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Volume 19, Number 35 “By Islanders, For Islanders” August 30th, 2019

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FortMyersBeach.news

JOHN R. WOOD FEATURED WEEKLY LISTINGMark HatfiledBroker Associate239.839.2109

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Vester Field StationFGCU Research Facility

By Gary [email protected]

Florida Gulf Coast Universi-ty (FGCU) is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s leading environmen-tal institutions, and its new Water School will only enhance that repu-tation. While construction of its new building on the FGCU main cam-pus is still roughly a year away, the University already operates a cut-ting-edge water quality educational facility in Bonita Springs, at 5164 Bonita Beach Road, where the Im-perial River empties into the Estero Bay, with the Vester Marine & Envi-ronmental Science Research Field Station (VFS). Dr. Michael Par-sons, Professor of Marine Scienc-es at FGCU and one of Florida’s leading water quality experts, is the VFS Director. “The Vester Research Field Station property was formerly the Bonita Beach Plantation Resort, owned and operated for many

years by Norm and Nancy Vester,” explained Dr. Parsons. “ Around 2007, they began to think about closing the resort, but they did not want to sell the property and have it torn down and replaced by a mod-ern development, as they wanted to keep its ‘Old Florida’ look here on the water. Right around that time, they met an FGCU student and she really peaked their interest in the University, and soon thereaf-ter, FGCU purchased the property and its three buildings from them at a significant discount, with part of the agreement that Mr. & Mrs. Vester could still use the main house during season, so they be-came snowbirds, spending their summers in Cape Cod and winters here, and that arrangement contin-ues through this day. The Vesters are wonderful people!” While the Vesters contin-ue to use the majority of the main house, FGCU reno-vated the remainder FGCU’s Vester Field Station in Bonita Springs. PHOTO COURTESY OF FGCU. Cont’d pg.8

Ruane Elected PresidentFlorida League of Mayors


The Florida League of Mayors (FLM) swore in Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane as its new President on Thursday, August 15, at the annual League of Cit-

ies Conference in Orlando. As he begins his one-year term oversee-ing the 412-member organization, composed exclusively of Mayors of Florida’s cities and towns, Ruane stated his primary priority is water quality.

Cont’d pg.12

Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane discusses his top priority: “Water Quality.” PHOTO BY GARY MOONEY.

Ready for DorianPlanning for Labor Day Storm

By Missy [email protected]

It’s Labor Day weekend and there’s a major hurricane in the At-lantic headed to Florida. Hurricane Dorian was strengthening at press time and expected to make land-fall Monday along the east coast of Florida as at least a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130+mph. At noon Thursday, the cone of the storm encompassed the entire Flor-ida peninsula. The exact track was expected to remain up in the air un-til this weekend. Dorian entered the Caribbe-an Sea as a Tropical Storm and be-came a hurricane on Wednesday, August 28 near the U.S. Virgin Is-lands, sparing Puerto Rico a direct hit, as the island continues to recov-er from 2017’s Hurricanes Irma and Maria, with many homes still sport-ing roof tarps. Governor Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency on Wednesday for 27 east coast coun-

ties stretching from the Georgia border to Key West and extending several counties deep. On Thurs-day, he made a tour of several east-ern county Emergency Operations Centers. The State Emergency Operations Center activated Thurs-day morning, with landfall expected Monday. Florida Division of Emer-gency Management Director Jared Moskowitz urged Floridians along the east coast to be ready for the storm and to pay attention to me-dia and local officials as the storm nears the state. East coast stores were ex-periencing brisk business mid-week as residents stocked up on hurri-cane supplies. Some in Southwest Florida were also preparing. Heavy rains related to Dorian are likely this weekend and into next week. With the peak of hurricane season still almost two weeks away, preparing for a storm now is good insurance, whether our area takes a direct hit or not from Dorian.

Cont’d pg.22

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$15/Hour Minimum Wage FRLA Hosts Info Session


“The potential $15-per-hour Minimum Wage State Constitu-tional Amendment is a ‘Hot Topic’ for our industry,” said Samantha Padgett, General Counsel for the Florida Restaurant & Lodging As-sociation (FRLA) to roughly 50 business people at Nervous Nel-lie’s on Thursday, August 22. “This is something that will impact your businesses should it appear on the November 2020 ballot and Floridi-ans pass it with at least 60% of the vote.” If the $15-per-hour State Constitutional Amendment makes the November 2020 ballot and pass-es, Florida’s current $8.46-per-hour Minimum Wage will increase to $10-an-hour in 2021, then an addi-tional dollar-per-hour through 2026 to $15-an-hour, equating to 7.1% annual raises and a 77% overall increase. Under this proposal, Flor-ida would retain the Tip Credit of $3.02-per-hour, meaning employ-ers would increase the correspond-ing Cash Wage. The Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to apply the Tip Credit toward the Fed-eral Minimum Wage, meaning they pay their tipped employees a lower figure known as the Minimum Cash Wage, though Padgett pointed out that if the Federal Government chooses to increase the Minimum Wage, “the Tip Credit will disappear altogether.” Under the current Florida

Minimum Wage of $8.46-per-hour, businesses must pay their em-ployees a Required Cash Wage of $5.44-an-hour, or the difference from $8.46 minus the $3.02 Tip Wage. Should the Ballot Initiative pass, the Required Cash Wage in 2021 will go up by 28.3% to $6.98, or the difference from $10 minus $3.02; and continue to rise each year until 2026 when the Required Cash Wage will reach $11.98 or $15-an-hour minus $3.02. The Re-quired Cash Wage will increase an average of 9% over that six-year period.

MR. MARIJUANA

Padgett informed the au-dience that it is almost a foregone conclusion that the $15-an-hour Minimum Wage Initiative will be on the November 2020 ballot. “‘Mr. Marijuana,’ Orlando Lawyer John Morgan, is bankrolling it, leverag-ing it with an even larger amount of money. To get a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot, all you need is 766,200 verified signatures by February 1, 2020, and ballot language approved by the Florida Supreme Court. Those who favor it already have 511,100 valid signa-tures, and we hear that number is

now around 548,000 so they are trucking along. The ballot language is pretty straight-forward, so Flori-da Supreme Court approval is like-ly. Early polling indicates there is broad support to approve the Min-imum Wage Amendment, right now at somewhere around 72%.” Padgett stated that, despite these figures, the FRLA and its members still have two advantages to defeat the potential Amendment: “We have time to get out our mes-sage, and it must pass by at least that 60% threshold. One thing we do not recommend, however, is you go to your employees and the general public and say that if this passes, it will be Armageddon and your hair will start on fire and all your businesses will close, but be honest with them about the broad impacts to the hospitality industry. Employers will use more automa-tion, thus eliminating employment opportunities, particularly at the entry level. Our surveys indicate the biggest positive impact for us in increasing the Minimum Wage is higher prices all across the board, as that gets the most attention.”

77% INCREASE

Another selling point, Padgett stressed, is that while most Floridians favor a Minimum Wage increase, they have no idea what the current figure is or how much the Amendment will raise it. “When they learn the actual dollar amounts, support for

Samantha Padgett, FRLA General Counsel, discusses the potential $15-an-hour Minimum Wage Amendment. PHOTO BY GARY MOONEY

Cont’d pg.13


Beach Botanyby Jim Rodwell

WILD ALAMANDA Wild alamanda, Pentalinon lu-tecum, is a perennial woody shrub with sprawling woody vine like stems that can reach 10’ in length. This plant likes to climb on vegetation, tree trunks, fences and other shrubs. Leaves are simple and opposite on the woody stems. Shape is elliptic. Margins are slightly rolled down-ward. Length 2” to 5”. Venation is pinnate. Color is a glossy green. At the tip of the pedicle is calyx with 5 narrow green sepals supporting the corolla. The corolla has a bright yel-low color. It is trumpet shaped with a deep throat that opens with five lobes. Length of the corolla is about 3”, diameter about 2”. Inside the throat is a female style sur-rounded by five male stamens with pollen bearing anthers. Blooms emerge from leaf axils at the tips of the woody stems. This would be a terminal inflorescence. Fruit is a follicle with two parts that open to re-lease seeds. Blooming occurs spring to fall. Distribution is in just a few of the coastal counties including Lee along the Southern Gulf and in a few Atlantic coastal counties. Habitats are mangroves, coast-al hammocks and pinelands. Lutecum is categorized in the Apocynaceae (Dog-bane) family. Lutecum is the only species in the Genus Pentalinon. It is native. This plant is available in several local nurser-ies. Be aware that the plant’s sap is poi-sonous.

