I hope that on Veterans Day next Wednesday, we all remember their service to the nation. One way to do that would be to wake up with a “cup of Joe” and avoid “feeling blue” in case somebody gives you ...

We check this channel a lot to see whether (no pun intended) we’ll have a wet, a wild or a weenie of a sunset, so we decided to find out more about what we see on the screen.

Marco Polo restaurant is normally a busy, bustling, fun place on most nights, but “The Polo” as its fans call it, had a special crowd-pleasing presence on Halloween.

Strange times beget strange behavior in otherwise normal people, some psychologists believe. Odd events seem to come from nowhere and leave quickly, such as the Edsel, New Coke and TV commercials about prostate problems. Well, they’re still around, but hope ...

We heard a report recently that the blue jeans industry group took a survey to find out how long people keep their jeans. The answer is – a long time. Americans tend to hang on to their jeans for decades, ...

If you ever feel like getting out of the house and watching your favorite team or sport on a quality TV in a good bar or restaurant, Marco Island is the place to do it.

To call the upcoming In The Round evening at Orion Bank on Oct. 13 an eye-opener is an understatement, as well as an important reason for anyone who deals with issues of visual impairment to be there. It’s a lively ...

Nationally-known standup comedian Bob Zany talked the other day about how to treat an audience, specifically people around here who attend live comedy shows at the Off the Hook Comedy Club on Marco Island.

We have the Marco Movies, of course, and we have Capt. Brien’s Off the Hook comedy club, and both venues feature big names in entertainment. But one guy is taking face-time at that entertainment plaza to a new level.

In an era when communicating is king, it’s amazing we still make so many mistakes doing so. We have the myopia of Twitter, the conceits of Facebook, the dissembling of spell check and the social perils of Match.com. Even e-mails, ...

Judy Barney’s new 2wice As Nice consignment shop of women’s clothing hasn’t even opened yet, but already, the store has received a lot of calls from people who want to bring in clothing to sell.

The pleasures of Marco Island’s Esplanade on North Collier Boulevard are about to be even more pleasurable for Islanders out for a good time and for motivated artists here.

If you’ve had a flu shot at Walgreens this fall or are about to do so, look carefully at the form you fill out. Near the top is the place to put your age. Notice how many squares you have ...

Mommy and Daddy Marco Island sat their seven grown-up sons down this week and gave them a tongue-lashing. The ”sons,” members of the Marco Island City Council, got their 14 ears full about their apparent intention to raise property taxes ...

One Islander mentioned as a possible candidate for City Council is super-volunteer Steve Stefanadies. But Stef tells us he’s not even close to making a decision on that.

Florida’s specialty license plates now have four more causes to celebrate — horses, lighthouses, tennis and God, not necessary in that order.

They’re not throwing rotten vegetables at those town meetings about health care, are they? They’re not throwing punches like members of the Japanese parliament, are they? They’re not carrying swastikas, as the ever-embarrassing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed, are they?

Marco’s City Council collectively gave the island a break when it postponed any action on a proposed rental ordinance until next March.

Islander Lisa Meurgue and her daughter Margaux are making their Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in New York in October, but the Meurgue family is not letting any grass grow under their feet here, now, raising money for the cause.

We hear Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and President Obama are angry they couldn’t control Florida’s new fishing license rules that take effect tomorrow, Aug 1. If only these big government geniuses had been able to write the new shore fishing ...

Marco City Councilman Ted Forcht asks some good questions in his recent e-mail note to his constituents about the septic tank replacement project.

We don’t want to give you an inferiority complex, but interest in Florida wildlife is so big and growing that sometimes it feels like more visitors are coming to see our critters than to see us.

Project Help and Hope is gaining momentum in its effort to help the homeless children in our area schools.

Here’s a chance for Islanders to get a first-hand briefing on the thorny question of “reforming” or “transforming” America’s health care system from a local expert.

When two women from the Marco Chamber of Commerce discovered the problem and realized it might get worse, they created their Help and Hope project.

Summer usually is called the “off season” around here.

Meet Sally. She attends Tommie Barfield Elementary on Marco Island. Sally comes to school hungry most mornings, eager to have the free breakfast provided there. She gets a free lunch too, but after school, Sally never knows when, where or ...

Some Marco Islanders recently had an up close opportunity to measure the service of our electric company, Lee County Electric Cooperative.

As we prepare for a fun Independence Day weekend, we wondered whether any of Marco’s several retail dry cleaning shops clean and/or repair American flags.

As Floridians feel the economic recession pinch this summer, at least one travel-related ageny, AAA, is trying to stir interest in the state’s many attractions. But from our perspective, there’s a problem.

So, what’s your pleasure these fine summer days and nights?

Islanders will have another chance next Monday to have input on what to do about one of Marco’s most traveled bridges, the Smokehouse Bay Bridge on Collier Boulevard next to the Winn-Dixie.

Here’s a tip for anyone who has a Florida driver license. Renew it soon if you can.

If you doubt that anyone is even thinking about politics and elections right now, just look at who’s visiting Iowa these days.

Marco Island’s Art League of today is not your grandparents’ Art League.

A local band that has entertained Islanders and others at various venues will play its most unusual gig ever tomorrow, its last gig here for a long time perhaps.

Why would a Marco Island man leave his island home near the mainland to go live on another island near another mainland, half way around the world?

Strange but true, the Art League, Marco Island’s Center for the Arts, is busy signing new members and offering more and more programs to the community, but it remains in financial ill health. Why? We turned for answers to the ...

This is a bad news/good news story. The bad: Our owl population has decreased in recent years, due in part to drought conditions and possibly because of sewer construction. The good news: More bird lovers than ever are coming here ...

When the color guard of the Junior ROTC opens graduation ceremonies at Lely High School Friday night, the students bearing the colors know this is a very special event for one of their favorite people.

Words you don’t ever want to hear: “I’m sorry but you have a case of butt rot.”

Call it an assisted living center, a continuing care retirement community or just a cool place to live in security and comfort in one’s senior years; we’re about to get a new such place here.

A couple of crazy kids from Siberia are tearing up the dance floors on Marco Island and bringing a lot of other Islanders to the world of dancing feet.

Marco Island is blessed with a lot of people who cherish, collect and drive vintage cars in tip-top condition. Well, they drive them when the temperature is between 64 and 76 degrees, when the sky is cloudless and no rain ...

If you are upgrading your cell phone to a PDA such as a Treo, a Blackberry or an iPhone, whatever, don’t toss your older phone into the trash.

If anything good comes from the swine flu scare, it could be the end of social kissing — pecks on the cheek, air kisses, saying “mwhah” breathily in someone’s ear-cheek area.

Virtually all the spring-breakers have returned to their schools up north by now, probably broke, having spent all their money on having fun here on Marco and elsewhere in Florida.

The next time you visit one of our Gulf beaches, look west toward the horizon.

Do you remember anything about June 28, 2002? Sabine Scholz sure does. Scholz, a former Marco Islander, recalls that Friday in vivid color and surround-sound, because it’s the day a bank robber shot her.

Marco Island soon may have to change its name to Festival Island.