Guided Nature Walk at Tigertail Beach

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Venue:	Tigertail Beach 400 Hernando Drive Marco Island, FL 239-642-8414
Description:	Free guided nature walks are offered 8:30 a.m. Tuesday-Friday through April 24 through Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Parking is free with a Collier County beach sticker, otherwise parking is $6. Meet the guide at the kiosk
Phone number:	262-0304 or conservancy.org

 

Source: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=EVENTS&query=Event&site=GMTI&tpl=Event&ID=35103

 

Lee County promised 30 years of Red Sox

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Lee County Commissioners narrowly agreed Tuesday to a 30-year lease with the Boston Red Sox to keep spring training in Lee County. It’s the next step in the county’s decision to build the franchise a complex in south Lee County.

The lease passed 3-2 with Commissioners Bob Janes, Ray Judah and Tammy Hall voting in favor. Commissioners Frank Mann and Brian Bigelow voted against.

The 44-page lease is largely based off current agreements between Lee County the Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, said John Yarbrough, the county’s hired consultant on the deal. The Twins hold spring training at the Lee County Sports Complex.

The lease does not outline the project cost, which has been estimated around $80 million.

The quest for a new stadium became public when Sarasota officials announced earlier this year they were making a play to pull the Red Sox out of Lee County. That pushed local officials into overdrive to get a new deal.

The project will be funded in part by Tourist Development Council money. The county will spend up to a cent of the 5-cent tourist bed tax on baseball projects.

The lease spells out details such as concessions and parking revenues which go to the Red Sox. It also discusses the insurance and advertising rights standard in lease agreements. Exactly which companies will have advertisements and handle concessions are not in the agreement.

Three terms are different from past leases:

• It’s a 30-year lease, compared to 15 for the Twins. There is no clause allowing the team to buy its way out of the contract. The old lease for the Red Sox runs through 2019, but the club could have bought its way out as early as next year by paying a $1 million fee.

• The Red Sox will pay $500,000 per year in rent, compared with the $300,000 it pays at City of Palms Park. The rent will increase 3 percent every five years. The current agreement has no escalation.

• Lee County will match the money the Red Sox agree to put into a capital improvement fund. On average, the team will contribute $100,000 per year over the next 30 years to maintain and upgrade the facility. That totals $6 million between the club and county, which will be put in an interest-bearing account. The Red Sox currently pay $20,000 per year.

“We recognize this is a big commitment for the county,” said Red Sox Chief Operating Officer Mike Dee. “From our point of view, we believe the steps have been taken to make this fair and balanced.”

Dee said he and county officials will turn toward interviewing construction managers and hope to have one chosen by the January’s end. The team and county will have a specific site identified by June.

That site will be south of Daniels Parkway and north of Bonita Beach Road. It will be at least 80 acres.

Mann said he wants the project to work and having the Red Sox train in Lee County is beneficial to the community. He couldn’t, however, support the lease as presented.

“It’s a huge imbalance here, it is not something I would vote for myself. I would never enter into a contract like this myself,” Mann said.

Yarbrough said the agreement is not perfect, “but it is the best agreement Lee County has done with a baseball team since we have been doing them,” Yarbrough said.

Hall said she is “not a kookie baseball fan,” but it’s not about baseball.

“The Red Sox are a huge economic boost to Lee County,” Hall said. “This is a business decision for Lee County.”

A state study showed a professional team’s economic impact is about $25 million per year. Sarasota officials hired a consultant who put the Red Sox potential impact on that area at $46.5 million per year.

Bigelow said he too wants the agreement to work, but he could not vote for it with no third spring training team signed to occupy the the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers.

“I am really worried this field of dreams maybe become a field of nightmares for the City of Palms Park,” Bigelow said.

Fort Myers City Councilman Randy Henderson wants to focus on the future of the City of Palms Park.

“Now we can say that deal is done. Good luck, hope you get the money, 30-year deal is good for the county, hope that works out,” Henderson said. “Now let’s turn our focus to the City of Palms and who’s next.”

In a news conference later in the day, Yarbrough addressed his talks with other franchises.

“I have not had direct contact with any teams,” Yarbrough said. “I have talked to people who have talked to people.”

