News
New phase of summer restoration for Mercabo Cove approved
April 19, 2024
Tidal shelf planted with red mangroves; view will be softenend to hide seawall
BY THE GASPARILLA ISLAND CONSERVATION & IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improv…
Post office responds to complaints
April 19, 2024
The last months have been marked by a number of new complaints to the Boca Beacon about missing packages and returned mail at the Boca Grande Post Office.
Lecia Hall, a public relations represent…
Survey: Respondents against adding bridges to islands
April 19, 2024
Charlotte County Facilities Construction & Maintenance department has released survey results from local residents on accessibility to and from bridgeless barrier islands on the coast. Islands i…
O.J. Simpson was Rotonda Superstar in 1975
April 19, 2024
The death of O.J. Simpson on April 10 in Las Vegas brought back a time when the NFL star came to Rotonda for ABC’s The Superstars. We look back at the era. Above, O.J. and Howard Cosell at the 1974…
Superstars: Locals remember O.J. and Hulk’s Lou Ferrigno
April 19, 2024
There was a week in February of 1975 that the late Orenthal James Simpson was king of Rotonda and Cape Haze. The event was O.J.’s victory the ABC Superstars competition, which aired Sunday, Feb. 23…
Superstars: America’s great athletes assembled in Rotonda
April 19, 2024
The first Superstars was Feb. 19-20, 1973 and aired Feb. 25 over the entire ABC network.
“There are some who question its integrity as an entertainment vehicle,” said organizer Philip Bottfeld, i…
Remembering Rob Wells of Cabbage Key
April 19, 2024
Robert Wells Jr., the founder of the modern Cabbage Key and the Tarpon Lodge, died Tuesday.
Wells, and his wife Phyllis, purchased Cabbage Key in 1976, after he left a job as director of admissio…
Gaza aid worker caught his first fish here
April 19, 2024
Jacob Alexander Flickinger, a 33-year-old humanitarian food aid worker for the charity World Central Kitchen, was killed April 1, 2024 while delivering food aid in Gaza. He is the nephew of island r…
Waiting for dinner …
April 19, 2024
Last year, Florida Power & Light placed an osprey platform at the south end of the island, near Belcher. This year, there’s a baby osprey, seen this week.
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Captains founders visit to talk Clean Water at Eagle Grille
April 19, 2024
Captains for Clean Water held an event at Eagle Grille on Tuesday, April 16 to discuss the organization’s conservation work since its founding in 2016.
Hosted by Chandler Converse, Capt. Doug Ste…