Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History, News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Editor’s Note: This August, Lee County commissioners are scheduled to vote on an ordinance related to parking in Boca Grande. It could contain a sweeping revision of current ordinances, which have evolved over the last decades. With that in mind, the Boca Beacon has gone back and reviewed how we got to […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News, Sports & Outdoors.
An internet-based petition criticizing Charlotte County for its slow pace in reopening Englewood Beach mentions the quick speed of beach reopening in Boca Grande. The petition, at the site moveon.org, is asking the Charlotte County administration to quickly reopen Englewood Beach. “As of today, it has been over seven months since the park was initially […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community History, News.
Editor’s Note: Last month, the Boca Beacon filed a public records request with Lee County on issues related to Boca Grande parking. In the files, there are interesting tidbits related to Gasparilla Island. One item that came up was the 1925 plat that shows donation of public streets from the Boca Grande Corporation to public […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community History, Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
With this year’s back-to-back winning of the World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, the Boca Beacon has compiled a list of historical winners of the tarpon season below. One name that has come up over and over is Capt. Wayne Joiner, of Hey, Moma! On May 15, the Hey, Moma! team led by Capt. Wayne Joiner won […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Police & Fire.
On Saturday, May 24, during the Boca H2O Festival, a teenage boy was struck by a boat propeller, breaking his leg. The festival is held in the water off the sandbar between Gasparilla Island and Placida. Attendees have estimated on social media that there were around 1,800 boats at the event this year. Around midday, […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Residents have been heading out to the GICIA Bike Path, and other locations across island, to visit night-blooming cereuses. Resident Ellen Cornwell was out Monday evening and photographed the plant; she knows the time of year that they bloom and caught them in the evening. Rick Joyce, who supervises many of the plants on the […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
Lee County is currently working on an ordinance revising parking regulations in Boca Grande. While there is a draft version circulating on island, the county was not ready to share a new version at this time. “The Board gave staff direction to present amendments to the parking ordinance during the month of August,” said Betsy […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Community, Events, Featured News, Letters to the Editor.
Restrictions on beach parking will affect livelihoods BY BART DESTEFANO,SOUTH BEACH BAR & GRILL I am writing in response to the proposed restricted parking measures in Boca Grande. While I understand the desire for order and safety, these proposals raise deeper concerns that deserve honest discussion. Let’s be clear: the beaches are public. They do […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
Here in Boca Grande, during this hurricane cleanup, we have been well served by Lee County and its various departments, from Parks and Recreation to DOT. There had been a past sense, quite right, that taxpayers on the island were paying an enormous amount of money to the county, and had been left out of […]
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
“The single biggest threat to our planet is the destruction of habitat and along the way loss of precious wildlife. We need to reach a balance where people, habitatand wildlife can co-existIf we don’t everyone loses … one day.” Steve Irwin, famous Australian wildlife conservationist and advocate for protection of endangered species If the Florida […]