Red Sox owner John Henry had planned to visit commissioners, but had a scheduling conflict and will visit in early January instead, Dee said.

About 50 people, including heads of county departments, showed up for the meeting. Only those representing a group, such as the Estero Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the project.

Source: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812100364

 

Goldener Golfstaat Florida

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Atemberaubende Plätze: Luxus in Miami, Massenvergnügen am Golf von Mexiko.

Von Ludwig Rembold

 

Die Stadt ist der Hammer! Miami, die Metropole des Hedonismus. Jeden, der irgendwie dazugehören möchte, zu den Tollen, den Reichen, den Jungen, den Ausgeflippten, zieht es magnetisch in den äußersten Südosten des Wurmfortsatzes der Vereinigten Staaten namens Florida. Vor allem in den Monaten, wenn in New York, Chicago und Washington der Winter regiert.

 

Mehr zum Thema

Florida

 

Reiseinformationen und Clubs

 

Zwischen Downtown in Golden Beach und South Beach tobt das Leben. Wenn auch meist im Schritttempo. Eine Blechlawine verstopft die mehrspurigen Boulevards, die Highways und Freeways bis spät in die Abendstunden. In den angesagten Clubs, und davon gibt es jede Menge, scheint man Beauties inzwischen klonen zu können, so viele Schönheiten zelebrieren sich dort selbst.

Zu teuer ist das Land

 

Miami platzt aus allen Nähten, allein schon wegen der Tausenden von Latinos, die hereindrängen und Spanisch zur Umgangssprache werden lassen. Die urbane Expansion, die Gier nach neuen Bauplätzen greift mittlerweile sogar die Golfanlagen an. Der letzte neue Golfkurs ist hier vor 20 Jahren entstanden. Zu teuer ist das Land um Miami für Fairways und Grüns. Die Ausnahme, der Doral Country Club, ist das Zentrum des Golfs in dieser Region.

 

Als Doris und Alfred (Doral) Kassel 1964 das Land erwarben und den ersten Platz bauten, wurden sie belächelt. Das Grundstück lag im Nirgendwo, am Rande der Everglades, weiter östlich war die Welt zu Ende. Heute ist die Anlage eine Golffabrik, umbaut mit Apartmenthäusern, beschallt vom nahe gelegenen Miami International Airport. Über die Meisterschaftskurse werden pro Tag 750 Spieler gejagt. 500 Carts stehen zur Verfügung. Alles ist bis ins kleinste Detail durchorganisiert. Ein Heer von Helfern mit Sprechfunkgeräten hält den US-üblichen Service aufrecht und den Betrieb am Laufen. Das riesige Marriott-Hotel mit seinen drei Ballsälen, fünf Pools und einem riesigen Spa ist in den Monaten von Dezember bis April fast durchwegs voll belegt.

 

Der Doral Golf Club hat seinen Preis.

 

Big Business allüberall. „Blue Monster“, der legendäre Platz, auf dem über Jahre mit dem Start des sogenannten Florida Swing die US-PGASaison begann, ist auf Tage im Voraus ausgebucht. Ein schöner Kurs ohne Zweifel, doch weder Blue noch Monster, und nur von den hintersten Abschlägen jene Herausforderung, die die zumeist Tiger Woods stets am besten bewältigte. Der „Great White“, ein Kurs von ganz anderer Charakteristik mit riesigen Waste-Areas und tausenden von Palmen, hinter denen sich die Bälle tückisch verstecken, ist mindestens genauso schwer zu spielen, seit ihm Greg Norman 2005 eine durchgreifende Renovierung verpasst hat. „The Red“ und „The Golden Course“ ähneln in der Streckenführung mit viel Wasser dem Blue Monster. Der etwas abseits gelegene „Silver Course“ fällt auch qualitätsmäßig etwas ab. In Doral läuft in der Hochsaison ständig irgendein wichtiges Turnier mit allem Brimborium.

