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Featured News

Five miles of bike path landscaping under way

BY THE GICIA The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association Bike Path restoration projects are well underway. The Town Park project between Third and Fifth Streets is in the final…

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Community

Petition asks Charlotte reopening of Englewood Beach parking

An internet-based petition criticizing Charlotte County for its slow pace in reopening Englewood Beach mentions the quick speed of beach reopening in Boca Grande. The petition, at the site moveon…

Ideas sought for parks

Charlotte County Community Services will be hosting a public meeting at Rotonda Community Park at 6 p.m., June 5, to discuss and gather feedback on the master planning of amenities at Rotonda Commun…

Island graduates

Sean Sawicki, son of Lt. Mike Sawicki Sean Sawicki graduated from Lemon Bay High School. Sean was raised on Captiva and his family moved there when he was 14 months old. His dad, Mike Sawicki, is…

Education

Island graduates

Sean Sawicki, son of Lt. Mike Sawicki Sean Sawicki graduated from Lemon Bay High School. Sean was raised on Captiva and his family moved there when he was 14 months old. His dad, Mike Sawicki, is…

James family celebrates med school graduate

Dr. Ashley James, daughter of Kathy James and Boca Grande Health Clinic’s Medical Director Dr. Raymond James, graduated from medical school on May 9. After four years of undergraduate education at t…

Lemon Bay Scholarships

Boca Grande Woman’s Club Lemon Bay Scholarships, l to r Martha Durkin, Sharon Cross, Brayton Strother, Oriana Rodriquez, Taynalecia Hall, Eva Fitch-Gressley and Sophia Dickerson. …

Entertainment

Fishing license free in June weekends

This summer’s license-free fishing weekends are on June 7-8 for saltwater and June 14-15 for freshwater. Residents and visitors are encouraged to explore the many recreational fishing opportunities…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Affectionate family biography of television’s Robert Dale Martin

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from a family biography of actor and producer Robert Burns Nachtmann, professionally known as Robert Dale Martin, the noted casting director of CBS during…

Boca H2O lineup for Saturday

This Saturday, May 24, is the Buzz Me’Up Boca H20 Festival, held in the water off the sandbar between Gasparilla Island and Placida. The music lineup for the sandbar, according to organizer Brian…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: David Mulicka

Commissioner with love for island, county When David Mulicka (muh-lik-ah), newest member of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners, was a kid he asked his dad for an allowance. David was attending a prep school in Fort Myers and many of his classmates were getting as much as $20 a week as spending money […]

Sports & Outdoors

Health & Wellness

Water disenfection process change planned by utility in June

Gasparilla Island Water Association, Inc. will be temporarily changing the disinfection process for its Placida and Boca Grande potable (drinking water) water supply. From June 2, at 7 a.m. through…

Groundbreaking on the Clinic of the Future, with one-year timetable

The Boca Grande Health Clinic of the Future hopes to formally begin construction this month, after a ceremonial groundbreaking last Thursday afternoon, May 1. The groundbreaking included staff…

Honoring the staff at the Boca Grande Health Clinic for Nurses Week

Every year from May 6 to May 12, organizations across the country take time to honor the people who are truly at the heart of patient care: our nurses. National Nurses Week recognizes the vital role…

Debbie Frank named as new Boca Grande Health Clinic Foundation executive director

The executive committee of the Boca Grande Health Clinic Foundation has announced the appointment of Debbie Frank as the executive director of the foundation, effective May 5, 2025. Debbie brings…

Police & Fire

Busy Memorial Day, but traffic just under last year on weekend

On Saturday, May 24, during the Boca H2O Festival, a teenage boy was struck by a boat propeller, breaking his leg. The festival is held in the water off the sandbar between Gasparilla Island and…

Sheriff report: Tesla hit with Gatorade bottle in Boca Grande

On May 6, Lt. Mike Sawicki of Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a criminal mischief complaint involving an altercation with a group of young men and a man driving a Tesla at the bridge on Har…

Sheriff honored by House Speaker

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell was cited by House Speaker Mike Johnson for his work with immigration and the Trump Administration. In a list of 100 Americans who helped in the first 100 d…

Small truck fire off 18th Street

Pictured here, local artist Larry Anderson with his truck near the 19th Street beach access last Friday, May 2. The front drivers side near the wheel caught fire while he was driving. The fire was o…

News Archives

Obituaries

Melissa Landon 1967-2025

Melissa A. Landon, 57, passed away on April 9, 2025. A native of Australia and a long time artist of Boca Grande, Mel had a deep love of the ocean…

Joseph Junkin 1939-2025

Joseph (Joe) Swan Junkin, died peacefully from pulmonary fibrosis on March 29, 2025, with his loving family by his side. Born on June 17, 1939, Joe…

George Robinson 1943-2025

George Cooke Robinson passed away on April 1st, 2025, at age 81, due to complications from a fall. George was an avid traveler, chef, dog lover and…

Frances Sybil Mills 1938-2025

Frances Sybil Joiner Mills was born on Gasparilla Island, Florida on November 26, 1938, and spent her early years growing up in the unique coastal e…

Stanley O. Ikenberry 1935-2025

Stanley Oliver Ikenberry, 90, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2025, at home in Boca Grande surrounded by his family. Born March 3, 1935, in Lamar…