Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO The United Methodist Women distributed funds from the Strawberry Festival to multiple local charities during the Coronavirus shutdowns. TEN YEARS AGO Island School students presented their artwork at the Boca Grande Art Alliance exhibit. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO More than 25 island business owners pledged to stay open during the summer months. The […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTORBOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER “To write history requires a whole life of observation, of inquiry, of labor, and correction,” Thomas Jefferson 1817 On March 14, 1986, the Boca Beacon published an adaptation from a “Letter to the Editor” originally written by Sarah Helen Pouncey. The letter is an excellent example of […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community.
We can all do a much better job of helping our friends, families and ourselves grieve. “It comes and knocks you off your foundation,” said Dr. Stephen J. Madosky, a local counselor and therapist who came to a recent men’s breakfast held by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church to talk about the process of grief and […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Education, News.
Jeff Swift has been announced as the incoming president of Boca Grande Preschool Inc. This is a new not-for-profit corporation replacing the Diocese of Venice Boca Grande Preschool Program. The Preschool will be officially opening its doors in its new, temporary off island location on Monday, April 28. Jeff succeeds Angela Steffan, who will remain […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
BY DR. JOHN FLETEMEYER Our local beaches are beginning to experience the annual invasion of sea turtles. Soon there will be mini moon nest craters doting the beach landscape. Most turtles, after being away for two to three years, journey several hundred miles to the beach where they were born. Each turtle will lay up […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Featured News, News, Real Estate, Sports & Outdoors.
Ferryman returns making Placida/LGI runs The Little Gasparilla Island resort complex Hideaway Bay Beach Club finally has its land access open. On Saturday before last, residents were out on Placida Road fixing their parking area after their land-side dock passed inspection. “We got our ferry back,” said Maria De La Nuez, a board member who […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Gasparilla Island is scheduled for a Lee County and federal beach renourishment this fall. It is unclear, however, how much a potential change in parking or public access for the beach due to a possible new Lee County parking ordinance will affect the federal funds for the project. Gasparilla Island, like beaches […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
On Wednesday, the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority voted to harden the islands around its bridges and roadway to prevent further deterioration in the event of a future hurricane. “One thing the board takes very seriously is maintaining access to the island,” said George Milne, engineering chair for the authority. “We know where a lot of […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Events, Sports & Outdoors.
The ParTee Club ladies are incredibly grateful to Director of Golf, Ben McCoy, and Head Golf Professional, Ryan Hartnett, for their dedication in making golf not only accessible, but also exciting and most importantly, fun. Through their Wednesday afternoon clinics and a few spirited holes of play, ParTee members have not only improved their golf […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Opinion.
BY EMERSON WICKWIRE Today, while reading yet another installment in the Beacon’s never-ending stream of church-related letters about their Gilchrist parking access, I paused to wonder: Why, in our fabulously warm and wonderfully welcoming little barrier island community, has this issue been so loudly ongoing for so many years? And why has it recently become […]