Fort Myers News-Press
A Naples family has donated millions to a local environmental group that’s been a part of the local community since 1964.
John and Carol Walter gifted a $25 million grant to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida recently, enough to completely redo the organization’s nature center while also funding key work in the future.
“It’s the largest gift in our history and is one of the larger gifts in our community,” said Rob Moher, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “It’s a magnificent gift, particularly for a conservation organization. It’s probably unheard of, but it’s actually a grant and it comes down to their generosity and their family’s feeling to support our community and our mission. This was a family decision, a generational decision to leave a legacy.”
John Walter served on the Conservancy board of director for years.
“Making a commitment like this is putting a lot of trust into our vision,” Moher said. “I felt very proud and I look forward to executing this over the next five years.”
Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
Charles Runnells | Naples Daily News
If you see a lantern-jawed dude wearing a hat and fake mustache at next week’s Cars on 5th, don’t get your hopes up: It’s not Jay Leno.
He promises.
The former The Tonight Show host and famous car collector has heard the stories about him going undercover at car shows. But they’re simply not true, he says.
“I don’t go in disguise,” he says. “I just go as myself.”
He’ll be doing exactly that next week at the Naples Automotive Experience, the 21st annual event that includes the popular car show Cars on 5th on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples.
No fake mustaches: People can see Leno’s famous, smooth-shaved face performing stand-up comedy at Hertz Arena (Thursday, Feb. 6), attending a sold-out display of curated cars (Friday, Feb. 7) and likely visiting the main event, Cars on 5th (Saturday, Feb. 8).
Read the full article and interview with Jay Leno on naplesnews.com.
Are you looking for a home in the Naples, Florida area? Contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Kate Cimini| Fort Myers News-Press
Most nights, the residents in and around Kings Lake, Naples, listen to screaming, crying, and howling.
All because of a few lonely limpkins.
Known as Florida’s loudest bird, several limpkins haunt the shores of Kings Lake each year, searching for a mate. Once considered endangered, limpkins are a version of a rail, roughly the size of a heron, and are mostly brown and black, with white and yellow feathers peeking out between.
The limpkin has a long, downward curved beak, which it uses to snag its favorite snails from the bottom of freshwater marshes and lakes.
According to the National Audubon Society, the limpkin is a wading bird with no close relatives. It feeds largely on freshwater apple snails in Florida and southern Georgia, and spends most of its time alone.
Naples neighbors of the limpkins say they are generally easy neighbors. They spend most of their days in the tall pines that dot the skirts of King’s Lake, and residents say they don’t have to take special precautions to avoid bothering the birds — but the birds don’t have the same compunctions.
Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
J. Kyle Foster | Naples Daily News
Bonita Estero Rail to Trail is an $82 million-plus dream but with a plan.
Communities around the 14.9-mile Bonita-Estero rail corridor are committing their support, though some not their money yet, for a public pedestrian and biking trail, nicknamed BERT.
In February, after four years of negotiations, Seminole Gulf Railway agreed to sell Bonita-Estero rail corridor for the trail project.
Lee County, its municipalities, and Collier County, if it chooses, have until March 2026 to come up with the $82 million brokered by the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that works to connect people to outdoor spaces.
Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
Contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to find a home in Bonita, Estero, Naples, Florida.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
City council unanimously approved a more than $24.6 million contract to rebuild the Naples Pier.
The approval came Wednesday, a little over two years after Hurricane Ian destroyed the iconic landmark on the Gulf of Mexico.
The contract includes a roughly $1.17 million contingency to “accommodate any unforeseen repairs or construction that may be required to complete the project,” equal to 5% of the bid price of nearly $23.46 million.
The city is still assessing impacts from Hurricane Helene, which did further damage last week to what remained of the pier.
Read the full article and see photos on naplesnews.com.
Chad Gillis | Fort Myers News-Press
Hurricane Idalia brought hundreds of flamingos from Mexico to the eastern United State just over a year ago, and it appears some of the birds are lingering in the Sunshine State.
Florida has long had a love affair with American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber). Our lottery tickets boast the image of a flamingo, although some researchers doubt the bird actually lived here in large numbers.
There was even a town named Flamingo, which now exists as a major entry point into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.
And now it seems the birds may be here to stay after being swept up by Hurricane Idalia and blown here.
Since Idalia, Florida has a least a few dozen of the giant pink birds, mostly strung along coastal preserves and undeveloped mangroves islands.
Standing about 5 feet tall and weighing up to 8 pounds, flamingos are distributed across much of the Caribbean.
Last summer the birds were strung out across much of the eastern United States, in places like Ohio ― more than 1,000 miles away from their home Mexico.
See photos and read where the flamingos have been seen on naplesnews.com.
Are you looking for a home in Southwest Florida? Contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 for more information and to view homes in Naples, Bonita Springs and Marco Island.
