Marco businesses continue to percolate daily stories

Probably the overriding observation from readers when the new daily Marco Eagle launched, was the question: “How are you going to find enough news to fill a paper every day?”

But there never was any doubt about that from our side.

Prior to that, the weekly Marco Island Eagle basically lumped all its news of the week together, and relied on timing for the occasional breaking story if it occurred just before deadline.

Now, the paper had the opportunity of being more timely — in addition to presenting less time-sensitive material in an all-round package that, yes, answered the question above.

From a business coverage point of view, the Eagle has featured either a Homefront or Business section story every weekday since July 4, 2006 — and that’s not trumpeting, it’s recognizing one fact: the business scene on Marco Island continues to percolate.

Just some of the past year’s highlights illustrate that.

Soon after going daily, the Eagle broke a story on South Bay Plantation — a traditional “dormitory” for island workers — being sold off as condos. Later, the developers touted the condos as at least a step in the right direction for solving the affordable homes crisis.

We wrote about the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors embracing the “Suitcases for Kids” drive — which supplies foster kids moving from home to home with suitcases in which to put their meager belongings instead of toting them around in plastic trash bags.

Other stories included covering how business owners Don Nguyen and Joe Conway — probably the businessmen worst affected by the previous year’s infamous Hurricane Wilma — had recovered through sheer grit and determination.

Then there was news of the demise of the long-serving Hallmark store at the Shops of Marco, soon followed with occupation by Island Liquors.

Bill Gaston of Marco Island Cable prevailed in a lawsuit with Comcast, walking away with more than $3 million in damages after Comcast had been found to have violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act in competing with Marco Island Cable.

There was the opening of Marine Bank, with headquarters in the Florida Keys; the razing of popular Nacho Mama’s restaurant at Marco Walk (it later shifted into bigger premises nearby to complement the new planned “Food Court”); the Radisson Suite Beach Resort sell off prior to being demolished to make way for a timeshare complex; the switch to private yacht club by Cedar May Marina, and the record sale price of a Marco single family home which went for $8.4 million.

But perhaps the most enduring story was that of Anitha Borgelin, a Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort housekeeper of modest means who found $2,000 in cash belonging to a checked-out guest.

Turning in the money resulted in various rewards for Borgelin, but it also precipitated an Employee of the Month award that is now a solid fixture on the Marco Island Area Chamber of Commerce calendar.