Cape Coral Weekend Breeze

62, No 22

Catch the Vision: Future is ‘extremely bright’

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

The future is bright when it comes to prospective developments set to arrive throughout the city of Cape Coral

At the 12th annual Catch the Vision at Cape Christian Monday night attendees had the opportunity to hear first-hand from developers and key stakeholders of projects in the pipeline T h e p r e s e n t a t i o n h o s t e d b y B i l l Johnson Jr and Gloria Tate took the soldout crowd on a “drive” though Cape Coral to view and get a closer look of what residents can expect to see in the coming years

O u r f u t u r e i s l o o k i n g e x t r e m e l y bright ” Tate said “I think people can take away from this that there are going to be more housing options than we ve ever had

AOW

Popular weekly sports feature continues: The Cape Coral Breeze presents Athletes of the Week

Page 15A

WELCOME!

Crumbl Cookies to hold grand opening

Crumbl Cookies w i l l open its second local location, this one in Cape Coral in a quickly-filling center off Pine Island Road

Crumbl will offer a grand opening week menu featuring six of the more than 275 rotating flavors, including the award-winning Milk Chocolate Chip

Some of Crumbl s specialty flavors include Cornbread Cookies & Cream S'mores Key Lime

Pie Peppermint Bark

Caramel Popcorn, Buttermilk

Pancake and Galaxy

Brownie Page 1B

INDEX

Editorial 4A

Education 3B

Garden Club 1B

Homing In 4B

Letters to Editor 4A

Puzzles 6B Real Estate 4-5B Real Estate Law 4B

Sports 14-15A

Web Poll 4A

Weekly Recap 6A

“Our future is looking extremely bright I think people can take away from this that there are going to be more housing options than we’ve ever had I’m excited at the quality of the developments coming in -- that speaks volumes When restaurants are coming from Naples and Fort Myers, I think we’ve been noticed ”

Gloria Tate, organizer

I m excited at the quality of the developments coming in -- that speaks volumes When restaurants are coming from Naples a n d F o r t M y e r s I t h i n k w e ’ v e b e e n noticed ” Johnson said: “It’s amazing to see just the level of growth our city has seen over

the last five years From the projects that we introduced lasts year, to the projects that we introduced tonight -- some old projects have been around for a while that are finally moving forward in development

I think there’s a lot on the horizon not only with development and our much-

needed housing but commercial Cape Coral for the longest time, commercial was always the issue And to see what we're d o i n g e s p e c i a l l y o n t h e P i n e I s l a n d Corridor it’s amazing ”

The roughly 600 in attendance first were able to network with local businesses and entities via a trade show, which was followed by the main event presentation The Catch the Vision production team recorded sit-down interviews with those most knowledgeable on each project who provided updates and unveiled news pertaining to each

People want to know what s going on in our city ” Johnson said “Hurricane Ian hit us hard But the one thing I will say

Cape to investigate residency complaint

By CHUCK BALLARO news@breezenewspapers com

The city of Cape Coral will hire a n i n d e p e n d e n t i n v e s t i g a t o r t o determine if a sitting member of its e l e c t e d b o a r d violated residency requirements t o r u n o r h o l d office C a p e C o r a l C i t y C o u n c i l v o t e d 6 - 2 W e d n e s d a y t o i n v e s t i g a t e a c o m p l a i n t r e g a r d i n g Councilmember Patty

she was liv-

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

With warm summer temps on the horizon, Southwest Florida’s largest waterpark will a g a i n w e l c o m e t h e c o m m u n i t y t o i t s grounds for a cool day in the pool

SunSplash Family Waterpark opens for the 2023 season this Saturday for its longest season ever, remaining open through Nov 26

The park will be open daily for Spring Break (March 18-26) and will feature foam cannon parties and Ohana games R o n M c K e n z i e , c h i e f m a r k e t i n g o f f i c e r f o r

SunSplash Family Waterpark to open for the 2023 season this Saturday IF YOU GO:

ProParks Attractions Group, now in its second year of operating the city-owned water park, said it should be season jam-packed with something for everyone to enjoy

We re really excited for the season especially after what occurred in the fall with Hurricane Ian

We had to end our season about a month earlier than we wanted to So we were definitely as soon as we could anxious to get back at it and get the park up and running ”

Season Passes are now on sale for $69 99 plus tax and come with a variety of benefits including:

■ Unlimited visits

■ One Bring-A-Friend Free ticket (good for a one-time visit)

■ Early entry 30-minutes before opening

■ Cabana discounts based on availability

■ Discounts on food and beverages

■ Special pricing for events and other in-park offers

A portion of the proceeds from each pass sold will go to United Way’s SWFL Hurricane Ian Hospitality

Relief Fund New this year is the Pineapple Pass ($169 99) which offers all the perks of a Season Pass but allows

Activists protest Cape canal cleanups

What: SunSplash Family Waterpark opens for the 2023 season

When: Saturday March 18

Where: 400 W Lake Kennedy Drive, Cape Coral

Details: Season Passes are now on sale for $69 99 plus tax and come with a variety of benefits

the passholder to bring a friend with them for every visit to the park plus provides the passholder with an unlimited (non-alcoholic) drink wristband on every visit

See SUN SPLASH, page 15A

B y C H U C K B A L L A R O n e w s @ b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s c o m F o r t h e p a s t s e v e r a l m o n t h s , t h e c i t y o f C a p e C o r a l h a s b e e n c l e a n i n g c a n a l s , r e m o v i n g f a l l e n t r e e s a n d o t h e r d e b r i s r e s u l t i n g f r o m H u r r i c a n e I a n H o w e v e r a l l a c t i o n s h a v e c o n s e q u e n c e s , w h i c h c r i t i c s a l l e g e h a s b e e n t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f w i l d l i f e e s p e c i a l l y b u r r o w i n g o w l s a n d g o p h e r t o r t o i s e s t h a t n e s t n e a r t h e c a n a l s O n W e d n e s d a y , a t t h e r e g u l a r m e e t i n g o f t h e C a p e C o r a l C i t y C o u n c i l , a c t i v i s t s a g a i n m a d e t h e i r v o i c e s h e a r d d u r i n g c i t i z e n s i n p u t m a k i n g o n e c o u n c i l m e mb e r c o n c e d e t h a t m a y b e i t i s t i m e t o f i n d a d i f f e r e n t a p p r o a c h a s t h e

See PROTEST page 10A

Cape Hospital celebrates ICU milestone

By CHUCK BALLARO news@breezenewspapers com

The final steel structural beam is placed on the ICU expansion under construction at Cape Coral Hospital during a special beam signing and topping out ceremony Thursday CHUCK BALLARO

Say city efforts are detrimental to wildlife

Scope for Hope charity walk/run set for Saturday

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

An annual event raising awareness for colorectal cancer takes place this weekend in Cape Coral Partners in Care will host the 12th annual Scope for Hope 5K Run 2-Mile Walk and Kid’s Fun Run at 8 a m this Saturday at Jaycee Park in Cape Coral Funds raised will benefit the nonprofit Partners in Care Foundation and will be used for colorectal cancer education, screening and treatment in Southwest Florida

“Our excitement comes in seeing so many of the same supporters come back out and in gaining new ones each year, said Kathy Tolentino, foundation director with Partners in Care But the fact that we get to speak the patients, and see what our event is doing in our community it's great ” Partners in Care help those that can’t afford a colonoscopy get the screening they need to monitor their health The organization works closely with an individual s primary care doctor and has connections with local facilities to help get reduced rates

“We help take care of that for them ” Tolentino said “And we keep in touch with them and see how they’re doing ” Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the country Partners in Care officials said colorectal cancer can be preventable, treatable and beatable

And it s one of the most diagnosed cancers, in both men and women ” Tolentino said

Registration is open and will be accepting up until the event starts Entry fee is $30 for adults and $20 for youth 17 years of age and under Children under 5 years of age are free

The overall top male and female will receive an award

The first three male and female finishers in the 5K timed run in each age category will receive a lanyard pin All Kids’ Fun Run participants will receive a ribbon Strollers and pets are allowed only in the 2-mile walk

We ve really tried to turn this into a complete community affair, Tolentino said It s such a pretty location along the river as well Partners in Care a not-for-profit charitable foundation dedicated to cancer patients founded in 1996 They help to provide financial assistance cancer screenings support groups for patients as well as additional educational programs Over 8,000 patients have been served since 2007 and over $900 000 has been provided in financial assistance The goal of the foundation is to continuously expand to provide support to patients so that they can have one less thing to worry about

IF YOU GO:

What: 12th annual Scope for Hope 5K Run 2-Mile Walk and Kid s Fun Run

When: Saturday March 18 at 8 a m

Where: Jaycee Park, 4215 S E 20th Place, Cape Coral More information: For more information call 888-850-1622 or visit www YourPartnersInCare org

during their fight against cancer For more information call 888-850-1622 or visit www YourPartnersInCare org Jaycee Park is at 4215 S E 20th Place in Cape Coral Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad cj

Caloosa Elementary teacher among Golden Apple honorees

A Caloosa Elementary teacher is among six School District of Lee County instructors awarded a Golden Apple Thursday

For the 36th consecutive year The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools surprised the winners in their

classrooms with the announcement that they were selected as a Golden Apple Teacher

“Six outstanding representatives of the teaching profession were named Golden Apple Teachers once again The importance of shining the light on this most important of professions cannot be overstated, said Marshall T Bower Esq president and CEO of The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools in a prepared statement “The impact that quality teachers have on our students and the community is lasting and essential to our economic future

The 2023 Golden Apple Teacher Recipients are:

Luis Fisher – Gateway High School

Tamara Hunter – Franklin Park Elementary

Laura Jordan – Caloosa Elementary

Lindsey Maxwell – Bayshore Elementary

Joni Pelletier – Treeline Elementary

Stephanie Yanik – The Sanibel School

The Golden Apple Recipients are chosen after going through an extensive selection process that began in September with a community-wide invitation to nominate teachers from The School District of Lee County The six recipients were selected after completing a three-step process, which included a blind comprehensive application observations in their classroom of their teaching style and skill and personal interviews with the Golden Apple Selection Committee Golden Apple Teacher Recognition Program was the f i r s t m a j o r p r o j e c t f u n d e d a n d d e v e l o p e d b y T h e Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, Inc

Recipients of the Golden Apple Teacher Award will be honored at a black-tie affair to be held at the Caloosa Sound Convention Center at the Luminary Hotel on Friday, April 14

OPINIONS

CAPE CORAL BREE ZE

RAYMOND M ECKENRODE Publisher VALARIE HARRING, Executive Editor CHRIS STRINE, Editor

2510 Del Prado Blvd • Cape Coral, FL, 33904

Phone 239-574-1110 – Fax 239-574-5693

Member Florida Press Association

Investigative outcome must assure the voters

Cape Coral City Council took a big step Wednesday night opting to hire an independent investigator to look into the alleged actions of one of its own

The elected board voted 6-2 to determine whether District 4 Councilmember Patty Cummings resided in the district in which she qualified to run and whether she has continued to reside there both requirements outlined in the city s charter

Dissenting were council members Cummings and Dan Sheppard

The Council action comes in the wake of a two-page letter of complaint addressed to State Attorney General Ashley Moody and forwarded to Gov Ron DeSantis’ Office by Matt Caldwell, a state representative from 2010-2018 and a current State Committeeman for the Republican Party of Florida He serves as the Lee County Property Appraiser

The complaint in essence alleges that Cummings “fraudulently represented herself as living in District 4 that there is significant evidence that she lived in District 2 when she filed for election, and she lived in District 6 as of the date of the election At no time did she reside in District 4 as required by the city charter and her certification

Mr Caldwell has said he forwarded the letter based on the seriousness of the allegation and the supporting documentation he received

Ms Cummings, who did not comment during the Council discussion Wednesday, has denied the allegations, and has so responded in a letter to Council

The issue of her current residency may be attributed to the damage wrought to her home by Hurricane Ian a situation that will be rectified by the end of the month as she has finally been able to secure a home in District 4, she said

As you all are aware, many of us in Cape Coral have been affected by the recent hurricane that swept through our community and I am no exception ” Ms Cummings said in the written response submitted to Council last week after Mayor John Gunter asked her to address the issue I am currently a part-time resident in District 4 with the full intent to be living in District 4 full-time by March 22, 2023

She cited difficulty in finding an in-district residence due to a post-storm housing shortage “I am still a part-time resident in District 4 with a driver’s license and voter s registration card that displays my District 4 address Additionally, I receive my mail at this same address, she wrote A couple of things

Some Council members expressed concern that the complaint was “anonymous” and that calling for an investigation could open the door to a barrage of nameless allegations

We do get the concern

Cape politics would not be referred to as a blood sport without a goodly number of the walking wounded

But no one slipped this complaint under Mr Caldwell’s door

The complaining party or parties met with Mr Caldwell

The anonymous comes from a request that the name or names not be made public by Mr Caldwell or the Governor s Office for fear of retaliation

Two while we are unapologetically among the first to question any unnecessary expenditure of funds this is not one of those occasions

Mr Caldwell said it well

“This is a fundamental question regarding the electoral process and anytime anyone brings up a situation like this it needs to be investigated ” Caldwell said in an interview with The Breeze One way or another it needs to be resolved

