Local News

30 Years Ago: New golf course planned near Eagle Creek
In the Marco Island Eagle 30 years ago it was announced that a new golf course is being planned adjacent to Eagle Creek Golf Club. Read at marconews.com

Principal for a day: Commissioner Fiala interns at Tommie Barfield Elementary on Marco Island
Tommie Barfield Elementary got a new principal this week – briefly. Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala served as “principal for a day” Tuesday morning, but actual TBE principal Dr. Jory Westberry not only didn’t have to worry about job security, she didn’t even get the day off. The principal “job” amounted to an orientation for Fiala, a chance to see behind the classroom door and get a quick, intensive immersion in the multitude of activities that go on inside an elementary school. Read at marconews.com

PHOTOS: Marco Island Chamber After Five – MIACC ‘pigs out’ and honors scholarship recipients
At least in a comedy “roast,” the guest of honor can count on living through the experience. This was not the case for the Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce annual Pig Roast, held Wednesday evening in conjunction with their May “Business After Five” gathering. The pig’s goose was cooked, and he became the main course for the chamber members gathering to celebrate making it through another tourist season, and ready to kick back and relax a little. Laura Owen, head chef and general manager of CJ’s on the Bay, which hosted the event, said they put the hog on the cooker early in the morning and cooked all day. Read at marconews.com

PHOTOS: Marco Island Chamber After Five – MIACC ‘pigs out’ and honors scholarship recipients
At least in a comedy “roast,” the guest of honor can count on living through the experience. This was not the case for the Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce annual Pig Roast, held Wednesday evening in conjunction with their May “Business After Five” gathering. The pig’s goose was cooked, and he became the main course for the chamber members gathering to celebrate making it through another tourist season, and ready to kick back and relax a little. Laura Owen, head chef and general manager of CJ’s on the Bay, which hosted the event, said they put the hog on the cooker early in the morning and cooked all day. Read at marconews.com

Marcophiles: Konrad Meyerhofer: – I came; I saw; I loved it; I stayed
That phrase, “I came, I saw, I loved it, I stayed,” is how long-time Marco restaurateur Konrad Meyerhofer remembers events when he first got to Marco Island in 1981. He had left a prestigious job as executive chef at the Essex Hotel in Manhattan for a similar position at the Marco Marriott. Three years later he opened his own place, the Bavarian Inn on Winterberry Drive. That began a 28-year run as a restaurateur that will come to a close at the end of this month, at least temporarily. Read at marconews.com

Marco Island's TBE tennis courts to close for lack of repairs;funding considerations for new community center at Mackle Park heard
The score Tuesday for saving Tommie Barfield Elementary’s tennis courts was love-nothing. Bryan Milk, Marco Island community affairs director, told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee the city plans to remove the two courts’ nets, take down city signs and cease maintenance and repairs. The committee, surprised by the decision, asked for reconsideration. “I’ve played on those courts and the citizens use them,” said Stacy Needles, committee vice chairwoman. Read at marconews.com

Time is running out for FEMA $1 million to restore Marco Island’s south beach
Four years after Tropical Storm Fay, failing to capture Federal Emergency Management Agency funds could deal another blow to Marco Island’s south beach. Tropical Storm Fay came ashore with winds of 65 mph at Cape Romano in August 2008. The storm eroded 77,000 cubic yards of sand from south beach, designating it a critically eroded shoreline from marker R-147 near the Somerset Condominium southward. FEMA agreed to share the cost of renourishing the beach but action must be taken by June 30, 2013. Read at marconews.com

2012 hurricane season: Atlantic primed for early tropical activity
The 2012 hurricane season might get an early start, with the possibility of a tropical depression or storm in the western Caribbean some time next week, according to a cutting-edge forecast Tuesday by federal scientists. Read at marconews.com

Superintendents: Miscommunication about FCAT changes to blame for low writing scores
“Somewhere there’s a miss. Somewhere there’s a disconnect,” Collier Superintendent Kamela Patton said. “There’s no way scores drop 50-60 points.” Read at marconews.com

