Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUSAN ERWIN Islander and local business owner Jon Burdette started visiting Boca Grande in 1985 when his grandparents were introduced to the island by Stewart Turley. By the early 1990s, his family had made Boca Grande their weekend home. Originally from Wellington, an area just west of Palm Beach, he attended school there, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
SPECIAL REPORT After seeing its case gutted and its lawyer publicly called out by a Charlotte County judge, the owners of the Professional Tarpon Tournament Series capitulated and walked away from its nearly three year old lawsuit aimed at silencing Save the Tarpon and the group’s more than 28,000 supporters. The sudden PTTS surrender on […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Approximately 100 Boca Grande residents attended a public information meeting on Monday, Nov. 16 regarding a proposed residential development on the empty 10 acres at the southern tip of the island, currently owned by Florida Power & Light. The presentation was brought to the public by the Seagate Development Group, LLC […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association announced this week that board members will be working in earnest in the next few weeks to secure pledges from community members to purchase the Mercabo facility at the base of the Boca Grande Causeway. The purchase price of the property is $20,600,000. According to the GICIA, an […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority held their quarterly board meeting on Wednesday. Items on the agenda included an explanation of swing bridge change orders, an update on the southern roadway construction project and a review of the 2015 fiscal year audit.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
The 2015 Chamber of Commerce Golf Scramble took place on October 12 on the links at The Gasparilla Inn & Club. The format was an 18-hole, four-player scramble with three flights and no handicaps. Teams were flighted by club pro, Robert Duke, based on front or back […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
By Marcy Shortuse This week the tales of a little girl who loved to play, another girl who loves to play tricks and a third girl distraught with grief over a lost love. Welcome to Part II of “Ghosts and Legends of Boca Grande,” a slightly darker side of the island that we call home. […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
By Marcy Shortuse A community hearing date has been set to discuss a matter very vital to the Boca Grande community: The purchase of the FPL land at the southern tip of the island, possibly for $20 million. In an inquiry to FPL’s representatives on Thursday it was determined that the land is under contract, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE It isn’t hard to surmise that a place as old as Gasparilla Island has a few tales to tell – and not all of them are paradise-perfect. While we are now known as an elite island getaway location, just a few decades ago there was a more diverse population. From times […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Capt. Lewis “Buster” Herzog, a true Boca Grande character of the greatest magnitude, has left this earth to fish another realm. If you knew him you only have to close your eyes to picture him – skinny, salty, sassy and barefoot – fishing the bottom for grouper up in heaven while […]