Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Community History.
BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTOR, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER After many years of bringing my family to Florida for vacations, my wife and I decided to plan for our retirement, which included moving to the Sunshine State. Previously, we had rented condos but eventually invested in timeshares on Sanibel Island. After an exhaustive search for […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Featured News, Health & Wellness, News, Sports & Outdoors.
Experts are still watching red tide, but with winds, and cooler weather, the area may escape a bad season. The Calusa WaterKeepers have been seeing fluxtuating results for red tide amounts, said Codty Pierce, WaterKeeper and life-long resident of the Caloosahatchee watershed. “I’m hopeful,” Pierce said. “We still have this consistent east wind which has […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, Featured News, News.
The new November/December edition of the Boca Beacon’s Gasparilla Island Magazine is out with new feature stories, recipes, shopping and social pages. The cover depicts the Boca Grande Range Light, an iconic local landmark, reimagined by artist Ashley Lippincott in a bold pop-art style. Featured stories include a tour of Sarasota’s Historic Burns Court, an […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
In a long-term list of things that needed to be fixed after double hurricanes, the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority had some items that were easier and much more crowd-pleasing. “Dog biscuits are back. We had to wait until we got gate arms,” said Kathy Banson, executive director. “We can’t distribute biscuits without gate arms.” That, […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
Lee County surpassed the 200,000 cubic-yards-collected milestone for vegetative and construction debris in unincorporated areas post-Hurricane Milton. Vegetative and construction debris operations are expected to continue with crews working seven days a week until their final push. Sand collections along the coastline are mostly complete while crews continue to collect sand in Boca Grande. Lee […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
Long list of fixes Work to repair washed out roads on Gasparilla Island will begin next week. Lee County has sent out a post-Hurricane Milton update from the Department of Transportation about emergency road repairs on local roads in Boca Grande. A pre-construction meeting was held Thursday, Nov. 21, and work will begin on Monday, […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
Margaret Mary (Marge) Loviner Flynn, 102, of Hudson, Ohio died peacefully on November 20, 2024, one month shy of her 103rd birthday. Marge was born December 20, 1921 in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Cornelius William and Ann Lucille (Allen) Loviner. Marge grew up in Columbus and was a graduate of St. Joseph Academy. She […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
Sometimes thankfulness comes easily. Other times it is harder to see the blessings, especially when they come wrapped in traumatic events. Nearly everyone in and around Boca Grande can identify with this circumstance, especially following the whiplash we have experienced from our two recent hurricanes. I have been asked to share my journey of gratitude […]
Written by VAN HUBBARD on . Posted in Columns, Sports & Outdoors.
Wasting grouper stocks with discards In my lifetime of fishing, I could never have considered the challenges we face today because of mismanagement. I completely agree we need to manage our fish stocks. How we do it is my concern. What we currently have is blatant disregard for the business depending upon fishing to pay […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Community, Editorial.
Many families have the tradition at Thanksgiving of going around the table and asking each person what they are thankful for. This can be particularly humorous with small children, as their blessings can sometimes be quite basic. OIder children groan through the practice, but it never fails to make everyone think of what a privilege […]