Written by Alici Ouellette on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured News, News.
Featuring Wanamakers, gumbo limbo and Sugarshack The July/August edition of the Boca Beacon’s Gasparilla Island Magazine is out now with new feature stories, recipes, shopping and social pages. Featured stories include a history of the Wanamaker family on Gasparila Island; a story of the Florida gumbo limbo tree with photos; a look at beautiful estate […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.
The publicly traded firm Blackstone (NYSE: BX), the new owner of Burnt Store Marina just across Charlotte Harbor, has been figured to be a purchaser of the Sunseeker Charlotte Harbor Resort, according to Reuters and Bloomberg reports. Local tourism officials are watching closely, as the 785-room Sunseeker, owned by the airline Allegiant, has been promoting […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
In 2014, Nancy Sodel’s prized doberman, Cole, was killed after eating the berries and leaves of a coontie palm, which had just been installed in the landscaping of her and her late husband Herb’s house on Railroad Avenue. This week, she found out that those same plants were part of the landscaping plan for the […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
It is the end of an era in Florida. Lu, the hippopotamus at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, died June 8, 2025. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Alexandra Kuchta had the good sense to send out a tribute email over the weekend. They said that the state’s “beloved” citizen hippo “passed away […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles, Sports & Outdoors.
Our water watchman A new Calusa Waterkeeper recently joined the mission of protecting Southwest Florida’s water resources from pollution, misuse and overdevelopment. Joe Cavanaugh now holds this position and is already working to build alliances, share his knowledge and put his experience to work for the public good. Joe brings with him years of experience. “I […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Zelma H. Otto, a woman who many on the island fondly call their “second mama,” passed away on March 24, 2025, at the age of 98. Zelma was born in August of 1926 in a place that back then was known as Woodmere, Florida – located between Englewood and Venice. She was […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Almost 500 parking spaces lost to unpermitted gardening At the parking community meeting on Tuesday, May 13, Lee County Commissioner David Mulicka presented several large maps prepared by county staff that broke down public street parking in Boca Grande. The maps, entitled Boca Grande Parking Review, show in detail every street and part of the […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, Community History, News.
The Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board will review two historic Gilchrist Avenue renovations at its upcoming meeting set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14. A French Colonial style house at 341 Gilchrist Ave., a contributing house in the Boca Grande Historic District, is the first case. The house is described by the county as […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Profiles.
The art of daily living with designer, artist Designer Janet Gregg has always had a bit of a creative streak. Growing up in Virginia Beach, she made her own clothes on her sewing machine, mainly crochet belts and tube tops. “I’d come home for spring break from boarding school, and I would make patchwork pants,” […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles, Sports & Outdoors.
From Korea to a Boca Grande garden An interesting life is rarely a carefree life. It is in overcoming obstacles that much of the fulfilling and exciting twists and turns of life take place. Sok Nam Park, a resident of Boca Bay, has lived that kind of life, and believes the happiness she has come […]