Leoma Lovegrove says her love affair with Matlacha will continue

By PAULETTE LeBLANC pleblanc@breezenewspapers com

Although the decision to sell her Matlacha gallery did not come easily, Leoma Lovegrove said both her home and gallery were destroyed when Hurricane Ian hit Pine Island, resulting in more than her heart can bare

“ T w e n t y - e i g h t y e a r s o f w o r k w e r e e s s e n t i a l l y destroyed in three hours At first we had everything cleaned out, and we were like, let’s do this, we can do this but then it just got too depressing to cross over and go by all our friends who lost their homes,” Lovegrove said

Although the desire to rebuild was strong, she said, it was overshadowed by other huge projects she’s undertaken, leaving her without the necessary time it would take to do everything

In an effort to recreate the history of Matlacha, she’s been painting shingles left from the local roofs and either giving them away or selling them

See LOVEGROVE, page 10 and I hope my kids see and understand the things that I do for the community, and obviously I hope one day that they follow in my footsteps and continue our family’s history of leadership on Pine Island and contributing when needed I think, our both being nominated for the Al Mills Award, which is obviously an honor we both appreciate, is evidence of how we love this place We live here, we’ve grown up here, we’re raising children here and we like to give back I think that’s what we want people to know,” Steve said

See HONC, page 9

By PAULETTE LeBLANC pleblanc@breezenewspapers com

A hearing examiner has recommended approval, with conditions, of a requested rezoning that would allow a car lot at the site of the old Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce office in Matlacha

Lee County Chief Hearing Examiner Donna Marie Collins issued her recommendation following a Jan 12 public hearing on a proposal to rezone the 1 4 acres at 3640 SW Pine Island Road from an agricultural (AG2) to commercial planned development (CPD) district The request would allow use of the existing 1,250square-foot structure for sales and administrative offices to support vehicle sales and rentals with plans to increase the building to 2,000 square feet.

Collins found that the proposed CPD zoning will not harm environmentally critical/sensitive areas or natural resources and that requested deviations from the Land

See CAR LOT, page 19