History of the Pine Island Eagle

Serving Pine Island for over 30 years, the Pine Island Eagle has come a long way over time, though its focus has remained the same: delivering the news of Pine Island.

The first issue was published by the Breeze Corporation and delivered to Pine Island homes on April 21, 1976. It consisted of 12 pages with black and white photos at a cost of $.10 per issue.

Over time, the Eagle went from its small beginning to evolve into a publication that averages 28 pages, with many color photos. It is now home-delivered with its sister publication, the Lee County Shopper, free of charge.

The most recent change to the Eagle was a facelift to the front page and the layout of contents. The redesign emphasized the mission of the Eagle staff, recommitting to delivering the news and information that directly impacts the Greater Pine Island and Matlacha communities.

Over the years top stories have included such events as the opening of the Fisherman's Co-op in 1976, the infamous net ban in 1995, and the ravaging of the island delivered at the hand of Hurricane Charley in 2004.

According to Sally Tapager, president of the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce, the Eagle is not only important to residents, but businesses as well. "The Eagle is our only resource for notification about meetings and what is happening with various petitions for development on the island. You simply cannot find that information on a regular basis in any other of the area newspapers. Not only is this information important to residents, but much of what goes on here affects businesses as well. The Eagle is our critical link to what is important and is definitely the pulse of Pine Island," said Tapager.

Looking to the future, the Pine Island Eagle will continue to grow while keeping with the longtime tradition of providing community news to island families, visitors and businesses all over Greater Pine Island.