Our third Holiday Season is upon us and La Scala is looking very festive. Welcome back to our winter residents!

HURRICANE WILMA - She caught us all off-guard, arriving so late in the season and scouring La Scala with driving rain and winds over 100 mph - just as we were finalizing our budget projections for 2006! Roof guttering and sliding screens from a few units flew off into the swamp, several units had water intrusion and there was some landscaping damage although the new ‘moat’ did well. We lost power for a day, phones for a few days and cable for over a week (with continuing problems) but we survived our second hurricane in two years. Although we are hoping for a hurricane-free season next year, the experts are predicting another ‘busy’ season in 2006. Anyway, we do have some hurricane-related expenses from Wilma to account for and until the roof re-guttering and a few other items are finished, the total costs will not be finalized until January.

ENGINEERING REPORT - W.J. Johnson & Associates are currently doing an engineering survey on La Scala to determine the inherent state of the building. This is standard operating procedure, post-turnover, and it is designed to protect us all and to ensure that WCI/Kraft Construction are delivering the building to us in sound condition, constructed according to specifications and codes.

QUICK NEWS - Welcome to new owners Dan & Silvia Galmarini (1903), Hugo & Tracy Powell (501) and the new owners of 1901 (we have not yet been notified of the owners’ names) ☼ Paul Hoefler (804) is the new La Scala representative to the U.O.C. (Unit Owners Committee) of Pelican Landing/The Colony. Congratulations, Paul! ☼ Provisional dates for 2006 La Scala parties are January 18^th (Get-Together/New Year Party) and April 19^th (End-of-Season/Farewell Party) ☼ A few great new dining spots… Blue Moon Café, just a few yards down Old 41 on the right, in the back of the Bernwood Business Park. Tel: 949-8470. Wyld’s Café at 4271 Bonita Beach Road (beach-side of 41). Tel: 947-0408. Remember that I have a ‘recommended restaurants’ list I can e-mail you ☼ Our November tree-lighting party was great fun and Joseph & Isabella’s food was top-notch, as always ☼ Sunday Bay Club great-value $12 buffet breakfasts are here again, 8:30 to 11:30, ends April 9^th ☼ The Country Club & Bay Club are both having an event on New Year’s Eve ☼ The new Colony golf course opened on December 1^st and though not a golfer myself, I hear that it’s great ☼ To see the many activities available in Pelican Landing, go to www.pelicanlanding.org, enter the website and click on Activities Central ☼ Char’s Mahjong group meets in the La Scala Card Room on January 1^st ☼ The last Board Meeting was on December 14^th. The next Board Meeting is on March 15^th followed by one on June 7^th (changed from June 14^th). Minutes of recent Board Meetings can be found on the La Scala website ☼ Comcast update: so many in the building are having problems since Wilma, it must be a local ‘node’ or ‘trunk-line’ that needs repairing. I just spoke to the Comcast Maintenance Supervisor and he assures me they will try to fix the problem before Christmas ☼

HOUSE-KEEPING – Please respect the Rules & Regulations; in a condominium, everyone needs to be considerate ☺ The new DogiPot pet station (which dispenses empty baggies and holds full ones)…… is not getting the use it should! Please: no pet-walking at the front signage of La Scala, no pets using the front door and don’t forget to clean up after Fido! ☺ Notify Isabella of changes in your address, telephone, fax, e-mail. A new La Scala directory will be made in January ☺ Time to change the 9v batteries in your smoke alarms and get your HVAC (a/c) serviced. Call Union Complete Service on (239) 992-7300 ☺ Add your family ornament to the La Scala Christmas tree in the Social Room ☺ Check the Mail Room bulletin board for community events and other important information ☺ La Scala now has an A.E.D. (Automatic External Defibrillator) unit wall-mounted next to the phone in the copier room off of the Association Office. Larry, Glenn, Jeff, Joseph, Isabella and several residents are trained in its use ☺ Attached is a copy of the new La Scala Parking Policy ☺ Don’t forget to let Joseph Loiacono know when you are coming in town so your unit’s water can be turned on, etc. ☺ And let Isabella know of any sizeable deliveries you are expecting ☺ We only have one maintenance person (Fetty) and one housekeeper (Pilar) at La Scala so please don’t ask them to do personal work ☺ Do not remove La Scala towels from the common areas or items from the catering kitchen ☺ Cardboard boxes should be broken down flat when put in the Recycle Room ☺ Remember to submit any complaints, problems or requests to the office in writing so they can be properly addressed and filed for reference ☺

LA SCALA STAFF - Every year, I get asked what an appropriate “thank you” would be for the various La Scala personnel. There is no right answer and it is entirely up to you. Most unit owners are generous with cash, gift certificates, etc. One or two others have the idea that because they are hardly ever here, they don’t know the staff and don’t need to ‘thank’ them. However, I can personally verify that all of our loyal staff go 'outside their job descriptions' for us all on a daily basis! To re-cap, the La Scala employed personnel consist of Joseph Loiacono, Building Manager; Isabella Loiacono, Administrative Assistant; Larry, Glenn, Jeff, Bob & Francys (she is part-time, at night), Security Personnel; Fetty, Maintenance; Pilar, Housekeeping.

IDEAS FOR PARTIES & GET-TOGETHERS  - Joseph and Isabella have come up with several fun ideas for social events and they are happy to coordinate and plan them, if there is enough interest. So LET THEM KNOW SOONEST what you think about…. Sunday Brunch in the Social Room (one Sunday during season, cost per person to be determined); a Royal Scoop Ice Cream Party (poolside, $5 per person plus set-up charge); Texas Hold’Em Tournament (donation to a charity); Karaoke Party ($150 for equipment rental, plus food/drink cost); Lobster/Clam Bake ($50 per person); Naples Princess Cruise ($30-50 per person for dinner, depending on the menu); Monthly Media Room Show (either renting a DVD or a VCR movie tape). Please get your feedback to Isabella soonest at lascalaatthecolony@msn.com. If there’s no feedback, obviously there will be no parties! These events would be at the unit owners’ expense because the Association only has budget-allocated funds for the January Get-Together/New Year Party, the April End-of-Season/Farewell Party and also the November Tree-Lighting Party.

FUN THINGS TO DO – HYATT’S STILLWATER SPA: Right next door to The Colony, the 19,000 square-foot Asian-inspired Stillwater Spa is one of the finest in southern Florida. Pamper yourself with exotic treatments like Algae Wrap, Warm Stones, Watsu Freedom, Ashiatsu Massage and Thalassobath. If the interrogators at Guantanamo Bay applied these methods, they would have all the ‘information’ they needed. Of course there is also a nice spa at The Colony Country Club offering heavenly treatments.

BOWLING & FONDUE: Take the whole family bowling at Beacon Bowl, 5400 Tamiami Trail N. in Naples. Tel: 597-3452. Call first to make sure there are no Leagues playing. Then dine at the nearby Melting Pot at 2950 9^th Street (Tamiami Trail) in Naples. Tel: 732-6666 (make a reservation). Dining at this great fondue restaurant can be a two-hour affair but it’s a lot of fun for all ages.

Do let me know if you have news that other Members might be interested in. I am only a phone call (cell: 239/405-3455) or an e-mail (acfentiman@comcast.net) away (although away for the holidays from December 25^th through January 1^st). And remember to look at www.lascalaatthecolony.com

Best wishes to you and yours for the holiday season and the New Year!

ANDREW