We agree

For the voters of Cape Coral

And for Ms Cummings herself

An accusation that you qualified to run by setting up a fraudulent address part-time or full and that you continue to fail to meet charter requirements to serve is a heavy allegation to tote around

Such claims must be fought if false and bowed to if true

If things played out as they do so often on the big screen

Wednesday night would have been the penultimate moment

The accused would have faced those assembled in the arena Glanced round at those sitting to decide her fate And directed her response directly to the crowd, in this case the voters of Cape Coral who elected her

A reiteration of the innocence she has steadfastly avowed

A welcoming of the opportunity to prove it

And a declaration to do the right thing if if in fact she erred by mistake or design If, in fact, she did not meet the requirements to run for office or to hold the office now

But real life is not a movie trope

Battles are fought by lawyers and people seldom fall on their sword

Count us among those hoping the various parties involved in this citizen-initiated quest will do the right thing after the bona fides are checked, the witnesses are interviewed, the facts are in and their nexus with the city charter requirements determined

The voters no matter on which side of the issue they might stand no matter the investigative conclusion deserve both the truth and the assurance that our election process ultimately works

Nothing less

100 Days: March 2023

Governing bodies are often measured by their governance during the first 100 days out of the gate It sets the tone and direction of what can and will be accomplished This new school board has now surpassed its 100 days on the job and I am proud of what we as a district have accomplished

Culture

The culture of an organization is vital to its success, and it starts at the top I am pleased to see this board and Superintendent Bernier focus on professionalism leadership community engagement and most importantly, putting our kids first

I have already observed cultural organizational changes:

■ Board meetings focused on the business of the district

■ Teacher and staff listening sessions from our Superintendent

■ In-depth discussions with our parents

Samuel Fisher Guest Commentary

■ Consistently going into our community to get feedback

For our employees we have moved to a “speak up listen up” work culture that promotes identification of issues and productive discussion to make positive culture changes Change doesn t happen overnight, but we are on the right path

Hurricane Recovery

We are five months out since Hurricane Ian devastated our area I am proud of the work our district has accomplished especially with our three most impacted schools

■ The Sanibel School recently re-opened, and it was amazing to see the smiles on the faces of the children, teachers staff

■ Regarding Fort Myers Beach Elementary there have been many productive discussions between the district and the community with substantial progress towards a solution

■ Finally, for the damaged Hector A Cafferata Jr Elementary School in Cape Coral, in an upcoming meeting the board will review a plan for a new campus that will be expanded to a K-8 school

Proximity Plan

One of the largest changes to this district in decades is the

The path ahead

To the editor:

Breeze editorial

implementation of the proximity plan for elementary school students The plan will:

■ Reduce bus ride times and bus tardiness

■ Fix operational inefficiencies

■ Provide communities with a closer relationship with their schools

Most importantly this plan will keep our kids closer to home, allowing our families to focus their time on academics

Supporting Our Teachers & Staff

Our teachers and staff are the bedrock of our district As a board member and as a parent I am truly thankful for all they do As part of our commitment to teachers and staff, tentative agreements have been reached for pay increases as well as a reduction in the annual cost of health insurance Furthermore our district is focusing on retention so that we keep our employees long- term

Legislative Productivity

With the benefit of a supportive local legislative delegation we have developed strong relationships with our state legislators The board is working hand-in-hand with our elected state officials to ensure our district is in the best possible spot after the devastation of Hurricane Ian

Additionally, our legislators are looking into support in the areas of career and technical education, safety and security, and additional after school programs for our students Thank you to our delegation for your support of our district and our community

As for the future, there is much on the horizon I am looking forward to future discussions on academic achievement, the revamp of our district policies, an audit consulting opportunity with the Lee County Clerk and the Guardian Program to further protect our students and schools

This is just the beginning and there is still much left to do I am truly excited for our children s futures and hope that you are, too!

Samuel Fisher serves as vice chair of the Lee County School Board He represents District 1 which includes Cape Coral

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Cape Coral City Charter states in provision 4 05 (b)

“Any person eligible to hold the office of Council Member may have his or her name placed on the ballot as a candidate for Council Member for the Council district in which he or she resides upon filing with the City Clerk a sworn statement of qualifications At Wednesday s regular Council Meeting, the Council voted to hire a third-party investigator to determine if the District 4 council member resides in their district

Unfortunately this Council has been placed in an awkward situation early on in its term, but at least their discussion remained civil while discussing this highly-charged topic

Two things were made noticeably clear in the discussion

First City Attorney Menendez said “You need to be in your district the whole time it does not stop the day after you qualify or elected Second this Council wants to find out the facts, no matter how those facts play out

So, where do we as a city go from here? We, as the public, must allow the investigation to run its course and report its findings back to our Council This will then give Cape Coral two paths forward The first path demonstrates the council member resides in the district and thus meets the requirements to hold office The council member would be cleared of any alleged wrongdoing, removing the dark cloud over our city, and allowing the business of the people to continue

However if the investigation leads to discrepancies in what was stated to the public by the council member the Council will have some difficult conversations in the future While discussion from the dais may lead to a public hearing by our Council, I believe this would prove burdensome not just to the Council but to the residents of Cape Coral Politics could potentially play a significant role in this and as many fellow long-time residents may remember from the Mickey Rosado situation in 2007, this could cause rifts in our community

There is a different course of action for the Council, though If the investigation returns with inconsistencies that may be against the Charter this would be enough for our Council to pass a resolution to send the results of the investigation to the Governor s Office to look into the situation further This would allow an unbiased party, our Governor, to decide if there is evidence to suspend the council member or not This removes the burden off of Council from having to decide whether a fellow member is removed from office or not

While this scenario would be a worst case and an unfortunate one if it were to come to fruition the residents and council will have another decision to make Who will replace the council member? While Council would interview potential candidates I believe we the people made the choice for them just four months ago The runner-up in the immediate past municipal election if she would be willing to step up and take on the role once more as council member for District 4 This will allow a person with experience and knowledge of the issues that this Council faces over the next few months to hit the ground running without a learning curve The Council has a full list of items to address that requires a fully educated board We are still rebuilding from Ian the decision of the UEP moving forward, a vote for a new city manager and a city attorney, and the budget is just around the corner Having an experienced council member will matter No matter the outcome during this test of our government we shall become a stronger Cape Coral because of it Richard Leon District 4 council member, 2013-2017

Replace, don’t remove, Chiquita Lock

To the editor: The City of Cape Coral again hopes to remove the Chiquita Boat Lock on the South Spreader Waterway The Matlacha Civic Association, supported by many organizations and individuals, successfully defeated the first effort to remove the lock in 2019-20 In that proceeding, a Florida Administrative Law Judge concluded that removal of the lock would damage the mangroves and further impair the waters of the Matlacha Pass The new effort to remove the Chiquita Lock is based on promises by Cape Coral to start several new projects to improve the quality of water that flows into the South Spreader Cape Coral also boasts that it has engaged in numerous projects which have also improved our waterways Tell that to the Islanders Cape Coral s proposal not only will not improve our waters, but also will violate a Consent Order binding on the city In the 1970s, the predecessor to the Department of Environmental Protection halted the digging of canals in the mangrove wetlands along the Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve by developers of Cape Coral The outcome of that enforcement action was the largest fine ever levied for environmental crimes, the bankruptcy of the developer, the deeding of precious mangrove wetlands to the State of Florida, and the creation of a water detention system for the canals designed to ameliorate further eco-damage

The enforcement action was resolved by the entry of Consent Order No 15 on April 19, 1977, to govern the oper-

ation of the canal system thereafter The goal of Consent Order No 15 is “to restrict destruction of the mangroves and to provide additional control and treatment of stormwater discharges and to be a freshwater system designed to retain and treat the stormwater runoff and then to provide uniform discharge of the stormwater into the adjacent mangrove The Consent Order requires the maintenance of both the Chiquita Boat Lock and the Ceitus Boat Lift Barrier on the south end of the North Spreader Waterway Cape Coral has refused to maintain both spreader waterways as required by the Consent Order Cape Coral removed the Ceitus Boat Lift Barrier many years ago As a result Matlacha Pass is polluted and the mangroves along the North Spreader are dying Evidence of the damage to the mangroves on the north presented at the 2019 hearing was dramatic Cape Coral should stop spending its taxpayers money on bogus promises to clean up the water, and use the money to build high-speed locks at both the Chiquita and the Ceitus Then implement best practices to maintain those waterways Cape Coral again will find itself spending more money when a petition is filed to defeat this second effort to remove the Chiquita Lock

Michael Hannon Matlacha

Social Security: You pay in, but politicians don’t

want to pay out

To the editor The French have been marching to preserve the French version of Social Security for a month now The attacks on seniors’ to rob their savings accounts and prevent them collecting on their own contributions seems to be universal The French are being asked to wait until they are older to collect their pension In the U S , the plan seems to be to subsidize 401k plans controlled by employers as a disincentive to Social Security contribution The U S Congress has authorized giving the pentagon $45 billion MORE than they asked for this year in the defense budget If we have such excess that we can spend $797 billion on military appropriations, it should be laughable to argue that other agencies tighten their fiscal belt, or that the elderly be robbed The Social Security administration can and should be allowed to distribute to seniors the funds the seniors themselves set aside in their paychecks all these years

Allowing the Medicare plan to negotiate medication prices, such as insulin, can save a ton of money Eli Lilly is to be congratulated on lowering their prices to everyone to match the 300% profit they accepted for insulin and are mandated to accept from Medicare

But Americans should be allowed to retire with dignity in this country, and receive the pension funds that they paid for Of course the Reagan administration robbed funds from Social Security to pay for illegal wars in Central America Those Social Security accounts should be made whole out of Pentagon largess Maybe the Pentagon should budget restoring those accounts

The legislators that seem so vicious to the elderly, are oddly reluctant to appear less than blood thirsty in Pentagon spendings

Ellen Starbird Cape Coral

Time to hold Mexico accountable

To the editor: Now that American tourists have been kidnapped and murdered maybe it’s time to put a warning not to visit Mexico

The president of Mexico does not want the United States to enter his country to protect U S citizens Well I guess they don t need our foreign aid and tourism Time to tell the cruise ship companies not to go the Mexican ports Most cruise ships are flying out-of-country flags but they need ports in states like Florida Texas New York and more We have the maritime unions that work these ports and the harbor pilots to safety move these large ships in and our of our harbors Imagine all the cruise ships stacked up waiting for harbour pilots to bring a ship in

Time for the cruise ship companies to start protecting their passengers too Avoid Mexican ports don’t get off the ship keep your money in your pockets Remember Mexico needs us more than we need them

Mexico has to shut down its southern borders also We all see the number of people begging to enter the U S and the money Mexico gets from the U S to fight the drug cartels is in the millions and not working Time to cut the aid we are seeing more illegal drugs coming from Mexico than ever before

If the Mexican leaders can t fix the drug problem and do not want to control their southern border, they do not need U S dollars It’s time we get tough on these foreign countries that have become leeches for U S aide

We e k ly B R E E Z E R e c ap

City to Hernandez: No payout beyond severance

By VALARIE HARRING vharring@breezenewspapers com

The city of Cape Coral has responded to a demand letter sent by its former top administrator: The city did nothing wrong in opting to not renew his contract and will not pay Rob Hernandez any more than the severance paid

“Please allow this correspondence to serve as the City o f C a p e C o r a l s r e s p o n s e t o y o u r c l i e n t R o b e r t o

Hernandez s, February 14, 2023, correspondence, the city responded to Hernan-dez's attorney, Benjamin H Yormak of Yormak Employment & Disability Law The City denies that it took any improper action against your client and denies that it engaged in any wrongdoing associated with your client's former employment The City terminated Mr Hernandez without cause and accordingly paid Mr Hernandez severance under the terms of his employment agreement The City will not be paying Mr Hernandez any money beyond the severance that has already been paid Yormak said the city's failure to engage in a proper response likely means Cape taxpayers will foot the bill of a lawsuit

“This City’s response lacks any substance and essentially guarantees litigation leaving the taxpayers to bear the financial burden ” Yormak said in a prepared statement sent to The Breeze via email Monday Given Mr

Hernandez s dedication to the City of Cape Coral and its citizens it is all the more disappointing that City Council continues to further a personal animus over sound stewardship of taxpayer funds This legal dispute was entirely avoidable

The dispute began last month after Cape Coral City Council v o t e d 5 - 3 t o n o t r e n e w

Hernandez's employment contract without cause

T h e e l e c t e d b o a r d p r o v i d e d Hernandez with the six-months n o t i c e h i s c o n t r a c t c a l l e d f o r s h o u l d e i t h e r p a r t y o p t n o t t o renew

The contract would have rolled over for an additional year had Council not taken any action Council also rejected Hernandez's request for a public hearing on what Hernandez viewed as a termination saying the city charter only provides for a hearing when Council terminates a city manager for cause Hernandez responded to the adverse employment action on Feb 14 with a damages and settlement

demand letter saying his contract was not renewed because he objected to a series of civil rights violations concerning minority and LGBT employees

He asked for $550 000 a neutral job reference and a public apology for professionally disparaging remarks made by some council members concerning his employment

Actual damages, should the issue go to trial, could be much higher, the Feb 14 letter from Bonita Springsbased Yormak Employment & Disability Law states

“All told damages as to Mr Hernandez could be in excess of $1 165 000 ” Yormak wrote

