular event, stay for dinner and music during a special Evening on Fifth with a live entertainment lineup on Fifth Avenue South from 5-8 p.m.
Bayshore Arts District Trunk or Treat
4-6 p.m. Oct. 26 at 3750 Bayshore Drive, Naples. The second annual Trunk or Treat sponsored by Naples Outfitters is a chance for kids in costume to come get treats. Decorated trunks welcome as part of the fun. Bring your trunk full of candy or your costumed kids and enjoy it all. Get information or sign up to be a candy sponsor at 239.262.6149
Naples Paint Party — Halloween Pumpkin
4-7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Bad Ass Coffee, 1307 Third St. S., Naples. The experts from Wine & Canvas guide you through the creation of your seasonal masterpiece as you sip and nosh from the coffee company’s menu selections (purchased separately). $39 at eventbrite.com
Everglades character museum, trunk or treat
810 39 Ave. NE, Naples. Enjoy Halloween festivities, including games, costume contests, prizes, bounce houses, food vendors and more. Wristbands will be distributed from 9-5 p.m. Oct. 1417 at the Community Center. $5. 239.252.4900
Trunk or Treat
Halloween Event
6-8 p.m. Oct. 25 at Immokalee Community Park, 321 N. First St., Immokalee. Trick or treating all in one place with music, face painting, games, costume and trunk contest. This is a free event for all ages. 239.252.4449
Elle King and Loula
8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at Seminole Casino Immokalee, 506 South First St., Immokalee. Elle King has 55 tattoos, four Grammy nominations, seven film roles, three TV series stints — and one powerful voice. She’s the first female artist in history to have scored radio No. 1 singles on four different formats, following her “Exes and Ohs” album debut. $69 and up. casinohardrock.com or 239.658.1313
Fall Fest
1-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, on the Great Lawn at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, 3920 City Gate Blvd. North, Naples. There are costume contests, trunk-or-treat, bounce houses, remote-controlled cars, face painting, live music from AVYA and more. There are costume parades by age group:
1:30 p.m. ages 4 and younger; 2:15 p.m. ages 5-9; 3 p.m. ages 10-12. Free admission and parking.
Halloween Spooktacular
3-5 p.m. Oct. 26 in Cambier Park, 755 Eighth St. S., Naples. Children, families and pets can dress in their spookiest or favorite
5-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at Museum of the Everglades, 105 Broadway Ave. W., Everglades City. Make hissssssstory with Everglades City’s annual Halloween Trunk-or-Treat celebration at McLeod Park across the street from the museum. Check out the current “Python Hunters” exhibit in the front, then wind your way through the main gallery to pick up treats from creepy characters. Avoid the sneaky snakes and you just might win a prize! Fun for kids of all ages. Free. colliermuseums.com
Rocktoberfest at sports complex
6-9 p.m. Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2527, at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, 3940 City Gate Blvd. N., Naples, Rocktoberfest brings three consecutive days of live music, German food — think bratwurst — food trucks and special bier steins to The Cove. Friday evening the popular local band Rock Republic will take the stage. Saturday and Sunday afternoon it’s AVYA & 13 South performing. playparadisecoast. com or 239.252.4386
‘Anything Goes’ opens Gulfshore Playhouse
Previews 2 p.m. Oct. 27 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29, 30, 31; and 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays and 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, Nov. 2-24, at the Gulfshore Playhouse Baker Theater and Education Center, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road S., Naples. The effervescent music of Cole Porter in a story of romance at sea opens the new Gulfshore Playhouse Baker facility. $44-$114 ($25 student seats). gulfshoreplayhouse.org or 239.261.7529
Next weekend (Nov. 1, 2, 3)
‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ opens season 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1- 2, with prelude at 6:30
online or at the door. eventbrite. com
Grand opening festivities kick off the excitement of the Naples International Film Festival Contributed photo
NATIVE PINE NEEDLES BECOME ART UNDER HOLMES’ SKILLED HANDS
By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
The handmade pine needle baskets of a Golden Gate woman appear in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.
If that isn’t impressive enough, these are talking baskets.
At least they speak to their creator, Dusty Holmes: “I don’t have a specific plan in mind when I start on a basket,” she said. “The basket sort of tells me as I work on it.”
That artistic message may whisper to her to incorporate beading, blend two different colors of needles or add stones and pendants, fabric, her own pottery or even wood carvings.
Visitors to the Naples Woman’s Club Artisan Fair Nov. 2 and 3 will see the results of her conversations with her materials; Holmes is one of the select vendors invited into the annual affair. (For details on the Artisan Fair, see the information box.)