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The area’s first White Masquerade Gala was hosted Saturday night, August 24, by the Nauti Parrot Dock Bar benefitting Visuality LGBTQ Youth Center in Fort Myers. Donations were taken at the door, raising $700 for Visuality, which serves at-risk youth of the LGBTQ community. This was the first Southwest Florida White Party, with previous events held in Miami and Tam-pa. The primary reason for White Parties is to bring awareness of HIV/AIDS and remember those lost. Nauti Parrot provided a white food and beverage menu. Nauti Parrot has welcomed the LGBTQ com-munity with a Rainbow Room which hosts weekly Drag Queen Bingo on Tuesdays benefitting local charities, Sunday Tea Dances and other special events. PHOTOS PROVIDED.

White Masquerade GalaNauti Parrot Dock Bar Hosts

At the White Gala were, from left, Meagan Dunn, Kim Kanouse, owner Ken Geib, Erick Vokac, Paul Munoz, Andrew Boyd, Tyler Geib, Chef Jeff Groom, Will Trefethen, Ron Gri-est, Desiree Durkee, Brandi Strasser, Mary Geib and Shelli

Schmidt.

1,000 Moose on the LooseFMB Lodge Donates to Golisano

Members of the Fort Myers Beach Moose Lodge #964, at 19090 San Carlos Boulevard, donat-ed 1,000 moose stuffed animals to patients and staff at Golisano Children’s Hospital on Friday afternoon, August 23! The toys, named “Tommy Moose,” be-come a special friend to comfort children during their hospital stay at Golisano, and the 1,000 pieces guar-antee a supply well into the future. In addition to the numerous boxes of “Tommy Moose,” Lodge members brought a 10-foot-tall inflatable moose to entertain the kids during the presentation! PHOTOS BY GARY MOONEY.

(above) Children in the front row cuddle their “Tommy Moose” while FMB Moose Lodge members and Golisano Children’s Hospital staff pose with the 10-foot-tall inflat-

able moose! (Below) Kids at Golisano Children’s Hospital leave no doubt they love their “Tommy Moose!”


JOHN R. WOOD PROPERTIES

In late July, John R. Wood Properties, opened its 17th office location in Southwest Florida at 7205 Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach. The Managing Broker is Jay Richter and there are eight dedicated agents, plus nearly 20 who utilize the office. John R. Wood Properties consistently ranks first in closed sales volume in SWFL and offers over 60 years of industry and market experience. “The demand for beachfront properties in our area is very strong and Fort Myers Beach offers a unique market of luxury properties in an otherwise casual beach town,” said Phil Wood, President of John R. Wood Properties. “Our goal is to meet the needs of all our luxury buyers and this was an area where we have been experiencing an increase in de-mand.” With over 550 real estate agents, they actively serve Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel/Capti-va, Naples, Ave Maria and Marco Island.

COASTAL VACATION PROPERTIES

AAA Coastal Management, LLC, dba Coastal Vacation Properties (CVP) announced this month, the expansion of their vacation rent-al business with the purchase of long-standing Beach Accommodations. This expansion wid-ens CVP’s short-term rental options to include condominiums, single and multi-family units. They now offer beachfront properties also. “We are incredibly excited for this opportunity to ex-pand,” said Coastal Vacation Properties owner, Heather Albert. “With these new units under our management, we’re ready to welcome families from all over the world to our beautiful beach. We’re looking forward to making a positive im-pact on the community and providing the best possible service for many years to come.” A property management company, they offer solutions to homeowners interested in out-sourcing their property management duties, in-cluding cleaning, maintenance, marketing and more. Reservations can be made on their web-sites, coastalvacationproperties.net, beachac-commodations.com, as well as through AirBnB, Home Away and VRBO. Reach them locally by phone at 239-316-4588.

FMB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Com-merce welcomed two new members at their Au-gust membership luncheon held at Charley’s Boat House Grill. Shown here, from left: Sher-ry Oakes, Chamber Member Services Director, new member Jacinta Ingream of Mango Rita’s in Times Square offering cold beverages and a full menu, including breakfast (239-233-8261; and new members Lisa and Chad Tenkley of Mar-iner’s Lodge and Marina at 17990 San Carlos Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, a family run hotel with its own marina on San Carlos Bay. (239-288-5168) and John Gavin, Chamber Chairman, of Gavin’s Ace Hardware. The Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Com-merce strives to sustain a vibrant business com-munity, promote commerce and the Fort Myers Beach community. The Chamber hosts Coffee Connection on the first Thursday each month, a Member Luncheon on the second Thursday of the month and Business After Hours on the third Thursday of the month. Learn more by calling 239-454-7500 or visiting fortmyersbeach.org.


Frances Pauline Fitz1921 – 2019

Frances P. Fitz passed away August 21, 2019 at the age of 98. She leaves behind eight chil-dren: Joanne, Joseph, James, Bar-bara, Kevin, Michael, Charles & Pat-rick; many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved being with her fam-ily, playing cards, music, traveling & the New York Mets. She was a strong, kind, fun-loving woman and will be terribly missed by her family and by every-one who ever met her . Final farewells will be shared in New York, where she will be laid to rest. Tributes may be left at bald-wincremation.com RIP Queen Mom!

OBITUARY

Roar OffshoreLighthouse Tiki Party

With Roar Offshore just six weeks away, the Lighthouse Tiki Bar threw a Roar Offshore Pool Party & BBQ on Sunday, August 25 for race enthusiasts. The race boat Shadow Pirate was on display with the Shad-ow Pirate team in attendance to an-swer questions. The Roar Offshore Powerboat Race event will be held in Fort Myers Beach October 7 – 13, with racing on Saturday, October 12. For a full schedule, visit roaroff-shore.com. PHOTOS BY SANDY SANDNESS.


Chiefs Martin & DiCristofaloNational Fire Academy Grads


The Fort Myers Beach Fire Department (FMBFD) recognized two of its own at the monthly Board of Fire Commissioners meeting in Town Council Chambers on Wednesday evening, August 28. Ron Martin, Executive Assistant Fire Chief of Life Safety & Support Services, and Vincent DiCristofalo, Assistant Chief of Training, Edu-cation & Safety, recently received their degrees from the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Vice Chair Ron Fleming ran the meeting, with Chair Larry Wood on an excused absence, with Commissioners John Bennett, Jac-ki Liszak, and Bob Raymond com-posing a quorum. “We are here tonight to cel-ebrate the major achievements of Chief Ron Martin and Chief Vincent DiCristofalo, for their graduation from the Executive Fire Officer Pro-gram from the National Fire Acad-emy in Emmitsburg, Maryland,” said FMBFD Chief Matthew Love. “The United States Fire Administra-tion is an entity of the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, with the mission to provide national leadership, to foster a solid founda-tion for our fire and emergency ser-vices stakeholders in prevention, preparedness, and response.” Chief Love explained, “The National Fire Academy is a state-of-the-art training facility developed by the Fire Administration to educate and train fire service leaders, with the Academy serving as a large, full-service university-type facility.

The Executive Fire Officer Program is the National Fire Academy’s top program for executives of Fire & Emergency Services. It entails pre-requisites such as college degree requirements, chief officer status, and a lengthy and multi-phase ap-plication and selection process. Throughout its variations, the Ex-ecutive Fire Office Program en-compasses as many as four years of course work, bringing students back to the National Fire Academy several times over the course of those years to complete classroom activities, required extensive pre-course work and case studies, and finally the completion of a required six-month applied research project each year.” Each year in the program Chiefs DiCristofalo and Martin com-pleted an Applied Research Project, similar to a Thesis Project, evalu-ated by the National Fire Academy Staff, reviewed by a contract eval-uator, that they then defended be-fore members of the United States Fire Administration. Chief Martin’s topics included “Firefighter Suicide Prevention,” “Elderly Fire Safety & Abuse Prevention” and “Fire Ex-ecutive Health & Wellness.” Chief DiCristofalo examined “Profession-al Development for Administrative Staff Positions,” “Preparing Chief Officers for Emergency Manage-ment Roles” and “Annual Training Development for the FMBFD.” “What this means is clear,” emphasized Chief Love. “The Fort Myers Beach Fire Department will not only benefit from their educa-tion, but we have in-depth studies on operations with the department. Not only do we now have the ability

to use this, but fire services around the nation as a whole will benefit from these studies done on behalf of these Chiefs and the FMBFD. Theirs were long journeys, and each Chief has a lot of years left in their careers to use these skills. I am proud and humbled to have such well-educated and critical thinking members on our team!” Chief Love then presented Chief DiCristofalo and Chief Mar-tin with their Executive Fire Officer Diplomas as well as awarding each with their Executive Fire Officer pin. Commissioner Fleming, himself a retired Ohio firefighter, added, “I am personally acquainted with the National Fire Academy, and can at-test that your achievements are not only difficult, but prestigious, as this institution is the equivalent to what the FBI Academy is for law enforce-ment officers. Congratulations on your accomplishments and we are honored to have you as members of the Fort Myers Beach communi-ty!”