 

The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club im vornehmen Vorort Aventura am Golden Beach ist dagegen ein einziger Hort der Ruhe und Beschaulichkeit. Muss auch so sein, schließlich handelt es sich hierbei um einen privaten Club mit einem Fünf-Sterne- Luxus-Hotel mit allen erdenklichen Schikanen. Der „South Course“, 1972 von Robert Trent Jones gebaut, ist gerade von Roman Floyd mit dem unerhörten Aufwand von einer Million Dollar pro Loch völlig überarbeitet worden. Eine Augenweide mit spektakulären künstlichen Wasserfällen und Bachläufen, bestem Pflegezustand und interessantem Design. Der zweite, „The Miller Course“, ist kaum weniger schön und ebenfalls kürzlich renoviert worden.

Meterlange Leguane

 

Den Atem der relativ kurzen Geschichte Floridas hingegen verströmt „The Miami Beach Golf Club“, direkt am South Beach gelegen. Mit einiger Ehrfurcht erzählt Manager Randy Weber von berühmten Mitgliedern. In der Villa gegenüber dem Eingang habe Jacky Gleason lange gewohnt, und auf der anderen Straßenseite, in der ebenfalls ansehnlichen Hütte, sei Al Capone gestorben. Den 18 Löchern mit viel Wasser merkt man ihr Alter an. Eine Attraktion sind die meterlangen Leguane in allen Farbschattierungen, die sich auf den Fairways tummeln.

 

Zirka 20 Golfplätze gibt es in Greater Miami, eine geradezu lächerliche Zahl gegenüber der Westküste am Golf von Mexiko, um Fort Myers und Naples herum. Aber da ist ohnehin alles völlig anders. Die Region gilt als beliebteste Landezone der „Snow – birds“, jener mehr oder weniger wohlhabenden Spezies Mensch, die es vorzieht, dem Winter im nördlichen Teil der Staaten zu entfliehen und die alten Knochen in der gnädigen Sonne Floridas zu erwärmen. Wie viele Golfplätze es in Südwest-Florida gibt, weiß keiner so genau. Spielt auch keine Rolle, weil sich in Europa ohnehin niemand mehr als 100 Golfplätze auf einem zirka 60 Meilen langen Küstenstreifen vorstellen kann. Und so viele und ein paar mehr sind es zwischen Cape Coral und Marco Island mit Sicherheit.

 

 

 

 

Hyatt Regency Coconut Points

 

Man unterscheidet zwischen Public-, Semi-Private- und Private Courses. Letztere sind deutlich in der Mehrzahl. Eine Wohnanlage reiht sich an die andere, unterschiedlich in Größe und Qualität der Villen und deren Bewachung. Im Zentrum jeweils ein Golfplatz, angepasst an die Qualität der Häuser, der in der Regel nur von den Immobilien-Besitzern bespielt werden darf. Große Hotels haben normalerweise auch einen oder zwei Golfplätze mit bevorzugtem Spielrecht für ihre Gäste. So wie beispielsweise das „Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa“, ein Hotel, das 16 Stockwerke hoch mitten aus dem flachen Marschland bei Bonita Springs herausragt. Der angeschlossene Platz heißt Raptors Bay und würde hierzulande zu den schönsten Anlagen zählen mit den vielen Wasserhindernissen und den Spielbahnen, die wie Schneisen in die Wildnis geschlagen wurden. In dieser Gegend ist er gehobener Durchschnitt.

Störche, Marabus und Alligatoren

 

Wenn der Concierge des Hyatt einen guten Tag hat, vermittelt er eine Tee-Time in „The Colony Golf & Country Club“, dem benachbarten hochnoblen Villen-Konglomerat mit einem 18-Loch- Meisterschaftskurs, auf dem der Greenkeeper jeden Grashalm persönlich zu kennen scheint, so gepflegt ist er. Doch es kommt noch besser. „The West Bay Club“ ist eine der herausragenden Arbeiten von Pete Dye. Er hat alles zu bieten, was man sich unter Wet-Lands Floridas vorstellt: Störche, Marabus, Alligatoren, eine üppige Vegetation, durch die höchst abwechslungsreiche wellige Fairways führen. Dieses Kleinod samt gediegenem Clubhaus mit Nebengebäuden ist normalerweise 300 Mitgliedern vorbehalten, allesamt Besitzer unglaublich großzügiger Häuser und Etagenwohnungen in den 20-stöckigen Klötzen am Rande des Platzes.

