A: Land is being cleared on the south side of Immokalee Road east of Logan Boulevard for The Karlyn, a senior housing community with 159 market-rate apartment units. Minnesota-based Roers Companies is developing the three-story residential apartment building on 9 acres at 7576 Immokalee Road, adjacent to Saturnia Lakes gated residential community and Logan Landings retail center.
Clearing of the property began in November, and construction probably will begin in early 2025.
“We expect to go vertical first quarter at some point,” said Andy Bollig, a Roers development partner. “We’re expecting completion in April 2026.”
The Karlyn will have a fitness center, yoga room, library and club dining room on the ground level within its 189,317-square-foot main building. Amenities will include a swimming pool, grilling stations and courtyards. The community will have a surface parking lot with 246 spaces, including more than 90 carport spaces, plans indicate.
The apartment building will have 42 one-bedroom units, 38 one-bedroom units with a den, 61 two-bedroom units and 18 three-bedroom units. The size of the apartments
See ATEN KNOWS, Page 8A
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NONPROFITS SURPRISED BY GIFTS FROM TOM GOLISANO
By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
In mid-November, the leaders of 41 Southwest Florida nonprofits received an email from the executive director of the Golisano Foundation inviting them to attend a special announcement the following Tuesday by entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Golisano. More than 150 representatives from organi-
zations across five categories — health, education, intellectual and developmental disabilities, community and animal welfare — showed up at Artis—Naples on Nov. 19, still in the dark as to the nature of the announcement.
Golisano didn’t keep them waiting for long, taking the podium to announce that he would be presenting $85 million in unrestricted gifts to the organizations represented, eliciting a collective gasp and loud applause from those assembled.
Golisano, who founded Paychex, the nation’s largest human resource company for small to medium-sized businesses, said at the event that he has been impressed with the dedication and innovation of the organizations that he has had the opportunity to work with in Florida.
The distribution brought Golisano’s philanthropy this year to $500 million and
See GOLISANO, Page 5A
COUNTY CHANGES COURSE, SEES PUBLIC BENEFIT IN GARGIULO BID
By Aisling Swift
Collier’s Board of County Commissioners faced a dilemma this month: Selling property to the higher bidder, or to a free after-school program for migrant and poverty-level families for about half the $1.31 million bid. The program had been working with the county on the purchase for months. For years it’s had to limit programs because its current space nearby is too small.
But county staff recommended the higher bidder, John J. Gray, the multimillionaire owner of My Other Place luxury vehicle storage on Performance Way. He also owns property across the street, next to the county parcels, where he stores his model trains and antique cars. He wants to build more storage.
Gargiulo Education Center, a 24-year-old nonprofit which operates out of a dilapidated, 2,500-square-foot building on nearby Rail Head Boulevard in North Naples, had searched for years for land to expand its after-school program and community center for atrisk, latchkey and migrant students and poverty-level families. It serves 80 children, many of whom are the children or grandchildren of migrant farm workers who work for Gargiulo Inc., a produce company on Old 41. About 60 children are bused to the
center after school while their parents work in fields.
“Storage is not for the community,” Mary Asta, the center’s executive director, said in an interview, calling the desire to expand a storage facility greedy. “It’s a man cave.” In February, the center submitted a letter of intent to purchase 16140 and 16044 Performance Way for $674,900, the county’s 2007 purchase price. Asta plans to partner with North Collier Fire & Rescue,
John J. Gray
Tom Golisano, right, shakes the hand of a grant awardee at an event at Artis—Naples on Nov. 19. Golisano awarded dozens of nonprofit organizations in health, animal welfare and education a cumulative total of about $85 million at the event. Photo by Liz Gorman
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SWFL INSIDER
Real Fitness launches program for 55+
Real Fitness Naples, located in North Naples, announced the launch of a new limited-capacity fitness program designed for adults aged 55 and older. Starting on Jan. 7, this program, with only 10 spots available to ensure individualized attention, will offer a personalized approach to health and wellness tailored to enhance physical strength, flexibility and overall well-being for seniors. This program aims to empower participants to embrace an active lifestyle while addressing age-specific needs. Early registration is encouraged. Interested individuals or their family members can learn more by contacting alex@realfitnessnaples.com or visiting shorturl.at/odvrt
Food bank receives $25,000 grant
Harry Chapin Food Bank received a $25,000 grant from the Collier Community Foundation to support a partnership focused on feeding families in Immokalee. It will allow Harry Chapin Food Bank and Meals of Hope to provide services directly to families and remove barriers to reliable, healthy food for neighbors. The initiative combines the food bank’s mobile market program with Meals of Hope’s Baby Mobile to create a convenient one-stop shop for community members in need.
Grace Place to celebrate 20 years
Grace Place for Children and Families will celebrate its 20th anniversary with A Night in Emerald City at the 2024 Celebration of Grace, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at Elite Jets Hangar at Naples Airport. Guests will enjoy a journey through Emerald City with a dinner, live entertainment and a chance to support the programs Grace Place has built during the last 20 years. Proceeds from the evening will go toward sustaining educational initiatives, including early childhood programs, after-school enrichment, adult literacy and family support services for Golden Gate families.
Yacht club earns Platinum Clubs status
Naples Yacht Club, the first and oldest private club in Naples, has once again achieved Platinum Clubs of America status. In the 2025-2026 ranking of the nation’s top private clubs by the Club Leaders Forum Advisory Board, Naples Yacht Club ranks as the number five yacht club
in the country and the top yacht club in Florida. In selecting Naples Yacht Club as a Platinum Club of America, a panel of industry experts, historians and connoisseurs considered its universal recognition, respected membership, excellence in amenities and facilities, exceptional service standards, management and operations, as well as how the club has adapted to changing times and the overall experience. There are only 300 Platinum Clubs of America, comprising the top 200 golf and country clubs, 50 city clubs, 30 yacht clubs and 20 athletic clubs.
Naples metro area private sector employment up 1,900 jobs in October
The Naples metro area private sector employment increased by 1,900 jobs year over year in October, a 1.2% increase, according to data from FloridaCommerce. The industry sector gaining the most jobs over the year was leisure and hospitality, increasing by 700 jobs. The Fort Myers metro area private sector employment increased by 900 jobs. The industry sectors gaining the most jobs over the year were government, increasing by 1,700 jobs, and construction, increasing by 1,200 jobs. The Naples area’s unemployment rate was 3.5% in October, a 0.3% increase from October 2023. The Naples area labor force was up 0.2% over the year. The Fort Myers area’s unemployment rate was 3.6% in October 2024, a 0.2% increase. The statewide unemployment rate was 3.3%.
North Naples office sells for $1.6 million
KAB Real Property Holdings LLC purchased a 5,336-square-foot office in Cambridge Square, 3431 Pine Ridge Road, in North Naples from Parimoor Dev LLC for $1,632,907. Adam Palmer, CCIM, SIOR, of LQ Commercial represented the buyer.
Rhinestone Rodeo to benefit food pantry
The second annual Rhinestone Rodeo, benefiting Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, is set for 5-9 p.m. Jan. 5 at Island Country Club on Marco Island. Guests are invited to enjoy a night filled with live music, an auction and fun activities, all in support of the pantry’s mission to combat food insecurity in the local community. Headlining the evening will be the Back Country Boys, a Southwest Florida favorite known for their high-energy performances of country
and Southern rock classics. WINK News Traffic Anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen will serve as mistress of ceremony. Tickets are $200. For information, email Evelyn Rossetti-Ryan at evelyn@ourdailybreadfoodpantry.org
Hoffmann Family of Companies acquires stake in Dallas Morning News parent company Naples-based private equity firm Hoffmann Family of Companies acquired a significant stake in DallasNews Corp., parent company of The Dallas Morning News, company officials said. Hoffmann is now one of the top shareholders in DallasNews Corp. Founded in 1885 by Alfred H. Belo, The Dallas Morning News is the 14th-largest newspaper in the U.S. It reaches an active monthly audience of more than 12 million people across its print and digital platforms. This investment follows Hoffmann’s recent acquisition of shares in Lee Enterprises, the nation’s fourth-largest newspaper chain. Hoffmann Family of Companies now holds the position of the second-largest shareholder in Lee Enterprises and plans to continue increasing its stake, company officials said. It acquired an additional 1% in Lee Enterprises, now owning 538,763 shares.
Sunshine Summit set for January
Southwest Florida is set to host the Sunshine Summit on Jan. 21 at the Naples Hilton. The event is designed to drive innovation and address regional challenges. The Sunshine Summit will bring together industry leaders, local entrepreneurs and community organizations to spark “meaningful change across the region,” according to information provided. The all-day event will feature expert-led workshops, a panel of community leaders and entrepreneurs and interactive open-space sessions.
Habitat Collier celebrates historic $5 million donation
Habitat for Humanity of Collier County marked a monumental occasion recently with a wall-raising ceremony and the announcement of a historic $5 million donation—the largest single gift in the organization’s history. Attendees heard from existing and future Habitat residents, local leaders and Habitat Collier CEO Rev. Lisa Lefkow, who expressed the organization’s deep gratitude for the gift from Andrew and Janet Miller, longtime Habitat Collier supporters.
COLLIER NOW
NAPLES INVESTIGATING EMPLOYEE FOR ALLEGED THEFT, MISSING ITEMS
months, but ignored them until his own employees told him the city employee offered to sell them tools.
A Naples city employee who allegedly stole city gas and used a city credit card to buy “thousands of dollars” in tools he uses for his private business, or sells to others, is being investigated on embezzlement and other charges.
The city employee — whose name, job title and status weren’t released — was outed after a “concerned” business owner wrote to City Council members, City Manager Jay Boodheshwar and city Finance Director Gary Young, to report that he’d heard the rumors for
City officials said they’re looking into the allegations and once the investigation is complete, they will provide more information.
“The city of Naples is aware of allegations related to embezzlement, questionable purchases and missing items involving a city employee,” Monique Barnhart, the city’s communications and public outreach manager, said in an email. “The city is in the process of finalizing a thorough investigation and exercising appropriate due diligence to ensure all aspects of the matter are addressed.”
The business owner’s Oct. 4 letter reported that the employee has been using a city credit card to purchase “large amounts of tools” that he uses for his own private business or sells to construction workers at a reduced price, then “pockets the money.”
“He apparently has purchased many of these tools in Fort Myers and surrounding areas,” the letter says. “[The employee] has bragged to other employees that he rarely buys gas because he gets it for free at the city. He apparently fills up his personal gas cans at the city’s pump and sneaks it out.”
The business owner said he understands fraud and is a city taxpayer.
“[The employee] feels very emboldened that he will not get caught, so he must have someone covering for him,” the letter says. “He recently told an employee, however, that he thought the city might be on to him, so he rounded up tools and put them in a city truck [so] as to appear that there were no tools missing.”
The business owner apologized for not revealing his name, but said he needs to protect his employees, who fear they will be considered “traitors.”
“The rumors are getting around and the city needs to know,” the letter says. “Whoever is monitoring your credit card purchases should be made aware of this serious matter.”
WITH CHARITABLE GIVING, CAREFUL VETTING IS CRITICAL
By Jean L. Amodea
As the holidays draw near, a sense of joy and goodwill fills the air, inspiring many to open their hearts and wallets in acts of altruism. This joy of giving, rooted in the noble action of philanthropy, is a testament to the human spirit. Whether you choose to share from your financial resources now or create a legacy, through your will or other means, the responsibility to carefully vet your chosen charity is a crucial step in ensuring your generosity has the greatest effect.
At the heart of this community, the Collier Community Foundation (CCF) plays a vital role in assisting donors in responsibly selecting areas of need. We tapped Julie Van Tongeren, Vice President of Development at CCF, for informa-
tion on best practices in charitable giving.
The foundation, she said, is a collective of charitable assets with more than 900 funds, all dedicated to making a difference in the community.
Identifying charities for donors
The CCF team assesses and studies the community’s needs and works with donors interested in addressing them, matching them to those assets “to define those magic moments of impact.”
“CCF is dedicated to honoring donor intent. It’s important to us to find high-impact opportunities and report that information to donors. CCF works to identify donors with charities that align with their particular passions and values,” Van Tongeren said. “We ask what connects and motivates them, define their areas of interest and match those passions with community needs. We
can then set up site visits or arrange meetings.”
Tips on vetting charities
Van Tongeren noted that CCF works with local organizations regularly and only grants to 501(c) (3) IRS-registered (tax-exempt) nonprofits. If listed on the IRS’s Tax-Exempt Organization Search website, it’s eligible for funding, but that shouldn’t preclude further vetting. She urges donors to take these steps:
• Ensure the organization’s mission aligns with your values. Look at the organization’s performance and results and assess the methods to address the problem and produce measurable outcomes.
• Ensure your money is going to the cause and be mindful of the administrative costs of your do-
Naples to hold public hearing on fluoridation
By Aisling Swift
Facing pressure from residents demanding the removal of fluoride from the city’s public water system, Naples City Council will hold a public hearing next month to hear both sides of the controversy.
The hearing is set for 10 months after Collier County stopped fluoridating county water.
Council voted 4-3 on Nov. 6 to stop fluoridation, which has been added to city water since 1950. The vote on first reading requires a second vote, during a public hearing on Dec. 4 at City Hall.
Council members Ray Christman, Beth Petrunoff and Linda Penniman were opposed to the vote, which removes language in a city ordinance requiring the city manager to fluoridate city water.
Public demand has grown since a Sept. 24 federal ruling questioning the safety of fluoridation levels, especially for children and the elderly. However, the president of the nation’s top fluoride advocacy group contends the ruling was based on flawed evidence and he plans to educate the council and public.