Learning from the best Holmes may be among its bestknown participants, having created distinctive pine needle works for 12 years. She’s advancing a skill taught her by the late Georgia Hortin, a weaver for 50 years who came to a pottery class Holmes was taking and suggested she fuse the two arts. Holmes still creates hand-built pottery, too, but the art of weaving has taken over her life.
“I can do it anytime, anywhere. I can’t do that with the pottery,” she said. “I collect my own needles so I can pick and choose what needles I use. They’re all Florida long-leaf pines, but they’re different colors in different places.”
Fresh pine needles are not a standardized material. Some dry in butterscotch hues, others in deep caramel or nearly down to a cherry tone. Holmes has her favorite hunting places, but she’s always scouting for more.
“I joke that my vehicle stops for pine trees,” Holmes said. “I always have a plastic bag in my car.” She looks for dry needles, so living on the edges of this year’s hurricanes has not been good for needle hunting. “They’re all wet and icky,” she lamented.
Ironically, after she finds dry needles the first thing Holmes does is wet them. She needs to wash, then sort and clean them and spread them out to dry. At the side of her dining room table, a container overflows with double-fist sized bundles of clean needles ready for projects.
When Holmes wants the needles pliable for weaving, she will boil them. And with her current pace of sales, that’s a daily necessity to create up to 200 baskets per month in season.
“I cook every day, I tell my husband,” she quipped. When those baskets dry, they are shellacked, and with an occasional damp cloth dusting, are good for hundreds of years, she said. “Pine needles are very stable.”
More than baskets Holmes’ weaving doesn’t end with baskets. Her cane, a vestige of cancer therapy that she is planning
Holmes in her home with baskets she has woven.
Her work will be available for sale at the Naples Woman’s Club’s Artisan Festival on Nov. 2-3.
to be only temporary, has a woven pine needle grip. Among her works is a pine needle business card holder. She’s made decorative lapel pins.
One pine needle project Holmes rarely tackles, however, is a fullsize basket. The material, the time and the labor make them so costly there’s not a large market for them despite the gorgeous results. On the other hand, her 9-inch and smaller baskets fly off the shelves with prices beginning at $50 — each one unique, with an individual feature embedded or woven through it.
“I have 100 baskets right now, and that’s only enough for two shows a month,” she said of her wares. Spread out over her favored dining room table work spot are baskets
that have centers of detailed wood, stones, small antique items from brooches to tokens. They may have a gossamer silk leaf attached or one of Holmes’ own pottery discs. Holmes will thread through the holes of seashells or weave a pine rim to attach to a perforated bowl or wood piece.
The knots, too, vary from a simple leaflike angle to thicker, more visible weaving in knots Holmes has devised on her own. The artificial sinew Holmes prefers is largely a natural shade, but there are pops of color on some baskets: green, blue and yellow weaving.
“I’ve learned over time that I shouldn’t do things that just please me,” she said. Holmes conceded
she’s learned from using different colors how they can change the visual perception of the woven pine needles.
It is a 180-degree turn from the Detroit native’s career as an intensive care unit nurse, including 20 years in New Mexico and 10 years in Hawaii, where she had the good fortune to be stationed during her four years in the U.S. Army.
“It was tough duty, but someone had to do it,” she said with a sly grin.
“I do weave every day, and some days I’ll weave all day,” Holmes said.
Part of the one-of-a-kind inventory she makes is sold at the monthly Naples Artcrafters Fairs. The Naples Botanical Garden’s Berger Shop also carries Holmes’ baskets.
THE ARTISAN FAIR THIS YEAR
What: Naples Woman’s Club Artisan Fair, a boutique of vetted vendors with an emphasis on handmade, and primarily locally created, goods — jewelry, art, apparel, accessories, ceramics, kitchenwares, condiments — that reinforce its commitment to artists. The proceeds go to fund art scholarships.
When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 2-3
Where: Naples Woman’s Club, 570 Park St., Naples Admission: Free
There’s more: Preview party 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, with drinks and appetizers by Chef Vincenzo Betulia from Osteria Tulia and The French; music by Naples saxophonist Yasel Barreras; silent auction; and private show tour. $125 patron, $100 general admission. Tickets at napleswomansclub.org/ artisan-marketplace-2024
That, in fact, brought the relationship with the Smithsonian.
