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The Florida insurance deadfall: Factors working against homeowners and buyers make it easy to see that reform is needed

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

It isn’t easy to be stuck in a corner by an insurer that wants to issue only a fraction of the money it will take to fix a home, particularly when the option of hiring an attorney seems to be the only one left. Some public adjusters have done good work for their clients, and others have not, but either way the client is left to pay them 10 percent of recovered money. Knowing that, many homeowners pick up the phone to call an attorney and skip that middleman.

But Gov. Ron DeSantis has called out “frivolous lawsuits” many times when it comes to insurees, so if you are a person who normally would never consider that, what are you supposed to do?

Malaria cases put local mosquito control districts on alert

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Health & Wellness, News.

Southwest Florida made national news this week as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported four cases of locally acquired malaria in Sarasota County.

“We need to keep our eyes and ears open,” said Scott Schermerhorn, Charlotte County’s mosquito and aquatic control manager. Charlotte County has 21 sites along the Sarasota/Charlotte border where they are monitoring mosquitoes, doing extra surveillance. Countywide, there are 90 locations.

‘The Gateway Project’ to Gasparilla Island discussed by the Boca Grande Disaster Relief Fund

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community, News.

Upon taking that first journey onto the island on the heels of Hurricane Ian, there are sights that were seen that many will never forget. The tall pines down across the Boca Grande Causeway after the middle bridge. Homes ripped wide apart. The lake of water at the base of the south bridge, stretching all the way past the Gulf Shores Drive and the Boca Grande Club. 

But it was the trees that came down across from Grande Quay that made so many so sad. One didn’t realize their size and girth until they were seen laying with their tips in the lake and their massive root systems exposed. These trees that lined the west side of the Causeway road were pulled up by the roots as if a giant had come through and picked them like weeds. Their root balls lining the roadway were 20 feet tall and 30 feet wide.

Habitat for Humanity store reopening in Englewood

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News.

The Englewood Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which has been closed since Hurricane Ian, is set to reopen on Wednesday, July 5. This week, more than two dozen volunteers were busy restocking the 12,000-square-foot ReStore and warehouse located off McCall Road, all with donated goods collected from across Charlotte County.

If you love sea turtles, here’s your chance to adopt one! (No, you can’t take them home)

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.

The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association recently announced their inaugural Adopt-A-Nest program for the 2023 season, which allows you to adopt a sea turtle nest on Gasparilla Island and be a part of protection and conservation efforts. Adoption donations will help protect and conserve endangered sea turtles. Funds will be used for turtle patrol equipment, […]

IN THE SPOTLIGHT – Firefighter Stephen Collison

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News, Profiles.

Firefighter Stephen Collison is still pinching himself, hoping his job at the Boca Grande Fire Department is not a cruel joke. He was hired on April 1, so he’s pretty sure by now it’s no April Fool’s joke.

Steve likes a good laugh and can almost always be found with a smile on his face. He is a naturally happy person. Working for the Boca Grande Fire Department has substantially added to that happiness. It’s not that he was unhappy working for the Sarasota County Fire Department, but this station just fits his sense of community better, he said.

He had been with the Sarasota Department since September of 2021, and before that he was a member of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office for more than 11 years. Public safety and public service are his bedrocks.

OBITUARY: Joe Adrian

Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.

Joseph Leo Adrian, 78, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota and Boca Grande, Florida passed away from complications due to ataxia on June 23, 2023. He is preceded in death by his loving parents, Herbert and Bernnes (née Peterson), brothers John, Herbert M. Jr., and Anthony. Joe was known for his sharp wit, observant nature, quiet […]

EDITORIAL: Will the people still come when the service workers can’t stay?

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial.

Retirees and investors may still be flocking to Florida to find that “perfect life” or great investment opportunity, but unless more insurance regulation bills are written and passed, or more insurance assistance programs are offered for workers, those who live here will find few people left in the stores, shops, hospitals, law enforcement agencies and fire departments.

It has been well known by many “locals” in this area why there are few hometown kids who continue to live or start businesses here when they finish high school or return from college. It’s because this is one of those places where, unless their family has a business they can jump into or has enough of the right contacts to help them along in finding a job. Small towns like Port Charlotte, Englewood and Placida are not places where it is easy to get a solid initial foothold on your own. The good-paying jobs just aren’t here, particularly when you’re faced with big-city costs of living at the same time.

THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Boca Beacon Back Pages, Columns.

Boca Beacon backpages FIVE YEARS AGO Red tide was insane, so much so that we had “fish disposal” dumpster sites available to the public. GIBA talked about changing the name of the Boca Grande Causeway to Gasparilla Road. TEN YEARS AGO We lost Bud Amen. Mila’s swim team did a great job in a California […]

Gettin’ some weathah down heah! Yikes!

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Uncategorized.

Weather was the top story this week, as we went from sweltering hot with little rain to some decent storms and rainfall. There were even a few tense moments on Father’s Day morning when the phone alerts were going off everywhere, as a tornado warning was issued for our area. We got a lot of rain that morning, enough to fill the ditches along Gasparilla Road heading into town.

On Tuesday night the skies were illuminated at the south end of the Cape Haze Peninsula by a fire that originated near the old quarry in Rotonda Meadows (once called Rotonda Trace). It was just across a small canal from homes on the south end of the South Gulf Cove neighborhood. The cause of that fire was a lightning strike.