Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN The parking area at the state park beach located at 680 Gulf Boulevard was temporarily closed due to Florida Light & Power utility work recently. The project was to secure hardening feeder maintenance for the power company. “This specific project is part of FPL’s efforts to strengthen the grid,” said Florida […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
We’ve had an interesting couple of weeks when it comes to natural gas activity in the downtown area. Last week we told you about a potential gas leak in the 4th Street vicinity, which turned out to be workers at The Gasparilla Inn Beach Club working on a gas line at the Beach Club restaurant. […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT The State Fire Marshall couldn’t rule lightning out – or in, for that matter – in the incident that occurred at Gasparilla Inn Cottage 71 on Lee Avenue on Thursday, Aug. 8. At approximately 11 a.m. that day, Boca Grande and Englewood Fire responded to the call of a structure fire at […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT On Thursday, Aug. 8 Lee County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a residential burglary on the island (exact location redacted due to Marsy’s Law). According to reporting deputies, contact was made with the complainant, who is the caretaker of a home in Boca Grande. The caretaker said he witnessed a […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
Joseph “J Baldy” Rinaldi, 76, passed into the never on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10, 2019, surrounded by family and friends. He died from complications related to his battle with lung cancer. Baldy was born Joseph Leonard Rinaldi on April 21, 1942 to Joseph C. and Dolores F. (Colapietro) Rinaldi in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN If you’ve visited Hudson’s Grocery recently, you might have noticed a new face helping to run the store. Sporting a bright pink T-shirt, Mike Bower has been working hard at the store, learning how to run the business for the past several weeks. Working alongside his grandfather, John White, a long-time employee of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, News, Opinion.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Several readers have contacted me regarding the news reports nationwide of pets dying after swimming in water affected by Harmful Algae Blooms, or HABs. Blue-green algae, otherwise known as cyanobacteria, has been the culprit in most of the reports. Many dogs have died after swimming in the tainted water, and reports […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
■ BY JOELLEN WILSON, BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST Ten years ago Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) started a tarpon-tagging project in Charlotte Harbor. Back then we used heavy and expensive satellite tags. But those clunky tags gave us precise daily locations of each tagged fish during their fall migration. We learned generally where the fish […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT Sporadic and intense lightning storms were named as the culprit in two fire incidents that occurred this week. The first call came in on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 8:26 p.m. as an outside fire. It turned out to be a tree on fire in the 200 block of Damficare Street. The second […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE UPDATED STORY AS OF THE AFTERNOON OF FRIDAY, AUG. 9 … A Code Enforcement officer was on the island Friday morning, and he has already closed out several of the complaints against businesses that have been lodged in the past few weeks. As of Friday, Aug. 9 complaints against Seale Family […]