“Someone from the Smithsonian saw them, and they called me. I thought it was a friend joking. I’m like, ‘OK, who is this really?’” Holmes recalled. “They just kept saying, ‘Ma’am, this is so-and-so from the Smithsonian.’
“After they kept repeating it, I thought, ‘Well, maybe this is serious.’”
Close-up of Dusty Holmes weaving a pine needle basket. The baskets
Photos by Liz Gorman
Pine needle baskets woven by Dusty Holmes.
SOLUNA RESTAURANT & BAR LAUNCHING AT BAYFRONT IN NAPLES
By Tim Aten tim.aten@naplespress.com
Soluna Restaurant & Bar, emulating its namesake sun and moon fusion, plans to rise this month to illuminate the Naples
scene. The new chef-inspired venue will launch soon at 403 Bayfront Place, the former space of the longtime Stoney’s Steakhouse at Bayfront, the mixed-use development along the Gordon River where the southern end of Goodlette-Frank Road meets Fifth Avenue South in Naples.
Chef-owner William Andraca provides a fresh face for the more than 20-year-old restaurant space. Bayfront developer Kevin Stoneburner and late local restaurateur Cloyde Pate launched the traditional steakhouse there in May 2002 as one of the first restaurants in Bayfront. After operating for 14 years, Stoney’s Steakhouse initially closed in 2016 and was renamed that fall as St. Germain Steakhouse under new ownership, then K-Prime Steakhouse for a short time before reverting to Stoney’s again years later.
The latest change will be the venue’s most notable. Andraca only awaits a beverage license for the full bar and outdoor dining approval by Naples City Council.
“I just want to open the doors and start showing the community what we can really do here, what we have to offer,” he said. “We’re really excited. We’re at the gate. The food’s dialed in. We’re starting to cook. So, it’s just a matter of time now.”
Expect an innovative presentation from Andraca, a local country club chef who was born in Miami with Cuban ancestry and raised in Naples, which he considers his hometown. He is excited about sharing his culinary talent
The horseshoe-shaped full bar at Soluna Restaurant &
with the community at Soluna.
“I pride myself on the eclectic array of food I can produce. I really consider this to be one of the true chef-inspired restaurants in town,” he said.
Andraca has amassed an impressive resume as a local chef at upscale private venues in the Naples area. Chef de cuisine at Bay Colony Club since 2019, Andraca completed five years there this summer. The certified executive chef through the American Culinary Federation also has served as executive sous chef at The Club at Mediterra, sous chef at Wyndemere Country Club, chef de partie and banquet chef at Naples Yacht Club and chef de partie at both Stonebridge and Collier’s Reserve country clubs.
“Coming from that club mindset, where we offered so many venues and we did so much variety, it was so much fun to be that creative,” he said.
The young chef clearly has immersed himself into this venue, drawing on his passion and experience. He wants the public to sample a taste of the private country club scene that he says is the best.
“I try not to be pretentious. I love food so much. I appreciate all levels of food, from pedestrian to Wagyu strip,” he said.
While his chef-inspired creations at Soluna will have an upscale fusion aspect, Andraca plans cuisine that is approachable and familiar. “I’m going to have a prime rib night. I’m going to have weekly specials. I’m going to cater to the people who used to love Stoney’s,” he said.
Andraca is starting with a smaller menu that
he plans to progressively grow.
“I pride myself the most on variety, the quality of the ingredients, the fact that we’re going to have a seasonal menu,” he said.
One example of his fusion dishes is a reimagined steak tartare, which he throws a Korean curveball with kimchi, edamame, cashews and crisp baked taro chips. “I’ve got this 12-hour black garlic glaze that I’ve cooked down for hours and hours to garnish it,” he said. “So, it’s food that is somewhat familiar when you taste it, but it has a twist to it.
“I’m serving a Caesar salad where it’s not just a chopped and tossed Caesar salad — we’re going to use the best Pecorino Romano, shaved big. I’m going to take black garlic and layer it between the layers of the Romaine. It’s familiar, but it’s new.”
It’s especially familiar for Andraca, who is drawing on a lifetime of personal culinary influences.
“When it comes to lending my actual past into it, there are dishes on here that as soon as I taste it, they take me back to my childhood and anyone who’s had that will know,” he said. “So, my pork chop dish: It’s Heritage pork chop, 14-ounce on the bone. We’re serving it with a sofrito polenta, so basically as I grew up, with a tamale. We would cook this liquid tamale in a
Bar is preparing to open for business in the former space of Stoney's Steakhouse at Bayfront in Naples.
