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Summer heat becoming a real issue with humans, as well as with pets

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Health & Wellness, News.

Anyone who knows island resident Libby Frazier knows that she is a lover of all animals. You might see her on her golf cart in town, several dogs in tow, running daily errands. There are few people who can say they have taken their cockatoo or their chickens to the Blessing of the Animals that the churches used to have here, but she is one of them.
Just recently Libby was at home when she saw her dog, Lucy, running toward her and knew right away that something was wrong. Libby could feel the heat emanating from her, could see her labored breathing and realized that she was overheating.
She did the only thing she could think of, the same thing that many people would do in her position – she filled a tub with cold water, dumped some ice in it and put her little dog in to cool off.
Two days later, though, Lucy passed away. Libby was devastated. We are so sorry for her loss.

Beacon/Gasparilla Island Magazine staff brings home 15 awards

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.

The Boca Beacon/Gasparilla Island Magazine staff attended the Florida Press Association and Florida Magazine Association awards ceremony last Friday, July 21 at The Westin in Sarasota and came home with 15 awards. Out of more than 1,200 entries in the Florida Press Association “Better Weekly Newspaper” contest, our little newspaper took nine awards. Editor Marcy […]

New airlines make for breezier visits, fewer stopovers

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.

In the last few years, new airlines serving Southwest Florida have meant hundreds of new direct flights and cheaper fares – as cheap as a Greyhound bus fare in the 1980s.  For Boca Grande residents like Anne Honey, one can now take a direct flight – at a discount and in a new plane – […]

THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Community History.

FIVE YEARS AGO PJ’s Seagrille and The Grapevine were officially out of business. TEN YEARS AGO Kathy Banson-Verrico was named as the new GIBA director. The pipes were smokin’ in some island homes, as GIWA was looking for pipe leaks. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO The Boca Grande Reference Room in the Community Center was complete, featuring […]

EDITORIAL: This dead parrot is a lawsuit waiting to happen … please, Lee County, let us take down the Bakery Building

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial.

It took 15 days to complete the Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane Ian crunched it. It took two-and-a-half months for the severely damaged Gasparilla Inn & Club to open up again. But we still don’t have a cell phone tower.
It certainly isn’t for a lack of trying on the community’s part. We have a cell phone tower committee that has met on a constant basis to get this ball rolling. Calls and meetings have been had with Vertical Bridge, the tower company, and a lot of the footwork to get this done has taken place. So why don’t we have a cell phone tower yet, 10 months after Hurricane Ian?

The saga of ‘The Forgotten Ones’ at Gasparilla Mobile Estates continues …

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.

More developments have unfolded in the Gasparilla Mobile Estates controversy and they are just as strange as the ones that preceded them. Residents have a new eviction notice, a new reason given by the property owner for them to leave and a big difference in appraisal amounts.

Mike Leslie, a resident of the little community just off island, has been watching closely what happens to his southern property while he’s at his home in Michigan. He is doing everything in his power to make sure that the people of the park can be allowed to keep their homes. It is a constant battle, to be sure, as they face a new challenge almost every week.

$3.8 million restoration contract signed for Lighthouse

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

This week, Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) signed a contract to complete repairs at the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse at Gasparilla Island State Park, according to Brooke Keck, communications and external affairs officer for the Department.

“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has replaced the roofs for the Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum and chapel,” said Keck. “Park staff continue to work diligently on these ongoing restoration projects and are working closely with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources to ensure care is taken to repair and restore these historic structures to their original conditions.”

Saying goodbye to a Boca Beacon staple: Hortoons by Dave Horton

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Entertainment, News.

Quite often, a good laugh is all anyone needs. Those who can provide it are valuable and should be treasured.

That being said, it is with much sadness that we say goodbye to our “Hortoons” cartoon and its creator, Dave Horton. He has been one of our cartoonists for almost 20 years but, after the hurricane and some other family business to attend to, he has decided to quit while he’s ahead with Hortoons.

“A lot of my friends moved away (after the storm) and I don’t blame them,” he said. “They lost much more than we did. We were lucky. My house is surrounded by destruction but it survived. The office/warehouse was destroyed and I work on it every day until it’s good enough to hire new employees.”

Gasparilla Pines Pathway to connect two Cape Haze preserves

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

A new sidewalk and drainage program on Cape Haze will connect the Lemon Bay Conservancy’s Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve and Charlotte County’s Amberjack Environmental Park. The project, called the Gasparilla Pines Pathway, is slated for completion on March 29, 2024. 

The Pathway’s right-of-way has just been cleared of trash left there from nearby mobile homes and illegal dumping after Hurricane Ian. Irene Slattery, vice president of the Lemon Bay Conservancy, said that the trash was dumped “from the intersection over to our gate.” 

The budget for the Pathway is $727,900, paid for by Charlotte County’s Placida Street and Drainage Municipal Service Benefit Unit, or MSBU. The design engineer and project architect is Johnson Engineering.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Effie Joiner

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community History, Health & Wellness, Profiles.

Author George Bernard Shaw famously claimed youth was wasted on the young. Apparently, he never met Effie Joiner, because she is not wasting a moment of her youth. Effie is not yet 27 but is putting nearly every minute to good use and having great fun along the way.

Effie is the newest member of the staff at the Friends of Boca Grande Community Center. She is a program assistant, helping primarily on the music front. She also helps with the lecture series, selling tickets in the office and assisting wherever needed.