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Zelma’s 90th was celebrated by many

Long-time island resident Zelma Otto reached her 90th birthday recently, and it was celebrated by many at the Rotonda Lakes Clubhouse near her home. She was all dressed in purple for the occasion and got to spend some time with three of the island boys she helped to raise – Seth Joiner, Parker O’Bannon and […]

Roadwork, bike path widening to begin soon

BY MARCY SHORTUSE – Lee County Department of Transportation will be coming to the island to begin roadwork that includes a bigger bike path at the south end and Gasparilla Road widening. Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC was chosen to do the road resurfacing and bike path widening. The cost of the project is […]

BIPS says full speed ahead with Gasparilla Light restoration

On Tuesday, the Barrier Islands Park Society (BIPS) announced that they had received final written approval from the United States Coast Guard to commence “rehabilitation of the Gasparilla Island Rear Range Lighthouse.” The long-awaited enabling document means work can begin immediately on clearing the construction zone and proceeding with metalwork repairs, replacement parts construction and, […]

Lighthouse Church sends ‘flood buckets’ to Louisiana and Florida

Members of the Lighthouse United Methodist Church of Boca Grande have raised enough money to send fifty “flood buckets,” large plastic tubs full of cleaning supplies, to victims of the floods in Louisiana and the recent hurricane in Florida. It’s part of the church’s Florida Conference “Flood Bucket Challenge” to send 1,860 buckets from the […]

Storm in Gulf, predators take toll on turtles

BY SUE ERWIN – Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association volunteers said the storms over this past weekend destroyed a good amount of the remaining sea turtle nests on Boca Grande beaches. One volunteer said there were nearly 40 nests just before Hurricane Hermine, and she counted only about 12 existing ones on Monday, September 5. […]

Arthur A. Houghton Jr. – the man whose name is on the room

SUBMITTED BY THE BOCA GRANDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY – At the Boca Grande Community Center there is a meeting room whose plaque reads, “Arthur A. Houghton Jr./ Reference Room/ Dedicated February 21, 1991/ For the purpose of stimulating the young to read and for the use and enjoyment of all Islanders.” Arthur Houghton and his wife, Nina, were winter residents […]

Make Your Point: My apologies to Al Gore

BY BOB ELLIOTT – It’s time to offer a mea culpa to Mr. Al Gore or whoever invented the internet. All I was trying to do in previous columns was to point out that the internet has caused a certain level of attention-deficit disorder in its frequent users and has put a crimp on clear, concise, written […]

11th Annual Boca Grande Scramble to be held at The Gasparilla Golf Club

To the Editor: This is your VIP invitation to the Boca Grande Scramble Golf Tournament, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 10, 2016 at The Gasparilla Golf Club in Boca Grande. As in past years, this is the major fundraiser for the Boca Grande Chamber Scholarship Fund and The Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce. Your involvement in […]

Lightkeeper’s Open Golf Tourney scheduled for October 17

The Barrier Island Parks Society will host The Lightkeeper’s Open, a Gasparilla Island Lighthouse charity golf outing, on Monday, Oct. 17 at The Gasparilla Inn Golf Course. Registration will begin at 11 a.m., and a 50/50 putting contest will be held at noon. Shotgun start of the tournament will be at 12:30 p.m. The tournament […]

Rubio favored in primary in Boca Grande and state as well

■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Precinct 18 at the Boca Grande Community Center logged approximately 70 voters in on August 30 primary. Many of them, it appears, were Rubio and Benacquisto supporters. In the Republican United States Senatorial race, Lee County island residents cast 48 votes for Marco Rubio, 3 for Carlos Beruff, 3 for Dwight […]