Photo by Tim Aten
The new Soluna Restaurant & Bar offers a variety of upscale dining options at 403 Bayfront Place, the former longtime home of Stoney's Steakhouse at Bayfront on the Gordon River in Naples. Photo by Tim Aten
By Randy Kambic
Many of us stop gazing at the sky each day after watching a magnificent sunset. Others, though — especially members of the Everglades Astronomical Society, or EAS — look up after darkness sets in. The views are wondrous, especially during season, thanks to the clearer skies and comfortably cool nights.
“The atmosphere has less moisture, it’s more transparent these days,” said Denise Sabatini, former president and a current director of the Naples-based nonprofit which was launched in 1981. “We get better, crisper views.”
And while always awesome, the skies are always changing — the proximity of each planet to the Earth; the moon’s various stages; the locations of many constellations and so much more. Then there are special occurrences: Among many others, mid-November will bring both the North Taurid and the Leonid meteor showers, and the Geminid and Ursid meteor showers will streak by in December.
The approximately 50 members of the EAS are on top of all of this. They’ll hold evening meetings open to the public on the second Tuesday of each month from now through June at the North Collier Government Center and also via Zoom. Members and guest speakers present lectures and demonstrations; there’s also plenty of networking and sharing of best practices and equipment.
Members also conduct periodic darksky “star parties” for guests and the public, including monthly at Collier Seminole State Park — the next two are Nov. 30 and Dec. 28 — and periodically at Big Cypress
ALL EYES TO THE STARRY SKIES
Preserve. Neophytes can view the skies and get advice on obtaining a telescope or binoculars.
EAS members also inspire budding Galileos. EAS Observing Coordinator Mike Usher organizes members to bring telescopes to Everglades Oak Ridge Middle School and Park Side Elementary School on a regular basis, especially to look at the moon around sunset. “The kids love it,” he said. “We have long lines.” Helped by a grant from Champions for Learning, EAS member Bart Thomas, in his eighth year as a science teacher at Beacon High School, led three workshops earlier this year for a total of approximately 20 Collier County Public School teachers on building Safe Solar Viewers — a cardboard box equipped with a Barlow lens — to provide to their students.
“They help them see sunspots on an ongoing basis,” he said, adding he’s developing some demonstrations for students on how sunspots affect the Earth and is having a spectroscope made to observe the sun. He’ll run an astronomy-focused booth at the annual STEAM event for the Collier County School System on Jan. 25.
“I love getting kids excited about our skies,” said EAS Treasurer Kathy James. More casual opportunities also abound, as members sometimes set up their scopes in their driveways to afford neighbors and friends views of celestial wonders.
Paul Leopold, who became EAS president in September, welcomes new members and is looking to educate folks more about light pollution. He has been an amateur telescope maker for five decades, since he was a teenager, and said: “It’s especially gratifying to see an object millions of light years away with a scope I made, and to know I’ve helped others do the same!”
The Horsehead Nebula. Photo courtesy Everglades Astronomical Society member David Boulanger
Everglades Astronomical Society members (L-R) Mike Usher, Paul Leopold and Kathy James
share some of their recent viewing experiences next to an eight-inch Newtonia telescope built by Leopold. Photo by Randy Kambic
The Sun on May 8, when it was highly active in sending out flares.
Photo courtesy Everglades Astronomical Society member Lou Tancredi
COMICS & PUZZLES
1. U.S. STATES: Which is the least populated state?
2. TELEVISION: Which character on "The Office" has a heart attack during a fire drill?
3. HISTORY: Why is Delaware's nickname The Diamond State?
4. LITERATURE: Which children's book features the characters Tweedledee and Tweedledum?
5. GEOGRAPHY: What is the capital of The Bahamas? 6. MOVIES: What is the name of the villain in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"?
OLIVE
By Emi Burdge
p.m., at Hayes Hall, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. The Naples Philharmonic, Alexander Shelley, conductor, with Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, guitar. On the program: Gabriela Ortiz, “Kauyumari”; Arturo Márquez, “Concierto Mistico y Profano,” a co-commissioned work with the Naples Philharmonic; Mussorgsky, “Pictures at an Exhibition.” $49-$79 ($15 students with ID). artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Community Day at Artis—Naples
Activities noon–4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Featuring the Sea Gate Elementary School Xylophone Club, noon; Danza Azteca Guadalupana, 2 p.m.; and a Naples Philharmonic Youth Chorus interactive performance, 3 p.m. Visit The Baker Museum to see its new exhibitions, participate in special activities related to Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) throughout the afternoon and participate in an instrument petting zoo, food trucks, face painting and more. Free.