“This is the same stuff that is being said around the country,” Dr. Johnny Johnson Jr., a pediatric dentist and president of the American Fluoridation Society in north Florida, said in an email. “They are so well-rehearsed, and the council members play games by making this public-health measure a political issue. Shame on them.”
Johnson noted a “high-quality” New Zealand study showed there are no IQ changes from fluoridation, as did numerous other studies.
“The studies that were being quoted from Canada and the one from the U.S. all use a flawed measure of fluoride from pregnant mothers. All of those studies are by the same group of researchers and their students using the same flawed methodology,” Johnson said of studies that prompted the federal ruling, which was cited by numerous speakers at the council hearing.
The American Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and others have issued statements saying fluoride is needed at optimal levels to prevent
CITY WATER
One of the benefits of charitable giving is that donors get to learn about people who have benefitted from their donations. Here, Daniel Mullins — a Vietnam War veteran in the Special Forces — and Cynthia VanBibber, who were formerly homeless, are elated to receive keys to their new home.
Photo courtesy Collier Community Foundation
By Aisling Swift
AMENDMENT 4 SUPPORT MEANS SOME FORM OF ADVOCACY LIKELY TO RETURN
By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
Given that Florida Amendment 4, which would have extended options for abortions from six to 24 weeks, won resoundingly in the popular vote but fell short of the 60% necessary for a constitutional change, the natural question is: Will it return?
The answer is still under wraps. Local supporters of the amendment deferred to the organizations that spearheaded the drive, such as Voices of Florida and Floridians Protecting Freedom, but those entities had not returned requests for comment as of press time.
However, Lauren Brenzel, director of the organization Yes on 4, offered a public statement after the election, indicating the group will begin moving its cause through the Legislature.
“The people have spoken and have sent a clear mandate to the Legislature: repeal Florida’s extreme ban. Today’s results are evidence of the strong support for abortion access in Florida and only fuel our resolve to keep fighting government interference,” Brenzel said in her statement.
“With the most conservative presidential electorate in Florida history, a majority of
Floridians voted for Amendment 4 because they believe in the freedom to make personal healthcare decisions without government interference. This clearly elevates the non-par-
By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
On Election Day, Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and older in Florida, was narrowly defeated statewide — 56% to 44% — after failing to reach the required supermajority of 60%. In Collier County, however, the no votes prevailed by 53% to 47%.
The defeat of the amendment came after the Smart & Safe Florida political committee spent more than $150 million on a campaign to pass it, with the majority of that amount — more than $140 million — coming from Trulieve, the largest medical marijuana company in Florida and the fourth largest in the country.
Trulieve had a lot at stake in the effort. Headset, a data company focusing on marijuana, estimated in an April 2024 blog post that Trulieve was projected to generate “a staggering $1.69 billion in total sales during the first year of adult-use legalization” had legalization occurred.
If Amendment 3 had passed, Florida would have joined the ranks of 24 other states and the District of Columbia that have legalized recreational marijuana use for adults, and the 25 companies currently licensed by the state to grow and sell marijuana for medical use — legal since 2016 — would have been able to do the same for recreational marijuana. If passed, the law would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess up to 3 ounces (approximately 85 grams).
tisan nature of this fight and demands that Florida take legislative action to repeal the near-total abortion ban.”
The issue passed with a healthy 6,070,758
Gov. Ron DeSantis was a staunch foe of the amendment, citing concerns ranging from making access too easy for school kids to the smell of marijuana permeating public places.
Next steps for the legalization effort
This was the fifth time a campaign had been launched to legalize recreational use via a constitutional amendment. What, if any, next steps may already be in the works regarding future recreational marijuana legalization efforts on Trulieve’s part?
Anyone could launch another
By Tim Aten
tim.aten@naplespress.com
This month, Collier County and voters statewide narrowly rejected a Florida constitutional amendment that would have made all school board elections partisan.
Amendment 1 on the Nov. 5 ballot had a majority of the electorate voting yes to approve it, but drew less than the 60% approval rate needed to amend Florida’s constitution.
Of the more than 10 million votes cast in Florida, 5,492,282, or 54.9%, voted yes, while 4,511,103, or 45.1%, voted no. It was even closer to being passed in ultra-conservative Collier County, where 116,119, or 58.9%, voted yes, and 80,935, or 41.1%, voted no.
“We were just shy of 59% here, and across the state, though, we’re just about 55%. So, if we didn't have that 60% threshold to reach, it would have passed even across the state of
Florida,” said Collier County Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier. “I was kind of surprised it didn’t pass.”
Candidates for school board declared their political parties in Florida before 1998, when the statewide electorate voted for nonpartisan school board elections to separate politics from education and curriculum matters. The Republican-led Florida Legislature put the issue before voters again, but the latest election failed to overturn that 26-year-old decision, so the status quo continues, Blazier said.
“So, candidates going forward — same as before, they can’t have their political party affiliation on their signage, materials, things like that, because they’re running in a nonpartisan race,” she said.
The amendment’s failure means that all registered voters, regardless of their party, can vote in the primary and general elections for school board. If the amendment had passed, voters in closed primary elections would have been able to vote only for candidates in their
(57.2%) in favor of the amendment to 4,548,379 (42.8%) against it. In Collier County, the measure lost by a narrow margin,104,228 (49.8%) in favor, and 105,245 (50.2%) against.
“This was not a partisan issue. It wasn’t to begin with. The voting patterns indicate that,” said Lisa Freund, a Naples advocate who worked for passage of the issue through the League of Women Voters, which supported it.
She could not say what the next move for groups that supported Amendment 4 was; “But I can tell you in Collier County 33% for those voting voted for (Democratic presidential candidate Kamala) Harris, but 50% voted for Amendment 4. That’s a very interesting piece of information.”
The issue was subject to an unusual amount of governmental activity and funding to overturn the amendment that could set precedents for future elections: • Cease-and-desist letters from the Florida Department of Health to Florida TV stations that had run a paid ad from Yes on 4’s supporters. A federal district court granted a temporary restraining order to stop the letters, which threatened criminal prosecu-
MARIJUANA?
campaign to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Florida for adults 21 and older with a future ballot initiative. Another option is to focus more on legislative action, as opposed to a constitutional amendment.
In a written statement, Trulieve spokesman Steve Vancore did not address future constitutional efforts, but he did mention legislative efforts.
“On November 5th, a strong majority of Floridians voted in support of legalizing recreational marijuana for adults,” Vancore said in the statement. “While the results of Amendment 3 did not
own party, while independent voters or those without a party affiliation would only have been able to vote in the general election.
Because the majority of candidates running for office in Collier are Republican, partisan races often are decided in primary elections, when Democrats and independents cannot vote for Republicans unless they temporarily switch parties. Even in nonpartisan races, though, the race takes on a partisan slant when school board candidates align themselves with partisan candidates from other races during a campaign, or the county’s Republican Party or right-wing leaders publicize a slate of candidates to advance a conservative agenda.
“There’s nothing that stops either of the major parties from telling voters what registration judges and school board members have,” Blazier said. “The big difference is when you run a nonpartisan race, it’s the filing fees that we collect on behalf of the state. Those filing fees don’t go to a specific party;
clear the 60% threshold, we are eager to work with the governor and legislative leaders who agree with us on decriminalizing recreational marijuana for adults, addressing public consumption, continuing our focus on child safety, and expanding access to safe marijuana through home grow.”
Will Trulieve be involved in any efforts to promote nationwide legalization for adults 21 and older at the federal level?
“It was a positive step forward that not only did President-elect Trump support Amendment 3, we remain hopeful that his support will also lead to broader reforms in national cannabis policy including rescheduling cannabis and passing the Secure and Fair
they go back to the county or the state instead.”
In an argument for partisan school boards, the League of Women Voters of Florida said partisan school boards are a logical outgrowth of the politicization of education. Discussions about age-appropriate books and diversity in schools are examples of hot-button issues.
“Since public education in Florida has become politicized with ideological differences reflected in new legislation, most school board elections have already become partisan,” the League reported.
On the other hand, the League believes nonpartisan boards may have more incentives for working together on issues.
“An effective school board requires collaboration and compromise for the greater good of the district and its students,” according to the League. “Partisan members may make decisions based on the ‘party line’ and could increase political polarization, resulting in problems not solved and needs not met.”
Steve Vancore
Mark Wilson
Oakes foreclosure dropped
Farm Credit of Florida has dropped its $2.78 million foreclosure lawsuit against Francis Alfred “Alfie” Oakes after the parties reached an undisclosed agreement.
The notice of voluntary dismissal filed in Collier Circuit Court on Nov. 20 by the lender, an agent of Florida Federal Land Bank Association, released the lis pendens — a first step in a foreclosure — that was filed Oct. 14 against Oakes Farms OP, Oakes, his wife Deanne and Synovus Bank.
Synovus was listed as a defendant because it loaned the couple money to rebuild after Oakes Farms market on Davis Boulevard was flooded and heavily damaged during Hurricane Ian in September 2022. County records show a lien involving that loan has been partially paid off.
The dismissal of the farm loan lien came six days after the couple paid off a $2 million mortgage and promissory note from Sound Point Funding Corp. In February, Oakes paid off a $22,684.99 lien filed by an environmental company.
The couple faced seizure of collateral, including farm equipment and crops, if they didn’t pay the amount they defaulted on. Six properties, including crops, 114 pieces of equipment, machinery and fixtures, were listed as collateral for the $4.1 million farm loan: 925 New Harvest Road, farms at 7455 and 7526 Sanctuary Road; crop land at 1260 Deer Run Lane in Naples and 6157 Pringle Lane, Immokalee; and a packing plant at 837 E. Main St., Immokalee. The collateral included everything in all buildings, such as doors, windows, cabinets, carpeting, beds and drapes.
Equipment and crops on a farm Oakes leases,
Half Circle L Ranch, which straddles Collier and Hendry counties, also was used as collateral, as were crops and a storage facility at Gargiulo Produce Inc. in North Naples that he uses.
The foreclosure was unrelated to a Nov. 7 raid at Oakes’ North Naples home and Immokalee packing plant that involved the U.S. Secret Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Services and IRS. The DCIS investigates Department of Defense-related activity and Oakes has at least $274.8 million in DOD contracts. That investigation is pending.
— Aisling Swift
Naples hires consultant to review cell tower applications
Naples City Council agreed the city manager should hire a national consultant to help handle applications for installing small-cell facilities on utility poles and within city rights-of-way.
Because it only involved $3,800 per cell-tower application, City Manager Jay Boodheshwar had the authority to sign a contract with South Carolina-based CityScape Consultants Inc. to handle small-cell and fiber applications. But he sought Council’s direction Nov. 4 on the scope of the work it wants under a “piggyback contract” with the city of Coconut Creek in Broward County.
Boodheshwar noted Naples already uses the expertise of Assistant City Attorney Ralf Brookes and communications expert Gary Resnick, an attorney with GrayRobinson, to help staff review applications to ensure compliance with local, state and federal rules. Both suggested improving city ordinances.
“The concern is that we may not have enough resources internally to make sure … we are fully
and thoroughly evaluating these applications to ensure minimal impact on our residents,” Boodheshwar said.
“What we’re talking about here is the opportunity to leverage [CityScape] to take a more proactive approach in working with the providers to minimize applications for small cells,” he added. “… Their coverage requirements will dictate what they ask for and … what we’re proposing today is a reactive system that’s helping us do what we’ve been doing.”
There are coverage problems on the north and south ends of the 12.3-square-mile city, where there are currently 15 cell towers, all except one by Verizon Wireless, and five pending applications. Most are non-concealed small cell towers, not macro cells, which are typically 50 to 200 feet tall and provide coverage for miles.
City Attorney Matthew McConnell said once a provider applies, city staff has 14 days to deem an application complete or ask for more information. After 14 days, if there are none, the application is automatically deemed complete, and the city has 60 days to approve or deny it.
In 2017, the Florida Legislature passed a law requiring governments to give wireless providers free access to public utility poles and rightsof-way. In June 2017, the state declined Naples’ request to veto small-cell tower legislation and that November, the Federal Communications Commission streamlined the review process for replacement utility poles to facilitate buildout of next-generation wireless infrastructure.
In April 2018, the city was contacted by its first small-cell company, Crown Castle Fiber, which applied for a small-cell permit, and in 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law further limiting governments’ control. Over the years,
governments sought ways to limit expansion of ugly towers, while providers improved aesthetics.
— Aisling Swift
Naples returns to its leaf-blower ban after hurricane cleanup
The City of Naples is resuming its ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, which was lifted to help cleaning efforts after Hurricane Milton last month.
The city’s code compliance manager provided a grace period that allowed that type of blower during the initial phase of cleanup after Hurricane Milton hit on Oct. 9, but now gasoline-powered leaf blowers are prohibited, as are batteryand electric-powered leaf blowers that exceed 65 decibels. Leaf blowers that lack a manufacturer’s label identifying the dBA rating may not be used.
Users of prohibited gasoline leaf blowers within the City of Naples may be issued a citation of up to $500.
The city returned to its normal landscaping guidelines, which allow certain leaf blowers Monday through Sunday, except New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Allowed hours Monday through Friday are 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. in residential areas, and 6:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. in non-residential areas. On Saturdays, businesses that perform lawn and landscape maintenance, tree trimming or tree removal services may perform those services in residential and non-residential areas 8 a.m.-4 p.m., while residents get three hours more, up to 7 p.m. — Aisling Swift
his lifelong philanthropy to $860 million, according to Golisano Foundation officials.
“I know raising money is not easy for a nonprofit, and it’s been extremely rewarding to see what’s been accomplished by organizations that I’ve provided financial support,” he said. “I know you guys have a tough job raising money. I’ve said it many times, and lately more than ever: The only wealth you get to keep is that which you give away.
“And since I applied for immortality and was denied, I’m here today to give some away,” he told the enthused crowd.
