“Every year we improve a little bit in the statistics, and a lot as far as violent crimes,” she said. “In 1990 when I became a prosecutor, our circuit’s population was half of what it is now, but the crime rate was double what it is now. That’s how much we’ve changed. Now we are recognizing what’s important in criminal justice – what requires a long sentence and what does not, and which offenders can be rehabilitated. If you’re a violent person, you have to be incarcerated. On the other hand, a large portion of offenders can be helped and rehabilitated, and hopefully it will bring about less recidivism. After I was elected I looked to what I could do to make sure we didn’t just rest at the top … I wanted the statistics to be even lower. I had to realize what our biggest challenges were as a circuit and at this time it is the opioid epidemic, and fentanyl coming into the picture.”

“This was an amazing year for us in terms of community support, fellowship and the money raised to help women and children in need,” said Jan Myers, one of the festival’s co-chairs. “Our thanks goes out to all the people involved including participants, volunteers, donors and sponsors. We are so grateful.”

BY SHEILA EVANS Shown above, Capt. Rhett Morris, Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades and Gil Smart, executive director of VoteWater and policy director of Friends of the Everglades.                           Photos by Dusty There was no sugar coating the situation when […]

“The luxury condominiums with features and amenities of this caliber are very attractive to buyers looking to enjoy the coastal lifestyle Southwest Florida offers,” said Rich Taylor of Gulf to Bay Sotheby’s International Realty. “This is reflective of the fact we have 80 percent of the released inventory under reservation, with the majority of reservations coming from Boca Grande.”