Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, Community History, News, Sports & Outdoors.
The Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS) will reopen the historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum at Gasparilla Island State Park on Monday, May 5 after nearly eight months of closure due to hurricane damage. Nestled at the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, originally built in 1890, has withstood the […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Charlotte County environmental specialists have posted a bird nesting area at the north end of Gasparilla Island in front of Island Court, but numbers have been unusually low due to human disruption. Susie Derheimer, coastal environmental specialist for Charlotte County Community Services, has observed one adult least tern on a nest and five other individuals […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.
The Lighthouse UMC Pancake Breakfast Team got together to celebrate the end of another successful Pancake Breakfast Season. The breakfast cleared $4,000 which will go to Myakka River Elementary School Food Pantry. The fearless leaders Dan O’Connell and Becca deRosa received the coveted “Golden Pancake Medalla de Oro” for their work. Master Chef Extraordinaire Dan […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: It is hard to dispute that the residential roadways of Boca Grande have become overwhelmed with parked cars. The issue has increased steadily, to the point that the streets in our historic district between 1st and 19th Streets have become completely full of cars, and cars have begun filling up not only […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, Opinion, Sports & Outdoors.
Taking on a cleaner island, honoring a friend BY NANCY LECKERLING Twenty-five years ago, when my husband Jon and I were considering the purchase of a home on Captiva Island, a friend of ours, Anna Bowditch, who lived in Madison, Conn., where we did, and who loved Boca Grande, said to us, “Before you buy […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
This Tuesday, the first rain of the season arrived. It was a real rain, too, precisely at 2:29 p.m., and resulted in some “nostalgic” puddles on the sides of the roads, ably slurped up by the sandy soil. It was also the first week we got word that turtles arrived on cooled-off sand, and nesting […]
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
“The whales do not sing because they have an answer they sing because they have a song.” Gregory Colbert, poet, filmmaker, photographer There are recent reports that AI has helped scientists have a 20-minute conversation with a humpback whale, and that might help them decipher what the whales are singing. It will open up a […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE Another great week of fishing here in Boca Grande! We are catching a little bit of everything from snook, redfish, trout to sharks, tarpon, jacks and bluefish! The snook fishing this week has been very good in the early hours of the morning. White bait has been the deal to catch […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Lee County reopened the Boca Grande 5th Street Beach Access at dawn on Monday, April 28. This temporary access includes parking spaces and a ramp down to the beach. Patrons are advised that the current ramp is temporary and does not fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. A permanent, ADA-compliant ramp is […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Uncategorized.
Overuse for irrigation this week has resulted in low pressure for water on the island. “We had about 30 percent chance of running out of water,” said Ron Bolton, executive director of Gasparilla Island Water Association, reached this morning. Bolton has made individual calls to larger water clients who use irrigation. Water pressure has been […]