Opinion
History: How much of our islands here are ‘hainted’ by ghosts
October 30, 2025
BY KAREN GRACE, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER
Whether hauntings are real or not, Gasparilla Island and its surroundings have a history of ghost stories. The earliest involve Cayo Pelau, an island to…
Letters: Public letter to Charlotte Commission
October 30, 2025
To: Charlotte County Commissioners Ken Doherty, Christopher Constance, Bill Truex, Stephen Deutsch and Joseph Tiseo
Dear Commissioners:
I write respectfully as a long-time resident of our smal…
HOOK, LINE & SINKER
October 30, 2025
Anyone can pirate a fishing honey hole. Why not find your own spot?
No one owns our local fishing spots, but are you a leader or a shadow?
Unless you have a private pond, you don’t own your fa…
EcoWatch: Are we heading for an insect apocalypse
October 30, 2025
If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into…
SW Florida Fishing: From the mountains to the flats…
October 30, 2025
BY CAPT. JOE LECLAIR
With the cooling air temps and beautiful dry breezes blowing in from the west, fish are on the move. This fall we have already seen large schools of reds moving onto the flat…
Two green turtle nests, sure taking their time
October 23, 2025
BY DENISE JUERGENS, ARLENE HALL BGSTA SECRETARY
If you are comparing the BGSTA’s weekly turtle stats listed each week in this paper, you may have noticed a slight increase in both the loggerhead…
ESSAY: RICK MUSGROVE
October 23, 2025
From Illinois, turtle appreciation
BY RICK MUSGROVE
When I first arrived at the west side of Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande four and a half months ago, the beach was littered with stakes. Up…
OPINION: MARK DRISCOLL
October 23, 2025
Reflecting on five years at the Clinic
I was walking on the island the other day, passing the construction site where the new Clinic of the Future is taking shape, when I stopped for a moment to…
Sunday signs and silent bureaucrats
October 23, 2025
Last weekend, even on Sunday, Lee County was out and about on the island putting up new parking signs. Yes, on Sunday. We’re scratching our heads as to when we last saw a government officer out on a…
EcoWatch: Let’s look at what is really scary this Halloween
October 23, 2025
May your Halloween be scarier than what’s actually going on in this country.
A meme often shared around the country
Welcome to Halloween 2025, which has turned from a one-night celebration int…









