Passing the Guidon at Bonita Fire Chief Phil Kinsey retired from Bonita Fire on February 1 after 25 years of service, including six as Chief. Joe Daigle became Chief at a change of command ceremony that day. “The citizens of Bonita owe you deep gratitude and respect for your achievements,” Fire Board Chair Steve Lohan [...]
Fred Forbes’ Sound Strategy Early in 2008, Hunters Ridge community leaders approached fellow resident Fred Forbes with a problem. Noise levels from I-75 were increasing. The Florida Department of Transportation had denied a request for a sound wall four years earlier. Could anything be done?, the group asked Forbes. “I told them, ‘I’ve got a [...]
The Gift of Sight on Pennsylvania Avenue Bonita Springs Lion Steve Blad volunteers four days a week as Executive Director of the Lions Eye Clinic. Supervising and coordinating the efforts of 40 volunteers giving free eye care to thousands of patients is a lot of work. But four days at the clinic is enough for [...]
A Village in the City, Surrounded by Tides On the evening of October 29, John Brando got an eyewitness view of Hurricane Sandy slamming into his New York City business, all the while sitting at his desk in Bonita Springs. Brando owns and rents a block of retail stores in Howard Beach, Queens, near Kennedy [...]
By Peter R. O’Flinn prof@swspotlight.com Muted Colors for a Bright Future At a recent workshop, City Council approved a range of colors, or palette, for buildings in the Old 41 area. “The goal is to encourage shopping and to make people feel good about being downtown,” City Architect Sam Vincent said at the workshop. Many [...]
Mike Scott Parses Fire Board Politics “I admire these candidates for participating but you would think it was a congressional or Presidential election. We are talking about a local election here. It’s politics.” With those words Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, in an interview with the Spotlight, summed up an ongoing dust up between Bonita Fire Board candidates Robert Sharkey and Steve [...]
Millions for Roads, Penny Pinching Paint and Art Late summer is budget time at City Hall. In late September City Council will adopt next fiscal year’s budget. As has been the case recently, road projects, together with beach renourishment this year, continue to consume most of the City’s capital budget. In the budget plan, road [...]
Demolition Derby Plans are in the works for the City to tear down and remove four private houses that have been deemed unsafe. The buildings are located on Calypso Way, Shriver Street, Wagon Trail and Sherwood Lane, according to city documents. A look at Lee County property records shows the declining fortunes of these properties. One building, which today is an open shell, was purchased in 2006 for $175,000. Another [...]
Need a Homeless Shelter? It’s common practice for real estate owners to develop commercial parcels on speculation, or “spec,” in the hope they can attract businesses. Bonita Commons on US 41 is a good example. It sat nearly empty for a while, but today it’s nearly fully occupied. Now, Bonita Springs has a singular distinction in the annals of economic development, a proposal to develop a homeless [...]
Lee Commission Makes U-turn on Bonita Fire EMS Ambulance Commissioner Tammy Hall changed her mind. So Bonita Springs Fire and Rescue District now will get the process it wants in its bid to run emergency ambulance transportation. On May 22 Lee County Commissioners, with Hall voting with the 3-2 majority, approved hiring an independent hearing officer to review Bonita Fire’s request to take over ambulance transportation [...]
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