ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
A Punta Gorda conglomerate recently acquired Collier Enterprises, a Naples-based real estate investment and development firm founded in 1976 by grandsons of Barron Gift Collier Sr., the namesake of Collier County. The Tarpon Blue Family of Companies, which owns and operates a variety of entities that focus on the acquisition and management of agricultural, development and natural resource assets across the nation, purchased Collier Enterprises in early October for an undisclosed amount, according to a company statement. Collier Enterprises manages a broad portfolio of businesses engaged in real estate investment and development, agricultural operations and private equity investments. Following the sales process between the companies’ shareholders, Collier Enterprises’ management, corporate entities and names of all operations will remain the same, said Ken Smith, president and CEO of Tarpon Blue Companies. Ken Smith, Tarpon Blue President and CEO “While Tarpon Blue’s acquisition will bring no great change to (Collier Enterprises’) diverse and storied portfolio of companies and assets, we recognize the important responsibilities before us. For both the transition and future, we are committed to serving as responsible stewards of the remarkable legacy created and carried out for more than a century by the Collier family and, in the same manner, affirm our responsibility to the environment and all communities affected by this transition,” Smith said. “Our strong heritage in agriculture, and history of successful and responsible land and resource management and development, will ensure that the assets, companies and employees will continue to be strongly supported through the highest standards.” Miles C. Collier and Barron G. Collier II founded Collier Enterprises 46 years ago. Originally conceived as a real estate development firm, the local company grew significantly and became more diversified in subsequent decades. “While we are all incredibly proud of our family’s stewardship of these lands and properties across a storied history, we wish the new owners positive results,” said Miles C. Collier. “We sincerely hope they will enjoy building a legacy with these properties in their own way.” Christian Spilker will continue in his leadership role as president of Collier Enterprises. “Although ownership is changing, this transaction ensures continuity of both the management and development of those assets,” Spilker said. “This is a positive step for all stakeholders in (Collier Enterprises), and I would like to thank the exiting shareholders for their immeasurable contribution over decades to the communities of Southwest Florida and beyond.” Smith, formerly chief operating officer and executive vice president for Alico Inc., has known Spilker and others at Collier Enterprises for many years so the entity-based sale transpired organically. “We all had worked together as large landowners over time and just had known each other,” he said. “We worked on it for a while and closed it (Oct. 6) actually.” The sale will not affect Collier Enterprises’ plans to develop new communities between Golden Gate Estates and Ave Maria in rural Collier County. In fact, plans for the Town of Big Cypress and its neighboring villages of Bellmar, Longwater and Rivergrass made the deal more attractive, Smith said. “They had a tremendous set of assets across the board and definitely the villages is a part of that,” he said. “That family has done a tremendous job in everything they’ve done over time, clearly, so that surely was one of the attractive pieces.” Collier Enterprises made business headlines last fall with major sales of two of its most well-known properties in the Naples area. Naples-based Hoffmann Family of Companies acquired Old Collier Golf Club, an 18-hole championship course on nearly 400 acres in North Naples, for more than $45 million. The previous week, tech billionaire Michael S. Dell’s MSD Partners purchased the exclusive Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club on 28 waterfront acres in Naples for $16.625 million. All of Collier Enterprises’ employees wanted to join Tarpon Blue, Smith said. “They have a talented team. They’ve done a lot of work getting it to where it’s at. We intend to let them continue down the path that they’ve been on and let them do that,” he said. Christian Spilker, Collier Enterprises President “The reality is what we really want to do here is grow the platform from here and look at other investments across the U.S. that may fit in this kind of space because that’s what we’ve all done our whole career. (Spilker) is going to lead that effort and be instrumental in everything we do. It should be business as normal from their perspective and the market’s perspective. Nothing’s going to change there.” Although the corporate acquisition of Collier Enterprises closed the week after Hurricane Ian made landfall, the deal had been in the works for months. “We started negotiations on this deal some months ago and completion has happened at a time of great trauma for many in Florida,” said Smith, whose Fort Myers home was damaged by the hurricane. “Our thoughts and prayers are with every Floridian who has lost loved ones and experienced loss or damage to property and possessions in this unprecedented event for Southwest Florida.” In addition to Collier Enterprises Management, the Tarpon Blue Family of Companies includes Tarpon Blue Agriculture BRP LLC, Tarpon Blue Land & Resource Management Inc., Tarpon Blue Silver King I LLLP, Tarpon Blue Real Estate Services LLC, Tarpon Blue Insurance Advisors LLC and Babcock Ranch Eco-Tours.