The city has denied any violation of federal and state employment laws including the allegation of retaliation in Council's decision to not renew Hernandez's contract Four members of Council also responded, issuing individual statements in which they called Hernandez s allegations defamatory and false

Hernandez took over as city manager on Aug 12, 2020

He was hired by the city from a field of five finalists replacing former city manager John Szerlag who retired after serving as the Cape’s city manager for eight years

Council has appointed Mike Ilczyszyn who most recently served as the city s Public Works director, to serve as interim city manager

Cape police make another arrest in 2022 homicide

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore on Tuesday announced a second arrest in connection to a June 2022 homicide

Eduardo Ramon Troche-Rodriguez was taken into custody last week in Lexington Kentucky and charged with second degree murder in connection to the death of 41-year-old Fernando Batista Montero He is currently w a i t i n g t o b e e x t r a d i t e d t o L e e C o u n t y T r o c h eRodriguez is the second individual police were searching for involved with the case

Sizemore said all detectives had to go on in locating their second suspect was a nickname

“Through painstaking work of old-fashioned detective work putting feet on the street talking to witnesses poring over digital evidence, forensic evidence, our team was able to paint a picture and identify our second suspect, Sizemore said

Officials said by fortune last week, there was a break in the case Sizemore said CCPD received intel on his whereabouts in the Lexington area

A pair of CCPD Major Crimes detectives boarded a plane, met with Lexington Police Department personnel, and apprehended Troche-Rodriguez

We have been working with Amira Fox and her team at the State Attorney's Office throughout this investigation and we knew what we needed ” Sizemore added “It wasn t simply (arresting) our suspect There were still ends to tie up There was still very difficult, painstaking threading of a needle if you will in being able to get the probable cause we needed But the talent of (our) team came through like the community would expect them to and just like we were depending on them to ”

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

A Cape Coral synagogue underwent what police are calling a hate crime Saturday afternoon

Chabad Jewish Center of Cape Coral Rabbi Yossi

Labkowski said in broad daylight around 1:15 p m an individual threw bricks at the temple on Cape Coral Parkway, frightening those inside

“It was a very very loud noise ” Labkowski told The Breeze “We heard one loud noise We didn't know what it was, and I was going to approach the door and see what was going on, then I hear another loud noise and I look at the glass door and see somebody outside a white male picking up bricks and just throwing it at the door Labkowski said thankfully their service had ended before the event and that not too many people were still inside Nonetheless, it was a frightening 5 to 7 minutes

“It was It was ” Labkowski said when asked if it was scary We re thankful that (the brick) didn t penetrate the glass Labkowski along with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore said it's abhorring to see hate crimes occur so close to home when you see them play out in other places

“It's very unfortunate We never believed it would happen here, Labkowski said It s a very nice community, a very welcoming community, and we never expected it to happen Obviously it's happening all over the United States but to have it here you would never believe it would happen here But unfortunately, it did ”

During a press conference Monday Sizemore said the CCPD is investigating the attack on the synagogue, and that cities as large as Cape Coral are not absent of these kinds of events

This was a despicable act, in which an individual committed vandalism, attempted burglary and struck fear in the hearts of not only those present at the C h a b a d c e n t e r b u t t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y o f S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a a n d t h e e n t i r e c o m m u n i t y , Sizemore said “This is one of the unfortunate side effects that you see -- I tell people when they ask about crime rate, they ask about certain things, and I pivot people off of that, and I like to highlight that fact that if we talk numbers we're the eighth largest city and the third most populous state in the country And there's a lot of wonderful things that come with that, but one of the side-effects is that we have a lot of the nation's problems here And hate crimes are on the rise, particularly attacks on Jewish communities and

Jewish centers And it happened here We need to acknowledge that

Sizemore said he and Labkowski are close, and that he's participated personally at Chabad over the last decade Sizemore who said the ordeal has become personal for him, said he spoke with Labkowski personally to let him know the department is doing all it can to bring justice Rabbi Yossi and his family are valued members of o u r d i v e r s e , v i b r a n t a n d r e s i l i e n t c o m m u n i t y , Sizemore said “And this disgusting act will not take away from that (We all) stand in solidarity with Chabad, and we stand against any type of hate crime in our community ”

Labkowski wanted to send a message to the community on behalf of Chabad of Cape Coral and its members: “We're not going to be afraid And we're going to heighten security to ensure this doesn't happen again This person has a lot of hate, and we have to combat hate with love and kindness And the more that we increase in kindness to our friends and our neighbors the more kindness spreads and people become kinder people Hopefully, this will bring the community together and get rid of this hate ”

On June 4 of last year CCPD officers responding to a 4:28 a m call of shots fired found Montero in the backseat of a vehicle in the driveway of his home at 1807 S W 10th Terrace He had been shot multiple times and died at the scene police said Callers reported hearing approximately 20 gunshots near the location Sizemore said quickly into CCPD s investigation, they learned there were two suspects

Both of these suspects we later learned came down to Cape Coral specifically for this incident ” Sizemore said “They executed our victim robbed him and immediately fled not only Cape Coral but the state of Florida ” Sizemore said detectives were able to identify one suspect and establish probable cause to arrest 21-yearold Jose Alberdi Maldonado of Lexington, Kentucky as one of the shooters He was arrested in July of 2022 and charged with second degree murder and robbery with a firearm

But our investigation wasn t done at that point, we still had a second shooter that we had to find, Sizemore said

The investigation leading to learning the identity of Troche-Rodriguez involved award-winning forensic technology CCPD said contacts pertaining to the phone number used by Troche-Rodriguez revealed that he was in frequent contact with a female identified by a first name According to officials a search through law enforcement databases revealed that woman’s maiden name that was used to investigate further Then examination of the woman s social media account led to the discovery that her brother was social media friends with an individual displaying a profile name of the second suspect’s name A photograph associated with this social media account strongly resembled the description provided by witnesses of the homicide

Officials said while processing evidence seized from inside the vehicle abandoned by Maldonado, a Western Union money order was located (which belonged to the victim) and was subsequently processed by detectives who lifted a print belonging to the second suspect

Tuesday morning Sizemore met with Montero's family, calling it a bittersweet moment

There were tears, obviously, their loved one is still gone, Sizemore said The talented investigators and all the hard work that was put in cannot bring him back but what we can deliver is a little bit of peace a little bit of closure and they mentioned to me this morning that they are now just able to finally get a decent night s sleep They were very concerned with two murderers out free after their despicable act ”

Detective Stephen Cragin was named Cape Coral Police Department’s Officer/Detective of the year for his forensic work on the case

Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad cj

Former city manager Rob Hernandez

Amazing year for the 99th annual Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair

The Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair welcomed guests for 11 days from Feb 23 –

March 5 2023

Celebrating their 99th Annual Fair, they held a ribbon cutting ceremony with special guests including County

Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, Harry Chapin Food Bank Director of Programs Marissa Stress-Peterson and County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell Mike Peak, president of the SWFL & Lee County Fair Association led the ribbon cutting ceremony to kick off the celebration

Throughout the week the Fair welcomed more than 110 000 guests to the event as well as more than 1 000 exhibitors and more than 1,700 entries throughout the program and all competitions The Home & Hobby and Horticulture Departments displayed arts from children as young 5 years old all the way up to adults in their 90s varying from beautiful quilting photographs paintings tablescapes, varying arts and crafts and right

on down to Lego displays

There was Hay Bale and Wheelbarrow Decorating Contests, Youth Chicken BBQ Cook-Off, and a Puzzling Competition

Our Livestock Department welcomed hundreds of exhibitors and their animals The exhibitors were able to display their work in raising and caring for their projects as well as their knowledge of their animal With competitions such as grooming, showmanship, herdsman, fun costume contest, fun agility contests and many others exhibitors show what they can do with their animals The Fair Association is proud to be able to award thou-

Fran Crone Guest Commentary

sands of dollars in prizes and awards to winners of each of these divisions for their hard work At the end of the fair, there is an auction for Market Animals and for Small Animals that has raised more than $820 000 that goes right back to the kids and to scholarships that are awarded to college bound seniors in the 4-H /FFA program

The Scholarship program offers more than $26 000 in scholarships to our graduating seniors

The midway and food vendors were no small spectacle of the fair as hundreds of thousands of pounds were consumed throughout the week and rides were constantly running with the

sights and sounds of excited fair goers to be able to enjoy this once-a-year event

We want to say a special thank you to our Board of Directors, our employees, and the many volunteers that it takes to put on an event of this magnitude We could not do it without every person in this large moving event We have already begun preparations for our 100th Anniversary that will take place Feb 29 – March 10, 2024 We are planning a lot of great new events and fun that will help fairgoers remember the past while reflecting on the future

We want to always remember our grounds as the Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair, and we want our future to always reflect who we are while we look to where we are going

Fran Crone is the manager for the Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair

Community foundations ‘set the table’ for On the Table SWFL March 30

On Thursday March 30 the community is invited to host or participate in community and regional conversations helping to formulate priorities and ideas to build a better stronger Southwest Florida On that one day hundreds of individuals nonprofits businesses and government entities will open their homes or workplaces, or gather at restaurants or community centers to host a conversation over a meal or beverage for “On the Table SWFL”

What is important to you? What are your big ideas to solve challenges facing our community? What needs to happen to improve the quality of life and well-being of our friends, family, and neighbors?

The Charlotte Community Foundation C

Collaboratory (formerly known as the

S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a C o m m u n i t y Foundation) have been helping donors and residents work together to address and solve the most pressing community needs facing our region

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ian, our common challenges are clear to see from widespread mental health issues to lack of stable and a t t a i n a b l e h o u s i n g E v e r y o n e o f t h e region s five counties is affected by these challenges, and because the problems don t stop at any county line or city limit, solu-

tions to these and other challenges are more likely to succeed if all of us work together

We know the power of a good idea now imagine how much better off we would all be if we could tap into hundreds of good ideas, all at once and everywhere?

We want to hear directly

Complaint: Third party to be hired to look into residency allegations

From

ing in District 4 when she filed her paperwork to run for office last May and whether she currently meets charter-mandated residency requirements

The action stems from a letter sent to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and copied to Gov Ron DeSantis and Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle

It was also forwarded by the Governor s Office by Matt Caldwell, state Committeeman for the Republican Party and Lee County’s property appraiser

The complaint alleges that Cummings “fraudulently represented herself as living in District 4, that there is significant evidence that she lived in District 2 when she filed for election, and she lived in District 6 as of the date of the election At no time did she reside in District 4 as required by the city charter and her certification ”

The city charter requires candidates to reside in the district they seek to represent and to live there when they serve Cummings has said she met the residency

requirement to qualify for the seat but said damage from Hurricane Ian forced her to temporarily stay outside the district while she looked for new housing Even so she continued to maintain a part-time residence in District 4, Cummings has said She made no public comment Wednesday other than to join Councilmember Dan Sheppard in a “no” vote to hire an investigator

Members of Council discussed whether an investigative route was the best course of action and also asked the city attorney various questions

Mayor John Gunter said because the letter of complaint was anonymous and not a signed affidavit the state was not going to investigate it

What is our next step, if any, is the question? Gunter said “There is a process outlined in the charter We need to make a decision collectively on what our next step will be

Councilmember Tom Hayden said what concerned him was Cummings address within the district listed on her drivers license and

voter registration, and her current status

I don t believe you are living in your district and the reason is because of the hurricane and you didn’t have a place to go ” Hayden said “I don’t believe there are any exceptions for living outside the district, even under these circumstances

Councilmember Bill Steinke said where she ended up after the hurricane is irrelevant since many people were displaced from the storm Cummings included

This has nothing to do with her or the storm Did she reside in the district she ran for when she filed? We need evidence on where she lived when she filed ” Steinke said “Look up her residency That’s the only question that needs to be answered

Councilmember Dan Sheppard also had an issue with the lack of signature

If someone has a complaint and they put their name to it, I think we should look into it

I have no respect for it if there isn’t a name ” Sheppard said

The only word Cummings said throughout the discussion was to voice no during the roll call vote She did not comment afterward Cummings sent a letter to city council last week saying she is a part-time resident of District 4 with the intent to be living in District 4 full-time by March 22

I relocated from my full-time residence due to hurricane damage and I have been actively looking for a full-time residence since then Unfortunately it’s been difficult due to the housing shortage ” Cummings wrote adding she had an opportunity for a home but declined due to mold

Protest: City says all work is being monitored, conducted properly

c i t y i s h a p h a z a r d l y k i l l i n g a n i m a l s i n s t e a d o f m a k i n g t h e c a n a l s s a f e r f o r r e s i d e n t s H e a l s o a d d e d t h a t n o w m i g h t b e t h e t i m e t o h i t t h e p a u s e b u t t o n w i t h t h e e r os i o n h a p p e n i n g a l o n g t h e c a n a l s M a y b e w e s h o u l d p a u s e u n t i l w e c o m e u p w i t h a n e r o s i o n m i t i g a t i o n p r og r a m o n h o w w e r e g o i n g t o r e s t o r e t h e s e b a n k s ” H a y d e n s a i d “ W e n e e d t o c o n t i n u e o u r w o r k r e m o v i n g t h e s e ( d a ma g e d ) t r e e s b u t w e n e e d t o p u t a p l a n i n p l a c e a h e a d o f t i m e o n h o w w e r e s t o r e t h e s e b a n k s M a y o r J o h n G u n t e r s a i d t h e c i t y i s n o t v i o l a t i n g a n y p e r m i t s t o p e r f o r m c l e a n u p From page 1A

