tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77243704820799374902012-03-21T09:20:31.773-07:00This blog serves as a source of information on what's going on in the Cape. We're putting the spotlight on the great things that are happening in this city, as well as keeping an eye on the goings-on of our elected officials.Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.comBlogger373125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-35731634049651065672011-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:002011-04-02T14:11:09.926-07:002011-04-02T14:11:09.926-07:00

Don't forget! Starting tomorrow, Spotlight will move to spotlightoncapecoral.com

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-51365017902841302452011-04-02T13:13:00.000-07:002011-04-02T13:13:47.785-07:002011-04-02T13:13:47.785-07:00

Cape Coral City Council Action summary A combined construction/forensic audit of the Southeast 1 and Southwest 4 and 5 UEP zones using Kessler International and RL Townsend passed the Council by a 5-3 vote. Council members Pete Brandt, Chris Chulakes-Leetz, Bill Deile, Erick Kuehn and John Sullivan voted YES. Council members Derrick Donnell, Marty McClain and Kevin McGrail voted NO. Ordinance

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-89701903505159242082011-04-02T06:16:00.000-07:002011-04-02T06:20:32.773-07:002011-04-02T06:20:32.773-07:00

Jaylen Watkins The Florida Gators did not wait long to put Jaylen Watkins to some use. The former Seahawk appeared in 10 games in his freshman season at Florida, primarily on punt coverage. Watkins stepped up when he had a chance on the big stage. In the Gators' 37-24 win over Penn State in the Hall of Fame Bowl, Watkins had his best collegiate game with three tackles. Florida opens the 2011

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-78036866724689583452011-04-01T21:34:00.000-07:002011-04-01T21:34:24.400-07:002011-04-01T21:34:24.400-07:00

Emily LaBarbera Former Mariner cross country runner Emily LaBarbera ran her first collegiate postseason meet to finish her sophomore season at Florida Southern last fall. In the NCAA South Regional, a 6k race in Huntsville, Ala., she finished 67th with a time of 25:51. That was actually a letdown for LaBarbera, who was the Moccasins' top runner in every other meet during the 2010 season. Her

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-30475599619502777942011-04-01T19:06:00.000-07:002011-04-01T19:06:11.377-07:002011-04-01T19:06:11.377-07:00

March was a big month for us, as we saw the largest monthly total since we started the blog. There were some breaking stories, so that has a lot to do with it. MWH president responds to Sullivan allegations: MWH president Joseph Adams responded to John Sullivan's statements about his company with some statements of his own. This article is the third most-read in the history of the blog. I

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-54153036071643209102011-04-01T15:52:00.000-07:002011-04-01T15:52:09.669-07:002011-04-01T15:52:09.669-07:00

Starting Sunday, Spotlight on Cape Coral will be moving to its new home, spotlightoncapecoral.com. With a new site comes new content, but the same smiling faces behind the keyboard. More importantly, we are proud to announce that the new Spotlight will feature an all-encompassing community calendar. We sift through as many calendars as we can find to put all the Cape's events into one

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-68019411139015480822011-03-31T19:35:00.000-07:002011-03-31T19:35:22.781-07:002011-03-31T19:35:22.781-07:00

Fans of the New York Yankees continue to revel in the new Yankee Stadium, a monument to American excess dominating the scene of the South Bronx. But for the kids who lost their neighborhood park for the sake of corporate welfare, the wait for a place to play ball is entering its fifth year. When construction began on the new stadium (a.k.a. the House that Giuliani Built) in 2006, a city park was

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-70758628561152307232011-03-31T14:06:00.000-07:002011-03-31T14:08:39.201-07:002011-03-31T14:08:39.201-07:00

Spencer Boyd Former Cape Coral football player Spencer Boyd redshirted his freshman year at South Florida. He is set to play at wide receiver this fall. The 2011 season opener should be interesting for Boyd, as the Bulls will travel to Notre Dame Sept. 3. Boyd initially signed with the Irish and enrolled at the school before transferring to USF.

