Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
There are few people in this world who made as much of a positive impact on so many people as did Heidi Cahill, who passed away last week at the age of 49. After years of tending island little ones at the Boca Grande Childcare Center – 2009 to 2016 – Heidi moved on from […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community.
As insurance issues and condominium assessments have cleared up, buyers and sellers have been getting a better picture of property values and what the upcoming property season will entail, both on island and off.
“There were so many unknowns,” said Olivia Jones of Parsley Baldwin Real Estate. “There was ‘unknown’ from insurance, from condos.”
She feels that we are now at the stage where “some of the unknowns are now known.”
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
This week it was announced that the beach at Cayo Costa State Park is now open daily, 8 a.m. to sunset, for with private vessels. Ferry services, bayside docks, electricity, drinking water and overnight accommodations are not available, but restrooms are available on the gulf side of the island.
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
With Halloween upon us and the veil between natural and supernatural being very thin, we try to keep with the season by presenting you with some spooky tales. We have covered most of the ground on the island, but this particular story that was found earlier in the year was put in a folder for […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News, Profiles.
It was time for Barbara Stirling to open a new book, to try something different. She is not one to stagnate or rest on her laurels, so the newest incarnation of Barbara is as a thespian.
No, that is a bit grandiose for her taste. She has taken up community theater.
“I am a novice actor. I am a behind-the-big-people-in-front kind of actor,” she insisted. “I am the kind of person who loves to watch and be with these actors and actresses. They are so enthusiastic and they are so inclusive.”
Barbara is one of several community members who have decided this year to be part of the Royal Palm Players. She is moving from an audience position to an “on stage” position. And she is loving it. She will be playing several parts in the first program of the season, “The Dining Room on Boca Grande,” opening in mid-November.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
While Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Lee County Board of Commissioners was relatively quick and painless, with no big agenda items pertaining to Gasparilla Island, there was one public comment that is of great importance to the island and its future.
The comment was made by Mary O’Bannon, chairman of the Boca Grande Parking Committee. She attended the meeting with Vice-Chair Deb Martin and asked the Commissioners at the meeting for one thing – transparency – in an upcoming item that was to be presented to the Board at their November meeting by Commissioner Kevin Ruane, and to not leave the fate of anything in Boca Grande in the hands of one person.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
A decision has been made in the case of the property owner at 161 Gilchrist Avenue vs. Lee County, heard on September 12 of this year by Chief Hearing Examiner Donna Marie Collins.
The appeal was made by the property owner and their representatives, based on their belief that in denying a special Certificate of Appropriateness to permit construction of a home (161 Gilchrist Avenue) and a garage and maintenance building on the adjoining lot (181 Gilchrist Avenue), the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board did not apply the correct law, they did not afford the property owner due process and did not use the proper evidence to back up their denial.
Representing the County was Amanda Swindle, Esq.; representing the property owner at 161 Gilchrist Avenue were Jenna Persons-Mulicka, Esq. and Megan Strayhorn, Esq.
It was at the BGHPB’s April meeting when this item was on the agenda. Prior to any engagement, conversation or examination of the actual proposed structures on the two properties, which is all the COA was for, Board members asked about a feature on one of the properties called
the Whispering Bench.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
Electricians are on site now working on our new cell phone tower, and it looks like AT&T came up from behind to possibly be the first carrier for “cutover” (the process of bringing a system, application or interface live into an environment, which can include steps such as repointing interfaces from a non-production to production […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
You don’t expect to see an alligator on the beach, but sometimes it happens. It has happened here, in fact, many times. There’s lot of swamp and water in the undeveloped areas of the island where an alligator can live and an occasional trip to the beach is always in order. We’re also close enough […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGOWe said a quiet goodbye to the folks at The Fishery who had been there for so many years, like the Albrittons and Hatch Gallery. TEN YEARS AGOLee County Commissioners chucked a rock at a hornet’s nest, as they proposed a Gilchrist parking plan that set the island abuzz. FIFTEEN YEARS AGOIt wasn’t […]