CHUCK BALLARO

Wildlife activist Pascha Donaldson speaks on behalf of wildlife during the Cape Coral City Council meeting Wednesday at City Hall

a n d t h a t t h e c i t y s h o u l d f i n i s h u p w i t h i n t h e n e x t t w o w e e k s , b u t w a n t e d t o k n o w h o w m a n y l o t s a r e i n v o l v e d A n d e r s o n s a i d t h e a n s w e r s t h e y g o t w a s o n l y b e c a u s e t h o s e w h o s p o k e u p w e r e h e r e t h r e e t i m e s b e f o r e a n d b e c a u s e t h e i r a c t i o n s m a d e t h e m s t o p M i t i g a t i o n w a s n o t i n t h e p l a n M i k e t a l k e d a b o u t i t t w o m o n t h s a g o a n d s a i d t h e y a p p l i e d a n d w e r e t u r n e d d o w n a n d t h e n d i d n ’ t p u r s u e i t u n t i l w e s t a r t e d y e l l i n g a b o u t i t ” A n d e r s o n s a i d “ W e m a l i c i o u s l y d e s t r o y e d t h e i r h o m e s a f t e r a s t o r m d e s t r o y e d o u r s N o b o d y c a r e s a b o u t t h e w i l d l i f e

t i

“ E v e r y v o i c e m a t t e r s T h i s i s r e g i o n a l , C h a r l o t t e , L e e , C o l l i e r, H e n d r y a n d G l a d e s C o u n t i e s C o a s t a l c o m m u n i t y, o r i n l a n d c o m m u n i t y, w e w a n t t h o s e v o i c e s a t t h e t a b l e t o b e h e a r d N o e l l e C a s a g r a n d e , C o l l a b o r a t o r y s p o k e s p e r s o n

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B y M E G H A N B R A D B U RY n e w s @ b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s c o m T h e c o m m u n i t y h a s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o e n g a g e i n c o n v e

s a

Milestone: $11.4 million expansion will add ICU beds to hospital

From page 1A

chief facilities executive for Lee Health said the hospital has 292 licensed beds but just 22 ICU beds This $11 4 million expansion will fill a big need for the Lee Health system

When this is completed in January 2024 we will have 304 beds and 34 ICU beds We’re probably all full in ICU right now Kistel said It s an outgrowth of the radiology department that was built in 1994 We designed it for future vertical expansion This is the culmination of past planning and now we can add these beds ”

Heather Kingery nursing director of ICU at the hospital said this expansion will fill a need in our community

We are seeing a constantly full ICU and a sicker population It will help keep our patients close to home and in Cape Coral ” Kingery said “We’re very excited to provide this service to the community

Prior to the beam placement, Lee Health l e a d e r s h i p , C a p e C o r a l H o s p i t a l t e a m members and community leaders signed the beam

Cherrie Morris a doctor signed the beam and was happy for the milestone and what it will mean This sends a message for the Cape Coral community that we are addressing their needs and giving the community a beautiful ICU ” Morris said “It’s a com-

munity need but more important we have to reflect the changes happening in Cape Coral and the vision the community has set for the city

Shyan Kapadia, a pulmonary doctor, said the misconception about ICU beds is that only the very sick use those beds for as long as they need them which is partly true More likely many people will use one bed in a 24-hour period and are taken off the bed once their condition is stabilized It s also more than just beds

“There will also be a lot of new technology involved in creating this space for us It s all for our community Kapadia said We rapidly transfer patients in and out It could be hundreds of patients a day Patients come in get better we send them out and new ones come in We could have a multitude of patients in a 24-hour period

Of course, an ICU can t be built without those who design and build it Vanessa Tyler brand ambassador at Studio Plus the architectural firm said there is a need

“We’re working with Skanska and the Lee Health team to review the construction documents and make sure everything is going correctly, Tyler said

Steve Mendoza senior superintendent for Skanska said this was a huge day for them

BALLARO

CHUCK

Construction workers at Skanska affix the signed magnet to the final beam on the ICU under construction at Cape Coral Hospital during the special beam signing and topping out ceremony Thursday

“It’s a small but much-needed project for the city The ICU beds are constantly full at the current hospital, Mendoza said I live in Cape Coral To have a hospital that s expanding in the town you live is very significant ”

Lee Health is looking to expand further in the future It has purchased 52 acres on Pine Island Road for a second hospital in the future as the city continues to build out

Catch the Vision: Biggest projects expected to be in the north Cape

From page 1A

a b o u t o u r c o m m u n i t y n o t o n l y C a p e Coral but Lee County as a whole is we are a resilient bunch of people and we will dig in with everything we ve got, an we re not only going to rebuild out city better, but we're going to add more options and we're going to do it throughout Lee County "

Updates on projects included:

■ The Boat House: set to reopen from hurricane damage by the end of April

■ V i c t o r y P a r k : 1 4 0 - a c r e s i t e i n Northeast Cape Coral set to be a life/science campus including medical facilities hotel apartments and town home units

■ N o r - T e c h : 3 0 , 0 0 0 - s q u a r e - f o o t expansion in the North Cape

■ The Sage at Coral Lakes: On Del Prado Boulevard 34-acre site for housing focused on 55+ starting at $2 000 per month Construction hopeful to start in the third quarter of this year

■ Cape Coral Fire Department Training

Facility: A five-story training facility near the South Water Plant that can train 263 firefighters locally Includes administration building

■ C a p e C o r a l P o l i c e D e p a r t m e n t

Intelligence & Analytics Center: Currently being constructed at police headquarters and soon to be fully operational

■ Gator Mikes: New dinosaur minigolf course now open Mellow Mushroom to hopefully be open by December of 2023

■ Cape Coral Animal Shelter: 15 000-

square-foot expansion

■ Civitas: A 96-unit workforce housing on Pine Island Road Rent caps based on income Includes three residential buildings and 6,100-square-foot clubhouse Hopeful to pre-lease by end of 2023/early 2024

■ The Club: Currently under development on Pine Island Road 200 deluxe apartment units Hopeful to be available for rent in 2024

■ Coral Grove: Mixed-use project on Pine Island Road with office retail hotel and residential Features 1 300 square feet for apartment units 550 000 square feet of retail, 150,000 square feet of office, and a 130-unit hotel Hopefully to start building units by the third quarter of 2023 with retail build coming by end of 2024

■ Seven Islands: A 48-acre site with plans for a hotel apartments condos restaurants, and retail Plans coming soon

■ The Water: On Veterans Boulevard and Chiquita Boulevard this independent l i v i n g s i t e i s t a k i n g p r e - r e g i s t r a t i o n A p a r t m e n t s u p t o

Features in-house restaurant and rooftop bar

■ Red Fish Pointe: A 350-acre site in the South Cape near Rotary Park Will see a mixed-use development on only 30% of the total site to feature 800 multi-family units, hotel, shops, and restaurants Will have 4,500 feet of waterfront use for public

■ Lee Health: $150 million in expan-

sion investments coming Expansions at Cape Coral Hospital such as fast-track beds and observation beds Expanding Surfside Boulevard facility, and on Pine Island Road Will have 47,000 square feet of offices at Bimini Square New residency program

■ Bimini Square: Recently Councilapproved for development and currently in permitting process Features 220 apartment units, restaurant, Lee Health medical offices, diner, 30-boat marina, and 500stall parking ramp Hopeful for construction to start in 2023 with completion in 2025

■ The Cove at 47th: Broke ground in N o v e m b e r o f 2 0 2 2 , w i t h f o u n d a t i o n s going in this April Features restaurants private offices for public use courtyard with a resort-style pool 327 total apartment units Hopeful to have first 80 units completed by spring of 2024 Johnson said adding and improving to what the city can offer is key to the future growth and development of Cape Coral

“It’s a place people want to live And in order to get them here, we ve got to have all of the amenities and everything to want to come here, he said I think projects like The Cove are going to be great for the younger generation There’s these young people who might not want to buy a house but can get an apartment down on 47th Terrace in the heart of the entertainment district Now I can work, eat, sleep, play -do everything It's going to set the mold ”

Projects in the northwest and northeast sections of Cape Coral are coming as a result of the population growth especially in that area in recent years

You re going to have opportunities now for restaurants, amphitheaters I mean everyone always said ‘It’s all in South Cape ’ well not we have developers who are looking at the Cape in general Mark my words in the next five to 10 years, Pine Island Road, everything that we've seen now that is coming there, it's going to give people a lot more choices ”

Johnson said the overall opportunities in commercial development especially mixed-use developments, are booming and will provide a one-stop shop for residents

“How great would it be to walk out of your apartment and everything you need is right in the same plaza ” Johnson said The Victory Park project I can say what they have planned is going to be amazing

My biggest takeaway from tonight is we're seeing a unified development all over Cape Coral not just in one specific area Our biggest projects now are going to be in the northeast and northwest, and that s amazing Tate added that the more rental opportunities in the Cape the more the market can flatten out

“The more apartments we get it'll settle down, Tate said Competition is always good C o n n e c t w i t h t h i s r e p o r t e r o n Twitter: @haddad cj

How

to fish occasional cold snaps

A check of today’s FWC red tide sampling map showed small patches mostly along the barrier islands and a few spots in Pine Island Sound which compared to previous weeks looks great With migrating tarpon soon arriving from the south, the last thing we need is another red tide event coating the coastline Wednesday s cold and windy front sent chills down the spines of local snook that have been enjoying the unseasonably warm temps as they slowly make their way to local beach fronts A warm-up for late Thursday and Friday then another small cold front hits us for the weekend adding further challenges to the angling puzzle

Sunday promises to be chilly but Southwest Florida cold fronts typically come and go rather quickly and a warm-up should be back in effect Monday although after Sunday’s temperature plunge Monday could be tough fishing inshore What does the novice do to combat inshore cold front conditions? Where did the fish go? Well, they didn t leave town but relocated to more comfortable waters usually meaning going deeper like in creeks, channels, marinas, upriver and in wind protected canals During these times it’s not really necessary to be on the water at first light, rather wait for the warmer afternoon period

Go to live/dead baits that cold fish don t have to chase It s hard to beat the classic shrimp and popping cork to catch a variety of fish If you’re a diehard lure slinger downsize your offerings and use baits that utilize a slow presentation like small suspending twitch baits or slow crawled plastic shrimp The water is still winter clear so longer leaders made from fluorocarbon get the nod for stealth and abrasion resistance

One of the most important rules for cold front fishing and one of the hardest for many to master is to slow that retrieve Let that twitch bait suspend right in front of the fish's nose then add subtle tiny rod tip twitches to tease that smart old cold snook into biting Don t be in a hurry to rush the lure back to the boat Quite often folks make great casts to cover then immediately start cranking the lure out away from the cover they tried so hard to cast into Keep your player in the strike zone for as long as you can

Fishing slowly is an art requiring patience that many of today’s anglers can t seem to muster Try to visualize that plastic shrimp slowly gliding to the bottom settling into the grass Let it rest momentarily then give it a short hop and repeat the process all in slow motion When fishing slowly especially with imitation shrimp learn to be a line watcher waiting for the slightest tick, tug or unnatural sideways line movement which is your cue to rod set that J hook or quickly reel set your circle hook

Adding commercial scents to artificial baits can add yet another tool in your box to fool chilly lethargic fish Scouting around using your electronics to check water temps can really pay off as just a few degrees warmer can make a huge difference

Getting offshore to 80 to 120 feet expect a variety of fish including red grouper, mangrove and lane snapper, yellowtails and so far smaller kingfish Closer in reefs have been producing some big permit in the 40pound class along with smaller cobia mangrove snappers and sheepshead Don t be surprised if a really big snook joins the near-shore reef party The passes have been producing a mix of fish including small snook reds, baby grouper, Spanish macs and pompano

Inshore along the east wall of the harbor and north Matlacha Pass you ll find trout, bonnethead sharks, small snook and different sized redfish I’m starting to see juvenile tarpon activity in the Spreader Canal while waiting for early reports of adult migrating tarpon coming north for their annual Boca Grande visit

Capt George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide

contact him at 239-282-9434

at captgeorget3@aol

JetBlue Park in Fort Myers when the Boston Red Sox hosted the Tampa Bay Rays this week

CJ HADDAD

Newcomers help Red Sox topple Rays, 9-1

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

The Boston Red Sox had hot bats at JetBlue Park Wednesday afternoon despite brisk conditions collecting a 9-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Grapefruit League action

T h e o f f e n s e w a s b a c k e d b y n e w l y acquired outfielders Rob Refsnyder and Adam Duvall Refsnyder, a South Korea native who signed a Minor League deal with the Sox back in 2021 hit a bases-clearing double to left in the bottom of the first that plated three runs Duvall who signed a 1year $7 million deal in January after spending an injury-shortened 2022 with the Atlanta Braves, launched a solo shot to leadoff the third inning, his second of the spring

Perhaps the biggest news of the day came prior to the action, as Sox Manager Alex Cora named Corey Kluber as the team's Opening Day Starter The 36-yearold signed with Boston on a 1-year deal this offseason and will make his sixth career Opening Day start on March 30 versus Baltimore at Fenway Park

Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, having earned pitching's top honors in Cleveland in 2014 and '17

"It's definitely an honor " Kluber said "There's plenty of guys in this clubhouse who could ve taken the ball on Opening Day The way I look at it, regardless if you

pitch the first day, the fifth day, it really only matters that first time through the order and then everything kind of gets messed up anyways But it is an honor I've done it before and I try to make it as normal as possible

The righty, who boats a career 3 31 ERA, looked quite sharp on the mound

W e d n e s d a y g o i n g f i v e s t r o n g i n n i n g s allowing one earned run on four hits walking just one and striking out six I felt pretty good out there on the mound today, Kluber said I think that each time, obviously, you'd like it to be a winning progression towards Opening Day A couple times out ago it wasn't the best but (I) righted the ship pretty quickly and I think the last two have been steps in the right direction "(I had) a pretty good mix of commanding different pitches -- able to throw most of my pitches for strikes and able to do a job in keeping hitters off balance "

In the sixth inning, Boston s Bobby Dalbec, who has been getting work at shorts t o p t h i s s p r i n g , t r i p l e d t o c e n t e r t h a t brought home Raimel Tapia

Also appearing in the sixth inning as a welcomed sight was young right-hander Garrett Whitlock The 26-year-old was shut down late last year due to a hip injury that required surgery Wednesday marked his first appearance in a game setting this

spring Over two innings of work he allowed just one baserunner via a walk, and struck out three

"I don't feel the hip it's not a thought in my head Whitlock said So now it s just fine-tuning the craft and making sure I m in t i p - t o p p i t c h i n g s h a p e J u s t n o r m a l progress "

Cora said late last year the Whitlock would be a member of the starting rotation after serving as only a reliever in his breakout 2021 season, and getting nine starts in 2022

"He did everything for us that we asked last year but he wasn't healthy " Cora said pregame Wednesday "There's a reason we (shut him down), because where we were in the season, why push it? The reason we stopped it right away was for him to be able to pitch as many innings as possible this year " Whitlock shouldn't miss too much of the regular season, hoping to rejoin the team no more than a few series into the schedule

"I'm excited I think it'll be a really good challenge " Whitlock said "It's one of those things where I love trying new things so it'll be a lot of fun

C o n n e c t w i t h t h i s r e p o r t e r o n Twitter: @haddad cj

Junior Golf registration update, Evaluation Day and program dates

Registration for the 2023 Junior Golf program at Coral Oaks Golf Course will begin on Monday March 20 on a first-come first-serve basis (The projected date of March 15 was postponed due to an important website update )

Registration will take place online only at CapeCoralJrGolf org

Evaluation on May 20

Coral Oaks will be hosting an Evaluation Clinic for First Swing and New Players who are registered for the 2023 program on Saturday, May 20, from 8:30-10:30 a m

Officials ask that only new and first swing

Wednesday BASEBALL

Riverdale 11, Ida Baker 6: Riverdale piled up seven runs in the bottom of the sixth for the victory Ida Baker loaded the bases in the top of the seventh but could not score Santiago Liendo was 3-for-5 with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored for the Bulldogs (6-5) B i s h o p V e r o t 6 , M a r i n e r 0 : F i d e l Alviar pitched six innings for Verot (6-5) allowing one hit and no runs while striking out 10 batters Matthew Turner and Maddix Simpson had two RBI each The Tritons (08) remain in search of their first victory

SOFTBALL

Bishop Verot 7, Mariner 2: Six Vikings

(4-2) drove in a run each, led by McKenna Robbins and Sarah Yamrick, who both were 2-for-4 Robbins and Camryn Feast tripled For the Tritons (3-6) Cheyenne Waddell went 3-for-4 while Crimson Lawrence and Kylie Dominello each had an RBI

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Estero 4, Mariner 1: Unbeaten Estero (6-0) dropped the Tritons to 1-4

Tuesday

SOFTBALL

Ida Baker 13, Riverdale 3: Makayla

Nieves homered and doubled driving in four runs and scoring four times for Ida Baker (6-3) Julie Nieves knocked in three runs and scored twice Adrana Prezepoleski was 3-for-4, scoring three times North Fort Myers 16, Cape Coral 0 (3 innings): Azlyn Gomes homered tripled

registered players attend the clinic

The evaluation will take just a few minutes per child so players can arrive anytime between 8:30 and 10 a m to get their evaluation Each year, a large number of children enroll in these two skill levels, so officials are hopeful to be able to move some of them to the 3- or 5-hole division based on their experience and skill level Program dates

The program dates for the 2023 Junior Golf season are Monday mornings from June 12 through July 17 Volunteers needed

PREP REPORT

twice and drove in six runs for the Red Knights (7-1) Kendall Wylie hit two home runs, driving in four Abigail Hynes (two RBI) Desirae Devine (one RBI three runs scored) and Mia Lane (one RBI) all were 3for-3 at the plate Kaliyah Williams pitched three perfect innings for North with seven strikeouts The defeat dropped Cape to 2-7

G a t e w a y C h a r t e r 9 , O a s i s 5 : T h e Sharks (3-3) took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning but the Griffins chipped away to take the victory Eva Selfridge doubled and drove in two Oasis runs Alaina Shugars and Jazney Wilson had an RBI each M a r i n e r 3 , P o r t C h a r l o t t e 2 : T h e Tritons (3-5) scored all three runs in the bottom of the seventh with a true walk-off ending Kylie Dominello drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring in Taylor Cotoni for the winning run Mia Standard's two-run homer in the seventh had tied the score Cheyenne Waddell and Crimson Lawrence allowed two runs on two hits striking out 13 batters South Fort Myers 17, Island Coast 4: The Gators slipped to 2-7

BASEBALL

Oasis 11, Mariner 7: The Sharks (3-2) were led by Alex Garay, who was 4-for-4 with a home run, scoring three times and driving in two runs Brandon Bova-Cipolla was 3-for-5 with an RBI Kavanaugh Brady also homered for Oasis Xavier Muentes had a big night at the plate for the Tritons (0-7) going 2-for-4 and driving in four runs Luis Cruz added a solo homer for Mariner North Fort Myers 9, Cape Coral 4: Matthew Blasena was 2-for-3 driving in

‘Evening at the Ballpark’ on March 21 to feature Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins legends

additional information please visit bgclee org/events/2023-even ing-at-the-ballpark or call 239-3341886

The Cape Coral Junior Golf Association program is conducted by a volunteer board of directors The program does not run without these volunteers and more importantly the help of parents on Junior Golf Mondays If you have the time and are interested, please contact President Ed Crann at 239248-5258 or Allen Manguson at 239-5733101

For additional information please check out the Junior Golf Association website at www CapeCoralJrGolf org, call the Coral Oaks Pro Shop at 239-573-3100, or contact Crann at 23-248-5258

t h r e e r u n s f o r t h e R e d K n i g h t s ( 5 - 3 )

Thomas Eisminger and Garry Kamphouse scored three runs each For Cape (2-8), Collin Thess drove in two runs while Alexander Kolasinski had two hits and scored twice Island Coast 5, South Fort Myers 1: Kevin Martinez went the distance on the mound, allowing one run on two hits and striking out 13 David Hickman was 2-for3 with a double and an RBI and Emilio Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored

BOYS TENNIS Mariner 7, Gateway 0: The Tritons (27) won the top three singles matches and No 1 doubles with the other three wins coming by default

GIRLS TENNIS

North Fort Myers 7, Lehigh 0

Singles: A lexis N eumann (N F M ) d K a l e e S a n d s 6 - 0 , 6 - 0 M i k a y l a M a n n (NFM) d Kaylin Sands 6-0, 6-0 Hannah Holmes (NFM) d Dalila Ramos 6-1, 6-0 Maria Lakes (NFM) d Christelle Anevil 60 6-0 Olivia Myers (NFM) by default D o u b l e s : N e u m a n n / M a n n ( N F M ) d Sands/Sands 8-1 Holmes/Myers (NFM) d Ramos/Anevil 8-2

BOYS LACROSSE Bishop Verot 17, Fort Myers 1: Trey Toscano had four goals and three assists as the Vikings (8-1) cruised past the Green Wave (4-3) Aiden Feeney had three goals and an assist, and Braydon Tooley scored three times

Capt George Tunison

Cape Coral Breeze

Athletes of the Week

Cape Coral Breeze Athletes Week of the

(Selected by the Breeze Sports staff)

Sponsored by:

Dollars for Scholars golf tourney looking for sponsors

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

A golf tournament to benefit local stud e n t s i n f u r t h e r i n g t h e i r e d u c a t i o n a l careers is fast-approaching and organizers are looking for sponsors

The third annual Dollars for Scholars Cape Coral Mayor s Scholarship Golf Classic tees off at Palmetto Pine County Club on Friday April 28

Proceeds from the event directly benefit the awarding of scholarships to Cape Coral high school students to assist with the financial burden of secondary education

“This event has become a significant fundraiser for the scholarship fund said Cape Coral Mayor s Scholarship Fund President Joanne Hayden Last year we raised over $20,000, which helped us fund 10 four-year scholarships and support technical students as well ”

The classic has an 8:30 a m shotgun start time, with groups of up to four eligi-

The third annual “Dollars for Scholars” Cape Coral Mayor ’s Scholarship

Golf Classic tees off at Palmetto Pine County Club on Friday, April 28

Proceeds from the event directly benefit the awarding of scholarships to Cape Coral high school students to assist with the financial burden of secondary education

To register to take part and for sponsorships, visit www capecoralmayorscholarship com/golf-tournament/

ble to take part ($125 per player; $500 per team) Sponsorship opportunities are available in a wide-range, from beverage cart sponsor, hole sponsors, swag sponsors, and more, or can be tailored to a donor's request

“Sponsorship for an event provides some visibility and recognition for a business, and a chance to participate with oth-

ers in a fun atmosphere ” Hayden said

“Signage is provided throughout the golf course for sponsors and they have an opportunity to be involved in a creative way by sponsoring games or donating raffle prizes

The Cape Coral Mayor’s Scholarship program scholarships are awarded to students who are a resident of Cape Coral attending any secondary school or home-

school Awards are not based on financial need or GPA alone but the full spectrum of application questions Leadership, comm u n i t y i n v o l v e m e n t a n d s e r v i c e a r e important factors, too

Hayden added that the day is a great opportunity to hit the links while benefitting the future of tomorrow

The Golf Classic is a great day spent on a beautiful golf course, she said We are planning additional games and ways to bring some fun competition to the event Knowing your participation helps a Cape Coral student further their education gives some important purpose to those challenging tee shots, or celebrating a great putt To register and for sponsorships visit www capecoralmayorscholarship com/gol f-tournament/ Palmetto Pine Country Club is at 1940 Southwest 9th Court C o n n e c t w i t h t h i s r e p o r t e r o n Twitter: @haddad cj

Mariner Car, Truck and Bike Show set for April 1

B y M E G H A N B R A D B U RY n e w s @ b r e e z e n w s p a p e r s c o m H e l p s u p p o r t M a r i n e r H i g h S c h o o l s t u d e n t g o v e r n m e n t s e n i o r c l a s s e v e n t s a n d a t h l e t i c s d u r i n g i t s M a r i n e r C a r T r u c k a n d B i k e S h o w S G A h a s b e e n a g r e a t c l u b t h a t w e a r e p r o u d t o b e a p a r t o f , " S G A P r e s i d e n t L a i n e y A l c e a c a n d V i c e P r e s i d e n t S t e p h a n i e S a r a c i o n e s a i d " W e h a v e c o m e t o g e t h e r t h r o u g h o u t t h e s c h o o l y e a r t o h e l p p l a n h o m e c o m i n g , s p i r i t w e e k s , a n d e x c i t i n g e v e n t s f o r t h e s c h o o l B r i n g i n g b a c k t h e C a r S h o w i s a g r e a t w a y t o b r i n g p e o p l e t o g e t h e r w h i l e f u n d r a i s i n g f o r o u r s c h o o l a n d m a k i n g s u r e p e o p l e g e t t o e n j o y t h e m s e l v e s " T h e y s a i d i t i s e n j o y a b l e l e a r n i n g h o w t o b e r e s p o n s i b l e a n d t a k i n g l e a d e r s h i p r o l e s , w h i c h w i l l h e l p t h e m i n t h e f u t u r e T h e M a r i n e r C a r T r u c k a n d B i k e S h o w w i l l b e h e l d f r o m 9 a m t o 2 p m

The Mariner Car, Truck and Bike Show will be held from 9 a m to 2 p m Saturday, April 1, at Mariner High School, 701 Chiquita Blvd , N Pre-registration is $15 a vehicle, or $20 the day of the event starting at 8 a m There is a $5 entry fee at the gate for spectators

S a t u r d a y , A p r i l 1 , a t M a r i n e r H i g h S c h o o l 7 0 1 C h i q u i t a B l v d N P r e - r e gi s t r a t i o n i s $ 1 5 a v e h i c l e o r $ 2 0 t h e d a y o f t h e e v e n t s t a r t i n g a t 8 a m T h e r e i s a $ 5 e n t r y f e e a t t h e g a t e f o r s p e c t a t o r s O p e n c e r e m o n i e s w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d b y M a r i n e r H i g h S c h o o l J R O T C c a d e t s M a r i n e r H i g h S c h o o l S t u d e n t G o v e r n m e n t A s s o c i a t i o n S p o n s o r B r i s k a W o l f e s a i d t h e c a r s h o w b e c a m e a p a r t o f t h e M a r i n e r H i g h S c h o o l t r a d i t i o n i n 1 9 8 7 w h e n t h e s c h o o l f i r s t o p e n e d u n t i l 2 0 1 0 " I t w a s a f u n d r a i s e r f o r t h e S i l v e r

