Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN The Charlotte County Boca Grande Street and Draining Advisory Board met on Monday, Aug. 20 to discuss a variety of items on the agenda. The first topic addressed: Exotic animal control. United States Department of Agriculture employee Samantha Rushing is an iguana technician who is contracted through the county to do […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT Contractors working for Lee County have removed more than 1,400 tons of fish from Lee County beaches and waterways since beginning work on Aug. 2. That total doesn’t include fish collected by Lee County Parks & Recreation staff before the contractor began work, fish collected from Boca Grande or fish collected by […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE This year’s Island School students gathered in their classrooms on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 8 to prepare themselves for the upcoming 2018-19 school year, which begins this Friday. Head-of-School Jean Thompson said the school is at a maximum enrollment of 60 again this year, and a lottery was held for the second […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Despite the effects of red tide, sea turtle nests numbers are continuing to grow, hatchlings are making their way to the water and excavations are being done by patrol members on a consistent basis. As of July 27, the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association reported 636 Caretta caretta (Loggerhead) turtle nests […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: We are regular visitors to Boca Grande from England and are horrified by what is happening with the red tide this year. It was bad enough when we were there in February/March, but we understand from friends who are part-time residents that it is now far worse! We have seen a couple […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT Nothing spoils your happy vacation mood like arriving at a beautiful beach house with an overstuffed trash receptacle at the end of the driveway. If you are a regular renter on the island and find you are consistently dealing with full garbage containers when you arrive at your rental, there is a […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Sea turtle nests are continuing to hatch at a fast rate on the island, and more than 80 new nests have been recorded this week. As of July 13, the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association (BGSTA) reported 495 Caretta caretta (loggerhead) turtle nests on the island. There were 511 reported false […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital staff released a subadult Kemp’s ridley turtle on Friday, July 13, from Anna Maria Island after it recovered from entanglement in fishing gear. The rehabilitation and release of this turtle, nicknamed “Gazpacho,” is of special importance because Kemp’s ridleys are federally designated as endangered. Gazpacho […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Boca Grande residents who were concerned about the closing of My Halo, worry no more. Tim Beach and Stuart Christensen recently purchased the company, and they plan to continue to offer all levels of service that the former owners offered. Beach and Christensen currently own a business in Sarasota called Help […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN It’s baby sea turtle time. The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association reported the first hatch from zone five on Monday, July 9. This was the second hatch of the season and there were several more during the week. Patrol members said all of them oriented perfectly with the direction of the […]