. Thursday, May 28, noon-2 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center: As the long, hot summer approaches, learn how to make refreshing chilled soups with Chef Kristina San Filippo; $45, 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
. Saturday, May 30, 7-9 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center: Frank Pulice of Austin's Wine Cellar presents wines from the celebrated Napa Valley paired with a four-course dinner by Chef Kristina San Filippo; $75; 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
. Sunday, May 31, 2 p.m., Whole Foods Market: Denise Petersen shows how to create shrimp burgers, veggie burgers, buffalo burgers and turkey burgers for
summer barbecues; 9101 Strada Place; 552-5100.
. Monday, June 1, 6-8 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center: Chef Kristina San Filippo shares recipes for healthy summer sandwiches; $45, 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
. Tuesday, June 2, 6-8 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center: The Kids in the Kitchen series aims to encourage culinary interest in youngsters. In this class, Chef Lisa demonstrates kitchen basics including measuring ingredients, following simple recipes using the blender and keeping the kitchen clean; recommended for children older than 5 and must be accompanied by an adult. $20 per child, $10 per adult ($48 per child for package of three classes), 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
. Thursday, June 4, noon-2 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center: The second Kids in the Kitchen session focuses on knife safety and easy techniques to slice and dice fruits and veggies; $20 per child, $10 per adult ($48 per child for package of three classes), 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
. Thursday, June 4, 6-8 p.m., The Good Life: Thai cooking with chefs Tim and Shelly Connors making bang bang style shrimp, chicken coconut Thai soup and spicy peanut chicken curry, wine and beverages served; $50, 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Road; 514-4663.
. Friday, June 5, noon-2 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center:
Learn how to make dishes from the southern Italian regions of Sicily, Puglia and Sardinia; $45; 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
. Tuesday, June 9, 6-8 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center: Chef Kristina San Filippo shares recipes highlighting the savory flavors of Indian cuisine; $45; 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
. Thursday, June 11, noon-2 p.m., Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center: Chef Kristina San Filippo moves beyond bananas and mangos to show how an extensive selection of tropical fruits lends unique flavors to many recipes; $45; 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 390-4222.
Source: Floridaweekly.com
View Naples Luxury Beachfront Real Estate
Barefoot Real Estate
Who owns this beach?
W hile handfuls of silvery fish mottled the shimmering aquamarine surface about 20 yards off Vanderbilt Beach, a school of well-dressed Neapolitans nearby ignored them.
First, the humans marched down the boardwalk from The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, and out onto the white sand. Then they gathered, either facing each other or studying the rank and file of big development in both directions.
Southward, they could see Pelican Bay high rises and estate homes stretching for nearly three miles, from The Ritz at the western end of Vanderbilt Beach Road almost all the way to Pine Ridge Road and Clam Pass. Northward, they viewed solid development along Gulfshore Drive extending toward Delnor- Wiggins State Park, with its parking lots, observation tower and restrooms about two miles away.
Donned in trousers, dress shirts with ties, sports jackets and even high heels, they stood out like exotic flora.
Such counterintuitive scenes — full dress on a beautiful stretch of sugar sand — could also be replayed along other Gulf beaches, according to officials of the state Department of Environmental Protection. The future of public and private rights on many Florida beaches appears to hang in the balance.
That's true not only in front of The Ritz, whose employees have kicked passersby off beachfront claimed as private by the hotel and as public by irate citizens, but up and down the Gulf coast, from Estero Island to Manasota Key near Englewood to Destin.
The legal rules ensure that the Florida coastline is surrounded by a strip of public land where every American has a right to go.
But where exactly is the line between public and private on any given beach? Often, that's been anybody's guess.Mr. Iglehart, the DEP official in white shirt and tie, said to the hotelier, "I understand." Then he explained the state's position.
Traditionally, the public owns every inch of beach from "the mean high-water line" seaward, Mr. Iglehart said. But when beaches are renourished with public money — which is why the beach in front of The Ritz and beyond it is so broad and sugary — a permanent line is established that doesn't change with tides, winds, storms or lines of chairs and umbrellas.
That line is called the Erosion Control Line. To place it, state officials determine a traditional mean high-water line, survey that line on the beach and call it the ECL. Although the mean high water line can change as the beachfront topography evolves from wind and wave action, the ECL does not change once it is determined.
