House Flipping

Real estate rebounding with the help of quick turnarounds


It comes down to this question: Can real estate investors flip homes successfully through the second half of 2013 without flipping out of business, or are the evolving markets on both the southeast and southwest coasts increasingly perilous for quick-buck ambition?The answers may be both yes and yes, according to Realtors and investors alike in the distinctive and sometimes dissimilar […]

Super men: Naples-based captains have ties to ‘Man of Steel’




The ocean was so rough that some members of the film crew were puking over the side of the boat as the vessel creaked and rocked precariously, 30-foot-high waves flooding the deck. And Capt. Lance Julian was happy, because that’s what the script — and the director — had called for. The scene occurs fairly early in the 143-minute “Man […]

The pointed stick




There’s a photo of Mark Twain hard at work that reveals how difficult it is for anybody to write, even a genius. His face is cast in careworn struggle, and for good reason. Writing is like driving nails with the wrong hand, or walking a mile of summer swamp, or sinking 100 fence posts in rocky country that rises 1,000 […]

Why President Obama became a snoop




Before Barack Obama became president, he reveled in the irresponsibility of his powerlessness. He could denounce Bush administration counterterrorism initiatives from a glorious position of civil-libertarian purity and posit the need to strike a perfect balance “between privacy and security.” Then he got elected president, and the mere posturing had to end. He had to grow up. Invested with responsibility […]

Terror bytes: Edward Snowden and the architecture of oppression




Edward Snowden revealed himself recently as the whistleblower responsible for perhaps the most significant release of secret government documents in U.S. history. The former CIA staffer and analyst for the private intelligence consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton spoke to journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Barton Gellman in Hong Kong, providing convincing evidence that the U.S. government, primarily the National […]

Making a difference: Dreamers mentoring dreamers




“Wonder is what sets us ap art from other life forms. No other species wonders about the meaning of existence or the c omplexity of the universe as themselves.” — Herbert Boyer. We each have direction and goals. Using our enthusiasm and dedication, how we approach our goals determines how soon, if ever, we attain them. When we were children, […]

Save the date: Summer Ball coming up July 27



The Summer Ball, presented by the Fred Lang Foundation to benefit Charlotte Behavioral Health Care, will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 27. The annual event is the signature Fred Lang Foundation fundraiser for CBHC, the Charlotte County organization that benefits local children, adolescents and families in urgent need of crisis counseling, mental health counseling and/or substance abuse addiction […]

Kiwanis shoe project kicks off with donation centers



Kays-Ponger & Uselton and Lemon Bay Funeral Homes and Cremation Services are participating in the annual Kiwanis Shoes For Kids Project, collecting new sneakers for students in Charlotte County public schools. The focus of this project is to collect new tennis shoes for children in need and then distribute them to schools in the Charlotte County Public School System at […]

Kiwanis Foundation awards scholarships



Dr. Jeffrey Allbritten, president of Edison State College, addressed 32 Charlotte County students as they received a total of $40,500 in scholarship money awarded by the Kiwanis Foundation of Charlotte County. “We very much appreciate the support of our local Kiwanis clubs and the community as whole, which enables the foundation to assist such terrific, deserving students,” said Kiwanis Foundation […]

Local AAUW awards 2013 scholarships



The Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte Branch of AAUW recently awarded two education scholarships to local students. The 2013 scholarships went to Nikki Zahora, a nursing major at Florida Gulf Coast University; and Elisa Pinero, a student in the nursing program at Edison State College. The group’s scholarships are earmarked for Charlotte County women who have had an interruption in their post […]