ROCK STAR, BUDGETS, STORM PREP

During the Fire Chief’s Report, Love stated that Deputy Fire Marshall Jennifer Campbell received the department’s new “Rock Star Award” for her expertise in Plan Review and other duties within the Life Safety Division. He welcomed to the Fire Department Colleen Brooks as the new Human Resource & Payroll Assistant. The Fire Department has prepared a 2019/2020 Hurricane Preparedness Guide that is avail-able on their website at www.fmb-fire.org. The FMBFD’s Preliminary Budget Hearing will be Thursday, September 12, at the Beach Library at 5:15 p.m.; their Final Budget Hearing is scheduled for Wednes-day, September 25, in Town Hall at 5:15 p.m., with its September Board Meeting to follow at 6 p.m.

Chiefs Martin & DiCristofalo, with their National Fire Academy diplomas, with their fellow Fort Myers Beach Fire Department Chiefs & Board Members.

PHOTO BY GARY MOONEY


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Vester Field StationFGCU Research Facility, Cont’d from pg.1

of the property to meet the Uni-versity’s needs, including wet and dry laboratories, hatchery, raw & filtered water flow-through tanks, workrooms, conference room, a classroom and various research tools such as microscopes, centri-fuge, freezer and refrigerator and computers. Researchers and stu-dents can access a 7-boat fleet as well as numerous canoes and kay-aks to do their work on the water, to collect a varied assortment of small fish, oysters, algae and other seal-ife to take back to the labs.

RESORT LEGACY

One of the Field Station’s most unique aspects is a legacy from its resort heritage. “We refur-bished the resort building into eight modern apartments for visiting researchers and students; 4 into one-bedroom apartments and the other four into dormers filled with bunk beds that can accommodate up to 24 total students,” Dr. Par-sons said. “We have researchers, graduate students and university classes from all over the nation and beyond, like from Wales and Can-ada, who come here to study wa-ter quality. One researcher stayed for over a year, and that would not be possible if we could not make these accommodations available to them.” In addition to professional scholars and university students, the VFS hosts a variety of class-es, like the Collier County Advance Placement Marine Science pro-gram, along with Boy & Girl Scouts,

elementary school students, cit-izen-scientists and even events like sponsoring a reception for the Greater Fort Myers Beach Cham-ber of Commerce members! “We really run the gamut,” smiled Dr. Parsons, “and one of the greatest things about the VFS is it allows us to host all of those people and groups and more! One of the most exciting was when incoming Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year chose Vester as the location to announce his new water quality initiatives, including the creation of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force of which I have the honor of being one of its five members. Right af-ter his announcement, he, his wife

Casey, and key staff boarded one of our boats to tour our waters for themselves.”

SOFTWARE & HARDWARE

Dr. Parsons joined the FGCU faculty in June 2007, around the same time – by total coinci-dence – of when the Vesters be-gan to consider the future of their property with the University. “I knew nothing about this at the time,” he laughed, “so it had absolutely noth-ing to do with my decision to join FGCU! What did interest me then was the University’s affiliation with the Coastal Watershed Insti-tute (CWI) that focuses on water-

shed-related concerns and their im-pact on Southwest Florida’s coastal environments, and what the region-al vision of the CWI could be on a larger scale, including becoming a ‘Think Tank’ for Marine Sciences. I became its Director and served in that capacity for approximately 10 years.” Roughly three years ago, Dr. Parsons became the Director as well of the VFS “and I did both for a bit, to see how to best fit them to-gether, with common elements, but it wasn’t long before I realized my schedule was so busy I was doing neither justice, so I stepped down from the CWI and my FGCU col-league, Dr. Darren Rumbold, is now that Director. If I had to describe the difference between the two organi-zations, I would say the CWI is the ‘software’ of water quality, where all the concepts come together, while Vester is the ‘hardware’ where we do actual hands-on study, so to me they are a perfect marriage!”

WHAT’S IN THE WATER?

He could not be happier with the role FGCU students play with the VFS. “So many are so involved, whether it be graduate students, undergraduates, interns or those conducting independent research. Because we work so closely with our students, we expect them to do public outreach and education, whether that be teaching elementa-ry and middle school classes who visit here, as the younger we teach kids about the importance of water qual i ty, Cont’d pg.10

Dr. Parsons in the Vester Research Field Station wet laboratory. PHOTO BY GARY MOONEY.


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The Island Sand PaperFortMyersBeach.news

An independently owned island newspaper

Publisher Bob LayfieldEditor Missy LayfieldLead Writer Gary MooneyAdvertising Sandy SandnessProduction Mark List

Phone: 239-463-4461 Fax: 855-886-3568Email: [email protected]: 450 Old Sand Carlos Blvd; #108 Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931

The deadline for Classified ads and Letters is Noon Wednesday

Letter PolicyThe Island Sand Paper welcomes original letters of up to 300words on local issues. All letters must include the name and city of residence of the author, plus a phone number for verification.We reserve the right to edit for clarity, length, accuracy and to prevent libel. No poetry. Letters are printed at the discretion of theEditor. Repetitive letters from the same individual on the same subject will not be printed. There is a publication limit of two letters every 4 weeks. Submissions over 300 words may be considered for publication as a Guest Commentator based on available space, relevance and the quality of the submission.

The Island Sand Paper welcomes original photos for publication based of available space, relevence and quality.

Editorial LettersTOWN BUDGET & TAXES

Council has stated the proposed increase to.95 mil from the cur-rent .87 is a minimal amount. However, that represents a 9.4% increase. The taxable tax base was shown to be $3,537,057,197. Last year’s base was not provided so how much higher is the tax base compared to last year? Instead, Council should be talking about the “roll back” rate so we pay the same taxes as last year. Please give us a historical background showing how much our rates have increased over the last six(6) years. Therein lies more truth in how much more we are being taxed.

Chuck BodenhaferFort Myers Beach

WELL-DESERVED SPOTLIGHT

Thank you for the interview and article profiling our Assistant Library Director, John Lukow. John’s comments were low key and far too modest and I want to share some additional information. Most of the patrons who enter our beautiful library do not know John and most have never seen him although he’s been here 25 years. The most important work, the work that keeps our library function-ing and provides the materials and services for our library community, is done out of the public eye in the back room, which has been John’s domain for all those years. Following the tragic murder of Dr. Hommerd-ing, all of us were hurting and feeling a bit lost. John came forward as a resource for our staff and literally filled the leadership void left by Dr. H. John’s depth of knowledge about every aspect of our library’s oper-ation never ceases to amaze us. He is our rock and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts for being the glue that holds our team togeth-er. Rarely does a day go by when one of us doesn’t say to a fellow staff-er, “Go ask John. He knows everything.” We are so blessed to have had John here for 25 years and hope-fully he will be with us for another 25. We appreciate him more than I can say and probably more than he knows. Thank you for shining a well-de-served spotlight on our John Lukow.

Esther WhatleyFort Myers Beach Library Staff

READY OR NOTHURRICANE SEASON

While meteorologists debated the projected path and landfall this week, Floridians prepared for Dorian. Water, batteries, plywood, tarps, jerky, M & Ms. As the Sand Paper goes to the printing presses this week, the strength and path remain a matter of debate. If we’re lucky, this will be just a practice run for those of us in SWFL and while we see some wind and rain, the dangerous levels of those elements will stay far to our north. So, throw that hurricane party, enjoy the reprieve, because we know it’s just this storm that passed us by. The next one may not. But has this storm passed us by? Most of us are now aware that heavy rainfall in the central part of the state can affect our local water quality, via Lake Okeechobee water releases. We know that the results of a heavy rainfall event that “misses” us, can end up literally in our backyard in the next few weeks. Any heavy rainfall washes fertilizers off the land and into the water. Once they’re in the water, they can feed harmful algae blooms. Lake O is currently being managed to minimize water releases when there are algae blooms on the lake, but a hurricane will fill the lake up and blooms or not, water will be released our way. Which is why we need to keep pressure on our elected officials to complete all the water quality projects in the pipeline as soon as possible. Our econ-omy is dependent on reliably clean water. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 each year with a major hurricane possible anytime within that period. Experienced Floridians will tell you that the “real” season, the period when we see the most hurricanes, is between August 15 and October 15 and statis-tics claim September 10 as the peak of the season. Oddly appropriate as Hurricane Irma came to call on September 10, 2017. Dorian won’t be the last storm we track through the Caribbean this year. Hopefully, our experience with Dorian will inspire us all to take hurricane preparation seriously. There’s no shortage of advice on how to prepare your family, your home or business for a storm. We’ve been publishing articles on storm prep for weeks now with plenty of referenc-es. There’s another one in today’s paper. The cool kids, and there are always cool kids, might not find hurricane preparation a worthy use of their time. You’ll hear about hur-ricane parties and how some never do anything to prepare and they’ve always been just fine. Those are the people who public safety agencies worry about the most. Those are the ones that put public safety per-sonnel in danger when it all goes south and they need rescuing. So, be kind to your local sheriff and fire department. Each one of them have family members who worry about their safety. They’ll put their lives on the line to save you, but they shouldn’t have to. Prepare a storm kit, evacuate if told to and be ready to take care of yourself before, during and after a storm. Fingers crossed that Dorian bypasses SWFL.

