Mark Hoogendoorn

@IzzyDad2021 @WallStreetApes There is only one very quiet beach restaurant on boca grande. There was never a cruise ship crowd, until soon, to protest the privatization of public access beaches

@WallStreetApes The median home value in Boca Grande is about $2.7m. It ain’t Ft Meyers. As I understand there is, and will be, designated “public beach areas” with access and parking but not enough for the beach bar crowd or the visitors who would turn your backyard into a cruise ship video.

This is textbook corruption in America - A group of multimillionaires from New York moved and bought beachfront property in a small town called Boca Grande, Florida - The beach is public and the only way to access it for the local residents is to go to the island, park and enjoy it - The millionaires from New York who bought properties there, decided they didn’t like looking at the public in their backyards using the beach “So what did they do? They paid for Lee County commissioners campaigns. And they said now that we did that, you need to go ahead and take care of the beach access because we don't want the public there anymore. — So what Lee county commissioners did is they went ahead and drafted up this parking ordinance that basically gets rid of all the parking on the island. If you don't live on the island, good luck” It passed without any say from the locals “Locals are outraged. No one is good with this. Even Boca grand business owners stood up and said, hold on a minute. No, no, no. You're going to tank our business for these millionaires that are on this island for two seconds out of the year. Our business is from the locals. Our business is from seasonal tourists. How are they supposed to come and enjoy this island if you took away the parking — You're going to kill the island. They don't care. They do not care. It is absolutely disgusting that this passed. It makes no sense. The locals who use the island had zero say. It's honestly heartbreaking”

@Yes116584780182 @WallStreetApes Yes, even with my close proximity, it'd take 38 mins by bike to get to the closest public beach access. 7.5 miles total. According to google maps.

@WallStreetApes Can you ride a bike to get there?

@Orwelian84 @WallStreetApes It was a 3 hour hearing. 13,700 signed a petition in opposition. Many showed up to the meeting and voiced their concerns but it was on deaf ears. There was no public vote, just the Lee county commissioners had the vote.

@WallStreetApes so you didnt show up to vote and you lost - wow - maybe show up and fucking vote

@Breaking57 @WallStreetApes The public beach access is still there but there is nowhere to park to get to it other than the state park which is at the far south end of the island.

FAKE NEWS . Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1622 in June 2025, a significant piece of legislation aimed at restoring and streamlining public access to the state's beaches. his new law specifically addresses the concept of "recreational customary use" of beaches, meaning the public's right to enjoy beaches without beachfront homeowners restricting access, even when technically on private property. This includes activities like walking, fishing, and swimming

@XSpiceman @WallStreetApes Downtown will be limited to 3 hours with no beach access. All the side streets you could park on to access the beach are now no parking. You can only park at the state park to get to the beach.

@WallStreetApes I'm trying to think about what parking she is talking about. I worked at that island for months after Hurricane Ian. There is plenty of street parking in town.

@Mediawatching2C @femalecrrp12 @MsBehavin67 @WallStreetApes Matty, the beaches are still public but what used to be allowed for parking is now gone. There is nowhere to park to get to the public beach access roads. You used to be able to park on these roads and they've taken away the parking.

@NoahTooh @CharlotteCoFL Are you talking about the letter they sent or have they done more?

@CharlotteCoFL Thanks to the Board of County Commissioners for their recent support in opposition to the new restrictive parking regulations on Boca Grande Island. Given Lee County's disregard for the concerns of Charlotte County, all agreements with Lee County need total review

@tropicalupdate I would love a nice quiet season for SWFL.

