It’s not often that government is able to improve service and efficiency and reduce the cost to taxpayers, all at the same time. But when it comes to public transportation in Northwest Volusia, the county has managed to do just that.

There are two solutions to the ongoing water crisis. One is to continue to conserve, to share, to cut back, and work ever harder paying more and more. 

Editor’s note: Lake Helen and Deltona both recently swapped out their city administrators. Doing so can be a tumultuous process. Columnist Mark Barker explains some of the reasons why.

Gun owners have nothing to fear from laws that enforce responsible ownership 

If there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that we want to see more advertising. Not just on grocery sacks and branded T-shirts, and not just sign spinners, either.

There are many things I could say about motorcycle week. But if I said them, no one could hear me over the sounds of the cycles roaring outside my windows.

West Volusia is blessed with many wonderful treasures. It’s what makes us such a dynamic and vibrant community. If you ask me, one of our most valuable treasures is Joyce Cusack!

Say what you will about tourists, you have to either loathe them or else dislike them intensely. And if it is in fact tourist season, I do not know why we cannot shoot them.

Did you ever hear or read about some government action and say to yourself, “I wish they had asked for my input”?

The interesting thing about what we call nonprofits is that they may very well make a profit. The trick is that there are no stockholders, so they do not have to share the profit. Instead, the loot generally goes to the folks in charge.

For the second consecutive year, Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters (R, Sarasota) is trying to do the right thing for the state of Florida by filing SB 334 — Regulation of Smoking in Public Places. 

Editor’s note: Romila Sitara Shankar-Brown of DeLand wrote this essay for The Beacon for Black History Month. Her brother, Valen Siddhartha Shankar-Brown, also wrote us a Black History Month commentary, which will be published in a future edition.

A dear friend passed away suddenly a few days ago, and the loss I feel is beyond words. Robert Dumas, 90, stopped suffering Feb. 6, at his home in Canterbury, Connecticut. 

The Florida House Finance and Tax Committee wants to replace property taxes by increasing sales tax rates to as much as 13 percent. Presidential candidates Ben Carson, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz propose a flat tax to replace the current income-tax system; Mike Huckabee prefers a n…

Recognized every February, Black History Month means different things to different people.

Recently the MainStreet DeLand Association broadcast an online survey to business owners and citizens, seeking their preferences about how to spend city Community Redevelopment Agency monies in the Downtown commercial district.

Normally, I write this screed in the summer. That is when I notice the heat coming off the blacktop. When I am out walking, I really notice the difference between sidewalks and crossing the blacktop.

SunRail has been a topic of discussion at approximately 30 County Council meetings in the past two years, making it, without a doubt, one of the most talked about — and challenging — issues since I’ve been on the council. 

Volusia County was one of the first to install what was called charter government. That means that the county has its own mini-constitution, which in many cases overrides the state constitution.

Freedom without discipline is anarchy.

But now’s not the time to let down our guard

Sure, the title is misleading. On the web, I expect more readers will look at the column due to the interesting title, rather than a great interest in unsavory promotions. 

2021 introduces Sean King as the newly elected president of the West Volusia Branch of the NAACP. 

Editor’s note: These are remarks given by Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower, upon being sworn into office Jan. 7. The written transcript was provided by Brower.

It has been telling us the truth all along

2020 ended with the launch of a really exciting new initiative to bring added focus and attention to the needs in DeLand’s Spring Hill community. It’s called Strive to Thrive, and you’ll be hearing a lot more about it in the weeks and months to come.

It is said that, when your main tool is a hammer, your problems tend to look like nails. And, if you are friends with the hammer vendor, maybe one hammer is not enough.

This fall, the School Board surprised the superintendent with a raise of more than $4,100 per month, equal to nearly $50,000 per year. I say surprise, because it was not on the agenda. You can guess why. 

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

I had the grand opportunity to engage in Shop Local Saturday Nov. 28. 

On Nov. 1, I woke up in a house not my own. I walked to the front door and looked out. I see beautiful old homes and trees with hanging moss, and I know I am no longer in Coconut Grove. I am now living in DeLand, a quaint little town in Central Florida. I pinch myself and say out loud, “This…

For many, if not most, Americans, the fourth Thursday of November is just a worn-out, antiquated and obsolete holiday that we “go through” just to get to the materialistic mania known as the Christmas shopping season.

Thankful.

Attorneys worry about chilling effect on speech

Gambling is generally not profitable for the individual investor. The rules are generally set up to favor the house, and when they are otherwise fair, there is a rake-off. Las Vegas has prospered on this principle for years because some people will gamble anyway.

As we near the end of a fierce and brutal campaign for elective offices from the White House down to the courthouse, it is worth considering what — or who — controls the governments of this world. 

In recent editions of The Beacon, I have read letters with views on the Friday-night displays of citizenship and political involvement on the corners of Downtown DeLand. 

I admit that I am not fond of traffic circles. Even rebranded as roundabouts, they tend to slow traffic. They also increase excitement as large trucks wobble around them.

Sunday, Sept. 20, was a day laden with memories and yearning for simpler times.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg entered law school to seek an education and pursue justice, but faced discrimination instead. At a formal dinner, the dean of Harvard Law School asked the handful of women who had been accepted how they could justify taking up a seat that could have gone to a man. 

It’s a beacon of hope and a bridge to love, shelter, support and transformation.

Economic development is a wonderful thing. It provides jobs, generally for relatives or other folks who might otherwise be on the dole.