Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: We are deeply disappointed to report that Governor DeSantis has signed Senate Bill 540, legislation that will decimate citizens’ planning rights and imperil the future of Everglades restoration. We regret that he did not heed the warnings of so many Floridians like you, including more than 5,770 who signed our veto petition, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
Lee County Parks & Recreation Supervisor Jesse Kanuch has left his position at the Boca Grande Community Center, leaving many wondering what will happen next. According to Lee County, it’s just business as usual.
According to Communications Director Betsy Clayton, they have sent a replacement to temporarily take Kanuch’s place. All scheduling, she said, will still be done by Parks and Recreation.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
On Wednesday, May 11 Gov. Ron DeSantis had a bill on his desk that could affect Gasparilla Island in a big way. House Bill 949 is all about golf cart use and the requirements needed to operate one. As of Wednesday morning DeSantis issued a statement saying he was favorably inclined toward signing it.
The bill would require a golf cart driver to be 16 with a learners permit or drivers license or 18 and up. Drivers of all ages would be required to have a government-issued ID of some sort.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, News.
You’re not going to like what we’re about to say, but you knew it was coming. The Community Tree across from Hudson’s Grocery will be coming down soon, as Hurricane Ian apparently put a final nail in its coffin. We’ve all watched it, hoping for one green leaf to prove that life was still going […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, News.
The Whispering Bench is gone. Early Saturday morning heavy equipment operators came and began to gouge it out of the earth, while Boca Grande residents gathered around and did their best to protest it. Some tried to block the way of the equipment. Others tried to climb on the equipment. There were epithets thrown, as well as more than one projectile.
Someone in the crowd was heard to say, “They just started a war.”
It’s not as much about the bench as it is about the mentality of those who are moving here. Many of these are people who don’t know or care about the island’s rich history and, more to the point, they don’t know about how things have been done around here for almost 150 years.
But it didn’t matter in the end; the job was done.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
It was a sad farewell on Sunday, April 23 at the Lighthouse United Methodist Church of Boca Grande, as Rev. Martyn Atkins took his leave of us and heads back over the pond to England.
Rev. Martyn started at the church as the interim pastor on July 1 of last year. He and his wife, Helen, were sent here after he put in his resignation with the British Methodist Church system. His prestigious career includes appointment to Cliff College for postgraduate studies, being pastor in Methodist churches in the north of England for almost 10 years, as well as earning a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History.
The Whispering Bench has been demolished as of this morning at 10:45 a.m. People started making phone calls at about 7 a.m. this Saturday morning, April 22. “It’s gone,” they said. “They’re taking it away.” By 8 a.m. a crowd was forming at 161 Gilchrist Ave., watching heavy equipment take the Whispering Bench down, one […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News.
Lexi was a vibrant, soft-ball-playing, teenager. No one suspected that the blurry vision and headaches she started experiencing around the first of March this year could be anything terribly serious. Teenagers always have something new going on with their bodies. But Briana wanted to be on the safe side and took her to Dr. Tad Kosanovich, at Englewood Eye Center, where Briana was working.
The optometrist discovered there was a serious problem and immediately referred the family to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, in St. Petersburg. There, doctors saw that a large tumor was present on the left side of Lexi’s brain. They acted quickly and operated, removing the entire tumor. With further examination, however, they found she still had cancer, and it was aggressive and was already at stage 4, meaning it had spread.
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
Families in Périgny, Haiti, have new hope as Boca Grande Hope For Haitians has successfully raised funds to build 37 homes, inching closer to its goal of 40 homes. A community center, a key component of the development, is 70 percent completed and is on track to be finished this month. Under the leadership of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.