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Make it Grande! Royal Palm Players announces their 2023-24 season

Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Entertainment.

After three years of partial seasons, Royal Palm Players is poised and ready to entertain and excite you. They are back with a full season of four major productions starring over 40 different actors—some brand new to our stage—some familiar and beloved—all are committed to raising the bar of entertainment excellence.

The season is off to a “grande” beginning. The Crowninshield is the perfect setting for The Dining Room On Boca Grande, November 13th and 14th at 5pm. RPP’s opening show is adapted from A.R. Gurney’s dramedy of manners. This table reading literally takes place around a dining room table in a mansion on Gilchrist Avenue. Through a vivid mosaic of scenes, different families in different time periods, create a portrait of life on Boca Grande over the past 100 years.

Parking discussion continues

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community, Police & Fire.

NOTE: This story contains new information that cannot be found in the hard copy or e-edition story. Just after press time we received information requested earlier in the week that is pertinent to the facts of the story and is included here.

We went from no towers to lots of towers

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community.

BY SHEILA EVANS AND MARCY SHORTUSE Not only do we have a new cell phone tower in the middle of town, baby cell phone towers have popped up as well … and more are being planned. Right now we have two new “Q-tip” towers at the north end – one at Gulf Shores Drive and […]

A lack of south end dunes has led to a lot of flooding … so what can be done?

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.

Back in July of 1967, the headline in the News-Press of Fort Myers was, “What to Do About Eroded Tip of Boca Grande.”

Then, as now, islanders were looking to beach nourishment to help prevent erosion on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island. At that time, the Boca Grande Conservation Council, headed by Homer Addison of The Temptation, was in favor of establishing a park at the tip of the island, as the Lighthouse was for sale from the Coast Guard through the General Services Administration. It seemed an ideal solution; the only challenge being the “erosion problem.”

Six decades later, the issue of erosion, while not fixed, is regularly addressed through a mix of federal, local and tourist tax monies. Gasparilla, and indeed all of the Gulf of Mexico islands in Florida, are under regular schedules for replenishment. But what is also a challenge is the flooding at the tip of the island, which hit the south end’s streets and historic buildings during hurricanes Irma, Ian and Idalia.

9 a.m. start to Saturday Halloween Carnival; Chamber of Commerce Downtown Walk on Halloween, 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community.

The annual Halloween Carnival will start a little earlier, at 9 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Boca Grande Community Center.. This event, sponsored by the Boca Grande Woman’s Club, The Friends of Boca Grande and Lee County Parks & Recreation, will feature the costume contest you all know and love, beginning sharply at […]

Disappearance of unknowns helps clear up real estate season

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community.

As insurance issues and condominium assessments have cleared up, buyers and sellers have been getting a better picture of property values and what the upcoming property season will entail, both on island and off.

“There were so many unknowns,” said Olivia Jones of Parsley Baldwin Real Estate. “There was ‘unknown’ from insurance, from condos.”

She feels that we are now at the stage where “some of the unknowns are now known.”

Florida’s skunk ape might be closer to your home than you think

Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.

With Halloween upon us and the veil between natural and supernatural being very thin, we try to keep with the season by presenting you with some spooky tales. We have covered most of the ground on the island, but this particular story that was found earlier in the year was put in a folder for […]

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Barbara Stirling

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News, Profiles.

It was time for Barbara Stirling to open a new book, to try something different. She is not one to stagnate or rest on her laurels, so the newest incarnation of Barbara is as a thespian. 

No, that is a bit grandiose for her taste. She has taken up community theater. 

“I am a novice actor. I am a behind-the-big-people-in-front kind of actor,” she insisted. “I am the kind of person who loves to watch and be with these actors and actresses. They are so enthusiastic and they are so inclusive.”

Barbara is one of several community members who have decided this year to be part of the Royal Palm Players. She is moving from an audience position to an “on stage” position. And she is loving it. She will be playing several parts in the first program of the season, “The Dining Room on Boca Grande,” opening in mid-November.