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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Fifth Street Beach Access closed as a safety precaution

Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.

To the Editor: The Fifth Street Beach Access on Boca Grande has been closed as a safety precaution because Hurricane Idalia eroded the beach and washed away the access ramp.  The Beach Access points north and south of Fifth Street remain open. Visit leeparks.org for more details. Residents and visitors are reminded that Gasparilla State […]

A seahorse, a used COVID test and 1,000 pacifiers (and much more) found at Coastal Cleanup

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Featured News.

Volunteers gathered on Gasparilla’s beaches for the annual International Coastal Beach Clean Up, held across the world, and on island, on Saturday, Sept. 16.

“We even had a couple of walk-ons,” said Susan Heyl, one of the volunteers for the day. A volunteer from sponsoring group Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS), she was working the 7th Street beach cleanup site with Danielle Domke of Grande Escapes, another one of the sponsors of the day.

Temptation sign returns, new special label Maker’s Mark bourbon to be on hand in honor of the occasion

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

The Temptation is planning a street party on Saturday, Oct. 7 to celebrate the reinstallation and restoration of their historic sign and the restaurant’s 75th anniversary.

This is actually the 12th Maker’s Mark barrel take for The Temp. 

“Honestly, they are not going to send a bad barrel,” said Jeffrey Simmons, owner. “You pick one that fits our profile.”

Local officials lead Florida seacoast recovery conference

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

Local experts on seacoast ecology are leading state efforts to reconcile scheduled beach replenishment and the environment at the second Florida Resilience Conference, set for Sept. 27-29 in Fort Lauderdale. The conference brings together local, national and international experts to address issues with Florida’s beaches and waterways.

One of the lead speakers is Michael Poff, a Lee County professional engineer. His work includes getting the Federal Emergency Management Association, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and dozens of other parties to sign off on regularly scheduled Lee County beach rebuilding efforts and at the same time, repair the damage from Hurricane Ian. 

“They all have to agree on everything,” said Poff, who is who is president of Coastal Engineering Consultants. “It’s one less disturbance to the environment.”

Lee County vote increases Captiva building height in the name of ‘resilience’

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Featured News.

Last week, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to overturn longstanding height restrictions due to a storm “resilience” initiative and a need for the rebuilding of the South Seas Resort on Captiva.

“We were very, very disappointed with the 4-1 vote to move that forward,” said James Evans, CEO of the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, which advocates for the islands and manages 2,100 acres of coastal lands. They presented over 13,000 signatures against the changes, 6,000 of which where from across Lee County.

Evans said that it was incredible that density and building heights were increased in what is defined as a Coastal High Hazard area in the “guise of resiliency.”

An old treasure in the trees on Placida Road

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community History, Featured News.

A parcel on Placida Road, with an empty 1920s cottage just south of the Hacienda condominiums and across from Cape Haze Resort, may have a new owner.

The property was originally listed on the commercial real estate website Loopnet as an 11-acre waterfront development site and offered at $2,750,000. It had been listed by Sunmark Realty Agent Sage Andress, and is now marked as “under contract.” Andress, reached by email, was not able to talk about the sale until “all deals are closed.”

The parcel, also advertised as 8019 and 8436 Placida Road, includes a historic bungalow that has had an extensive history discussion on the Placida/Cape Haze Memories Facebook page. 8019 Placida was advertised at 4.22 acres, and 8436 Placida was advertised at 3.12 acres.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: GIMM thanks everyone for a great season

Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Featured News, Letters to the Editor.

To the Editor: The Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum (GIMM) and Whidden’s captains had a great tarpon season! We hosted  two “Howl At Moon“ tournaments, and William Woodroffe hosted two more tarpon tournaments to benefit GIMM this past season. Each tournament was a “grande’ success, and a portion of each tournament entry included a donation to […]