Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community History, News.
Did you really think it wouldn’t be back? Ha ha, ho ho, hee hee, you must belong in the maison de fous!
The Temptation martini sign, destroyed during Hurricane Ian, is finally put back together and ready to hang over Park Avenue.
“It is finished,” said Jeff Simmons, co-owner of The Temptation.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Entertainment, News.
Quite often, a good laugh is all anyone needs. Those who can provide it are valuable and should be treasured.
That being said, it is with much sadness that we say goodbye to our “Hortoons” cartoon and its creator, Dave Horton. He has been one of our cartoonists for almost 20 years but, after the hurricane and some other family business to attend to, he has decided to quit while he’s ahead with Hortoons.
“A lot of my friends moved away (after the storm) and I don’t blame them,” he said. “They lost much more than we did. We were lucky. My house is surrounded by destruction but it survived. The office/warehouse was destroyed and I work on it every day until it’s good enough to hire new employees.”
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.
A new sidewalk and drainage program on Cape Haze will connect the Lemon Bay Conservancy’s Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve and Charlotte County’s Amberjack Environmental Park. The project, called the Gasparilla Pines Pathway, is slated for completion on March 29, 2024.
The Pathway’s right-of-way has just been cleared of trash left there from nearby mobile homes and illegal dumping after Hurricane Ian. Irene Slattery, vice president of the Lemon Bay Conservancy, said that the trash was dumped “from the intersection over to our gate.”
The budget for the Pathway is $727,900, paid for by Charlotte County’s Placida Street and Drainage Municipal Service Benefit Unit, or MSBU. The design engineer and project architect is Johnson Engineering.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Whale sharks just aren’t something you see every day, even in the offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico in our area. But that doesn’t mean it never happens.
In fact, it happened to some boaters approximately 26 miles off the coast of Sarasota County not too long ago, on July 3.
A video on TikTok surfaced with the encounter, taken by a charter captain named Michael Russo with the alias “Boca Grande Tarpon.” It was captioned “One of the coolest encounters I have ever had out of Sarasota. I think that sharks just follow me.”
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community, News.
Boca Grande’s Baptist community celebrated in grande style as the congregation returned to its own church building July 16 for services. The fellowship hall will be the venue for services for a while, as the sanctuary is still under renovation following Hurricane Ian.
Pastor Gary Beatty said they are “so excited to be back” in their own place, but very grateful to the Episcopal congregation for allowing them to use their church for services throughout the last 10 months.
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community History, Health & Wellness, Profiles.
Author George Bernard Shaw famously claimed youth was wasted on the young. Apparently, he never met Effie Joiner, because she is not wasting a moment of her youth. Effie is not yet 27 but is putting nearly every minute to good use and having great fun along the way.
Effie is the newest member of the staff at the Friends of Boca Grande Community Center. She is a program assistant, helping primarily on the music front. She also helps with the lecture series, selling tickets in the office and assisting wherever needed.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO Friends of Boca Grande announced they had plans to put up a sunshade at the Community Center outdoor stage. TEN YEARS AGO Abbie Turner hooked a giant jumping shark on the “Jill Marie,” but Wyatt took first in the BoMo. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO An unclaimed golf cart on the rocks, in the […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.
Many were relieved to hear that Palm Island Resort fared as well as it did. It has become a generational family place to visit, with many grandparents taking their grandchildren to see Redbeard the Pirate perform, to eat ice cream at the tables outside Coconuts and play on the purple turtle playground, just as they did when they were young.
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News.
The Gasparilla Island Water Association’s “Bayou Bridge” will be dismantled by the first of the year – and maybe sooner, according to GIWA Executive Director Ron Bolton. The low bridge is on 7th Street, just north of the Gasparilla Inn golf course bridge.
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community, News.
Kathy Auman has a fan club. The members are mostly young children, but many are also the parents of these children. For those who are not familiar with Kathy and what the fan club is all about, Kathy is the author of a series of books about a secret organization of youngsters who help the […]