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THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON …

FIVE YEARS AGO Almost two weeks without any major red tide issues was a big deal, after a period of about two years where it was terrible.  TEN YEARS AGO A ruling on the side of our resources. One aspect of the bottom-weighted tarpon jig saga was closed, as the FWC voted to adopt new […]

EDITORIAL: Paradise just ain’t what it used to be

If a hurricane doesn’t leave you dead It will make you strong. Don’t try to explain it, just nod your head, Breathe in, breathe out, move on. Those words went through my head a time or 10 on September 28th of last year. Since then, as well, as we’ve had our lives turned upside down  […]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Closed for the month, but not out of touch …

To the Editor: The Boca Grande History Center will be closed from September 1 – 30 as we refresh our exhibits for the coming season.  We appreciate your patience and will announce our reopening after our short break. Our staff can still be reached by phone at (941) 964-1600 or by email at info@bocagrandehistoricalsociety.com. We […]

Down in the nick of time – Bakery Building toppled hours before Idalia winds and rain came

Kevin Kelley couldn’t have come at a better time. When he was hired to take over the demolition effort at the old Bakery Building on E. Railroad Avenue, he didn’t waste a moment. Kelley and his crew started on Monday, Aug. 28. He told everyone he hoped to have the second floor of the collapsed building taken down by lunch time … but in fact it was before 11 a.m. when it was down below the roof line of The Barnichol. By the end of the day, it was just about down altogether.
Getting the building down became an urgent priority when the feeder bands of Hurricane Idalia were expected to start hitting the island on Tuesday afternoon. Had the building been left the way it was, who knows what would have happened?

Restoring cell coverage… HERE’S THE LATEST

Here’s a look at the newest timeline provided by Steele Construction, Inc. as to when the tower might be up. Now that the bakery is gone things should move quickly, but this schedule is an optimist’s look at what could happen … if everything goes right.

New owner of the bakery talks about coming back strong from losing it all

Sue Sligar stood watching the Bakery Building come down on Monday, Aug. 28 with mixed feelings. As the new owner of the building (or the space, we should say) she was grateful it would no longer be a hazard to The Barnichol Hardware Store and the general public. But one of the apartments above the bakery had been her home for several years, and she lost just about everything when the tower collapsed on it during Hurricane Ian. 
“I lost everything, materially … all of it,” she said. “But in the face of losing it all, I became fearless. What else did I have to lose?”