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OBITUARY: Donna Adams

Donna High Adams passed away peacefully after a long illness on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023 at her home in Birmingham, Ala. surrounded by her loving family and friends.  Donna was born January 29, 1959 in Rockland County, N.Y. She moved to Columbus, Miss. in 1975. She is a 1977 graduate of Heritage Academy and she […]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: GIMM thanks everyone for a great season

To the Editor: The Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum (GIMM) and Whidden’s captains had a great tarpon season! We hosted  two “Howl At Moon“ tournaments, and William Woodroffe hosted two more tarpon tournaments to benefit GIMM this past season. Each tournament was a “grande’ success, and a portion of each tournament entry included a donation to […]

ECOWATCH: Hurricane season is alive and deadly

BY DELORES SAVAS ‘’We are playing Russian roulette with features of the planet’s atmosphere that                                              will profoundly impact generations to come. How long are we willing to gamble?”             […]

THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON …

FIVE YEARS AGO The newly-replanted Gilchrist median was thriving. Red tide was still a problem along island beaches. TEN YEARS AGO The mere mention of the Gilchrist median at the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board set off an hour-long conversation that ended, once again, with no results other than to show how divided island residents […]

T Steele Construction is back and ready to go, but expect some detours for awhile

Joe Steele thinks his crew can meet the deadline of September 19 to have the cell tower up and at least very close to running. As he laid out the schedule in his head for drilling the 32-foot hole, filling it with water as they go, then putting the casement in, filling it with concrete and letting it set, plus the tower raising and device positioning, he was optimistic it was possible.

He and his co-worker Luke Boultinghouse flew in from Rock Island earlier this week and were raring to go. They were still waiting on barricades and detour signs Wednesday at noon, but hope was still in the air that with the Bakery Building gone, things would move smoothly. That would be a good idea, as their flight back to Illinois is scheduled for September 17.

Flamingos! Flamingos everywhere! Even in Boca Grande and  … Ohio?

Hurricanes don’t always bring good things, but the latest hurricane, Idalia, has not only brought the American flamingo back to Florida, but highlighted the potential for the eventual restoration and return of the species to Florida on a permanent basis.

Like so many Floridians, Ashley Scarpa had never seen them in Florida, even as an experienced birder.

“To be honest I went searching for them,” said Scarpa, who has in the past monitored birds for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. “Someone had posted that they had been seen in the area, and I sprinted to where they have been seen.”

GIWA increase to take effect on October 1

Gasparilla Island Water Authority (GIWA) members will have a rate increase of five percent beginning Oct. 1, 2023, and future rate increases would be able to be approved administratively by the county manager of Lee County, rather than having to be approved at full Board of County Commissioners meetings. On Tuesday, Sept 5 the Lee […]

When your brain says to leave but your heart says no – why so many would rather stay at home with their pets than evacuate (Part II)

Your pets look to you as a provider of sustenance, comfort and safety. It is your responsibility to learn to think like them, understand how they feel pain and stress, understand that they do not always deal with these things like humans do and find ways to optimize your communication and relationship with them. 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Mike Teston

Get ready for fancy and fun drinks coming this season. There is a new bar manager at Scarpa’s Coastal, and he is all about mixing things up.
Mike Teston thinks the term “mixology” is a little pretentious for what he does. However, he loves the chemistry, the imagination, the challenge of finding new ways to tickle people’s tastebuds and open them to new adventures through the drinks he develops. He can’t wait to roll out his new cocktail menu in October.