Opinion
Sea turtle nesting season calls for special care along coastal beaches
August 28, 2025
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.
BY THE BARRIER ISLAND P…
Letters: Thoughts on ‘party spot’ status and long-term solutions
August 28, 2025
To the Editor:
I want to share my perspective on the parking situation to maybe add a little more insight. As many of you know, I worked on island for several years as an eco tour guide and over…
Lighthouse United Methodist letter to their congregation on parking
August 28, 2025
Editor’s Note: Lighthouse United Methodist Church has a weekly newsletter entitled ‘Midweek News’ for their congregation. They sent this one out to members, to update them on parking and access to t…
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…
EcoWatch: Labor Day: A time for new policies – good and bad
August 28, 2025
“Accepting that one day your role might be handled by a robot is a hard pill to swallow. But if you can learn anything from history, it’s that when machines take over, workers must learn to adapt an…
Bluebottle man-o-war stings mighty
August 22, 2025
BY DR. JOHN FLETEMEYER
I’ve suffered the painful sting of a Portuguese man-of-war at least a dozen times. Consequently, being victimized by a man-of-war, it’s easy to argue that it’s one of a be…
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…
Turtle Patrol highlight: nest excavations and inventory
August 14, 2025
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY
One of the more important tasks the BGSTA turtle patrollers perform is nest inventory. This is done by digging up and documenting the nest contents either three da…
COLUMNS: CAPT. VAN HUBBARD
August 14, 2025
Our lives fly by; The impressions we make to young are permanent
Today’s times are faster than we can deal with frequently. Take to the outdoors to refresh and recover. Many of us like fishing an…
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…