Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Columns, Opinion.
BY JAY WHIPPLE In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the story of a wealthy man who lived in comfort while a poor man named Lazarus suffered just beyond his gates. Though the rich man ignored Lazarus in life, he later found himself in torment, realizing too late that his selfishness had consequences beyond what […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.
BY KATHY Y. FUTCH A few weeks ago, Delores Savas remembered special island people. I would like to add a few of the ladies who are memorable to me, in no particular order of importance. Watching Mrs. Junkin feed mullet every day at 5 p.m. on her front lawn at the water’s edge to the bald […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
The Princeton Fishing Team has once again returned to Boca Grande for their annual spring fishing trip. Their trip is a spring tradition that began about 35 years ago, and which continues to this day. For several weeks every year in February and March members of the team, which number about 20 ladies and gentlemen, […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in News.
The Boca Beacon has received a draft of an updated parking regulation for Gasparilla Island in Lee County. The draft, which is dated March 19, 2025, was circulated by the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, March 20. The ordinance would define downtown Boca Grande as “certain properties generally bounded by 5th Street to […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
Easter is almost a month away, but plans are under way among Boca Grande churches to honor the religious foundations of this holiday by holding special services on Easter Sunday and the week leading up to Easter, which is April 20 this year. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church will begin the Easter festivities early with a […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
There was no formal agenda item concerning Boca Grande parking at the Lee County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, March 18, despite county staff telling attendees last meeting that it would come back up on the 18th. “The reason we didn’t have a public meeting today [about parking in Boca Grande] is four people […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
Capt. Lemuel “Phil” Woods, a lifelong sportsman, accomplished angler, avid golfer and devoted family man passed away peacefully on March 13, 2025, in Boca Grande, FL. A Tampa native, Phil was born October 8, 1932 to Lemuel Phillips Woods, Sr. and Julia Banks Webb Woods. He spent his early years exploring the Davis Islands and […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
Frank H. “Skip” McKean, 95, formerly of Fox Chapel, PA, Boca Grande, FL and Castine, ME, passed away peacefully, with his family at his side on Saturday, March 8, 2025. Born in Pittsburgh, the hospital nurses called him Skippy after a popular comic strip, and it became his lifelong nickname. Skip grew up in Edgewood […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Profiles.
Roy H. Park Jr. In his new book, Boca Grande resident Roy H. Park Jr. has chronicled the ups and downs of being the son of a television and media baron. The book, “Sons in the Shadow” is subtitled “Surviving the Family Business as an SOB,” or Son of the Boss. Park Jr. comes to […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Opinion, Sports & Outdoors.
BY GRAY INDELICATO I have been waiting 14 years to operate a golf cart on Gasparilla. It started with a toy golf cart at age three, then progressed to my dad’s lap, and now finally at age 14 I’m told to wait a few more years due to a new law in Florida. A golf […]