Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT Sharon McKenzie, Executive Director for the Barrier Island Parks Society, has announced that the signing of the final license to acquire the Gasparilla Island Light is on track for April 1. McKenzie said her contacts at the Coast Guard told her this week that they were confident there would be […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
At its board meeting on Monday, March 14, the Barrier Island Parks Society announced its intention to launch an aggressive fund- raising campaign to enable a complete restoration and perpetual maintenance of the island’s Rear Range Light (now officially “Gasparilla Island Light”). Island residents and businesses will be asked for donations to “help keep […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
BY DR. JEFFREY HUMBARGER – This is the first in an ongoing series of posts by myself regarding current medical topics. Certainly you’ve heard about Zika Virus. The CDC has issued travel warnings and the Governor Rick Scott has proclaimed that certain Florida Counties are in a state of Medical Emergency. So what’s the big deal? […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
If tennis is your game, you have just a few short days to register for the Gasparilla Island Tennis Classic, sponsored by the Boca Beacon. It will be held from Saturday, Jan. 23 to Saturday, Feb. 6, and residents of the island and members of the Boca Grande Club, the Boca Bay Pass Club and […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE On Saturday, Jan. 9 an EF2 tornado with winds upward of 130 mph tore across Cape Coral and left up to 10,000 people with property damage and without power. January in Florida is just as good a time as any for some severe weather, a fact we’ve found out firsthand and very […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Letters to the Editor, News.
To all residents of Boca Grande: I know that all of the bridge users are anxious to drive on the new bridge, and from the surface the bridge appears to be ready for traffic. What you don’t see is the behind-the-scenes complex mechanical testing. The current testing is to ensure the longevity of all mechanical […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Sam Samsonov and his wife of 53 years, Margaret, sat by the pool at their Grove City home on Monday afternoon, July 20 in good spirits. They sat with a folder full of emails and good wishes people from all over the country have sent them, and literally breathless with the knowledge […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Featured News.
BY JACK SHORT An item stricken from the 2015-2016 Florida budget that would have sent $1 million to the Gasparilla Island State Park contained little information about how the money would have been used, other than that it was marked for “the assessment and evaluation” of lands for purchase inside the optimum park boundary. No […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
BY JACK SHORT Among the record setting number of items, worth a combined $461 million, that fell to Florida Governor Rick Scott’s veto pen, was a large appropriation for Gasparilla Island State Park. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection would have received, from the general fund, $1 million (non-recurring) for the assessment and evaluation of […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor:The Board of Directors of Boca Grande Charities, Inc. would like to thank everyone for making the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic Tarpon Tournament such a great success. In five short years we have now raised almost $150,000 for our charities with this one day, 3 hour kids fishing tournament. It truly has become […]