OK. Little soapbox time. My feed (and others) is filled with things like: 'the season is a bust', 'so much for the busy year you promised', 'you fear mongers sure hyped up this year'. Stuff like that. Maybe it will be slow. Maybe it won't. Let's wait until November when we can look back. Believe it or not we are ahead of schedule this season already. Usually the third named storm is August 3rd (years 1991-2020). First Hurricane statistically August 11th. We had remnants of Barry cause Texas flooding. We had Chantel bring incredible flooding to NC. We had Invest 93 cause flooding across the SE. July is usually slow. I get it. The preseason chatter and after a year like last year many are anxious. Expecting maybe things that haven't happened (yet). I am not wishing for a busy year. Some think I do. I would be happy chasing Louie and Longo around the pool. And snow again in the South. There will always be weather. Mother Nature only knows when. Remember 'It only takes one'. Heading to dinner with the family here on this last day of July. See you in August!

@tropicalupdate @JimCantore I'd have to rebuild again? You were right in front of my house during Ian, at the gas station, Barracuda Bills in Placida.

What would you think if @JimCantore and I showed up in your hometown this year?

@catturd2 Smoked Pichana.

What's everyone putting on the grill today?

@wolsned Is Brian King funding you? Such bs..

There have been no safety trials on vaping, the product went straight to market as a safe alternative to smoking tobacco. The result is more and more people, especially young people, admitted to hospital suffering from popcorn lung. Vaping is probably more dangerous than smoking... Of course it is, and it comes in all different flavours and colours.

@LanceChurchill For everything that is supposed to be illegal, unfortunately, the black market disposables have taken over. My neighborhood c-store has quite a selection, which I do buy sometimes. I see tons of people buying them. No creepy trunk guy in sight.

@hoog62 Definitely outside influence. I'm sure Altria and Reynolds influenced if not directed the litigation.

This is getting ridiculous. NY AG Letitia James is suing 13 companies for hundreds of millions of dollars for "their role in fueling the youth vaping crises". "In particular, the companies’ advertisements often position vaping products as a safer, healthier alternative to cigarettes. One of the defendants has even advanced conspiracy theories in an attempt to brush away concerns over the safety of vaping, repeatedly pushing the idea that state governments were campaigning to crush vaping in an attempt to boost tobacco sales for financial gain." Conspiracy theory you say? ag.ny.gov/press-release/…

@tropicalupdate Sorry, part of our back yard when we made it back.

@tropicalupdate That's at Barrucada Bills gas station, right in front of my house. I was wishing you went down my street as we were watching you from FLL but it being a dead end, you didn't. Probably a good choice as there were big oaks down just a few minutes later.

Found some new video from inside the eyewall of Hurricane Ian. Taken in Placida, Florida September 2022.

@LanceChurchill They're shooting for a quick headline.. Only took 4 years to enforce. What a boon to public health.

"New York Announces Arrest of NY Vape Shop Owner" "The widespread availability of e-cigarettes poses significant public health challenges, with alarming consequences for adolescence such as addiction and damage to their developing brain and lungs." health.ny.gov/press/releases…

@Vaporadvocate @ChaunceyGardner We knew all along that this innovation would be stifled because of special interest groups and gov. Now that they killed off most of the innovators, "approved" products will be taxed into oblivion. Too bad for all the collateral damage and the huge amount of vapes everywhere :(

2/2/2020 and 9/8/2024 Non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarette sales increased from 11.2 million to 17.4 million; unit share increased from 71.7% to 81.5%. Δ Unit Sales +54.6%. So how does this jive with the youth attraction to flavors? @ChaunceyGardner

@Vapingit I was in Miami this past week and I saw lots of adults vaping and very few smokers, never saw a teen with a vape. FDA messed up with this. I wasn't able to buy a pack of no-nicotine smokes but plenty of vapes though. Even the Cigar type sales girls had cigars and vapes.

#Louder.

@tropicalupdate cutting carbs?

I'm done with spaghetti! Little Greek salad and Beam tonight. Living and loving it. How about you? What's on your plate? What's in your glass?

@LanceChurchill Good luck!

Washington State: "A broad coalition of educators, doctors, researchers and social justice advocates has launched a campaign to ban flavored nicotine vapes. The group has already found two lawmakers willing to sponsor a ban once the Legislature returns in January." newsfromthestates.com/article/washin…