Now You Know - A West Volusia Beacon Podcast

Beacon reporter Al Everson is joined this week by Volusia County Tax Collector Will Roberts. The two dive into the complexities of PACE, a program offered to help homeowners pay for improvements. At the time of release, the PACE program has sued a number of tax collectors around Florida, including Roberts, for their handling of the program. There's more to the story! Read more of Al Everson&#3...

West Volusia Beacon Fall 2023 editorial intern Christa Assi sits down with two staples of DeLand's drag scene: Aaliyah and Zara Nouveau. Recorded around the three-year anniversary of Pride Night at DaVinci, the three talk about Pride Night, what it means to be do drag and what's next for the Nouveaus in DeLand. There's more to the story! Read more about the Nouveaus, drag in DeLand and...

This week Beacon Co-Editor Eli Witek is joined by young pilot Jill Prime with a conversation the two had earlier this year shortly after Prime completed her first solo flight. Prime shares her story of how she got into flying, and what how her local community supported her. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree with, some not. Yet, our podcast values them all a...

On the first episode of this new Now You Know series, local librarian and man about town Sims Kline is joined by Beacon co-editor Eli Witek to discuss the ins and outs of reporting on the Volusia County School Board's policies regarding library materials. Witek has been following efforts to get certain books banned in the school system for some time now and gives the inside scoop. READ THE STO...

Beacon publisher Barb Shepherd is joined this week by Central Florida-born poet and musician Chelsea Lynn LaBate. With a new book of her poetry out, LaBate talks all about her creative process, her struggles with mental illness and finding the good in the most challenging situations. You can find more information about LaBate's new book, Free Roses , as well as her music and more on her websit...

Beacon interns Rakaysha and Rakayla Hill sit down with Khamya McNeal to talk about basketball at the collegiate level, life at Stetson University and how she likes DeLand. This podcast was recorded as part of the Hill twins internship with The Beacon through the Sisters Build Network's LOCAL L.E.G.E.N.D.S program. You can read more about the program on our website. Now You Know is intended to...

Beacon publisher Barb Shepherd sits down with Dan Friend and Ken Goldberg. Friend is the mastermind behind the ongoing mission to bring ST 479 , Tiger , a WWII tugboat back to DeLand where it was built after the boat spent decades in Europe. Goldberg is a member of the crew assisting Friend. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree with, some not. Yet, our podcast...

Beacon co-editor Noah Hertz speaks with twins Rakaysha and Rakayla Hill, two rising high-school seniors helping out at local businesses through the SISTERS BUILD Network for Girls' LOCAL L.E.G.E.N.D.S program. The Hill sisters talk about how getting into workplaces has helped them learn new skills and about their plans for the future. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Som...

Jeff Shepherd sits with DeLandite John Boyle, a former runner and track coach. Their conversations follows Boyle through the twisting and turning track that has been his life. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree with, some not. Yet, our podcast values them all and makes them available in the spirit of inclusion for our entire West Volusia community. Want more...

Beacon reporter Noah Hertz is joined this week by Heather McLean of DeLand Pride, a DeLand-based LGBTQ advocacy organization. In the U.S., June is recognized as Pride Month, and while DeLand Pride has many events planned throughout June, recent legislation passed in Florida has put extra scrutiny on members of the community. McLean talks about what it means to be a member of the LGBTQ community in...

Beacon publisher Barb Shepherd is joined by former Beaconite and Director of Strategic Communications for the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association Kate Clary. The two talk about how all of our lives are improved when we're surrounded by some green. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree with, some not. Yet, our podcast values them all and mak...

Beacon co-editor Noah Hertz is joined this week by Stetson University student Veronika Shchur. Shchur is one of four students from Ukraine who enrolled at Stetson University in the fall of 2022 after Russia invaded her home country. Shchur talks about her experience living in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, what her first year at Stetson in DeLand has been like and what she likes to do when she's...

