There was no shortage of excitement on day one of the 2022 World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, with 38 tarpon released during the four-hour fishing time. By the end of the first day, Capt. Wayne Joiner and his anglers on Hey, Moma! was in the lead with eight tarpon released. Spooked Again with Capt. Steve Ahlers, […]
The weather was beautiful but the bite was not prolific at the May 14, 2022 Youth Fishing Tournament. In all, three young anglers proved to have hot hands in the tournament, bringing in all the fish that were caught. Finn DeVault and his brother Jude took some of the top honors on Saturday morning. Finn […]
A lifelong businessman and philanthropist, Pete was well known and highly regarded in the global healthcare industry as the co-founder and longtime leader of the medical device giant Boston Scientific Corp. To us here in Boca Grande, Pete’s legacy will continue through the good work and stellar care the Clinic is able to provide to the Island, because of Pete’s leadership and g
Peter M. Nicholas passed away on May 14, 2022 in the loving arms of his wife and best friend of 58 years, Ginny Lilly Nicholas. Pete was a family man, respected businessman, passionate boater and involved philanthropist. Pete was the Co-founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Boston Scientific Corporation from its founding in […]
As our season comes to a close and summer begins, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of myself and our BIPS Board to thank all our friends and visitors who utilized our four parks, lighthouses and gift shops and participated in our numerous programs and activities.
In order to not forget the many sacrifices of Boca Grande and Florida residents, the History Center has completed a multivolume collection of many articles pertaining to Florida, Boca Grande and World Wars I and II. The History Center has also compiled a list of over 260 names with relevant data on those who served in the military during WWII and had lived at a specific time in Boca Grande.
The water bodies of Sarasota Bay are designated as an Outstanding Florida Waters (OFW’s). This designation is intended to provide additional protection to special waters recognized for their ecological significance, by providing the highest degree of protection under the State of Florida’s permitting policies. An OFW designation requires that water quality must not be degraded below the level that existed at the time of the OFW designation. However, significant degradation of Sarasota Bay has occurred since its original designation, as documented through water quality data, red tide blooms, areas of seagrass die-off and manatee mortalities.
At its spring quarterly meeting Thursday, May 5 the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority had some interesting news about the traffic flow in recent days, particularly about two days this past March. GIBA Executive Director Kathy Banson-Verrico gave a report on the traffic passing through the toll booths during the first six months of the fiscal year. She reported that traffic numbers were up. Cash tolls were about 13 percent above the same time last fiscal year. Customer service tolls, or bridge passes, were up by about 10 percent, and overall traffic was up eight percent. She said this represented about 47,000 more vehicles than the number from the same period last year.
Lee County Commissioners will be discussing an extension of the contract for beach renourishment that Gasparilla Island has with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at their meeting on Tuesday, May 17.
Artist, environmentalist, lover of people and nature, longtime Boca Grande institution Carroll Swayze is moving. She is closing her Englewood studio and moving somewhere not too far away. She can’t be too specific because the deal is still in process, but she is looking forward to whatever is around the next corner.