 

Zur Kategorie gehobener Public Courses gehört „Old Corkscrew“. In der Wildnis zwischen Bonita Beach und Fort Myers hat sich ein deutscher Auswanderer einen Traum verwirklicht und einen Jack-Nicklaus-Signature-Golfplatz bauen lassen, der allen Ansprüchen gerecht wird. Für 120 Dollar Greenfee darf hier jeder spielen.

 

Der Tiboròn Golf Course des Ritz Carlton Hotels.

 

Zwei traumhafte Plätze, gebaut von Greg Norman

Beim Tiburón Golf Course ist es nicht ganz so einfach. Da sollte man möglichst in einem der beiden Ritz-Carlton-Hotels in Naples, entweder in dem am Strand oder, noch besser, in dem direkt auf dem Golfplatz wohnen. Tiburón ist das spanische Wort für Hai, und Hai der Spitzname von Greg Norman, der sowohl den „Gold Course“ als auch den „Black Course“ gebaut hat. Beides traumhafte Plätze, auf denen alljährlich im Dezember das vom großen Meister selbst inszenierte Shootout abläuft.

 

Es geht auch schlichter: Der Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club deckt die Bandbreite nach unten ab. Der alte, abgespielte Platz liegt an der Straße und ist öffentlich. Ähnlich wie The Rookery at Marco. Der Kurs besticht durch natürliche Streckenführung und landschaftliche Schönheit. Immer neue Projekte kommen hinzu. So errichtete ein gewisser Tom Monagham, der mit Pizzabuden Millionen gemacht hat, mitten im Marschland, zehn Meilen außerhalb von Naples, eine Universitätsstadt mit der christkatholischen Bezeichnung Ave Maria. Sie findet regen Zuspruch. Ein Meisterschaftskurs gehört da selbstverständlich mit dazu.

Um das Golfangebot der Region auch nur halbwegs zu erspielen, wäre man Monate unterwegs. Doch schließlich hat Südwest-Florida noch andere Reize, vom Strand und den zahlreichen Wassersportmöglichkeiten ganz abgesehen. In den Shopping Malls, die sich alle paar Meilen über riesige Flächen ausdehnen, kauft der Mitteleuropäer auch Markenware unglaublich günstig ein. Ein willkommener Ausgleich für die deftigen Greenfee-Preise.

 

 

Source: URL: /sport/weitere/artikel/926/180372/

Cape coral Boats Parade

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Holiday Boat-A-Long

 

Start Date:12/21/2008  4:00 PM

End Date:12/21/2008  7:30 PM

 

Description:December 21, 2008

32nd Annual Cape Coral Holiday Boat-A-Long

(Four Freedoms Park-4818 Tarpon Court)

 

4:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. Boat Parade starts at 7:00 PM

 

The focal point of this event is a parade of approximately 100 boats decorated in a festive holiday fashion with lights, costumes, elves, and whatever else their captains can think of.  At Four Freedoms Park, the landlubbers watch the boats gather in the Bimini Basin before they begin meandering through the canals of south Cape Coral.  Along with providing an ideal seat to watch the illuminated vessels, the park features live holiday music, decorated trees, Christmas crafts, food and beverages for sale.  This is a unique celebration of Christmas Florida-style.

Cape Coral’s History

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In 1957 two brothers, Leonard and Jack Rosen, from Baltimore, Maryland, spent weeks looking over Southwest Florida for a piece of property to develop. Late that year they purchased a parcel of land from Grandville Keller and Franklin Miles,(owner of the Alka Seltzer Company ) for $678,000. The land once known as Redfish Point was renamed Cape Coral. The development company, Gulf American Land Corporation started what was to be known as the “Waterfront Wonderland.” Ground was broken on November 4, 1957. On June 10, 1958 the first residents moved into their home in the southeastern part of the Cape. At that time a waterview homesite sold for $990, waterfront, $1,990 and riverfront $3390. Property sales reached over $9 million the first year. By 1965 approximately 500 prospects a day toured the property. When sales reached a peak in 1969, Cape Coral was sold to General Acceptance Corporation of Allentown, Pennsylvania for $250 million.

    In 1970 with the population at 11,470 the City of Cape Coral was incorporated becoming Florida’s second largest in area, trailing only Jacksonville. Barely a decade old, Cape Coral was poised and ready for the future, destined to become one of the nation’s fastest growing and most desirable cities. In the ensuing years since incorporation, the city population has steadily increased to exceed 150,000. At buildout it is estimated Cape Coral will have a population of approximately 400,000.

