Sanibel Island

Imagine the surprise felt by sea turtle lovers when the number of egg-filled clutches laid on Southwest Florida beaches during last summer’s nesting season totaled a normal year despite shorelines transformed by Hurricane Ian.Even better: The mommas kept coming.Female sea turtles often return to the beach of their birth to nest every three years or so, which made understandable the fears of the large and active cadre of turtle volunteers that Category 5 Ian in September 2022 had rendered nesting beaches so unrecognizable the females would be lost, search aimlessly, then dump their eggs at sea.

All travel lanes across the Sanibel Causeway are now open and work on the roadway is substantially complete, a report from the Florida Department of Transporation said late Friday. Once through the toll plaza, motorists will now be able to drive to Sanibel with more predictable travel times and no altered traffic patterns around which to maneuver.

If you’ve spent any time in traffic on Sanibel Island, you’ve seen them: the people directing traffic at the busiest intersections.Sanibel police aides direct thousands of vehicles on, off and around the island each day. The congestion crescendos during winter season.

The documentary unit for WGCU has been interviewing Sanibel residents for a new program coming out next year. Recently, they interviewed Kenneth and Eugene Gavin, who grew up on Sanibel Island and are now in their early 80s. Their grandparents were among the first Black families to settle on Sanibel. Kenneth Gavin described how their grandparents chose the island.

The pig frog is the only one of the species that inhabit Sanibel and Captiva islands that did not make it through Ian or made its back to the islands during the last year-plus.

For the remainder of December, motorists crossing the Sanibel Causeway should expect periodic lane closures and traffic shifts during the nighttime/overnight hours of 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. throughout the week.

Southwest Florida Business Today Publisher Karen Moore talked with Lee County Economic Development Director John Talmage, who shared current information regarding post Hurricane Ian tourism impact and overall jobs recovery in Lee County.

When September 2022, Hurricane Ian swept through Southwest Florida, C.R.O.W. on Sanibel Island was one of the many places affected. Now, more than 14 months later, the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife is rebuilding and recovering still, while continuing to care for wildlife.

Lee County leaders are planning to do away with language that currently restrict heights of homes on Captiva Island to two-stories. Islanders fear the charm will be lost and they will be in harm's way as more people pack onto the island.