Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.
On Election Day in November, two seats on the Lee County Board of Commissioners were up for election: District 3, which includes much of South Lee, and District 5, which covers the Northwest portion of the county. David Mulicka was elected to the District 3 commissioner seat, succeeding Ray Sandelli, who retired earlier this year. […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
Features on presidents in Boca Grande, a hurricane roundup, and a weddings page The January/February edition of the Boca Beacon’s Gasparilla Island Magazine is out now with new feature stories, recipes, shopping and social pages. Featured stories include a history of Florida’s National Airlines, a collection of photos from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a look […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Entertainment, Events, News.
BY FRIENDS OF BOCA GRANDE Join the Friends on Friday, January 10, at 4:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s for a lecture by Yale Professor Paul Freedman on his book, “Ten Restaurants That Changed America.” This lecture explores not the ten best restaurants, but rather ten influential establishments that, through their history and impact on themes […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
The coastal catamaran American Glory arrived in Boca Grande Pass on its Florida Gulf Coast and Keys Cruise on New Year’s Day. They run through March. She has capacity for 100 guests, and is part of American Cruise Lines, which has American flagged ships exploring the U.S. The vessel was built in 2023. Photos by […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority will have final year-end numbers from the bridge at the end of this week; so far, the December traffic count is up about 1,000 from December 2023. “We average about 93,000 vehicles each December,” wrote Executive Director Kathy Banson in an update to the Beacon. “Through last Thursday (12/26) our […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
This Friday’s paper is the first of the new year. Despite still recovering from the dual hurricanes this fall, Boca Grande was crowded with visitors this week, here to ring in 2025 in paradise. Families packed onto bikes and golf carts to shop at local businesses, eat ice cream at The Pink Pony and enjoy […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Featured News, Health & Wellness, News, Sports & Outdoors.
The island had a large number of dead mullet up and down the beach over the New Year, the result of a possible red tide outbreak offshore. “This is an unfortunate persistent presence of Red Tide since the Hurricanes a few months ago,” said Calusa Waterkeeper Codty Pierce, in an email to the Boca Beacon. […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Uncategorized.
The Boca Beacon uses many contributed photos each week and welcomes them from the club. A few samples from the last year. We can use them as jpg or tiff; we turn them into a tiff for publication. Please put your name, date and description when you send. You can email us at editor@bocabeacon.com. Covers […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Uncategorized.
Some news from on island from Ballyhoo, always on page 5. Send your news of openings and events to info@bocabeacon. In restaurants, Scarpa’s Coastal is back. Pictured above, Todd Hampton and Jessica Carfagno are ready to serve you at the bar. Also on island this weekend: Hughes Gallery on island: Hughes Gallery is back on […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
It’s all in the numbers. Who doesn’t enjoy a date with a good number? Was your date a good number? That’s what we get next week with New Year’s Day, always a 1-1. Christmas Day was a good number, 12-25-24, but a greater date will be 12-25-25. On Christmas Day, we talked to friends visiting, […]