The second annual Sarasota Lionfish Derby is an exciting and environmentally beneficial event that invites SCUBA divers and snorkelers to compete to collect as many lionfish as possible in an effort to control the spread of this invasive species.
Profile: Scott O’Connor
BY JACK SHORT – To put it simply, Scott O’Connor is living the good life. He and his wife, Kristin, aren’t cruising the seas in luxury yachts or gambling in Monte Carlo, but he lives in a tropical paradise (let’s face it, that’s Boca Grande in a nutshell) golfing, swimming and raising rescue dogs, cats […]
BY ANGIE MILLS AND MARCY SHORTUSE – The 4th Annual Turnin’ Tides Invitational, is now in the history books. It began with a whole lot of patient anglers biting their nails for two hours, and ended with 20 minutes of exceptional activity with four boats battling it out for the “last fish” award. With a little […]
BY JACK SHORT – The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority board met on June 25 for a quarterly meeting, and foremost on the agenda and in the minds of many residents were recent bridge failures that caused the roadway to be shut down on two Saturdays in recent months. “This is the first time, certainly in […]
Finders keepers, losers weepers, indeed. According to a report provided by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, a visitor to the island lost a ring worth $100,000 during her stay. The report states that sheriff’s deputies responded to a complaint on Friday, June 19 lodged by a woman who had lost a ring during the evening […]
BY JACK SHORT – Some people like adding a little challenge to their charity. Boots and Dick Tolsdorf are just such people. In a move that is, amazingly, not unusual for them, the Tolsdorfs are going to join about 2000 other cyclists on June 26 and 27 for a two-day, 150-mile bike ride beginning in […]
Fundraising for Capt. Jimmy Robertson continues next weekend on Sunday, July 5 at The Sand Bar. There will be a fish fry at 2 p.m. and more auctions and raffles will be held. There will also be a corn hole tournament.
BY JACK SHORT – Among the record setting number of items, worth a combined $461 million, that fell to Florida Governor Rick Scott’s veto pen, was a large appropriation for Gasparilla Island State Park. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection would have received, from the general fund, $1 million (non-recurring) for the assessment and evaluation […]
Join Florida Sea Grant, UF/IFAS Lee County Extension and the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation by participating in the 2015 Pine Island Sound Scallop Search, a resource-monitoring program in which volunteers snorkel, looking for scallops in select areas within Pine Island Sound. The July 18 event is sponsored by Lee County Parks & Recreation, Charlotte Harbor […]
BY JACK SHORT – Sometimes, to understand something, you have to be willing to dive right in. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is hoping that bringing people into close contact with the nature around them will help convince people of the need for preservation. They have begun shuttling people to see the preserves firsthand, […]
