Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: My husband and I visit Boca Grande quite often. I read with great interest the articles focusing on the parking issues on Gasparilla Island, specifically in Boca Grande. I was particularly dismayed and disheartened by what appears to be the Lee County Commission’s deliberate attempt to limit its exposure to public input […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Featured News, News.
The Boca Beacon has a current guide to parking spaces across the island HERE, with state, local and town parking spots, and a map of public beach access points as of 2025. Currently, Lee County is proposing to effectively shut down beach parking on the island, to just over 200 places. There would be two-hour […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: I read the brief excerpt and felt that the author left out some important points regarding the creation of the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority. In my 47 years as resident of Charlotte County, I visited the small quaint fishing village with the phosphate train, hundreds of times, years before all the new development. […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.
One of the nation’s biggest advocates for beaches is Dr. John Fletemeyer, a former research professor at Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research. A new resident of Useppa Island, Fletemeyer is known worldwide for his expertise in both rip currents and beach ecology. He is the co-founder of the International Rip Current Symposium program […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News, Real Estate.
One of the most visible properties just off Gasparilla Island is the southern sand tip of Little Gasparilla Island. Anyone passing over the Boca Grande Causeway will know the 6.24-acre lot, as its wide beach is visible as you look west toward the Gulf of Mexico and Boca Grande Pass. “The owner wants to sell […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
The old NBC soap opera “Days of Our Lives” opens with actor MacDonald Carey voicing over the phrase, “Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our lives.” That might be the same introduction to any documentary on the beaches of Gasparilla Island. Each day, and through each storm, the sand moves, returns […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor, News.
The project consists of trucking sand to beaches previously designated by the state as critically eroded and actively managed by Lee County to protect public infrastructure currently at risk from hurricane impacts. Currently permitted locations include Lovers Key where a breach threatens the access bridge, and south of Blind Pass where the severely eroded beach threatens the Sanibel Captiva Road evacuation route.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
While many things are slowly coming back from the storm named Ian that turned us upside down, there are still a few things that are frustrating. Stuck in our craw, if you will. Three of those are the beach access closures, the Community Center playground closure and, now, the closure of the “Pink” docks at […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday, Dec. 20 to approve interlocal agreements to fund 14 Lee County Beach and Shoreline projects using more than $5.78 million in Tourist Development Tax revenue. One of the projects money is allocated for is in Boca Grande. The applicant is the Barrier Island Parks Society, and the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
When Lee County Commissioners sit down for the monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 7 they will not only be discussing the finalization of Boca Grande’s sidewalk ordinance amendment, but also the renewal of lease agreements with three island organizations and a beach renourishment project at the south end of the island. The Boca Grande Historic […]