This year’s 8th Annual Island Art Days will feature 18 artists displaying their wares in the parking lot next to Special Effects on Park Avenue on April 6 and 7.

It’s the announcement you’ve been waiting all season to hear ... the 2013 Boca Beacon 4-digit phone books are here! They should have all been delivered to island businesses and almost all residences by now. Call us at 964-2995 for extra copies. They are $5 each.

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - This is Part II of a two-part series about a proposed mission of a driven man, island resident Lew Hastings. See last week’s edition for Part I.

BY LIZA STROUT - A special meeting was held by the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority board on Wednesday, April 3, at the Bridge Authority’s headquarters at the north end of the island.

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - Butch Sands returns to bookstore shelves this month as Jonathan Herbert’s second novel, “Silver King,” is made a public offering.

BY JACK SHORT - Sharks have been a passion of Dr. Bob Hueter’s for almost 40 years. When he spoke at Mote Marine Laboratory’s fourth lecture series on marine ecology in our area on Tuesday, March 26 at the Boca Grande Community Center. The presentation about shark tracking and behavior research included documentation of ongoing projects as well as those Mote hopes to undertake  as part of its partnership with the Boca Grande community and the larger Charlotte harbor area.