M a g i c M a r c h i n g B a n d I t u s e d t o b e a r e a l l y b i g e v e n t A f t e r t h e b a n d d i r e c t o r l e f t n o o n e e l s e h a d t a k e n o n t h i s e v e n t W e w a n t t o b r i n g i t b a c k s h e s a i d T h i s c a r , t r u c k a n d m o t o r c y c l e s h o w w i l l h a v e p r o f i t s g o t o t h e S G A a n d t h e s e n i o r c l a s s f o r s e n i o r c l a s s e v e n t s a n d a t h l e t i c s " T h e s t u d e n t g o v e r n m e n t w h i c h i s t h e v o i c e f o r t h e s t u d e n t b o d y , h e l p s i n m a n y w a y s " T h e s t u d e n t g o v e r n m e n t i s t h e v o i c e f o r t h e s t u d e n t b o d y a n d h e l p s p u t o n H o m e c o m i n g e v e n t s s u c h a s t h e p o w d e r -

p u f f g a m e , d r e s s u p d a y s a n d t h e c e r em o n y a t h a l f t i m e t o a n n o u n c e k i n g a n d q u e e n W e a l s o h e l p w i t h f u n d s t o r e p l a c e l o s t / d a m a g e d t r e e s a r o u n d c a mp u s t h a t a r e p l a n t e d i n r e m e m b r a n c e o f s t u d e n t s a n d s t a f f W e a l s o h e l p w i t h t h e S p r i n g F l i n g d a n c e t h a t i s h e l d a t M a r i n e r H i g h S c h o o l e v e r y y e a r " W o l f e s a i d I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e s h o w t h e r e w i l l b e v e n d o r s a n d f o o d , 5 0 / 5 0 r a f f l e , l i v e m u s i c a n d a b o u n c e h o u s e T h e r e w i l l a l s o b e 5 1 t r o p h i e s g i v e n , a n d T - s h i r t s f o r s a l e f o r $ 1 5 " W e e n j o y b r i n g i n g t h e c o m m u n i t y t o g e t h e r a n d h a v e t h e m e n j o y t h e d a y a t M a r i n e r H i g h S c h o o l I j u s t w a n t t o b r i n g t h i s b a c k b e c a u s e i t i s n i c e t o h a v e t h e s t u d e n t s b e i n g p a r t o f s o m e t h i n g t h i s b i g " W o l f e s a i d " M o n e y r a i s e d f r o m t h i s e v e n t w i l l g o s t r a i g h t b a c k t o t h e s t ud e n t p r o g r a m s a n d e v e n t s

Sun Splash: Cape Coral water park to open for spring break

From page 1A

I t s e s s e n t i a l l y t w o p a s s e s f o r t h e p r i c e o f o n e , M c K e n z i e s a i d A s f o r h o w t h e p a r k f a r e d d u r i n g t h e h u r r i c a n e S u n S p l a s h s u s t a i n e d d a m a g e s i m i l a r t o m a n y b u s i n e s s e s i n t h e c i t y b u t n o t h i n g t o o m a j o r T h e b i g g e s t c h a ll e n g e w a s h a v i n g t o r e p l a c e t h e r o o f s o n s o m e o f t h e b u i l d i n g s H e g a v e S u n S p l a s h e m p l o y e e s c r e d i t f o r w o r k i n g h a r d t o e n s u r e t h e p a r k w o u l d o p e n o n t i m e f o r t h e 2 0 2 3 s e a s o n W e h a d t h e t h i n g s t h a t y o u w o u l d e x p e c t , h e s a i d W e h a d s o m e w i n d d a m a g e , w e h a d s o m e f l o o d i n g v e r y l i t t l e s t r u c t u r a l d a m a g e M o s t o f t h e s t u f f w a s f a i r l y e a s y t o r e p a i r a n d f i x T h e r e i s n o t h i n g t h a t i s n o n - o p e r a t i o n a l g o i n g i n t o o u r s e a s o n t h a t i s h u r r i c a n e - r e l a t e d P r o P a r k s h a s l o t s i n t h e p i p e l i n e t h i s y e a r a n d h o p e s t o f u r t h e r e s t a b l i s h a r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e c o m m u n i t y “ O u r p l a n i s t o j u s t m a k e t h e p a r k f u n t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u r s e o f t h e s e a s o n , a n d w e p u t t o g e t h e r a p r e t t y r o b u s t l i n e u p o f

“ We w a n t t o m a k e t h e e x p e r i e n c e f u n e v e r y t i m e y o u c o m e We k n o w i t ’s b e e n a r o u g h - g o f o r S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a s o w e ’ r e k i n d o f h o p i n g t o b e t h a t b e a c o n o f e s c a p e a n d f a m i l y f u n f r o m a l l t h e t o u g h s t u f f t h a t a r e a r e s i d e n t s h a v e b e e n d e a l i n g w i t h ” Ron McKenzie, chief marketing officer for ProParks Attractions Group, now in its second year of operating the city-owned water park

e v e n t s t h a t k i c k o f f h e r e t h i s w e e k w i t h o u r S p r i n g B r e a k , M c K e n z i e s a i d S p e c i a l e v e n t s t a k i n g p l a c e t h i s s u mm e r i n c l u d e : S p r i n g - B r e a k - O u t E x t r e m e ; E a s t e r C e l e b r a t i o n ; M o t h e r ’ s D a y W e e k e n d ; M e m o r i a l D a y W e e k e n d ; F a t h e r s D a y W e e k e n d ; C h a m p i o n s D a y ; W o r l d s L a r g e s t S w i m m i n g L e s s o n ; I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y W e e k e n d ; J u l y F a m i l y F u n F r i d a y s ; A l o h a F e s t ; N a t i o n a l W a t e r P a r k D a y ; A l o h a B a c k t o

S c h o o l S u p p l y D r i v e ; S p o o k y S p l a s h B a s h ; a n d m o r e W e w a n t t o m a k e t h e e x p e r i e n c e f u n e v e r y t i m e y o u c o m e ” M c K e n z i e s a i d “ W e k n o w i t ’ s b e e n a r o u g h - g o f o r S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a s o w e r e k i n d o f h o pi n g t o b e t h a t b e a c o n o f e s c a p e a n d f a mi l y f u n f r o m a l l t h e t o u g h s t u f f t h a t a r e a r e s i d e n t s h a v e b e e n d e a l i n g w i t h T h e p a r k w i l l b e o p e n e v e r y d a y o f L e e C o u n t y P u b l i c S c h o o l s ’ S p r i n g

B r e a k f r o m M a r c h 1 8 t o 2 6 T h e n , S u n S p l a s h w i l l f o l l o w a T h u r s d a y t o S u n d a y s c h e d u l e f r o m M a r c h 3 0 t o M a y 2 4 I n a d d i t i o n C a p e C o r a l r e s i d e n t s w i l l r e c e i v e $ 5 o f f o n e - d a y a d m i s s i o n w h e n t h e y p u r c h a s e a t t h e g a t e w i t h a n I D n o ti n g r e s i d e n c y T h e p a r k g o e s t o s u m m e r d a i l y h o u r s o f o p e r a t i o n f r o m M a y 2 5 t h r o u g h S e p t 4 a n d r e t u r n s t o a T h u r s d a y t h r o u g h S u n d a y s c h e d u l e f r o m S e p t 7 t h r o u g h O c t 2 9 a n d w e e k e n d s o n l y N o v 4 t h r o u g h t h e 2 6 S u n S p l a s h o f f e r s v a r i o u s s l i d e s p o o l s f l u m e s f o o d a n d f u n f o r a l l a g e s a n d i s a t 4 0 0 W L a k e K e n n e d y D r i v e 2 5 m i l e s n o r t h o f V e t e r a n s P a r k w a y i n C a p e C o r a l F o r a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n v i s i t w w w S u n S p l a s h W a t e r p a r k c o m C o n n e c t w i t h t h i s r e p o r t e r o n T w i t t e r : @ h a d d a d c j

Classifieds

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capecoralbreeze com

An Eastern lubber grasshopper

CAPE CORAL BREEZE

LOCAL LIVING

Business I Homes I Health I Education I Leisure

March 17, 202 3

BREEZE

Page 1B

Crumbl Cookies’ grand opening today

By KATIE EGAN

news@breezenewspapers com

Southwest Florida is getting its second Crumbl Cookies

restaurant

Located at 1519 N E Pine Island Road Suite 150 the cookie delivery and takeout company will join First Watch Mission BBQ Firehouse Subs PJ's Coffee Love Boat Ice Cream Encore Nail Spa Paragon Healthcare and Tire Kingdom Service Centers

Crumbl will be handing out free cookie cards to the first 40 people who show up and request it

UF/IFAS

What’s eating my plant?

By CATHY DUNN news@breezenewspapers com

Have you ever been leisurely strolling through your garden, admiring your handiwork and suddenly stopped short because you see a plant that is in distress? Perhaps you’ve seen pieces of the plant on the ground or leaves that have holes or tears; and the worst case is a plant that appears to be defoliated overnight Plant pests include non-beneficial insects and wildlife, and they can rapidly damage your landscape

This month, I ll discuss some of the more common insect pests and h o w t o i d e n t i f y t h e m through the damage they cause to your plants Next m o n t h w e l l t a c k l e t h e four-legged pest varieties!

GARDEN CLUB OF CAPE CORAL

The beautiful Florida climate that probably drew you here provides the perfect environment for our subtropical plants, but unfortunately it is equally supportive of insect pests I always walk through the garden several times a week so that I can monitor insect pests; by frequently inspecting your plants you will be able to catch problems and deal with them before they get out of hand

Customers can order in-person during the first five business days of Friday’s 8 a m grand opening Starting on March 22 delivery curbside pickup catering and nationwide shipping will be available

The grand opening week menu will feature six of the more than 275 rotating flavors including the award-winning Milk Chocolate Chip

Some of Crumbl s specialty flavors include Cornbread, Cookies & Cream, S'mores, Key Lime Pie, Peppermint Bark, Caramel Popcorn, Buttermilk Pancake and Galaxy Brownie

The weekly menu drops Sundays at 6 p m on Crumbl’s social media accounts

To go

Where: 1519 N E Pine Island Rd , Suite 150, Cape Coral

a

8

Crumbl Cookies was founded five years ago in Utah and already has nearly 500 locations nationwide

The shop offers orders of single cookies four-packs sixpacks and party packs with a dozen cookies

The Cape Coral location is owned by Scott Kathleen Tanner and Anne Olson along with Bruce Woodruff

We re really excited to open the doors in the Cape, Tanner Olson said We feel like the community is really ready for something like this There are so many more families in the Cape now and the timing is perfect

All of the cookies are baked from scratch

See WHAT’S EATING MY PLANT?, page 8B

Every cookie we serve is perfect, Olson said In every one of them the dough was mixed frosting was prepared and toppings were put on by hand When a customer receives a cookie it looks as advertised ”

They also just taste really good

Some cookies are served warm and others are served chilled, but they re always fresh

Olson anticipates that the Mallow Cream will be really popular

Inspired by Lucky Charms cereal, the cookie features vanilla marshmallow frosting and Lucky Charms marshmallows sprinkled on top

The Mint Brownie is also suspected to be a local favorite

Then there is the mystery cookie which comes out once a month and it just so happens that Crumbl is opening on a mystery cookie weekend

You ll see what that is when you come into the store, Olson said

No matter what you choose, you really can t go wrong And you may need to try them all you know just to be sure

“It’s all about bringing friends and family together over a box of cookies ” Olson said “These cookies can make someone’s day make someone smile and make someone happy ”

Two bowling alleys in Cape Coral sold

com

Cape Coral to the Bowlero Corporation Financial terms were not disclosed on the deal that is expected to be finalized by May 1

In a release announcing the sales, Ciniello said, After the last 3 years of COVID, Hurricane Ian and personal family loses it’s time to take a breath and refocus on fam-

See BOWLING ALLEYS, page 11B

April programs at Northwest Regional Library

Next month’s roster of activities at Northwest Regional Library offers topics for all ages The following activities are free to the public:

Adult Programs

Tech Tuesdays: One-on-One Help

2 p m , Tuesday, April 4

Need help with a laptop tablet or ereader? Are you looking to gain basic computer skills? We can help Bring your fully charged device and any passwords for a 15-minute, one-on-one technology session

Registration is required

Knit and Stitch

10 a m , Wednesday, April 5

A casual, self-guided group of knitters and crocheters who meet to share projects i d e a s a n d t e c h n i q u e s P a r t i c i p a n t s a r e encouraged to bring their own projects and tools Basic materials and supplies are available for newcomers

Random Acts of Art for Adults

1 p m , Thursday, April 6

Learn a new art technique or discover an old favorite at this pop-up art class designed for adults The project will not be announced until you arrive and seating will be limited to supplies on hand Registration is required

