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2022 Southwest Florida Climate Summit to be held April 7 and 8

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.

Southwest Florida: The Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership (CHNEP) is excited to host the 2022 Southwest Florida Climate Summit. This public event will be held on April 7th and 8 from 9 am to 4:30 pm, with both virtual and in-person participation options. The Summit will feature experts with interactive audience question and answer sessions, to exchange ideas on expanding the region’s capacity to respond to climate challenges and to build climate resilience in our communities.

New study quantifies the economic cost of 2018 red tide

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.

A new study recently published in the journal Tourism Economics by the University of Florida has quantified the financial shock that the 2018 bloom had to Florida’s economy, using the Airbnb market as a gauge of the broader impacts. For the study — which was funded by the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System and NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science — researchers reviewed Airbnb property and reservation data.

Health Clinic to celebrate its 75th anniversary with festivities galore

Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.

The Boca Grande Health Clinic is celebrating its 75th anniversary. For this occasion the Boca Grande Clinic Foundation will host a gala street party on Thursday, April 7, to revel in this momentous occasion and to thank the entire island community for their support.
Festivities will include food trucks, celebratory beverages and entertainment by the “Swinging Bridge” bluegrass band.
The Clinic has come a long way since the mid-1900s, when an out-of-town doctor treated patients once a week in a small room above the Railroad Depot. The journey to 75 years wasn’t always easy. It required courage, passion and perseverance – and the steadfast support of the island community.
The party will be held on 3rd Street between the Clinic and the Annex from 5 to 7 p.m. on April 7.

PROFILE: Betsy Fugate Joiner

Written by T Michele Walker on . Posted in Profiles.

To put the timeline into perspective, by the time Betsy’s father built their home in 1940, their family had been on the island for 32 years.
“When the train moved to Boca Grande, my grandfather, Jerome, Sr., was offered a job and eventually opened up his own business, Fugate’s Drug Store,” she said.
Fugate’s opened in 1916, in the same building where it operates today. A few years earlier, Jerome married Betsy’s grandmother in 1911 and in 1912, Betsy’s father was born on Banyan Street.
“My grandfather Jerome passed away in 1955, when I was pretty young, but he was a big fisherman. He was involved with the very beginning days with the tarpon fishing,” Betsy said. When he passed away, Betsy’s uncle took over the family business.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Good times rolled at another great Spring Fair

Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.

Boca Grande celebrated the 2022 Boca Grande Woman’s Club Spring Fair last Saturday. “Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler” or “Let the Good Times Roll” was possible due to the 100 or so dedicated volunteers who participated both during the Fair and leading up to the big day. The morning started with the annual bike and golf cart parade, and it continued at the Boca Grande Community Center with great food, games, dog agility shows and so much more.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Danger, danger on the South Path

Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.

The GICIA does a very good job of encouraging safety on the path north of First Street. Behavior on the path south of First is the anti-GICIA rules of the road. The South Path is under the jurisdiction of Lee County. There are not even signs encouraging speed limits or even courtesy toward pedestrians. It is an autobahn for golf carts – faster is better with NO consideration for pedestrians. I run on that path six days a week, staying ever alert for fast carts driven by people of all ages. It is dangerous.

I’ll bet you didn’t expect to see THIS in a gopher tortoise hole

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

Those of us who spend a lot of time on Gasparilla Island are used to the term “invasive species” when it comes to certain anoles, lizards, fish and, of course, iguanas. But on Wednesday, March 16 that term took on a whole new meaning. That afternoon a Florida Park Service employee at Gasparilla Island State Park called Florida Fish and Wildlife to report that a UF grad student named Sean McKnight had been scoping a gopher tortoise burrow on their property and he found something unexpected – a Burmese python.

A sitdown with State Attorney Amira Fox

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

“Every year we improve a little bit in the statistics, and a lot as far as violent crimes,” she said. “In 1990 when I became a prosecutor, our circuit’s population was half of what it is now, but the crime rate was double what it is now. That’s how much we’ve changed. Now we are recognizing what’s important in criminal justice – what requires a long sentence and what does not, and which offenders can be rehabilitated. If you’re a violent person, you have to be incarcerated. On the other hand, a large portion of offenders can be helped and rehabilitated, and hopefully it will bring about less recidivism. After I was elected I looked to what I could do to make sure we didn’t just rest at the top … I wanted the statistics to be even lower. I had to realize what our biggest challenges were as a circuit and at this time it is the opioid epidemic, and fentanyl coming into the picture.”