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Featured News

Girl bitten by shark in summer has visit with rescuers at Fire Department

On June 11, 2025, Leah Lendel, age 9, was bitten by a shark in the 2200 block of Shore Lane. This Tuesday, Lendel came back to visit the Boca Grande Fire Department. It was not a planned visit. The…

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Community

Boca Grande Chamber elects new slate of officers

December 18, 2025

The Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce introduced five new members to the board of directors on December 6. Jessica Goslowski of Barnichol Hardware is the new treasurer. Wally Rutan of Island C…

Lee County sets out Boca Grande parking pass pickup dates for January

December 18, 2025

Lee County has added multiple January dates to pick up parking passes at the Crowninshield Community House. “We encourage residents to continue to use the online application, if possible,” wrote…

Chillin’

December 18, 2025

Santa chillin’ in Hudson’s Park on Park Avenue. More lights around the island here. Photo by Matt

Education

Scholarship application season announced

December 11, 2025

BY THE BOCA GRANDE WOMAN’S CLUB The Scholarship Committee of the Boca Grande Woman’s Club will be accepting applications from November 1, 2025, to February 1, 2026. Students who are awarded the…

The Island School sets date for Chowder Dinner

November 13, 2025

The Island School PTO will host its 10th Annual Chowder Dinner on Friday, Jan. 16, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Gasparilla Inn Beach Club. Guests can enjoy a cash bar, live music by the Green Flash Ba…

K-9 Birdie visits The Island School

November 13, 2025

Lee County Deputy Barrs and his K-9 partner Birdie paid The Island School a visit on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Birdie is a Labrador, and her primary duty is to search for weapons on school campuses. She is…

Entertainment

Grande Chorus kicks off 4th Season at St. Andrew’s

December 11, 2025

This weekend, The Grande Chorus is kicking off its 4th season with a mid-century-themed concert of holiday favorites. Thirty Boca Grande friends and neighbors will be singing cool retro arrangements…

Upcoming December Music

December 4, 2025

Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols Join the members of Gulf Cove United Methodist Church for special Christmas programs of music on Sunday, Dec. 14. The “Festival of Lessons and Carols” wil…

Sidemen of Note bring original music of Campbell, Manilow and Garfunkel

December 4, 2025

The performers Tab Laven, Eddie Kilgallon, and Jeff Dayton form a powerhouse ensemble of veteran touring musicians who have spent their careers alongside some of music’s greatest legends. With exper…

Crochet for the kids: Maria Pardo-Thompson

Maria Pardo-Thompson is rarely without yarn nearby. Over the years, her crocheted blankets, hats, loveys and small stuffed animals have ended up in ambulances, hospital nurseries, classrooms and family homes. Some are held by premature babies in neonatal intensive care units. Others are kept by firefighters and paramedics to comfort children during emergencies. After Hurricane […]

Sports & Outdoors

Health & Wellness

Clinic work and a welcome back patients

December 4, 2025

BY MARK DRISCOLL As we welcome many of you back to the island, I would like to share a brief update on what’s been happening at the Boca Grande Health Clinic – from construction progress and new…

Ask a Doc: Avoid the uh-ohs when the grandkids visit

November 20, 2025

BY CHARLOTTE C. COWAN, MD Few things are more joyful – or more unpredictable – than a grandchild’s visit. Children inevitably bring with them both fun and minor chaos. And, as every grandparent k…

Englewood Hospital earns distinctions

October 30, 2025

HCA Florida Englewood Hospital announced Wednesday that it has earned multiple five-star distinctions for exceptional clinical performance from Healthgrades, the online doctor or hospital ratings se…

OPINION: MARK DRISCOLL

October 23, 2025

Reflecting on five years at the Clinic I was walking on the island the other day, passing the construction site where the new Clinic of the Future is taking shape, when I stopped for a moment to…

Police & Fire

Boca Grande Fire Department honors

December 26, 2025

From left to right: Sarah Cislo with Chief C.W. Blosser. Cislo successfully completed her rigorous 12 month training and testing program and is now recognized as a 1st Class Firefighter; Erik Fatica…

Coast Guard suspends search for Fort Myers boaters

December 23, 2025

The Coast Guard suspended the weekend search for two missing boaters at sunset Monday, pending the development of new information. Missing are 57-year-old Randall Spivey and 33-year-old Brandon Bill…

Sheriff’s Report: Cart stolen and in water over the weekend

December 18, 2025

Last Saturday, Dec. 13, Lee County Deputy Angelo Lanni responded to The Gasparilla Inn in regards to a stolen and damaged golf cart. A Gasparilla Inn manager told Deputy Lanni that staff had fou…

Charlotte takes on e-bikes in new sheriff’s report

December 18, 2025

At the December 16, 2025, Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners Workshop meeting, Sheriff Bill Prummell’s office presented a proposed county-wide ordinance regarding the use of e-bikes. Whi…

News Archives

Obituaries

David A. Jenkins, 1941-2025

David Albert Jenkins, 84 died peacefully on December 12, 2025, watching the sun set on the Gulf of Mexico from his home in Boca Grande. His loving a…

Thomas C. McDermott 1936-2025

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Thomas C. McDermott, who left us on December 7, 2025 at the age of 89. Surrounded by his…

William Colehower 1937-2025

Born May 28, 1937, in Abington, Pennsylvania to Emily Squibb Colehower and Harry Howard Colehower, Bill was raised in a close family that loved one…

Barry Lohmeyer Stout 1942-2025

Barry Lohmeyer Stout passed away at her home in Augusta, Georgia, after a prolonged illness. She was born on March 25, 1942, in Baltimore, Maryland…

Sarah Sharp Farish, 1942-2025

Sarah Sharp Farish passed away on November 24, 2025 at home in Boca Grande, Florida, surrounded by her family. Raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Sa…