============================================================ DIGITAL DIGEST � http://www.naplesnews.com � December 25, 2004 ============================================================ Subscribe to the Naples Daily News: http://web.naplesnews.com/circulation/ NATION�S BAD WEATHER FRUSTRATES LOCAL TRAVELERS Elaine Withers figures she lost an hour looking for parking on Christmas Eve at Southwest Florida International Airport. When she moved to Naples, she thought she�d gotten away from the Yankee winter weather. So Friday afternoon, she did the only thing she could. She celebrated. �I know it�s a lot worse for many but I finally got a place and I�m off to Washington, D.C.,� said Withers, who managed to park her car in the airport�s overflow section on Paul J. Doherty Boulevard. LAST-MINUTE SHOPPERS FILL STORES ON CHRISTMAS EVE �Twas Christmas Eve and all through the city, shop-a-phobics and workaholics woke up a little anxious Friday. Then they heard the morning rain outside. Pull the covers up. Just a few more minutes, they reasoned before eventually setting out to brave the traffic, the wet roads, the overflowing parking lots, the crowds ... UNDETERRED BY BAD WEATHER, SHOPPERS FILL LOCAL STORES On Friday, Jill Castellano stood at the nexus of last-minute holiday shopping. She cradled a basket filled with holiday treats that she needed to deliver for her employer, Bountiful Baskets, while visions of gifts for her mother and brother jumped out at her in the store windows at Miromar Outlets in Estero. �Last week I was on vacation and when I got back, I procrastinated,� Castellano said. IMMOKALEE WORKERS HELPED BY �NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND� LAW Juana Maldonado goes from Immokalee farm fields to her home kitchen, her day deflating like air seeping from a balloon. Bedtime stories can be a luxury. But when her daughter, Marlena, 7, fell behind in reading, federal lawmakers extended their reach from Washington, D.C., to Immokalee to help Marlena and others like her. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com IN PERSPECTIVE: EDITORIAL: CHRISTMAS: A HOLIDAY OF THE HEART At some point on this day, Dec. 25, 2004, you will know it�s Christmas, but you won�t know it because of the tree with its lights and decorations or the presents underneath. You won�t know it because of the civic combat somewhere in your state or town about public displays of nativity scenes. You won�t know it because of all the recent coming and going, the traffic, the crowds at shopping centers or the inevitable voiced concerns about commercializing something that once was less about buying, buying, buying. Read more commentary and get local editorials and today�s Letters to the Editor at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/perspective/ IN FLORIDA FLORIDA TOY INVENTOR BRINGS SPOTLIGHT TO BRAINS BEHIND THE FUN Tim Walsh might have put fun into the hands of more than 4 million people, but hardly any one of them would recognize the toy inventor if they passed him on the street. Instead, he is among the unknown pioneers of play, one of those unsung heroes of Christmas mornings and rainy days who endured a litany of rejections before turning their brainstorms into big bucks for toy companies. Then they fade into anonymity. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/florida/ IN NEAPOLITAN: LOYAL BUNCH OF HOCKEY FANS REALLY TAKE CARE OF THEIR TEAM What makes a sports fan drive out in the middle of the night to take a hockey player to the airport so he can catch a flight? Or to stock the refrigerator on their bus with all kinds of food before they travel to road game? Or to send birthday and get well cards to players and their families? Ask members of the Florida Everblades Fan Club. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/neapolitan/
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