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Island emergency leads meet for Auxcomm introduction

The steering committee for Gasparilla Island’s new Auxiliary Emergency Communications system met Monday morning at the Boca Grande Fire Department to hear a presentation about the new system’s capabilities, and to discuss how the communications system will be used by groups and individuals. The system, which consists of simple two-way radios and an island-wide antennae […]

Lemon Bay heads to Florida State Thespian Festival

The student theater troupe at Lemon Bay High School is heading to Tampa on March 13 for the Florida State Thespian Festival.  There were 21 one-act plays in the district, and Lemon Bay was chosen as one of six to compete at a state level, said Theater Director Gina Barber.  Barber believes that the last […]

Island pastors meet to plan Easter

The leaders of the Boca Grande churches met this week to begin planning for the 2024 Holy Week and Easter services available to the public. With two of the four churches having new leadership this year, some people were wondering if the traditions would still be followed. They will. In Boca Grande there are two […]

Three missing boaters were fixtures at Boca Grande houses

Longtime employees, friends, rally to cause of lost fathers Three of the four men lost off the coast near Venice in an apparent fishing boat accident on Feb. 17 were employees of Safety Harbor Builders on Gasparilla Island. “We were super close with those men,” said Chip Crawford, a co-owner and CEO of the firm. […]

Cape Haze at nexus of American sawfish revival

We reside in a sawfish aquarium, Charlotte Harbor. It’s Jurassic Park, and you don’t have to visit Universal Orlando. Last Thursday, sawfish expert Tonya Wiley delivered a talk in Cape Haze as part of a new Lemon Bay Conservancy lecture series. Wiley, from Havenworth Coastal Conservation in Bradenton, is a world expert on the habits […]

SW Florida Fishing: Warm up to come…

BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE The weather has been chilly but sunny this week in Boca Grande and the fishing has started to heat up in the mid day to late afternoon hours. We have been catching quite a few redfish on some of the higher tides with live shrimp along with some really nice sized […]

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: A banker with most interest in his Faith

Money and ministry go hand-in-hand for Larry Hannah. His efforts have shown that, in the right hands, money can be the root of much good, rather than evil. Larry proved that beyond any doubt as he headed up the Boca Grande Disaster Fund, under the wing of the Lighthouse United Methodist Church, following the devastation […]

Obituary: Denee Peyton, 1985-2024

Friends and family of the late Denee Peyton, who worked as a clerk at The Temptation’s liquor store, Park Ave Wine and Spirits, from 2010 until her recent and unexpected death at age 38, will celebrate her life in March. Peyton died January 23, 2024. Her older sister, Brenda Lee Woods, who is hostess at The […]

GUEST ESSAY: Memories of my first days in 1970s Boca Grande

BY K.Y. FUTCH When I first started my secretarial business, I had to use the typewriter at Capt. Charlie Wheeler’s home on Tarpon Street, where I and my husband, Mark, also lived. Charlie was quite the ladies’ man – meaning he did like the ladies. A favorite quote of his was, “I can play a […]

Briefly: Wildflower open house

Lemon Bay Conservancy will host its annual open house from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. The free event will be held at the Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve at 3120 Gasparilla Pines Blvd. in Englewood. The open house will feature hourly guided nature walks on topics including birds, butterflies, plants, trees, fish […]