PORT CHARLOTTE RESIDENT SHAron Boyd is the mother of two school-age sons on the autism spectrum. Austin is considered severe/low functioning, and his younger brother, Adam, is high functioning (“what used to be called Asperger’s Syndrome,” their mother notes).
Collier Freedom, the non-partisan organizers of the Naples Women’s March on Washington held the day after President Trump’s inauguration in January, hosts a screening of the film “1984” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at Silverspot Cinema in Mercato. David Goldstein, Collier County president of the ACLU, will make opening remarks and conduct a Q&A afterward.
I consider it my best hat trick: About 500 columns have appeared under my byline in this space, one a week for 10 years. Coincidentally I’ve remained married and stayed alive.
President Trump is only about halfway through his first 100 days, but you can’t discount the brevity of his tenure as a measure of its effects. It is an object lesson in how badly things can go at the highest level of government when a nation loses its moral compass. It is a sin to which we all are vulnerable. It could, for example, explain why Christianity is in decline in America.
Editor’s Note: House Republicans pulled legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act Friday afternoon.
These are trying times for higher education. College costs are going through the roof. Students, increasingly coddled, feel entitled to misbehave, sometimes violently. Faculties are threatened with loss of tenure. Many graduates aren’t qualified for available jobs, a good portion of which go unfilled.
Lots of bad news.
Thirty-four of the most effective nonprofit organizations in Collier County, as well as five long-term strategic initiatives that fill fundamental gaps in children’s services here, received grants totaling more than $12.25 million as a result of the 2017 Naples Winter Wine Festival.
Champions of Charity recently presented a check for $4,500 to the Immokalee Soccer School & Academy. A supply of more than 60 new soccer balls also came with the donations.
The Jewish Federation of Collier County invites the public to a community wide Celebration of Israel from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at Fleischman Park. Visit 40 Israeli-themed exhibitors covering travel, science, medicine, communications and more. Judaica items and Israeli food will be for sale. Live entertainment will include music and dancing.
In addition to hosting the “1984” screening on April 4, Collier Freedom invites all who want President Donald Trump to release his tax returns to take part in a “Release Your Taxes” march and rally from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at Cambier Park.
Blue Zones Project– Southwest Florida celebrates the American Heart Association’s National Walking Day Wednesday, April 5, with a 1-mile community walk.
The AHA reports that as Americans spend more time sitting in front of a screen, their lack of physical activity increased their risk of heart disease, stroke and other diseases.
During February, 946,079 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport, a decrease of 4.4 percent compared to February 2016.
Year-to-date, passenger traffic is down 3.7 percent from the same period last year.
Location, location, location
A decade ago, all a car had to do was have “hybrid” in its name to feel special. Since then the technology has become more economical and gas/electric power has gone mainstream. So as Hyundai introduces its Ioniq, it needs to be truly special to make a lasting impression.
Here’s where Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies will be on traffic detail the week of April 3-7:
Monday, April 3
Hunter Boulevard and 24th Avenue S.W.: Speeding
Green and Logan boulevards: Redlight running
Golden Gate and Wilson boulevards: Speeding
¦ The Collier County alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority invites members and guests to its second annual Red Shoe Fashion Show & Luncheon at noon Saturday, April 1, at The Club at Mediterra. Runway fashions will be provided by Rebecca’s of Naples.
Catching chronic health conditions early — even before you have symptoms — seems like a great idea. That’s what screening tests are designed to do. Some screenings can reduce your risk of dying from the disease.
But sometimes, experts say, a test might cause more harm than good.
Collier County Public Schools and the NCH Healthcare System have partnered for decades with school nurses and athletic trainers. When the two biggest institutions in our community collaborate, everyone benefits.
Have you been feeling really sad, tired and worried for more than a few days? If yes, you could have depression. This is not a character flaw or a sign of personal weakness. You can’t make yourself well by trying to “snap out of it” or “lighten up.”
Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida has expanded health services in its 11 centers to include hormonal replacement therapy for transgender patients who are transitioning.
IN THIS DAY AND AGE, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO deny that our culture is polarized, with internal and external separatism dominating world news and social media.
