Heroin Use On Rise




THREE DEAD OVERNIGHT IN DELRAY Beach. A Collier County bust worth more than $120,000. Fifteen out of 21 group therapy patients in Lee County wrestling with a powerful compulsion that has taken control of their lives.These are all glimpses of the heroin epidemic washing over Florida. Meanwhile, state officials and rehabilitation experts are scrambling to address the wave of former […]

Snip snip for stray cats, then back to the neighborhood




Feline lives matter, including tens of thousands of feral cats that are estimated to roam free through Southwest Florida neighborhoods. In years past, nearly all unsocialized kitties that were trapped and sent to shelters were euthanized, but that’s changing. Animal rights advocates and animal control officials say that killing stray cats is not only less humane, but less effective in […]

For the Good




Do you get discouraged by bad news? By shootings here, bombings there and a variety of train wrecks everywhere else? I don’t, because I have a powerful antidote. Each day I spend at least a few minutes hanging around individuals afflicted with a single prominent ambition: to do something For the Good. Even if I just hear about them I […]

Hillary’s gun-control non sequiturs




Hillary Clinton has a new gun agenda that is the same as the old gun agenda. We all are appalled and heartsick over the country’s mass shootings, which aren’t any less shocking for their routine occurrence. But that doesn’t mean we know how to stop them. The Pavlovian Democratic reaction is to offer a raft of familiar gun-control proposals, whether […]

Breaking bad when ‘stuff happens’




There is new evidence of climate change and it is not just affecting the weather we normally expect this time of year. Instead of a slow descent into shorter days, we have entered into the twilight zone where the chaotic season of “stuff happens” dominates the atmospherics of daily life. Thank Jeb Bush for giving us an expression that so […]

‘It was before your time’ — Truth, legend and the blurred line




When people move into an area, they see it as it is, thinking that’s always been that way. There is much more to places and even people of the past. Let’s look at some of our local history. Charlotte Harbor Town is located on the north side of the Peace River after you cross the U.S. 41 bridge. Discovered in […]

Buying a puppy

Find your perfect pup by asking the right questions


If you’re buying a puppy for the first time, or if it has been a few years since you last acquired one, you might be unsure of where to begin. A lot has changed in the puppy-purchasing world in the past decade. Whether you are looking for a purebred pup, a “designer” dog or one from a shelter, you are […]

Pets of the Week



These animals are available for adoption at the Animal Welfare League, 3519 Drance St., Port Charlotte. All animals are microchipped, neutered and current with their shots, except rabies. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. To view adoptable pets, visit awlshelter.org. These pets are available for adoption at the Suncoast Humane Society, 6781 San Casa […]

Creative organizing

The right (brain) way of putting things in order


When it comes to organization, one size doesn’t fit all. That’s especially true if you’re an artist. If you’ve ever read books about organizing and tried following them, only to grow frustrated, don’t worry. There are good reasons why that happens. One, the books were probably written by left-brainers, for whom organizing is as natural as breathing. They’re linear thinkers […]

Visual Arts Center to host demo day Oct. 17



The Visual Arts Center will conduct a free demo day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. VAC instructors will be demonstrating pottery, jewelry-making, watercolor, basket weaving and other art disciplines. Visitors will have the opportunity to observe and ask questions. Information will be available about the arts organization’s fine art classes that begin every six weeks at […]