"As a result of the local governmentsponsored beach restoration projects on this beach, the state set an Erosion Control Line (ECL)," wrote Harold "Bud" Vielhauer, deputy counsel for the state DEP. "The ECL and not the mean high-water line is the boundary between the state-owned public beach and the hotel's private property.
"Waterward of the (ECL) is state-owned public beach," Mr. Vielhauer continued. "The public has the right to put down chairs, towels and blankets, swim and sunbathe and otherwise use the beach for recreation."
So where exactly was this illusoryseeming Erosion Control Line?
In short order the state surveyors did their work, verifying the location of the ECL — the arbitrary boundary based on where the mean high water mark once was before public sand was spread on the beach. They demonstrated that the Ritz's beach ownership extends seaward about 70 feet from each of its four boardwalks, covering roughly 200 yards of beachfront. But it doesn't extend all the way to the water.
Beyond that 70 feet of white sand, hotel employees will no longer be able to stretch a long unbroken line of signature blue beach chairs and umbrellas, as they have done in the past, according to many beachgoers, effectively forming a corral that excludes the public.
The public, meanwhile, is left with 25- 30 feet of beach seaward of hotel property, according to state officials — and that Erosion Control Line extends north and south of the Ritz, too.
Source: floridaweekly.com
View Barefoot Beach Luxury Homes for Sale
First, the humans marched down the boardwalk from The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, and out onto the white sand. Then they gathered, either facing each other or studying the rank and file of big development in both directions.
Southward, they could see Pelican Bay high rises and estate homes stretching for nearly three miles, from The Ritz at the western end of Vanderbilt Beach Road almost all the way to Pine Ridge Road and Clam Pass. Northward, they viewed solid development along Gulfshore Drive extending toward Delnor- Wiggins State Park, with its parking lots, observation tower and restrooms about two miles away.
Donned in trousers, dress shirts with ties, sports jackets and even high heels, they stood out like exotic flora.
Such counterintuitive scenes — full dress on a beautiful stretch of sugar sand — could also be replayed along other Gulf beaches, according to officials of the state Department of Environmental Protection. The future of public and private rights on many Florida beaches appears to hang in the balance.
That's true not only in front of The Ritz, whose employees have kicked passersby off beachfront claimed as private by the hotel and as public by irate citizens, but up and down the Gulf coast, from Estero Island to Manasota Key near Englewood to Destin.
The legal rules ensure that the Florida coastline is surrounded by a strip of public land where every American has a right to go.
But where exactly is the line between public and private on any given beach? Often, that's been anybody's guess.Mr. Iglehart, the DEP official in white shirt and tie, said to the hotelier, "I understand." Then he explained the state's position.
Traditionally, the public owns every inch of beach from "the mean high-water line" seaward, Mr. Iglehart said. But when beaches are renourished with public money — which is why the beach in front of The Ritz and beyond it is so broad and sugary — a permanent line is established that doesn't change with tides, winds, storms or lines of chairs and umbrellas.
That line is called the Erosion Control Line. To place it, state officials determine a traditional mean high-water line, survey that line on the beach and call it the ECL. Although the mean high water line can change as the beachfront topography evolves from wind and wave action, the ECL does not change once it is determined.
"As a result of the local governmentsponsored beach restoration projects on this beach, the state set an Erosion Control Line (ECL)," wrote Harold "Bud" Vielhauer, deputy counsel for the state DEP. "The ECL and not the mean high-water line is the boundary between the state-owned public beach and the hotel's private property.
"Waterward of the (ECL) is state-owned public beach," Mr. Vielhauer continued. "The public has the right to put down chairs, towels and blankets, swim and sunbathe and otherwise use the beach for recreation."
So where exactly was this illusoryseeming Erosion Control Line?
In short order the state surveyors did their work, verifying the location of the ECL — the arbitrary boundary based on where the mean high water mark once was before public sand was spread on the beach. They demonstrated that the Ritz's beach ownership extends seaward about 70 feet from each of its four boardwalks, covering roughly 200 yards of beachfront. But it doesn't extend all the way to the water.
Beyond that 70 feet of white sand, hotel employees will no longer be able to stretch a long unbroken line of signature blue beach chairs and umbrellas, as they have done in the past, according to many beachgoers, effectively forming a corral that excludes the public.
The public, meanwhile, is left with 25- 30 feet of beach seaward of hotel property, according to state officials — and that Erosion Control Line extends north and south of the Ritz, too.
