Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■BY MARCY SHORTUSE They came out in the night like beautiful alien stars, all along the Florida coast. People from Indian River, Melbourne and Gulfport to Naples were starting to whisper fervently sometime on Monday. “They’re coming,” they said. The night-blooming cereus, a vining flower that blooms only once a year, all came out Wednesday […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■BY MARCY SHORTUSE Hacking and sneezing continues as red tide is still finding its way to Gasparilla Island shores. While sometimes it seems worse on the Gulf side than the Harbor side – and at other times vice versa – the bloom is a doozy. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN As of press time, the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association reported 138 Caretta caretta (loggerhead) turtle nests on the island. There were 147 reported false crawls (when the turtle comes up onto the beach but does not lay a nest). Low concentrations of red tide are still being detected around the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Peggy Seawert knows a lot about how to make things grow. As president of the Boca Grande Garden Club, she has invited some very experienced speakers to come and give lectures about gardening in Boca Grande. “We bring in people from literally all over the United States,” she said. One year […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Featured News, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: Mote Marine Laboratory received a report of five whale sharks — Earth’s largest fish species — about 40 miles off Anna Maria Island last weekend, and Mote scientists are asking members of the public to report new sightings off Florida’s Gulf Coast immediately. Whale sharks sporadically visit Southwest Florida’s coastal waters, most likely […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: Our community has proved time and again that we will stand together to face a challenge or fulfill a need. There is no more important need than the safety and security of our children and grandchildren. When the Florida Legislature mandated that school districts assign at least one “safe school officer” at […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Several residents and visitors to the island were experiencing the cough and throat tickle indicative of red tide symptoms this week, and low concentrations of the wicked stuff have been confirmed. Dr. Tracy Fanara, manager of the environmental health program at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, said low concentrations of the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Never underestimate the power of children who love to fish. This was the eighth year that fact was proven, as 23 tarpon were released from 10 of the 35 boats that fished the 2018 Gasparilla Island Kids Classic. The ages of the children ranged from 5 to 15, with 131 children […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Kris Boyden, manager at The Palm on Park Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store, had quite a scare when she was finishing her day up at the store on Monday, June 4. She was taking some recyclables out the back door at the store that leads to an alley where the communications tower […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Before the fishing and fun began at the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic last Saturday afternoon, a symposium was held at the Boca Grande Community Center on Friday evening to educate participants about the history of tarpon fishing in Boca Grande. Dr. Aaron Adams with Bonefish & Tarpon Trust gave a presentation […]