Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
TEN YEARS AGO A mystery survey was sent to random island residents, regarding Gilchrist Avenue parking? Who sent it? And why? FIFTEEN YEARS AGO A group that included Robert Johnson, sisters Carolyn Ryals and Janette Washington, Chevalia Scurry, Bumps and Janell Johnson and others discussed with the Boca Grande Historical Society what it meant to […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Columns, Community.
Written by Dave Horton on . Posted in Columns, Entertainment.
Written by Tim Banfell on . Posted in Columns, Entertainment.
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Opinion.
August weather can often make some people uncomfortable, and that has made the month known as “the dog days of summer.” The Farmer’s Almanac says that the name is linked to the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks believed that the rising of Sirius in mid-to late summer caused the temperatures to rise and conditions to become less comfortable. Though temperatures remain hot and conditions humid in many parts of the northern hemisphere throughout the month of August, the dog days officially end on August 11.
While the dog days of summer may officially be over, no one has told the powers that be to shut the heat off, as so far, August is headed toward becoming the second-warmest month, with temperatures in the high 90s in Florida, while July 2023, at 99 degrees, is listed as the highest on record on Florida’s temperature chart.
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.
In the wake of the recent explosive hearings in the U.S. Congress on UFOs, now called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, the sole report of a 1999 UFO hovering near the causeway to Boca Grande still remains a mystery.
The report was from Dec. 18, 1999, when an unknown couple is alleged to have come onto the island and seen a “football-field-sized saucer with blinking white lights, that made no sound as it traveled across the sky.”
The report is one of over 8,000 sightings of mysterious things in the air over Florida, according to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Education, News.
As Florida’s coral reef experienced record-breaking heat waves starting in July, with temperatures in adjacent backreef areas reaching temperatures above 100°F, Mote Marine Laboratory immediately began an unprecedented evacuation of thousands of stressed and dying coral from its four offshore coral nurseries.
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Community.
The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association (GICIA) is pleased to announce that a Bike Path enhancement project began earlier this week. Each year summer maintenance and improvement projects are established for the five miles of the GICIA Bike Path. The focus this year is returning GICIA’s Bike Path property to pre-hurricane condition.
Hurricane Ian destroyed much of the island’s beautiful vegetation. It is estimated that approximately 300 trees and countless grasses and shrubs along the Bike Path were lost to the storm. This week crews began planting nearly 2,500 trees, shrubs and grasses to replace what was lost to Ian.
Written by Boca Grande Health Clinic on . Posted in Health & Wellness, Sports & Outdoors.
Back in 1993, the Professional Golf Association deemed August National Golf Month. For the golf obsessed, this is a great excuse to get out and play a round with family and friends. The month-long celebration is a way to promote the game and introduce new people to the sport.
Tiger Woods was 17 in 1993 and had won the last of his three straight U.S. junior amateur championships. For the majority of the golfing world and certainly for those in the mainstream, not much was known about this 17-year-old from California, but golf insiders thought he could be golf’s next great champion. Fast forward to April 1997. “Tiger Mania” was about to explode, and the “win for the ages” at The Masters cemented him as golf’s best player and changed how golf was perceived as a sport.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
When Lee County Commissioners hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 15, one of the topics of discussion will be approval of the budget for the replacement of the Boca Grande Community Center roof.
This will be what is known as a County Project Authorization with West Coast Florida Enterprises, Inc. The cost for the project is $223,500.