Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande

Since 1980. Local voice and newspaper for Boca Grande, Gasparilla Island & Cape Haze. Online, app, e-edition. Plus 4-Digit Telephone Book, Tarpon Times.

[Joshua 💯 🔱💯 @jchrzanowski6]

My wife loves the Intercoastal, but I’m a huge fan of cruising the Gulf. It’s just more thrilling, with Sea Turtles, manatees, and who knows what other amazing creatures we might spot! Out there.We’ve never seen sharks, but we know they’re out there, especially since we’ve seen people catching them from the beach. 🏖️

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

Busy week in the Beacon, including the Boca Grande Preservation Board unanimously turning down the Diocese of Venice for an additional building for their Our Lady of Mercy historic church. The Diocese will have to lower the building or scale it back if it wants to build.

[ImagesByWatson @ImagesByWatson]

Thrilled to won 1st place for my Spoonbill portrait photo. Details: https://t.co/xj2ppqRBWg
.
#imagesbywatson #watsonwu #spoonbill #sonyalpha #photography #gasparillaislandmagazine #floridamagazineassociation #bird #wildlife #florida #charlieaward @Apple

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

August 1 is the deadline for comments on the area @FLStateParks plans from Gasparilla Island to Cayo Costa to Don Pedro. Our story has an email address to send your ideas, for the record.

https://t.co/mEbE4wiIEY

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

@GarlandPollard @USGS @claudeai News update from the @BocaBeacon website.

https://t.co/UJoxwhDS1u

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

News of the earthquake in Florida from @BocaBeacon
https://t.co/UJoxwhDS1u

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

@Brockstr55 @GarlandPollard @USGS That's a big Cuban shake!

[Garland Pollard @GarlandPollard]

Did anyone else in Florida feel the shake of an #earthquake here on Southwest Coast? This is what @USGS reports in Cuba as location M 6.1 - 104 km WNW of Mantua, Cuba. We felt something in Boca Grande Florida. Love for some others to reply as to what they felt.

Time2026-06-08 14:00:25 (UTC-04:00) Location22.801°N 85.139°W Depth10.0 km

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

Thanks for the report. We felt a little crazy as to what it was. The @claudeai report said that sometimes wooden buildings could feel a long-away earthquake. We are in an old two story frame building. And yes, ours was about 2:05 but you all are much closer to Cuba than us!

[Christian Rais @Christian_Rais]

@GarlandPollard @BocaBeacon Thanks, Same here at about 2pm in Naples area

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

This week includes $5.2 billion assessed value for island property, an expansion of the Our Lady of Mercy church by the Diocese of Venice, results from the Howl tarpon tourney and a profile of Capt. Eddie Potter. Plus an editorial look the referendum on Florida real estate taxes.

[Garland Pollard @GarlandPollard]

Second book by Virginia Hume, Liberty Island, just in store at The Tide bookstore and Jack Tar Togs today in Boca Grande.

@brithume @BocaBeacon

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

@SunSearchlight Appreciate working with your staff to publish in this week's @bocabeacon as many of our readers are close to Arcadia. Thank you to Alice Herman for the reporting and photos.

https://t.co/ByMgxhOdHu

[Garland Pollard @GarlandPollard]

Data center drama hits rural Arcadia, Florida where DCIP Group is pushing a massive hyperscale data center on a decommissioned power plant in DeSoto County promising $26M/yr in taxes & a new jail.

Locals are fighting back over endless 24/7 noise (like xAI's Mississippi hum), natural gas pollution, water use & health risks near a high school. Commissioners already rezoned 34 acres amid the backlash. National data center explosion lands in quiet ranch country. Change vs. character? Investors promise closed loop cooling.

The story in this week's @bocabeacon from a guest story from Suncoast Searchlight reporter Alice Herman.

#AIDatacenters #DeSotoCounty

[America250FL @America250FL]

On May 15, 1963, Gordon Cooper lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Faith 7 — the final flight of Project Mercury and the last time an American would fly to space alone for nearly 60 years. Cooper orbited Earth 22 times in a 34- hour mission that closed out Mercury and opened the door to Gemini. One pilot, one capsule, one giant chapter in Florida's story.
@SpaceFlorida

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

Good morning and happy Friday, May 15, after the survival of a potential drowning victim last weekend at the Range Light Gasparilla Island Lighthouse after good Samaritans came to the rescue. And the latest tarpon tournament news.

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

Huge congratulations to Team Blaze on their first-place victory at Worlds Richest. The team earned their win with an outstanding performance, capped off with a massive check presentation.
#bocaGrande

[Garland Pollard @GarlandPollard]

The Boca Grande Parking Committee is meeting today to talk seasonal access, Methodist Church parking and the effect of parking on businesses including Fugates, Lilly Pulitzer and Gasparilla Adventures. Pictured here Michael Jacob, from Lee County and Hugh Sullivan board chair.

[America250FL @America250FL]

#OTD in 1781 Spanish forces under Bernardo Gálvez struck the decisive blow against the British at the Battle of Pensacola—the largest military engagement in Florida during the Revolutionary War. Each year, Pensacola hosts a Gálvez Day celebration featuring a Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard procession, ceremonies at historic sites, and a wreath‑laying honoring those who fought. Experience it for yourself on May 9: https://t.co/0Ub2PRSgJz

[MyFWC @MyFWC]

Amphibians have complex life cycles – including the “awkward tween years” – prior to metamorphosing & developing adult features. Regardless, many of our amphibians keep it stylish.

⭐Let us know which Florida Native amphibian is your favorite below. #FarOutFriday

[Boca Beacon: Weekly Newspaper of Boca Grande @BocaBeacon]

Good morning and happy Friday May 8, 2026 from Boca Grande and Cape Haze, Florida. News of our new Health Clinic, Derby win, and a tally of April parking tickets. Plus, the latest real estate news, fire in Bokeelia, a new book on bone fishing by Frank Foster, and recent grads.