Florida's Ice Age

1 p m , Tuesday, April 11

With a cooler climate and roaming mastodons Florida was a much different

place 10 000 years ago Listen to guest speaker Natalie De La Torre Salas with the Florida Public Archaeology Network and learn how Florida's first people survived and thrived in this environment by counting on a paleo-diet before it was all the rage

Chess at the Library

5:30 p m , Tuesday, April 11

Enjoy chess at the library in a casual environment Chessboards will be provided but you can also bring your own People of all ages and skill levels are invited Staff will be on hand to provide help for those getting started

Books & Bagels

10:30 a m , Wednesday, April 12

Do you enjoy robust, engaging book discussions? Join us and share your latest reading recommendations Bagels and coffee will be served

Artsy Adult Craft: Faux Leather Journal

1 p m , Saturday, April 15

Journaling can be very therapeutic and we are going to take it up a notch by creati n g a j o u r n a l u s i n g p a p e r l e a t h e r Registration is required Tea Time Talks

6 p m , Tuesday, April 25

Do you enjoy robust engaging book discussions? Join us and share your latest

reading recommendations Tea and cookies will be served

Children’s Programs

Baby Rhyme Time

10:30 a m , Mondays, April 3, 10, 17, 24

For babies up to 18 months Babies and caregivers wiggle and giggle in a supportive environment Space is limited Arrive early and visit the children s desk to check in First-come, first-served Toddler Tales 10:45 a m , Wednesdays, April 5, 12, 19, 26

For ages 18-36 months and caregivers

Toddlers and caregivers move and groove during this interactive storytime Space is limited Arrive early and visit the children's desk to check in First-come first-served

Kids Read Down Fines

4:30-5:30 p m , Wednesdays, April 5, 12

11 a m – noon, Saturday, April 15

Children and teens can earn a $2 credit on overdue fines for every 15 minutes they read in the designated area for a total of $8 in one session Please bring your library card

Space is limited Arrive early and visit the children's desk to check in First-come, first-served Chess at the Library

5:30 p m , Tuesday, April 11

Enjoy chess at the library in a casual environment Chessboards will be provided, but you can also bring your own People of all ages and skill levels are invited Staff will be on hand to provide help for those getting started Kindness Club 4:30 p m , Tuesday, April 11

Join us at the library to create kindness in our community Kids can participate in fun activities designed to encourage kindness and help make the world a better p l a c e F o r c h i l d r e n a g e s 5 t o 1 1

Registration begins March 7 and is guaranteed only until

Oasis K-12 Student Art Exhibit on display now through April 29 in Cape Coral Library Art Gallery

EDUCATION NOTES

Lavoie makes Fall 2022

Dean's List at Adelphi University in New York

GARDEN CITY, N Y -- Leah Lavoie has been named to Adelphi University's Fall 2022 Semester Dean's List Lavoie of Cape Coral was among a select group of outstanding students recognized by Adelphi's deans of Arts and S c i e n c e s , E d u c a t i o n a n d Health Science Business

Nursing and Public Health

Social Work and Psychology for superior academic performance The list comp r i s e s f u l l - t i m e s t u d e n t sregistered for 12 or more credits-who have completed at least nine graded credits who achieved a GPA of 3 5 or above for the semester T h i s r e c o g n i t i o n becomes part of the student s academic record and is entered into the individual's transcript A d e l p h i U n i v e r s i t y New York offers liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training at t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e a n d graduate level with particul a r s t r e n g t h i n o u r C o r e

Four-Arts and Humanities

STEM and Social Sciences

the Business and Education

Professions, and Health and Wellness

2nd Annual Putting it in Gear Hodges University

Car Show Saturday

Cars from the classics to prototypes will be on display during the 2nd Annual Putting it in Gear Hodges University Car Show The event is being held from 9 a m

See EDUCATION NOTES, page 8B

REAL ESTATE

Protecting yourself from fraudulent sales transactions

‘Luck of the Fed’ runs out as Cape’s market normalizes

Ironically just about three weeks shy of April Fool s Day and a week before St Patrick s Day, the Luck of the Fed seems to have come up a couple of four leaf clovers short in its attempt to engineer a soft landing in the U S economy when Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) swiftly collapsed last week

The run on this bank triggered a rout in the value of banks across the country and quickly led to regulators taking over Signature Bank of New York last Sunday as the Federal Reserve made additional funding available to banks to help them meet the needs of all depositors through their new Bank Term Funding Program

stating “You can’t run the most reckless monetary and fiscal experiment in history without the bill coming due The first invoice arrived as inflation The second has come as a financial panic with painful consequences that are only now unfolding ”

Regarding the housing market for now

it looks like this banking crisis may put a cap on rising interest rates, which would be a positive for homebuyers needing to finance their purchase with a mortgage

Eric P Feichthaler Real Estate Law

n c e s f o r f r a u d a r e b e c o m i n g g r e a t e r a n d g r e a t e r W e h a v e h a d f r a u d u l e n t s e l l e r s a t t e m p t t o s e l l p r o p e r t y t h r o u g h o u r f i r m o n a w e e k l y b a s i s a n d w e h a v e r i g o r o u s p r o c ed u r e s t o c o n f i r m t h e s e l l e r i s l e g i t i m a t e I n y o u r c a s e , i t i s l i k e l y t h e R e a l t o r l i s t e d t h e p r o p e r t y w i t h o u t m e e ti n g t h e o w n e r s a n d t h e t i t l e c o m p a n y l i k e l y d i d n t m e e t t h e m e i t h e r T h e y l i k e l y p r o v i d e d f a k e p a s s p o r t s a n d u s e d a n o t a r y t h a t w a s i n o n t h e f r a u d T h e r e s u l t t o t h e t i t l e c o m p a n y , w i t h o u t f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h , i s t h a t t h e y h a d t h e r e a l s e l le r Which brings us to today Assuming the people that contacted you are the actual owners (which you shouldn t trust initially, either), you will want to tell them you purchased the property with title insurance, and provide them with that policy along with the title company’s contact information I frequently speak with clients about the importance of title insurance If you didn’t have it, you could be on the hook to pay for the lot again, or to provide it back to the rightful owners with no compensation With the title policy, it insures against title defects A fraudulent deed from the fake sellers to you would qualify as a title defect for sure

The procedure would be for the owners to make a claim against the underwriter of a title insurance policy, and the insurer is responsible for providing compensation to the owner, or getting the property back This could result in you accepting your money back if you chose to Every situation like this is unique so it may be a good idea to discuss this with an attorney to understand your rights I have noted before the free service offered by our Lee County Clerk of Courts Fraud Alert When you sign up for this service the county will send an email anytime a deed mortgage or other document is recorded impacting your property Although this doesn t provide a lock on title (which isn t possible, anyway), it provides immediate notice to the rightful own-

See FRAUDULENT TRANSACTIONS, page 5B

This “new program” essentially eliminates the $250 000 cap on FDIC insurance raising it to an unlimited amount to protect these depositors while providing additional funding to protect the capital of other banks to prevent a run on the banking system The powers that be in Washington D C quickly recognized that the word “bailout” could be damaging to their political careers and robotically marched forward with their latest rescue plan talking points of Repeat after me, this is not a bailout Repeat after me, this is not a bailout

Bob and Geri Quinn Homing In

In the tumultuous days that followed these seemingly sudden bank collapses there was not only a massive repricing of yields but also a dramatic change in the market expectations for the future of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve The yield on 2-year Treasuries posted their biggest three-day plunge since the infamous Black Monday back in October 1987, dropping nearly 100 basis points, while rates on the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note declined from just under 4 percent to just a bit above 3 5 percent almost overnight

In the days prior to these bank collapses it was widely expected that the Fed would jack the Federal Funds Rate up another 50 basis points at their meeting next week and continue raising rates “higher for longer from there Now Wall Street thinks the Fed may be forced to not only stop raising interest rates but to also begin the “grand pivot” of lowering interest rates later this year Some think the Fed will be further boxed in to making a bad choice between the risk to financial institutions by continuing to raise interest rates and collapsing the economy that way or to start reducing interest rates sooner and accept the higher level of embedded inflation in the economy which will be more damaging to Main Street

As more details have emerged from the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank, several things are becoming clear First, these two banks were not your typical community bank filled with small business accounts and mom and pop Main Street depositors It turns out they were loaded with ultrawealthy investment savvy risk-taking venture capital customers who were well-connected donors to the political class Second, these banks will probably go down in history as the poster childs of the malinvestments that have permeated the financial system as a result of too much “free money” being distributed into the economy through “emergency government programs” and the Fed’s grand market manipulation scheme of 0% interest rates A Wall Street Journal editorial on Monday, March 13, 2023, probably summed it up best by

Local CENTURY 21 agents receive 2022 President's Producer Award

In recognition of their outstanding sales production and commitment to quality service, Century 21 Real Estate LLC recently honored the following sales associates with the 2022

However a lot of economic uncertainty remains as a looming debt crisis and corporate bankruptcies are likely to be the next shoe to drop with trillions of dollars of debt needing to be refinanced in 2023 and 2024 at these higher interest rates

On a positive note in the overall Cape Coral single-family home market there have been a total of 694 closed sales recorded in the first two months of this year

This has us on track for a sizable increase in sales in the first quarter of this year versus the hurricane-impacted total of 861 sales in the fourth quarter of 2022 We have also clearly closed the books on the crazy post-COVID lockdown real estate market frenzy which began in June 2020 before winding down sometime between March and June of last year This means we have settled back into a market more in line with the 689 closed sales in both the first two months of 2018 and 2020 (which was just prior to the COVID lockdowns) and well ahead of the 612 sales in January and February 2019 To help illustrate the abnormally scorching hot post-COVID market, the number of closed home sales in the Cape jumped to 914 sales during the first two months of 2021 for an increase of 32 7% above the 689 sales in 2020 before spiking to 1 062 sales in January and February 2022

One other area where we are seeing what looks like a normalization at this point is with median sales prices, which have averaged $412,000 for our overall market in the first two months of this year This was up 3 6% from the average median sales price of $397 500 in January and February 2022 and more inline with the increases seen for the first two months of 2018, 2019 and 2020, which had average increases of 3 1% 1 8% and 4 3%, respectively, from the first two months of the prior years In the post-COVID lockdown boom years of 2021 and 2022 the median sales price for the first two months of those years increased by 23 6% and 28 9% from the prior years So the rapid price accelerations of these two boom years seem to be taking a much needed pause and we think we may see negative year-over-year price growth in the coming months

We are still continuing to see a steady increase in the number of active single-family home listings through a Realtor in the Cape, while the number of pending sales edged a bit higher As of Tuesday, March 14, there were 1,418 Cape Coral single-family homes listed for sale in the Multiple Listing Service (up from 1 380 listings on March 7) at prices ranging from $240 000 to $4 231 million The median list price dipped to $525 000 from $534 950 a week ago and it is up

CENTURY 21 President's Producer Award The annual award is bestowed upon those CENTURY 21 System sales affiliates that earn the CENTURY 21 CENTURION award and the CENTURY 21 Quality Service Pinnacle Producer award in the same calendar year

∫ Monica Fowlds PA, sales associate with CENTURY 21 Selling Paradise located in Cape Coral

∫ Rachel Rose-Danzi, sales associate with CENTURY 21 TriPower Realty Inc located in Fort Myers Beach

The CENTURION Producer award honors CENTURY 21 System sales affiliates that earn $320,000 in sales production or 71 closed transaction sides within the calendar year

To earn the CENTURY 21 Quality Service Pinnacle Producer Award a C21 sales affiliate must receive completed customer surveys for at least 80 percent of their transactions surveyed from Jan 1 - Dec 31, with an average survey score of at least 95 percentage or better for two consecutive years Century 21 Real Estate LLC is comprised of approximately 14 000 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 85 countries and territories worldwide with about 150 000 independent sales professionals Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs They are century21 com, century21Global com commercial century21 com century21 com/finehomes and century21espanol com

Construction begins on state-of-the-art surgical facility

Surgical Healing Arts Center Metro Alliance Surgery Center and Stevens Construction celebrated the beginning of construction of a new two-story, 20,764-square-foot medical office building and ambulatory surgery center in Fort Myers with a groundbreaking Feb 23 at 6201 Alliance Lane, Fort

Currently 516

$450,000 and under, and a total of 76 homes on the market at $1 million and above As of March 14 there were a total of 872 single-family homes in the Cape under contract with a buyer as a pending sale at prices ranging from $250,000 to $3 9 million This was up slightly from the 866 pending sales a week ago but 15 7% lower than the 1 034 pending sales in the pipeline at prices ranging from $200,000 to $3 4 million

Fraudulent transactions: Shady real estate deals popping up often

Myers The project is slated for completion in early 2024

The first floor will house Surgical Healing Arts Center, which specializes in medical and surgical weight loss, advanced robotic and laparoscopic surgery, revisional bariatric surgery adolescent bariatric surgery complex hernia repair body-contouring surgery after weight loss anti-reflux surgery weight management services and a wide variety of gener-

The company From page 4B REAL ESTATE BRIEFS

al surgery The center will include Surgical Healing Arts Center’s first wound-care center with hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber which promotes faster healing and offers additional recovery benefits to patients The space will include patient exam rooms offices conference rooms and scheduling

management general contracting and consulting services to clients and design professionals Other services include site and design team Mary for over 20 years and they have four children together He earned his board certification in Real Estate Law from the Florida Bar He is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell for professional ethics and legal ability and is a Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator He can be reached at eric@capecoralattorney com,

