Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ SUBMITTED BY LT JEFF CORKHILL You may notice a new member of the Lee County Sheriff’s Patrol function on Boca Grande. So if you get the opportunity, please welcome Sgt. Cecil Fitch. Sgt. Fitch is a welcome addition to the patrol team in Boca Grande, and we are very pleased to have him assigned […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT If you have missed out on seeing a very interesting locally oriented documentary called “Mullet and Mangroves: The Pioneer Fishing Families of Cayo Costa,” featuring several island residents behind and in front of the camera, tune in to WGCU-TV (PBS – CH 3) on the dates shown at the right. Capt. Robert […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN A group of heroic residents stepped up over the weekend to remove the piles of dead fish from island beaches. A huge “thank you” goes out to Braxton Bowen and his family, and the Combrink family, and many other anonymous helpers, for working in 95-degree weather elbow-deep in dead fish without […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
John Dean Compton of North Port, Fla. passed away June 25, 2018 surrounded by his family. He died of natural causes after a short period of declining health. John was born March 20, 1930 to John E and Verdilla Compton in Menominee, Michigan. He graduated from Menominee High School, where he excelled in football, swimming […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■BY MARCY SHORTUSE When Amira Fox turns onto the Boca Grande Causeway, she feels a sense of relief come over her that is well earned. She is the chief assistant state attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit, which serves Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties, and her office heard more than 62,000 cases last […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, News, Opinion.
■BY MARCY SHORTUSE Since the recent mass shooting at a newspaper office up north, I have seen some really callous and negative comments about the media in response to the tragedy. “They’re all hacks. Who cares?” “It’s all fake news anyway.” Good to know community newspapers get so much support, right? After all, we’ve got […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT The 2018 4th of July Bike Parade that has made the island famous will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 4. That means be at PJ’s Seagrille side parking area (between the Old Theatre Building and Englewood Bank & Trust) by at least 9:50 a.m. to get a primo spot […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Hype on social media and on local television news channels continues regarding our red tide bloom, and it’s easy to see why. It’s been a few years since we had a fish kill of this magnitude, particularly in combination with the death of larger fish and aquatic mammals. In the last […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Coughing and sneezing due to red tide is annoying enough … but as dead fish piled up on island beaches this week, the stench in the air certainly added to the unpleasantness. One thing is for sure, you have the beaches pretty much to yourself now. Boca Grande continues to be […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT At the quarterly meeting of the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority held on Wednesday, June 27, it was discussed that Boca Grande North is petitioning Charlotte County to change the name of the roadway from Boca Grande Causeway to Gasparilla Road. A member of the Boca Grande North Homeowner’s Association suggested the idea, […]