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Turtle Association needs help with funding, mule parking

BY THE BGSTA The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association is sending out this SOS, in desperate need of local residents’ help in two areas: a place to keep our UTV during nesting season and financial s…

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Turtle Association needs help with funding, mule parking

BY THE BGSTA The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association is sending out this SOS, in desperate need of local residents’ help in two areas: a place to keep our UTV during nesting season and financial s…

Naval War College at Boca Grande Men’s Club

The final speaker on the 2026 Boca Grande Men’s Club schedule was Colin F. Jackson (left) of the U.S. Naval War College shown here with his father-in-law, Bruce Birgbauer. Photo by…

Art & Photography Exhibit in Punta Gorda

Photographer Watson Wu and Artist Kelly Reark at their Art & Photography Gallery Exhibition which was held at Kays Ponger & Uselton in Punta Gorda last week. Photo submitted

Introducing The Island School’s Wax Museum

Second graders of The Island School appeared in character for their Historical Heroes Wax Museum. The second graders spent the third quarter of this school year reading, researching and writing abou…

The Island school spotlights bike path safety

Fifth-grade students from The Island School installed their safety signs on the GICIA Bike Path on Tuesday morning, March 3. Shown top photo: front row, holding signs, left to right: Adison Shank, M…

Letters: Thanking community for successful Beach Ball for Preschool

To the Editor: I am writing to express my deepest gratitude to the community for their overwhelming support of the recent Beach Ball held on Monday, March 2 to benefit the Boca Grande Preschool…

Chamber orchestra here for Palm Sunday

The music ministry of Lighthouse United Methodist Church of Boca Grande will present the Palm Sunday cantata “Calvary’s Lamb: A Song, A Sacrifice, A Savior” during worship services on Palm Sunday, M…

Events Roundup: March 20-26

Friday, March 20 Farmers Market, Bayou Frondezvous Mini Market, Pink Pony Courtyard Writing Memoir & Family Stories class, Boca Grande Community Center (Friday and Saturday) Global…

Apple in China the subject of Patrick McGee talk

The Friends of Boca Grande is proud to host investigative journalist and author Patrick McGee on March 24, 2026, for a presentation of his critically acclaimed book, “Apple in China: The Capture of…

Health & Wellness, Profiles

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Anita Dust

Parkinson’s advocate on troubling disease Anita Dust almost threw it away. It was just another piece of mail, a small educational flyer listing the early signs of Parkinson’s disease. Like most people sorting through a stack of envelopes, she was seconds from tossing it in the trash. But something caught her eye. “I glanced at […]

Sports & Outdoors

Health & Wellness

Ask a Doc: What happens when your doctor recommends a specialist?

The Boca Grande Health Clinic is the first stop for many residents and workers seeking care, from routine checkups to serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease and complex infections. Each ye…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Anita Dust

Parkinson’s advocate on troubling disease Anita Dust almost threw it away. It was just another piece of mail, a small educational flyer listing the early signs of Parkinson’s disease. Like most p…

Clinic takes guests on ‘rounds’ of new offerings

Serving since 1947, taking operation into the future On a chilly island morning, residents gathered at the Boca Grande Community Center for the Feb. 24 Grande Rounds Program on how the Clinic wor…

Boca Grande Preschool celebrates dental health month

February was dental health month! The Boca Grande Preschool students had a visit from “Kids Choose Us Dentistry.” They learned how to keep our teeth healthy and clean! Top photo, front left to r…

Florida sheriffs propose structured path for non-criminal, undocumented immigrants

During a Monday, March 16 Florida State Immigration Enforcement Council meeting held on Microsoft Teams, Republican sheriffs pushed back on President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts toward u…

Standoff over old chicken tenders, with crowbar, for checked out guest

Just after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Boca Grande Hotel at 5800 Gasparilla Road due to a report of a man causing a disturbance and holding a c…

BLOTTER: Sheriff notes for Lee, Charlotte counties

Reports from the Lee and Charlotte Sheriffs this week: March 3, 2026 – Residential burglary at a business located at the 5800 block of Gasparilla Road, Boca Grande at 11:30 a.m. March 3, 2026…

Pool heater fire off of Gulf Shores

Last Tuesday, Feb. 24 the Boca Grande Fire Department extinguished a pool heater fire at a house off Gulf Shores Drive. “It was probably just wear and tear and the weather that caused it,” Chief…

News Archives

John William ‘Tater’ Spinks, 1947-2026

On New Year’s Day, 1947, Lillian and Roy Spinks welcomed their 5th child, a boy named John William, nicknamed by his older siblings as “Tater,” and…

Hildegard Werner Messenbaugh, 1940-2026

Dr. Hildegard Werner Messenbaugh – beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and pioneering adolescent psychiatrist – passed away peacefully at the age of…

Anton ‘Tony’ Wottreng 1932-2026

Anton “Tony” Wottreng beloved husband of the late Marianne Wottreng (nee Lesch). Loving father of Anton “Tony” Wottreng and Monika (John) Martini. D…

Capt. John Spinks 1947-2026

Capt. John Spinks, best known as Capt. ‘Tater’ Spinks, died March 8, 2026. Born Jan. 1, 1947, he was a long-time Boca Grande fishing captain. Detail…

Terry G. Hopkins 1944-2026

Terry G. Hopkins, 81, died at dawn the day before Valentine’s Day, surrounded by family and her dog Pearl. She was a newspaper woman, and she mad…