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THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON

July 20, 2023
By Marcy Shortuse

FIVE YEARS AGO

Friends of Boca Grande announced they had plans to put up a sunshade at the Community Center outdoor stage.

TEN YEARS AGO

Abbie Turner hooked a giant jumping shark on the “Jill Marie,” but Wyatt took first in the BoMo.

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO

An unclaimed golf cart on the rocks, in the water, was the topic of the week. Deanna Damioli won the BoMo. 

TWENTY YEARS AGO

Islanders were seeking to torpedo the Subway franchise that threatened to come to Boca Grande.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

A 42-year-old man with his two sons was struck by lightning and went into cardiac arrest in the family’s boat near Cabbage Key. His sons got the boat to the dock there while responders from a tour group and paramedics from Useppa Island saved his life.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

The Waterfront Hotel turned into the Innlet and Lee County commissioners voted 4-0 to approve a perpetual easement grant for five boat slips at the end of 5th Street, in exchange for the public right-of-way at 4th and Bayou.

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Dusty bought the Beacon.

FORTY YEARS AGO

 Christie Maltezo, then 12, was on her way to play in the tennis nationals. She was ranked 11th in her age group and 44th in the 14-and-under class, determined after she attended the Florida Tennis Association Junior Championships.