Local historian Sidney Johnston joins Beacon co-editor Noah Hertz to talk all things historic preservation. With his experience as a grant writer, Johnston gets into the nitty gritty of preserving historic structures and why it's a key piece to preserving a city's character. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree with, some not. Yet, our podcast values t...

Beacon staff writer Noah Hertz sits down with local chef and sommelier Carol López-Bethel. Her sprawling career has taken her from government offices all the way to DeLand. Along the way, López-Bethel developed a love for locally-produced food, or "slow food." Listen to learn how she finds all of the best food in her area. But be careful — this one will make you hungry. Now You Know is i...

Beacon staff writer Noah Hertz sits down with Drs. Melinda Hall and Kathleen Nigro. Hall, a Stetson University professor, teaches classes on ethics, feminism and gender studies. Nigro, a retired professor, has extensive experience teaching classes in history, gender studies and more, including courses that incorporate critical race theory. The professors talk about teaching topics deemed "con...

This week, Beacon staff writer Noah Hertz speaks with freelance journalist Jared Olson. He grew up in Central Florida, but nowadays he lives in and writes about Latin America, with a focus on Honduras. Olson's writing about government corruption and environmental activism has been featured in Vice, The Baffler, Al Jazeera, The Nation and more. You can read Olson's reporting about some of t...

Beacon publisher Barb Shepherd sits down with DeLand Black Heritage Trail founders Marguerite "Maggie" Ardito and Al Bouie to discuss the creation of a new bike trail that showcases long-overlooked landmarks of DeLand's Black history. They also talk about the trail's April 16, 2023 launch. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree with, some not....

DeLand resident Kathy Peebles shares her experience and thoughts about the January 6, 2021, riot outside of the U.S. Capitol that occurred while legislators certified the 2020 election results. Peebles traveled from her DeLand home to Washington, D.C., to see then-President Donald Trump speak and participate in the protest that day. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you...

Local librarian and man about town Sims Kline and Beacon Eli Witek talk about all things West Volusia in the first episode of this new Beacon series. Join Eli and Sims for a quarterly conversation with two long-time DeLandites. The music, art, business, social, education, and government scene in West Volusia and beyond. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree wit...

Beacon publisher Barb Shepherd has a conversation with DeLandite Kendrick Thomas. He's the special projects coordinator for the Supervisor of Elections Office, he's heavily involved with the Rotary Club of Downtown DeLand and he's lived as an openly gay man for years. Thomas shares his experience, both good and bad, of growing up gay in the DeLand community. He also gives advice to the...

DeLandite Joe Hearn does a lot for his community. He's an event planner, the president of the Volusia/Flagler Boys & Girls Club, the vice-president of the Volusia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the president of the Rotary Club of DeBary-Deltona and that's not even his full CV. Hearn sits down with The Beacon to share how he ended up where he is today and why it's important everyone gets involve...

Beacon Editor Noah Hertz sits down with DeLand's Dr. Bruce Rankin on the day of the doctor's retirement party. With more than 30 years in medicine and medical research, Rankin had some stories to share, from his involvement in vaccine development to the early days of practicing medicine in 1980s DeLand. 

Beacon Editor Noah Hertz shares a conversation with actor/radio personality (and DeLand resident!) Carlos Navarro. Carlos talks about his impressive career journey - from acting parts in popular television shows like, 'The Walking Dead,' to his regular spot on the popular radio show, 'Monsters in the Morning.' Carlos also shares on what it's like merging big-city professional a...

A conversation with Delandite Don Johnson, who was one of the first Black students to integrate at DeLand High School during the mid-1960s. Johnson also talks about what it was like growing up in segregated DeLand, and shares memories of being part of an extremely accomplished musical family. 

Beacon publisher Barb Shepherd talks with one of DeLand's youngest, most successful entrepreneurs Taylor Mims Bass about what it's like to run a restaurant that leads with love. They also talk about new projects and more. Now You Know is intended to share all community voices. Some you may agree with, some not. Yet, our podcast values them all and makes them available in the spirit of incl...