Sarasota and Orlando Stevens Construction specializes in providing construction U n i v e r s i t y i n W a s h i n g t o n D C h e returned to Southwest Florida to practice law and raise a family He served as mayor of Cape Coral from 2005-2008, and continues his service to the community through the Cape Coral Caring Center Cape Coral M u s e u m o f H i s t o r y a n d C a p e C o r a l Kiwanis He has been married to his wife,

permitting cost and quality control or 239-542-4733 This article is general in nature and not i n t e n d e d a s l e g a l a d v i c e t o a n y o n e I n d i v i d u a l s s h o u l d s e e k l e g a l c o u n s e l before acting on any matter of legal rights and obligations

commercial

hospitality facilities For information, visit www stevensbuilds com or call 239-936-9006

By CHUCK BALLARO news@breezenewspapers com

O n e o f t h e a r e a ’ s b i g g e s t c u l i n a r y a n d e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s r e t u r n e d t o E C H O l a s t w e e k a s t h e g l o b a l f a r m h o s t e d t h e 3 1 s t a n n u a l F o o d & F a r m F e s t i v a l T h e f e s t i v a l w a s t h e b i g g e s t o n e y e t , w i t h f i v e d a y s o f h a n d s - o n c l a s s e s , s e m i n a r s , c o o k i n g d e m o n s t r a t i o n s , t r o p i c a l l u n c h e s , f u n f o r t h e k i d s a n d s a m p l e s o f s o m e t h e f o o d m a d e w i t h w h a t i s g r o w n a t t h e f a r m D a n i e l l e F l o o d E C H O ’ s c o m m u n i c a t i o n s d i r e c t o r s a i d i t w a s g r e a t t o i n c l u d e m o r e d a y s o f h a n d s - o n a c t i vi t i e s t o g i v e p e o p l e a c h a n c e t o g e t m o r e o u t o f t h e f e s t iv a l “ V i s i t o r s w e r e a b l e t o g a t h e r t i p s f o r t h e i r o w n b a c ky a r d T h e y g o t t o t r y a t r o p i c a l - t a s t i n g l u n c h w h i c h s o l d o u t a l m o s t e v e r y d a y ” F l o o d s a i d “ W e a l s o h o s t e d a b e e k e e p i n g w o r k s h o p f o o d p r e s e r v a t i o n w o r k s h o p a n d

h o w t o b u i l d a k i d - f r i e n d l y f o o d f o r e s t S a t u r d a y w a s t h e b u s i e s t d a y , b y f a r , w i t h p l e n t y o f c o o k i n g d e m o n s t r a t i o n s , s t a r t i n g w i t h t h e t r a d i t i o n a l c o ff e e t a s t i n g w i t h B o n e s C o f f e e o f C a p e C o r a l w h i c h b r o u g h t i n b o t h h o t a n d c o l d b r e w s W e b r o u g h t i n a c o u p l e o f c o l d b r e w s a n d h o t c o f f e e f r o m E t h i o p i a a n d d a r k r o a s t , C o f f e e s a r e d i f f e r e n t i n e a c h c o u n t r y S u m a t r a i s a d a r k , f l a v o r f u l c o f f e e , E t h i o p i a n i s v e r y m e l l o w ” s a i d F r a n k B a r b a t o r e t a i l s p e c i a l i s t w i t h B o n e s I t ’ s l i k e w i n e a n d g r a p e s i t ' s w h e r e i t c o m e s f r o m ” F r o m t h e r e i t w a s o n t o t r y s o m e t h i n g t a s t y f r o m t h e h o m e m a d e p e a n u t b u t t e r t o t h e j u i c e f r o m s u g a r c a n e , w h i c h B a r r y G e n t i l e s q u e e z e d o u t o f t h e s t a l k a n d l o n gt i m e v o l u n t e e r H a n k F r e c h t l i n g m u l c h e d u s i n g a b i c y c l e t o c r e a t e e n e r g y t o r u n t h e m u l c h e r “ A s s o o n a s I r e t i r e d i n 2 0 1 3 I s t a r t e d a s a v o l u n t e e r

I l o v e w h a t E C H O d o e s T h e p e o p l e a r e C h r i s t i a n s w h o m a k e t h e w o r l d a b e t t e r p l a c e a s G o d i n t e n d e d , F r e c h t l i n g s a i d I l i k e h o w t h e y p r o v i d e o p t i o n s t o t h e l e s s f o r t u n a t e i n d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s i n t h e T r o p i c s t o h a v e l e s s h u n g e r ” V i s i t o r s a l s o l e a r n e d d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f g a r d e n i n g m e t h o d s , s u c h a s u r b a n g a r d e n i n g I t w a s t h e j o b o f i n t e r n T a m m i B r i t t a i n t o p r o v i d e i n s t r u c t i o n W e t e a c h p e o p l e t o g r o w t h i n g s o n l i t t l e o r n o s o i l o r l a n d W e u s e c o n t a i n e r s f o r g a r d e n i n g , e s p e c i a l l y r e u s i n g t h i n g s l i k e o l d t i r e s o r k i d d i e p o o l s , B r i t t a i n s a i d “ T h e y a l s o u s e o l d c a r p e t s a s w i c k i n g b e d s a n d o t h e r r e s o u r c e s ” V i s i t o r s w e r e l e a r n i n g a l o t L a u r a S i e m e r s b r o u g h t h e r t w o s o n s L a n d o n 1 2 a n d C o l t o n 9 L a n d o n c a m e o n a f i e l d t r i p w h e n h e w a s y o u n g e r a n d f e l l i n l o v e w i t h i t S h e s a i d s h e l e a r n e d a l o t a b o u t n a t u r a l p l a n t s t h a t s e r v e m e d i c i n a l p u r p o s e s W e v e c o m e e v e r y y e a r f o r t h e f e s t i v a l M y b o y s a r e s c o u t s a n d t h e y s a i d w e c a n l e a r n s o m e t h i n g s s o L a n d o n c a n g e t a b a d g e ” L a u r a s a i d “ H e l e a r n e d a b o u t a n o t h e r w a y t o f i l t e r w a t e r b e s i d e s t h e w a y t h e y t e a c h t h e B o y S c o u t s ” “ I t ’ s p r e t t y g o o d I t ’ s a h a r d c h o i c e t o d e c i d e w h a t I l e a r n e d t h e m o s t I l e a r n e d a b o u t d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f f e r t i li z e r a n d w a t e r f i l t e r s T h e r e w a s a l o t t o l e a r n , C o l t o n s a i d E

Epiphany Episcopal to present ‘Stations of the Cross’ Lenten services

The Epiphany Episcopal Church of Cape Coral will be having Stations of the Cross Lenten services on Fridays, March 17 and 24 Services will be conducted by Father Eddie Gibbons,

parish priest and will be held at the church starting at 5 p m each day The last Stations of the Cross service will be held on Wednesday, March 31, at 5 p m All are welcome to this

friendly and welcoming church

Epiphany Episcopal Church is located at 2507 Del Prado Blvd , Cape Coral For additional information, call 239-574-3200

What’s eating my plant?: Common insects that can be a problem

From page 1B

insects inflict will cause browning or yellowing of leaves, and possibly wilting You can usually find evidence of these insects on the underside of leaves or on the newest growth of the plant

Insects that are classified as "defoliators" feed rapidly and voraciously and can almost strip a plant bare

Caterpillars are well-known defoliators since they represent the larval stage (think of a teenager!) in an insect s life before it reaches adulthood These caterpillars must rapidly consume large quantities of food prior to pupating or forming a chrysalis or cocoon I have observed Io moth caterpillars strip several branches of a standard hibiscus overnight in my garden And, of course, we know what monarch butterflies do to milkweed! But monarchs are a

beneficial insect and the gardeners who support them are thrilled when we see our milkweed plants defoliated

Leafminers are the larvae of flies, moths, sawflies or other insects that produce tell-tale tunnels that appear as squiggly lines as they burrow into a plant’s leaves One of the best known leafminers in Florida is the citrus leafminer which is not only destructive to our citrus crops but may also create openings that allow citrus canker to infest the tree

Insects that are classified as "gall makers" insert part or all of their bodies into plant tissue (leaves stems or twigs) to either feed or lay eggs causing the tissue to swell into a gall While galls can be caused by many organisms including bacteria, fungi, nematodes and mites, insects are the most common cause of galls There are more than 2 000 types of gall-producing insects present in Florida;

the majority are wasps or tiny flies Well-known gall makers include blueberry gall midge larvae that burrow into leaves while feeding, Josephiella wasps that create galls on ficus trees and can cause severe damage, and sea grape blister galls which are unsightly but harmless

Wood/phloem borers cause damage by feeding on living wood and can be classified as primary invaders which strike healthy trees, and secondary invaders which attack stressed, dying or dead trees The larvae of these borers can cause extensive damage through burrowing or girdling the tree weakening the trunk and creating openings for bacteria or disease to enter the tree

Now that you ve had an introduction to some of the damage you can expect to see from insect pests, you might be wondering how you will identify these pests The answer is right at your fingertips! Landscape Pests is a mobile site developed by the University of Florida/IFAS (Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences) that can help y o u i d e n t i f y c o m m o n p e s t s f o u n d h e r e i n F l o r i d a (http://pest ifas ufl edu/) This app provides pictures of the pests, a description of the damage they cause, how to detect the pests and management suggestions Landscape Pests is a wonderful mobile resource that will help you identify and control common pests and assist you in maintaining a balanced environment in your landscape Stay tuned next month for information on wildlife pests! C

y M a s t e r G a r d e n e r Volunteer and a member of the Garden Club of Cape Coral Visit us at www gardenclubofcapecoral com

Northwest Library:

From page 2B

read in the designated area for a total of $8 in one session

Please bring your library card

Chess at the Library 5:30 p m , Tuesday, April 11

Enjoy chess at the library in a casual environment

Chessboards will be provided but you can also bring your own People of all ages and skill levels are invited Staff will be on hand to provide help for those getting started

The Northwest Regional Library is located at 519 Chiquita Blvd N in Cape Coral For more information about a program or to r e g i s t e r , p l e a s e c a l l t h e library at 239-533-4700

C h e c k t h e L e e C o u n t y Library System’s website at www lee-library net to find out about programs at other l o c a t i o n s C a l l t h e h o s t library or Telephone Refe r e n c e a t 2 3 9 - 4 7 9 - I N F O (4636) for more information about a specific program To receive updates from L e e C o u n t y G o v e r n m e n t sign up for the newsletter h e r e : w w w l e e g o v c o m / r esources/newsletters

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Lee County will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in its services, programs or activities To request an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication or a reasonable modification to participate contact Joan L a G u a r d i a a t 2 3 9 - 5 3 32314, Florida Relay Service 711 or jlaguardia@ l e e g o v c o m A c c o m m o d ation will be provided at no c o s t t o t h e r e q u e s t o r Requests should be made at least five business days in advance

EDUCATION

NOTES

From page 3B

t o 1 p m o n S a t u r d a y , March 18 on the University’s Fort Myers Campus at 4501 Colonial Blvd A d m i s s i o n i s f r e e a n d attendees will enjoy a wide v a r i e t y o f v e h i c l e s , p l u s food trucks music raffle prizes plus a 50-50 drawing S p o n s o r s a r e B & I

C o n t r a c t o r s ; B o n d , Schoenick and King PLLC; Passkey Realty State Farm - M i c h e l l e L o s a p i o ; B o b 102 9 FM; Mix 104 7 and Gator Country

All proceeds will benefit t h e D r P e t e r T h o m a s Veterans Services Program at Hodges University H o d g e s U n i v e r s i t y a regionally accredited, priv a t e n o n p r o f i t i n s t i t u t i o n founded in 1990, prepares students to leverage higher learning in their personal p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d c i v i c endeavors With a campus in Fort Myers, Hodges provides flexible day, evening and online classes taught by w o r l d - c l a s s f a c u l t y f o r undergraduate and graduate degrees Hodges is also the first Hispanic serving institution in the region and is a m e m b e r o f t h e H i s p a n i c Association of Colleges and Universities More information about Hodges Univers i t y i s a v a i l a b l e a t Hodges edu

Cape Coral artist opening Art4Wear store in Estero this Tuesday

Krystman,

Bowling alleys: Bowlero purchases HeadPinz and Bowland in Cape

is grateful for all the memories created in Cape Coral and will fondly remember its patrons

growth of bowling there with its wide array o f r e s o u r c e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e N a t i o n a l League Bowler Program and support from the Professional Bowlers Association ” Bowlero owns more than 325 bowling centers across

pottery&crocks, figurines,cuckoo clocksandsteins. M idcenturyfurniture, livingroom,kitchen andlanaifullof greatitems. G aragewithfreezer, vintagetools,lumber, craftsmanriding mower(1yrold),yard tools,compressor, powerwasher, 17áaluminumcanoe andsomuchmore, Donátmissit!

TidyandPersonal Nojobtoosmallorlarge utilizingathreepersoncrew. Andalways,freeestimates andreferencesfurnished. Givemeacalltodiscussallof yourpaintingneeds.