Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, Education, News.
The owners of a Gilchrist property, who wish to remain anonymous, have sold their house, the proceeds of which will assist in funding the new preschool building’s construction. The house was sold for $2.4 million through Angela Steffan at Gulf to Bay/Sotheby’s (see Business and Real Estate sales on page 12). Steffan and owners of […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Health & Wellness, News.
Gasparilla Island Water Association, Inc. will be temporarily changing the disinfection process for its Placida and Boca Grande potable (drinking water) water supply. From June 2, at 7 a.m. through June 30, GIWA will disinfect the water with free chlorine rather than combined chlorine/ammonia (chloramines). This conversion to chlorine (which is a stronger disinfectant) from […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, News, Sports & Outdoors.
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY Sea turtle nesting activity on the island is picking up as we progress further into May. With this increase in activity comes the BGSTA’s annual reminder about how you can help protect nesting and hatching sea turtles by keeping the beaches clean, flat, and dark. This week, I will focus […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Entertainment, Profiles.
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from a family biography of actor and producer Robert Burns Nachtmann, professionally known as Robert Dale Martin, the noted casting director of CBS during television’s golden age. He was the grandfather of Boca Grande resident Lisa Cottick, and father of Placida resident Jill Ediger. The self-published biography, written […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Editorial, Opinion.
Perhaps, as God intended, we are truly living in some sort of tropical jungle paradise. Quite regularly, folks are reporting seeing a pair of flamingos, up in the air, up and down the island, and Cape Haze. They were above Coral Creek Wednesday, on their way to Englewood. The television weathermen of Fort Myers, each […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community, Community History.
Looking back into previous Boca Beacon issues: FIVE YEARS AGO: The Seagate Development Group was reconstructing the pier accessible to the Hill Tide Estates. The pier used to be an old oil dock. TEN YEARS AGO: FPL was replacing utility poles along Gasparilla Road near 18th Street with more resilient poles, rated to winds up […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Letters to the Editor, Opinion.
To the Editor: As Yogi Berra once said about Coney Island, “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.” Are we going to turn Gasparilla Island into Coney Island? How many cars do we have to have before it’s too crowded? 500, 1,000, 5,000, more? Are we supposed to take every square foot of our beautiful […]
Written by VAN HUBBARD on . Posted in Columns, Featured News, Opinion, Sports & Outdoors.
Tarpon season is in full swing. The Ladies Day tarpon tournament was successful despite windy weather. Capt. Frank Davis aboard the Native guided his sister-in-law to two silver kings and a first place win for their team. Ten tarpon were released. Boca Grande Pass live bait fishing has been productive with good catching in fair […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.
FIVE YEARS AGO Family Tradition takes first place in the Quarantine Queens Classic, the island’s answer to the Ladies’ Day Tarpon Tournament when Covid gets in the way. TEN YEARS AGO The Island School was busy wrapping up their school year with several activities, including the talent show and the Mother’s Day Tea which was […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
T he World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament kicked off on Wednesday afternoon, May 14. There were 28 releases on the first day of fishing and 60 fish caught in total. “The wind stirs the pass up, and pushes them out,” said Capt. Christopher Taylor, president of the Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association, as he tried to […]