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Health Clinic breaks ground for Clinic of the Future

With the ceremonial turning of dirt, the Boca Grande Health Clinic has officially launched the construction of a new facility designed to better serve the Island’s healthcare needs – today and well into the future. The Clinic of the Future project is being developed in two phases to allow care to continue uninterrupted during construction. […]

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse reopens after hurricane closure

The Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS) will reopen the historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse and Museum at Gasparilla Island State Park on Monday, May 5 after nearly eight months of closure due to hurricane damage.  Nestled at the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, originally built in 1890, has withstood the […]

Birds, paragliders fighting for shore leave

Charlotte County environmental specialists have posted a bird nesting area at the north end of Gasparilla Island in front of Island Court, but numbers have been unusually low due to human disruption. Susie Derheimer, coastal environmental specialist for Charlotte County Community Services, has observed one adult least tern on a nest and five other individuals […]

Saying Good-bye

Penny Sims said good-bye to her beloved Glory Bea. Glory Bea was known fondly island wide, and she will be missed ♥. Photo submitted

Lighthouse Methodist Pancake Awards

The Lighthouse UMC Pancake Breakfast Team got together to celebrate the end of another successful Pancake Breakfast Season. The breakfast cleared $4,000 which will go to Myakka River Elementary School Food Pantry. The fearless leaders Dan O’Connell and Becca deRosa received the coveted “Golden Pancake Medalla de Oro” for their work. Master Chef Extraordinaire Dan […]

OPINION: NANCY LECKERLING

Taking on a cleaner island, honoring a friend BY NANCY LECKERLING Twenty-five years ago, when my husband Jon and I were considering the purchase of a home on Captiva Island, a friend of ours, Anna Bowditch, who lived in Madison, Conn., where we did, and who loved Boca Grande, said to us, “Before you buy […]

The rains came, the island got quieter

This Tuesday, the first rain of the season arrived. It was a real rain, too, precisely at 2:29 p.m., and resulted in some “nostalgic” puddles on the sides of the roads, ably slurped up by the sandy soil. It was also the first week we got word that turtles arrived on cooled-off sand, and nesting […]

EcoWatch: Humpback whales may soon tell their stories

“The whales do not sing because they have an answer they sing because they have a song.” Gregory Colbert, poet, filmmaker, photographer There are recent reports that AI has helped scientists have a 20-minute conversation with a humpback whale, and that might help them decipher what the whales are singing. It will open up a […]

5th Street temporary beach access reopens

Lee County reopened the Boca Grande 5th Street Beach Access at dawn on Monday, April 28. This temporary access includes parking spaces and a ramp down to the beach. Patrons are advised that the current ramp is temporary and does not fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. A permanent, ADA-compliant ramp is […]

This date in the Boca Beacon

FIVE YEARS AGO The United Methodist Women distributed funds from the Strawberry Festival to multiple local charities during the Coronavirus shutdowns. TEN YEARS AGO Island School students presented their artwork at the Boca Grande Art Alliance exhibit. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO More than 25 island business owners pledged to stay open during the summer months. The […]