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-89117609203230703802011-03-30T14:06:00.000-07:002011-03-30T14:06:53.345-07:002011-03-30T14:06:53.345-07:00

Cape Coral resident and CERT volunteer Betty Dill has become a regular fixture at the podium during Public Input at City Council meetings. Unfortunately, her pointed questions are often ignored. On Monday, Council members addressed the guy who suggested luring Japan earthquake victims to Cape Coral ("Washed out by the tsunami? Then come dry off in the Florida sun!"), but the most Dill got was an

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-11355534350607243572011-03-29T19:03:00.000-07:002011-03-29T19:38:32.278-07:002011-03-29T19:38:32.278-07:00

The City Council created a new Utilities Department Monday night. We have developed a chart to show the new department's organizational structure. Yep, that's it. According to the ordinance, which passed the Council by a 6-2 vote, the city code now reads that there is a Utilities Department. Nothing else. How they voted:YES: Brandt*, Chulakes-Leetz, Deile**, Kuehn, McGrail, Sullivan NO:

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-87552333818859263412011-03-29T14:51:00.000-07:002011-03-29T17:04:36.392-07:002011-03-29T17:04:36.392-07:00

It has happened. Now all we can do is wait - and hope it doesn't cost us what we fear it will cost us. By a 5-3 vote Monday night, the City Council voted to go forward with two audits of Utility Expansion Project sites completed by MWH Global Corporation. They will cost the city's ratepayers $200,000. YES: Brandt*, Chulakes-Leetz, Deile**, Kuehn, Sullivan NO: Donnell, McClain, McGrail John

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-3097240560667480462011-03-28T20:10:00.000-07:002011-03-28T20:10:50.900-07:002011-03-28T20:10:50.900-07:00

Tre Boston Former North Fort Myers Red Knight Tre Boston is off to a good start as a defensive back at North Carolina. As a freshman last fall, he immediately made an impact, playing in 10 of the Tar Heels' 13 games, including the Music City Bowl. On the season, Boston had 32 tackles, including 9 in a 44-10 win over Virginia in October. He picked off a pass and forced two fumbles in the season

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-68296167354287447952011-03-28T17:54:00.001-07:002011-03-28T17:54:45.682-07:002011-03-28T17:54:45.682-07:00

Commenting...

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-13869065984253291922011-03-28T13:48:00.000-07:002011-03-28T13:48:45.310-07:002011-03-28T13:48:45.310-07:00

Former Commission candidate linked to attack website: Jessica did some digging on the mysterious website defaming the malcontents. We were both surprised to find a former County Commission candidate's email address on one of the links. Props to the thousands who are helping with the Japan earthquake: This isn't about a Cape Coral issue, but I do like sending my support to those who deserve it.

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-37363091987456262332011-03-28T12:50:00.000-07:002011-03-28T12:50:21.008-07:002011-03-28T12:50:21.008-07:00

Here are the results from the two-week-old-yet-still-revelant web poll. When asked if Gary King should have included a requirement for a professional engineer's license for the new utilities director position, 62 percent of you said yes, but there is already somebody in mind for the job. 36 percent said yes, because a department should not be run by somebody with no credentials. That means that

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-80069814831844529472011-03-26T21:12:00.000-07:002011-03-26T21:12:05.064-07:002011-03-26T21:12:05.064-07:00

Florida House of Representatives House Bill 1021, which prevents state, county and city agencies from deducting union dues from paychecks and restricts unions' ability to contribute to political campaigns, passed the House by a 73-40 vote. Representatives Gary Aubuchon and Ken Roberson voted YES. Senate Bill 736, which establishes teacher merit pay, passed the House by an 80-39 vote. Aubuchon

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-25701529800841956042011-03-26T12:08:00.000-07:002011-03-26T12:08:42.773-07:002011-03-26T12:08:42.773-07:00

