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Scholarship awards 

The Boca Grande Woman’s Club has proudly awarded 14 scholarships to students this year. The scholarships are given to students who have a grade point average above a B, have a strong work or volunteer connection to Boca Grande, and show financial need. The students will each receive a check for $3,000 per semester for […]

Dumpster fire quickly doused at Marina Village complex

At 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, the Boca Grande Fire Department responded to a dumpster fire at 5858 Gasparilla Road. The dumpster was near a storage building and the small fire was reported on the call as not extinguished and “threatening non-residential building.” The fire department responded to the fire in the Marina Village […]

Keeping track of Lee County lobbying forms with Lee Clerk’s office

In quarterly lobbying forms filed with Lee County, there has been a flurry of activity related to Boca Grande, particularly relating to parking. Lee County has an actual lobbying ordinance. Lobbyists file documents related to official lobbying yearly to indicate clients, and staff and elected officials file notices quarterly. For instance, for the last quarter, […]

Zelma Otto, 1926-2025

BY MARCY SHORTUSE Zelma H. Otto, a woman who many on the island fondly call their “second mama,” passed away on March 24, 2025, at the age of 98. Zelma was born in August of 1926 in a place that back then was known as Woodmere, Florida – located between Englewood and Venice. She was […]

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Mr. Market triplets 

Dad and kids put together a board game A new finance board game for families, “Mr. Market,” is the creation of a family of longtime Boca Grande regulars. The Jack White family connected to Boca Grande through Jack’s father’s friends from Stetson Law School and started visiting the area more than four decades ago. “One […]

This date in the Boca Beacon

FIVE YEARS AGO Capt. Chuck Jenks rescued three boys out of the water near the middle bridge. The boys jumped off the bridge for fun but didn’t realize that the current was so strong. TEN YEARS AGO GIWA’s annual water testing received an excellent bill of health with contaminant levels far below maximum levels set […]

SW Florida Fishing: What a great time to go fishing…

BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE June is here and we have started to switch into summer weather patterns with scattered showers and thunderstorms popping up in the mornings and afternoons. The tarpon have been the main story this time of year. We are still catching lots of tarpon in Boca Grande Pass, Little Gasparilla Pass and […]

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: David Mulicka

Commissioner with love for island, county When David Mulicka (muh-lik-ah), newest member of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners, was a kid he asked his dad for an allowance. David was attending a prep school in Fort Myers and many of his classmates were getting as much as $20 a week as spending money […]

Five miles of bike path landscaping under way

BY THE GICIA The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association Bike Path restoration projects are well underway. The Town Park project between Third and Fifth Streets is in the final stages of construction, with completion expected by the 4th of July weekend. Landscaping the rest of the GICIA Bike Path between First and the North […]