Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN With a primary election right around the corner, this might actually be a year when people sit up and take notice of one hot topic in particular – clean water. While the Boca Beacon does not endorse candidates for any election, but knowing that people feel very strongly about water quality […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE It was 30 years ago this week when our publisher, Dusty Hopkins and his ex-wife Terry, published their first Boca Beacon … and oh, what a ride it has been. You might ask how a nice couple of people like them got caught up in a maelstrom of 50-gallon barrels of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN The Charlotte County Boca Grande Street and Draining Advisory Board met on Monday, Aug. 20 to discuss a variety of items on the agenda. The first topic addressed: Exotic animal control. United States Department of Agriculture employee Samantha Rushing is an iguana technician who is contracted through the county to do […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT Following the devastating impact of the Lake Okeechobee algal bloom and red tide, the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, Florida’s principal provider of small business assistance, stands ready to help small businesses who experienced physical and/or economic injury as a result of these events. On Monday, Governor Rick Scott activated […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE The following is an interview/autobiography (to date) of Boca Grande’s island newspaper, the Boca Beacon. We felt it best to let the paper speak its own words, and only a little proofing was required. When Henry Steel Commager said a true newspaper “is the raw material of history, the story of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: I read the article from Mote President Dr. Michael Crosby and was left knowing I had been completely duped. In his closing paragraphs he said, “As we see the impacts of these blooms, we are all sharing a blend of emotions-sadness, resolve, anger, desperation and hope for the future. An unfortunate part […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Mote Marine Laboratory scientists were on Damficare Street on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 14 to field-test a newly developed method for mitigating Florida red tide (elevated concentrations of toxic Karenia brevis algae) in the closed end of the canal. Scientists at Mote have created and patented an ozone treatment system […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ SUBMITTED BY DR. MICHAEL CROSBY MOTE MARINE LABORATORY The fact that Southwest Florida is currently experiencing devastating impacts from harmful algal blooms (HABs) is well understood by all of us who call this region home. What is not as well understood by many is that we are experiencing two simultaneous but separate types of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Boca Grande native Jefferson Gaines Jr., born May 17, 1935, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. He attended Boca Grande School and graduated from Arcadia High School, then attended University of Florida and graduated from Florida Southern College with a degree in computer science and Accounting. Jeff worked at Tampa […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Charlotte County Commission staff announced on Tuesday, Aug. 14 that they would be holding an emergency meeting to discuss a resolution declaring a local state of emergency relating to red tide. The announcement was made less than three hours prior to the meeting. The meeting was open to the public, and […]