The staff of the Boca Beacon is up for nine awards in the Florida Better Weekly Newspaper contest, held by the Florida Press Association annually. Newspapers from all over the state compete in this prestigious competition.
Nominees from the Beacon who were recently announced include:

As is typical throughout human history, it was the artists, who watched, processed, responded to and recorded these landscape transformations.
Emerson and Thoreau made deep and lasting impressions on American education, and I recall devouring those books while in school; their principles influenced many of us down through the ensuing generations.
But, certainly, it has been the artists who have kept reminding all of us just how precious this gorgeous world truly is, and it is they, even now, who present us with reflections of our world in the form of paintings.

 Last week Gary Carlson and his brothers held a celebration of life for Jane Carlson, a long-time resident of Boca Grande. While he was cleaning out her home, he came across three versions of a story she had written in longhand.  It was evidently very important to her, in that she kept them with her […]

In September 1774, John Adams attended the first Continental Congress in  Philadelphia and wrote to Abigail about his encounters with the delegates from 12 of  the other 13 colonies for the first time. Adams wrote: “I flatter myself, however, that we  shall conduct our embassy in such a manner as to merit the approbation of our  country.” In this letter, Adams was quite rightly describing himself and the other Massachusetts delegates to the Continental Congress as if they were ambassadors to a foreign power, explains Peterson. “And when Adams says ‘our country,’ he is referring to  Massachusetts,” not the United States, notes Peterson, who adds that up until the Civil War, both nationally and internationally, Boston and its New England hinterland was thought of as a separate country with its own “national” identity. 

The Boca Grande Health Clinic is celebrating its 75th anniversary. For this occasion the Boca Grande Clinic Foundation will host a gala street party on Thursday, April 7, to revel in this momentous occasion and to thank the entire island community for their support.
Festivities will include food trucks, celebratory beverages and entertainment by the “Swinging Bridge” bluegrass band.
The Clinic has come a long way since the mid-1900s, when an out-of-town doctor treated patients once a week in a small room above the Railroad Depot. The journey to 75 years wasn’t always easy. It required courage, passion and perseverance – and the steadfast support of the island community.
The party will be held on 3rd Street between the Clinic and the Annex from 5 to 7 p.m. on April 7.