Friday, July 3, 2026
The new Publix at Neapolitan Way is open (ramen included)
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Mostly sunny and near 90 today, with the heat index pushing 105 and the usual coin-flip odds of an afternoon storm. The nicest surprise of the week: the Publix at Neapolitan Way is already back open — rebuilt from the ground up, mezzanine seating and ramen bowls included.
Today
All clear at the beaches
FWC's latest red tide samples came back clean at all six Collier beaches tested, Barefoot to Marco, just in time for the holiday weekend. Go early — the 9:01 a.m. low tide is good shelling, and the storms tend to show up after lunch.
A free art show opens today
The Krupa show opens today at Twist Gallery, and it costs nothing — an easy air-conditioned culture stop between beach and barbecue.
This Weekend
Our 250th Fourth, all weekend long
America turns 250 tomorrow and the whole coast is throwing a party — parades, concerts and fireworks from Cape Coral down to Naples. In true July fashion, scattered downpours are in the forecast, so front-load the outdoor plans.
A beloved bartender takes the stage
Peter Caporal — the endearing bartender so many of us know from The French, now Tulia — is playing Jean Valjean in The Naples Players' 'Les Misérables.' A hometown favorite in the role of a lifetime.
Local News
Who should sell Naples to the world?
Commissioners are exploring spinning the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades visitors bureau out of county government and into a private nonprofit. That's the tourist-tax-funded operation that fills hotel rooms in slow months like this one, so how it's run touches everyone who makes a living off season.
Las Palmas more than triples its affordable homes
A Holecek Family Foundation gift is expanding Habitat Collier's Las Palmas from 60 to 210 affordable condos. In a town where the people who staff our restaurants and hospitals increasingly can't afford to live here, that's real movement, not a press release.
Food & Drink
Publix 2.0 opens at Neapolitan Way
The nearly 40-year-old US-41 staple came down, and its replacement opened Wednesday with a bigger footprint, mezzanine seating and — yes — ramen bowls at a Publix. Park Shore grocery runs just got an upgrade.
The dining scene's halftime report
Tim Aten tallies the first half's restaurant openings and closings, from franchise stumbles to homegrown shuffles. Worth a skim so you don't find out your favorite lunch spot closed the hard way.
Bangers and mash for America's birthday
Florida Weekly's 250th-birthday plate: steaming bangers and mash at The Pub in Mercato (9118 Strada Place) — comfort food from the country we broke up with.