Chris Curle

If you attend the Marco Island Seafood Festival here this weekend, the beverages may seem colder and the seafood may taste sweeter if you know or know of some of the people whose lives are changed by this annual event.

When Valentyna Chystyk first came to Marco Island from her home in Ukraine to visit a friend here, she says she knew right away she wanted to make Marco her home and America her country.

We’re guessing Islander Tom Curtis’s favorite animal is a particular zebra in Kenya that doesn’t know its image is being seen in all the right places these days.

The funniest new book that focuses on Marco and many of its residents is a cookbook, full of recipes by locals and their friends. It is the Sunrise Rotary Club’s “Marco Island Cooking Secrets, a Collector’s Cook book.”

We qualify as “mature” but we’re not sure we can claim to be boaters. We have no snazzy Sea-Doo, no super sailboat, no sexy Stingray, not even a quaint kayak.

So are those Canada geese we see enjoying the calm waters of Mackle Park Lake (or pond, as some call it)? Don’t laugh. We hear that some people thought they were alive, real Canada geese that seemed to have found ...

Our talented firefighters and EMT personnel now have a new weapon in their arsenals. On their vehicles, along with the right stuff to fight fires and save lives of humans in peril, they’re also equipped with small, medium and large ...

Welcome to “Your Digital Dude,” a new feature in our Marcophiles and Shop Talk columns, in which we drain the brain of our favorite computer guru, an expert in all things digital, Patrick Junkroski. He has clients on Marco, having ...

Have you ever noticed in large cities that sometimes billboards around town carry bigger-than-life photos of the local TV anchor people? The theory is, if people see those giant images enough, the public will want to watch the newsies on ...

When Joe Irvin arrived on Marco last October as the city’s zoning administrator, his office computer was barely warmed up when the first proposal for a putt-putt golf course here landed on his desk. Within two weeks another putt-putt proposal ...

Karen Gardner’s clients seem to love the services she provides to them, from A-list show biz celebrities to some of the most beautiful, rarest creatures among us. Karen, whose parents, David and Anne Gardner, are long-time Marco Islanders, could fill ...

Here’s a reminder that you’ll have a chance to ask questions of city council members Monday. The format is a Town Hall meeting. Some questions already submitted will be asked and, if they haven’t changed the rules, the floor will ...

The primary election to choose a Republican candidate to represent our area in the U.S. House of Representatives is heating up, with the entry into the race by 35-year-old Trey Radel. He’s the conservative former radio talk show host and ...

One of our favorite hard-working service organizations in Collier County is all smiles these days – Lighthouse of Collier, Inc. The group that serves blind and other visually impaired people here is very pleased that it has been accredited by ...

The upcoming Southwest Florida Nature Festival is shaping up to be a celebration of our environment, eye-opening closeup looks at the critters we love to see, a weekend full of fun in nature’s playground and a chance to get a ...