Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE For eight years now, kids have eagerly looked forward to having their day in the spotlight in Boca Grande Pass. Each one gets on the boat the day of the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic thinking, “Will my team be the ones to catch the elusive silver king?” This Saturday, June 2, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY CAPT. CHRIS ONEILL It’s tarpon time in the world’s best silver king fishing hole. Boca Grande Pass is ground zero for summertime anglers from around the globe. The sight of thousands of sunrise tarpon rolling on the water’s surface is a truly magical experience. Estimates suggest that fifty to a hundred thousand tarpon […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Dorothy Rahal has just completed her first year teaching English language arts and social studies at The Island School, and she can describe the experience in a few words. “I absolutely love it here,” she said with a smile. “Everyone works together as a team.” Dorothy was born in Cleveland, Ohio. […]
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■ BY SUE ERWIN After years of being in the flower business in Boca Grande, Ronica Davis, owner of Native Gardens Florist on the island, will be closing her retail store on Saturday, May 26. There is currently a 75-percent-off sale on everything in the store, and items are going fast. The store is located […]
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■ BY TIMMY SPAIN What is a cowpoke? Do they still exist? Cowpoke can simply be translated as a cowboy. Cowboys are American icons. I’m sure just about everyone has an image in their mind of a cowboy and probably thinks of Texas. Florida is actually the place where it began. It was here where […]
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■ BY SUE ERWIN There was just one item on the agenda at the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Society monthly meeting held on Wednesday, May 9, and the Board approved it unanimously. Many know it as “the house with the blue gate,” but the Historic Preservation Board called it 220 Park Avenue when it granted […]
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■ STAFF REPORT The tarpon are chewing, the tides are good, and the next two weekends will be devoted to the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce’s world-famous Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament and the World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament. This year’s action is looking good so far, with Ladies Day this weekend. A message from the […]
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■ BY SUE ERWIN As of Friday, May 4 there were three sea turtle nests documented on the island – all of them Caretta caretta (Loggerhead) nests. There was one false crawl recorded. The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association patrol members have been busy picking up trash from local beach zones during their morning rounds. […]
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■ STAFF REPORT Tarpon season is here, the great fish are biting, and excitement is building in Boca Grande Pass for the 36th annual World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, a long-standing island tradition. Preparations have begun for the 2018 Tarpon Festival, which is held each year in beautiful downtown Boca Grande to celebrate the return of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Boca Bay resident John Gibson started coming to the island in the 1980s, when the fish camp owned by CSX Railroad brought executives and locals together to catch their dinner. John’s family roots run deep in Southwest Florida. His mom’s side of the family came to the Tampa area from Michigan […]