The Gasparilla Inn & Club will be moving into their newly-aquired space in the Gulf Coast International Properties building at the corner of Park Avenue and 4th Street in the very near future, but the two other businesses that occupy the space will stay until their leases are up at the end next year. According […]

The staff at the Boca Beacon and Gasparilla Island Magazine are very proud of our awards received at the 2022 Florida Press Association awards, held earlier this month at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Jacksonville. In total we came home with 13 awards, including the following:  For Gasparilla Island Magazine Marcy Shortuse […]

Here we call it “One Charlotte, One Water.” The County Commission approved the hiring of a water quality manager to develop a water quality monitoring plan and to coordinate cross-departmental efforts and public outreach. Earlier this year, the County convened a water quality summit to identify water quality drivers in Charlotte Harbor; share recent advances in harmful algal bloom detection, prediction and communication; highlight County activities and partnerships to monitor, improve and protect water quality and natural habitats; and provide opportunities for citizen education and action.

Gopher tortoises can live 40 to 80 years in the wild. They love to forage on tender low-growing green plants and leaves in the early morning or late afternoon but can also be found eating flowers on prickly pear cactus and hibiscus, saw palmetto berries and gopher apples. They have one clutch of eggs per year, which contains anywhere from three to 14 eggs, and it takes about 100 days for the eggs to incubate. The sex of the eggs is temperature-dependent, meaning that if the temperature is above 85 F, the hatchling will be a female, and if lower, it will be a male.