Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
Boca Grande businessman Pearce Presnell took this photo from his back lanai on Wednesday night, as a wildfire raged just on the other side of Coral Creek, not too far off island. Pearce said the firefighters were camped out there for a long time, hoping the flames wouldn’t reach Placida homes. He said he could […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
If you’ve been following our last two weeks of stories on this matter, you read that a private utility contractor who currently provides water service to parts of the barrier islands now was attempting to be considered as the primary utility in that area for central sewage.
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News.
The pitch-apple is a native tree and loves the salt spray. It grows well in full sun and tolerates sandy soil, which is ideal for Island trees. The pitch-apple has coarse evergreen leaves, solitary white or rose flowers and a whitish, resinous fruit, which is poisonous. It makes an ideal hedge but also can grow to be a large tree, so it is quite versatile.
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Entertainment.
The Grande Chorus is the new group on Boca Grande that makes having fun and bringing good choral music to the community its goal. Alan Corey, who is the music director, stresses that auditions are not necessary, and in addition to the music sheet provided, rehearsal tracks of the music will be emailed to all singers at home for rehearsing. If you love to sing, you meet the requirements.
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
The American Pickers TV Show is looking for leads and would love to explore your hidden treasure. If you or someone you know has a large, private collection or accumulation of antiques that the pickers can spend the better part of the day looking through, why not contact them? It’s worth a shot. American Pickers currently does not pick stores, flea markets, malls, auction businesses, museums or anything open to the public. If interested, send your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to: americanpickers@cineflix.com or call (646) 493-2184. They can be reached on facebook, @GotAPick.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
According to the last U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the Lee County portion of Gasparilla Island has 1,130 homestead-exempt people living here, which is a 41.8 percent decrease since 2020. The same area recorded 1,720 people in 2010, 1,500 in 2000 and 777 in 1990. If you go back to the 1980 figures above, that means 1980 was the last year for an increase in population that the Lee County portion of the island has had.
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
For the record, oncologists on two coasts were absolutely confident that Nancy had leukemia. The clinic doctors saw differently. In our earliest conversations, Ray told us that Tom suspected it was “something else.” On Nancy’s first day in the ICU, a nephrologist (now her nephrologist) correctly isolated a rare and deadly vasculitis as the culprit, but not before three major organs failed. The vasculitis attacked her heart, her lungs and her kidneys, but she was being attended by the necessary specialists. And. it was all happening on a right-now basis. Today her heart and lungs are back, performing as desired. Nancy has finally been accepted into Tampa General’s kidney transplant program.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Boca Beacon Back Pages, Columns.
Boca Beacon backpages FIVE YEARS AGO The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission decided to pursue a new “sportfish” designation that would include tarpon as a catch-and-release only species. TEN YEARS AGO Toxins were found at the Boca Grande Community Center that included asbestos and lead. The Munchkin room was vacated, but other than that […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
“We saw some fluctuations in the data while we were in the field, but we cannot say with any certainty what those might be until we process the data,” Kangas said. “I don’t know any place we would scan and not see fluctuations, so this doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything unusual underground. Even if we do see anomalies that might indicate something is underground, we can never say with 100 percent certainty what it is with just the GPR data, it would need to be ground truthed.”
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News.
“Our owner, Jazare Alvarez, came in to purchase some goods the former owner had on sale, and just fell in love with the place,” reported the new store’s District Manager, Kaydance Owens. Jazare (pronounced Jah zear’) has been grooming dogs since she was 12 and working at it on her own since she was 14, Kaydance said.