LIANE EDIXON

Another piece of the redevelopment puzzle moved forward this week in Bonita Springs as city officials request proposals for vendors at the fishing cottages at Riverside Park. Soon the six historic cottages, recently refurbished as part of the improvements at ...

Daisy patiently waits for her hotel suite door to open, donned in a pink Velcro vest. She quickly pushes past her mother, Mariann Kiar, and prances and sniffs around her side of the hotel room. A room that is complete ...

Imagine having your files on a CD or DVD at the click of the keyboard, instead of in a warehouse or file room. That's what Cheryl Blackburn and her son Edward Blackburn decided was the next wave of technology when ...

A small crowd of mostly young children gathered around Turtle Time, Inc. founder Eve Haverfield Wednesday morning as she rescued a baby loggerhead turtle from Bonita Beach. As Haverfield described the turtle's characteristics to the crowd, she put damp sand ...

A circular, dark wood table sits in a showroom. One edge of the table is grasped from the center and flipped out, exposing a white, triangle-shaped edge. The opposite edge is flipped out, exposing another white, triangle-shaped edge. Suddenly, a ...

The Bonita Springs City Council may cast out a mail-in referendum in the next year to find out if residents want a public fishing pier. Those without boats can still hold hope that a public pier comes to fruition, as ...

From the outside, it’s all bricks with no signs or flying flags yet at the new Bonita Springs Fire-Rescue Station Four, but once inside, the building teems with life as staff unpack and construction workers put last minute touches on ...

While nine current fire board commissioners up for re-election in Bonita Springs, Estero and San Carlos Park districts wait to see if they'll have opposition, some say it should be yet again another quiet election, while others know they'll have ...

One local group recently submitted the idea of an antique carousel in the downtown corridor in lieu of Imperial Landing, but city officials — even those who like the proposal — say the last ditch effort is too late. Ken ...

A community redevelopment agency to revitalize Old 41 in the past fell short of expectations, and city officials say the time to create another one is now. Bonita Springs City Council members met in a workshop Thursday afternoon to again ...

Surgery for a young child can be daunting in itself, but when you add no eating or drinking at least six hours before the procedure while waiting in an empty hospital bed the minutes can tick by slowly. Ryan Davis ...

The Lee County Sheriff's Office put out a warning Monday for golf cart owners to be aware of juvenile grand theft. In the last month, according to Lt. Morgan Bowden, approximately 25 golf carts have disappeared from San Carlos Park ...

After an emotionally charged meeting last week that stemmed a vote that shot down deals with Naples-based developer Antaramian Development Group another vote followed this week where two new council members flip-flopped their original vote to bring negotiations about the ...

Ashawna Wilson, 11, and her younger sister, 8-year-old Natalie, were among the first to arrive at Tuesday's 16th annual San Carlos Park Old-Fashioned Fourth of July parade. They sat up on the back of their mom's pickup truck in front ...

You can cook an entire meal outdoors while enjoying the ambiance of patio or pool-side breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Just ask Signature Outdoor Kitchens owners how. Karen and Sean Sipe, of Bonita Springs, recently launched a new company dedicated to ...

Project H.O.P.E. wants to help Bonita Springs in emergencies, and long after. The group, who is federally funded by a grant, and technically works through the state of Florida's Department of Children and Families, has been in Bonita Springs just ...

What now? That's the question the Bonita Springs City Council, and its staff, will ask about redevelopment efforts on Old 41. Some city officials said they are back to square one after a 4-3 vote took Antaramian Development's Imperial Landing ...

The arts is important in Estero and it shows after the Estero Council of Community Leaders voted unanimously in June to create an independent entity named the Estero Arts Development Council, from its arts committee.

The folks at Imperial Bonita Estates want all mobile home park residents, not just those in their park, to be overly prepared for hurricane season this year. That's why they have decided to personally invite 11 parks in Bonita Springs ...

Residents who went to Sun-N-Fun Lagoon Wednesday got drenched both by one million gallons of water and by rain as well. The opening of the water park, owned and operated by Collier County Parks and Recreation, was nine years in ...

For the last five months, the mayor and local religious, civic and business organizations around Bonita Springs have been working to make the city more compassionate and caring, without regard to denomination. Volunteers from service clubs, religious and neighborhood organizations, ...

Face painting, hot-dog eating, pie baking, rocket-like pyrotechnics bursting in air and residents dressing in red, white and blue will give proof through the night that it's the time of year when the community comes together to celebrate Independence Day, ...

Bonita Springs firefighters in Station Four no longer have to spend multiple hours in their fire engine in a quiet parking lot while on 12-hour shifts, or in an unfinished, dark bunker room, both with no bathroom. Last Wednesday Station ...

Here's a look at the more than 75 Coconut Point Town Center tenants, some of which have already opened their doors:

A new shop featuring mostly donated items and consignment pieces should not to be confused with a thrift shop, according to the founder of Liberty Youth Ranch, Alan Dimmitt. Quality used furniture, top name-brand accessories are the items you will ...

