Editorial
On this page, we are of the opinion that …
September 18, 2025
A question came up this week about the role of the “Editorial” page in the Boca Beacon. Most born before 1980 or so have grown up with newspapers, and some have read daily and weekly papers from the…
On the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate
September 11, 2025
The public assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk is a reminder of the fragility of free speech in America. Kirk dealt with hard questions and tried to bring those with different op…
Silver King, Megalodon and Sept. 11 memories here
September 4, 2025
Next Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, our own Boca Grande Fire Department will celebrate its new Silver King engine and Megalodon tender by having a “push in” ceremony to commemorate this new equipment. It…
Small merchants. Who is it that Just Feels Right?
August 28, 2025
A kind and anonymous X.com user reached out to the Boca Beacon Twitter feed this week, suggesting a PGA-like shuttle for Boca Grande to help preserve the independent merchants on the island after pa…
San Carlos and the ‘Commissioner item’
August 22, 2025
Last week, there were no actual items relating to Boca Grande on the agenda of the Lee County Commission. But there was one item that was indirectly related, by inference and omission. Commissioner…
An AI ‘Beacon’ of disaster radio gloom from Gainesville
August 14, 2025
Above, a Boca Beacon file photo from Hurricane Charley, 21 years ago.
This week, we have a reminder from Chief C.W. Blosser about the hurricane season ahead, encouraging people to plan for what m…
It used to be her town. But we must work this out.
August 7, 2025
The last real top 40 hit from James Taylor was a duet with J.D. Souther. The song “Her Town Too” did not reach that high on the Billboard list in 1981, but many will remember it as a lament about ho…
The signs of progress. The costs are never ‘none.’
July 31, 2025
This Friday, The Beacon office will be closed for the Florida Press Association annual meeting. The paper won 18 awards, including one for the work of the hurricane fund and for the volunteers from…
Unintended consequences. And questions.
July 24, 2025
Don’t worry. This is not a sermon, but be warned that we will start with an analogy from a theologian.
The late Welsh preacher and physician Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones had a way of thinking through t…
Blackbirds, white ibises, hamburger buns: All in the clouds
July 17, 2025
Thursday morning, three crows flew over Park Avenue, one leading with a full hamburger bun in his mouth, the other two blackbirds in hot pursuit. The hamburger bun had both sides attached. It did no…