Opinion
EcoWatch: Factory farming is not for the octopus
September 25, 2025
Octopuses can rival the creatures of science fiction: big-eyed, multi-armed, soft-bodied, intelligent, alien, yet home-grown during the Earth’s late Jurassic period, about 140 million years ago.”…
Appreciation for our Kawasaki ‘Hatch’
September 18, 2025
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY
Here we are in mid-September, and the number of remaining incubating nests continues to steadily decrease as the last nests hatch. No new crawls have occurred sinc…
Clean Water: We all depend upon it
September 18, 2025
BY THE BARRIER ISLAND PARKS SOCIETY
Editor’s Note: This is the last of six weekly wildlife articles submitted by the Barrier Island Parks Society to raise awareness about the issues facing our is…
History: Boca Grande in the 1960s
September 18, 2025
BY KAREN GRACE, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER
Betty and Jack Barndollar first came to Gasparilla Island in 1959, a year after the bridge had been built. Three years later, they built a house and mov…
Letters: Charlotte resident responds to Lee County process and impact
September 18, 2025
To the Editor:
So it appears, according to Richard Weber in his letter to the editor of the Boca Beacon of September 12th, that transparency and welcome really are solely in the eye of the behold…
CAPT. VAN HUBBARD: Get on the boat, reflect
September 18, 2025
Despite challenges, we still enjoy special ‘place of paradise’
I understand we will see hotter weather again. I’m enjoying our recent overcast skies and cooler fall-like days. Our Gulf and Bay wa…
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…
EcoWatch: The cost of political violence rises in today’s world
September 18, 2025
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated reframes of nature in the assurance that da…
Eighteen thousand loggerheads hatched so far
September 11, 2025
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY
As I’m writing this article, BGSTA turtle patrollers have completed 278 inventories involving the sea turtle nests on Gasparilla Island. In previous articles, I’ve…
Spotted eagle rays still listed as endangered; whip-like tail
September 11, 2025
BY THE BARRIER ISLAND PARKS SOCIETY
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…