Monday, July 20, 2026
Naples is quietly becoming a startup town
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Sticky start to the week out there — partly sunny, a high near 91, and a heat index pushing 106 before the usual afternoon storms roll in off the Gulf. The surprise in today's issue: the town that built its name on retirement just ranked fourth in the country for small-business growth.
Today
The water's clean, but skip the swim
FWC's latest samples show no red tide anywhere from Vanderbilt down to South Marco and the Pier — but a tropical depression is churning the Gulf and there's a high rip-current risk out for our beaches, so it's a morning for walking the sand, not swimming it. Low tide hits right around noon.
The buses are filling up for back-to-school
The Boys & Girls Club of Collier County kicks off its Stuff the Bus drive today, collecting backpacks and supplies for kids heading back to class — an easy drop-off if the summer closet purge is already underway.
Local News
Naples cracks the top 5 for small-business growth
A new ranking puts us fourth nationally among small metros, driven by how many of our neighbors are striking out on their own — quiet proof the place is turning into somewhere people build companies, not just retire to.
A private beach club is rising on Vanderbilt
Ground just broke on Paraíso Beach Club, a members-only spread of pools, dining and Gulf-front access on Vanderbilt Beach — one more stretch of our coast going private, set to open in late 2027.
You won't have to leave town for a heart transplant
NCH tapped Dr. Rafael Garcia-Cortes to lead a new heart transplant program at its Rooney Heart Institute — the kind of advanced care that until now meant a drive to Tampa or Miami.
Food & Drink
Burger Monger brings its first drive-thru to North Naples
The Tampa-born chain is converting the old Kelly's Roast Beef site into its very first drive-thru, with the North Naples spot due to open sometime between now and September.
The Dock turns 50 on Naples Bay
Through canoe races, changing owners and more than one hurricane, the chalkboard-menu institution at Crayton Cove has stayed put for half a century — a rare constant on a waterfront that rarely sits still.
Chocolate-making classes are back at Norman Love
Norman Love Confections reopened its hands-on chocolate classes with sessions running through October — a cool, indoor way to ride out a stormy summer afternoon.