Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
VOTE 411 provides information on registering to vote and the deadlines for doing so. It can tell you your personal registration status. It can tell you where your polling place is. (Well, we all know where to vote in person on the island.) It can look up your own ballot, and it also lists all the candidates for all the offices this year.
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
“Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach is excited to once again partner with CCA Florida as a destination sponsor of the STAR fishing competition,” said Tourism Director Sean Doherty of the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau. “Showcasing Charlotte Harbor, the second largest estuary in the state, is a natural fit for this event. In addition, we applaud and embrace the conservation efforts of the Coastal Conservation Association as we rely so heavily on the quality and health of our waters from both a residential and tourism standpoint. We appreciate the opportunity to promote our area to responsible anglers throughout the state who have been educated on sustainable practices through their affiliation with CCA Florida.”
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Editorial, Opinion.
The water bodies of Sarasota Bay are designated as an Outstanding Florida Waters (OFW’s). This designation is intended to provide additional protection to special waters recognized for their ecological significance, by providing the highest degree of protection under the State of Florida’s permitting policies. An OFW designation requires that water quality must not be degraded below the level that existed at the time of the OFW designation. However, significant degradation of Sarasota Bay has occurred since its original designation, as documented through water quality data, red tide blooms, areas of seagrass die-off and manatee mortalities.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
Among those items that were discussed were solar panels. Board members had asked Lee County at their last meeting to do some research into how other counties and localities deal with the visual impact of solar panels, to which Lee County Attorney Amanda Swindle responded.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
“Joe will be conducting activities for our guest families during season,” he said, “and when The Inn is closed for the summer, he will be conducting a camp for employees’ children. We needed a family program: It’s one of the things that was missing here. We had kids’ activities, but not as much for families. Kids are coming more and more throughout the entire season, not just for spring break, and Joe is a perfect fit. He spent more than two decades with Lee County and we know how well he deals with kids through our own experiences with him, and watching how he interacts with our own kids and how much they love him. So many families have built relationships with Joe on island, so we knew it would work out very well.”
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
The truth about the cost of living in this area is brutal right now. While income has barely – if at all – increased for most employees in many years, the costs of groceries, gasoline, utilities and, of course, rent have vastly increased in the last 18 months. When droves of people started moving to Florida during the height of the pandemic, real estate went through the roof. Many people who owned rental homes realized they could easily get hundreds more in their pocket with the supply-and-demand situation this area was facing, while others decided to take full advantage of the market and sell their rental properties. Not only did they leave the worry of being a landlord behind, they had a lot more money in their pocket from buyers paying an inflated price for their property.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Lee County Parks & Recreation and the Boca Beacon will sponsor another youth fishing tournament on Saturday, May 14 at the Boca Grande Fishing Pier, located on the north end of the island behind Kappy’s Island Shoppe, from 9 to 11 a.m.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
Elizabeth Jane (Bubar) Haraden, 85, recently of Acton, Mass., died in Concord on March 25, 2022. She was born on June 15, 1936 in Fort Fairfield, Maine, as the only child of Helen Towle and Wendell Ransford Bubar. After her parents and large tight-knit Fort Fairfield family, Betty’s (her Maine name) first love was […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
Garber has been in Boca Grande just a couple of months but is already fully enmeshed in the island vibe. Some of that just comes naturally to him, and some is because he had served on Captiva Island for a considerable time before being assigned here. This experience has made him a perfect fit for the job in Boca Grande.
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Editorial.
Using the most sensitive technology available for detecting harmful algal bloom (HAB) toxins, the Calusa Waterkeeper (CWK) research team started airborne toxin monitoring in July 2021 at eight locations in Lee County, Florida. Samples were collected with the use of a monitoring device designed and optimized from the ground up, incorporating elements of other design […]