Source: floridaweekly.com
View Barefoot Beach Luxury Homes for Sale
Turtle tips
Help protect threatened sea turtles while they nest on Southwest Florida beaches:
- Turn off exterior beachfront lights and set security lights to motion-detection only.
- Keep curtains closed on windows facing the beach when lights are on.
- Limit use of cameras and flashlights or other equipment with lights on the beach.
- If you see turtles on the beach, leave them alone.
Bonita Springs utilities changing tap water treatment during May
Bonita Springs Utilities customers may notice a slightly different smell or taste in their tap water, but the change is temporary and harmless. Each May, BSU changes its water-treatment process as a routine, preventative-maintenance measure.
The change prevents the possible start of algae growth in our water distribution lines. The water may have a slight chlorine taste or smell but is safe to drink and causes no problems with laundry or other household uses," said Director of Operations Mel Fisher. The change continues through May 30.
While the tap water is safe to drink, additional filtering may be needed for kidney dialysis and aquariums. The utility suggests that those who use at-home kidney dialysis machines contact their equipment suppliers, so the proper filtering equipment may be installed. Tropical fish or aquatic animal owners should check with tropical fish stores to learn how to pre-treat tap water before adding to tanks.
The technical explanation is that we're temporarily converting our water disinfectant process from chloramines, a combination of chlorine and a small amount of ammonia, to free chlorine residual, a different form of the chlorine we already use," said Mr. Fisher. "This is a routine, precautionary measure to ensure our member-customers of continual clean, safe potable water."
Bonita Springs residents also may notice fire hydrants being flushed more often than usual throughout the month. Member customers who have questions about the process can call BSU at 992-0711.
BSU produced more than 2.7 billion gallons of water during 2008, using two water-production processes. The utility blends water produced through the traditional lime-softening process with water from its reverse osmosis facility for optimum taste and quality.
BSU is a not-for-profit water and wastewater utility that serves more than 30,000 homes and businesses in a 60-square-mile area. For more information, visit www. BSU.us. Source: Floridaweekly.com
View Bonita Springs Beachfront Real Estate
The change prevents the possible start of algae growth in our water distribution lines. The water may have a slight chlorine taste or smell but is safe to drink and causes no problems with laundry or other household uses," said Director of Operations Mel Fisher. The change continues through May 30.
While the tap water is safe to drink, additional filtering may be needed for kidney dialysis and aquariums. The utility suggests that those who use at-home kidney dialysis machines contact their equipment suppliers, so the proper filtering equipment may be installed. Tropical fish or aquatic animal owners should check with tropical fish stores to learn how to pre-treat tap water before adding to tanks.
The technical explanation is that we're temporarily converting our water disinfectant process from chloramines, a combination of chlorine and a small amount of ammonia, to free chlorine residual, a different form of the chlorine we already use," said Mr. Fisher. "This is a routine, precautionary measure to ensure our member-customers of continual clean, safe potable water."
Bonita Springs residents also may notice fire hydrants being flushed more often than usual throughout the month. Member customers who have questions about the process can call BSU at 992-0711.
BSU produced more than 2.7 billion gallons of water during 2008, using two water-production processes. The utility blends water produced through the traditional lime-softening process with water from its reverse osmosis facility for optimum taste and quality.
BSU is a not-for-profit water and wastewater utility that serves more than 30,000 homes and businesses in a 60-square-mile area. For more information, visit www. BSU.us. Source: Floridaweekly.com
View Bonita Springs Beachfront Real Estate
The man who would keep our beaches open
Graham Ginsberg is standing in the sugar sand with his back to The Ritz-Carlton, holding a map instead of his windsurfing gear. At 47, he's still tremendously fit, but right now he's not particularly pleased. The realestate agent and Neapolitan family man says he was kicked off the public beach in front of The Ritz by hotel employees back in December, and ever since then he's been championing one of the most cherished American values — access.
"In Florida we don't have the Grand Canyon. Our beaches are the Grand Canyon," he explains. "If you shut off all the access to the Grand Canyon and tell people they can't get in anymore because you've created a big subdivision or something, you've violated our rights. And that's what's happened on the beach, here."
Although Mr. Ginsberg has lived in Naples for a number of years now, his accent still carries the clipped stew of Dutch and English pronunciations that distinguish the English of his native land, South Africa. His thick, dark hair is lightly salted with white, and his face shows no sign of the characteristic joy he normally feels when he's on a beach.
"To me it should be a place to relax," he says. But it isn't, at least not for him in front of The Ritz.
