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Local men to take Honor Flight this fall

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community, News.

Two local men will be taking the trip of a lifetime in October, as they have been chosen to be aboard the second Honor Flight from Southwest Florida in a year. Pastor Gary Beatty of island’s First Baptist Church and his parishioner, Robert Armstrong, both served their country admirably and feel blessed to take part in this adventure.

Beatty said he had two special goals for himself. The first was to go to Israel, and the second was to go to Washington, D.C. to visit the veterans’ memorials. A couple of years ago his first dream was fulfilled, and now he is excited to have the second one come to fruition.

Leathery crusaders in the LBC: It’s beginning to look a lot like ‘Batmas’

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.

It may not be Halloween yet, but any time of year is perfect to celebrate our friend, the bat.

Lemon Bay Conservancy (LBC) has just commissioned a bat nursery that they hope will bring over 300 bats to Cape Haze’s Lemon Bay Wildflower Preserve – all at the same bat time.Possibly on the same bat channel.

 “It is the beginning of our efforts to enter into bat conservation territory,” said Tonya Bramlage of the LBC, the group that installed the house at the Lemon Bay Wildflower Preserve.

OBITUARY: Lucy Hamilton

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.

Lucy Battel Hamilton died peacefully on July 19, 2023 at her summer home in Cooperstown, New York surrounded by her loving family.  Known to all as “Bunny,” she was born in Buffalo, N.Y. on November 13, 1933, the daughter of Lucy Mills Battel and John Lawrence Battel. After attending the Buffalo Seminary and Bennett College, […]

THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Community History.

FIVE YEARS AGO Crowder Gulf, a name we know and love from Hurricane Ian cleanup, was on our beaches cleaning up dead fish from red tide. TEN YEARS AGO The first cars went over the new center bridge on August 1, 2013. The Boca Beacon published the first Gasparilla Gazette, newly purchased from the Breeze […]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Commissioners approve creation of 23 community development positions, funds for families

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

To the Editor:

The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the immediate creation of 23 new positions within the Department of Community Development to address increasing building permit volumes.

Increased permitting volumes are projected to continue over the next several years as Lee County’s population continues to grow and as residents continue to rebuild following Hurricane Ian. From Oct. 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, Staff accepted 72,516 permit applications, 45,411 of which were identified by the applicant as being hurricane-related. Staff issued 68,362 permits, 43,006 of which were identified by the applicant as being hurricane-related.

In the same period, 207,056 inspections were requested and 131,323 inspections were completed, of which 108,831 were hurricane-related.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Englewood yoga instructor enters final week of beach yoga challenge

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

To the Editor:
Facing off against what has proven to be a mean season of hot summer days under a blistering Florida sun, on August 6 Kris Hleuka of Loving Light Yoga is set to complete a streak of 31 consecutive days leading fellow yoga enthusiasts in their regularly scheduled morning yoga practice on Englewood Beach. Pinch-hitting for Loving Light owners Lata and Robert Coykendall, who after 15 years of sponsoring Englewood’s Community Beach Yoga each and every day (holidays included) decided to actually take a vacation, Hleuka was asked to lead during what turned out to be a record-breaking heat wave.

Summer heat becoming a real issue with humans, as well as with pets

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Health & Wellness, News.

Anyone who knows island resident Libby Frazier knows that she is a lover of all animals. You might see her on her golf cart in town, several dogs in tow, running daily errands. There are few people who can say they have taken their cockatoo or their chickens to the Blessing of the Animals that the churches used to have here, but she is one of them.
Just recently Libby was at home when she saw her dog, Lucy, running toward her and knew right away that something was wrong. Libby could feel the heat emanating from her, could see her labored breathing and realized that she was overheating.
She did the only thing she could think of, the same thing that many people would do in her position – she filled a tub with cold water, dumped some ice in it and put her little dog in to cool off.
Two days later, though, Lucy passed away. Libby was devastated. We are so sorry for her loss.

Florida real estate prices stable, but fewer sales going on lately

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

In spite of interest rate increases, the Florida real estate market this June remains stable, with the average house selling for $420,000, the same as June 2022, and the average condo selling for $325,000, also the same as 2022.
However, statewide there has been a decrease in closed sales of existing houses, down 7.9 percent year over year. Condo and townhouse sales were down 11 percent, to 10,494. Florida Realtors Chief Economist Brad O’Connor said in a national press release that a 7.9 percent year-over-year decline in closed single-family home sales is understandable due to interest rates. 
Today, the 30-year fixed rate is in the 7-7.375 percent range, according to Terese Dulge, vice president and residential lender for Englewood Bank and Trust, now Crews Bank and Trust. She said that rates, coupled with today’s property prices, are making it more and more difficult for many borrowers to qualify for a new mortgage.

Public participation meetings for federal disaster recovery funds planned throughout Lee County (but not here)

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.

Resident participation meetings throughout unincorporated Lee County and in municipalities are planned in August to receive public comment and input on the Draft Action Plan for the $1.1 billion Community Development Block Grant – disaster recovery funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Draft Action Plan will be published at […]

New airlines make for breezier visits, fewer stopovers

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.

In the last few years, new airlines serving Southwest Florida have meant hundreds of new direct flights and cheaper fares – as cheap as a Greyhound bus fare in the 1980s.  For Boca Grande residents like Anne Honey, one can now take a direct flight – at a discount and in a new plane – […]