Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
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 […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
BY SUE ERWIN – The GoFundMe account to help send a veteran to the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2016 has grown to nearly $1,900. But donations are still needed to help send Englewood resident John Seelie to the services in Hawaii. Gasparilla Inn Golf Course employee Cathy Joel lives next door […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
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. […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
Joyce Jacobs, associate director of the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, has announced that she will retire on June 30, 2017, after almost 24 years of service. During her tenure, Jacobs has seen Harry Chapin grow from a grassroots organization that distributed a few hundred thousand pounds of food a year to a […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
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 […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Opinion.
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 […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ Hurricane Hermine went from Invest to becoming a healthy storm in the Gulf of Mexico. As of press time she was churning her way up to the Panhandle. Her feeder bands brought the island about five inches of rain between Tuesday and Friday. This shot was taken from The Gasparilla Inn & Club golf course […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ 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 […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association volunteers are reporting damage left from Tropical Storm Hermine, as well as several more incidents regarding predators interfering with sea turtle nests and hatchlings recently. According to one patroller, as of Thursday afternoon, Sept. 1, there were only 22 nests left. About 19 of those were […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE On June 19 of this year, Billy Pfannkuch’s life changed dramatically as he and his best friend, Dylan Gonzalez, were involved in a very serious boating accident in the waters near Eldred’s Marina. While Billy was seriously injured, Dylan’s injuries were extreme, and he passed away. To honor Dylan’s memory, Billy […]