Meet the candidates running for three Sanibel City Council seats
By TIFFANY REPECKI / trepecki@breezenewspapers.com - | Feb 9, 2021
Sanibel voters will have several choices to pick from in the city’s upcoming March 2 election.
Six people are campaigning to take up the seats currently held by Mayor Mick Denham, who is not seeking re-election, and Councilmembers Chauncey Goss and Jerry Muench, who were appointed late last year to replace former Mayor Kevin Ruane and Councilmember Jason Maughan for the interim.
The pool of candidates includes Mary Bondurant, Scott Crater, Tim Drobnyk, John Henshaw, Jason Maughan and Mike Miller. Elections held for Sanibel City Council seats are non-partisan races.
Godsea appointed to lead Southwest Florida refuge complex
By REFUGE / DDWS - | Jan 21, 2021
PHOTO PROVIDED
Kevin Godsea is taking over management of the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge as project leader of a newly formed Southwest Florida refuge complex.
Having filled the role of acting refuge manager at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge since 2019, Kevin Godsea is stepping up to the position of permanent project leader at the new Southwest Florida National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It includes Florida Panther, Ten Thousand Islands, Pine Island, Matlacha Pass, Island Bay and Caloosahatchee NWRs. Godsea has been serving as refuge manager for Florida Panther and Ten Thousand Islands for 10 years.
Refuge’s free lecture series set to kick off
By REFUGE / DDWS - | Jan 6, 2021
PHOTO PROVIDED
Photographer-artists Clyde and Niki Butcher will present images from the Everglades on Feb. 4.
The 17th annual “Ding” Darling Friday Lecture Series is evolving with the times and persisting distance protocols by moving to a larger venue, The Community House on Sanibel. The free lectures will occur on five select days with one 10 a.m. lecture per day.
Running Jan. 29 to March 19, the series will feature photographers Clyde and Niki Butcher, “Feather Thief” author Kirk W. Johnson, and eminent authorities on water conservation, eagles and owls.
Tarpon tourney sold out, but wait list available
By REFUGE / DDWS - | Dec 23, 2020
ED ANDERSON
The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge reported that the Ninth Annual “Ding” Darling & Doc Ford’s Tarpon Tournament will take place on May 14, having been postponed from the 2020 date due to COVID-19. That means the prize purse is twice the original size, as all 55 teams donated their 2020 fees and will kick in fees again for 2021.
Although the tournament is sold out, teams can still add their names to a waiting list by contacting April Boehnen at aprilb@dingdarlingsociety.org. The entry fee for a new team of four is $1,000.
‘Ding’ artist-in-residence program ready to kick off
By REFUGE / DDWS - | Dec 23, 2020
PHOTO PROVIDED
The art of Rachel Pierce reflects her love of sea and nature.
Beginning Jan. 5, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge’s 2021 artist in residence Rachel Pierce will kick off a series of free biweekly, plein-air art demonstrations and monthly Friday Art Journal Walks. The refuge and the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge support the season of nature-art events, which will also include visits to underserved youth organizations and a grand finale exhibition.
Through April, Pierce will do her popup demonstrations along Wildlife Drive on the first and third Tuesdays and Thursdays of each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to stop and chat with the artist in a safe and distanced manner while watching her create her brand of whimsical impressionistic art inspired by sea- and bird-life.