Thunder From Down Under 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Seminole Casino Immokalee, 506 S. First St., Immokalee. Can we spell chiseled? That’s the perfect description for this troupe of Australian talents who demonstrate their skills in dance, song, skits, comedy and audience engagement — a variety show with six-pack abs. Thunder From Down Under gets high marks for its audience attention and talent.
THE NAPLES PRESS CROSSWORD
There is no frontal nudity, but count on seeing generous flashes of skin. Beginning at $65.
Hyacinth Series: Camerata concert
4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at Moorings Presbyterian Church, 791 Harbour Drive, Naples. The Camerata of Naples opens the Hyacinth Series this year with a sampler of classical music from its wide-ranging repertoire. Freewill offerings accepted.
Mariachi Herencia de Mexico
7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at Hayes Hall, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. With matching sombreros and charros — the elaborate, embroidered suits favored by mariachi music performers — Mariachi Herencia de Mexico celebrates Mexican tradition and culture through street song and contemporary takes on old favorites, transporting listeners to the rural streets of
Guadalajara. $49-$79. artisnaples. org or 239.597.1900
Bank of the Everglades Music Fest
Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Rod & Gun Club, 200 W. Broadway, Everglades City. This music festival to benefit the restoration of the historic Bank of the Everglades brings out Florida’s best indie songwriters, including Raiford Starke, Charlie Pace, Sarah McCullough, Ken Crawford and more. There are arts and crafts, food and more for a full afternoon. $20, $50 reserved seat. eshp.org or 239.719.0020
Plan ahead
Bach at the piano
7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Daniels Pavilion, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. In the opening concert of the 20242025 Grand Piano Series, Polina
Osetinskaya performs a number of beloved Bach cantatas transcribed from vocals to piano — among them “Sleepers, awake!” and “The soul will rest in Jesus’ hands,” as well as Tchaikovsky works. $59. grandpianoseries.org
Bestseller author at Norris
2 p.m. Nov. 7 at Sugden Community Theatre, 755 Eighth Ave, S., Naples. SOLD OUT. New York Times bestseller writer Chanel Cleeton (The House on Biscayne Bay, Last Train to Key West) is the autumn Spotlight Author of The Friends of the Library of Collier County. To be on the waitlist, contact Marlene Haywood: mhaywood@collier-friends.org or 239.262.8135
Living Jewish composers
vocal concert
4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at Moorings Presbyterian Church, 791 Harbour Drive, Naples. Pre-concert conversation at 3 p.m. Seraphic
Fire will perform an a capella concert of choral music by living Jewish composers. “Jewish Voices,” led by Conductor James K. Bass, offers the contemporary sounds and thought-provoking music of Shulamit Ran, Julia Wolfe, David Lang and Moira Smiley. $45-$65. seraphicfire.org or 305.285.9060
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, raffles and prizes. $175. collierresourcecenter.org or 239.434.2030
Car Show seeks classics 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at Florida SouthWestern State College, 7505 Grand Lely Drive, Naples. The 6th annual 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 rookerybay.org/ carshow
From page 2B
This week offers up a number of Halloween-themed events. See Page 2B Photo by Getty Images
Keeping victims of domestic violence in their hearts
pot and we’d add all these pork belly pieces and pork rinds to it and you fry up onions and peppers and cumin and coriander and you add that in there. This version is sofrito polenta, and we’re serving it with these little blistered peppers that are original to Cuba.”
He also is serving octopus — but it’s not a typical Spanish preparation. “I’m serving it mojo-style with green plantains that have been pickled into an escabeche,” he said. “I’m creating all these blends of flavor with some of my background in those two dishes. I also have an Italian lamb ragout with homemade tagliatelle. Every single item is a composed dish.”
Soluna’s side dishes even lean toward the eclectic. “I’ve got a whipped miso sweet potato with toasted pine nuts and sage. I’ve also got whipped potatoes, like regular mashed potatoes with caramelized garlic cloves,” he said. Although allergies will be accommodated, Andraca otherwise frowns on substitutions. He wants guests to enjoy his culinary artistry as intended. And while he’s trying to be as seasonal as possible and sourcing local produce and fish, he knows when it’s best to import the best.
“I’m using the best olive oil, straight from Greece. I’m using imported olives. I have the best cheeses, all imports. I’ve got world wines: Old World, New World, California, Willamette Valley,” he said.