He said he hoped the “unexpected funding” would help the organizations “broaden their impact and strengthen their organizations so they can expand their services and those they serve.”
The largest awards, $10 million each, went to Golisano Children’s Hospital and Ave Maria University in the fields of healthcare and education. Naples Comprehensive Health received $5 million (after another recent gift of $5 million from the Golisano Foundation), and the Guadalupe Center received $3 million. Other organizations receiving $5 million include Easterseals Southwest Florida, Family Initiative, Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, LARC, Inc. and STARability Foundation.
The gifts, which will be paid out over four to five years, were all unrestricted, meaning the organizations can use the funds for the needs they designate instead of being limited to one area.
Jonathan Foerster, CEO of the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, which received $4 million, said the unrestricted aspect of the gift means the donor is leaving it up to the organization to determine the best use for the funds.
“It’s amazing, in a time when many donors want to very much specify [the use], that Mr. Golisano is trusting these organizations,” Foerster said after the check presentation. “He’s believing in us that we’re going to know what best to do with that money, and he’s giving us that freedom to say, ‘What do you need to do now?’ rather than ‘It needs to be in an endowment, or it needs to go to a building.’ He’s saying ‘I trust you. I believe in your mission, I believe in your organization, and you’re going to do the right thing.’”
Larry Antonucci, M.D., president and CEO of Lee Health, said following the event that Golisano’s $10 million gift to the system’s Golisano Children’s Hospital provides the flexibility to expand services to a growing population.
“We deliver a full kindergarten class [of babies] every single day at our OB hospital,” Antonucci said, “so we know the need for pediatric care is going to grow dramatically. And this type of gift really allows us to target our treatments and target our programs to the growing region, and to our children.”
NCH President and CEO Paul Hiltz described Golisano’s latest gifts as “life-changing” and said NCH would be using the $5 million it received to “immediately” make some cardiac and stroke services more accessible to the region.
“We’ve got a project that we had kind of teed up, and this will allow us to do it a lot quicker than we could have,” Hiltz said after the ceremony.
For Karen Govern, CEO of STARability Foundation, which works to transform the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Golisano’s gift of $5 million came as an “overwhelming” surprise.
“It’s a transformative gift,” Govern said in a phone interview. “STARability has plans to grow, to expand our reach and expand the number of people we serve because we have an incredible need in the community for quality programs and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We actually acquired some property in North Naples this past year, so this will help us be able to invest in the renovation and development of that property and also to grow our programs.”
And it wasn’t just the multimillion-dollar award recipients who were ecstatic follow-
ing the gift presentation.
Purradise Gardens, a cat sanctuary with a focus on street cats, was one of the 20 gift recipients in the animal welfare category, with a $150,000 pledge from Golisano.
Megan Sorbara, the volunteer head of the organization, said in a phone interview that she was “blown away” and “so grateful” when she learned about the gift. She was unable to attend the ceremony, she said, because she was the only volunteer available to transport a cat to the sanctuary that day.
Sorbara said the funds, distributed over four years, will be used for operational costs — which average about $15,000 a month — and toward the organization’s goal of eventually buying instead of leasing a property. The sanctuary, which Sorbara said is currently sheltering about 300 cats across the seven structures on the property, runs a trap-neuter-release program and also works with PetSmart on an adoption program. Purradise Gardens, staffed by about 60 volunteers, also feeds more than 100 cats every night in the Industrial Park off of Pine Ridge Road in Naples.
She said Golisano’s gifts to all 41 of the organizations mean “we can all kind of take a deep breath.”
“This was just such a blessing and so needed, you know, so needed,” Sorbara said. “It’s difficult to keep it afloat, and this definitely will help in such a huge way. And we’ll be able to save more animals and kind of take the pressure off so we can focus on other areas. Just to be recognized by the Golisano Foundation is a huge honor.”
$85 million in awards to 41 organizations
Health – two organizations, $15 million
• Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida – $10 million • Naples Comprehensive Health – $5 million
Tom Golisano poses for a photo with Tom Waters, president and CEO of Easterseals of Southwest Florida, which received a grant. Photo by Liz Gorman
providing it with free offices, a community center and storage.
Gray, who lives in Mediterra, learned of the plans and pending sale after Gargiulo Education Center held its fifth annual gala on April 25 at Mediterra, where it raised $505,000 for construction. Afterward, a resident approached Asta and Fire & Rescue Chief Eloy Ricardo.
“A woman was asking all kinds of questions about the land,” Asta said.
After working with the county for months, negotiations with the county halted without explanation in May, despite Asta pushing to continue.
“I’ve been working on this for a year. There is nothing else out there.
I’ve looked for three years,” Asta said, adding that the chief toured her center a year ago, was impressed, offered to help find a site, then told her about a nearly 1-acre site the county once intended to use for an EMS station.
It’s now considered surplus property after the county opted to build elsewhere.
Asta was unaware Gray had contacted Deputy County Manager Ed Finn in May, offering $1.45 million for the parcels. Ostensibly to compete with the nonprofit, Gray offered to purchase the land through his nonprofit, UP In Smoke Foundation.
Faced with two offers, the county put the properties up for a competitive bid in August, allowing others to bid. Gray offered $1.31 million cash and Asta maintained her original offer, with a $10,000 deposit. They were the only bidders and Gray told Finn his offer represents the market value. But county documents provided to commissioners listed the wrong entity: Up In Smoke LLC, a Hernando county tobacco shop; not Gray’s foundation, a charity not listed in state Sunbiz records, which track businesses and charities.
Money not the only goal
On Nov. 12, just as commissioners were poised to accept Gray’s higher bid, Commission Chair Chris Hall pulled the item off the consent agen-
da, where it would have been approved quickly without discussion.
“You think it’s all about the money, but it’s not all about the money,” Hall said. “We have a great public benefit going on out there with the Gargiulo Education Center. … I brought this forward so we could discuss it … a deal is when both sides walk away happy.”
After a discussion and agreement to increase the offer to reimburse Collier for additional costs, commissioners unanimously voted to continue negotiations with the center, which incorporated as a nonprofit a decade ago. Commissioners are expected to vote on the sale Dec. 10, once negotiations are complete.
The unusual reversal came after last-minute talks among County Manager Amy Patterson, Asta, Ricardo and Hall, and emails and texts by The Naples Press to Patterson, Hall and other county commissioners detailing what led to Gray’s bid, noting Up In Smoke LLC didn’t belong to Gray and pointing out Gray made his offer through a charity known for funding the historic preservation of
Union Pacific steam locomotives.
The Naples Press asked if the county considers factors besides the highest bid, citing the center’s work and emails students sent that urged commissioners to reconsider and make an “investment in the community.”
“The center offers students in the community the opportunity to acquire beneficial skills,” wrote Ashley Pimental, who heads the center’s Entrepreneurial Apprentice Program, noting she’d been a student there since kindergarten. “It’s not just an after-school program where they help students with academic needs, but also builds students to be well-rounded individuals … I have gained valuable social, leadership, academic and life skills that have made me the person I am today.”
She cited another student, now a Lee County middle-school music teacher, one of Champions for Learning’s 2024-25 Golden Apple Nominees. She noted the center helps students achieve not only academic goals, but “a sense of community and leadership that extends beyond the classroom.”
“Investing in the expansion of the Gargiulo Education Center and its programs is an impactful decision,” Pimental concluded. “The long-term benefits of this investment will allow our students and families the opportunity to thrive and develop active community leaders.”
The next morning, Asta received a call from Hall.
“He said that he’s been praying on this whole issue, and he believes that what we’re doing is a good thing and it shouldn’t be all about money,” Asta said. “However, he’s got to make other people happy, so if [the commission were to] up the amount a bit and finance it ... would [I] be able to deal with that? And I said yes.”
But during the meeting, Hall suggested $1 million and Asta, who is raising money to build the center, told commissioners the center can’t afford that. Department Head Trinity Scott told commissioners the county purchased the property with a commercial note, $875,000 that covered engineering fees and environmental assessments, and staff appraised it at about $991,000.
Commissioners noted taxpayer money is involved and agreed they’d support the center’s purchase if the county could recoup its costs. Asta thanked them, saying she’d work on it. Tax records show the center had $674,480 in revenues and $574,208 in expenses last year.
Chief Ricardo told commissioners it’s surplus property only because his station saved the county money and was building elsewhere, so he alerted Asta and she offered him space as a partnership. “We gave up storage … but we need storage and community rooms, so we’re trying to work with them,” Ricardo said.
Gray tried to speak, but hadn’t filled out a required speaker slip, so Hall called a vote.
“I’m going to make a motion that we direct staff to get with the Gargiulo Education Center, work out the terms of the deal to bring back something that they can live with, something that we can live with — and it’s going to be somewhere close to that $991,000 figure,” Hall said.
Price tag increases
In an interview this week, Crystal Kinzel, the county’s comptroller, said Gray should have been allowed to speak and this situation is why she encourages the county to advertise all surplus land for sale.
“This provides equal opportunity for all interested parties and should result in greater recovery to the taxpayers,” Kinzel said, adding that commissioners should then follow state statutes involving such sales. “… Instead of doing a backroom plan with one organization, if you advertise it and you get everybody that might be a viable purchaser, then you’re making one decision — and it doesn’t feel as though anyone was slighted.”
The cost the county paid over the years must be recouped, not just the purchase price.
“Considerations for the recovery of taxpayer funds invested is prudent management,” she explained.
During public solicitations for property, she said, it’s also best to consider taxes that will be generated
COUNTY, TOP BIDDER EMAILS SHOW WHAT LED TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
By Aisling Swift
Emails between Collier County and the highest bidder for two county-owned properties document what led staff to recommend his $1.3 million offer over that of a local nonprofit that serves migrant and low-income children and their families.
Gargiulo Education Center, which serves about 80 migrant and low-income children and their families, with 60 students daily, had signed a letter of intent to purchase the properties in February. On April 25, the center held a fundraising gala at Mediterra, revealing plans to expand by purchasing two nearby county surplus properties on nearly 1 acre, land originally intended for an EMS site.
The next month, Mediterra resident John Gray, a multimillionaire who owns My Other Place luxury storage at 16129 Performance Way, emailed Deputy County Manager Ed Finn, telling him he wanted to purchase the parcels, 16140 and 16144 Performance Way, for fair-market value himself or through his non-profit. He said he understood Gargiulo Education Center already made an offer.
“I’m confident that I will pay more than they will,” Gray wrote on May 22, noting he owns the adjacent property at 16136 Performance Way. Collier Property Appraiser records show the fair market value for the county properties totals $816,750 and they’re appraised at $551,760. The county purchased the land in 2007 for $674,900, the price Gargiulo Education Center offered.
The next day, Finn informed Gray the county already had a letter of intent to purchase from Gargiulo Education Center and asked him to submit a written offer so staff could ask the Board of County Commissioners for direction.
Gray said he’d provide an offer that day and asked, “Does a nonprofit offer have any more value?”
Gray then offered $1.45 million or the appraised value, whichever is higher, and said he intends to hold the property and eventually develop it similar to others on Performance Way, “as a storage facility that will not measurably impact traffic on adjacent Old 41.”
“However, I will increase my offer if the county obtains an appraisal that establishes a higher value,” Gray wrote in his letter of intent. “My goal is to pay the fair-market value for the land … I propose to acquire the property with my nonprofit charitable foundation, Up in Smoke LLC, which is registered in Florida.”
However, Sunbiz, the state’s official list of businesses and nonprofits, shows Up In Smoke LLC belongs to two Hernando County men who incorporated it in January. They operate Up In Smoke Tobacco Shop in Spring Hill.
Gray told Finn that real estate professionals estimate the land is worth $30 per square foot and he’d paid $1 million for the 1.1-acre adjacent property in 2019; appraiser records show Gray, as Performance Way LLC, paid $900,000 in 2021 and spent $1.74 million developing it. In an interview, Gray said he built a 15,000-square-foot contemporary facility there to store his model trains and antique cars, and sometimes invites people to see his model trains. He noted the area is zoned for storage and he’d always envisioned acquiring and developing the county land as income for his foundation.
My Other Place, Gray’s luxury car and RV storage building across the street, is full, according to its website, which says two future phases are planned.
On May 29, county Real Property Manager Jennifer Belpedio asked Gray if the Up In Smoke LLC listed in Sunbiz was his. He replied
it was not.
IRS records show Gray’s nonprofit, UP In Smoke Foundation, operates in Florida and the IRS recognized it as a charity in 2021. Tax returns show it was formed to fund historic preservation of Union Pacific steam locomotives, but also makes grants to “deserving charitable organizations for charitable religious, medical, educational, scientific or literary purposes.”
Gray, a former Union Pacific executive, said in an interview that it’s named after the smoke from locomotives and because he’ll go up in smoke someday and his foundation will continue his work.
Nonprofit 990 IRS tax filings show Gray set it up with $5 million in 2020 and mostly donates to restoration and education projects involving locomotives, although he made small donations to other nonprofits, including San Francisco Opera, the University of Miami and Catholic Charities. In 2020, he donated $7,500 spread among Artis—Naples, Naples Senior Center and Fun Time Early Childhood Academy — the only local donations. The foundation’s 2022 taxes, its most recent filing, show assets total $2.6 million.
On June 13, Belpedio emailed Gray to say staff planned to ask commissioners to consider letters of intent from Gargiulo Education Center Inc. and Up In Smoke LLC and to authorize the county manager or designee to take steps to “surplus the properties in accordance with the competitive bidding process” under state law, allowing others to bid.
Saying she understands it’s a private foundation that would develop a storage facility, Belpedio asked Gray for more information on Up In Smoke LLC, including its mission and the need for the storage.
Gray replied: “Up In Smoke is a charitable, nonprofit foundation that provides funds to other nonprofits principally engaged in historic
preservation and education.
