Opinion
SW Florida Fishing: Just a normal week, Slam!
February 13, 2025
BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE
Another beautiful week here in Boca Grande! Warm weather and sunshine has been the story the last few weeks and spring patterns are starting to show!
Along with the go…
Undoing the damage: The more confusing it gets
February 13, 2025
The more I learn and discover, the more confusing it gets.
I am amazed, as we all are, by our great weather. Of course, it will change, but everything changes. This might come out scattered, but…
The working waterfront, an essential public space
February 13, 2025
One of the better second-hand anecdotes we heard about Boca Grande this year was of a cranky house guest who was unsatisfied at the number of luxury boutiques in Boca Grande, having experienced Palm…
ESSAY: JIM BLAHA
February 13, 2025
To Jimmy: A birthday letter to my son
Editor’s Note: At the age of two, Jimmy Blaha had a craniopharyngioma the size of a lime on the pituitary gland, which was removed. At age four, located in t…
Ask a Doc: Let’s get to the heart of the matter
February 6, 2025
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. According to the American Heart Association, someone dies of heart disease every 34 seconds. That’s nearly 2,500 people every d…
Letters: Appreciation for recounting life of Roger in paradise
February 6, 2025
To the Editor:
Rick Stager’s tale (essay) in the January 10 Beacon was very rewarding to read and I wanted to thank him. (Meeting Roger in Paradise, Friday, Jan. 10)
Your involvement in someon…
OPINION: EMERSON WICKWIRE
February 6, 2025
Better communication needed among island entities
BY EMERSON WICKWIRE Editor’s Note: Boca Grande resident Emerson Wickwire presented this letter to the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority board th…
Three birds: A vulture, a cardinal and a woodpecker
February 6, 2025
How quickly the pace of the world moves. If you turn on the news, be prepared. Critics used to speak of the 24-hour news cycle, where politicians frame a message to rile up cable news viewers.
Bu…
EcoWatch: An SOS for the animals of the world
February 6, 2025
“People speak sometimes about the “bestial” cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beast, no animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.”
Fyo…
SW Florida Fishing: Great weather/fishing, book now!
February 6, 2025
BY CAPT. WILL WATERHOUSE
The weather has not disappointed this week and neither has the fishing. The speckled sea trout fishing in the back country has been very consistent this winter. If you ar…