Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
Gina Thomsen has a passion for life…the life of every creature she encounters. Thomsen is sometimes known as “the bird lady,” but she is really the “every living creature” lady. If you want evidence of that, go swimming or paddleboarding with her in the Gulf sometime. The dolphins and manatees know her board and honor her presence by seeking her out. She is known by some as the dolphin and manatee whisperer.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial.
The sense of loyalty to our island community in our newsroom is profound. Whether you are a billionaire from the Northeast or a high school baseball player selling cookies to support the team, we are here for you. We want your news – good or bad – to be printed in our newspaper so we can contribute to the history of this amazing place. We hope that someday 100 years from now, someone sorting through their grandmother’s attic will find an old Boca Beacon news article about how she won the Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament raffle. We hope that someone searching for their ancestors online can find a scanned version of an article about their great-great-grandfather that brings them more information in their search.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
BIPS’ educational programs and events inspire stewardship in the young and old alike, and sometimes the positive impact is astounding, even to BIPS’ staff. Recently, a young wader who learned about the environment in school was inspired after the Wading Adventures program to help make the world better. See her testimony on video at Vimeo.com/700782972. Another youngster decided to become a marine biologist to save marine life, and others express a desire to preserve history after visiting the lighthouses on docent led tours. Each story reflects a remarkable and personal dedication to protect nature and history that was influenced directly by a program or event hosted by BIPS.
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in News, Police & Fire.
The new boat is a 9M Interceptor with an aluminum hull and a ¾ enclosed cabin. She is powered by twin Mercury Motors, has a fire pump that delivers over 500 gallons per minute of water, front and rear deck guns and dive doors.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
Keeping all seaward lights off at night, filling in all holes left on the beach and picking up all beach furniture, toys and tents are the best things we can do to help the turtles.Sea turtles do not have the ability to back up and can become entangled in these items and die. They can also fall in the holes left by beachgoers and do not have the ability to get out.
Written by Susan Hanafee on . Posted in Profiles.
It was 10:30 p.m. and the end of a long day of moving for Matthew Williams, the new pastor at the Lighthouse United Methodist Church of Boca Grande. He was grimy and exhausted. He sat on the steps leading to the church office, contemplating the new life he and his young wife, Joy, were facing. Would this be the paradise it seemed when they crossed the bridge onto Gasparilla Island for the first time weeks earlier? Or something else?
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Entertainment.
The many wonderful voices of RPP were on offer, among them those of Julia Pierce, Alice Court, Kimberly Whipple, Jeff Lehrian and Peter Powell, as was the delightfully dramatic crooning of James Martin and comic bemoaning of Elaine Skypala. Jim Grant tweeted like a bluebird singing out “that it’s always darkest just before they turn on the lights.” Posturing humor was richly delivered as always by Jim Grace, Lynda Grant, Sally B Johnson, Cori Palmere, Erica Ress Martin, Priscilla Masselink, Sarah McDonald, Linda Rollyson, Nancy Ryan and Boots Tolsdorf. Kris Doubles brought down the house with his hysterical rendition as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh from Anything Goes! Four routines by Tappers Patty Brink, Carol Forrester, Robbin Gilligan, Mary Hancur and Ned Lehrian were highlighted, to the great delight of the audience, and accentuated following each routine by the deadpan delivery of “that’s a hard act to follow” by David Jenkins, who got laughs every time.
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Opinion.
It has been 52 years since the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 in Washington, D.C., and college campuses held rallies throughout America. It was a time of awakening. Many had said that Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring,” which documented the adverse environmental effect caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides, and the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969, one of the largest oil spills in the U.S. at the time, killing over 3,500 birds and marine animals, were the catalysts for Earth Day.
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News.
The war in Ukraine is being fought some 6,000 miles from Boca Grande, but it is also being fought in our own backyard … and affecting people we know and care about. This week we have a story featuring such a connection, and it shows us that the world is smaller than we sometimes think … and that there are many ways we can serve the interest of world peace by reaching out and helping our neighbors.
Andy Roman, who spent his childhood in Boca Grande and still has connections here, is leaving May 2 for his second trip to Ukraine since the war with Russia started a little over a month ago. He has relatives in Ukraine and originally wanted to help them relocate to a safer place. When the family members decided to stay and fight, Andy decided to do the same.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, News.
In other meeting news, board member Becky Paterson asked if it would be all right with the board if she worked with Anthony Rodriguez, the community development manager, to work with her regarding a potential plan for the downtown historic district to have its own special zoning. Paterson said she was concerned about affordable housing needs in town and thought a mixed-use zoning change would be beneficial to many.
“I own a contributing commercial building in the district, and there are lots of us who would love to be able to put a second story on and create a mixed use for housing,” she said. “Affordable housing has become an urgent issue here. Almost everyone who works here is commuting, sometimes 20 or 30 minutes to get home. We have lots of examples in contributing and noncontributing that were permitted when it was allowable.”