Written by Michelle Starr on . Posted in Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
It was a beautiful sunny early afternoon after days of rain and cold, so I was extra excited to be out and playing around within the Gasparilla Sound on my friend’s boat. Captain Nelson Groome owns Groome’s Bait and sells bait during tarpon season, which is coming quickly, so he is very familiar with the […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
Sixty years ago, the National Geographic came to Florida. The magazine devoted over 50 pages to this state, in a major feature called “Florida Rides a Space Age Boom.” Some of us might admit to having a musty December 1963 edition on the shelves in a stack somewhere. (It had an illustration of the “Triumph […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Police & Fire.
The cause of a Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023 house fire on Little Gasparilla Island cannot be determined due to the nature and temperature of the fire, and the speed with which crews could get there to put it out. “It was so far gone,” said Chief Bill Underhill of the Little Gasparilla Fire Department. State […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Events, News.
As the Boca Grande Fire Department’s “Putting Around Boca” mini-golf fundraiser in March continues to grow in scale, they have decided to work with the county to block off the street for the event, also emphasizing the need for new fire trucks. The Fire Department will now be the main hub of the event on […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Lee County continues to add to conservation lands in the county as part of their Conservation 20/20 land acquisition and stewardship advisory program. The new additions are: • Eight in-fill parcels located in the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed area in southeast Lee County, totaling 194 acres. The largest parcel is 164 acres, five parcels are […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Featured News, News.
A small and occasional bend in the new Boca Grande cell tower is a common issue with steel pole construction. It is not an optical illusion. The cellular industry calls the issue the “Sunflower Effect,” wherein the sun hits one side of the steel on our new Boca Grande cell tower, causing it to bend ever […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial.
This weekend, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will let the waters run out of Lake Okeechobee. Saturday was to be the day. In their press release, they described it as a measure that would prevent further releases during oyster spawning season. (See page 14.) Of course, and in reality, oyster season, indeed the season […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Education, News.
The Island School will be authorized by Lee County to add 10 students to their August 2024 capacity, according to a resolution to be heard by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners to be heard Feb. 20, 2024. The resolution, set for their regular meeting, amends the original June 21, 2005 lease with the […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Featured News, Sports & Outdoors.
The Boca Grande Community Center auditorium was packed Wednesday as Dr. Jennifer Toyoda, researcher with the Mote Marine Laboratory, shared the latest information on the monitoring, measuring and mitigating of red tide. Progress is being made, but research is generating as many questions as answers, Toyoda reported. This is leading to discoveries of techniques and […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Education, Featured News.
Students from Lemon Bay High School’s marine program led the community last Wednesday on a tour of their AquaLab, a model for upper school science education. During the evening, marine science teacher Mia Conlon and her students led guests around their tanks and simulated marine environments. Conlon has been at Lemon Bay for a decade, […]