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BIPS update: Progress on the Range Light acquisition

■ BY SHARON MCKENZIE      BARRIER ISLAND PARKS SOCIETY The Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS) reported that thus far the fundraising for the Gasparilla Island Light restoration project has brought in $1,068,000 in gifts and pledges. Larry Hannah, BIPS director and chair of the fundraising effort, said that “over 350 individual gifts have propelled […]

Dr. Hank Wright has passed away at 92

■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE It would be impossible to determine how many lives any of us has changed in our time here on earth, but in the case of Dr. Henry “Hank” Wright, the list would go on and all the way up to heaven. He was “the island doctor” for so many years, and […]

Friendly island face seeking help to send WWII vet to ceremony

■ BY SUE ERWIN Cathy Joel has never served in the military, but she hopes to send her neighbor, a Pearl Harbor survivor, to the 75th anniversary ceremony of the attack on December 7, 2016. John Seelie is a 93-year-old Veteran who lives in Englewood. Seelie was a 19-year-old soldier stationed at Schofield Barricks on […]

GIWA pleased to report island water passed all federal & state requirements

BY BONNIE PRINGLE, GASPARILLA ISLAND WATER ASSOCIATION – Gasparilla Island Water Association, Inc. (GIWA) is pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality of water and services we deliver to you every day. We want you to understand the efforts we […]

Will the real lens please step forward?

BY SHARON MCKENZIE, BARRIER ISLAND PARKS SOCIETY – While researching the original lens for Gasparilla Island Light, it came to our attention that there are several viewpoints on what was the original 1927 lens for this local beloved icon. We thought trying to locate the original lens from 1927 would not be that much of […]

Lights out, holes filled in, beach furniture picked up for turtle season

Soon you’ll begin seeing the telltale signs of another sea turtle season. The unmistakable tracks in the sand, turtle patrollers fanning out across our beaches and the familiar yellow stakes are just days away. May 1 marked the beginning of nesting activity on Boca Grande beaches, and the season lasts through the end of October, […]

GIWA pleased to report island water passed all federal & state requirements

BY BONNIE PRINGLE, GASPARILLA ISLAND WATER ASSOCIATION – Gasparilla Island Water Association, Inc. (GIWA) is pleased to present to you this year’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about the quality of water and services we deliver to you every day. We want you to understand the efforts we […]

Journey’s End: The history of an island home

Submitted by the BOCA GRANDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Journey’s End was a house and group of cottages accessed from 18th Street. One of the earliest homes built on the beach, it survives today but has been broken up into various properties with several owners. Fortunately, its history remains intact, thanks to Dr. James M. Ingram, whose family owned Journey’s […]

Give blood this Wednesday, save lives

■ STAFF REPORT    One Blood will be conducting a blood drive at The Gasparilla Inn & Club on Wednesday, May 4 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The blood drive bus will be located in the 7th street parking lot, behind the Inn. Appointments for donation times can be made in advance online at […]

GIBA part II: Things are really shaking on the bridge

■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE        The April 20 quarterly meeting of the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority had so much information jam-packed into three hours, we just couldn’t run it all in one week. This is part two of that meeting’s proceedings, see part one regarding the weight restriction conversation in last week’s Boca […]