Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Community.
SUBMITTED BY THE GICIA The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association (GICIA) is entering the final phase of the Bike Path landscaping plan, which began in August. Hurricane Ian destroyed nearly 300 trees and countless shrubs and grasses. The focus of this project was to return the GICIA’s Bike Path property to pre-hurricane condition. […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community.
As insurance issues and condominium assessments have cleared up, buyers and sellers have been getting a better picture of property values and what the upcoming property season will entail, both on island and off.
“There were so many unknowns,” said Olivia Jones of Parsley Baldwin Real Estate. “There was ‘unknown’ from insurance, from condos.”
She feels that we are now at the stage where “some of the unknowns are now known.”
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community.
Restoration work began this week at the Amory Chapel and the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, both damaged during Hurricane Ian. At the site, workers were visible both working on the interior of the Amory Chapel, and on the porch of the lighthouse, and repair trucks were in the yard. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, at […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
This week it was announced that the beach at Cayo Costa State Park is now open daily, 8 a.m. to sunset, for with private vessels. Ferry services, bayside docks, electricity, drinking water and overnight accommodations are not available, but restrooms are available on the gulf side of the island.
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
With Halloween upon us and the veil between natural and supernatural being very thin, we try to keep with the season by presenting you with some spooky tales. We have covered most of the ground on the island, but this particular story that was found earlier in the year was put in a folder for […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Featured News, Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor:
The structured parking plan that now seems to be a source of controversy is not about Gilchrist Ave. The plan is for the Lee County portion of Gasparilla Island. It is intended to protect our entire community from becoming a massive beach parking lot, which it soon will be because of the exploding population growth around us. Aside from the tens of thousands of platted lots on the Cape Haze Peninsula, there are thousands of new homes being built from Winchester Boulevard all the way out South River Road to I-75. Have you noticed the new subdivisions and apartments under construction on SR 776 on the way to Murdock? Where do you think all of these people will be going to the beach?
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns, Entertainment.
Aries: It is entirely possible that your paranoid nature will pay off this week. Your cell phone, your computer and your car have all broken in one form or fashion, not to mention you’re camping indoors, listening to the sounds of flapping tarp and banging metal all night. If you feel like this is all […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
A decision has been made in the case of the property owner at 161 Gilchrist Avenue vs. Lee County, heard on September 12 of this year by Chief Hearing Examiner Donna Marie Collins.
The appeal was made by the property owner and their representatives, based on their belief that in denying a special Certificate of Appropriateness to permit construction of a home (161 Gilchrist Avenue) and a garage and maintenance building on the adjoining lot (181 Gilchrist Avenue), the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board did not apply the correct law, they did not afford the property owner due process and did not use the proper evidence to back up their denial.
Representing the County was Amanda Swindle, Esq.; representing the property owner at 161 Gilchrist Avenue were Jenna Persons-Mulicka, Esq. and Megan Strayhorn, Esq.
It was at the BGHPB’s April meeting when this item was on the agenda. Prior to any engagement, conversation or examination of the actual proposed structures on the two properties, which is all the COA was for, Board members asked about a feature on one of the properties called
the Whispering Bench.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
You don’t expect to see an alligator on the beach, but sometimes it happens. It has happened here, in fact, many times. There’s lot of swamp and water in the undeveloped areas of the island where an alligator can live and an occasional trip to the beach is always in order. We’re also close enough […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community, News.
Pioneer Plaza, on Dearborn Street in Old Englewood, has become a gathering place for singers, actors, artists and dancers, thanks to the imaginative design of Sydney Martin, a lover of the arts in all forms.
Sydney is the founder of The Art Colony of Englewood, which started as a way for artists to show and sell their creations, but it has blossomed into much more.
“The Art Colony is beginning its second season,” Sydney said. “Last season we had eight artist galleries, having shows from December to April, and one dinner concert, which was in April. This season we will have 14 permanent outdoor galleries, and the season will run from October to April.