Missy LayfieldEditor


Sunday ServicesFort Myers Beach Churches

Chapel by the Sea Presbyterian2500 Estero Blvd

10:00 a.m. Worship

Beach Methodist155 Bay Rd

239-463-965610:15 a.m. Hymn Sing

10:30 a.m. Worship

Beach Baptist130 Connecticut St.

239-463-64529:00 a.m. Breakfast

9:30 a.m. Sunday School10:30 a.m. Worship

WE Dinner 5:30 p.m.WE Bible Study 6:15 p.m.

St. Peter Lutheran3751 Estero Blvd

239-463-42519:30 a.m. Worship

10:30 a.m. Bible Study

St. Raphael’s Episcopal5601 Williams Dr

239-463-605710:00 a.m.

WE Healing Service 10:00 a.m.

Ascension Catholic6025 Estero Blvd

239-463-6754SA 4:30 p.m.

SU 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. MO – FR 8:00 a.m.

Vester Field StationFGCU Research Facility, Cont’d from pg.8the better off we all will be in the fu-ture. Our students also assist with water quality monitoring projects, like we are doing in cooperation with the Mound House with its ‘What’s In The Water?’ program in conjunction with the National Oceanic & Atmo-spheric Administration (NOAA). We are processing the initial samples we took during dry season in May and should have those final results in a few weeks, and will conduct the next round during our wet season in the next month or so.” Dr. Parsons admits that “FGCU students are blown away by the VFS, so it makes it easy to recruit topnotch scholars. The ones I actually feel sorry for are FGCU students who don’t discover Vester until they take a class here their junior or senior year and exclaim that they never knew this existed or they might have chosen a different career path. We tell them, however, not to be discouraged, as we need their talents as well, no matter their discipline; for instance, historians can catalog the history of the site and art students can paint appropri-ate murals. If you have an interest, we can match you up with a proj-ect!” Various VFS areas include the scientific diving program, micro and macro laboratories, facilities for oyster spawning and hopeful-ly soon for sponges, labs to study mangrove systems and various seagrasses to interact with man-groves and a salt water well. “If you are a VFS student,” reflected Dr. Parsons, “there are so many neat

projects you can get involved in, with so many more neat projects on the horizon, in all kinds of sciency stuff! If you have a research project to improve water quality, chances are we can accommodate you.”

ENCOURAGE MORE AGGRESSION

One project that FGCU con-structs at the VFS is the “Rinks to Reefs” Program, where students use broken hockey sticks, not only from the university’s team but ones donated from the National Hockey League, to make artificial reefs. “Our only problem,” joked Dr. Par-sons, “is we don’t have enough bro-ken sticks! I playfully suggested that

FGCU set up a meeting for me with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, to encourage more aggression so there are more broken sticks!” Dr. Parsons thanked John Gavin, Chairman of the Greater Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce and owner of Gavin’s Ace Hardware, for donating the necessary equipment to build the artificial reefs. Will FGCU soon become the nation’s leading environmental university? Dr. Parsons said, “That is a great goal, but to be totally real-istic, I would like the Water School to lead the way in doing a few things extraordinarily well, like becoming the leading center for mangrove and seagrass studies. There are a lot of opportunities in the clean wa-ter movement, so being the leader in a couple primary areas rather than spreading ourselves too thin in too many disciplines may be the best option.” Dr. Parsons reflected upon what he likes most about being the Vester Research Field Station Director: “I really enjoy interacting with everyone associated with im-proving our overall water quality, including students, fellow educa-tors and researchers, our political leaders and the general public. The momentum we have now for water quality is tremendous, as it seems like no one is sitting on the side-lines anymore, so networking op-portunities are just off the charts! “I am an optimist and truly believe that if we all work together, we can fix our water!”

Vester Field Station, at bottom, on Fish Trap Bay with Estero Bay in the background. PHOTO COURTESY OF FGCU.

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I can’t believe we are already knocking on the door of September. The Labor Day weekend is upon us and that means the last ditch family get-togethers are happening before the cold weather sets in.

Umm, no…not here.

Even though we join in and celebrate the tradition-al end of summer, we are still a long way from cooler weath-er. However, the next couple of months are special when it comes to fishing. September is a prime time for going after snook along our beaches. The schools of bait are there and the snook are coming off their annual spawn. They’ll fatten up as the days get shorter, a sign that it’s time to start making their migration back to the creeks and rivers where they will winter over until next spring. For artificial spin or fly an-glers they’ll eat most anything that even slightly resembles a baitfish. You can most certainly toss live pilchards at them if you wish, but they’ll readily respond to the fake stuff. Just make sure you do your best to match the size and color of the forage they are chasing. I’ve found that the early mornings and evenings are best for targeting snook, but don’t be too worried about the timing. If you only fish in the afternoon, go for it. Just be a bit more stealthy in your ap-proach. Snook have amazing eye-sight and if they see you before you

see them, all bets are off. Snook season normally opens in our area on September 1st, but not this year due to the ex-tended red tide event we, and the fish, suffered through last summer. They are catch-and-release only from the Pasco/Hernando county line south to the Gor-don River in Collier County. This closure also applies to redfish and seatrout. I believe this tempo-rary rule change was needed and I’m happy to report that it seems to be working. The snook and redfish catches have been very good with only the seatrout lagging behind in some areas. Speaking of seatrout. Estero Bay has been sore-ly lacking in catches of them. Last summer’s water quality was evidently not to their liking and they moved elsewhere for what is now an extended stay.

It’s not all bad news. Recent-ly there have been catches of small ones along the beach-es in cast nets. There have also been some hook and line catches in New Pass and Big Carlos Pass. As we move to-ward cooler weather I believe they’ll return to the flats. They seem to like the lower water temperatures of the fall sea-son and Estero Bay has had very warm water most of the summer. Based on experi-ence I think a cool-down may be what’s needed for them to return. There’s been plenty of food available so hopefully

this is the last piece of the puzzle. I don’t think there’s any bet-ter time than September and Octo-ber to tangle with redfish. As a mat-ter of fact, many Southwest Florida fishermen call the latter month “red

October” for a reason. They are just about everywhere. Huge schools work their way across the flats of Pine Island Sound looking for any-thing that gets in their way. They are primarily crusta-cean eaters, so a crab or shrimp is high on my go-to list of baits. Rig up a popping cork with about 18 inches of leader and then tie on a lead-head jig tipped with shrimp. As the schools move across the flats they’ll push a small wave of water in front of them. Make your cast about 15 feet ahead of the push. Just be-fore the reds gets to the cork give it a gentle pop and that ought to do the trick.

Captain Rob Modys is a life-time Florida outdoorsman, retired spin & fly fishing guide and host of REEL Talk Radio on ESPN 99.3 FM from 7-10 a.m. every Saturday morning. He is past president and board chairman of the Florida Outdoor Writers Associ-ation and serves on the board of the Florida Guides Association. Capt. Rob also shares his fishing knowledge in a series of fishing classes at Bass Pro Shops.

Armand with a snook caught just off Fort Myers Beach.

Rob’s wife JoNell with a redfish caught in Estero Bay. PHOTOS BY ROB MODYS.


“I actually knew last year I would be FLM President this year,” Mayor Ruane explained, “because they elected me President-Elect and that person automatically moves up the next year. What is interesting, however, is when I ran last year, no one opposed me, and in the history of the FLM, that had never previously happened, so I view the trust and confidence my colleagues placed in me as a great honor! I have been active in the FLM for the previous 7 or 8 years, so everyone knows that water qual-ity is my Number One objective.” Mayor Ruane described the FLM as “elected officials who come together to find common ground, then determine what actions to take to provide education and ad-vocacy to solve them, not only by speaking with one voice in Talla-hassee and Washington, DC, but by taking those messages back to our own individual communities, to make a difference right in our own backyards. This is similar, on a much larger scale, to something we organized about ten years ago in Lee County, when former Fort My-ers Beach Mayor Larry Kiker, God rest his soul, worked with former Bonita Springs Mayor Ben Nelson, Fort Myers Mayor Randy Hender-son, and I to form a group to work on local issues, but we just repre-sented several small communities. Through the 412-member FLM, we engage so many more people, resulting in a much more powerful message. As this pertains to water quality, we can speak to our State and Federal Legislators and ex-plain the direct impacts bad water has on our communities, as obvi-ously our high quality of life is why we are all here.”