“The intent of purchasing the adjacent property is to develop a similar building to my new adjacent building to display historical artifacts to small groups from time to time. This is not a commercial enterprise,” Gray said, offering a tour. “So, the two bidders are the same, as I understand it: charitable, nonprofit foundations.”
The next day, Belpedio asked if his attorney could provide an opinion and supporting corporate documentation showing Up In Smoke “qualifies for a conveyance under Section 125.38 of the Florida Statutes.”
That law involves surplus property and includes offers by a “corporation or other organization not-for-profit” organized for the purposes of “promoting community interest and welfare.” It allows a municipality to sell a property through a private sale if it’s no longer needed for county purposes and allows the board to sell it, even at a nominal price, despite the property’s actual value, through a resolution.
Gray’s trust attorney then provided documentation about its nonprofit status, charitable donations and its nonprofit IRS 990 2022 tax return. Belpedio asked for a recent filing, but the attorney said UP In Smoke Foundation filed an extension, it’s a trust, has no employees and doesn’t solicit donations, so it’s not required to register with the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
Gargiulo Education Center is registered and shows $674,480 in revenues, $574,208 in expenses, including $448,017 devoted to serving children and families.
On July 9, commissioners approved putting the land out for public solicitation, with no one realizing Up In Smoke LLC was the wrong entity. On Nov. 12, commissioners voted against county staff’s recommendation to award the bid to Up In Smoke LLC and to continue negotiating with Gargiulo Education Center.
See GARGIULO, Page 11A
Mary Asta, Executive Director of the Gargiulo Education Center, chats with teenage students taking part in the after-school program.
Photo by Liz Gorman
DEPT. OF LABOR OVERTIME EXEMPTIONS RULE STRUCK DOWN BY FEDERAL COURT
By Therese McDevitt terry.mcdevitt@naplespress.com
In mid-November, a federal court in Texas struck down nationwide a U.S. Department of Labor rule that went into effect in July making millions of exempt (salaried) workers eligible for overtime pay.
The initial injunction in late June by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas was limited in scope and applied only to the Texas state government as an employer in response to a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general. For other states and other businesses — including in Florida — the new overtime rule went into effect July 1, with a six-month “grace period” before employers were required to comply.
Last week’s ruling to vacate the regulation — which would have formally gone into effect in January — applies nationwide and was effective immediately.
Under the DOL rule, salaried employees earning less than $844 per week ($43,888 per year) would be eligible for overtime pay, and in January most salaried employees who make less than $1,128 per week ($58,656 per year) would become eligible for overtime pay, according to the DOL. The salary threshold
Talk features transportation, Naples Airport
The Greater Naples Chamber will discuss infrastructure updates, including transportation and the Naples Airport, during Wake Up Naples on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
The event, which includes breakfast, begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Hilton Naples, 5111 Tamiami Trail N., and will feature Naples Airport Authority Executive Director Chris Rozansky and Wayne Gaither, Florida Department of Transportation’s southwest area office director.
“Infrastructure is a critical issue in Collier County and Southwest Florida. From our airport to our roadways, these systems are essential for supporting our local and regional economy,” said chamber President and CEO Kristina Park. “This event will bring together industry experts to explore how infrastructure improvements can enhance connectivity, drive economic development and ensure Southwest Florida remains the best place to live, work and play.”
Rozansky will detail updates on several Naples Airport Authority topics, including the recent exploratory study that suggested four alternate locations to build the airport in eastern Collier County. He’ll also discuss the Federal Aviation Administration’s review of the NAA’s Part 150 Noise Study. Gaither will talk about development, management and integration of multi-model transportation services.
To purchase tickets, go to: bit.ly/wakeupnaplestickets. The cost for chamber members is $40 and non-members pay $50. Sponsorship opportunities also are available.
would then update every three years, the DOL said.
Scott Atwood, chair of the labor and employment practice at Fort Myers law firm Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, said in a phone interview after the decision that the federal court vacated the rule based on a two-part analysis.
“The first part was whether or not the Department of Labor’s analysis with the final rule went beyond a fair reading of the text of the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Atwood said. “The second was whether they exceeded their authority as an agency to issue the rule on both cases, and they found against the DOL.”
Atwood said the court’s decision in late June pertaining solely to the state of Texas as an employer laid the groundwork for last week’s ruling to vacate.
“He did not make it a nationwide injunction [in June],” Atwood said. “Instead, he applied it to Texas in a limited scope but indicated that he would rule on the merits of the case before the January rollout.”
Atwood said in a July interview with Gulfshore Business that it was likely the DOL rule would be invalidated based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that overturned a landmark 1984 decision, Chevron vs. Natural Resources Defense Council, saying it was possi-
ble that the judge was “tweaking the ruling to incorporate that he’s not bound to defer to the DOL rule as correct.”
As for this month’s ruling by the federal judge, Atwood said that the timing is also tied to the pending change in administration in Washington, and that even if the Biden administration decides to appeal, he “can’t see a situation where the Trump administration would not withdraw the appeal.”
“I think that this rule is done,” Atwood said. “This rule is dead. And one thing that should be noted is that there was a different rule put forth by the Obama administration that was supposed to go into effect [in 2016], and right before it went into effect, the Trump administration withdrew it and ended up replacing it with the current one [in 2019].”
Atwood said he had advised his clients to “wait and see” before complying with the rule because of the grace period and the November election.
“It’s always a difficult decision that an employer has to make when you have a regulation that’s being contested in court as to whether or not you’re going to comply with it while it’s being contested,” Atwood said following the court’s ruling. “It’s one of the reasons that I suggest with most employers that until the day it goes into effect, and you have to comply with
Turkey Drop
it, that you should be careful about rolling out something that’s going to change your business model. In this case, it wouldn’t be illegal as much as a business decision as to whether or not an employer is going to roll back any kind of salary increase that they’ve given people, or any changes to the overtime status of certain employees.
“If you’ve increased the salary, it’s going to be very hard for you to roll it back, and will not be taken well by employees.”
Asked if the Department of Labor plans to appeal, spokesperson Jacob Andrejat said in a written response that the Labor Department is “evaluating the decision in conjunction with the Department of Justice and will determine next steps in this litigation.”
“Under the Biden Harris Administration, the Department of Labor has been steadfast in using the authority delegated by Congress responsibly on behalf of America’s workers,” Andrejat said in the statement. “The court’s decision to vacate this rule immediately reverses overtime protections for one million workers and stops a provision from going into effect in January that would have guaranteed another three million workers overtime when they worked it. As long as this decision stands, workers earning as little as $36,000 are no longer guaranteed overtime pay.”
The SAFER Banking Act, introduced in 2023, “provides protections for federally regulated financial institutions that serve state-sanctioned marijuana businesses,” according to a summary of the act available at congress.gov . The summary says that currently “many financial institutions do not provide services to state-sanctioned marijuana businesses due to the federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.”
One of the organizations that came out strongly against Amendment 3 was the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which based its opposition on the fact that legalization was being attempted by a constitutional amendment rather than
statutorily by the Legislature.
Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber, told Gulfshore Business prior to the election that “if this looks like an end run around our governor, the cabinet, the state Legislature — the very people we elect to set policy — then we will almost always oppose it from going in the Constitution; even if it’s something that we like, we would still oppose it.”
In a late November phone interview, Wilson said the Chamber would continue to oppose any potential future constitutional amendment efforts regarding legalizing recreational marijuana use.
“They’ll keep coming back and if they go through the legislative process, we’ll work with them and see if there’s kind of a right way to do it or not,” Wilson said. “If they want to go around the representative democracy process and try to buy their way into the Constitution, we’ll stop them there in their tracks.”
From page 4A
tion. Floridians for Choice, in turn, sued the state for “using public resources and government authority to advance the State’s preferred characterization.” That suit continues.
• Visits from an election police force instituted by Gov. Ron DeSantis in an Office of Election Crimes and Security he created in 2022. People who had signed the petition to put Amendment 4 on the ballot were quizzed on the veracity of their signatures, despite previous verification by their county boards of elections. Voting groups and signers who were interviewed by media said they felt the visits were to intimidate them. This was apparently the DeSantis administration’s first widespread use of that office.
GREATER NAPLES CHAMBER
Special to the Naples Press
will range from a 699-squarefoot one-bedroom unit to a 1,303-square-foot three-bedroom unit, architectural plans show. A resident on each lease must be 55 or older during the lease term, Bollig said.
Before construction begins, a right-turn lane into the development will be installed on Immokalee Road. A 53,550-square-foot preserve will be retained at the rear of the property.
Roers also has a few other residential projects in planning stages in Collier County. The Mattson at Vanderbilt residential planned unit development is proposed for a maximum of 150 multifamily rental units on 5.88 acres on Vanderbilt Beach Road east of Livingston Road in North Naples. The apartment complex will be located between the Bradford Square and Sandalwood Village senior housing communities on two adjoining properties that used to be home to Bobbin Hollow Equestrian Center and Naples Safari Animal Hospital & Pet Resort at 3375 and 3333 Vanderbilt Beach Road, respectively.
“We’re hoping to submit for a building permit on that one in January and start construction not too long after that,” Bollig said. “Obviously, we had to add some affordability to get the county commissioners comfortable with the project. We’re happy with where it landed.”
Another multifamily project is planned on parcels near Greenway Road and Tamiami Trail East in southeast Naples. “I think we’re looking at about 300 units there,” Bollig said.
The initial site development plan package has been submitted for review, said project manager Jackie Page, a Roers senior development associate.
“We’re kind of in our final stages for review there, and we have our hearing scheduled Dec. 19 for that,” Page said. A fourth site includes a smaller parcel under contract near the HeadPinz bowling alley off Radio
From page 3A
Road in East Naples. “We’re looking at doing a smaller 120 or so unit deal,” Bollig said. “We haven’t submitted on that yet.”
Tide coming in
Q: Do you have any idea what is going into the old Wells Fargo bank on Strand Boulevard and Tavilla Circle in front of the Strand golf club? There is construction activity there. — Alice O’Shea, North Naples
A: Tide Cleaners is coming to the former Wells Fargo bank branch at 5610 Strand Blvd. in The Strand shopping center, anchored by Publix supermarket off Immokalee Road just west of Interstate 75 in North Naples.
“We’re just waiting on our final permit to start construction,” said Jon Kassolis, chief financial officer for Consolidated Cleaners Inc., the Naples-based franchisee of Tide Cleaners in Florida. “We’re still on track for 2025, opening a 5,000-square-foot plant/retail store there, so that’s very exciting.”
The Tide franchisee painted the former bank’s exterior white and plans to use one of the bank’s drive-thru lanes as a drop-off/pickup lane for the dry-cleaning business. The freestanding Tide will not have a companion tenant on the 1.23-acre corner outparcel lot.
“SK Holdings, our real estate de-
nation. Check its stability, leadership and governance structures.
• Ensure that the organization has a manageable overhead or is not paying out a lot of money as salaries; at least $0.75 of your dollar should go directly to programming.
• Ensure the organization is financially transparent. It is required to file IRS 990 forms, which should be public and easily found on its website.
• Check the legacy planning information and whether there are experts to provide guidance.
Types of donations and charitable legacy giving Giving takes many forms, said Van Tongeren, such as in-kind donations, private donations or offering a unique skill set to an organization. Examples are sitting on a board; providing leadership support; being a committee member or serving on one of the governance structure’s under-committees; or volunteering and helping to execute some of the nonprofits’ programs.
“It is projected that $32.8 billion will change hands by 2032 in Collier County, and it may happen sooner due to our aging population. Three percent of $34.8 billion would translate to $1 billion for charity over the next 10 years. If $1 billion was endowed, $50 million would be available each year for community improvements. This is why we encourage donors to count this community as one of their heirs in their estate planning,” Van Tongeren said.
“Giving also provides the benefit of a tax advantage. We tend to see more of those individuals only because a donor-advised fund can be a very convenient and tax-efficient vehicle, and the payout rate for donor-advised funds is extremely high. We are moving money as quick-
velopment company, owns it,” Kassolis said. “We bought it from Wells Fargo when they were selling a lot of the buildings. So, we gutted the interior of it and took out the bank vault — which I never knew how hard it was to do that.”
The Strand location is only about two miles west of the Tide location at Logan Landings, which is on the opposite side of Immokalee Road at Logan Boulevard.
“What we’ve learned along the way is that it really doesn’t matter proximity-wise where it is. It’s all about traffic patterns,” Kassolis said. “A perfect example of that is at Vanderbilt and 41, where we put the first Tide, the first Naples store. Everyone at Procter & Gamble told us we were crazy putting the one
ly out of donor-advised funds as we do in. We stress helping our donor-advised fund holders put their dollars to work.”
The CCF’s primary funding need CCF identifies housing as the number-one need and a good choice for giving locally, as it affects many other areas of community need.
Van Tongeren noted that the Collier County government human services budget is about 1.5%, so donating to nonprofits that provide these services is crucial.
“Not only do we have an affordable housing project coming online that was a partnership with the county and philanthropic dollars and a nonprofit developer, but we have an impact investment fund, and a new nonprofit called the Housing Alliance,” Van Tongeren said. “Other CCF strategic areas include mental health and substance abuse, hunger, education and employment, seniors and veterans, environmental resiliency and disaster relief and resiliency.”
When to give
Van Tongeren advised that the best time to give to charities is year-round. Giving sooner than the holidays allows nonprofits to budget efficiently without waiting for the rush of endof-year donations. For donors who make grants through their fund with CCF, tax deductions have been applied, so getting it in by year’s end doesn’t make a difference for them.