Mr. Ginsberg's struggle to retain public places for public pleasure comes down to this: He wants public access to the beach within a mile radius of the public parking lot he helped create by causing a political ruckus a few years ago.
Officials should determine just what constitutes public land at every single point where taxpayers forked over money to buy sand and renourish their beaches, he says. Then they should post prominent signs letting people know where they can go.
And that includes the beach in front of The Ritz, he insists.
"Now nobody can tell where they're allowed to be and where they aren't — you can't tell by looking at the sand. So (The Ritz) comes along and educates you," he says, following the comment with a sarcastic chuckle.
"What The Ritz should really do is take the high road, and step up and say, 'We're giving the beach back to the public,'" he suggests.
To help them do it, he and friends — one who recorded the events and arguments on a cell phone as she was kicked off the same beach last week — have formed an organization called KOBO, or Keep Our Beaches Open. In the cell phone conversation, Mr. Ginsberg's friend maintains she's on public land, and a voice can be heard insisting she is not on public land. Ritz officials told Mr. Ginsberg they had not kicked anyone off public beaches, he says, and a Collier County sheriff's deputy noted in a police report that, "The Ritz-Carlton does in fact own the beach up to the high water mark."
But how much of the beach should really be open? Mr. Graham tells you, map in hand, at http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=OEI1qq685aA.
The telling is something special. Mr. Graham was born and raised in a small town near the turbulent and often dangerous coastal waters of his country, where no one could protest without going to jail.
"In South Africa you couldn't speak out. It was illegal," he says. "But here you have that right, the right as a citizen to speak out. So if you have this right, why in the hell wouldn't you use it to protect something you care about? A lot of Americans born into the system here are somewhat reserved: 'If I stick my neck out, I'll embarrass myself, or my friends or family,' I think they say."
Not Mr. Ginsberg. The only thing he worries about is not enough beach time.
The father of three pre-teens, he windsurfs only about three times a month these days. He recalls times in South Africa when he watched black sharks riding the waves near him, avoided jellyfish that could kill him, learned how to come back alive from the assault of a rip tide, and spent years as a lifeguard.
The best thing about that, he says, was the freedom. And that's what he wants for the beautiful Naples beaches.
"Now you have these invisible lines on the beach, and even though they're legal and binding, no one knows where they are. You can't see them. So The Ritz owns a section of the beach (above a certain point), but they're using public sand, too."
Once upon a time, he says, "We didn't have issues of ownership of beach and property boundaries. It was totally free. There were no limitations, within the law, of course. There was a value, one I grew up with. The value was: relaxation.
"The beach should be a melting pot of society, but without the conflict."
And if Mr. Ginsberg has anything to do with it, it will be once again. Source: Floridaweekly.com
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Barefoot Beach Closed Sale Report
Barefoot Beach Closed Home Sale Report - April 2009.
Active - 67
Pending -6
Closed - 3
Source: SunshineMLS, Inc.
View Beachfront Homes for Sale in Barefoot Beach
Active - 67
Pending -6
Closed - 3
Source: SunshineMLS, Inc.
View Beachfront Homes for Sale in Barefoot Beach
Conservancy to track sea turtles that nest on local beaches with satellite tags
NAPLES — The loggerhead sea turtles that nest on Southwest Florida beaches have always been a mysterious bunch.
Where do they go after they crawl out of the Gulf of Mexico, lay their eggs and then slide back beneath the Gulf’s dark waters?
One researcher hopes this nesting season, which officially starts today, will bring him a step closer to an answer.
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida plans to tag four of the threatened loggerheads with satellite tags to track their migration between nesting seasons.
“They have very interesting stories to tell if you can pry into their lives a bit,” Conservancy Science Co-Director David Addison said Thursday.
Finding out where the turtles go is not just idle curiosity; it will help protect the areas where the turtles live at sea and not just at their nesting beaches.
The Conservancy will tag the turtles on Keewaydin Island, a coastal barrier island between Naples and Marco Island, where the Conservancy has been studying nesting patterns for 28 years.
After the females finish laying their eggs, monitors plan to glue the satellite tags to the turtles’ shells, Addison said.
The tags send a signal when the turtles come to the water’s surface for a breath of air — and they are not cheap, he said.
A New Zealand company sells the tags for about $2,000 each, and the Conservancy then has to pay $1,200 for a year’s worth of satellite time, about the expected life of one of the tags.