HURRICANE CHARLEY

Although born in New York, Mayor Ruane spent most of his adult life in New Jersey before relo-cating to Southwest Florida in 2004. “My family and I moved here two weeks before Hurricane Charley struck on Friday the 13th of August! We didn’t know anyone in Sanibel yet, so I asked my realtor where we should evacuate, and he said the City of Sanibel had its makeshift headquarters at Bell Tower, so I at-tended an open meeting, raised my hand, and asked how I could help. For the next five days, until offi-cials reopened Sanibel, I inspected buildings to assess damages.” Two years later, there was an opening on Sanibel City Coun-cil, but only for 60 days, and Coun-cil asked him to fill it. This corre-sponded with a massive Red Drift Algae outbreak “that was three feet high, up to my waist,” Mayor Ruane reflected. “We moved to the beach to forget snow drifts and ended up with Red Drift Algae instead, but that engaged the Sanibel commu-nity and that was great to see!” He found politics to his liking, ran to complete the final two years of the unexpired term, and won. “That was almost 13 years ago, and I have yet to lose an election. My City Council colleagues a few years later voted me to be Mayor and have done so every year since, so I have been Sanibel Mayor now for 10 years, longer than any other person. People ask if I would prefer to run exclusively for Mayor rather than having Council vote for May-or, but I favor this format because if you don’t like the job I do, you can fire me the next year, but if elected

to a term specifically as Mayor and you don’t like my performance, you must wait four years to fire me!”His decade-long journey as Sanibel Mayor will end, however, roughly around the same time as his FLM Presidency, as he will resign before the end of this current term to run in the November 2020 election for the Lee County Commissioner’s Dis-trict 1 Seat being vacated by John Manning.

“MUSIC TO MY EARS”

As FLM President, Mayor Ruane will work closely with Flor-ida Governor Ron DeSantis on water quality. “Governor DeSantis has done a wonderful job so far with water,” he stated. “I am proud to say I was an early supporter of his, as we discussed water issues a lot, so I felt he would keep his cam-paign promise, but I never thought he would come out for clean water so aggressively, literally on his ad-ministration’s second day. When he made his $2.5 billion budget re-quest over the next four years for water, including $625 million for this

year, and then the Florida Legisla-ture approved even more than that, it was hard for me to even imagine that success! Remember, I have been going to Tallahassee for over a decade asking for money for wa-ter quality, with little success, so that was music to my ears! This is just the start, though, as we must finish 67 different projects to correct our water issues that will cost a col-lective $20 billion, and we need the Federal Government to step up and pay their half, so there is no over-night cure.” Mayor Ruane said that he felt that water quality support ini-tially turned even before the 2017 water crisis or 2018 Statewide elec-tions: “The first positive moment was in 2016, when we assembled the compact of our 16 surrounding counties, with 163 different cities, to work together to advocate for water. There may be 67 Florida counties, but these 16 combine for 57% of the State’s total property value, or roughly $1.3 trillion, with an economic tourism impact of an additional $700 billion, totaling $2 trillion, so we advocated that if wa-ter quality causes us to lose just 1% of our value, that is $20 billion, or exactly what we need to finish all 67 water projects, and that mes-sage began to resonate!”

LAKE OKEECHOBEE RELEASES

Southwest Florida water quality in 2019 is far superior to 2018, so are we just lucky or is there an actual reason? “I believe it is because the United States Army Corps of Engineers implemented a much better Lake Okeechobee management plan,” Mayor Ruane offered. “In the past, they would not release water in the dry season, when we here in Southwest Florida really need it, so when wet season

Ruane Elected PresidentFlorida League of Mayors, Cont’d from pg.1

Florida League of Mayors President Kevin Ruane, Mayor, City of Sanibel, is sworn in on August 15, 2019 by Sanibel

City Clerk Pamela Smith. PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES

AND CITY OF SANIBEL.


hit with a high lake, they had noth-ing else to do but to release water down the Caloosahatchee River, to avoid potentially flooding the communities around the lake. As a result, with Tropical Storm Dorian potentially on our horizon for this weekend, Lake Okeechobee is still a foot-and-a-half lower than last year, so if a storm comes, it can hold a lot more water before mas-sive releases are necessary.” A lower lake offers added benefits. “There are more natural grasses to help clean the water, so even the Lake is healthier, while

we do not suffer from Blue-Green Algae or Red Tide. Not even US Sugar lawyers can argue that this plan adversely affected their indus-try, unlike what happened under the old Lake release schedule to us last year. As FLM President, I work with my counterparts around Lake Okeechobee to convince them we will do everything we can to ensure their communities are safe from flooding, but they must do every-thing they can so our communities enjoy clean water. These priorities are not mutually exclusive, as wa-ter affects us all! I must brag on my

own city here, as Sanibel has an in-credible Florida water quality proj-ects website, so go to www.mysan-ibel.com and see the ‘Sanibel H2O Matters’ link.” Mayor Ruane said he be-lieves water quality will significantly improve over the next five years, “if everybody stays focused. The restoration of the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee will be done, as will the C-43 and C-44 Reservoirs, and the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir work will be well underway. More com-munities will take action on storm-water runoff and septic tanks, and less people will use fertilizers with Nitrogen and Phosphorous. There are good things on the horizon, but we can’t let up just because we are

having a good year.” He reflected on his 12-year-long clean water campaign, say-ing, “I don’t want to go backwards; back then I was a lonely player on a lonely team, and people would see me and say, ‘Here he comes again, still complaining – won’t he ever be happy?’ That is why my FLM Pres-idency means so much – I am now on a big team that works together to benefit us all! I am really excited about the FLM Presidency; not to just have the title, but for the advo-cacy and impact we will achieve, to give back to not only our residents today but to our children, including mine, to let them know I actively did something to turn this whole situa-tion around.”

$15/Hour Minimum Wage FRLA Hosts Info Session, Cont’d from pg.3the proposed Amendment dips sig-nificantly, to between 60 to 64%.” She acknowledged that the tough-est conversation they will all have is in attempting to convince their own employees to vote against their own pay increase! “That will be a challenge, but you must ask them if their own budgets increased by 77%, how would they be able to meet that?” Padgett concluded that “perhaps the greatest challenge to this within the hospitality industry is we must overcome our own feel-ing of inevitability that the Minimum Wage Amendment will pass, as that is a place where we do not want to be! Proper early messaging can change the conversation, without being political, so now is the time to act!”

VISIT FLORIDA & SWFL DAYS

In a related topic, Padgett briefly touched on efforts to con-vince the Florida Legislature to renew funding for “Visit Florida,” the State Agency that assists local tourism officials and partners with cooperative marketing programs like advertising, sales, public rela-tions, promotions, Welcome Cen-ters and other opportunities. “The State currently funds this with a $50 million appropriation, but the program is due to sunset in June 2020, and that would mean that Florida would be the only state in the nation without a marketing arm! If we lose ‘Visit Florida,’ it probably won’t affect larger businesses, but

it absolutely will our smaller part-ners, as it brings people here from out-of-state, and when we have a disaster, like water quality here last year or Hurricane Michael in the Panhandle, to tell visitors that the state is still open for business, so talk to your Legislators as well about keeping ‘Visit Florida’ in busi-ness!”Just before the conclusion of the meeting, Jacki Liszak, Executive Director of the Greater Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce that assisted in hosting the “Minimum Wage Forum,” informed the audi-ence that “‘Southwest Florida Days’ with our State Legislators will be during the last week of January in 2020, and our Chamber will attend along with the other six Southwest

Florida Chambers, to speak indi-vidually with the Legislators, to tell them our real stories from real peo-ple, and we would like our business owners to join us, because as we learned last year with water quality, these conversations are real game changers!”For more information on the poten-tial Minimum Wage Amendment, see FRLA.org/minimum-wage or for questions on either that or Visit Florida, contact Padgett directly at [email protected]; to speak with Jacki about attending “Southwest Florida Days” in Tallahassee, call the Greater FMB Chamber of Com-merce at 239-454-7500.

Ruane Elected PresidentFlorida League of Mayors, Cont’d from pg.12


LABOR DAY, SEPT 2All trash, recycling and yard waste collections will take place one day late the week of Labor Day. Coun-ty parks will be open. All parking meters will be enforced. LeeTran trolleys will not run on Labor Day. County and town offices will be closed. The Beach Library will be closed. Bay Oaks Recreation Cen-ter will be closed, but Beach Pool will be open 10am – 4pm.

