Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.
Sandy Bylaska, tournament judge extraordinnaire and such a well-loved woman in our community, has passed away. She is now with the love of her life, husband Jackie. Sandy did not mince words. If she didn’t like you, you knew it, but she rarely got too mad over things that didn’t matter. To her friends and […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
Lots of people in Boca Grande love to walk the beach in the morning. Most of them do not make the trek if the weather is nasty, or if the sun gets too hot. There are some folks, however, who do not do their beach walking for exercise or meditation. They do it to protect […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Boca Beacon Back Pages.
Boca Beacon backpages FIVE YEARS AGO The sale of Las Olas, a home that was once part of the Crowninshield compound on Gilchrist Avenue, broke island real estate records when it sold for $13 million. TEN YEARS AGO The Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce announced that the two-day competition would also include the traditional art […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To our island community: We deeply regret any worry or concern that recent events have caused members of our community. We are aware of the concerns of The Island School regarding an individual that we have contracted to work on one of upcoming productions. The welfare and well-being of our island children has always been […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued health alerts for the presence of a red tide bloom. An alert level of red tide was found near Buck Key (Blind Pass), Gasparilla Island State Park (Boca Grande Pass), Tarpon Bay Road Beach (Sanibel), and Lighthouse Beach (Sanibel). This is in […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News.
The Boca Grande Preschool is back in business. It reopened its doors January 9, and is better than ever. “Little children thrive on normalcy,” asserts Kelli Carpenter, the Preschool Director. Frankly, pretty much everyone needs some normalcy in their lives to succeed. Kelli is making it her life’s work to have the children in the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History.
The first History Bytes lecture of the 2023 season, brought to you by the Boca Grande Historical Society and Bank of America, regarded grave matters of the island – literally. The presentation given by Boca Grande Historial Society Executive Director Crystal Diff and Scott Shively, Charlotte County historian, was all about local cemeteries … including […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Columns, News.
The beautiful sunset capped off the night of fun and faith as the new chapter of Young Life held its major fundraiser of the year at the Gasparilla Inn Beach Club Monday, Jan. 31. The event was the first major event for the Englewood Chapter of Young Life, a Christian ministry focusing on middle school […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Entertainment, News.
Way back in the early 2000s when there were actually two weekly papers in Boca Grande I wrote a column called Backstage with Boots. There I attempted to relate to our Royal Palm Player awesome audience some of the things that went on behind the stage performances. In the beginnings of RPP, budget was pretty […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in News.
Over two decades ago when my late husband, Jack, told me he’d shook hands on a lease for a downtown space in Terry Seitz’s new post and beam building, I almost killed him. After deciding to sell our home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where we’d raised our son, I was looking forward to […]