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Opinion

Guest commentary: Legislative session adjourns

After a 45-day legislative session extension, following the contentious 60-day regular session, the Legislature adjourned last week passing a $115.1 billion budget. Although this budget is $3 billion smaller than the current state budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to find additional savings ...

Three afternoons to remember

To the editor: “What am I doing here?” “What is this to me?” I kept asking myself these questions as I marched with 75,000 Latinos in the hot Florida sun from the “pulga” or flea market on Ortiz Avenue to Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers. As a retired 75-year-old school ...

Hoping trees planted on causeway

To the editor: I am happy to see that the Sanibel Causeway is back open. Right before Hurricane Ian, my dad and I both helped clean the causeway for International Coastal Cleanup day. It was sad to see so much destruction the next week after that. I hope in the future that they will plant ...

‘Ding’ cartoon of the month

Summertime is no-fertilizer time to prevent rains from washing nutrients into rivers and streams and causing algal blooms and pollution. Today considered a conservation soothsayer, Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling shined a light on the malpractice of dumping waste into our water sources with this ...

In The Garden: Sweet almond verbena smells so sweet

Only a small number of plants provide the long-blooming season of Aloysia virgata (sweet almond). Part of the Verbenaceae family, it is also known as the incense bush. Given full sun, they bloom virtually year-round in Southwest Florida and provide a delightful fragrance that is sure to be a ...

Faces on Faith: Resting in and unto God

On June 1, I began a three-month sabbatical. My church graciously wrote it into my contract when they hired me five years ago. Little did I know then how timely that sabbatical would be in the aftermath of COVID's disruption and Hurricane Ian's devastation. And don't forget our two bonus ...