 

Source:  http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/500015.html?nav=5047

Cape Coral Visitors

The following is a post by a recent Cape Coral visitor.

Most of the people we met while down here were not originally from Florida. Interestingly enough, they were from everywhere but Florida. Cape Coral (and Sanibel) seems to be primarily filled with people from the Northeast who have either moved here full-time or now own a second home here (snow birds). That said, I cannot recommend any hotel accommodations in this journal because we stayed with family. Although Sanibel is the real attraction here, Cape Coral is a nice town with lots of new buildings and a much cheaper option for lodging if you are looking for a weekend getaway.

We found the best way to get into Cape Coral was by flying into Fort Meyers (RSW). What a beautiful and super-clean airport! (Although once you exit the terminal, there is construction everywhere you look.) The only airlines we found that flew direct from New York were JetBlue and Delta. Florida in general is a place where you must rent a car, and these towns are no different. Normally, considering it’s Florida, one would think that the rental would be cheap (like Orlando). Not the case. Book this in advance and hope for the best. We paid $180 for three days in the off-season for an economy car!

If the library is something that interests you, the Cape Coral-Lee County library should not be missed. It is located at 921 SW 39th Terrace in Cape Coral. This library is about two years old and absolutely beautiful. They have an area with at least 50 brand-new computers, all set up with Internet and printer access. The Internet access is free once you’ve provided an ID, and the printer costs $.10 per printout. The library is spacious and packed with just about anything you could need, and there is plenty of parking as well.

Sanibel is best-known for its shelling. Once you cross the “bridge,” there is a visitors center with bathrooms and an information booth, as well as charts listing the shells found in the area. You will see people with shopping bags who came to the beach solely for this reason. In fact, on the day we went, the beach was packed, but there were no chairs or towels set up. According to the visitors office, the best times to shell are early morning, at low tide, and after a storm. We found the best shells to be closer to the lighthouse toward the end of the beach. The beach offers parking, but it will cost you. Make sure to pay for a parking ticket, or you will be towed. If you are interested in learning more about shells, there is also a museum called Sanibel’s Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, and it’s open six days a week. For those people who love shelling but don’t have the time or patience to shell, there is a store called The Shell Factory, and they have a HUGE selection of shells, each more beautiful than the last. They are located off Tamiami Trail in North Fort Meyers. Expect to pay up for the really nice ones, obviously. If you should find a live shell (a fish still inside) and choose to keep it, make sure you pull the fish out and wash the shell thoroughly. If you don’t, you will regret it, because the dead fish smells like rotten eggs. It’s a perfect day or afternoon spent just shelling, lying out, relaxing, or taking a walk.

Source: http://www.igougo.com/story-s1224635-Cape_Coral-Notes_and_Thoughts_-_Cape_Coral_and_Sanibel_Florida.html

Farmer’s Market offers fresh foods, friendly atmosphere

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If one were to stroll through Cape Harbour down at the south end of Chiquita Boulevard on a Saturday morning, one would find a number of shops and restaurants to spend their time in. But, as of recently, there’s also fresh produce, seafood, jellies, flowers and even pastries and breads from vendors set up outside and around the south Cape community.

It’s called the Cape Coral Farmers Market. It’s been at Cape Harbour since May 17, and is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“I wanted to see what kind of vegetables they had,” said June Ernst, a Long Island native who moved to Cape Coral three years ago to enjoy retired life.

Tomatoes, peppers and corn are Ernst’s veggies of choice.

“I like the idea of having a local produce; it’s fresher,” she said.

Ernst said she didn’t mind the heat outside. That’s why she moved to Florida.

“It’s very nice, it’s beautiful,” she said about the atmosphere.

For Ernst, the distance is a short one; she lives near the Harbour.

“I can walk here, that’s what’s nice,” she said.

Though she admitted she took the car this time to visit a friend who was a shop owner in Cape Harbour.

Rod Fritschie, owner of Au Natural, assured the freshness and low prices — usually lower than your local supermarket, he said — of the produce.

“We do what’s in season plus the oddball stuff,” Fritschie said.

