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Opinion


July 30, 2026
Editor’s Note: This is one of six weekly wildlife articles submitted by the Barrier Island Parks Society to raise awareness about the issues facing our island communities. This week, the American wh…

July 30, 2026
To the Editor: Having been deeply involved in fighting Charlotte County’s overdevelopment crisis on behalf of neighbors countywide, I can speak from experience: re-elect Commissioners Chris Const…

July 30, 2026
BY BRENT MCCONNELL Claude, Grok, Gemini and ChatGPT exist only as hardware and software. They have no childhood, no life experience, nothing resembling a brain. While my dog still hasn’t fully co…

July 30, 2026
Tuesday, the Charlotte County Commission approved, by a 3-2 vote, a plan to turn a former citrus grove into a yard waste disposal site and “nature preserve” as the centerpiece of a large housing dev…

July 30, 2026
A last look at the 2026 tarpon season jumping tarpon from this year’s tourneys photographed by local photographers Angie Mills and Matt Gutman with help from Rick Montgomery too. UnknownDownl…

July 23, 2026
Above, the old streetcar which ran from 1910 on. Boca Beacon archives BY JAMES J. BLAHA, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER The year 1900 marked the start of a new era, of course, in the U.S. and in B…

July 23, 2026
Above, a nest near downtown washed away in the heavy surf. BGSTA photo BY ARLENE HALL BOCA GRANDE SEA TURTLE ASSOC. With this week’s tropical depression (later Tropical Storm Bertha) just offs…

July 23, 2026
BY BRENT MCCONNELL My son calls me a “learn-aholic” because I dive into classes and random learning adventures, determined to learn everything I can before moving on to the next subject. I know w…

July 23, 2026
This Thursday morning, just before deadline, the sky had almost no clouds. The air was a series of off colors, a sort of light amber near where the sun was rising, and a bluish gray tint everywhere…

July 23, 2026
BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE A windy week here in Boca Grande had made the tarpon fishing a little sporty in the Pass. But if you were able to get out in between gusts the tarpon were still biting…