Humans sometimes arrange plants and flowers in ways that capture their botanical nature better than soil does.
There are things we do some of us don’t want to do.
Go to school, for example: Federal law requires every young American be schooled. And all the rest of us have to help pay for it.
But why?
Or, says the government, we have to maintain a standing army, with a navy and an air force. Again, why? Some of us don’t want to. So why do all of us have to help?
Once upon a time, in a magical land called the New South, there existed a round table and a band of educational leaders and aspiring politicians. They gathered together from across the borders of the old Confederacy. Their goal was an economic pact to unite the region and annihilate the terrible poverty stalking the land.
Of all the arguments to make for repealing and replacing Obamacare, the very worst is that people don’t need health insurance.
Brenda Melton was a major market account representative for Datamax for 15 years, and she’s used her well-honed marketing skills for charities on the Paradise Coast.
Avow invites everyone to its annual butterfly release and community memorial service Saturday, March 25, at Cambier Park. Children’s activities begin and a walk-through tent with hundreds of live butterflies opens at 10 a.m.
Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida has expanded its retail operations with a 1,600-square-foot store and donation center in the Heritage Bay shopping center off Immokalee Road in North Naples. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Drivers can drop off donations at the side of the building.
The “boys of summer” head back north after next week to start the regular Major League Baseball season in Boston. Tickets are still available for the remaining four Boston Red Sox Spring Training games at JetBlue Park south of Fort Myers. Here’s the schedule:
¦ 1:05 p.m. Thursday, March 23, against Pittsburgh
Rabbi Adam Grossman, CEO of Hillel at the University of Florida-Gainesville, will speak about the rising tide of anti-Semitism on campus as part of the Shabbat service at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24, at the Unitarian
“The Future of Religious Freedom” is the topic when Jennifer Marshall of The Heritage Foundation addresses the Christian Rights & Freedom Institute at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, in the parish hall at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 7100 Airport-Pulling Road. Ms.
¦ Toast of The Coast Toastmasters Club #6544, recognized by Toastmasters International as a President’s Distinguished Club, meets from noon to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Friday of every month at the American Cancer Society office, 5020 Tamiami Trail N. The next meetings are March 24 and April 14. Visitors are always welcome.
While watching manatees hanging out at Florida Power & Light’s Manatee Lagoon in Riviera Beach one day, I thought about how cool it would be to get to know those gentle giants up close. There is a good way to do that, I found, but it involves some travel and plunging into cool water in a wet suit with snorkel gear.
Naples-based nonprofit Character and Thought Foundation is raising funds to help bring Loretta Claiborne, the most decorated Special Olympics athlete in history, to Southwest Florida to visit to Collier and Lee county schools and communities April 27-29.
The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is one of those great shows because the enthusiasts are the real winners. After all, they awarded a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C and 935 Duesenberg SJ-582 as the Best in Show for the sport and elegance classes, respectively, but that’s far from the whole story.
Here’s where CCSO deputies will be on traffic detail the week of March 27-31:
Monday, March 27
Livingston and Pine Ridge roads: Speeding
Immokalee Road and Palm River Boulevard: Red-light running
48th Terrace S.W. at Golden Gate Middle School: Speeding
Tuesday, March 28
AARP offers classes to help older drivers learn about new traffic laws, refresh their driving skills and reduce their risk for tickets and accidents. Drivers over age 55 might be eligible for a discount on auto insurance. Cost is $15 for AARP members, $20 for others. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the number listed with the session you wish to attend.
Blue Zones Project–Southwest Florida celebrates National Walking Day Wednesday, April 5, with a 1-mile community walk. People across America are welcome to participate in the event sponsored by the American Heart Association.
¦ Gulfcoast Runners and Artis— Naples present the annual Run for Music 10K at 7:30 a.m. Monday, March 27, at the performing arts center. A 1-mile fun run is also available. Musicians from the Naples Philharmonic will perform along the race route. Registration is $10-$45.
The third annual Bosom Buddies tennis exhibition and silent auction at Fiddler’s Creek raised $11,656 to support BB efforts to provide physical, emotional and educational support to women with breast cancer and lymphedema. Silent auction items were donated by Fiddler’s Creek tennis league members, residents and local businesses.
