Robert Jerome Hendricks, 75, of Port Charlotte and formerly of Cincinnati, Ohio, passed away peacefully Friday, May 4, 2012.

He served honorably in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956. While residing with his wife, Phyllis, in Port Charlotte, Robert was an active part of the Englewood community, where he worked at the Englewood Paint Center for 14 years. Robert will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

A memorial mass was held on Monday, May 7 in Port Charlotte.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 12 at 1 p.m. at the home of John Elliott, father of Phil.

The address is 109 Westwind Dr., Placida. All are invited.

Directions to 109 Westwind Drive: 775 north to Cape Haze Drive, turn right. Turn left onto Arlington to Westwind, turn right onto Westwind to 109.

BY LIZA STROUT - Melissa Laterza has lived on both coasts of the United States, with a stop in the desert in the middle.

“Las Vegas was big and hot and over-populated,” said Melissa. “There was always something to do. It’s such a busy place. Vegas is incredibly diverse, with all of the good and bad that comes with that.”

BY LIZA STROUT - If the attitude of voters in November compares to the voices heard at the last Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority meeting, Boca Grande shopkeepers are in for troubling economic times. At the bridge authority’s April 25 meeting, many residents said they opposed a tax referendum that would help to pay for the new bridge project ... and that leaves tolls to cover the economic punch.

Now, the question is simply how much it will go up, and how much visitors to the island will be willing to pay to get to the local shops, restaurants and beaches.