Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, Letters to the Editor, News.
To the Editor: Lee County Government will close its current application window for its LeeCARES Small Business Relaunch Assistance Program at 5 p.m. Friday, June 19. The county anticipates reopening the application process on June 22, subject to availability of funds. County staff will continue to assess and process the nearly 2,200 applications received since […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE- The weather was suited more for the fish than the anglers, but even with torrential rain and storms the 2020 Quarantine Classic yielded 70 tarpon released over two days, and Capt. Charlie Coleman and his team aboard Casuarina taking top honors. The team that included Emily and Howard Wise, Nick Wenzel and […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE- Prior to 2020, many local kids (and their parents) looked forward to the beginning of summer camp, which is held at the Boca Grande Community Center and usually starts the week after school ends. This year, though, things are different. It’s not as simple to drop your child off with a kiss […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
STAFF REPORT- Gasparilla Island Water Association, Inc. (GIWA) will be temporarily changing the disinfection process for its Placida and Boca Grande potable (drinking water) water supply. From June 15 at 8 a.m. through July 27, GIWA will disinfect the water with free chlorine rather than combined chlorine/ammonia (chloramines). This conversion to chlorine (which is a […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
Without our history, it’s difficult to remember where we came from. These words of wisdom have been repeated quite often as of late, but they take on a new meaning when pertaining to the island. Gasparilla Island has changed so much, it’s difficult to picture what it used to be like. A particularly good example […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News, Obituaries.
George “Ashley” Gray, 48, of Venice, Florida, passed on May 27, 2020, as a result of a motorcycle accident near Woodsboro, Maryland. Born on June 7, 1971 in Washington, DC, he was the son to Mason W. Gray IV and the late Hannah Tyson Lee Sharp Gray. Along with his father, Ashley leaves behind his […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE- Governor Ron DeSantis announced today that Phase 2 of the “Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step” plan would begin to be implemented today, Friday, June 5. DeSantis said this means that all bars in all but three Florida counties – Dade, Broward and Palm Beach – could re-open with certain stipulations, which include operating at half […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE- There are few woman in any first-world country who could sit at the finest table in the finest home, and casually discuss how she skinned a goat on board a cruise ship to the Galapagos Islands, or how she drank heated mare’s milk with urine to get her day started in middle […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.
Marguerite Agnes East passed away on April 27, 2020, at the age of 105, in Fort Myers, Florida. Marguerite was born on November 7, 1914 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was the third of nine children born to George Oliver Ellard and Agnes Painton Ellard. Marguerite was full of energy and always looking for an […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
STAFF REPORT- The staff of the Boca Beacon and Gasparilla Island Magazine are up for 19 awards at a virtual presentation by the Florida Presentation and Florida Magazine Association that will be held on Friday, July 31. The Florida Press Association has nominated the Boca Beacon for 12 awards this year. Susan Erwin is in the […]