When the winds died down on September 29, about 12 hours after they began, there was a lot of work to be done on Gasparilla Island. There were people to check on, roads to assess and to clear, wires down to deal with and much more. Our island first responders have been through this before and can triage the situation to formulate a plan of action quickly … but there was one problem. 

There was no way to communicate. Telephone lines were down and our cell tower was destroyed.

What that toppled cellphone tower took away was much more than the ability to chat, surf the web and text. It took away the ability for first responders to interact with each other – agency to agency – to perform the work that is required after a storm of the magnitude of Ian. Much of it is life-saving work, and the inability to do it was deeply disturbing. To this day – 10 months later – there are people on this island who need the immediate ability to communicate to stay alive, and they do not have it.

In spite of interest rate increases, the Florida real estate market this June remains stable, with the average house selling for $420,000, the same as June 2022, and the average condo selling for $325,000, also the same as 2022.
However, statewide there has been a decrease in closed sales of existing houses, down 7.9 percent year over year. Condo and townhouse sales were down 11 percent, to 10,494. Florida Realtors Chief Economist Brad O’Connor said in a national press release that a 7.9 percent year-over-year decline in closed single-family home sales is understandable due to interest rates. 
Today, the 30-year fixed rate is in the 7-7.375 percent range, according to Terese Dulge, vice president and residential lender for Englewood Bank and Trust, now Crews Bank and Trust. She said that rates, coupled with today’s property prices, are making it more and more difficult for many borrowers to qualify for a new mortgage.

This week, Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) signed a contract to complete repairs at the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse at Gasparilla Island State Park, according to Brooke Keck, communications and external affairs officer for the Department.

“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has replaced the roofs for the Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum and chapel,” said Keck. “Park staff continue to work diligently on these ongoing restoration projects and are working closely with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources to ensure care is taken to repair and restore these historic structures to their original conditions.”