Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
Residents of Boca Grande in Lee County with leftover concrete debris from Hurricane Milton are reminded to dispose of it properly at approved facilities. The Charlotte County Landfill at 29751 Zemel Road, Punta Gorda, and the Lee County Resource Recovery Facility at 10500 Buckingham Road, Fort Myers, are among the designated sites. Concrete is not […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
State contractors are currently removing debris from navigable waterways in Charlotte County. They have collected more than 16,000 cubic yards of marine debris so far. To report debris in canals or local waterways for any county, please contact the Florida Division of Emergency Management. You can submit a report online at FloridaDebrisCleanup.com or call (850) […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTOR, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER After many years of bringing my family to Florida for vacations, my wife and I decided to plan for our retirement, which included moving to the Sunshine State. Previously, we had rented condos but eventually invested in timeshares on Sanibel Island. After an exhaustive search for […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Across the island, sand deposited inland has gone back out on the beach. With the tides from each day, they are quickly moved up and down the island. Here, three views of the area by The Gasparilla Inn Beach Club. Nov. 6 shows the big dump of sand, bulldozer roadway and shelf created. Above, a […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Education, News.
Alternative temporary sites are being considered for the Boca Grande Preschool after suffering major damage from Hurricanes Milton and Helene, said Preschool Director Kellene Carpenter. “These last two storms really took a toll on the preschool,” Carpenter wrote in an email to the Beacon. “We are on the verge of having an approved plan for […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, Featured News, News.
The Island Disaster Fund has already given $1.8 million away to aid the quick reopening and rebuilding of businesses and organizations on Gasparilla Island. As of this week, they have raised $3.35 million from donors here, and from across the nation. “This community is blessed because a lot of people have seen that they can […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Featured News, Health & Wellness, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Experts are still watching red tide, but with winds, and cooler weather, the area may escape a bad season. The Calusa WaterKeepers have been seeing fluxtuating results for red tide amounts, said Codty Pierce, WaterKeeper and life-long resident of the Caloosahatchee watershed. “I’m hopeful,” Pierce said. “We still have this consistent east wind which has […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, Featured News, News.
The new November/December edition of the Boca Beacon’s Gasparilla Island Magazine is out with new feature stories, recipes, shopping and social pages. The cover depicts the Boca Grande Range Light, an iconic local landmark, reimagined by artist Ashley Lippincott in a bold pop-art style. Featured stories include a tour of Sarasota’s Historic Burns Court, an […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
In a long-term list of things that needed to be fixed after double hurricanes, the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority had some items that were easier and much more crowd-pleasing. “Dog biscuits are back. We had to wait until we got gate arms,” said Kathy Banson, executive director. “We can’t distribute biscuits without gate arms.” That, […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
Lee County surpassed the 200,000 cubic-yards-collected milestone for vegetative and construction debris in unincorporated areas post-Hurricane Milton. Vegetative and construction debris operations are expected to continue with crews working seven days a week until their final push. Sand collections along the coastline are mostly complete while crews continue to collect sand in Boca Grande. Lee […]