Applications for ‘Hooked on Education’ scholarships available

March 19, 2026

The Matlacha Hookers have announced that the 2026 scholarship grants are now available, not only for college, but for the trade/technical schools, first responder career and/or continuing education. In addition to continuing their tradition of awarding scholarships to deserving students, the Hookers have also announced two additional locally sponsored memorial scholarships. First, the Charles (Kim) Gerz memorial scholar specifically for the trades and the Mary Lou Sharpe Memorial Scholarship. The required qualifications to apply for the scholarships include a high school diploma or equivalent and one of the following: 1. Former student of Pine Island Elementary School. 2. A current ...

Fishers of Men Lutheran Church to hold digital defense workshop

Fishers of Men Lutheran Church invites island residents to the church Friday, March 27, at 1 p.m., for a clear, practical workshop focused on protecting your identity and your finances in an evolving digital world. Designed specifically for the congregation and appropriate for the community, this session moves past the basics of social media to focus on security and scam prevention. As scanners increasingly use fake profiles to impersonate friends and church leadership, it is more important than ever to know exactly what to look for. Justin Hawkins, the church web master, will skip the “how to” of setting up accounts and dive straight into digital defense Fishers of ...

Southwest Florida to feel impact if Haitians lose TPS protection

Pine Island Golden Egg Hunt March 28 at Phillips Park

The Pine Island Golden Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Bobby Holloway Foundation, will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 28, at Phillips Park, 5675 Sesame Drive, Bokeelia. This free event is for children ages 11-17. Participants will receive a candy bag and will have the chance to find golden eggs with special prizes. For more information call 239-533-7200 or visit www.leeparks.org/events.

Mullethead Outfitters becoming Pine Island trendsetters

Pine Island Elementary receives Campus Serve Day from Cape Christian Fellowship

March 19, 20261 min read

Pine Island Elementary received a generous gift of service on March 7 as volunteers from Cape Christian Fellowship hosted a Campus Serve Day as part of its community outreach efforts. The dedicated group spent the day improving the school grounds through a variety of projects. Volunteers ...

Deadline this Friday for Winn-Dixie food drive to benefit Pine Island Food Pantry

March 19, 2026 2 min read

The Pine Island Food Pantry’s three-week-long food drive with the help of the Pine Island Winn-Dixie is drawing to a close. The purpose of the food drive is to support local families in need this Easter holiday. For the drive, Winn-Dixie customers can purchase $15 pre-filled bags full of non-perishable items needed by the pantry from now until March 20. The goal is to sell more than 400 bags to help stock the pantry and meet the needs of local families. Customers can also contribute by donating cash or additional non-perishable items, such as canned vegetables and tuna, boxed pasta and mac and cheese, dried beans and instant potatoes. To wrap up the drive, Winn-Dixie will ...

St. John’s Episcopal Church to hold Zentangle art class Monday

This Monday, March 23, from 1-4 p.m., Mary Ragains will lead the third art class in the series of butterfly paintings at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Butterflies are a symbol of hope, transformation, love and reassurance, often appearing at difficult or transitional times to remind us that we can receive new life and spiritual change from struggle (caterpillar) to beauty (butterfly). In this class, you’ll not only learn a new skill, create a piece of art for yourself using the Zentangle method, but also create a gift for a resident of Brookdale Senior Living in Cape Coral. Over the past few years, St. John’s Episcopal Church women have served Brookdale residents by sending ...

SWFL News

Southwest Florida to feel impact if Haitians lose TPS protection

March 19, 2026 5 min read

For the second time in less than a year, Haitians living in the U.S. are facing possible deportation. Advocacy groups say they should retain Temporary Protection Status as it is still too dangerous for them to return to Haiti. Last July, when it appeared TPS would terminate in September, it ...

Allergy season in Southwest Florida? It’s pretty much all year round

March 19, 2026 4 min read

With Florida’s subtropical climate supporting continuous pollen production, Southwest Florida residents battle allergy symptoms year around. “Peak allergy season in Southwest Florida typically occurs year-round with several overlapping peaks,” said Dr. Elvin Mendez, Lee Physician Group, ...

ECHO Global Food and Farm Festival a learning experience

March 17, 2026 5 min read

The annual ECHO Global Food and Farm Festival returned to its roots this past weekend. After several years of expansion to the point where is became a weeklong event, it retuned a single day event where ECHO opened its farm to the public and featured tours, food tastings, and workshops for ...