It’s a little after midnight on my last night in Havana. The streets eight stories below my two-room Airbnb apartment overlooking Old Havana are quiet now.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion … or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” — First Amendment, United States Constitution
The 10th annual Everglades Bike Ride sets out from the heart of Everglades City on Sunday morning, April 2, giving cyclists the option of pedaling 15- or 62-mile “smooth” routes (on pavement) or a 27-mile “bumpy” route off-pavement and into the Fakahatchee Strand.
Florida’s State Legislature is back at work in Tallahassee. Their task is to craft the future year state budget. Our governor has weighed in with his own budget proposal.
At Middlebury College earlier this month, Charles Murray needed a safe space — literally.
In a significant escalation of the campus speech wars, protesters hooted down the conservative scholar in a lecture hall and then roughed up a Middlebury faculty member escorting him to a car.
Anybody else feel the pressure?
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s 13th annual Magic Under the Mangroves gala dinner and auction fundraiser raised $1.2 million to support the Conservancy’s mission to protect the region’s water, land, wildlife and future.
Naples real estate professional Kelly Capolino, founder of the Diamond Volunteer Awards program, announces the 2017 award winners. The program honors volunteers of local nonprofit agencies for their efforts to improve the community while helping change the lives of those they serve.
Ooh La La Jewels Du Jour announces Mimi Scofield as the third Ooh La La Legacy Lady for the 2017 season. Ms. Scofield is vice chairman of Drug Free Collier and has chaired the organization’s Annual Community Awareness Luncheon since 2012.
The Moorings Park Foundation was formed with a mission to create a culture of philanthropy that provides opportunities to benefit the residents of Moorings Park, its employees and people in the greater community.
David Lawrence Center and its education partner, the Naples Children & Education Foundation, present the third annual Sound Minds Mental Health Symposium from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at Moorings Presbyterian Church. This year’s event focuses on brain health. Renowned psychologist, educator and author Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., is the keynote speaker.
Junior Destine laughs now when reminded of the Instagram profile he created while in his teens. He was “just a kid” of Haitian heritage trying to make it in America, he wrote then.
A few years later, his Blogspot profile declared that he was from Immokalee, a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast University studying business, and he liked to read and play basketball.
The Uncommon Friends Foundation is accepting applications from students, veterans, struggling adults and single parents in Southwest Florida who are pursuing degrees in education, law, technology and other studies.
Nominees must need financial assistance, excel in school and/or their personal lives and possess high quality character traits. A total of 10 scholarships are available.
Go to the dogs at the eighth annual GoldenFest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, March 26, in the canine park at the Shell Factory & Nature Park in North Fort Myers.
“The Future of Religious Freedom” is the topic when Jennifer Marshall of The Heritage Foundation addresses the Christian Rights & Freedom Institute at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, in the parish hall at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, 7100 Airport-Pulling Road. Ms.
Rabbi Adam Grossman, CEO of Hillel at the University of Florida-Gainesville, will speak about the rising tide of anti- Semitism on campus as part of the Shabbat service at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 6340 Napa Woods Way, Naples.
Avow invites everyone to its annual butterfly release and community memorial service Saturday, March 25, at Cambier Park. Children’s activities begin and a walk-through tent with hundreds of live butterflies opens at 10 a.m.
BMW might have just created the perfect Florida car with the X4 crossover, but the question is, did they really mean to do that?
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office partners with Dunkin Donuts for Coffee with a Cop from 7-10 a.m. Wednesday, March 22, at Dunkin Donuts at 3440 Tamiami Trail E. Members of the community are invited to share some coffee with CCSO deputies one-on-one while discussing their concerns and learning more about the agency’s work.
Here’s where CCSO deputies will be on traffic detail the week of March 20-24:
Monday, March 20
Goodlette-Frank Road and Pelican Marsh Boulevard: Speeding
Pine Ridge Road and Napa Boulevard: Aggressive driving
Santa Barbara and Davis boulevards: Red-light running
Last week, I ventured out on an assignment to find out just what is the state of the arts in Southwest Florida, and what does it mean to be an artist these days?