HURRICANE RE-ENTRY PASSESDo you have a FMB Re-entry Pass? Fort Myers Beach residents and businesses may obtain a hurri-cane re-entry pass at Town Hall. In the event of an evacuation, passes may be required to re-enter the is-land. If you have a Purple (resident) or Yellow (business) pass, they are valid for the 2019 season. If you do not already have one of those,

pick up an application at Town Hall or online at The Town of Fort Myers Beach website: Emergency Pre-paredness. Applicants will need to provide photo I.D. and proof of res-idency. For details on what proof is needed, call 239-765-0202 or see website. Passes will not be mailed this year, so stop in Town Hall to get yours!

DISASTER APPLee County Emergency Manage-ment offers two tools to help resi-dents prepare for and be aware of hurricanes and other emergency sit-uations – the LeePrepares app and the AlertLee notification system. The LeePrepares app is available in Google Play and the App Store. Features include GPS locating of evacuation zone; real time info from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on shelters and evacuations; recovery info on re-entry, curfews, distribution points; FAQ; family di-saster plan and emergency supply list, and more. The AlertLee system is an emergency notification sys-tem that allows registered users to receive telephone, text and/or email alerts related to natural or man-made emergencies. To sign up, go to www.AlertLee.com The Town of Fort Myers Beach uses the CodeRed emergency notification system. To sign up or change your settings, use the link on the town’s website at fmbgov.com

TURTLE LIGHTSAnyone with property near or on the beach should replace all exteri-or light bulbs with amber LED light bulbs to comply with state and lo-cal laws designed to protect nest-

ing sea turtles. They must be LED bulbs. Amber LED lightbulbs can be purchased at Town Hall for $8.50 each during office hours: 8:30am – 4:30pm. Wildlife friendly lighting is also available from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission at myF-WC.com. Remember to close your drapes to keep light off the beach!

TAPA HOPMark Sept 5 on your calendar be-cause that is the first day the gen-eral public can purchase tickets for the 17th Annual Tapa Hop on TH Sept 19 from 3-10pm, sponsored by the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce. This annual event will begin at 3pm at Fish Tale Wa-terfront Dining. Trolleys will then take “Hoppers” to seven different local restaurants featuring great food, cash bars, raffle prizes and a Grand Prize that you won’t want to miss. Tickets are limited to Cham-ber members through WE Sept 4, then go on sale to the public the next day. This event sells out each year, so get your tickets now! For tickets visit fortmyersbeach.org/events or call 239-454-7500.

MORNING MEANDERJoin a Bird Patrol Guide in Lakes Park, 7330 Gladiolus Dr, Fort My-ers, on SA Sept 7 at 8am for Morn-ing Meander, an easy walk along clear paths with an opportunity to see birds in native vegetation. Lakes Park is a birding hot spot and crucial nesting area for many birds. Wear comfortable shoes and dress to be outside. Bring water, sun-screen and binoculars. For more information call 239-533-7580 or 533-7576.

BEACH HEALTH FAIRThe Beach Ministerial Association will host a Beach Health Fair Sept. 9 – 13 at Beach Baptist Church, 130 Connecticut St, Fort Myers Beach, beginning at 7am each day. Services offered will include dental services*, hearing tests, mammo-grams* and reproductive services. The Lee Health Parish Nurse will also attend. *To make an ap-pointment for dental services or a mammogram, please call 239-463-6452. Other services do not require an appointment. This health fair is open to low-income, uninsured or limited insurance and homeless populations. Members of the Beach Ministerial Association are Beach Baptist, Beach United Methodist, Chapel by the Sea Presbyterian, St. Peter Lutheran and St. Raphael’s Episcopal Church. Volunteers are needed. Please call Beach Baptist 239-463-6452 if you can volunteer or if you have any questions. Watch for more details next week in the Sand Paper!

SUMMER SPEAKER SERIESThe Friends of Matanzas Pass Pre-serve will host another program in its Summer Story & Speaker Series on TU Sept 10 with speaker Terry Cain presenting “A Time Gone By.” Cain, who is a 43-year Fort Myers Beach resident, former Town Coun-cil member and longtime Friends officer, recently retired as the Lee County Land Stewardship Coordi-nator for Fort Myers Beach. Terry will discuss how various Lee Coun-ty Parks received their names. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with social fellowship with food and bev-erages available for purchase, with

A Publ ic at ion of FortMyersBe ach .ne ws

F R E E

A Daily Guide to Fun on the Beach

September


Terry speaking from 6 until rough-ly 6:45 p.m. The final event of the “Summer Speaker & Story Series” will feature former Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah, who will discuss Southwest Florida environ-mental issues and water quality on Tuesday, October 8.

YOUTH SOCCERIt’s Soccer Season and registration is still open on a few Beach Soccer teams! Girls born in 2010 & 2011 are needed for the U10 girls team, as well as boys & girls born 2014 & 2015 for the U6 co-ed team. Prac-tice has begun, so sign up NOW at www.FMBSoccer.com. Registra-tion $70. Coaches are also need-ed for some teams. Can you help coach? If you can coach or assist, register at the above website. The younger teams practice at Bay Oaks with other teams practicing at the Kelly Road Soccer Com-plex. Teams typically practice twice a week and have one game each week. For more information email [email protected]

COASTAL CLEANUPThe debris on our beaches and in our waterways is a public health threat and a serious danger to our ocean ecosystems. Keep Lee County Beautiful (KLCB) and the FMB Community Foundation in-vites everyone to help make a difference by participating in The International Coastal Cleanup on SA Sept 21 from 9am - noon. For Fort Myers Beach efforts, check in at FMB Elementary School, 2751 Oak St, FMB. Other local sites in-clude Bunche Beach, Lovers Key State Park Event Field and Wynd-ham Garden Hotel. Visit KLCB.org to register or for more information.

KIWANIS MEETINGSThe Fort Myers Beach Kiwanis Club invites anyone interested in learning more about their service club and their efforts to serve our community and children to attend one of their meetings at Bonita Bill’s meeting room, 702 Fisherman’s Wharf, FMB. They offer a flexible meeting schedule with lunch or dinner meetings. Their next lunch meeting FR Sept 6 at noon; dinner

meeting TH Sept 19 at 5:30pm. For information, contact the FMB Kiwanis Thrift Shop at 239-454-8090.

BEACH LIBRARYThe Fort Myers Beach Library is a great place to visit. Browse the library’s many collections, use the computers, read newspapers, vis-it the Library Café, Friends Used Bookstore or view the artwork on the 3rd floor, all in air-conditioned comfort! The Library is open MO-FR 9am-5pm and SA 9am-1pm. Closed Labor Day, Sept. 2. 239-765-8162. Upcoming programs include:WE Sept 4: 10:30am – Gems of the Sea, pre-registerFR Sept 6: 10:30am – Intro to Balance University, pre-registerMO Sept 9 10:30am – Associ-ate Phase, Balance University, pre-register

MOUND HOUSEThe oldest standing structure on Fort Myers Beach with a histori-cal museum inside and beauti-ful grounds outside including an observation pier, kayak launch and amazing back bay views. Grounds open sunrise to sunset. Museum is open TU, WE & SA 9am-4pm. Located at 451 Con-necticut St. with overflow parking at 216 Connecticut. Call for costs, reservations and additional infor-mation. 239-765-0865. Upcom-ing programs include:SA Aug 31: 8am-Mangroves by Kayak Tour; 10am-Cool Calusa Tools; 11am & 2pm –Shell Mound Tour; 1pm-Guided Museum Tour

FORT MYERS BEACHNESTS................... 112*FALSE CRAWLS... 119HATCHED............. 67

BONITA SPRINGSNESTS.................. 238*FALSE CRAWLS.. 378HATCHED ............. 146 *record

www.turtletime.org

TU Sept 3: 9am-Beach Walk at Newton Park (beach conditions per-mitting); 11am & 2pm-Shell Mound Tour; 1pm-Guided Museum TourWE Sept 4: 8am-Mangroves by Kay-ak Tour; 11am & 2pm-Shell Mound Tour; 1pm-Guided Museum TourTH Sept 5: 8am-Family Fun Kayak Tour (Museum closed)SA Sept 7: 8am-Mangroves by Kay-ak Tour; 11am & 2pm - Shell Mound Tour; 1pm – Guided Museum Tour

LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS Tuesday, 9/3 9:00am Bay Oaks Advisory Board 5:05pm, Lee County Budget Hearing #1, Old Courthouse, 2120 Main St, Fort Myers.

Thursday, 9/5 9:00am Council Management & Planning Session 10:30am Joint Local Planning Agency & Council Meeting 5:01pm FMB Mosquito Budget Hearing #1, 300 Lazy Way, FMB

All meetings take place in Town Hall, 2525 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach unless otherwise noted. Meetings are subject to change


WHAT IS COMMUNITY COMICSEach week I draw a cartoon and put it up on my FB page (Mark List) on Saturday morning, and ask all my FB

friends to contribute captions for the cartoon. I also ask that everyone vote for the ones they think are the funniest. The ones with the most Likes by Monday or Tuesday get printed in the funnies pages that week. We

do it simply for the fun of it.