What was once known as Bonita City Cab is now named Bonita Car Service, Inc., as owner Al Ceballo steers away from taxi stereotypes and maneuvers into a first rate car service. Ceballo started his business in Bonita Springs in ...

In past years some mobile home parks in Bonita Springs allowed residents, with no where to go during a hurricane, to seek shelter in community clubhouses, but because of liability concerns many are encouraging their residents to make plans early ...

The Bonita Springs Genealogy Club supports members looking for their ancestors, while also creating an environment to discuss what they have found out about relatives, dead and alive. Last Thursday, the club met at their monthly meeting, held at the ...

The Estero United Methodist Church is losing their pastor, but according to the 11-year staple in Estero, Rev. Bill Fisackerly is not truly leaving, just changing pulpits. Fisackerly grew up in Clewiston mostly, but his parents met in Fort Myers. ...

If this year's Hurricane Season brings storms toward Southwest Florida, businesses can protect incoming e-mail messages for free if their servers crash through the Florida Chamber of Commerce and AppRiver, LLC.

Move over, Hell's Kitchen, there is a new reality television restaurant giveaway in the making and it's one locals can really get behind. Key Western Grille owners, with a location in Bonita Springs and Estero, are holding a contest where ...

Renovations to the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce match the vibrant growth of the community. The revamp finished in February, except for a few technological upgrades still in the works, including a touch-screen enhancement to the new plasma televisions ...

Five hundred acres; 1.2 million square feet of open-air retail space; 90,000 square feet of office condominiums; 200 to 400 residential units; and a 7-acre lake equals a place to work, shop and play on the edges of Bonita Springs ...

Doug Thompson, who studied under Everglades photographer Clyde Butcher, may not have credits posted on the perfect billboard advertisements he shoots for; he may even despise them, but the successful commercial photographer is beginning to realize that people just have ...

What is the perfect age to get married? For newlyweds Floyd and Sonya Wright, 83 was the answer. The two Bonitans met in exercise class doing push-ups at the Bonita Springs Recreation Center about 2½ years ago and got married ...

Need a girlfriend to chat with and find out what's going on in the community? Stuck at home all day, with no car and small children at home? A new local club may have the answer. Still in its infancy, ...

For the very low price of "free," your business, school or organization could adopt. There will be no babies to change, although you may have to pick the occasional dirty diaper when you take home the responsibility of cleaning up ...

A four-year local has saddled up to take two new key seats in Bonita Springs: One on the bench as a piano student and the other as the newest member of the Local Planning Agency. Jose Lopez, 40, who has ...

This year's Fourth of July parade theme could have been any number of entries by local residents, such as: "American Tradition," "A Day at the Beach," "Freedom for All," "July Jubilee," "Americans Ride Forever" or "Declare your Colors." But one ...

No matter your taste in music, or what generation you claim, Fusion blends it all together. Fusion Bar and Grill, on U.S. 41 in North Naples, was opened by Tony and Eileen Vitantonio, of Naples, about two years ago. "We ...

In the past, Florida interior design professionals have trekked to Fort Lauderdale and beyond to find showrooms filled with fine furniture, fabrics, wall covering, lighting, flooring, art and antiques all in one location, but now Southwest Florida designers and clients ...

Starting Sunday, those wishing to prepare early can purchase hurricane supplies sales-tax-free for a limited time at local stores. The state's hurricane preparedness Tax Holiday will allow early shoppers to save on sales tax with the purchase of supplies, such ...

Strike Lane will remain open to San Carlos Estates residents, for now. At Wednesday's Bonita Springs City Council meeting, elected officials decided to enter into an agreement with Seminole Gulf Railway and an interlocal agreement with the San Carlos Water ...

Last weekend, close to 380 seniors from Estero High School were relaxing with family and preparing to walk down the aisle of the Germain Arena to receive their diplomas — studying far from their senioritis minds. Some were thrilled, some ...

It may not be tomorrow, but sometime in the future Bonita Springs residential areas will see speed limit signs posted. District 1 Councilman Richard Ferreira wants side streets in residential areas to have either a uniform speed limit or at ...

Residents in San Carlos Estates, off Strike Lane, may need to begin using the only other exit out of their residential area after Seminole Gulf Railway gave city officials an ultimatum.

Next weekend students from Southwest Florida will be able to learn more about what it takes to be all that you can be at a United States military academy. On Saturday, May 13, Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) will host, for ...

In 2001, almost 5,000 pedestrians were killed in the United States in traffic accidents, and on average a pedestrian is killed in traffic every 108 minutes. In Florida those statistics look a little different. In 2001, according to the National ...

A bare wall may not need another framed art piece, according to new gallery owner Shelby Ward. Her new art trade, after more than 25 years directing fine art galleries in California and Southwest Florida? Timeless Tapestries. The new tapestry ...

From a distance it may appear as though you spent too many hours in the sun, or sipped too many drinks in the cabana bar. But really, you are not actually witnessing cross country skiers on the white shores of ...