“Our community is generous, but not everyone knows about the dire needs here. We strive to educate and raise awareness of the needs of people and get them connected to the right interest areas based on their passions. And so, we’re always playing that role for folks, whether they’ve been here for a long time, or need a new perspective on their community, or whether they have relocated and they’re curious about what the needs are and who the organizations are that are doing the best work,” Van Tongeren added.
on Old Trail with the Starbucks near the Fresh Market; it was less than three miles away. But we said, in Naples, the roads predominantly run solely east and west and north and south. There are no zig-zaggy roads or anything like that. It creates these unique traffic patterns where I might not realize it, but on any given week, I’m probably on the same five roads the entire time.
So, people that live north of Pine Ridge on 41 don’t go south for daily shopping needs; if you live south of Pine Ridge on 41, you don’t go north. It’s the same kind of theory for The Strand and Logan Landings … It’s just different traffic patterns for different population groups.”
Expect Tide Cleaners to continue expanding in Collier Coun-
ty. A seventh location in Collier is planned in 2025 at the site of the former 7-Eleven convenience store on the northeast corner of Pine Ridge Road and Shirley Street. Initial plans for a pet grooming business fell though at that location.
“We are putting in a 1,200-square-foot [Three60] wine store and a 1,200-square-foot Tide,” said Kassolis, who began a partnership with Three60 Wine when it moved in next to Tide in a building owned by the franchise on Trail Boulevard in North Naples. Tide also plans to follow the growing population rapidly pushing east.
“We know we’re going to put a Tide east of Collier and Immokalee; we just don’t know exactly where, how far east we should go with the next one,” Kassolis said.
The retail brand features Tide’s distinctive orange-and-yellow bull’s-eye trademark that has dominated bottles and boxes of home laundry detergent made by Procter & Gamble for generations. Its machines and proprietary process for dry cleaning use a Green Earth system designed to be gentler on clothes and the environment, the company reported.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim. aten@naplespress.com.
Review these tips on responsible giving. Report charity scams at the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov; the Florida Charity Regulator at the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Consumer Services, 850.410.3800 or 800; HELP-FLA (435.7352); or the Office of the Florida Attorney General, 866.966.7226.
• Vet telemarketers’ credibility; many calls for donations may go to a Political Action Committee (PAC) rather than a verified charity.
• Make sure donations will be tax-deductible.
• Don’t pay for donations with wire transfers or gift cards; donate by credit card or check.
• Only donate online if the webpage’s address includes “https,” which denotes that the information is encrypted and will be transmitted securely.
• Don’t donate if you are asked to use cryptocurrency only; it is likely a scam.
• Check bank or credit card statements for actual donation charges; ensure you’re only charged the amount you agreed to and did not sign up for recurring donations.
• Don’t trust your caller ID; check out the charity’s name.
• Avoid falling for the scam of sending in a
• Donate on social media and crowdfunding sites
Land is being cleared on the south side of Immokalee Road east of Logan Boulevard for The Karlyn, a three-story senior housing building with 159 market-rate units being developed by Minnesota-based Roers Companies. Rendering by ESG Architecture & Design
Tide Cleaners is coming to the former Wells Fargo bank branch at 5610 Strand Blvd. in
The Strand shopping center off Immokalee Road just west of Interstate 75 in North Naples. Photo by Tim Aten
SIP, SHOP AND SAMPLE
Three60 Wine opens new retail store, wine bar in North Naples
By Tim Aten tim.aten@naplespress.com
Another Three60 Wine shop and bar recently launched in Sprouts-anchored Logan Landings in North Naples.
The new business opened in a new freestanding outparcel near the Logan Boulevard entrance to the retail center on the southeast corner of Logan and Immokalee Road. The shop is similar to the location that launched in Estero in February, but this new venue is the local concept’s largest, said co-owner Jon Kassolis.
“This next iteration is very similar to the Estero location — except it’s a standalone, a 3,500-square-foot building. But, in many respects, very similar to Estero and it’s got a 12- to 14-seat bar,” Kassolis said. “We think it will be really, really great for the neighborhood there for purchasing wine by the bottle, enjoying a glass of wine at the bar; or we’re going to be putting on a lot of events like tastings.”
The shop is stocked with about 11,000 bottles of wine.
“We’ve got the best prices in town; we believe the best quality in town. Honestly, we have the best staff in town,” Kassolis said.
The new Logan Landings location also can be rented out as private event space, said Three60 Wine CEO Jason Parsons. “We do complete buyouts,” Parsons said.
“Our two larger formatted stores right now are Estero and here. We wanted the ability to have wine tastings in both locations, so we’ll bounce the wine tastings back and forth from Three60 Logan to Three60 Estero. We call them Sip, Shop and Sample.”
The new venue in North Naples plans to cater to area residents who already visit Logan Landings to shop at Sprouts supermarket or dine at restaurants there such as Oak & Stone, Brooks Burgers and Felipe’s Taqueria.
“We see that bar as more vibrant on a daily basis for people stopping to meet people after work to have a glass of wine before they go home, or coming for one of our tastings, or renting it out to have events there,” Kassolis said. “We hope to be able to host some pretty nice events there. Obviously, with 3,500 square feet you can’t have 300-400 people there, but you can certainly have 100-120 people at an event for a holiday party or a corporate event where you just want something a little different than your usual average corporate event at the
The new location of Three60 Wine shop and
Nov. 15 in the Sprouts-anchored Logan Landings on the southeast corner of Logan Boulevard and Immokalee Road in North Naples.
bowling alley. We thought it would be nice for people to have that option.” Naples entrepreneur Rebecca Maddox is the founder and co-owner of the Naples-based retail concept that began years ago at her former Three60 Market, which started by selling wine at discounted prices on Bayshore Drive in East Naples. The
first stand-alone store for Three60 Wine opened in 2021 on Trail Boulevard along the east side of U.S. 41 south of Vanderbilt Beach Road, in a multiunit building owned by Consolidated Cleaners, the franchisee of Tide Cleaners next door. Maddox meeting Kassolis, chief financial officer of Naples-based Consolidat-
to strengthen federal Toxic Substances Control Act regulations to address health risks.
tooth decay.
Council’s vote came after 12 speakers, including four doctors, urged council to remove fluoride, citing lowered IQ levels, the federal ruling and other research that showed it was a dangerous neurotoxin. They contended it places liability on the city and it’s a forced medical treatment that violates the state Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities statute.
Three other speakers, a dentist, toxicologist and Collier County Medical Society’s executive director, urged council to wait and not take action. They contended fluoridation levels are safe and that fluoride is needed, as well as toothpaste.
The federal ruling stemmed from a lawsuit, Food & Water Watch vs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The judge wrote that his decision “does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health,” but there was now enough evidence of its potential risk, including a reduction of more than four IQ points to children. The judge ordered the EPA
Armed with that ruling, city residents on Oct. 2 urged council to remove fluoride, prompting council members to direct City Attorney Matthew McConnell to draft a resolution so they could hold two public hearings and hear both sides.
Fluoridation has been controversial for decades. In February, the Board of County Commissioners, after similar public pressure, stopped fluoridating water after 39 years, saving the county $126,000. The cities of Marco Island and Everglades City do not fluoridate.
It was the fourth time since 2011 county commissioners voted on the issue. Naples also considered it in 2012 and voted to keep fluoridating. But over the years, the county commission and City Council gained new members open to removal. The county passed it after enacting the county Health Freedom Bill of Rights ordinance last year. It was Dan Kowal, one of those new commissioners, who asked the board to consider it in February to save $126,000, and because it medicates residents without their consent.
And he urged council to remove it. “Sometimes we learn over time that it’s not always the
ed Cleaners, was the beginning of a business partnership that sparked Three60’s regional growth and the hiring last fall of CEO Parsons to help scale the brand.
“We kind of had the pilot store in North Naples, which has 2,000 square feet and has a small bar area where you can get a glass of wine to
best thing,” Kowal said, adding that it’s not required and constituents wanted it removed. “I had to make that decision to protect them and their liberties.”
There is no legal requirement to add fluoride to public drinking water, but if added, there’s a legal limit of 4 milligrams per liter, with a recommended level of 0.7 milligrams — and that’s the amount cited in the federal ruling. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention considers community water fluoridation to be one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, but controversy has existed due to health-freedom proponents and those who believe it’s dangerous.
Council members Petrunoff and Penniman noted that eight homeowners associations asked to delay the vote to research the issue, and Petrunoff wanted to hear more scientific evidence. Christman urged his council colleagues not to vote for removal without hearing from doctors, dentists and other experts.
“When I made my New Year’s resolutions for 2024, I said that I wanted to become a worldclass expert on fluoridation,” Christman said.
“Now I am a world-class expert because I’ve read every dang report that I think exists and
sip while you shop and it does smaller events,” Kassolis said. “At the Estero location we have a full 12- to 14seat bar, 3,000 square feet. So that is kind of what we call our prototype. That’s what we want to be developing all over Collier and Lee County.”
At least two more stores are planned in Collier County. The next Three60 Wine is targeted to open this time next year. The smaller store will share space with Tide at the former 7-Eleven store at Pine Ridge Road and Shirley Street in East Naples.
The owners hope to open another Three60 in the Naples area. Future area stores will not necessarily have a wine bar, though.
“Now, we’re focused on doing additional stores that will be wine retail only,” Parsons said. “We won’t need any more stores in Southwest Florida with a bar — not with a formal bar like that. We’ll still do tastings at all the locations, but we don’t need a formal bar setting like that.”
The new Three60 Wine shop, 2250 Logan Blvd. N., is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Events can also be planned after hours, though.
that has been sent to us by various people, and some I found on my own, so actually I think I know a lot about the topic of fluoridation.”
Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison noted the city’s ordinance said the city manager is directed to add fluoride to the water by the county health department, which is run by the state, but City Manager Jay Boodheshwar said he’s received no such direction.
Dr. Richard Schroeder, a retired medical doctor and former healthcare executive, cited numerous studies showing lowered IQ levels, dementia and increased fractures due to fluoride being attracted to bone.
“The consequences of these bad decisions can wreak havoc on the human race, especially where public-health policy is concerned,” Schroeder said, urging removal.
The majority of council believed fluoride is readily available at pharmacies, many residents don’t want to drink fluoridated water and that poses a liability on the city. Mayor Teresa Heitmann noted that residents voiced their concerns, and they can speak out again at the public hearing, on Dec. 4 at City Hall.
The new Three60 Wine retail shop in North Naples is stocked with about
11,000 bottles of wine and includes its own wine bar and event space available to lease for private events.
Photos by Jason Parsons
KALEIDOSCOPE GARDEN CLUB IS NAPLES’ BEST NEW HANGOUT
By Samantha Garbarini
When Kaleidoscope Floral launched its Instagram account in 2016, Sean and Melissa Stevenson were looking for an outlet to showcase their chic, exuberant arrangements brimming with colorful, exotic flowers.
“I had worked in a couple of different flower shops, and I started to get excited to see gorgeous new varieties of flowers coming in from Holland,” Sean recalled. “I did a deep dive on the Internet and found a world of expression through florals. Basically, it was using flowers as a medium to do art.”
Among Naples’ roster of more traditional florists, the couple’s fresh, contemporary take immediately drew attention. Kaleidoscope booked a few weddings, and then like its namesake, expanded to reveal more facets — ballrooms and private homes bursting with blooms for some of Naples’ biggest philanthropic events, magazine editorials and, most recently, the debut of Kaleidoscope Garden Club, a stunning boutique meets coffee bar meets event space that’s staking its claim as Naples’ best new hang.
Tucked away on a side street just off Tamiami Trail between Old Naples and the Bayshore Arts District, Kaleidoscope Garden Club, which opened Nov. 12, is a tropical oasis in an otherwise industrial neighborhood. In the grassy seating area out back, birds chatter in the mature palm trees as the pink umbrellas rustle in the late afternoon breeze. Leafy potted plants create little alcoves for white tables and chairs.
“We had a flower shop before, but we wanted to have a place that could be a community-oriented hangout spot,” Sean said, noting that he’s already had multiple requests to hold events and bridal showers in the garden. “Our concept for retail was always to have a multifaceted space.”
To reach the garden, customers first pass through the retail shop — a candy land of stylish home goods, artisanal foods and craft beverages.
“I love handmade items and small businesses,” said Melissa, who curates most of the shop’s wares. “We try to stay away from mass production. A lot of what we carry is American-made, and we have a lot of women-owned businesses, too.”
The mix is eclectic, yet somehow cohesive — and as befits Sean and Melissa’s eye for floral arranging, items are frequently grouped by color gradients, rather than type. Along one wall you might find stemware, mugs and drinking glasses in tangerine, burnt orange and pale-yellow mingling with gold banana peel candlestick holders, an orange box of smoked Maldon sea salt flakes, the cutest candles shaped like citrus and pink seashells and the bright yellow cover of a cookbook from former Bon Appétit food editor Carla Lalli Music.
“We wanted to have unique items, stuff we would want to receive as gifts,” Melissa said. “The pantry came along because we were finding so many different things that were food-related.”
That pantry occupies a corner of the store where shelves are laden with cult favorite
Graza olive oil, coffee beans roasted on Florida’s east coast, fiery instant dan dan noodles, tons of artfully packaged tinned fish and all kinds of small-batch condiments. There’s also a selection of artisanal American cheeses and Spanish-style cured meats.
“The concept is to grab whatever you want and our team will make a charcuterie board for you,” Sean explained.
To pair with those bites, two fridges are stocked with nonalcoholic beverages, Florida-brewed craft beers (including the debut drop of sours from Bonita Springs’ Ceremony Brewing) and natural wines.
“Melissa’s friends who live in Los Angeles were the first people to talk to us about natural wine,” Sean said. “Then we met Peter [Rizzo of Naples’ Nat Nat], and he’s so passionate about it that he got us passionate about it.”
