Skip to main content
Search Results for “win”

Charlotte County tourism eagerly awaits opening of Sunseeker

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.

As fall visitors arrive and winter visitors begin to make plans, local tourism officials are looking for good news as vacation rentals come back on line.
“I think we are seeing some pent-up demand,” said Sean Doherty, the tourism director for Charlotte County tourism, which is branded the Punta Gorda and Englewood Beach Convention and Visitor Bureau.

Looking at Charlotte County’s tourism development tax revenues, in August the county saw its first actual increase in revenue since Hurricane Ian, with an upward blip of 0.7 percent. TDC revenue is derived from the lodging tax, which is assessed on any rental of less than six months and one day. These bed tax funds support both the Charlotte County and Lee County visitor bureaus.

Rental properties coming back on the market on Don Pedro and Little Gasparilla are also helping Charlotte tourism figures, as many were off market after Ian, Doherty said.

OBITUARY: Karen Hugger

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.

Funeral services for Karen Hugger, 78, longtime Boca Grande resident and real estate broker, will be held at 10 a.m. at the Lighthouse United Methodist Church in Boca Grande on Saturday, Nov. 11. A reception will follow in the church’s Fellowship Hall. All are welcome. Karen passed away in October following a stroke in March. […]

Bocaween 2023

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community.

WINNERS OF THE 2023 LEE COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST: Ages 0-3: Silas Swartzendruber; Alfred Norberg; Izzy Freeman Ages 4-5: Landon Ringeisen; Noah Branham; Alma (no last name) Ages 6-9: Ava Spurgeon; Penny Oliver; Georgia Pope Ages 10-14: Brielle Spurgeon; Savannah Pope; Hunter Pope –––––––––––––––

PROFILE: Gordon Allen

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.

High tech meets high drama. And it’s all happening in a quiet neighborhood in the elegant town of Boca Grande. 
This is not the plot of a new play, but the real-life story of one of the newest actors joining the ranks of the Royal Palm Players. 

Gordon Allen took a couple of acting classes when he lived in Santa Barbara, California some 20 years ago. He was not actually looking to perform on stage, though. He was hoping to improve his skills as a salesman. 

“It was more just for fun. I’m in sales, so I spend a lot of time in front of people,” he explained. “I was talking to lots of senior-level executives, tech executives, things like that. So taking an acting class was a help in getting better at just talking … talking on my feet and thinking on my feet.”

That changed recently, however.

OBITUARY: Emerson White

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.

Emerson Donald White, 86, of Placida, Florida peacefully passed away on October 29, 2023 at home, surrounded by family. Known to all as Don, he was born in Winchendon, Massachusetts to Emerson and Alice White. He graduated from Leominster High School, received a business degree from Babson College and was also a veteran of the […]

GUEST EDITORIAL: SHARING THE RESPONSIBILITY

Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Editorial.

Over the years, I’ve read the Boca Beacon without fail. The best parts of the weekly paper are what I call “The Boca Soaps.” I savor every word. I love the Gilchrist sagas that kept going for several months … then the private fence on the south end of the island that extended across the […]

THIS DATE IN THE BOCA BEACON

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History.

FIVE YEARS AGO The Barrier Island Parks Society announced they would be relighting the restored Gasparilla Island Lighthouse (the Range Light) following the installation of a replica of the original fourth-order Fresnel lens needed. TEN YEARS AGO At the Whidden’s Back Bay Tournament a lot of fish were caught. The first-place team included anglers Capt. […]

Make it Grande! Royal Palm Players announces their 2023-24 season

Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Entertainment.

After three years of partial seasons, Royal Palm Players is poised and ready to entertain and excite you. They are back with a full season of four major productions starring over 40 different actors—some brand new to our stage—some familiar and beloved—all are committed to raising the bar of entertainment excellence.

The season is off to a “grande” beginning. The Crowninshield is the perfect setting for The Dining Room On Boca Grande, November 13th and 14th at 5pm. RPP’s opening show is adapted from A.R. Gurney’s dramedy of manners. This table reading literally takes place around a dining room table in a mansion on Gilchrist Avenue. Through a vivid mosaic of scenes, different families in different time periods, create a portrait of life on Boca Grande over the past 100 years.

We went from no towers to lots of towers

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community.

BY SHEILA EVANS AND MARCY SHORTUSE Not only do we have a new cell phone tower in the middle of town, baby cell phone towers have popped up as well … and more are being planned. Right now we have two new “Q-tip” towers at the north end – one at Gulf Shores Drive and […]

A lack of south end dunes has led to a lot of flooding … so what can be done?

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.

Back in July of 1967, the headline in the News-Press of Fort Myers was, “What to Do About Eroded Tip of Boca Grande.”

Then, as now, islanders were looking to beach nourishment to help prevent erosion on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island. At that time, the Boca Grande Conservation Council, headed by Homer Addison of The Temptation, was in favor of establishing a park at the tip of the island, as the Lighthouse was for sale from the Coast Guard through the General Services Administration. It seemed an ideal solution; the only challenge being the “erosion problem.”

Six decades later, the issue of erosion, while not fixed, is regularly addressed through a mix of federal, local and tourist tax monies. Gasparilla, and indeed all of the Gulf of Mexico islands in Florida, are under regular schedules for replenishment. But what is also a challenge is the flooding at the tip of the island, which hit the south end’s streets and historic buildings during hurricanes Irma, Ian and Idalia.