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Opinion

Protecting Charlotte Harbor sharks & large estuary

August 6, 2026
BY BARRIER ISLAND PARKS Editor’s Note: This is one of six weekly wildlife articles submitted by the Barrier Island Parks Society to raise awareness about the issues facing our island communities…

EcoWatch: Florida manatee deserves protection of the ESA

August 6, 2026
 “The manatee’s lament echoes in the deep, a cry for help from the ocean’s keep. Their home under threat, their numbers wane, yet they continue their peaceful reign. A plea for protection, a ca…

Letters: Options are there for commissioners to turn down projects

August 6, 2026
To the Editor: Thanks so much for the really excellent editorial about the Waterside hearing (Editorial, July 31, A dead citrus farm, now a dump and mine). It highlighted some of the serious flaw…

‘Quicker picker upper’ charms of Select-A-Size

August 6, 2026
BY SUSAN HANAFEE My man experienced an emotional crisis the other day when he discovered he had gotten the wrong paper towels. They were Bounty and white. No icky floral designs. But they were NO…

Empty ‘spaghetti’ apartments and unfinished houses

August 6, 2026
This week, two bits of news bear mention and comment. The first is that in Lee County, the apartment vacancy rate has spiked to 20.3 percent, with the highest rental vacancy rate for any major me…

Protect American white pelicans: Weekly wildlife 

July 30, 2026
Editor’s Note: This is one of six weekly wildlife articles submitted by the Barrier Island Parks Society to raise awareness about the issues facing our island communities. This week, the American wh…

Letters: Stood up for taxpayers

July 30, 2026
To the Editor: Having been deeply involved in fighting Charlotte County’s overdevelopment crisis on behalf of neighbors countywide, I can speak from experience: re-elect Commissioners Chris Const…

Making the AI mind, and book destruction

July 30, 2026
BY BRENT MCCONNELL Claude, Grok, Gemini and ChatGPT exist only as hardware and software. They have no childhood, no life experience, nothing resembling a brain. While my dog still hasn’t fully co…

A dead Charlotte citrus farm, now a dump and mine

July 30, 2026
Tuesday, the Charlotte County Commission approved, by a 3-2 vote, a plan to turn a former citrus grove into a yard waste disposal site and “nature preserve” as the centerpiece of a large housing dev…

SW Florida Fishing: 2026 Tarpon Season jump shots

July 30, 2026
A last look at the 2026 tarpon season jumping tarpon from this year’s tourneys photographed by local photographers Angie Mills and Matt Gutman with help from Rick Montgomery too. UnknownDownl…