Early risers, head downtown for our Third Wednesday Coffee this morning (7:15 to 8:30) and hear a presentation by the Economic Development Office on marketing plans for our community. The Coffee is sponsored this month by Buffalo Graffix. Please join … Find out how to read more online.

Did you know that although three men — George Battersby, Dick Windham and Isaiah Cooper — were arrested for the murder of Marshal John Bowman and one convicted, the killer’s identity remains a mystery? When the marshal was shot, a … Find out how to read more online.

Some of you have autographed copies of Stephen King’s “Under the Dome.” He signed 200 hardbound books (each weighing 79 pounds) backstage at the Cultural Center of Charlotte County during the kickoff to the Big Read in March 2010. He … Find out how to read more online.

Politicians are not the only ones who appreciate the value of the “stump” for looking over the neighborhood and communicating with the locals. The fox squirrel in our front yard loves to sit on his maple stump and survey the … Find out how to read more online.

Roy (aka Rocky) Reed knew one day that his ship would be coming in. Well, in this case, it was his boat coming in. He knew it from the first time his dad invited him along to work on a … Find out how to read more online.

After continuing problems with his completely-in-canal hearing aids, David Ollila went back last December to Gulf Coast Hearing Aid Center in Englewood, where he purchased them six years ago. There, Gulf Coast’s Basile Antonelli, working alone, sold the 74-year-old Port … Find out how to read more online.

My youngest son is in the throes of a job search, hoping to find the perfect position before the ink on his new diploma dries. Not that he hasn’t been working. Elliot worked for a local sandwich shop during high … Find out how to read more online.

Have you decided on a great way to celebrate your dad this year? If you haven’t thought of anything yet, you might be well-served to look to the Cultural Center of Charlotte County for all of your  celebratory and gift-giving … Find out how to read more online.

On this Father’s Day weekend, stop to reflect on at least one memory of a special time you spent with your father. Let me share a memory from the fall of 1961. I was 16 and it was a bright, … Find out how to read more online.

By the middle 1920s, the Chadwick brothers, after having been very successful in the fishing business, branched out and started developing land on Englewood Beach. In order to stimulate sales of their lots, they built two private bridges connecting the … Find out how to read more online.

In all of nature there is no more perfect partnership between animals and plants than that which exists between flowers and their pollinators. Of course flowers are the primary mechanism by which plants reproduce sexually — except for wind-pollinated forms … Find out how to read more online.

A workshop for kids ages 5 to 11 years old will be held at the Arts Alliance of Lemon Bay Exhibit and Learning Center at 452 West Dearborn St., at 1:30 p.m. today. Kids will join the artists at their studio … Find out how to read more online.

When we see a good idea for helping someone out, we just love to jump on the effort. By “we,” I mean we at the Sun Newspapers, although you could certainly extend that attitude to our community at large. And … Find out how to read more online.

‘My name is Jim. Call me Jim.” So said the Rev. James Popham this past Sunday — his first — at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Englewood. He described the move from Calgary, Canada, as, “We are all called to … Find out how to read more online.

My columns are going to be a little different. I am still going to write about different people here in Englewood, but I am now also going to write about small businesses and the people who own them. My first … Find out how to read more online.

Never say no to a new idea. Five years ago, when Ed and Debbie Higgins moved to Punta Gorda, friends suggested they try kayaking. As an avid canoeist and boating enthusiast, Ed didn’t think he needed one more water sport. … Find out how to read more online.

The advent of  charter schools has offered frustrated parents, struggling or uninspired children and innovative educators alternatives to the traditional classroom and lesson plans. Here in Sarasota County, a new application is bringing to the county the template that has … Find out how to read more online.

ARCADIA — West Oak Street may just be one of the priciest stretches of real estate in Southwest Florida — if you include the treasures inside the dozen-plus antique stores. You literally can find anything on West Oak Street. In … Find out how to read more online.

At least that’s what some of the Answer Man’s friends in Deep Creek want to know as they consider investing in rowboats they might need when the real rainy season gets here. Come to think of it, the Answer Man … Find out how to read more online.

Did you know that some types of lantana are invasive? The small, clambering evergreen shrub known as the common lantana has escaped cultivation and spread around the state. It is, in fact, a category 1 invasive exotic species that is … Find out how to read more online.