Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
The Boca Beacon/Gasparilla Island Magazine staff attended the Florida Press Association and Florida Magazine Association awards ceremony last Friday, July 21 at The Westin in Sarasota and came home with 15 awards. Out of more than 1,200 entries in the Florida Press Association “Better Weekly Newspaper” contest, our little newspaper took nine awards. Editor Marcy […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.
Resident participation meetings throughout unincorporated Lee County and in municipalities are planned in August to receive public comment and input on the Draft Action Plan for the $1.1 billion Community Development Block Grant – disaster recovery funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Draft Action Plan will be published at […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.
In the last few years, new airlines serving Southwest Florida have meant hundreds of new direct flights and cheaper fares – as cheap as a Greyhound bus fare in the 1980s. For Boca Grande residents like Anne Honey, one can now take a direct flight – at a discount and in a new plane – […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
Robert “Bob” Sidney Halford, 94, died Thursday, July 20, 2023 at his home surrounded by his family. Interment will be held at a later date in Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City, Iowa. Visitation was held from 4 to 6 p.m., on Monday July 24 at Ward Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake, and one hour […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Profiles.
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church is now in the hands of its new pastor, Father Anthony Hewitt. Fr. Anthony began offering masses at the church this past weekend. This will be a major change of pace for him, but one he is looking forward to. For the last 10 years, Fr. Anthony has been […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO PJ’s Seagrille and The Grapevine were officially out of business. TEN YEARS AGO Kathy Banson-Verrico was named as the new GIBA director. The pipes were smokin’ in some island homes, as GIWA was looking for pipe leaks. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO The Boca Grande Reference Room in the Community Center was complete, featuring […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial.
It took 15 days to complete the Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane Ian crunched it. It took two-and-a-half months for the severely damaged Gasparilla Inn & Club to open up again. But we still don’t have a cell phone tower.
It certainly isn’t for a lack of trying on the community’s part. We have a cell phone tower committee that has met on a constant basis to get this ball rolling. Calls and meetings have been had with Vertical Bridge, the tower company, and a lot of the footwork to get this done has taken place. So why don’t we have a cell phone tower yet, 10 months after Hurricane Ian?
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, News.
Tuesday, July 18 was the beginning of the end for two pieces of Cape Haze Peninsula’s history. The former home of Mike Schworm was dismantled and taken down to the ground, while Eunice Albritton’s little house that stood nearby waited forlornly for its turn under the proverbial wrecking ball.
Both homes were in grave disrepair even before Hurricane Ian, but afterward they were damaged even more. They had stood there since the 1940s, when Walter Gault brought his fishing operation from the village of Gasparilla at the north end of the island over the waters of Gasparilla Sound to the southern tip of the Cape Haze Peninsula, in Placida. He purchased the Gasparilla fishery property in the 1930s, but a decade later the railroad sold the land.
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.
This week, Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) signed a contract to complete repairs at the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse at Gasparilla Island State Park, according to Brooke Keck, communications and external affairs officer for the Department.
“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has replaced the roofs for the Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum and chapel,” said Keck. “Park staff continue to work diligently on these ongoing restoration projects and are working closely with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources to ensure care is taken to repair and restore these historic structures to their original conditions.”
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.
A new sidewalk and drainage program on Cape Haze will connect the Lemon Bay Conservancy’s Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve and Charlotte County’s Amberjack Environmental Park. The project, called the Gasparilla Pines Pathway, is slated for completion on March 29, 2024.
The Pathway’s right-of-way has just been cleared of trash left there from nearby mobile homes and illegal dumping after Hurricane Ian. Irene Slattery, vice president of the Lemon Bay Conservancy, said that the trash was dumped “from the intersection over to our gate.”
The budget for the Pathway is $727,900, paid for by Charlotte County’s Placida Street and Drainage Municipal Service Benefit Unit, or MSBU. The design engineer and project architect is Johnson Engineering.