Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, Editorial.
The last real top 40 hit from James Taylor was a duet with J.D. Souther. The song “Her Town Too” did not reach that high on the Billboard list in 1981, but many will remember it as a lament about how the familiar sights change after a breakup. It is unclear if it was Carly […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
The Charlotte County Community Development Department has officially launched Forerunner, a new online platform that gives residents quick, easy access to detailed flood information about their properties. This tool is designed to help users better understand their flood risk, navigate compliance requirements, and make more informed decisions when it comes to flood preparedness. Now available […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, Community, News, Sports & Outdoors.
$4.2 million example BY MARCY SHORTUSE A proposed parking plan for Gasparilla Island will affect the island’s future beach renourishment funding and could include a tax for renourishment, according to an internal Lee County memo. A July 2 email obtained this week by the Beacon was sent to commissioners and county staff from the Natural […]
Written by Arlene Hall on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY Last week, shortly after the start of one of our morning patrols, BGSTA volunteers received an urgent text message stating, “All, Denise has a major disorientation with turtles going into the road. She needs help asap. See if the senior walker can do without the help this morning and (come) […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Lee County Commissioners are scheduled to vote August 5 on a parking amendment for Boca Grande that, if passed, would make monumental changes to the landscape of the island. With that thought in mind, it seemed like this would be a good time to get some answers from the ordinance’s backer and […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Police & Fire.
Saturday, July 26 around 9:30 a.m., a coordinated Marine Emergency Response Team (MERT) activation was launched for a vessel fire in Turtle Bay, an estuary at the south end of Cape Haze near the Island Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Charlotte County Marine 1 arrived to find a 20- to 24-foot recreational fishing vessel fully engulfed […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Featured News, News, Police & Fire.
On Friday, July 25, Lee County Sheriff’s Department arrested two people for burglary and grand theft of approximately $5,000 of fishing equipment from a boat. The previous Sunday, July 20, the equipment was reported missing from Miller’s Marina. Lee County Sherriff’s office obtained a video depicting two people with shirts over their faces around 2:15 […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Featured News, News, Police & Fire.
A beachgoer found a burned U.S. Navy phosphorous flare on a Gasparilla Island beach on Tuesday evening around 22nd Street. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the item was transported to the Charlotte County landfill for destruction. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Air Force […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Community, Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: Guess what is not being shared with the public but the Lee County Board is discussing internally? Approving the Boca Grande parking proposal triggers an immediate and expensive FY25 ($4.2M+) price tag, and by federal law, tens of millions of dollars of already approved future federal funds must also be withheld. The […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO New hand sanitizing stations were being distributed to local businesses that took the “Boca Grande Pledge” to educate the public regarding cleanliness and slowing the spread of COVID. TEN YEARS AGO Charlotte County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested three men and were searching for a fourth who were fishing illegally near Alligator Creek. FIFTEEN […]