Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, Community, News.
The Boca Beacon has received a circulating draft of an updated parking regulation for Gasparilla Island in Lee County. The Beacon asked for a draft copy from the county, but the county did not provide one. The draft is dated Feb. 26, 2025. It would restrict beach parking to existing state parks, as well as […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Community, News.
Spring breaks have officially begun, and as students from across the country head for the warmth of Florida, expect more crowds and traffic throughout the month of March. Lee and Charlotte Counties’ public schools have March 17-21 off, as does The Island School here in Boca Grande. Collier County students get March 10-14 off. Among […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community History, Featured News, News, Real Estate.
Four residential projects, as well as a commercial façade improvement, will come in front of the next meeting of the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 12, at the Boca Grande Community Center. The one commercial project is the rebuilding of the façade wall and the replacement of windows and […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Lee County’s iguana-removal vendor for Boca Grande has resumed service after a three-month winter hiatus. “The break is there because it’s a stipulation of the contract written by Lee County,” said Tom Portuallo, owner and founder of Blue Iguana Pest Control Inc. Brian Ambrose is a technician for Blue Iguana which is the primary vendor […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
Regina S. Rockefeller Regina Rockefeller was 21 when she first came to Boca Grande. She was Regina Strazzulla, a young woman determined to make a difference in the world. She came to vacation with her boyfriend, Andy Rockefeller, and his family. Andy’s mother, Connie Wallace, and Regina formed a bond during that vacation that has […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: I read with increasing disappointment and real concern about the Lee County Commission’s continued failure to commit to any real transparency regarding the parking issue in Boca Grande. (Seems like it’s a pattern in government these days.) I’m going to say the quiet part out loud; whether intentional or not, this lack […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
Early Thursday morning, there were high winds across the island. They caused waves that washed away newly deposited sand. Those winds, which brought much-needed rain, rustled the yellow reflective sticks that are placed in the middle of the Gilchrist median between 5th and 4th streets. Were they an art installation? Of a sort! Everyone knows […]
Written by Drew Stanley on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
It should relieve beachgoers to learn that the number of unprovoked shark attacks came down to a measly 47 incidents worldwide last year, with only four of those being fatal. These numbers are in line with decreasing trends in shark attacks and bite deaths seen in recent years, though they are still well below the […]
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
The influenza pandemic of 1918 may well be the greatest scourge ever to affect humanity, exacting a death toll greater than all wars of the20th century combined. The virus that wreakedthis havoc apparently developed in birds and jumped to people. It was avian flu. David L. Katz, American physician The claim that bird flu is […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.
A number of citizens came to Fort Myers today to address the issue of parking on Gasparilla Island with the Lee County Board of County Commissioners on March 4, 2025. Speakers included Gary Cross, Executive Director of the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce; Larry Hannah; Kimberly Whipple, senior warden of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church; resident […]