Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, News, Sports & Outdoors.
BY ARLENE HALL,BGSTA SECRETARY This week, our loggerhead turtle mothers laid their 100th nest of the season. It will be interesting to see how May 2025 compares to May 2024’s activity. Final monthly statistics will be compiled next week, so check back. In last week’s article, I wrote about keeping the beaches dark during sea […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
BY THE GICIA The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association Bike Path restoration projects are well underway. The Town Park project between Third and Fifth Streets is in the final stages of construction, with completion expected by the 4th of July weekend. Landscaping the rest of the GICIA Bike Path between First and the North […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History, News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Editor’s Note: This August, Lee County commissioners are scheduled to vote on an ordinance related to parking in Boca Grande. It could contain a sweeping revision of current ordinances, which have evolved over the last decades. With that in mind, the Boca Beacon has gone back and reviewed how we got to […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
The Charlotte County Economic Development Office, in collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration, invites entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners to an in-person workshop titled “Are You Lender Ready?” The event will be held from 1-3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at the Economic Development Office, located at 18501 Murdock Circle. This workshop […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History, News, Real Estate.
BY TALIA ECKSTEIN The Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 11, in the St. Andrew’s Chapter House to review two proposals. The two special certificates of appropriateness cases to be reviewed are: • Proposed new wall and gate at 710 Palm Ave., planned for the west boundary line […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Entertainment, News, Sports & Outdoors.
This summer’s license-free fishing weekends are on June 7-8 for saltwater and June 14-15 for freshwater. Residents and visitors are encouraged to explore the many recreational fishing opportunities Florida has to offer. Whether you like to fish from the shore or your boat, there are several options across the state. People of all ages and […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community History, News.
Editor’s Note: Last month, the Boca Beacon filed a public records request with Lee County on issues related to Boca Grande parking. In the files, there are interesting tidbits related to Gasparilla Island. One item that came up was the 1925 plat that shows donation of public streets from the Boca Grande Corporation to public […]
Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community History, Featured News, News, Sports & Outdoors.
With this year’s back-to-back winning of the World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, the Boca Beacon has compiled a list of historical winners of the tarpon season below. One name that has come up over and over is Capt. Wayne Joiner, of Hey, Moma! On May 15, the Hey, Moma! team led by Capt. Wayne Joiner won […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News, News, Police & Fire.
On Saturday, May 24, during the Boca H2O Festival, a teenage boy was struck by a boat propeller, breaking his leg. The festival is held in the water off the sandbar between Gasparilla Island and Placida. Attendees have estimated on social media that there were around 1,800 boats at the event this year. Around midday, […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
Residents have been heading out to the GICIA Bike Path, and other locations across island, to visit night-blooming cereuses. Resident Ellen Cornwell was out Monday evening and photographed the plant; she knows the time of year that they bloom and caught them in the evening. Rick Joyce, who supervises many of the plants on the […]