Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
At the January 16 annual meeting of the Gasparilla Island Water Association, the utility elected three new directors. They are Ashley Scott, Jack Hollis and Dennis Johnston. They were to replace the expiring terms of Susan Spurgeon, Tom Courtney and outgoing President R. W. “Bill” Caldwell III. The following officers were elected including Jerry Edgerton […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial, Featured News, Opinion, Sports & Outdoors.
This week, Lee County voted to turn one of the two tennis courts on Wheeler Road into four pickleball courts. The case should not be viewed as simply that pickleball is winning over tennis (which it is) only that pickleball is an easier game, and it is increasingly popular, getting couch sitters into the fresh […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Sports & Outdoors.
It is that time of year when all eyes turn to the island’s tennis courts. The 2024 Gasparilla Island Tennis Classic opens Saturday, Jan. 20, and runs through Feb. 10. With an array of tournaments over the 20-day Classic, excitement is always high to see how play goes and who the winners will be. Of […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Breaking News, Community, Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Croquet is a game for the ages, and this current age is seeing a surge of interest. The Croquet Club at The Gasparilla Inn is a major player in the sport, so to speak, and recently upped its game by adding ten new, world-class mallets to its stock. Oakley Johnson, president of The Inn’s Croquet […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Gasparilla Island State Park is finishing a regrade at the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse. Bulldozers and sand trucks were on hand this week to grade the potholes in the park and in the entrance driveway. This week, crews at the park also blocked off dune areas with a fence to protect them from pedestrians. There […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News, Police & Fire.
A beach cottage at 9686 Privateer Road near the south end of Little Gasparilla Island is a complete loss after a Sunday, Dec. 17 house fire. The smoke from the fire could be seen from across the Cape Haze peninsula Saturday afternoon, as a weekend windstorm wound down. In spite of the winds, and thanks […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.
By Iris Tufano Island life on Little Gasparilla Island and Palm Island is preserved and illuminated by a generous holiday spirit. As Christmas quickly approaches, and the New Year is not too far behind, there are a number of events taking place on Little Gasparilla Island and Palm Island. Little Gasparilla Island is of course […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Gasparilla Island State Park is finishing a restoration project to remove invasive plants from the southern half of the island, north of Boca Grande Pass. Restoration projects are frequently undertaken at Florida’s state parks to ensure that native habitats thrive. Invasive plants alter native plant communities by out competing and displacing them but provide little […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Sports & Outdoors.
The Gasparilla Island Tennis Classic dates for 2024 have been set. The tournament, sponsored by the Boca Beacon’s publisher, Dusty Hopkins, will be held at the Boca Bay Pass Club, The Gasparilla Inn Tennis Club and the Boca Grande Club. The matches will begin on Saturday, Jan. 20 and will end on Saturday, Feb. 10. […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.
Rep. Adam Botana, a Republican from Bonita Springs who represents Boca Grande, is sponsoring a draft bill to create what would be the Captiva Island Conservation Area Act. The act would be modeled after the Gasparilla Island Conservation District Act, which has protected building heights and density on Boca Grande since the 1980s. The bill […]