Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
When Lee County Commissioners hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 15, one of the topics of discussion will be approval of the budget for the replacement of the Boca Grande Community Center roof.
This will be what is known as a County Project Authorization with West Coast Florida Enterprises, Inc. The cost for the project is $223,500.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.
Gulf Coast Writers Association Inc. (GWCA), Southwest Florida’s 28-year-old meeting ground for writers, editors and their associates, announced today that Leoma Lovegrove, internationally-known artist whose work is in the collections of the Carter and George W. Bush Presidential Libraries, has painted the artwork for the cover of “Storm Stories – Hurricane Ian,” its anthology of personal experiences during the storm as recounted by local residents and photographers. The book is planned for publication on September 1.
The Boca Beacon will be featured in the book, with a story that ran not long after the storm, called “This may be our slice of paradise, but putting it back together will be no piece of cake.”
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
Sackett Snow Cook died peacefully August 1 at Westview on Main in Fairhaven MA, with his wife of 41 years, Mary Elizabeth (White) Cook, by his side. He was born in Providence RI to Martha Sackett Snow Cook and Benjamin Ladd Cook Jr., president of Starkweather and Shepley Insurance Brokerage. Sackett attended Deerfield Academy and […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
Sadly, our family announces that Joe D’Angelo departed this world on August, 1, 2023, at the youthful age of 86. He peacefully passed away at his home in Rotonda West, Florida. Joe was born in Passaic, New Jersey to Elsie and Tony D’Angelo, a proud Italian family. After Belleville High School he joined the U.S. […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
Amy Cyr loves music, and she has since she was very young. Now she has joined The Island School as its music teacher, and she hopes to pass that love on to the young people there.
Amy is excited about her new position at The Island School, and she feels it is the ideal place for her.
“I’ve never really wanted to overextend myself to the point where I’m not giving my best to anything. You know, it’s easy to get like that when you want to have your hands in so many different things – you’re not giving your best to any of them. So, I’ve never pursued a full 9 to 5, because I work at night a lot and I’m a stay-at-home mom. Because The Island School is a smaller school, the schedule works out a lot better for me than a traditional K –12 public school. So it was an ideal situation, especially now, with both of my children being in school full-time. That opens up a brand new world. Now I have 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.open; it’s completely different.”
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO Was it red tide or Vibrio vulnificus that was making young stomachs upset, or back-to-school jitters? Either way, we had both. TEN YEARS AGO South Beach was missing three of their colorful Adirondack chairs, and sea turtle nests were being relocated thanks to an impending beach renourishment. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO A “Tinseltown […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: Fisheries are an essential part of coastal economies, providing jobs for fishermen, fish processors and related maritime support industries. Since fisheries depend on the productivity of the environment, there are natural variations in the number of fish caught each year and in the revenue generated by the fishery. However, fisheries are also […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community.
Drilling equipment to begin construction of the new permanent cell phone tower may show up as early as next week, according to representatives of the Boca Grande Cell Phone Tower Committee. After numerous frustrating delays and red tape, this is definitely good news.
One committee member, Steve Raville, said they had a call earlier this week that has given them some hope.
“There have been a number of delays in the proposed demolition of the bakery, relating to engineering and permitting issues,” he said. “Vertical Bridge has reviewed the situation with the various involved individuals and determined that construction can proceed and need not be delayed by the bakery situation.”
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History.
There’s a little-known memorial in Boca Grande that is about to get some much-needed love and care. It is the Veterans’ Memorial at the corner of Gilchrist and 5th St., by the entrance to The Gasparilla Inn’s Beach Club parking lot.
There is a flagpole and flags there, but the memorial plaque is gone from the white monument.
While it is currently unmarked, that is about to change with some help from the Boca Grande Historical Society, Lee County and other organizations that feel there should be an upgrade to the marker.
Boca Grande Historical Society’s Executive Director Crystal Diff said details are still under wraps, since they are being finalized, but an official dedication is being planned for Veterans Day.
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community.
This year, preliminary tax roll values show the Lee County real estate on Boca Grande as valued at just under $3.3 billion. The $3,292,284,149 valuation for the Boca Grande Fire District, up from $3,162,022,991 in 2022, is an increase of 4.12 percent, and contrasts with the Sanibel Fire District, which had valuations drop from about $6.5 billion in 2022 to $4.2 billion in 2023, a 34 percent decrease.
This is the first property assessment year since Hurricane Ian. It reflects the greater damage to Sanibel.