Skip to main content
Search Results for “look

Unextreme makeover of ‘this old house’ of Bob Vila approved by board

Other approval is house by famed architect of Mar-a-Lago Two important Gilchrist house renovations, including a house formerly owned by Bob Vila and another house designed by the architect of Mar-a-Lago, were unanimously approved by the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board Wednesday.  A full board attended the meeting, including Becky Paterson, Barbara Wickwire, Peggy Stanley, […]

Letters: Thank you to hotel’s leadership and staff during this long hurricane recovery 

To the Editor: It’s hard to believe that six months ago our restaurants were not open, the town and many homes were underwater, we lost our post office, and the centerpiece of our island, The Gasparilla Inn, was extremely compromised. These have been challenging times. Prized possessions were destroyed, beloved cars and golf carts were […]

COLUMNS: VAN HUBBARD

Fixing water quality now, still cheaper than reviving dead estuaries How do we tackle water quality? Just like an elephant. One bite at a time. Many things contribute to these problems. It took years of abuse to get there, and it will require billions of dollars, and serious effort, to gain water quality resurrection.  We […]

Business & Real Estate: Lee County updates electronic permitting process, offers training  

The eConnect permit portal for Lee County Department of Community Development (DCD), Department of Transportation (DOT), Natural Resources, and the Lee Utilities Department (LCU), will be offline from 5 p.m. Friday, May 16, until 7 a.m. Monday, May 19, for technical upgrades. The services impacted during the outage period will include filing new submittals, downloading […]

COLUMNS: VAN HUBBARD

Stealth the secret, let it enhance your ‘richest’ odds this tarpon season It’s tarpon time here in Boca Grande. Enjoy the action. While silver kings are not the only game in town, it’s tarpon season. Our tournament season kicks off with the Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament on May 10. Please enjoy Mother’s Day on the […]

Solving for pattern.  Solutions good in all respects.

Some on this island are readers and devotees of Wendell Berry, the Kentucky writer whose thinking undergirds many of today’s ideas of agriculture and sustainability. One of his ideas that has been applied outside of farming is solving an issue for pattern. The idea of “solving for pattern” requires one to step back, look at […]

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Sok Nam Park

From Korea to a Boca Grande garden An interesting life is rarely a carefree life. It is in overcoming obstacles that much of the fulfilling and exciting twists and turns of life take place. Sok Nam Park, a resident of Boca Bay, has lived that kind of life, and believes the happiness she has come […]

Patchwork of Policies: How Florida beach towns manage public access

BY MARCY SHORTUSE With a considerable population increase in Florida in the last five years, more and more Florida beach towns are being forced to consider what their options are as far as parking for their “destination” locations, specifically beaches and the more tourist-driven areas. It’s difficult to compare the situation in Boca Grande – […]

Emails shed light on parking and beach access, as policy develops

Currently, the Boca Beacon is waiting on a public records request from Lee County to get a better understanding of what is happening with a proposed parking ordinance. This week, we were made aware that a Boca Grande resident, opposed to the possible restrictions, had also asked for and received over 600 pages of emails […]