============================================================ DIGITAL DIGEST � http://www.bonitanews.com � January 2, 2005 ============================================================ Subscribe to the Bonita Daily News: http://web.bonitanews.com/circulation/ OH BOY! NEW YEAR'S BABIES ARRIVE New babies, like a new year, usher in new beginnings. Collier's first baby, a boy, was born at NCH Healthcare's The Birth Place at 1:07 a.m. on New Year's Day. Sometimes, new beginnings don't get off to the easiest of starts. Of the first four babies born on New Year's Day in Collier, all had problems or were premature, said Gail Collins, the shift coordinator at The Birth Place. LOOKING BACK AT 2004: NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN 'READY TO WORK' Mike Scott didn't have to wait until midnight on New Year's Eve for a new beginning. Hours before the start of 2005, Scott assumed his post as Lee County Sheriff, shifting his focus from planning for office to staying there. All eyes are on him, from the deputies he now commands to the heads of the agencies he will work with most closely � scrutiny Scott responded to with confidence. JOAN'S HOUSE TO OFFER CARE, FAMILY SUPPORT TO TERMINAL CANCER PATIENTS At the end of her life, Joanne DallePezze's family wanted her to stay at home. During her final weeks, they relied on Hope Hospice to provide the medical care she needed to stay as comfortable as her cancer would allow. "It was just what we needed at the time, a very sensible approach to pain management and death with dignity," widower John DallePezze said. Now four years later, the family hopes it can provide a similar comfort to other terminal patients. WAR CASUALTIES CREATES A VOID FOR FAMILIES DURING HOLIDAYS Scores of families throughout Florida rang in the New Year without a father, sister, husband or aunt, welcoming 2005 with one fewer hug and kiss as the ball dropped. These men and women died in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting for freedom far from home. Their families now face the lonely prospect of living without these soldiers and, in some cases, raising children who may never remember their mom or dad. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.bonitanews.com PERSPECTIVE: RALF KIRCHER: IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY ... AND THEN THE WATER CAME I didn't think as much of it as I should have when Lak Mamoi, the hotel maid, was pounding on my door Sunday morning. It had been a late Christmas night, and I wasn't in a hurry to get up, even when I heard her screaming and pounding. Pilak � the addition of the prefix on her name is a sort of diminutive when people use her name � is somewhat excitable, and staying in a four-room guesthouse on Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, you get to know the staff pretty well. See more of today�s Perspective stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/perspective BUSINESS: RISING INTEREST LIKELY TO PUT A DAMPER ON BANK EARNINGS IN 2005 NEW YORK � After two years of record profits, the banking business is likely to get a little tougher, and maybe a little more concentrated, in 2005. Banks are expected to see earnings weaken a bit in the coming year due to rising interest rates and sluggish stock market returns. And more mergers are anticipated after 2004's wave of big acquisitions � although the deals are likely to involve smaller players. See more of today�s Business stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/business NEAPOLITAN: THEIR SOCIAL CLUB: ADULT DAY CARE FACILITY GIVES CAREGIVERS A BREAK There's a lull between the chicken patties and the white sheet cake. Ken Clement, a 68-year-old blind man, stretches back in his chair as workers buzz around him cleaning up lunch-less Styrofoam plates and morsels that missed mouths. "They call getting old the golden years, I think there's a lot of lead in 'em," says Clement, a one-line king. See more of today�s Neapolitan stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/neapolitan
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Click on the link below to be removed from the bonitanews.com mailing list. http://web.bonitanews.com/cgi-bin/[EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
