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Graduate!

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 […]

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jake Poepl

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 […]

Dune restoration at Gasparilla State Park

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 […]

DUI arrest on the Causeway Saturday 

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 […]

Traffic down on Memorial weekend

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 […]

This date in the Boca Beacon: Manatees visit for mating season

FIVE YEARS AGO Lee County Commissioners met and unanimously passed the ordinance prohibiting overnight parking in designated areas for buses and recreational vehicles within portions of Gasparilla Island. TEN YEARS AGO Manatees were spotted in the shallow water a few feet from the shore. They were coming in for mating season. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO The […]

Look! What do you see?

This week, a particularly welcome sight appeared at the Placida Boat Ramp: a trailer full of blue crab traps, tended by crabbers heading out to Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay. It is that season once again. We are not yet at harvest time, but we promise a report soon as we get some results. Blue […]

Dennis Guppy 1955 – 2026

Guppy has left the building. After a prolonged illness, Dennis passed away on May 21, 2026, a day after his 71st birthday. It was peaceful after months of declining health. Where do we start? Dennis was well known to so many on Boca Grande, FL, after leaving Dover, NH. He considered Boca Grande his home […]