Fritschie’s personal tastes fall into the latter category; things like Litchi nuts, yellow tomatoes and watermelons, jicama root, and four different kinds of bananas (not just the yellow ones when it comes to Au Natural, Fritschie says).

Fritschie owns 56 acres of grove land and seven of organic land, and friends own 4,500 acres of organic land and 3,200 of regular grove land, used to produce the produce he offers at the Cape Coral Farmers Market, he said.

Previously, Fritschie lived in Chicago and moved to Florida after Hurricane Charlie. He’s been in wholesale for about three years.

Fritschie’s attraction to vegetables was clear.

“I eat a lot of stuff raw,” he said. “I had a greenhouse up north just to have a fresh, red tomato in the dead of winter.”

Aside from fresh vegetables there’s also fresh bakery items. Oltimes Bakery owner Fritz Linnenbach offers German pastries and breads of various kinds at the market.

Normally selling the various European delicacies at his store at 1507 S.E. 47th St., Fritz sets up every Saturday for the Farmers Market with girlfriend Heidi Linnenbach.

“It’s good for people who like to stay on the healthy side,” said Fritz.

One wouldn’t initially think pastries as being healthy, but Fritz assured all of his products are free of sugar, shortening and preservatives, and they’re all made by hand.

Pastries and bread are no joke to Fritz. He’s been in the trade since he was 14 years old in Germany — about 30 years. He’s earned two degrees for pastry and bread making and is the only one of his family to learn the trade. He managed a bakery in Germany before owning his own store with about 300 employees under him.

Fritz’s legacy, a daughter living in Germany, isn’t interested to follow in father’s footsteps. She has other interests, Fritz said.

Yet, his drive remains intact.

“It’s nice, we have a good reputation, but you need to stay here to build up clientele,” said Fritz.

Saturday was the third time Oltimes Bakery set up shop at Cape Harbour.

The store offers deli sausages and cold cuts as well as bakery items, but those items weren’t for sale at the Farmers Market.

“Because of the heat,” Fritz said.

source: www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com

Cape Coral’s taxable property values down 26 percent on average

For more information about vacation rentals and real estate please visit www.SWFloridaRentals-Team.com  Contact Christina Felgenhauer Phone: 1-239-699-1462 or email us swfloridarentals@gmail.com

Plunging property values in Cape Coral could mean lower taxes for some, a slight increase for others and a drastic cut in city services.The city’s value in the past year has dropped 26 percent, according to figures released Monday. The dive is the most dramatic in Lee County and worse than Cape officials predicted.

The numbers mean average property owners have lost over a quarter of their property’s equity and may see a similar drop in their local property tax bill. The decline also means that if the City Council doesn’t raise the tax rate this year, the city will have $26 million less to work with in next year’s budget. The drop, partly a consequence of the region’s failing housing market, will have a ripple effect through City Hall, and could impair city services.

This year, the city has already cut $11 million worth of positions and services from the budget. Officials say the reductions will styme the fire departent’s response times, cut into beautification projects and increase counter wait times at City Hall.

 

Lee County Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson Monday released preliminary property assessment figures that show an average 12.4 percent drop in value across the county. The City of Fort Myers lost less than 3 percent of its value, while Cape Coral saw the total value of its property drop 26 percent to $15.4 billion from $21 billion.
City Staff expected a decrease of 18 percent.Property values in the Matlacha/Pine Island Fire District have dropped 15 percent, leaving emergency crews there about $1 million less to work with in a budget that usually totals around $5 million.

“It’s a shock right now,” said Fire Chief Dave Bradley. “We figured we’d have a slight decrease, but nothing like this.”

The lost revenue will mean cuts, Bradley said. But where and how is still in the air.
The Cape is also staring down cuts — the extent of which are still unknown. And while the mayor and City Council members have said they expect to see cuts across the board, some areas that scored low on the council’s priorities may experience the sharpest reductions.

Council members ranked various city services by importance, giving city staff direction as they put together a budget for next year. A the top of the list of priorities were police and fire followed by transportation, parks and recreation and economic development. At the bottom of the list were facility improvements, budget management and environmental protection initiatives.

The council could raise the tax rate to offset the loss, but the mayor and council members have publicly resisted such a move.

