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Phase I water shortage order declared

BY BONNIE PRINGLE, GIWA – With the past 12-month total rainfall for our area considered severely abnormal, the Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) voted to declare a Phase I water shortage. Rainfall recorded by Gasparilla Island Water Association, Inc. on the Island in 2019 was approximately 12 inches below our […]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Everyone invited to watershed summit event

To the Editor: Everyone is invited to join the Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Partnership 2020 Watershed Summit on June 1-2, 2020, with the theme “From Heartland to Coast: Protecting our Water, Wildlife, and Future.” The Coastal & Heartland National Estuary Program (CHNEP) is a partnership to protect and restore water and wildlife habitat in […]

PROFILE: Daniel O’Connell

BY OLIVIA CAMERON – Local resident Daniel O’Connell has enjoyed spending his retirement on the bustling beaches of Boca Grande. The former law representative now serves the Barrier Island Parks Society as their current president. Born in Newark, Daniel spent his childhood in the small community of Summit, New Jersey. He studied accounting and earned […]

The diary of a ‘Covidite’

Marilyn Hoeckel was the editor of the Boca Beacon from 1990 to 1998. She was the director and curator of the Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum from 1998 to 2003. She moved to Bucks County, PA in 2003, where she was born and raised. She is a volunteer for the Doylestown Historical Society and works part-time […]

‘Once upon a time’ came true for one island resident – Be careful, be conscious, be considerate … this virus isn’t over yet

BY LAUREN HANA, MD – Once upon a time there was a small town nestled on a strip of sand they call a barrier island. Her restaurants hummed with conversation and laughter and her downtown streets teemed with shoppers. Neighbors met regularly for cocktails at sunset and chided each other about who was the most […]