Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, News.
Suncoast Humane Society was awarded a $2,000 grant from Maddie’s Fund, a national family foundation established by Dave and Cheryl Duffield. The new program will extend existing playgroups for shelter dogs to the public, allowing potential adopters to observe and interact with dogs in a natural, social setting. Currently, Suncoast Humane Society practices daily playgroups. […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
In August, the Coastal Conservation Association Florida partnered with Ingman Marine, Abbott Construction, Lee Reefs, Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association (GICIA), Capt. Jay Withers, Clermont Oyster Bar and Lake County, to deploy two dump truckloads of recycled oyster shells to Turtle Bay in the Cape Haze Aquatic Reserve. Turtle Bay is located on Cape […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Police & Fire.
The Boca Grande Fire Department will hold a public hearing to decide on a proposed tax increase and budget at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the fire department. The proposed operating budget expenditures are 16.7 percent more than last year’s expenditures. The actual property tax levy for last year was $6,353,408; the tax […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Police & Fire.
Charlotte County: Officers Josh Brannen and Alex Russell responded to a report of individuals fishing off Punta Gorda. Officer Russell, undercover, observed the group catch two snook, attempting to conceal them. Inspection revealed four undersized snook and one undersized redfish. The individuals were cited for taking snook during the closed season, undersized and over the […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Breaking News, Community History, News.
The Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved four projects at their Sept. 11, 2024 meeting, including two Tesla solar projects. Present were members Barbara Wickwire, Paul Eddy, Jerry Edgerton, Becky Paterson and Chair Bill Caldwell. The first request was to legitimize a black chain link fence at 1771 17th St. E. The fence was […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News.
Work continues on the tile roof of the Boca Grande Community Center, which was damaged by Hurricane Ian. This repair work is separate from the renovations and additions to the Community Center proposed by the Friends of Boca Grande, beginning this fall. The roof work began in the spring and involves replacing the original tile. […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Community History, Featured News.
BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTOR, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER The year was 1949, when NATO was established, West Germany was created, the People’s Republic of China was formally proclaimed and the Soviet Union began testing nuclear weapons. At that time, federal spending was $38.84 billion, unemployment 3.8 percent and the cost of a first-class stamp […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, Editorial, Featured News.
Editor’s Note: The Friends of Boca Grande just released their 2024-25 Happenings booklet, in mail soon. On the cover is a talk with Heidi McKee on Artificial Intelligence. As an experiment, the Beacon “asked” the two biggest AI services, Chat GPT and Grok (from Elon Musk’s X.com) to write a 250 to 300 word promotional […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
The Friends of the Boca Grande Community Center is a hub for entertaining, educational and thought-provoking programs that set a tone and reflect the interests of the people of the island. One of the behind-the-scenes people who help make this happen is Josh Cross, the organization’s technology specialist. Josh likes being behind the scenes, not […]
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Community, News, Sports & Outdoors.
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.” John Muir, naturalist and poet Last week, residents of Florida were facing a situation akin to a weather emergency, as if a hurricane were on the way. The Governor’s office […]