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‘Dude! The Town’s taking over the old golf course at the south end of the island and turning it into a pot farm! Now we can finally build

that monorail, with zip lines into Time Square!’Keri Hendry Weeg

“Eric was the top vote-getter again?!”Bob Lynch (not this time!)

“The Geico gecko is dating who???”Gary Cotton

“I’m in favor of the Ft. Myers Beach rebranding idea but The Town Council might want to rethink their name change choice of

”Apocalypse Island” Eric M. Huntsman

“Holy smokes, Floyd, it must be April Fool’s Day. It says here that construction on Estero Blvd. will be finished next week !!”

Chuck Highfield

“Don’t worry. Trumps coming to speak his opinion and I hear he’s going to offer to purchase the island and turn it into a resort.

Everything’s going to be OK!” Mike Johnson


BEACH BUSINESSES

Miracle Start Defense of 2018 FSL TitlePlayoffs Begin September 3; Home Playoff Game September 4


The Fort Myers Miracle, the Single A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, begin their defense of their 2018 Florida State League (FSL) Championship Crown on Septem-ber 3. Should the Miracle repeat in 2019, it will mark their third FSL trophy in six seasons, as they won their first title in the team’s 27-year history in 2014. The Miracle qualified for the playoffs by winning the South Divisions 1st Half Championship that concluded on Thursday, June 13. The FSL, celebrating its 100th anniversary, divides its season into two halves, meaning its two First Half Divisional Winners already qualified for the playoffs. The Mir-acle seized the South by three games each over the Bradenton Marauders of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and the Palm Beach Cardinals. These teams battled for South Division supremacy through-out the First Half, with all three tied for First on June 3, but the Miracle won 7 of their last 11 games, while the Marauders went just 4 - 7 and Cardinals 3 - 6. Fort Myers will start their title defense on the road for their opening round best-of-three series on Tuesday, September 3, against the nearby 2nd Half South Cham-pions, the Charlotte Stone Crabs, the affiliate of the Tampa Rays, at Charlotte Sports Park. The Mira-cle return home for Game #2 on Wednesday, September 4, at Ham-mond Stadium at the CenturyLink Sports Complex at 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway. If a deciding Game #3 is necessary, the Miracle will host it on Thursday, September 5; all game times are 6:30 p.m. Should the Miracle ad-vance, they travel to the eventual North Division titlist’s home field for the best-of-five Championship Round on Friday and Saturday, September 6 & 7, before returning to Hammond Stadium for Game 3 on Sunday, September 8, and if

necessary Games 4 & 5 on Monday and Tuesday, September 9 & 10; all at 6:30 p.m. Remember, however, Hurricane Dorian can play havoc with these dates, so check in ad-vance at www.milb.com/Fort-Myers or www.milb.com/Florida-State.

TALE OF TWO TEAMS

It was no surprise the Mir-acle won the FSL First Half South, as most baseball people felt Fort Myers fielded an extraordinarily strong roster. It had a distinctively 2018 Championship feel to it, with 15 players returning, headlined by shortstop Royce Lewis, Major League Baseball’s 2017 #1 overall pick. Joining Lewis were 7 mem-bers of the Twins Top 20-ranked prospects, including their 2018 #1 draft pick, outfielder Trevor Lar-nach. To illustrate this depth, the Miracle led the FSL with 8 All-Star selections. Of the 25 players on their Opening Night roster, 17 received promotions to Double A Pensaco-la, one to Triple A Rochester, and starting pitcher Randy Dobnak has made it all the way to “The Show” with the Big League Twins, a rare feat to go from Single A to the Ma-jors within one season! There are just 6 First Half Miracle players on the Second Half roster, making their current 35 - 31

record, good for 2nd Place in the South behind the Stone Crabs, most impressive! While the First Half club featured 7 Top 20 Twins prospects, including their last two #1 Draft Picks, there are only 3 on the present roster, with no player draft-ed higher than the fifth round. If the First Half team was star-studded, the Second Half club are Working Class Heroes! What makes their performance even more outstand-ing is they started just 3 - 10, mired in last place, but are playing at nearly a .600 win percentage since, causing die-hard Miracle fans to ask which is more impressive this season: the highly-touted First Half team winning the South, or the Second Half “Hard Hats” playing at above .500? Three Miracle players re-main from the 2018 Championship team: infielder Jose Miranda, the Twins 20th-ranked prospect, whose three home runs in last year’s ti-tle run were huge, with outfielders Ernie De La Trinidad and Aaron Whitefield. Despite all the pitching promotions, the Miracle still feature six strong starters, headlined by 5th-ranked prospect Jordan Bala-zovic and #12 Blayne Enlow. The Bullpen might be the key, as they alternate between red hot and ex-tremely hittable. The Miracle are third in the FSL in home runs with 91, includ-

ing 31 for a new monthly club mark in May, and are second in doubles with 209. Their pitching staff leads the FSL in strikeouts with 1,149 while allowing the fewest home runs with 51, and is second in ERA at 3.12 and walks allowed with 355. They are now 39 - 29 on the road, and while they scuffled to remain above .500 at Hammond Stadium for most of the season, they were hot at home at the right time, win-ning 9 of their last 12. Perhaps the one phrase that best sums up the excellence of all Miracle personnel during 2019 is that, while many received pro-motions to higher levels, the Twins did not release a single player, an almost unheard-of group achieve-ment at the Single A level!

FINAL REGULAR SEASON WEEKEND

While the FSL Playoffs are right around the corner, the Miracle conclude their 2019 Regular Sea-son this weekend with three home games against the Clearwater Threshers of the Philadelphia Phil-lies organization. Friday features the year’s final post-game fireworks display, with first pitch at 7 p.m.; Saturday is the last “Dog Days,” bobblehead giveaway and “Base-ball & Beer Fest,” with the game at 6 p.m. Sunday is not only the “Fam-ily Funday” with local Dairy Queens providing ticket vouchers and kids 12 & under running the bases after the game, but an “All You Can Eat” Brunch is just $10, with a special start time of 11 a.m. Tickets range from $7.50 to $12; purchase them on-line at www.milb.com, at the box office that opens 60 minutes prior to each game, or over the telephone at 239-768-4210, though that has a $2 processing fee, with parking $5-per-car. Experience that Cham-pionship Feeling Again with the Fort Myers Miracle!

The 2018 Fort Myers Miracle with their Florida State League Championship trophy. PHOTO PROVIDED BY DAYTONA TORTUGAS.


For all tides go to www.saltwatertides.com

Tides • Matanzas Pass • Ft. Myers BeachDay High Tide Height Sunrise Moon Time % Moon /Low Time Feet Sunset Visible

F 30 High 2:21 AM 2.2 7:07 AM Rise 7:11 AM 0 30 Low 6:25 AM 1.5 7:50 PM Set 8:25 PM 30 High 1:16 PM 3.7 30 Low 8:07 PM 0.1

Sa 31 High 2:43 AM 2.2 7:07 AM Rise 8:19 AM 0 31 Low 7:19 AM 1.2 7:49 PM Set 9:08 PM 31 High 2:10 PM 3.5 31 Low 8:42 PM 0.4

Su 1 High 3:05 AM 2.4 7:08 AM Rise 9:25 AM 2 1 Low 8:14 AM 1.0 7:48 PM Set 9:49 PM 1 High 3:04 PM 3.3 1 Low 9:15 PM 0.7

M 2 High 3:30 AM 2.6 7:08 AM Rise 10:30 AM 8 2 Low 9:12 AM 0.9 7:47 PM Set 10:30 PM 2 High 4:02 PM 2.9 2 Low 9:45 PM 1.1

Tu 3 High 3:59 AM 2.8 7:08 AM Rise 11:34 AM 15 3 Low 10:14 AM 0.7 7:46 PM Set 11:11 PM 3 High 5:07 PM 2.6 3 Low 10:14 PM 1.5

W 4 High 4:32 AM 2.9 7:09 AM Rise 12:36 PM 25 4 Low 11:24 AM 0.6 7:45 PM Set 11:53 PM 4 High 6:29 PM 2.2 4 Low 10:43 PM 1.7

Th 5 High 5:13 AM 2.9 7:09 AM Rise 1:36 PM 35 5 Low 12:42 PM 0.6 7:44 PM 5 High 8:25 PM 2.1 5 Low 11:13 PM 1.8

F 6 High 6:04 AM 3.0 7:10 AM Set 12:38 AM 46 6 Low 2:07 PM 0.6 7:43 PM Rise 2:34 PM

