BY LIZA STROUT - If the attitude of voters in November compares to the voices heard at the last Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority meeting, Boca Grande shopkeepers are in for troubling economic times. At the bridge authority’s April 25 meeting, many residents said they opposed a tax referendum that would help to pay for the new bridge project ... and that leaves tolls to cover the economic punch.

Now, the question is simply how much it will go up, and how much visitors to the island will be willing to pay to get to the local shops, restaurants and beaches.

BY LIZA STROUT - The new champion of the Men’s Day Tournament at the Boca Grande Pass Club has been announced, and for the first time in his ten years of competition Byron Carlson walked away with the prize.

The 93-year-old Carlson, who has been playing the sport of kings for 75 years, discovered that he had won the tournament at the same time as everyone else: just after the last game of the tournament ended.

There are 28 boats currently signed up for the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce’s “World’s Richest” Tarpon Tournament, with a total of 140 competitors, including captains and anglers.

What some have said would be a slow restart to a long-standing tradition is turning out to be quite something else.

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - After the April 25 meeting of the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority, I had some questions about where the bond issue would be going if the tax referendum didn’t pass. I spoke with some of the GIBA board members, and I wanted to share with you what information I gleaned from them.