============================================================ DIGITAL DIGEST � http://www.naplesnews.com � December 26, 2004 ============================================================ Subscribe to the Naples Daily News: http://web.naplesnews.com/circulation/ THOUSANDS ATTEND IMMOKALEE CHRISTMAS PARTY >From a distance, it sounded like a holiday party you wouldn�t want to miss. >Juan Medina was on the microphone backed by Christmas tunes and switching >between Spanish and English to talk up Santa Claus and his sack of toys. The >smell of roast chicken and ham hung in the air and had people lined up through >the middle of Airport Park on Saturday to pick up Styrofoam boxes heavy with >hot food. EVERGLADES COALITION TO HOLD YEARLY CONFERENCE IN NAPLES Vindication, or something approaching it, has been a long time coming for Brian Lapointe and Larry Brand. For years, decades in Lapointe�s case, the two have endured pariah status with some of their colleagues in the South Florida scientific community. They�ve been criticized and ridiculed for their ideas about nitrogen pollution and its effects on ailing Florida Bay and the reefs that are dying downstream of the bay. REVAMPED CITY EMPLOYEE BONUS PROGRAM RELAUNCHES A little more than a year since Naples City Manager Bob Lee intercepted � and stopped � an unusual city employee bonus program, he is about to reinstate monetary rewards. Lee had numerous meetings with a team of city employees that came up with consistent criteria. The largest bonus anyone can receive will be $1,000. ARMED WITH FAITH, NAPLES MEN SAW TROUBLES AWAY Peggy Blakeslee can�t say enough good things about the chain saw gang from Naples. The teams of men from the First Presbyterian Church of Naples, armed with Husqvarna 350 chain saws and hearts of gold, have chopped, sawed and hacked away her troubles. And the troubles of many more hurricane victims like her. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com IN PERSPECTIVE: JEFF LYTLE: OF ALL THOSE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE IN 2004, MY SALUTE GOES TO ... � Time flies faster than a hurricane�s winds. It seems like yesterday this column was naming its 2003 Persons of the Year � Sam and Mary Ann Durso of Naples, pillars of Collier County�s aggressive Habitat for Humanity organization. Since the early 1990s someone has earned an annual salute from this column for good works. They overcame opposition or indifference. Their actions demonstrate vision, bravery and taking risks. They met needs. They challenged the status quo. They made our area a better place. Read more commentary and get local editorials and today�s Letters to the Editor at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/perspective/ IN FLORIDA UNRELENTING HURRICANE SEASON TOP STATE STORY IN 2004 An unprecedented hurricane season when four major storms battered nearly every corner of Florida, leaving more than 100 dead and an estimated $42 billion in damages, was voted the top state story in 2004 by AP newspaper editors and broadcasters. The havoc from Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne over a six-week span represented the worst storm season for one state in more than a century. The only other time on record when four major hurricane hit one state in a year was Texas in 1886. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/florida/ IN NEAPOLITAN: BACK TO IRAQ: AT 44, A GOLDEN GATE GUARDSMAN CAN�T WAIT TO REJOIN THE FIGHT In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Sgt. Wilfredo Vasquez waited. He decorated his family�s Christmas tree, and he waited. During the daytime, Vasquez went to the Armed Forced recruiting office in North Naples to lend a hand to the recruiters. In the evening, he took his son Carlos to karate class. He was always doing something, always in motion, but he was always waiting, too. Maybe this is another way war flips your life around, even when the war is on the other side of the world. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/neapolitan/
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