Just before the shop’s opening, Sean and Melissa took to Instagram to share an arrangement of delicate flowers interspersed among a cascade of golden croissants. The photo was shared thousands of times. The big news: Wolfmoon bakery would be launching a pop-up at Kaleidoscope Garden Club. Pastry chef Clara Fasciglione sold her perfectly flaky, uber-popular butter croissants online until the opening of Wolfmoon’s brick-and-mortar in Bonita Springs last year.
The collaboration with Kaleidoscope marks her first permanent foray into Naples, complete with chocolate croissants, superfood-rich salads, giant brownies and matcha lattes.
“We’ve been fans of Wolfmoon for a while,” Sean said. “There needs to be more of this in town — curated people who care about what they’re doing.”
The Kaleidoscope Club is at 1780 Commercial Drive, Naples. Website: kaleidoscopefloral.com. Phone: 239.300.0627
because selling the land to a nonprofit removes the land from the tax rolls.
“If you’re looking at sustainability, that’s an issue to consider because as [county] assets age, you will need money from ongoing sources to pay for repairs … and if we give away the land that would generate the tax base, then how are you going to sustain everything the county continues to own?” Kinzel asked.
As of this week, the county’s full costs stood at $1.094 million, an amount Asta must find a way to
raise on top of construction costs. Gargiulo students are tutored, get homework help and learn art, music, technology, entrepreneurship — even how to fly on flight simulators through the Young Eagles Naples program. They also learn how to volunteer and service their community. Once the center expands, doctors, dentists and others have offered to provide services there, and it would also like to have cooking and budgeting classes, as well as classes for parents.
Once the center is ready for construction, Asta said, she can apply for a grant. The grant, which needs Collier Community Foundation
approval, must be spent within 12 months. The land is 0.07 miles away from the existing center, which had to cut programs due to its small capacity. The plan is to build a 6,000to 8,000-square-foot center close to the students’ homes, as it is now.
In a telephone interview, Gray, former mayor of the town of Ross, in Marin County, California, said he wanted to expand storage for his model train and antique car collection as a museum for educational purposes because he will go “up in smoke” someday. His foundation — also a reference to locomotive steam — funds historic train restoration and education, but Gray, a
former Union Pacific executive, also funds other nonprofits, and owns a nationwide company that operates train terminals for containers and trailers.
Gray admitted learning about the center’s plans from gala attendees, but contended the land isn’t a good place for a school because children must cross busy Old 41 to get home.
He suggested Gargiulo Inc., which has helped the center with its mortgage, provide property.
He also noted some commissioners believed the education center was currently on that property. It’s vacant with 4-foot-high weeds and needs to be filled in and developed
— “a lot of work,” he said, noting the Town of Ross would never sell to the low bidder.
“We were always approached over charitable causes, and I kept saying — and I think others have said since, and before me and after me — that we’re stewards of the taxpayers’ money. We’re not a charitable institution,” Gray said, adding that he respects the commissioners’ decision. “It’s just not something I’m used to.”
Asta says the county did the right thing by agreeing to continue negotiations with the original party, noting, “He wants to build storage, and we fill a community need.”
Melissa and Sean Stevenson started Kaleidoscope Floral with an Instagram account in 2016, before opening Kaleidoscope Garden Club Nov. 12 off Tamiami Trail between Old Naples and the Bayshore Arts District.
Photos by Austin Trenholm
A pantry occupies a corner of the store offering Graza olive oil, coffee beans, instant dan dan noodles and more.
Kaleidoscope Garden Club provides a tropical oasis in an otherwise industrial neighborhood.
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A rts & LEISURE
Ongoing events
North Pole on Third 4-7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays at Fleischmann Plaza, Naples. Live Christmas music Thursdays and Fridays, snowfall at 7 p.m. all three days.
‘Christmas Story’ musical
7:30 p.m. WednesdaysSaturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 22 at the Kizzie inside Sugden Community Theater, 701 Fifth Ave. S. Musical version, from Naples Players, of the famous film following young Ralphie’s Christmas quest for a Red Ryder BB gun. $50-$55. naplesplayers.org or 239.263.7990
‘The Magic of Lights’ 6-9 p.m. nightly through Jan. 4 at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, 3940 City Gate Blvd. N., Naples. Drive-through show of more than 2 million lights including 32-foot animated Mattel Waving Christmas Barbie, prehistoric Yule scene with lifesized celebrating dinosaurs, more. Advance: $19 car; at the gate: $32 car weekdays, $37 weekends. playparadisecoast.com
‘Every Brilliant Thing’
7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 15 at Baker Theatre Education Center’s Struthers Studio, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road S., Naples. A boy’s list of wonderful things, begun at age 7, influences his life. Gulfshore Playhouse production. $40 up. gulfshoreplayhouse.org or 239.261.PLAY
Arsenault retrospective
9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays now through Feb. 15 at Marco Island Historical Museum, 180 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island. Paul Arsenault’s “Reflections of South Florida: A 50-Year Art Adventure.” Free. themihs.info/ museum or 239.389.6447
Shroud of Turin sculpture On exhibition indefinitely at Canizaro Exhibit Library, Ave Maria Library, 5050 Ave Maria Blvd., and The Ark Chapel, Ave Maria. A commissioned 14-foot sculpture. Free. 239.280.2500
Lynn Nathanson art
9 a.m.-4 p.m. MondaysFridays through Dec. 3 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. In the Center’s La Petite Galerie. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
At Baker Museum
10 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdaysSaturdays, noon-4 p.m. Sundays at The Baker Museum, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd. Through Feb. 2, “Alex Katz, Theater and Dance,” artist’s collaboration with staging; “As We Rise: Photographs from the Black Atlantic”; through Jan. 5, “Becky Suss: The Dutch House,” inspired by the 2019 novel. $10; student or military (with I.D.), $5; SNAP benefits (with EBT card), $1; ages to 17 or younger, free. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
This weekend (Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1)
Gingerbread house class 10 a.m. Nov. 29, Dec. 1, 20, 21; 1
CALENDAR
HOLIDAYS
6:30-8:30 p.m. Dec. 3 City of Naples Christmas Parade, traveling east down Fifth Avenue South to Eighth Street South down to Broad Avenue; then Christmas on Fifth 5-10 p.m. Dec. 6 and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 7 all along Fifth Avenue South. The first is the long-standing city Christmas Parade Dec. 3, with Santa and Mrs. Claus as the finale. Then Christmas comes to Sugden Theatre plaza with the huge tree lighting at 6 p.m. Dec. 6 and Dining on Naples, the famous Fifth Avenue South al fresco dinners Dec. 7 (reservations with participating restaurants necessary; see fifthavenuesouth.com ). There’s plenty of shopping, entertainment and holiday spirits.
p.m. Nov. 30 at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tíburon, 2600 Tiburon Drive. Includes ingredients, chef guidance, coffee and hot chocolate. Three hours. $340.50 for four includes service charge and taxes. naplesfestive.com
Santa’s Marco arrival 5 p.m. Nov. 29 at Marco Island Academy, 2255 San Marco Road, Marco Island. Santa’s arrival, with fanfare. christmasislandstyle.com
vary; closed Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31. Naples Botanical Garden is transformed into a world of color. Fogg Cafe open, glow bag option available. $34, children $18 through Dec. 12, $40 and $20 after that. Members half-price. Discounted tickets after 8 p.m. naplesgarden.org
‘A Nice Family Christmas’ 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays Nov. 29-Dec 8 at Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples. The Studio Players production. A writer is ordered to write a personal
Willie Nelson Feb. 13
8 p.m. Feb. 13 (doors open at 7) at Seminole Casino Immokalee, 506 S First St., Immokalee. While we’re whining about getting out of bed in the morning, Willie Nelson is still touring — at age 91. In his seven-decade career, Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician, including the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Ironically, his most famous hits (“You Were Always on My Mind,” “The Rainbow Connection”) were by other writers, but he has written songs that have become part of the Great American Songbook, including “Crazy” and “Night Life.” He’ll bring his band and include songs from his latest disc, as well as favorites. Tickets begin at $62.50. ticketmaster.com
article about Christmas at home, but his dysfunctional family says no way. $35, $37.75 online. thestudioplayers.org or 239.398.9192
Breakfast with Santa 8 a.m. first seating Nov. 30, Dec. 13, 21-23 at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tíburon, 2600 Tiburon Drive, Naples. With Santa and Mrs. Claus, elves. Buffet, keepsake photo. Reservations end Nov. 29. $119.70; ages 2-12, $94.50; younger than 2, $18.90. Seatings on the half hour. Fees apply to all. ritzcarlton.com
Naples ‘Nutcracker’
7 p.m. Nov. 30, 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at Hayes Hall at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic, with the Naples Philharmonic, Naples Ballet student dancers, guest professionals. $25-$68. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Chancel Choir Concert
4 p.m. Dec. 1 at First Presbyterian Church, 250 Sixth St. S., Naples. Church soloists and choirs, with an audience sing-along, professional chamber orchestra. Free. fpcnaples.org
Next week (Dec. 2-5)
Movie talk: ‘Emilia Perez’
4 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3 at the Daniels Pavilion, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Elaine Newton, movie analyst, discusses a film depicting the fresh start of a cartel boss — as the woman he has always wanted to be. $49. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Dave Koz Yule tour
7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Hayes Hall, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. Smooth jazz sax star Dave Koz with Jonathan Butler, guitar/vocals; Vincent Ingala, sax; Adam Hawley, guitar; and Rebecca Jade, vocalist. $114. artisnaples.
org or 239.597.1900
Festival of Trees
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 3-5 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, 1010 Winterberry Drive, Marco Island. Decorated and donated trees in this fundraiser. Free admission. marcoislandart.org or 239.394.4221
‘La Fille du Regiment’
3 p.m. Dec. 3 at Wang Opera Center, 2408 Linwood Ave., Naples. Opera Naples winter opera-lecture series film of La Fille du Regiment starring Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Florez. Donation $20 for opera’s education programs. operanaples. org or 239.963.9050
Naples Christmas Parade 6:30-8:30 p.m. Dec. 3. See featured item.
Prosecco & Petits Fours 4-6 p.m. Dec. 4 at Marco Island Historical Museum, 180 S. Heathwood Drive, Marco Island. Visit the museum for its sip, see and shop after hours, tours, a 10% discount for the holidays at its gift shop, prosecco and petits fours. themihs.info or 239.389.644
Corkscrew night tour
5:30-7:45 p.m. Dec. 4 at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 375 Sanctuary Road, Naples. Audubon naturalist-guided walk takes visitors into the swamp when nocturnal animals are out. $55; $40 ages 15-18, $15 ages 12-16, $35 veterans, $25 college students. corkscrew.audubon.org under Events.
Marco holiday comedy 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 3 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays Dec. 4-22 at Arts Center Theatre, Marco Town Center, 1089 Collier Blvd., Marco Island. The Greatest Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some): Several actors, fed up with another year of A Christmas Carol, mosh together every Christmas story they know. $30. marcoislandart.org or 239.784.1186
Ben Folds, Naples Phil 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Hayes Hall, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd. The singersongwriter, pianist, frontman of Ben Folds Five joins the Naples Philharmonic. $65-$104. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
‘Sense and Sensibility’
7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Daniels Pavilion, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd. Cellist Sterling Elliott, pianist Janice Carissa perform Brahms, Janáček, Scriabin for the Grand Piano Series. $59. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900
Parkinson’s resource event
1-5 p.m. Dec. 5 at Hilton Naples, 5111 Tamiami Trail N., Naples. The Parkinson’s Association of Southwest Florida (PASWFL) is sponsoring a community expo on Parkinson’s Disease. Refreshments. $25. parkinsonassociationswfl.org or 239.417.3465
An Evening in Paris 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at Royal Poinciana Club, 1600 Solana Road, Naples. Opera Naples benefit featuring dining, auction, vocal selections
Golden Gate High School's marching band helped provide holiday music during last year's Naples Christmas Parade. File photo
Country legend Willie Nelson will perform Feb. 13 at Seminole Casino in Immokalee. Doors open at 7 p.m. with his performance starting at 8 p.m. Publicity photo
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
‘ORADOUR’ REVEALS THE TRAGEDY OF WAR, REVENGE
By Harriet Howard Heithaus harriet.heithaus@naplespress.com
A single image in the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida veritably reflects the impact of the current exhibition, “Oradour.” In it, two trees stretch their leafless branches, bony hands toward the sky, in a plea to heaven from nature itself. For justice. For peace.
Behind them stands the shell of a building once filled with human life.
“Oradour” is in its final weeks at the museum for its first U.S. showing by Fort Myers photographer Martin Graf, whose camera trains a somber eye on the French village that suffered the fury of Nazi troops in World War II. A Panzer division massacred 642 people, nearly its entire population, on a summer day in 1944 as revenge for the death of a German commander at the hands of a French partisan stronghold.
Historians have concluded they targeted the wrong village.
From a visit to a mission
Only six escaped to tell the story. One of them, Robert Hébras, befriended Graf, a German-born photographer whose photos were among the first to reveal to his own country the aftermath of the atrocity.
As a young entrepreneur with his own photo studio, Graf had seen a documentary about one of the SS Panzer leaders facing trial in Berlin for the massacre, and felt it needed to be depicted photographically. It would become a passion over 34 years, with four trips to the remains of a town whose life had been wiped off the face of the Earth.
Graf, now 67, remembered his first overwhelming visit: “I cried,” he said. By the time Graf came back to photograph it for a book collaboration with scholar-author Florence Hervé, it had taken on life for him. He recalled his last trip in 2014, from which these photos came, during his lecture:
“Again and again I put the camera aside, sat down in a doorway or on a step, squinted a little and imagined life in Oradour in the summer of 1944: working people, children playing, animals, cars appearing in my mind’s eye, voices, noises and smells on this shimmering summer Saturday in the French countryside.”