After cross country runners Jesse Appelbaum and Zach Stackhouse finished at Ida Baker, they moved on to college as teammates with the Tampa Spartans. They competed as freshmen this past fall. Jesse Appelbaum Zach Stackhouse Stackhouse's best performance of the season was a 31st place finish of 27 minutes and 29 seconds at the Florida Southern College Invite, an 8k meet. His best place

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-32592267761165510102011-03-25T21:12:00.000-07:002011-04-01T07:12:40.045-07:002011-04-01T07:12:40.045-07:00

Wood beams strewn about like matchsticks highlight the devastation caused by the 2011 Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake and its tsunami. (U.S. Navy photo) It's been a while since my last post, and for that I apologize. I've been working on this. There is no need for me to go into the details of the 2011 Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake that struck off the coast of Sendai, Japan on March 11. I'm

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-83032768762238251972011-03-25T18:57:00.000-07:002011-03-25T19:05:16.755-07:002011-03-25T19:05:16.755-07:00

By Jessica Montrose The email address of Former Lee County School Board member Dick Ripp appears on a link on a defamatory web site about Get Out and Vote... Take Back the Cape!. The web site is currently down, but the search engine Bing cached the site as it appeared on March 11th. The link that reads, "READ WHAT THE UNIONS ARE DOING IN WISCONSIN" forwards to a email newsletter article. At

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09456995625923993848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-47212598308539257352011-03-25T18:26:00.000-07:002011-03-25T18:26:23.677-07:002011-03-25T18:26:23.677-07:00

Keep your eyes peeled. We have a breaking story on the way within the hour. And it involves someone who has held political office.

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-15915274896004870542011-03-17T11:26:00.000-07:002011-03-17T11:26:48.034-07:002011-03-17T11:26:48.034-07:00

Check out tonight's CBS Evening News at 6:30. They are running a feature on a project that Oasis Middle School teacher Elisa Collins' classes and others are doing for Japan.

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-30788914401353263672011-03-15T21:43:00.000-07:002011-03-15T21:43:49.134-07:002011-03-15T21:43:49.134-07:00

Normally I ignore statements from the Road Ahead Street Team of Anger (RASTA), and its documentarian emeritus Duane Adams is no exception. He has hounded me with messages, insulted my wife, and even attacked my work within my own profession, which I have always kept separate from my political activities. But I never found his actions to be of any significance to the city, so I have largely left

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-49676184523542416652011-03-14T18:40:00.001-07:002011-03-14T19:38:51.659-07:002011-03-14T19:38:51.659-07:00

By Dave and Jessica Montrose John Sullivan wanted to take on MWH. MWH has taken notice. In an eight-page memo sent to Sullivan, the City Council, city administration and area media outlets, MWH Constructors president Joseph Adams gave a terse response to Sullivan's allegations made during the March 4 Council meeting. In a separate letter, MWH vice-president of construction Richard B. Lewis

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-57045890040429932592011-03-14T18:09:00.001-07:002011-03-14T18:09:58.796-07:002011-03-14T18:09:58.796-07:00

Owners of vacant properties that have not been paying for city mowing will have liens placed on them, according to a City Council resolution passed by a unanimous vote Monday night. Under Resolution 8-11, such property owners have been notified of the statuses of their accounts. Those that have not paid for 60 days will receive a fee and a lien on the property.

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7724370482079937490.post-29668708077092784142011-03-14T17:59:00.000-07:002011-03-14T17:59:42.915-07:002011-03-14T17:59:42.915-07:00

Two ordinances looking to match the city's land use regulations with its comprehensive plan easily passed through the City Council with 8-0 votes Monday night. Ordinance 90-10 makes such changes to the Marketplace-Residential District, which includes light residential, light commercial and community properties near major road corridors. Ordinance 2-11 makes changes to the Pedestrian Commercial

Dave Montrosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08913769989680157259noreply@blogger.com0