Editorial
If island retail is important, let’s start with an inventory
July 5, 2024
Currently, the Boca Beacon is digesting hundreds of pages of correspondence between Lee County and Boca Grande as part of a public records request. On June 4, we filed and paid for a record of any…
America’s Signers of the Declaration ‘put it all on the line’
June 27, 2024
Americans often take for granted the hard-won freedoms celebrated at the Fourth of July. We should not.
Our duty not to forget starts with the Declaration of Independence signers. The signers h…
Let’s start with parking by curbing the curb ‘lawns’
June 20, 2024
When people get worked up and annoyed about the issues of parking in Boca Grande, one concept that comes up, over and over again, is consistency in application. Fairness.
The emblem of this iss…
Quiet Gilchrist, but overflowing Gasparilla Island State Park
June 13, 2024
This weekend on Gasparilla Island was not a major holiday, just a plain old summer weekend. The weather was clear, and visitors came, while so many of our regulars have gone home. The tarpon crowd…
The issue of parking raised, yet again
June 6, 2024
The issue of parking in Boca Grande came up, yet again. Like so many issues that involve the island, it came up after most of the seasonal regulars had left, and cannot be heard.
A quick recap….
Take down the fence on 5th Street. Take a few steps.
May 30, 2024
If readers head to the end of 5th Street in Boca Grande, they will see a seaside attraction like no other. It is a wood fence, built completely across the whole length of the street, blocking acce…
Pink Pony sweatshirt brightens up a Dark Horse podcast
May 23, 2024
This week, the English comedian and actor Russell Brand held a podcast discussion on God with scientist Bret Weinstein.
Most do not know Weinstein. Many do not know who Brand is; he is a …
Tapping into a Gasparilla Island tradition, the working cistern: Editorial
May 17, 2024
This week, the Boca Grande Quarantine Station house went on the market (see pages 16-17).
One feature of the house is a working, wooden cistern. During Hurricane Ian, the tank was disconnected…
Finding the ‘special sauce’ of our boat-mance
May 9, 2024
A thank you to Capt. Jim Hoyt for organizing the welcome to the yacht Hilarium last Thursday, bringing her back to Boca Grande Marina. As a publication, we appreciate those last minute calls. And …
So much depends upon our big red wheelbarrow
May 2, 2024
The publisher of this newspaper has an expression that he is fond of repeating. In Boca Grande, every day is different, but every year is the same.
This can be seen in our column to the left of…