Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO The Boca Grande Community Center named a large room on the east wing the Dee Wheeler Multi-Purpose Room after the woman who created numerous programs for the children and community. TEN YEARS AGO The first-ever Kids Classic Interactive Art Festival was held for children and families. Ten artists were on site with […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
This week, the Florida legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis came together to put a property tax referendum before voters. The November referendum will ultimately increase the Homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000, in phases, and puts caps on assessment increases for non-homestead and commercial properties. The amendment specifies that property tax revenue may still be […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
Lane Hartle passed away in Sarasota on May 26, 2026. She was born in 1936 in Warsaw, Indiana. She attended schools in Warsaw and graduated from Sarasota High School. Lane attended Tulane University’s Newcomb College. She married Horace A. Norrell, Jr. in 1956, and moved to Sarasota in 1972. She married Hal M. Hartle in […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Profiles.
Fishing captain & father Above, Eddie Potter with his twins, Hugh and Ranona, who attend Lemon Bay. Photo submitted To win in the first tarpon tournament you ever enter or fish is something that takes a lifetime of experience. That was the situation with longtime fishing guide Capt. Eddie Potter, who won the Ladies Day […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Education, News.
Ambrea Hobbs graduated from the University of West Florida, Pensacola, on May 2 with summa cum laude honors. She earned a B.A. in history and a B.A. in legal studies with a minor in political science and was named the outstanding history student in her graduating class. Ambrea was the first student in the university’s […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Profiles.
On the winning team Blaze This year, for the first time since Jake Poepl has been on the team, Blaze, captained by Waylon Mills, won the World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament. Poepl will be back this weekend to fish the Howl at the Moon tournament on Saturday, traveling south from his hometown in Minnesota. The first […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Two minutes before the final horn, we landed a fish BY JAKE POEPL Day 1 started slowly for our squad. One boat (Jill Marie) had already landed three tarpon and at least two other boats (Outta Line and Last Call) had landed two, and we hadn’t yet landed a fish. Therefore, with the way the […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
At the Gasparilla Island State Park, crews were out this week restoring vegetation on the dunes. The landscaping at the south end is a major project for Gasparilla Island State Park under their Hurricane Milton Recovery project. Barrier Island Parks Society is also supporting the project and was awarded a grant for their portion of […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Featured News, News, Police & Fire.
A 36-year-old woman was arrested on the Boca Grande Causeway on Saturday, May 23 for driving under the influence. Just after 6 p.m., a Charlotte County deputy conducted a traffic stop on a Chevy Silverado with a Georgia license plate driven by Cortney Arnold. While exiting the vehicle, Arnold was observed to be unsteady on […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Sailboat catches bridge Early Sunday morning, the Coast Guard reported that a sailboat had collided with the swing bridge at the Boca Grande Causeway. According to dispatch reports, the vessel’s cabling became tangled around the bridge and temporarily blocked the channel. The issue came while the sailboat was waiting for the opening. “The anchor did […]