What started out as a project with one refurbished tag has grown in recent weeks as donors have stepped up to pay $3,200 each for the other three tags, Addison said.
More tags mean a better chance that a tagged turtle will return to Keewaydin and be able to be retagged and tracked again, he said.
Turtles that nest in Southwest Florida could migrate as far away as the Yucatan Peninsula, Cuba or the Bahamas, Addison said.
Sea turtles return to the same general area to nest every two or three years.
The Conservancy has tagged nesting sea turtles with markers to identify them but has not had the chance to use satellite tracking tags until this year, Addison said.
One turtle, due to return to Keewaydin Island this summer, has been nesting on the island for 20 years, he said.
“I would love to get a tag on that turtle,” Addison said.
In 2008, turtle monitors counted 657 sea turtle nests on Collier County beaches compared to 446 turtle nests in 2007, according to county turtle monitors. The increase in nesting reversed a years-long decline in nest numbers.
Of the 2008 nests, 338 of them hatched, according to county figures. Storms washed away more than 160 nests.
This turtle nesting season, which ends Oct. 31, will be a first for reasons besides the Conservancy’s tagging project.
New turtle-friendly lights will be turned on for the first time since Hurricane Wilma in 2005 destroyed the original lights, Collier County turtle program director Maura Kraus said.
Lights shining on the beach can deter nesting sea turtles and can confuse hatchlings and keep them from reaching the safety of the Gulf of Mexico.
In another first, federal authorities have closed parts of the Gulf to commercial longline fishing boats this summer to protect migrating sea turtles.
Will this summer see another uptick in turtle nesting activity?
“We always hope for the best,” Kraus said.
Source: Floridaweekly.com
Where do they go after they crawl out of the Gulf of Mexico, lay their eggs and then slide back beneath the Gulf’s dark waters?
One researcher hopes this nesting season, which officially starts today, will bring him a step closer to an answer.
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida plans to tag four of the threatened loggerheads with satellite tags to track their migration between nesting seasons.
“They have very interesting stories to tell if you can pry into their lives a bit,” Conservancy Science Co-Director David Addison said Thursday.
Finding out where the turtles go is not just idle curiosity; it will help protect the areas where the turtles live at sea and not just at their nesting beaches.
The Conservancy will tag the turtles on Keewaydin Island, a coastal barrier island between Naples and Marco Island, where the Conservancy has been studying nesting patterns for 28 years.
After the females finish laying their eggs, monitors plan to glue the satellite tags to the turtles’ shells, Addison said.
The tags send a signal when the turtles come to the water’s surface for a breath of air — and they are not cheap, he said.
A New Zealand company sells the tags for about $2,000 each, and the Conservancy then has to pay $1,200 for a year’s worth of satellite time, about the expected life of one of the tags.
What started out as a project with one refurbished tag has grown in recent weeks as donors have stepped up to pay $3,200 each for the other three tags, Addison said.
More tags mean a better chance that a tagged turtle will return to Keewaydin and be able to be retagged and tracked again, he said.
Turtles that nest in Southwest Florida could migrate as far away as the Yucatan Peninsula, Cuba or the Bahamas, Addison said.
Sea turtles return to the same general area to nest every two or three years.
The Conservancy has tagged nesting sea turtles with markers to identify them but has not had the chance to use satellite tracking tags until this year, Addison said.
One turtle, due to return to Keewaydin Island this summer, has been nesting on the island for 20 years, he said.
“I would love to get a tag on that turtle,” Addison said.
In 2008, turtle monitors counted 657 sea turtle nests on Collier County beaches compared to 446 turtle nests in 2007, according to county turtle monitors. The increase in nesting reversed a years-long decline in nest numbers.
Of the 2008 nests, 338 of them hatched, according to county figures. Storms washed away more than 160 nests.
This turtle nesting season, which ends Oct. 31, will be a first for reasons besides the Conservancy’s tagging project.
New turtle-friendly lights will be turned on for the first time since Hurricane Wilma in 2005 destroyed the original lights, Collier County turtle program director Maura Kraus said.
Lights shining on the beach can deter nesting sea turtles and can confuse hatchlings and keep them from reaching the safety of the Gulf of Mexico.
In another first, federal authorities have closed parts of the Gulf to commercial longline fishing boats this summer to protect migrating sea turtles.
Will this summer see another uptick in turtle nesting activity?
“We always hope for the best,” Kraus said.
Source: Floridaweekly.com
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