Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE For eight years now, kids have eagerly looked forward to having their day in the spotlight in Boca Grande Pass. Each one gets on the boat the day of the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic thinking, “Will my team be the ones to catch the elusive silver king?” This Saturday, June 2, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN The countdown is on for the August primary election, and this is a reminder for Lee County voters who are heading up north for the summer – remember to request your absentee ballot. The post office will not forward the ballot to your summer location. But you can easily request one […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE This is the second in a three-part series about the sharks that swim in our waters, especially during tarpon season. This part will be from a shark angler’s perspective, and the third part will pertain to what types of sharks are in our waters and how dangerous they are to humans. […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN As of press time, The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association reported 49 Caretta caretta (Loggerhead) turtle nests on the island. There were 59 reported false crawls. An extremely rare Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle nest was documented on Little Gasparilla Island on Sunday May 27. Kemps Ridley sea turtles are endangered and […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY CAPT. CHRIS ONEILL It’s tarpon time in the world’s best silver king fishing hole. Boca Grande Pass is ground zero for summertime anglers from around the globe. The sight of thousands of sunrise tarpon rolling on the water’s surface is a truly magical experience. Estimates suggest that fifty to a hundred thousand tarpon […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT Richard Peck made his first visit to Boca Grande in March of 2005 at the invitation of Pam and Larry Hannah. Richard agreed to lead a writer’s workshop to raise funds for the children’s area of the Johann Fust Community Library that had been damaged during Hurricane Charlie. He returned in 2016 […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Dorothy Rahal has just completed her first year teaching English language arts and social studies at The Island School, and she can describe the experience in a few words. “I absolutely love it here,” she said with a smile. “Everyone works together as a team.” Dorothy was born in Cleveland, Ohio. […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
Jewel Freeman Herrli of Venice, peacefully passed away Friday, May 11, 2018. She was born in Tampa on May 5, 1932 and lived there until October, 1951. At that time Jewel moved to Gasparilla Island (Boca Grande) with her newlywed husband, Joe M. Freeman Jr. She would live in Boca Grande for the next 33 […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: I’ve been thinking after almost 40 years of being an owner on our wonderful island there are some things that I still do not get and so I thought I would go to the place that always has access to the answers, the Boca Beacon! Here are the questions: Why is the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE – It was raining silver in Boca Grande Pass on Thursday and Friday, May 17 and 18, during the two-day 2018 World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, according to Tournament Director Wesley Locke. The first day of fishing, though a bit stormy, brought the ‘poons out from hiding, and boy, they were chewing. There […]