Andraca plans a private wine club with regular wine dinners and public wine tastings with complementary charcuterie. He is creating a calendar of events with special nights suitable for an eclectic restaurant.
“We’re going to have world-class live entertainment,” he said. “My cousin Lazaro Arbos, who holds a key to the city, will be here with his Grammy-award-winning guitarist doing Sinatra nights and lounge singing. His guitarist is incredible.”
ABOVE: Attendees to a candlelight vigil held Oct. 16 in Cambier Park hold up signs with names and photos of victims. The Shelter reports that there were 1,421 domestic violence 911 calls in Collier County in 2023. The organization runs a shelter in Naples, and has a 24-hour crisis line for those experiencing domestic violence..
LEFT: Linda Oberhaus, CEO of The Shelter for Abused Women and Children, speaks at the Oct. 16 candlelight vigil in Cambier Park. The organization held a vigil to remember local men, women and children who lost their lives due to domestic violence.
Photos by Liz Gorman
ABOVE: Executive Chef William Andraca has passionately created the new Soluna Restaurant & Bar at Bayfront in Naples.
LEFT: Soluna Restaurant & Bar is launching at 403 Bayfront Place, the former longtime space of Stoney's Steakhouse and St. Germain Steakhouse in the mixed-use Bayfront development in Naples.
Photo by Tim Aten
Coker, Dennis Erickson, Jimmy Johnson and Howard Schnellenberger were defending the wall around Dade County.
It took bringing back a favorite son, former Canes player Mario Cristobal, to finally re-ignite the torch that is now burning brightly for Hurricane Nation to see coast to coast. Said torch was routinely getting snuffed out by the mediocre coaching efforts of Randy Shannon, Al Golden, Mark Richt and Manny Diaz. With the exception of Richt’s 10-3 effort in 2017, there wasn’t a single 10-win effort in there since Coker went 11-2 in Miami’s final season in the Big East back in 2002. That’s 22 years, by my math, which means the vast majority of current Hurricanes players haven’t even drawn a breath in a world that
included Miami football relevance.
Even ninth-year tight end Cam McCormick was just 4 years old during Richt and Miami’s last 10-win season, which is alarming stretch of irrelevance by any standard.
Make no mistake; any stretch of irrelevance is not the kind of standard Miami established in the previous era. Starting with Schnellenberger, Miami systemically recruited and cultivated South Florida athletes around the promise of swagger and victories.
The Canes delivered in both aspects, branding themselves as the bad boys of college football with both on- and off-field antics while simultaneously beating the brakes off of any team that lined up against them. The result?
Five national titles from 1983 through 2001, a near
program-killing Pell Grant scandal and enough hijinks to fill not one “30 For 30” episode but two.
Flash forward 20-plus years, and Miami — at least on the gridiron — is Miami once again. Cristobal shrewdly navigated the transfer portal during this most recent offseason, the crown jewel being snagging quarterback Cam Ward after two seasons of semi-anonymity at Washington State.
Ward toyed with entering the NFL Draft before choosing to roll the dice with Cristobal and the Canes. That calculated gamble has paid off like a slot machine through seven games, as Ward’s passing attack leads the nation in yards per game (over 400 entering the Louisville matchup) and points per outing (47.7 every time Miami
tees it up).
That has drawn not only considerable Heisman Trophy attention Ward’s way, but also increasing belief that Cristobal is the man that Miami truly needed to dig out of the Quicksand of Irrelevance and walk among the titans of the sport.
Miami has needed a fair amount of luck so far this season to remain perfect, including consecutive come-from-behind survivals against Virginia Tech and Cal — the latter a 25-point climb in the middle of the night in Berkeley to keep the dream alive.
Miami is back, truly back; The U of old in so many ways. College football is better for it, too, as a healthy Miami sends the message to those kids in South Florida that they don’t need to chase NIL cash elsewhere when they can thrive right there at home.
Can the Canes continue this magical 2024 run alive and bring home a sixth national championship trophy? Time will tell … but it certainly should be a fun journey to witness.
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.
OLD DOMINION
Game on!
Catch the live action of
WEEK 1 - Aug. 23
WEEK 2 - Aug. 30
North Fort Myers at Cape Coral 7 | 0
Barron Collier at Naples 7 | 58
WEEK 3 - Sept. 8 Fort Myers at Cypress Lake 55 | 28
WEEK 4 - Sept. 13
Aubrey Rogers at Palmetto Ridge 21 | 20
WEEK 5 - Sept. 20 Cypress Lake at Riverdale 27 | 43
