Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
By the middle of this week, crews were winding up the Florida-funded beach renourishment at Gasparilla Island State Park, at the south end of the island. Tuesday, crews had removed most pipes from the beach at the State Park and were moving sand from piles just north of the Boca Bay Pass Club, near South […]
Written by Angela McPhillips on . Posted in Breaking News, Community, News.
A new RV resort has opened just off Gasparilla Island, offering travelers a modern, resort-style experience near Boca Grande. Cabana Bay RV Resort by Boca Grande, located at 9001 Gasparilla Rd. in Placida, sits on five acres and features 170 sites with full hookups, 100-amp service and paver pads. The gated property includes a clubhouse […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, Featured News, News, Profiles.
Part II of a stormy fall, 2024 This time last year, the island was just beginning to get back to normal business following the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene. Mud was being cleared out and trash was being bagged on the curbs as Hurricane Milton was forming in the Western Gulf of Mexico. Sunday, Oct. […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Above, a 2020 photo of the temporary Bayou bridge used for GIWA operations. The old bridge is portable and is now in place, but it will be permanently removed this month. It had been used because the higher, and permanent, golf cart bridge is too steep and weak for heavy trucks and lifting. […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
Matthew Gilmour Thompson, 83, died on September 24, 2025. Born in Richmond on June 3, 1942, to Madeline Waller and Edward Thompson, Matt is survived by Janet Herring Thompson, his wife of 64 years; sons, Matthew G. Thompson, Jr. (Nancy) and Carter P. Thompson (Chase); and a daughter, Douglas Donnan Thompson O’Keefe (Stewart). His brother, […]
Written by VAN HUBBARD on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
Serious costs ahead for advanced wastewater treatment We have a serious problem with wastewater treatment. We’re dumping minimally treated sewage into our waterways while burying our heads in the sand. By the early 2030s, we’re required to upgrade to advanced wastewater treatment, but our beaches and waters are already impaired. This problem doesn’t smell like […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO Written and produced by Erica Ress Martin and directed by Priscilla Masselink, “Boca Boys” debuted on YouTube TV. TEN YEARS AGO The Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida earned a four-star rating for the sixth year in a row by Charity Navigator, a nonprofit watchdog organization. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO A local […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial, Sports & Outdoors.
This week, the new Mote SEA Aquarium opened in Sarasota, just outside the University Town Center mall. The oft-told local angle is important to retell, as there are many lessons from its 1955 founding in Placida. It all began with a lecture at Englewood Elementary School and an invitation to visit Cape Haze. In 1954, […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE It’s starting to feel like fall here in Boca Grande and the fish in the backcountry are fired up with these cooler temps! Redfish have been the star of the show so far. We are catching lots of redfish mainly on live bait, but swim baits and top waters around the […]
Written by Arlene Hall on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY If you’ve watched the local TV news or read a local newspaper these past couple of weeks, there have been many stories about the impacts and recovery associated with those hurricanes that affected the island over the past few years. Despite the varying degrees of devastation and beach erosion caused […]