Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, Featured News, News.
The Public Hearing on Gasparilla Island parking is Tuesday, August 5 at 9:30 a.m. at the Old Lee County Courthouse, where all Lee County Commission meetings are held. The address is: Old Lee County Courthouse, 2120 Main St, Fort Myers, FL 33901 Those who wish to speak may sign up with a card when they […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, Community, News, Sports & Outdoors.
$4.2 million example BY MARCY SHORTUSE A proposed parking plan for Gasparilla Island will affect the island’s future beach renourishment funding and could include a tax for renourishment, according to an internal Lee County memo. A July 2 email obtained this week by the Beacon was sent to commissioners and county staff from the Natural […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY Last week, shortly after the start of one of our morning patrols, BGSTA volunteers received an urgent text message stating, “All, Denise has a major disorientation with turtles going into the road. She needs help asap. See if the senior walker can do without the help this morning and (come) […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Electromagnetic technology could reduce fishing depredation Scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory’s research facility in Sarasota are testing devices that send electric pulses intended to repel sharks from caught fish. Demian Chapman, senior scientist and director for Mote’s Center for Shark Research is leading shark research at the Marine Experimental Research Facility (MERF). Currently at the […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History, News, Real Estate.
The Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board meeting will be held on August 13, at 10 a.m., at St. Andrew’s Chapter House. The agenda includes items by the public, two Special Certificate of Appropriateness cases and an item by the staff. In the first item on the agenda, SCA2025-00017, the applicant is seeking approval to deconstruct […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Lee County Commissioners are scheduled to vote August 5 on a parking amendment for Boca Grande that, if passed, would make monumental changes to the landscape of the island. With that thought in mind, it seemed like this would be a good time to get some answers from the ordinance’s backer and […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Police & Fire.
Saturday, July 26 around 9:30 a.m., a coordinated Marine Emergency Response Team (MERT) activation was launched for a vessel fire in Turtle Bay, an estuary at the south end of Cape Haze near the Island Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Charlotte County Marine 1 arrived to find a 20- to 24-foot recreational fishing vessel fully engulfed […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Featured News, News, Police & Fire.
On Friday, July 25, Lee County Sheriff’s Department arrested two people for burglary and grand theft of approximately $5,000 of fishing equipment from a boat. The previous Sunday, July 20, the equipment was reported missing from Miller’s Marina. Lee County Sherriff’s office obtained a video depicting two people with shirts over their faces around 2:15 […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, Featured News, News.
Above, newspaper and magazine awards from last year’s convention. Boca Beacon archives The Boca Beacon and Gasparilla Island Magazine received word that has been nominated for 39 awards at the annual Florida Magazine Association and Florida Press Association contests. The Beacon is a finalist for 18 awards, including a The Jon A. Roosenraad First Amendment […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Featured News, News, Police & Fire.
A beachgoer found a burned U.S. Navy phosphorous flare on a Gasparilla Island beach on Tuesday evening around 22nd Street. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the item was transported to the Charlotte County landfill for destruction. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Air Force […]