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Opinion

Editorial: Voters felt it incumbent to get rid of incumbents

August 21, 2026
On Tuesday, all three local commissioner incumbents with opponents were voted out. They are all Republicans, so this primary election is, likely, the actual election, though candidates are running a…

Barrier Island Parks: Help prevent plastic water pollution 

August 13, 2026
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. This week, plastic polluti…

Ask a Doc: Three questions men over 70 should ask

August 13, 2026
BY RAYMOND A.JAMES, D.O. BOCA GRANDE HEALTH CLINIC One of the biggest mistakes men can make as they get older is assuming that a new symptom is simply part of aging. Some changes are expected, bu…

Flock and oversight: Trust is harder to build after the fact

August 13, 2026
BY BRENT MCCONNELL In 2008, I was the U.S. national security lead for technology transfer to China. Long before the Beijing Olympics opened, many requests for advanced technology export licenses…

Citizens getting wise to hyperscale data centers and Florida

August 13, 2026
At a Tuesday evening meeting at the Frances T. Bourne Jacaranda Library in Venice the two meeting rooms are packed. There is hardly a space in the parking lot. The first room is filled with people c…

EcoWatch: Animals can not survive without their habitat

August 13, 2026
“If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we will no longer argue about the importance of wilderness protection, or over the…

Protecting Charlotte Harbor sharks & large estuary

August 6, 2026
BY BARRIER ISLAND PARKS 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…

EcoWatch: Florida manatee deserves protection of the ESA

August 6, 2026
 “The manatee’s lament echoes in the deep, a cry for help from the ocean’s keep. Their home under threat, their numbers wane, yet they continue their peaceful reign. A plea for protection, a ca…

Letters: Options are there for commissioners to turn down projects

August 6, 2026
To the Editor: Thanks so much for the really excellent editorial about the Waterside hearing (Editorial, July 31, A dead citrus farm, now a dump and mine). It highlighted some of the serious flaw…

‘Quicker picker upper’ charms of Select-A-Size

August 6, 2026
BY SUSAN HANAFEE My man experienced an emotional crisis the other day when he discovered he had gotten the wrong paper towels. They were Bounty and white. No icky floral designs. But they were NO…