Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN As of press time, The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association reported eight turtle nests on the island – all loggerheads. The season has been a bit slow so far, likely due to cooler temperatures recently, but that is changing quickly. “In 2017 at this same time, we had 27 nests on […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
On April 28, 2018 Byong Uk Chung, MD of Boca Grande and formerly of Barrington Hills, Illinois, passed away peacefully after a long illness. He was born on October 20, 1934 in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Chung graduated from Kyungi High School in 1949 and did his premedical studies at Seoul National University. While there, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Boca Bay resident John Gibson started coming to the island in the 1980s, when the fish camp owned by CSX Railroad brought executives and locals together to catch their dinner. John’s family roots run deep in Southwest Florida. His mom’s side of the family came to the Tampa area from Michigan […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Featured News, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: Several years ago I wrote, and the Beacon published, a letter critical of our Post Office and some of its practices. In that article I highlighted their handling of mail which doesn’t include our box numbers, even when they know full well who we are and what our box number is. This […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
BY SUE ERWIN – Purdue University graduate student Wesley Major came to visit Boca Grande for the first time in April. His aunt and uncle, Jerry and Carol Rainey, have a home on Tarpon Street. After getting a tour of the town, the family spent the weekend tarpon fishing with Capt. Charlie Coleman. Although no tarpon […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE – The last quarterly meeting for the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority in April went by very quickly, which is unusual for a GIBA meeting. With the bridges and new tollbooth built, there wasn’t much on the agenda to talk about except the normal financial rundown and a little follow-up on the new toll […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ SUBMITTED BY GIWA DIRECTOR BONNIE PRINGLE – Gasparilla Island Water Association, Inc.’s current ten-year water withdrawal permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) includes a condition requiring GIWA to reduce our daily average water usage to 150 gallons per person per day by the end of 2019. When the permit was issued, GIWA’s […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
BY SUE ERWIN – If you’ve spent time at the Boca Bay Pass Club over the past 25 years or so, you’d surely recognize the kind face of Carolyn Gumula. Carolyn has worked in the tennis shop at the Club since November, 1992. She started out as a seasonal employee and the next year became full-time. […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
■ BY KATHY BANSON-VERRICO AND MARCY SHORTUSEThe GIBA Quarterly Board Meeting held on Wednesday, April 18 was quick and to the point, as there was little new business to be conducted and things at the bridge are running smoothly. The meeting began with a report from Executive Director Kathy Banson-Verrico regarding traffic and revenue figures […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Bill Whitney has always been interested in the rhythm and beat of the drums. For the past five years, he’s been the drummer/percussionist for the Royal Palm Players. Bill became involved with the Royal Palm Players five years ago when he met Dan Headington, who was president of the organization at […]