Adam Knight took over the position of Museum Educator at The Mound House on Fort Myers Beach in November and he comes to Fort Myers Beach with a very impressive resume.

Due to the upcoming holidays, we will only be publishing one newsletter the next two weeks, on Wednesday. If we uncover any breaking news from Fort Myers Beach before our newsletter is published, we will post it to our Facebook page. Kim and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. 

The Fort Myers Beach Public Safety Committee is working on details for a survey it plans to send out to residents in early 2021. The committee is looking for feedback on what you believe to be the top public safety issues on the island.

This has to do with a 5-year battle the town has been locked in with Sunset Grill owner Terry Persaud and whether or not his restaurant should be allowed to sell alcohol on the beach. The latest court ruling says he is, and Persaud says the town owes him millions of dollars in lost alcohol sales.

The Town reported that this year’s turtle nesting season resulted in fewer citations for turtlesafe lighting violations. In 2019 there were 227 violations. This year there were only 136. Over 7,300 hatchlings reached the gulf in 2020, 1,114 more than 2019.

On Episode #144 of Beach Talk Radio we interviewed Patrick McKeown who authored the new book Crown Jewel of Fort Myers Beach - The Mound House, you can watch it HERE on YouTube.

Lee County VCB Executive Director Tamara Pigott has reported that $2.167 million dollars in bed tax money was collected in October, that's up from $1.839 million in September and up from $2.105 million in October of 2019. A big part of the increase was attributed to strong vacation rentals in the county.

Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais will update the Board of County Commissioners on the COVID-19 vaccine at its board meeting today. The report will include the rollout of the vaccine and the county’s role to serve as a support mechanism to the state. The meeting begins at 9:30 and you can watch it HERE.

The next Fort Myers Beach Business After Hours is this Thursday from 5:30 to 7:00 at Mango Rita's in Times Square. The restaurant will provide free appetizers and a cash bar. Entry is free for Chamber members and $15 for non-members.

For the third consecutive year, The Smokin' Oyster Brewery won the chili tasting contest at the Women's Club Christmas event. The S.O.B's Reid Freeman gets to keep the green jacket hanging in his garage after his West Texas Beef Chili received the most votes.

The 3rd annual Women's Club Christmas Tree Auction was a smashing success last weekend. The 17 Christmas trees auctioned off brought in $7,377 which will be distributed to beach non-profit groups. Three large bins of toys were also collected.