But then, he continued, he would see the uniformed SS men and the horror that was to come.
Quietly graphic
The French determined Oradour should not be rebuilt, but allowed to return to the earth it once was, with the vestiges of its life decaying along with it. Graf photographed rusting bicycles where they were left leaning against stone walls, charred sewing machines,
'ORADOUR'
When: 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays through Dec. 15; docent-led tours start at 12:15 p.m. some days
Where: Holocaust Museum and Education Center of Southwest Florida, 975 Imperial Golf Course Blvd., Naples
Admission: $15, seniors
$13, military/veteran
$7.50, student with valid ID $8; buy online at hmcec.
org Information: 239.263.9200 or hmcec.org
cars in a garage lot waiting for repairs that would never be done.
One particularly chilling photograph shows a blackened, nearly flattened baby stroller on the burned-out stone floor of the Cath-
olic church, not far from its main altar. Nazi stormtroopers herded the women and children — 445 of them — into the sanctuary and set it ablaze. Those who tried to escape were shot to death. Among them were 204 children, including the child who had been in this stroller.
There are no photographs of cemeteries. The Nazis, Graf learned, piled straw, bedding and wood on the bodies and burned them beyond recognition, as they did with the men, who had been rounded up in four separate barns and shot to death. Only 52 bodies were identified with any certainty.
Further, there were few photos left of life as it was. The happy crowds at the popular dinner spot, Hotel Milord; weddings at the church; family portraits — all had been burned when the Nazis torched all the buildings. But several family portraits came from elsewhere to create small memorials, which Graf’s camera captured.
The exhibition here has been three years in discussion and execution. Most Americans — and many Europeans — know nothing of the story, but in an era in which the Russian army has intentionally leveled Ukrainian towns, its story is more relevant than ever, he believes.
“It’s Martin Graf’s determination that kept this initially going, kept the project as a possibility, because I was very busy at the time,”
recalled Cody Rademacher, the museum’s curator. When the two finally began discussing the project, it would take another year to find the right printer who could create the quality and size of giclée prints suitable for a museum exhibition.
“We literally sat there and watched it print out,” Rademacher said of the test run of 35 photographs. The panorama photos had to be custom-framed, and Graf supplied the label narrative for a July opening.
The photos are black and white, even though Graf’s digital camera produced color photos. Graf said he would not exhibit those.
“If you see the photos colorful with sunshine and everything, it would be too harmless,” he said.
Graf is hoping the exhibition will travel to other museums to educate others during the 80th year since the massacre.
In a postlude, the French have added a museum and memorial to the site of Oradour, realizing, as Graf said, that its lessons have not yet been learned and that its need as a memorial is still critical.
Graf said the history of prosecuting the perpetrators of the Oradour massacre is checkered. But then, there were few left to prosecute: Those troops were on their way to Normandy, where most of them were killed by the Allied forces who had arrived on D-Day.
A panoramic photograph taken in 2014 shows
building that were torched by the Nazis on June 10, 1944. Photo by Martin Graf
Few photos were left because the villagers' possessions were incinerated by the Nazis after they executed every villager they could find, but relatives elsewhere pieced together portraits for this memorial, photographed in 2014, on one of the walls. Photo by Martin Graf
NAPLES RESTAURANTS OFFERING HOLIDAY DINING
The first of the fall-winter holidays, Thanksgiving has passed and is too quickly followed by the next set of holiday dates. Thoughts turn to sugar plums, a Christmas roast or a lusciously layered lasagna, and the requisite holiday butter cookies, pies and — dare we say — cheesecake.
If you choose to eschew preparing a home-cooked meal, or decide dining out would be a great pre-holiday gift, there are a plethora of local eateries from which to choose. Check our non-exhaustive list of some Naples restaurants generally located points downtown, east, mid-town and north open and accepting holiday seating for Christmas Day (limited), Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Restaurateurs advise making reservations earlier rather than later, as the influx of visitors will surge during the eight-day holiday crunch. Happy holidays!
Downtown
Continental
1205 Third St. S.; 239.659.0007 damicoscontinental.com
12-7 p.m. Christmas Eve; two seatings: 4:45-5:45 p.m. (three courses $125 per person) and 6 p.m. to close (four courses prix fixe $300 per person before tax, beverages, gratuity) New Year’s Eve (check website for details); closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Aqua South
862 Fifth Ave. S.; 239.213.1111 aquafifth.com
11 a.m.-midnight Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day; two seatings: before 6 p.m., ending 7:45 p.m. (a la carte) and 8 p.m.-close (half-bottle champagne at midnight, favors, entertainment, formal attire, $250 per person plus tax and gratuity) New Year’s Eve
Bice Ristorante
300 Fifth Ave. S.; 239.262.4044 bice-naples.com
11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. (regular menu) Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day; 11:30 a.m.4 p.m. lunch (regular menu) with three seatings: 4 p.m. (regular menu), 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. (prix fixe menu) New Year’s Eve
Caffe Milano
800 Fifth Ave. S.; 239.692.8480 caffemilano.com
11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. (regular menu and chef specials) Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day
Osteria Tulia
466 Fifth Ave. S.; 239.213.2073 osteriatulia.com
11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. (a la carte menu with specials) Christmas Eve; 11:30 a.m.-close with two seatings: 5-6:30 p.m. (three courses $125 per person), 7-11 p.m. (four courses $175 per person includes a glass of champagne) New Year’s Eve; 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. (a la carte menu with specials) New Year’s Day; closed Christmas Day
Pincher’s 1200 Fifth Ave. S. (at Tin City); 239.434.6616 pinchersusa.com
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day; closed Christmas Day
Sea Salt 1186 Third St. S.; 239.434.7258 seasaltnaples.com
11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. lunch, 4-9:30 p.m. dinner (regular menu) Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day; closed Christmas Day Tavern on the Bay 489 Bayfront Place; 239.530.2225 tavernonthebay.net
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Christmas Eve; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve (regular menu with chef’s specials for all dates); closed Christmas Day
The French 365 Fifth Ave. S.; 239.315.4019 thefrenchnaples.com
11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (a la carte menu with specials) Christmas Eve; open 11:30 a.m. then two seatings: 5-6:30 p.m. (three-courses at $125 per person) and 7-11 p.m. (four courses $175 per person, includes a glass of champagne) New Year’s Eve; 11:30 a.m-9 p.m. (a la carte menu with specials) New Year’s Day; closed Christmas Day
Tommy Bahama
1220 Third St. S.; 239.643.6889 tommybahama.com
11 a.m.-9 p.m. (regular menu) Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day; closed Christmas Day
11:30 a.m.-12 a.m. (regular menu with chef’s specials) Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day; 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m. pre-fixe menu plus entertainment New Year’s Eve
Warren American Whiskey
111 10th St. S., #104; 239.330.2611 warrennaples.com
2-8 p.m. Christmas Eve; 3 p.m.-12
a.m. New Year’s Eve; 3-11p.m. New Year’s Day; closed Christmas Day East
11 a.m.-2:30 pm. lunch, 4:45-9:30 p.m. dinner (a la carte and chef specials) Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve; four seatings: 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m. (prix fixe menu champagne brunch) Christmas Day
and New Year’s Day
The Real Macaw 3275 Bayshore Drive; 239.732.1188 therealmacaw.com
3-9 p.m. Christmas Eve, 5-8 p.m. dinner (regular menu); 5 p.m.-12:30 a.m. (prix fixe menu) live entertainment New Year’s Eve (check website for details); closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Trattoria Mangia 4025 Santa Barbara Blvd.; 239.304.9391 trattoriamangia.com
4:30-9:30 p.m. (regular menu with chef’s specials) Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve; closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Day
4-9 p.m. (prix fixe menu) Christmas Eve, (regular menu) New Year’s Day; 3-8 p.m. (regular menu) Christmas Day; 4-10 p.m. (three-course prix fixe menu) New Year’s Eve
USS Nemo 3745 Tamiami Trail N.; 239.261.6366 ussnemorestaurant.com
4-9:30 p.m. (regular menu) New Year’s Eve; 4:30-9 p.m. New Year’s Day (regular menu); closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day
Yard House 4251 Tamiami Trail N.; 239.263.3773 yardhouse.com
11 a.m.-12
11 a.m.-11 p.m. Christmas Day, New Year’s Day; 11 a.m.-12 a.m. New Year’s Eve; closed Christmas Day North Aqua North 2348 Immokalee Road, 239.591.5759 aquafifth.com
By Jean L. Amodea
‘EVERY BRILLIANT THING’ DECLARES LIFE CAN TRIUMPH
Every Brilliant Thing is a work about a not-so-brilliant subject: us.
The one-act, one-actor play that christened the Struthers Studio Theatre seats the audience around The Storyteller, who could be male or female, as that character fights to save a suicide-prone mother and, at times, his or her own soul.
The Duncan MacMillan play, with script input by Jonny Donahoe, is going to be frankly painful for some people. If you deal with manic-depressive conditions in your own family, you will recognize the frustration, the unrealized potential of your loved one, the pall it casts over family life in general.
“Happiness scared me,” our Storyteller recalls. “It was usually followed by — you know.”
Jeffrey Binder, former associate artistic director of Gulfshore Playhouse, returns for at least one production a year, and luckily for us he is the Storyteller here. Even when some of the play leaves story gaps, it works because Binder has you convinced he’s living through a deteriorating marriage with causes that aren’t credibly explained by the playwright. Binder punches perfect holes in the fourth wall to bring in audience members as his foils, teasing them during their ad libs and cheering their breakout lines.
He may need a month’s vacation after the sparse set — primarily two rolling chairs and a trunk of record albums and books — is struck. Binder is onstage even before the lights dim, handing out slips of paper to theater goers who, when he reads their number, must
call out the brilliant thing written on it:
The even-numbered episodes of “Star Trek.” Ice cream. Knowing someone well enough to ask them to check your teeth for broccoli.
He is also likely sizing up the audience for the five people he’ll call on to improvise several lines as the veterinarian, his father, the school counselor, a college professor, even Samantha ‘‘Sam’’ — his wife-to-be. Binder is all over the stage, producing books for them to lecture from, or propelling them around it for car trip scenes via two linked chairs that Binder subtly paddles in a circle with his feet. (To their credit, the actor recruits lived up to the roles thrust on them at the Nov. 14 show, includ -
SEEING ‘ EVERY BRILLIANT THING ’
What: Gulfshore Playhouse production of the Duncan MacMillan-Jonny Donahoe play
Where: Struthers Studio at Gulfshore Playhouse, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples
When: Now through Dec. 15; 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays
Tickets: $39-$84; specials rates for students and educators; buy at gulfshoreplayhouse.org , the box office or 239.261.7529
Good to know: Dates for audience talkback and discussion are on the website
deftly riffed a speech to his Storyteller son at a crucial time in his life.)
The Storyteller has to be in tears over the feeling he is powerless to keep his dog,
and much worse, his mother wants to die. Not long after he’ll immerse himself in a sugar-rush dance to a pop tune of his formative years, with snips of songs from Marvin Gaye and Etta James working as emotional hypodermics. Binder is the seasoned actor who can do the handsprings needed for those psychic hurdles.
He has a good stage to work with in the Struthers Studio, the theater that will serve as the black box for most dramatic productions in the new Gulfshore Playhouse complex that opened in October. It is a sort of theater in the square, four tiered sets of seven-seat rows that can be rolled back for cabaret-style productions.
Every Brilliant Thing is also malleable in that the playwright encourages the producing company to substitute his references to pop culture with its own. Thus, “ice cream” might become “sticky toffee pudding” in a British production, and the music would reflect that nation’s own Top 40. Here it’s thoroughly American, down to pronouncing the phenomenon of copycat suicides, the Werther effect, in a way that will make opera lovers cringe.
Although the play’s framework is the young Storyteller’s idea of creating a list of brilliant things to lift his mother’s spirits, it is not the sole source of salvation for him. Sparks are useless without firewood, and we begin to see there is a milieu of love that keeps the flame burning: his father’s gruff dependability, the school psychologist’s sock puppet, a partner who cares even from afar.
It may not have worked for his mother. But for our Storyteller hero, that love is the most brilliant thing of all.
Harriet Howard Heithaus covers arts and entertainment for The Naples Press.
from La Boheme with Artistic Director Ramón Tebar, with honorary chairs Mayor Teresa Heitmann and Joe Volpe, former general manager, Metropolitan Opera. $500. operanaples.org or 239.963.9050
A Holiday Taste of Opera
6 p.m. Dec. 5 at The Club at the Strand, 5840 Strand Blvd., Naples. Dinner at the exclusive club with Gulfshore Opera artists performing holiday melodies and more. $175. gulfshoreopera.org
Naples Brass Christmas
7 p.m. Dec. 5 at North Naples Church, 6000 Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples. Christmas brass music, featuring brass players from The Naples Philharmonic. Free; $25 VIP, including a Naples Brass Christmas CD. eventbrite.com
Celebrate VII
7:30 p.m. Dec. 5-6 at Marco Lutheran Church, 525 N. Collier Blvd., Marco Island. A collaborative grouping of seasonal solo and ensemble works. Free tickets at the church office. 239.394.0332
Next weekend (Dec. 6, 7, 8)
Christmas on Fifth
See featured item, Page 2B
Breakfast with Santa 9-11 a.m. Dec. 7 at Immokalee Community Park, 321
N. First St., Immokalee. Kids enjoy decorating cookies, sweet treats, crafts and pictures with Santa. $5. Preregistration required. collierparks.com
Naples Jazzmasters
2-4 p.m. Dec. 7 at River Park Community Center, 301 11th St. N., Naples. Dixieland jazz by local musicians. Freewill offering. thenaplesjazzsociety.com
Gulfshore ‘Nutcracker’ Noon and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at Pulte Family Life Center, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 625 111th Ave. N., Naples. Gulfshore Ballet presents the Tchaikovsky ballet. $50, VIP tickets online. eventbrite.com
Snowfest
3-9 p.m. Dec. 7 at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, 3940 City Gate Blvd. N., Naples. Snow for kids to play on, games, food for purchase, snow slides, radiocontrolled cars, a holiday bounce land, Santa Claus. Holiday film at 7:30 — bring blankets for seating. $8, free ages 3 and younger. playparadisecoast.com
Marco Tree Lighting
6 p.m. Dec. 7 at Veterans Community Park, 901 Park Ave., Marco Island. Tree lighting, community celebration. Free.
