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Community History


September 14, 2023
FIVE YEARS AGO The newly-replanted Gilchrist median was thriving. Red tide was still a problem along island beaches. TEN YEARS AGO The mere mention of the Gilchrist median at the Boca Gra…

September 7, 2023
FIVE YEARS AGO Almost two weeks without any major red tide issues was a big deal, after a period of about two years where it was terrible.  TEN YEARS AGO A ruling on the side of our …

August 24, 2023
The number of people who responded after we ran a story about the wayward Alzamora fountain gives proof of the fact that there are many people on this island who care about our history. Thank you …

August 24, 2023
FIVE YEARS AGO The Beacon swept the Florida Press Association awards presentation, and Hopkins & Daughter celebrated 30 years of ownership of the Boca Beacon. TEN YEARS AGO Fire destr…

August 17, 2023
This generational pilot boat captain has crossed the bar Capt. Robert W. Johnson passed away on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at his family home, the historic Quarantine House. Robert was born o…

August 17, 2023
Fountain created decades ago by Alzamora sister needs a home right away Sometimes you don’t realize how much has changed in a place until you find out that the things that were once so importan…

August 17, 2023
There’s so much that has changed in our community in the last year or two. It’s difficult sometimes to wrap our minds around what has happened just since last September, much less the other change…

August 17, 2023
TEN YEARS AGO A mystery survey was sent to random island residents, regarding Gilchrist Avenue parking? Who sent it? And why? FIFTEEN YEARS AGO A group that included Robert Johnson, siste…

August 10, 2023
Gulf Coast Writers Association Inc. (GWCA), Southwest Florida’s 28-year-old meeting ground for writers, editors and their associates, announced today that Leoma Lovegrove, internationally-known ar…

August 10, 2023
FIVE YEARS AGO Was it red tide or Vibrio vulnificus that was making young stomachs upset, or back-to-school jitters? Either way, we had both. TEN YEARS AGO South Beach was missing three o…