Tag: NoPaywall

Visit from new Bishop of Venice

Bishop Emilio Biosca Aguero visited Our Lady of Mercy on Aug. 27. He is pictured here with co-celebrants Rev. Anthony R. Hewitt, far left, and the Rev. Jerome Carosella. Fr. Hewitt is the current...

Lee Plan deletes most mentions of Boca Grande

An update to The Lee Plan, which directs land use and development across the county, would eliminate the stand-alone community plans for Boca Grande and Gasparilla Island, along with other local...

Claire Bissell 1931-2026

September 3, 2026
Staff Report
Obituaries

Claire Bissell, age 95, passed away of natural causes on August 27, 2026 at her home in Boca Grande. She was an Active Boca Grande Community volunteer, working closely with The Woman’s Club, Art...

Wendell Berry and ‘agriculture’ ended by melonworms

September 3, 2026
Garland Pollard
Editorial

Last week, this editorial page celebrated a modest and (in a way) bountiful crop of butternut squash in Cape Haze, all taken from a volunteer seed. The seed came from Charlotte DOT grass turf from...

Diane Kay Johnson 1949-2026

August 27, 2026
Staff Report
Obituaries

Diane Kay Johnson, 77, of Mission Hills, Kansas, died on August 7, 2026, surrounded by family. She was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa on March 30, 1949, to Raymond and Dorothy Singmaster Beaver. She...

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: A look at Florida’s consolidating, valuable marina industry

Above, the Little Harbor Marina in Ruskin, just south of Tampa. It was purchased in 2021 and is now advertised as a Suntex Experience. It has operated there since the 1950s. Photo by Garland ...

Whidden’s Marina, 100 years

On a handshake Sam Whidden built his marina and a family, about a hundred years ago this year. So, the Boca Beacon is looking back over this icon of Gasparilla Island, Whidden’s Marina. All...

Childhood on the docks; Jumping off the shrimp boat

Above, playing the bait shrimp with Sammy Jay Steyer. BY NIC MOSTYN Editor’s Note: In 2012, Nicholas Mostyn wrote this essay for the Beacon, which won a Gasparilla Island Kids Classic essay...

Birthday letter to Whidden’s. It’s Americana at its finest

One hundred years of Whidden’s. I’ve been lucky to be a small part of that time BY JAKE POEPL Where do I begin? Whidden’s is a true treasure. It’s where I first stepped on a boat in Boca...

A business incubator that gave this captain a start back in 1981

Whidden’s Marina has given more to our traditions and heritage than we can ever repay. It provided the home port for generations of guides and clients. It’s the center of our local fishing...