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The Inn has opened … but where has our Picnic Basket gone?

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

The Picnic Basket is gone. It was not taken by a wayward bear named Yogi, but instead has disappeared because of a complaint to Lee County by a Boca Grande resident. 

The basis of the complaint made in September was that it was parked on “undeveloped land,” which is specifically mentioned in Lee County code as being against regulation. The inspector who came out also cited the fact that the food trailer had tables and chairs set up, as well as shade umbrellas.

As we say good bye to one, we welcome another

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community, News.

It’s official. Fr. Anthony Hewitt has been installed as pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic parish. While Father Anthony took over his duties in Boca Grande in July, there were some formalities that needed to be taken care of before the assignment was official. These took place Sunday, Oct. 1, at the church.

Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of the Diocese of Venice, under whose auspices Our Lady of Mercy parish operates, came to Boca Grande to finalize those details. The bishop and Fr. Anthony celebrated the 10:30 a.m. Mass together, along with about 50 members of the parish and Fr. Anthony’s family.

Chamber Golf Scramble to be held off island

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Education.

The Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce has announced that it will hold their annual fall golf tournament to raise money for scholarships at an off-island venue.The tournament will be held at Wellen Park Golf and Country Club, a new 18-hole course in the new planned town of Wellen Park, off of River Road in Venice. […]

T Steele Construction is back and ready to go, but expect some detours for awhile

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

Joe Steele thinks his crew can meet the deadline of September 19 to have the cell tower up and at least very close to running. As he laid out the schedule in his head for drilling the 32-foot hole, filling it with water as they go, then putting the casement in, filling it with concrete and letting it set, plus the tower raising and device positioning, he was optimistic it was possible.

He and his co-worker Luke Boultinghouse flew in from Rock Island earlier this week and were raring to go. They were still waiting on barricades and detour signs Wednesday at noon, but hope was still in the air that with the Bakery Building gone, things would move smoothly. That would be a good idea, as their flight back to Illinois is scheduled for September 17.

Flamingos! Flamingos everywhere! Even in Boca Grande and  … Ohio?

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

Hurricanes don’t always bring good things, but the latest hurricane, Idalia, has not only brought the American flamingo back to Florida, but highlighted the potential for the eventual restoration and return of the species to Florida on a permanent basis.

Like so many Floridians, Ashley Scarpa had never seen them in Florida, even as an experienced birder.

“To be honest I went searching for them,” said Scarpa, who has in the past monitored birds for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. “Someone had posted that they had been seen in the area, and I sprinted to where they have been seen.”

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: BIPS to hold golf tournament to benefit the Gasparilla Island Lighthouse

Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.

To the Editor: Save the date! Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS) will host the Light Keeper’s Open on Monday, Oct. 30 at the exclusive Coral Creek Club to benefit the historic Gasparilla Island Lighthouse.  BIPS is calling all golfers to join in the festivities at the charity benefit tournament, featuring a continental breakfast, scramble format, […]

Celebrate National Golf Month by warming up and cooling down

Written by Boca Grande Health Clinic on . Posted in Health & Wellness, Sports & Outdoors.

Back in 1993, the Professional Golf Association deemed August National Golf Month. For the golf obsessed, this is a great excuse to get out and play a round with family and friends. The month-long celebration is a way to promote the game and introduce new people to the sport. 

Tiger Woods was 17 in 1993 and had won the last of his three straight U.S. junior amateur championships. For the majority of the golfing world and certainly for those in the mainstream, not much was known about this 17-year-old from California, but golf insiders thought he could be golf’s next great champion. Fast forward to April 1997. “Tiger Mania” was about to explode, and the “win for the ages” at The Masters cemented him as golf’s best player and changed how golf was perceived as a sport.

Cutting the Gordian Knot that is the Boca Grande cell tower

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

Another chapter has been written in the ongoing “Gordian Knot” saga of the Boca Grande cell phone tower, as this week cell tower committee members have announced that Lee County has finally issued a demolition permit for the Bakery Building. 

At the same time, the committee has had contractors come out to look at the wall between the bakery and The Barnichol Hardware, to determine if it is possible to start construction on the new cell tower base while the building still stands.

It wasn’t days after Hurricane Ian hit the island hard on September 28, 2022 when cellular services started putting up COWs on the island. These Cells on Wheels were placed in the middle of town, as well as one at the north end. There are no COWs south of 1st Street. Even with the COWs, service has been unreliable for many for 10 months now, with some people – primarily on the south end of the island – having no service at all.

Florida real estate prices stable, but fewer sales going on lately

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

In spite of interest rate increases, the Florida real estate market this June remains stable, with the average house selling for $420,000, the same as June 2022, and the average condo selling for $325,000, also the same as 2022.
However, statewide there has been a decrease in closed sales of existing houses, down 7.9 percent year over year. Condo and townhouse sales were down 11 percent, to 10,494. Florida Realtors Chief Economist Brad O’Connor said in a national press release that a 7.9 percent year-over-year decline in closed single-family home sales is understandable due to interest rates. 
Today, the 30-year fixed rate is in the 7-7.375 percent range, according to Terese Dulge, vice president and residential lender for Englewood Bank and Trust, now Crews Bank and Trust. She said that rates, coupled with today’s property prices, are making it more and more difficult for many borrowers to qualify for a new mortgage.

The saga of ‘The Forgotten Ones’ at Gasparilla Mobile Estates continues …

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.

More developments have unfolded in the Gasparilla Mobile Estates controversy and they are just as strange as the ones that preceded them. Residents have a new eviction notice, a new reason given by the property owner for them to leave and a big difference in appraisal amounts.

Mike Leslie, a resident of the little community just off island, has been watching closely what happens to his southern property while he’s at his home in Michigan. He is doing everything in his power to make sure that the people of the park can be allowed to keep their homes. It is a constant battle, to be sure, as they face a new challenge almost every week.