Handel’s ‘Messiah’ 7:30 Dec. 7 at Hayes Hall, Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples; and 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at First Presbyterian Church of Bonita Springs, 9751 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs. Naples Philharmonic and chorus in the classic oratorio. $29-$77 Dec. 7, $35 ($15 student with ID) Dec. 8. artisnaples.org or 239.597.1900 From page 2B
Jeffrey Binder matures from preteen years to his adult life adding to, and learning from, his list of brilliant things in Every Brilliant Thing at Gulfshore Playhouse. Photo courtesy Gulfshore Playhouse
Front Row
Harriet Howard Heithaus
ing the “father” who
Sherlock Bones, alive;
COMICS & PUZZLES
1. GEOGRAPHY: In which country would you find the Angkor Wat temple?
2. SCIENCE: Which vitamin aids in blood clotting?
3. MUSIC: Which pop music icon has a Pantone color named after him?
4. TELEVISION: Which 1990s TV comedy series features the theme song “Cleveland Rocks”?
5. U.S. STATES: Which state is last alphabetically?
6. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is an adult female turkey called?
7. MOVIES: Which popular 1994 movie features a character named Red? 8. AD SLOGANS: Which company’s advertising slogan is “Like a Good Neighbor”?
9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: How long is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade route?
ANATOMY: What are
OLIVE
By Emi Burdge
THE NAPLES PRESS CROSSWORD
“If anybody tries to change your settings and your phone is not at home, it makes them wait an hour. In that hour, if you realize your phone is missing, you can go to the Find My devicetracking app, turn it off or signal to lock it remotely.”
—Jeff
Bohr, owner of Naples Mac Help and Apple Certified Support Professional
NEW IPHONE FUNCTIONS OFFER SECURITY FOR THEFT, NATURAL DISASTERS, MORE
By Melanie Pagan
A woman walks into a bar. A stranger stands behind her, inconspicuously eyeing the passcode she types into her iPhone to open it when she gets a text. Later in the night, the stranger’s accomplice steals her phone, unlocks it and, within seconds, gains access to her bank account and other sensitive information.
It’s a story Jeff Bohr, Apple Certified Support Professional and owner of Naples Mac Help, recalled reading about before talking to The Naples Press about the latest version of Apple’s iPhone operating system, iOS 18, released in September.
One new feature is stolen device protection, which helps prevent unauthorized access to one’s phone.
“If anybody tries to change your settings and your phone is not at home, it makes them wait an hour. In that hour, if you realize your phone is missing, you can go to the Find My device-tracking app, turn it off or signal to lock it remotely,” he said.
As a preemptive precaution, Apple iOS 18 users can go to Settings to activate stolen device protection.
Another new feature can be lifesaving, as satellite messaging is now built into iPhone 14 and later models compatible with iOS 18.
“It uses satellites to transmit messages and phone calls when you don’t have regular cell service,” Bohr said. So, in the event of a hurricane cutting power or damaging cell towers, “if your phone has battery [charge] and you can get outside to see the sky, your phone will be able to send messages to other people and communicate with them.”
Other iOS 18 perks include home
screen customization, direct call recording, Apple Intelligence and one-stop password storage.
“You can create and store all your passwords, and it syncs with all your [Apple] devices,” Bohr said. “That means you’re never without your passwords when you need them.”
According to 2021 AARP research, 34% of people aged 50 and up said privacy concerns made them most apprehensive of new technology. However, Bohr said Apple is “more focused on privacy. It’s all done on the phone, so it stays on the phone.”
Now, 73% of Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 are smartphone users, while 46% of those aged 65 and up are, according to a January 2024 What’s the Big Data report. (Predictably, that percentage is largest among the 18-29 age bracket, at 94%.)
More than 34% of people living in Collier County are aged 65 and up, and Bohr teaches six to seven Naples clients daily — often older adults — about the iPhone’s latest features, how to implement them and how to maximize privacy.
And while Android devices have a larger global market share than iOS, iPhone has the larger market share in the U.S. at 60.77%, according to a 2024 report by Backlinko. Bohr said the latter is a wise choice, not only for continually enhanced features but for basic functionality.
“PCs have a lot of fires to put out. Apples don’t have any fires. They don’t have any viruses,” he said.
To manually update a compatible iPhone to iOS 18, go to its Settings, select “general,” then “software update.” If the latest update is available, an option to “install now” or “download” will appear.
To set automatic updates, follow the steps above until “software update,” then select “automatic updates” and turn on “iOS updates” or “automatic updates.”
OUT & ABOUT
Collier Resource Center, a nonprofit that empowers people by providing information, referrals, advocacy and case management, held its annual fundraiser, Cocktails for a Cause, on Nov. 14 at Artis—Naples. CRC provides information, referrals, education and support, connecting clients with resources specific to their needs.
Photography by Eric Strachan/Courtesy Collier Resource Center
Catherine Cruikshank, Jeffrey Alexander, Amanda Barton, Ann Randall John Hutterly, raffle winner
Nan Moore, Sigi Wodtke, Robert Kruger
Seated: Lori Marshall, Mary Gray, Miriam Burdulis, Nan Moore, Pam Hostetter, Patricia Connell Standing: John Callery, Kari Lefort, Nina Gray
Kris Brown, Mike Brown, Doug Campbell, Nancy Campbell, Bill Steinmetz, Gail Steinmetz, John Estey
Holly Ludwig celebrates her wine package raffle win.
CRC co-founder Nina Gray, CEO Kari Lefort, board member Allie Krider
Sam Roberts, Arlene Hanson, Brian Kamp
Barbara Knepshield, Jim Knepshield, Gary Biernesser
CRC board treasurer Liz Buemi, Alex Barrios
FAR LEFT: Greg Georgieff, Carol Georgieff, Jane Scholtz, Chet Scholtz
CENTER: Dr. David Hage, Dr. Adam Perry, Dr. Thomas Felke
LEFT: Ben Buemi, Joseph Smith
SPORTS THINGS I’M THANKFUL FOR
Speaking of Sports
David Wasson
There is so much to be thankful for here in the paradise we call home.
Between the gorgeous weather (yes, I know thunderstorms/ mosquitoes/tropical cyclones can be real bummers …), world-class restaurants and white-sand beaches, anyone who is fortunate enough to pitch their tent in Collier County is truly blessed.
The same goes for sports in this community. A particularly unique aspect of home here is that nearly all of us come from somewhere else — a facet of life we have talked about in this space recently. The Collier County melting pot has sports ingredients from all over the country, and that makes it really cool to experience.
Because my smiling face is at the top of this column every week, your humble scribe would like to take the opportunity to express my thanks this weekend for some of the things that make this place special for me.
I literally could not do this job (and all my other jobs …) here
A particularly unique aspect of home here is that nearly all of us come from somewhere else — a facet of life we have talked about in this space recently. The Collier County melting pot has sports ingredients from all over the country, and that makes it really cool to experience.
without the high school football coaches in this county. From one side of the county to the other, all the men who guide Collier teams are dedicated beyond compare to the growth and betterment of the young men you see in uniform Friday nights.
Lord knows how much I bug them with oddball questions about one thing or another throughout the year — while almost all of them are busy teaching a full load of classes before they even get to think about the full-time second job that coaching entails. They make literal pennies on the dollar raising up those young men, far too often serving as a substitute father figure for those kids during the most pivotal time of their adolescence. That is why it is a joy and a privilege to tell their stories here.
I’m also thankful in this season for Paradise Coast Sports Complex, the jewel that Collier County built less than a decade ago out of the slash pines off I-75 and Collier Boulevard. Full disclosure: I worked there for a few years as its marketing manager, so I saw how the sausage was made up close. But from the first moment I laid eyes on the first phase of PCSC coming out of the ground, I knew it was special.
The complex has been under management for the past three years by Adrian Moses and his team with Sports Facilities Companies, and it has been transformed under that management into a profitable enterprise for Collier County. But more important to me than the bottom line (which isn’t insignificant), PCSC’s mission to
serve the community with tournaments, leagues and community events enriches us all. Add that to the substantial regional- and national-level tournaments PCSC draws — filling our hotels and rental properties 12 months out of the year — and you can see why I’m high on PCSC.
That said, I humbly beseech our Collier County commissioners to finish PCSC out by building the promised diamonds for softball/ baseball to flourish at the complex and in our area. The land is prepared, the roads and sidewalks are already in the ground. It’s time to finish Paradise Coast Sports Complex and allow the full breadth of what it can be to blossom.
I am thankful for the bountiful golf options in Collier County. Yes, many courses are fully private this
time of year, but during those summer months a humble hack like me gets to experience arguably the best golf in the entire state right here. For those just beginning their golf seasons as seasonal residents, you are hitting the area at the perfect time — as the rain spigot turned off a couple weeks ago and everything is firming up perfectly. There is a reason it feels like half the world moves down here in the next month beyond those whitesand beaches and world-class restaurants. It’s also the golf in this gorgeous weather while your less-fortunate neighbors up north shovel snow.
Lastly, I am thankful for each of you. It is gratifying to see the growth of The Naples Press, and especially so every time someone in the community tells me they liked something I wrote here. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve each of you, and look forward to continuing our weekly visits long into the future.
Be well and be safe this Thanksgiving weekend!
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.
Johann Saurbier first met George Spiska when he taught Spiska’s daughter in a junior clinic in 2011. Jicham Zaatini and Jose Pastrello both entered the Naples pro tennis scene at almost the same time at different clubs more than 10 years ago. Along with the fresh faces of some FGCU players, the 42nd edition of the Naples-Fort Myers Challenge sponsored by ProAm Tennis & Pickleball — involving 52 outstanding players in a combined 14 doubles and singles matches — showcased longtime friends as doubles’ partners and revivals of friendly rivalries to the delight of many fans, family members and friends on Nov. 16 at Wyndemere Country Club.
“We communicate well on the court,” said Saurbier, director of court sports at Pelican Marsh Country Club, before teaming up with Spiska for the eighth time in the event and topping Paul Cole and Jay Freedman 6-1, 6-4.
In other first-round matches, Connor Molina, director of racquet sports at West Bay Club, and Robbie Greenlaw defeated Wyndemere’s head pro Garrett Gould and Allen Sweet, a pro at Bay Colony, 6-4, 6-1; FGCU men’s team members Pablo Paternostro and CJ Smith topped Jesse Witten, a pro at Kensington Country Club, and Evan Austin, Vanderbilt Country Club’s tennis director, 6-4, 7-6; Rafael Reyes and Caroline Cook edged Harry Michalowski and Ellie Cook, 6-2, 2-6 (13-11); Chad Dyer, a pro at Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club, and Josh Molino topped Desislav Borov, a pro at Talis Park, and Ibo Abougzir, director of tennis at Naples Bay Resort, 7-6, 7-6; John Maas, head pro at Royal Poinciana Golf Club, and Ben Berven, head
pro at Quail Creek Country Club, defeated Luke Andrea and Scott Kendrick, a pro at Kelly Greens Country Club, 6-2, 6-1; and Christie Pollin, a pro at the Club of Olde Cypress, and Elliot Debolt, director of sports at The Quarry, won 6-4, 5-7 (10-7) over Alison Lane and Victor Monteiro.
“We’ve shared many best practices over the years,” said Pastrello, director of sports at Quail Creek, of Zaatini, director of racquet sports at Wyndemere, who also captained the Collier contingent. The duo then took on but were edged by Zach Blythe, a pro at Port Royal Club, and Jack Murray, an FGCU assistant coach, in the second round, 5-7, 6-3 (10-6).
Results of the other second round matches: Franco Mata, Port Royal’s head pro, defeated Stavros Hadjivarnava, of the FGCU men’s team, 6-7, 6-1 (10-8); The Club at the Strand’s Sports Director Manny Encalada and Sergio Rebolledo won 4-6, 6-1 (10-6) over Lucas Regas and Rodri Ramos; Tim Keegan, head pro at
The Club at Mediterra, and Jerome Moenter defeated
Adam Lane, director of racquets at Lely Players Club, and Scott Harrington, head pro at Shadow Wood Country Club, 6-3, 6-2; Scott Dimon and Doug Welsh played to a 7-6, 3-6 draw with Howie Ames and Mike Barnes, tennis director at Worthington Country Club; the husband-and-wife duo of Ally and Ben Albers, head pro at Fiddlesticks Country Club and director of sports at Somerset at Plantation, respectively, bested Natalia Maynetto and Alex Sweet, 7-5, 6-2; and Nora Svensson of FGCU defeated Sophia Cisse 6-4, 4-6 (10-6).
By Randy Kambic
Johann Saurbier, director of court sports at Pelican Marsh Country Club, partner George Spiska, Jay Freedman and Paul Cole before their match at the annual Naples-Fort Myers Challenge on Nov. 16 at Wyndemere Country Club.
LEFT: Jicham Zaatini, director of racquet sports at Wyndemere Country Club; Jose Pastrello, director of sports at Quail Creek Country Club; Jack Murray, assistant coach of the FGCU men’s tennis team; and Zach Blythe, a pro at Port Royal Club, before their match.