“It would be very difficult for them (Council members) to raise the rate. And it’s going to be something they have to wrestle with,” said Steve Riggs, vice chairman of the city’s Financial Advisory Committee. “The tradeoff is going to be the level of services.”
If the council keeps the tax rate where it is next year, people who own non-residential property or those who don’t claim their Cape Coral home as their primary residence would see the biggest drop in taxes, Riggs noted. Homeowners who have been protected under the Save our Homes Amendment for years and already pay on far less than their home’s value won’t see the same savings.

If the tax rate stays the same, they would likely see a three-percent jump in their tax bills – the maximum increase allowed under the SOHA.

The city will get certified assessment numbers in July. Officials in Cape Coral, Pine Island and elsewhere have already started drafting budgets that account for shortfalls.

“Services are going to have to be investigated,” Riggs said.

 

 

 

Source: www.news-press.com

German fugitive caught in Southwest Florida

CAPE CORAL: The manhunt for a German fugitive ended Tuesday in Cape Coral - three years after it started.

The search for Hans Bauer ended when U.S. Marshals arrested him at his Cape Coral home. Bauer’s family says he’s been living in Cape Coral since 1999.

He’s been wanted in Germany since 2005, accused of forging documents and defrauding banks there.

A federal court complaint states Bauer “provided the financing banks with untruthful information about the financial status of his clients.”

It goes on to state “Bauer submitted copies of false annual financial statements” and “also submitted false tax documents.”

According to the complaint, all of it was to get his clients large bank loans they weren’t qualified for. Bauer would then use some of that money to pay himself commission.

Tuesday, at Bauer’s first federal court appearance, the judge set an extradition hearing for sometime next week. Until then, he’ll remain in custody in the Lee County Jail.

© 2008 by NBC2 NEWS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Locals beat the heat at Cape Water Park; long weekend, longer lines

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The holiday weekend attracted capacity crowds at Cape Coral’s Sun Splash Family Water park as locals looked for a way to cool off and be entertained without going too far from home. Hot weather and sunny skies drove near record crowds to the city-owned park as late May felt more like mid-July.

“Earlier today we had a line all the way out to staff parking,” Tyanna Cardoso, a park guest services employee, said Saturday. “On Memorial Day the past two years we have been so busy. We go right to capacity.”

“Since we got new slides, we have more capacity and we have had more people,” added fellow guest services worker Alison Morris.

While traditional attractions like the Lazy River and the Electric Slide attracted plenty of park-goers, the new five-story high speed slides continued to be the flavor of the season.

Residents waited more than half an hour, with lines stretching more than two stories high, to get on the extreme attraction, which average a five second descent. But the long lines dissuaded few from making the long climb up, so eager were park-goers to take the breathtaking plunge.

“That’s some crazy stuff right there,” said Trafalgar Middle School student Anthony Montero, who screamed as he flew down Thunderbump.

Lifeguards who have been on duty for more than one season agreed that the attraction is bringing many more people into the park, even though it can now handle an additional 300 to 400 people.

“There are more days when the park is maxed out because everyone wants to ride the new slides,” said lifeguard Nick Festa.

The new attraction, which cost the city $1.6 million, was promoted by supporters as a way to get Sun Splash on the map and to compete with major water parks such as Blizzard Beach. While accomplishing that goal remains to be seen, some who hit the park this weekend may have used it as a substitute for other theme parks in the region.

Gateway Charter High student Matt Taleho usually takes two-hour trips to Busch Gardens with his friends during the holidays, but his buddies and he decided to hit Sun Splash this Memorial Day weekend.

“There’s nothing else around here to do,” he said. “We didn’t want to go to the beach, so we came here.”

Cape Coral resident Kevin Timmerman lounged around Sun Splash on Saturday to celebrate his son’s 12th birthday and saw firsthand how many people want to get into the park at its opening each day.

“The lines are extremely long and it takes forever to get in,” he said, pointing out that everyone comes early to scope out the best spots to relax.

While he believes the prices are a little on the high side and the sheer volume of park-goers is a bit much, he said that it beats heading to Tampa or Miami given the price of gas.

“Why drive there when you have Sun Splash here?” chimed in lifeguard Devin Hill. “It’s more local and you get the same entertainment.”

Source: http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com