Letters to the Editor
Special thanks for return of the Shady Lady
December 12, 2024
To the Editor:
Boca Grande has a newly planted Shady Lady community tree.
The Boca Grande Woman’s Club and the entire community are so grateful to Michelle and Stephen Hazeltine for their gene…
GUEST ESSAY: This hunter remains circumspect after 10-point buck ‘attack’
December 5, 2024
BY GARY MARTIN
It has just come to our attention that an elderly, but highly experienced, deer hunter was attacked earlier today, within his own home, by a 10-point whitetail buck. The hunter was…
GUEST ESSAY: Reunited with beloved Bass Weejuns from college days
December 5, 2024
Favorite Maine loafer, maybe tassels next?
BY SUSAN HANAFEE
I scrimped together the money for my first pair of Bass Weejuns when I was a senior in college and working part-time at Nathan Hale’…
Letters: Support sought for Island School after return to classroom
November 21, 2024
BY CHRISTINE OLIVER
Our beautiful Gasparilla Island, including Boca Grande and The Island School, has faced immense challenges in the wake of these back-to-back storms. While the facility and sta…
Think about cleanup of Placida property
November 14, 2024
To the editor:
My letter is written in response to an article written by Jay Feinberg and Cookie Potter. In recent months there have been many concerns about the parking situation on Boca. Simply…
GUEST ESSAY: Island held together with small, indie businesses like Pink Pony Pony
November 14, 2024
BY DANA RYAN
Like all of you, I watched with a heavy heart as Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through our country, leaving devastation in their wake. My family lives on a small barrier island i…
Guest Essay: Helene – No where to run to …
November 7, 2024
First-hand account of Helene escape one of many local stories
BY BARBARA HUGHES
Editor’s Note: Local gallery owner Barbara Hughes was one of the ‘lucky’ ones who came through Helene as it mov…
Bridge Authority engineering chairman thanks the GIBA staff for storm work
October 31, 2024
BY GEORGE MILNE, ENGINEERING CHAIRMAN, GIBA
Now that we are in the recovery phase, it is important to acknowledge the foresight, preparedness, and timely responses of Kathy Banson and the whole t…
GUEST COLUMNS: KELLENE CARPENTER
October 18, 2024
Reflecting on early childhood education at the preschool
BY KELLENE CARPENTER
Editor’s Note: Kelli Carpenter wrote this essay for the Beacon just before Helene. The school was hurt badly in th…
Guest Essay: Islanders need to be effectively informed, involved
September 26, 2024
BY EMERSON WICKWIRE
I applaud the Beacon, serving both as a community platform for ideas to identify and resolve community issues, as well as a central source of information on issue background a…