Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN To put it simply: War is hell. Those were the few words Pearl Harbor survivor John Seelie had to say, reflecting on what his life was like during the attacks in 1941. He remembers standing on guard duty the morning of December 7, when he saw the aircraft […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE On Wednesday, Nov. 16 at noon the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority will hold their first quarterly meeting of the season, and a very important topic to many will be voted on: whether or not to change the weight restriction on the bridge system from 40,000 to 80,000 pounds. At their […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
■ STAFF REPORT Say “Haiti,”and in the minds of most, images of poverty and aftermaths of natural disasters tend to come to mind. Even though this is the current reality for many in the southwest region of the country one month after Hurricane Matthew, life for others in other parts of the Caribbean […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
Boca Beacon writer Sue Erwin spent a day with island quail hunting guide Phil O’Bannon last week and headed out to Silver Lake Preserve in LaBelle, FL. Phil has been quail hunting since he was a young boy and has been the acting preserve manager at the 1876-acre site for the past three years. The […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
Now is the time to sign up for the 2016 Gasparilla Island Flyfishing Tournament, which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 22, sponsored by Gasparilla Outfitters, SunTech Builders, LLC and the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce. At 9 a.m. boats will depart from the Pink Docks. The entry fee is $300 per two-angler team.
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SUBMITTED BY JIM GRANT OF THE BARRIER ISLAND PARKS SOCIETY – The Barrier Island Parks Society announced this week that restoration of our Gasparilla Island Light (GIL) is proceeding on schedule … in fact, maybe even ahead of schedule. A week ago Jim Grant, BIPS’ representative heading up the project, and Sharon McKenzie, executive director […]
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Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC will be working on Gasparilla Road for the next three weeks, widening shoulders and repaving. Lane closures are set for one-lane traffic only throughout the work zone. The company’s concrete crew named C Squared will be on Gulf Boulevard, removing and repouring the ADA ramps on the Bike Path […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News, Profiles.
BY SUE ERWIN – Steve Kaplan was on a short three-day vacation in Boca Grande four years ago with his wife, Jill. They were visiting his brother, who had a condo in Boca Bay, and they noticed an advertisement on the Internet for a small grocery store that was available for purchase. What was once Gil’s […]
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Lee County Commissioners sent out an email on Friday, Oct. 28 stating that agenda item 26 regarding the Gilchrist Avenue meeting landscape project in Boca Grande has been stricken from the November 1 meeting agenda. In the email Assistant County Manager Douglas L. Meurer said the issue is no longer slated to be discussed. The […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE – Agenda item 26. That is the rather innocuous name of a precedent-setting topic of discussion for Lee County Commissioners on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Agenda Item 26 is Gilchrist Avenue parking, and commissioners will be voting on a final plan, thereby hopefully putting a very well-worn controversy to rest. The proposal to […]