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Ready for DorianPlanning for Labor Day Storm, Cont’d from pg.1

HURRICANE PREPARATION

New Florida residents learn quickly that it doesn’t take a full blown hurricane to cause prob-lems. A large slow-moving Tropical Storm can push enough seawater our way and drop enough rain to cause serious flooding. If you live in Fort Myers Beach, you know that the land elevation of Estero Island is at most 6 – 10 feet. The mainland is not much higher. It doesn’t take much of a storm surge or high tide to cause flooding. Listen to weather forecasts. Wind and rain and tide can create very dangerous condi-tions. Heed evacuation orders if they are issued. Just as you want to leave when told to, if you want to be able to come back to the island when it’s safe to do so, Island residents and business owners should have a Hurricane Re-Entry Pass, issued by the Town of Fort Myers Beach. Bring a photo I.D. and proof of res-idency to Town Hall to apply for a pass during their regular business hours (Monday – Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm). See the Town’s website (fmbgov.com) or call 239-765-0202 for details on what proof is need-ed. If you have a purple (resident) or yellow (business) pass, they are good for the 2019 season. Do not wait for a storm to submit your application. While you’re on the Town’s website, head to “Emergen-cy Preparedness” and sign up for CODE RED, an emergency notifi-cation system.

Lee County Emergen-cy Management, which runs the Emergency Operations Center (LeeEOC.com), offers two tools to help residents prepare for and be aware of hurricanes and other emergency situations. The LeePre-pares app and the AlertLee notifi-cation system. The LeePrepares app, available in Google Play and the App Store, includes GPS locat-ing of evacuation zones, real-time information on shelters and evacu-ations, re-entry info, curfews, food and water distribution points, hur-ricane prep plans and supply lists. AlertLee is an emergency notifica-tion system that sends out phone, text or email alerts about emergen-cies. Sign up at www.AlertLee.com The Fort Myers Beach Fire Department offers a Hurricane Pre-paredness Guide with a full list of helpful phone numbers, websites, social media sites and a supply list. Download it at www.fmbfire.org The Lee County All Hazards Guide with information on shelters, pets, generator safety, boats, evac-uation zones and after storm clean-up, among other topics, provides a broad range of information. Every resident, especially those new to Florida, should have a copy. Find it at bit.ly/LeeHazardsGuide Once Dorian is history, take a serious look at your storm prepa-ration and resolve to not be the one standing in front of empty shelves the day before the next storm. Mes-sages to prepare for hurricane sea-son begin in early June when hur-

ricane season begins. Heed those messages. At the end of hurricane sea-son, pull out your hurricane sup-plies, use or donate any food that will expire before the end of next

year’s storm season and make a list of what you need to refill that kit.

Don’t be scared, be prepared!

The Dorian hurricane prediction path as of 11am Thursday, August 29, showing the entire Florida peninsula in the cone. Graphic courtesy of NOAA.


CLUB FRIDAY 8/23 SATURDAY 8/24 SUNDAY 8/25 MONDAY 8/26 TUESDAY 8/27 WEDNESDAY 8/28 THURSDAY 8/29 COTTAGEGulfshore Grill

765-5440TROUBLEMAKERS

9PM-1AMCHARLIE MOON

9PM-1AMTROUBLEMAKERS

8-12PMFADED ROOTS

8-12PMTHE WILDINGS

8-12pmSTEVE FARST

8-12pmNEW VINYLS

8-12pm

DIXIE FISH CO.Fisherman’s Wharf

233-8837MARK WESLEY

5:30-8:30PMSOME LITTLE FISH

5:30-8:30PMGIRL MEETS BOY

4PMTEQUILA TOM5:30-8:30PM

JEFF LYONS5:30-8:30PM

SAM DeARMOND5:30-8:30PM

DOC FORDS708 Fishermans Whf.

765-96603 CROOKED STEPS

6:30-9:30PMBAD BANDITOS

6:30-9:30PM3 CROOKED STEPS

1-4PMGIRL MEETS BOY

6:30-9:30PMKAPO KINGS6:30-9:30PM

MATANZAS on the BAY414 Crescent463-3838

DANIEL D 5-9PM

SCOTTY BRYAN 12-4PM

MARY WINNER 5-9PMMARK DUKE 12-4PM

SAILOR LARRY 5-9PMSCOTT BRYAN

5-9PMSAILOR LARRY

5-9PMPETE BEARD

5-9PMMARY WINNER

5-9PM

NAUTI PARROT19001 SAN CARLOS BLVD

314-5667BUBBA DUO

6-10PMCLIVE LIVE 1-5PM

TOUCAN DO 5:30PMADAM MAC 1-5PM

JPH 6-9COLLABORATION BAND

7-11PMSHERRIN McCUNE

5-5PMJAMES PRATHER

5:30PMKENNY GIORDANO

5:30-9:30PM

NERVOUS NELLIES1131 FIRST STREET

463-8077BILL ZINK

6-10PMJENNY VE

6-10PMJEFF WHIDBY

6-10PMJOE JOHNSON

6-10PMBILL ZINK

6-10PMMEGHAN ROSE

6-10PMSHERRIN McCUNE

6-10PM

OUTRIGGER6200 Estero Blvd

463-3131ALAN SMALL

5-8MEAGAN ROSE &

SMOKIN’ BILL 2-5PMPRINCESS &SMALLTOWN

2-5PMJENNY VE

5-8PMMEAGAN ROSE

5-8PMENDRE D

5-8PMNICOLE D’ANDREA

5-8PM

PETE’S TIME OUTTime Square463-5900

AARON SEYFFERTH6-10PM

JAMES GRAGG 6-10PM

AARON SEYFERTH6-10PM

DAVE COLLATON6-10PM

JAMES GRAGG 6-10PM

PIERSIDE BY TOWN PIER

765-7800SHERRIN 1-5

JEFF WHIDBY 6-10FRANK THOMPSON

1-5 6-10FRANK THOMPSON 1-5

SHERRIN 6-10ANTHONY WAYNE 1-5

SHERRIN 6-10 BILL ZINK 1-5

JEFF WHIDBY 6-10BILL ZINK 1-5

MARY WINNER 6-10PMBILL ZINK 1-5PM

ANTHONY WAYNE 6-10PM

SALTY CRAB1154 Estero Blvd

233-8224CLOSED FOR

RENOVATIONSCLOSED FOR






RENOVATIONS

SOBsOld San Carlos Blvd

463-3474ANTHONY WAYNE

6-10PMWILL KAISER

6-10LEE HAGAN

6-10PMWILL KAISER

6-10ANTHONY WAYNE

6-10FRANK THOMPSON

6-10SHAWN RUSSELL

6-10

SUNSET BEACHTimes Square463-1028

BARRY LAWRENCE8:00PM

JENNY VE 1-4PMCLIVE LIVE 8:30PM

BARRY LAWRENCE 1-4:30PM

CLIVE LIVE 7:30-10:30PM

JPH MUSIC8:00PM

WHALE1249 Estero Blvd

463-5505NEW VINYLS

9-12PMDAVID ROJAS

9-12PMRADIO GHOST

9-12PMKARAOKE WITH

BRENDA6-9PM

SAM DeARMOND6P-9PM

ROGER YOUNG6-9PM

TYLER KLUESNER6-9PM

WHO’S PLAYING WHEREON AND AROUND THE BEACH

Who’s Playing Where Page is a free service for current Island Sand Paper Advertisers. ALL LISTINGS ARE SUPPLIED BY THE ADVERTISERS. ALL LISTINGS FOR THE MONTH ARE DUE ON THE 15TH OF THE PREVIOUS MONTH TO BE INCLUDED IN THE WHO’S PLAYING WHERE. To qualify for listing, venue must have live music scheduled regularly

on multiple days per week. CONTACT SANDY AT 463-4461 TO DISCUSS ADVERTISING OPTIONS!

Vot ed Bes t Vi ew on the Beach !


Ginger LimeShrimp

Live Music • Waterfront Seating • Island Mojitos

www.DocFords.com708 Fisherman’s Wharf • 239.765.9660

Award WinningFlavors From The

Caribbean Rim!

1249 Estero Blvd. • 239-463-5505 • www.thewhalefmb.com

Lee County’s Newest

Waterfront Restaurant& Fish House!

www.dixiefishfmb.com714 Fishermans Wharf • 239.233.8837

Retail Fish Market AvailableLocal Gulf Shrimp & Great Views

The Best Happy Houron the Beach!

Mon - Fri 2-5pm

Use a rideshare to get to The Whale, we’ll give you a FREE “Whale-A-Rita”!With purchase of food.

Live Music is Back Every Friday, Saturday, & Sunday! 9pm - Midnight!

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