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New Boca Beacon calendar for 2024 is out

Since 1987, the Boca Beacon has offered a calendar for subscribers inserted into the newspaper as a Christmas gift to our subscribers. This year, photos are by our very own Matthew Gutman, Dusty Hopkins and H Wetzel.  As dependable as the Christmas Hess Oil toy trucks, we have had a number of themes since our […]

Obituary: Laurence DeFrance, 1944-2023

Laurence DeFrance, age 79, passed away peacefully on December 6, 2023. He was born October 3, 1944 in New York, the son of Margaret and Professor Joseph J. DeFrance. Laurence (“Larry”) grew up alongside his extended family and attended Garden City High School, where he made lifelong friends. As a Little League Yankee All-Star, baseball […]

December storm was no match for white pelican visitors

By MICHELLE STARR On a morning drive over the Boca Causeway, I get a true bird’s eye view of Little Gasparilla Pass, the sandbar and local water clarity and condition. The high winds over the last several days have made the water very messy, so while coming over the Causeway Sunday morning, I spotted a […]

New season of Boca Grande Farmers Markets begins on Wheeler

Vendor Patrick Kasprik brought a paperback Penguin Classic version of a Greek play by Euripides to the Farmers Market last Friday, Dec. 13. No one knew how the bread sales would go at the first outing of the Boca Grande Farmers Market this season. But sales went well, and the high winds and chillier weather […]

Residents, marine units help in Little Gasparilla fire 

A beach cottage at 9686 Privateer Road near the south end of Little Gasparilla Island is a complete loss after a Sunday, Dec. 17 house fire. The smoke from the fire could be seen from across the Cape Haze peninsula Saturday afternoon, as a weekend windstorm wound down. In spite of the winds, and thanks […]

Soderberg gift will inspire other Suncoast Humane donors

For over 50 years, Suncoast Humane Society has helped tens of thousands of animals live happier, safer and healthier lives.  On November 9, 2023, among community leaders, Suncoast supporters Peter and Elsa Soderberg made a milestone contribution to the SHS capital campaign and announced the naming of the new SHS campus for the Soderbergs.  “This […]

Cool temps wake up wildlife

BY CAPT. JOE LACLAIR With a couple very cold evenings the water temps have really started to fall. What seems to be different this winter is the amount of rainfall we are still experiencing. This has made the fishing very difficult in the past week. The abundance of wildlife however, that we have seen on […]