If you’ve been following our last two weeks of stories on this matter, you read that a private utility contractor who currently provides water service to parts of the barrier islands now was attempting to be considered as the primary utility in that area for central sewage.

The pitch-apple is a native tree and loves the salt spray. It grows well in full sun and tolerates sandy soil, which is ideal for Island trees. The pitch-apple has coarse evergreen leaves, solitary white or rose flowers and a whitish, resinous fruit, which is poisonous. It makes an ideal hedge but also can grow to be a large tree, so it is quite versatile.

The American Pickers TV Show is looking for leads and would love to explore your hidden treasure. If you or someone you know has a large, private collection or accumulation of antiques that the pickers can spend the better part of the day looking through, why not contact them? It’s worth a shot. American Pickers currently does not pick stores, flea markets, malls, auction businesses, museums or anything open to the public. If interested, send your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to: americanpickers@cineflix.com or call (646) 493-2184. They can be reached on facebook, @GotAPick.

According to the last U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the Lee County portion of Gasparilla Island has 1,130 homestead-exempt people living here, which is a 41.8 percent decrease since 2020. The same area recorded 1,720 people in 2010, 1,500 in 2000 and 777 in 1990. If you go back to the 1980 figures above, that means 1980 was the last year for an increase in population that the Lee County portion of the island has had.

If you read last week’s edition, you will remember that we wrote a story with information garnered primarily from someone who was claiming that the Florida Public Service Commission had denied a need for Little Gasparilla residents (and other barrier island residents) to find a different way to get rid of their sewage and wastewater. You read that Charlotte County Commissioners who had been 100 percent for the plan to find a solution were puzzled when the barrier islands were denied this option by the PSC. You also read that there were numerous septic systems at island homes that were a hazard, as they were entirely submerged during certain high tides … and some that were completely submerged at almost every high tide.

“We saw some fluctuations in the data while we were in the field, but we cannot say with any certainty what those might be until we process the data,” Kangas said. “I don’t know any place we would scan and not see fluctuations, so this doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything unusual underground. Even if we do see anomalies that might indicate something is underground, we can never say with 100 percent certainty what it is with just the GPR data, it would need to be ground truthed.”

“Our owner, Jazare Alvarez, came in to purchase some goods the former owner had on sale, and just fell in love with the place,” reported the new store’s District Manager, Kaydance Owens. Jazare (pronounced Jah zear’) has been grooming dogs since she was 12 and working at it on her own since she was 14, Kaydance said.