Cook killed in fatal crash remembered as 'great person;' teen remains critical
Emil Altidor had been a cook at the Snook Inn in Marco Island for more than a decade, manager David Scott said. “I’ve known him for 12 years, and he’s a very dependable, reliable, great person,” Scott said. Read at marconews.com

Too tough? State ed board may lower passing grade after fewer students pass FCAT writing part
The State Board of Education has set an emergency meeting for Tuesday to consider lowering the passing grade on the writing portion of Florida's standardized test, after preliminary results indicated only about a third of students would pass this year's tougher exam. Read at marconews.com

‘Brushing up’ on yardwork: Keller Williams ‘Red Day’ project targets Charter Middle School
For Keller Williams Realty, it’s about giving back to the community. Each year, the real estate company, on Marco Island and at their 830 offices nationwide, sets aside one day – “Red Day” – for public service projects. So on Thursday, May 10, the local Keller-Williams office turned out 26 pairs of hands at the Marco Island Charter Middle School, to work on clearing away a massive unwanted Brazilian pepper hedge. While they budgeted the entire morning for the project, the crew made short work of the unwanted vegetation, and proved that “many hands make light work” really is true. By 10 o’clock, the wild was tamed. Read at marconews.com

Vanishing beachfront: County’s Coastal Advisory Committee denies emergency funds for Hideaway Beach
On Thursday, Erik Brechnitz, chairman of Hideaway Beach’s Tax District Board, told his group there was a glimmer of hope for funds to prevent a disaster at the gated community’s 5000 and 6000 high-rise condominiums. On Friday, that hope was gone. Between a rock and a hard place, the board attempted to request Tourist Development Council (TDC) catastrophe funds for T-groin structures to abate sand loss in front of the two buildings. Onshore waves have washed away nearly 12 feet of sand per year in front of the condominiums since the disappearance of Coconut and Sand Dollar islands. Read at marconews.com

Collier commissioners vary approach in tapping taxpayer money to attend events
Collier County commissioners have attended or will attend a $125 per person lunch with former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a $500 Leadership Marco program, the $125 per person Myra Daniels gala and a $180 per person Temple Shalom Gala. And Collier County taxpayers will pay for all of it. Read at marconews.com

Are you covered? Collier's new flood zone maps take effect Wednesday
Time is running out for Collier County property owners to find out what type of risk they have under the new flood zone maps affecting flood insurance. The 2012 Federal Emergency Management Flood Zone Maps go into effect Wednesday, May 16, for all of Collier County, including the cities, for insurance purposes. Read at marconews.com

CHURCH LADY: Mother to many: St. Mark’s reverend spiritual journey brings her to Marco Island
Many call her Mother. Some call her Sue. Her name is the Rev. Sue Price, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church’s assisting priest. Read at marconews.com

Justine Giles Lely’s Winged Foot candidate choice
On the soccer field and in the classroom Lely senior Justine Giles exceeds. Read at marconews.com

Cashing in on art: Arts Center awards $2,500 prize at exhibit opening
The May “second Tuesday” opening of a new show at the Marco Island Center for the Arts took a walk on the wild and exotic side, but the patrons’ focus was more on the mundane and financial. Read at marconews.com

Marco Island Code Compliance goes on offense to solve public nuisances
It’s a jungle at 1909 Sheffield Ave. Vines creep up stairways, bougainvilleas overrun driveways and weeds cram poolside cracks. The broken lanai door stands slightly ajar, and tattered screens flutter overhead like listless birds in a humid rainforest canopy. Read at marconews.com

Don’t make mom do the dishes: Meal choices abound for special Mother’s Day on Marco Island
Mother’s Day – the chance to show mom your appreciation for all those home-cooked meals she put on the table when you were growing up. You can spend hours in the kitchen on Sunday, overcook the roast, gash your fingers, while making a tremendous mess – and don’t forget, even though you cooked, you can’t have her do the dishes. It’s Mother’s Day, after all. Read at marconews.com