Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
SUBMITTED BY THE BOCA GRANDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY – At the Boca Grande Community Center there is a meeting room whose plaque reads, “Arthur A. Houghton Jr./ Reference Room/ Dedicated February 21, 1991/ For the purpose of stimulating the young to read and for the use and enjoyment of all Islanders.” Arthur Houghton and his wife, Nina, were winter residents […]
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The Barrier Island Parks Society will host The Lightkeeper’s Open, a Gasparilla Island Lighthouse charity golf outing, on Monday, Oct. 17 at The Gasparilla Inn Golf Course. Registration will begin at 11 a.m., and a 50/50 putting contest will be held at noon. Shotgun start of the tournament will be at 12:30 p.m. The tournament […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ Hurricane Hermine went from Invest to becoming a healthy storm in the Gulf of Mexico. As of press time she was churning her way up to the Panhandle. Her feeder bands brought the island about five inches of rain between Tuesday and Friday. This shot was taken from The Gasparilla Inn & Club golf course […]
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■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Precinct 18 at the Boca Grande Community Center logged approximately 70 voters in on August 30 primary. Many of them, it appears, were Rubio and Benacquisto supporters. In the Republican United States Senatorial race, Lee County island residents cast 48 votes for Marco Rubio, 3 for Carlos Beruff, 3 for Dwight […]
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■ BY SUE ERWIN Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association volunteers are reporting damage left from Tropical Storm Hermine, as well as several more incidents regarding predators interfering with sea turtle nests and hatchlings recently. According to one patroller, as of Thursday afternoon, Sept. 1, there were only 22 nests left. About 19 of those were […]
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If you’re interested in hitting the links at the Gasparilla Inn & Club’s Pete Dye-designed golf course, this is your VIP invitation to the Boca Grande Scramble Golf Tournament, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 10. Last year the tournament was sold out, so now is the time to get your team registered. As in past years, this […]
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BY SUE ERWIN – The Boca Beacon received an anonymous call on Monday, August 22 from a man who complained that the Boca Grande Swing Bridge was closed to boat traffic on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 19. A request for more information was sent to Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority Executive Director Kathy Banson-Verrico. Banson-Verrico […]
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Our sister island, Cayo Costa, has been singled out by National Geographic Travel as one of the best stops around the Fort Myers area to visit. It came in at number three out of 10, to be exact. Much of the story focuses on some of the best shelling spots as well, and Cayo Costa […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Boca Grande bridge tender and toll worker Bill Pavia led quite an interesting life before deciding to make the move from Massachusetts to Florida four years ago. He grew up in Milford, Mass. with three brothers and three sisters. Attending parochial school in an Italian Catholic neighborhood, he recalls that everyone […]
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BY SUE ERWIN – Lee County’s resurfacing roadway improvement project will include improving some road- ways in Boca Grande starting this fall. Betsy Clayton, Lee County communications director, said the Lee County Department of Transportation would begin repaving roads in Boca Grande once the project is approved.