Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Boca Beacon Back Pages.
A BOCA BEACON TIMELINE FIVE YEARS AGO Dr. Raymond James joined the Boca Grande Health Clinic staff. TEN YEARS AGO The Mote Marine Laboratory branch on the island was about to open and Cannon and Kyle Jones spoke to the Beacon about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. It occurred at the elementary school they […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Editorial, News.
By Hector Flores, Charlotte County The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are a time of celebration and reflection. I wish you and your loved ones health, happiness and a deserving respite from the hard work we’ve all been doing to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Ian. I am so proud of the efforts […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO The Pink Pony got that really cool machine that presses pennies into different designs. TEN YEARS AGO Ed Seale passed away, a true Southern gentleman who helped shape Gasparilla Island with his real estate company. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO A company that was looking into purchasing the old Mercabo facility wanted to put […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Opinion.
This has been a strange year. So was the year before it … and the year before it … and so on. It’s been a non-stop parade of “unprecedented” situations we’ve been experiencing, all the while trying to continue on with what we recall our “normal” lives to have been. That memory is slipping further […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
In some cases, insurance premiums are up 400 percent on island homes for fiscal year 2022-23 Everyone has been aware of the unavoidable insurance premium increase that would come after Hurricane Ian, but one Gasparilla Island couple was so flummoxed by their recent renewal premium, they see this as a game changer for many residents […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.
There are many people who love Boca Grande. There are a lucky few who are from Boca Grande. But there are some people who are Boca Grande. Dennis Oller was one of those people. His love of the island began when he moved here at the age of 9, in 1966, and it continued until […]
Written by Boca Grande Health Clinic on . Posted in Health & Wellness, News.
Get ready, because Santa is coming to Boca Grande – and he is bringing along COVID-19 and his cousins flu and RSV for Christmas dinner! As you all have probably read, RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is spreading across the U.S., as is influenza. And like Cousin Eddie in the movie “Christmas Vacation,” COVID-19 just will […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Police & Fire.
If you want to kick a man when he’s down, wait for a hurricane to hit, then take his giant fish. This actually happened, but not to a man as much as to a marina. Boca Grande Marina, to be specific. They had a 16-foot, marlin on the side of the building for years. The […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
Barbara (Barbie) Patricia Haynes Witham, beloved mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and cousin, passed away peacefully on December 4, 2022 at the Sussman House in Rockport, Maine. She was 77. She was born on September 13, 1945 in Portland, Maine, the third of three girls to Linwood and Barbara (Frazee) Haynes. Educated in Bath, Maine, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
When you sit down in the old 3rd Street Bistro building the nostalgia is strong. If you remember it as Loons on a Limb, you’ll appreciate the little stained glass window that commemorates the little cafe. If you remember the little details of South Beach Bar & Grille, you’ll see three tables that were saved […]