BY LIZA STROUT & MARCY SHORTUSE – Sea turtle nesting season officially began on May 1, so when the first sea turtle nest in Southwest Florida was a couple of days early, on April 28 on a Sanibel beach, Nancy Lingeman got a phone call. While it may seem the Sanibel nest is far away from Boca Grande, Nancy’s granddaughter is the coordinator for the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation. She is also their sea turtle patrol coordinator.

“Yes, she called to rub it in,” Nancy laughed.

BY JACK SHORT - The Boca Grande Woman’s Club raised and awarded a total of $197,175 to local schools, island nonprofit groups and island-related causes this year. They have also raised a record-breaking $200,000 that will be awarded as scholarships to local students next year.  

BY LIZA STROUT - The longtime executive director of the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority, Jim Cooper, has resigned.

BY JACK SHORT - A  group of concerned Boca Grande property owners is trying to drum up awareness of their ongoing efforts to refurbish the crumbling seawall on Belcher Road. They are joined by former Congressman Andy Ireland, members of the Barrier Island Parks Society and the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association, and they hope to convince representatives in Tallahassee to secure enough funds to cover the cost of repairs to the wall, an estimated $500,000, as soon as possible.

BY LIZA STROUT - This weekend is a big one for two island establishments, the Depot Building and the Palmetto Inn. They are celebrating their centennial year, with a three-day festival of music, art and fun.

It has been cussed out, poisoned, cursed and cut away. It affects almost everyone in the world, through firsthand experience or from knowing someone who has died in its deadly throes. It is cancer.