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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Sarasota Opera Food & Wine Festival welcomes new partners and returning favorites

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

To the Editor: Sarasota Opera’s annual Food & Wine Festival returns on September 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. and will take place at Sarasota Opera House. Local restaurants will gather to serve tasty bites, wine and other treats as a benefit for Sarasota Youth Opera. This year’s festival will feature many returning classics, such […]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Gulf Coast Community Foundation awards $30,000 to Conservation Foundation

Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Editorial.

To the Editor:  The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast recently received two $15,000 grants from Gulf Coast Community Foundation. These grants were made possible through the Katherine Naismith Witten Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Both grants support Conservation Foundation’s land management and restoration programs on their protected lands, with a specific focus on […]

Demo crew quits, droopy Bakery Building more precarious than ever as crews try to begin construction of new tower base

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

The status of our new cell tower is now officially in question after the demolition company hired to do the job has now quit, citing the safety of his crew and the public as his reason for doing so.

Allegedly Robert Phineas, the owner of the Sarasota company called Roots SRQ, said he would not take responsibility for the project, so he packed up his equipment and left. In the mean time, part of the debris hanging from the second floor of the building fell into the street either Wednesday night or Thursday morning, which meant the road had to be blocked off. Heavy rains predicted in the next few days will endanger the project more by rendering the dangling debris soggier and heavier.

The original pile of debris that was left by the demo company was scooped back into the building by the workmen on site and contractor Leo Pfliger has already done his work on the wall between the Lumen Building and the Bakery Building, which was to cut a hole so the tower assembly company, Steele Construction (who works for the main tower company, Vertical Bridge) could get their equipment through to the tower site.

Think this Florida heat has made window a/c units obsolete? Think again

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

Last Saturday, the island officially hit 101 degrees, after a week of highs around 97 or 98. The “feels like” temps were, at times, around 118 degrees.

Through this heatwave and others, some places in Boca Grande still rely upon, and prize, the extra cooling potential of the humble A/C window unit. 

On a hot afternoon at Gasparilla Adventures, Sam Fletcher (aka ‘Socks in Crocs’) and Brittani Salmon are still cheery when helping customers renting golf carts and bikes. Their not so secret weapon? A GE brand window unit, blasting out cool air next to the cash register. A second upstairs window unit, which keeps the second floor cool enough for Snow Mizer, had other benefits in this month’s heat and humidity.

OBITUARY: Nelson Thomas

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.

The sun was a little less bright the day when Nelson Thomas was taken from us just recently. He was an island son who was known to all and loved by many, and he spent the last years of his life taking care of his aunt on Damficare Street, Jo Anne Speers. Nelson was ill […]

EDITORIAL: We are all ‘somebody’ in the history of Gasparilla Island … for better, or for worse

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, Editorial, Obituaries.

There’s so much that has changed in our community in the last year or two. It’s difficult sometimes to wrap our minds around what has happened just since last September, much less the other changes that have taken place. Some of them were fast and furious, like Hurricane Ian, but others have been a slow, […]