Editor's Note

Mamma Mia

Tobin Bennison

Mamma Mia This May, I’ll not only celebrate the loving institution of motherhood, but also that tradition’s finest exponent: my own mother, Carol Bennison. Her birthday falls on the 5th — Cinco de Mayo, coincidentally, which commemorates the day when she donned a sombrero, a six-shooter, and two bandoliers strapped across a tasteful lavender cocktail dress to rally the Mexican forces against the snooty, mustachioed French invaders back in 1862. She was actually born on the 4th, long after... [Read more...]

Features This Month

Scooter Newell

Featured Skater: Killian Horne (Photo by Christopher Spohr) It’s that time of year again: school’s out and the kids will be flooding the streets of Cocoa Beach. While driving around this summer, let’s all take a few extra seconds to look out for our most precious beachside residents: the children! Shout... [Read more...]

By Vern Hobbs

During my childhood years bedtime was 9 o’clock. Teeth brushed, face washed, prayers recited, then Mom tucked me in. A short while later my favorite lullaby would commence: the distant and lonesome whistle of Southern Railway Train Number 41 winding her way down the valley towards Knoxville, Chattanooga,... [Read more...]

This month, we talk to Tim Chastain, owner and lead guide for the Cocoa Beach-based Fin Expedition Kayaking, a local eco-tour outfit that concentrates on the Thousand Islands conservation area he started officially in 2005. But the fact is that Chastain, who for many years worked on the Space Shuttle... [Read more...]

Tobin Bennison

Seen from the street, Mar Chiquita looks just like any other beach apparel boutique you might find along the coasts of Florida. Go inside, however, and talk to owner Rebecca “Becci” Guy, and you’ll soon learn why it’s such a special place. Granted, what Becci does isn’t particularly unique... [Read more...]

Word On The Street

News of the people, by the people, for the people...

Local Scribes

Dan Reiter, reiter2012@gmail.com

Dan Reiter Answers Letters on Guns, Gold, Gay Weddings, The Wavecaster Report, Ponce de León, and Other Such Nonsense   Why are they planning to dump more sand onto Cocoa Beach this November? The beach seems wide enough right now. We might have needed the sand back in 2005, after Frances and Jeanne.... [Read more...]

Rick LaClaire

Last night my wife informed me she wanted another cat. We were watching television. Well, sort of… I was watching the inside of my eyelids. Compared to what we were watching on TV, the eyelids were more interesting. Anyway, there’s nothing like “I want another cat” to pop your eyes open.... [Read more...]

David Sherman

Years ago, in a quaint little village nestled between a tropic lagoon and the deep, blue sea, in a time before the great beasts known as “condominiums” came to blot out the sun, there lived a fine couple at a place called 2nd Street South. Both were white-haired, though they held a glow of youthfulness... [Read more...]

Previous Restaurant Reviews

Tobin Bennison

The Cape Codder Tobin Bennison  Although I’m a native west-coast Floridian, I have to admit that I associate summers more with New England.  Sure, I have fond memories of splashing in the Gulf surf, the bright flash and crash of sudden thunderstorms, and palms drooping heavily from the thick... [Read more...]

Ever since I can remember I’ve enjoyed health food. The term is passé now, but back in the ‘70s, before wraps were all the rage and when the idea of baking with carob was still rather new, “health food” suggested bland concoctions you choked down for their nutritive qualities rather than for... [Read more...]

Tobin Bennison

The Mango Tree There’s much our community could learn from the history of The Mango Tree. After opening in its first incarnation in 1985, it quickly became the City’s most revered dining spot. During the ’90s it enjoyed consistently stellar reviews, was listed in nearly every visitor’s... [Read more...]

We already knew everyone had an opinion before the Internet amplified the fact by enabling everyone and their grandmothers to chime in with theirs. For all its vaunted benefits — being able to see unclothed women and video snippets of people’s pets playing musical instruments among them —... [Read more...]

Tobin Bennison

Boston Beef & Seafood It’s hard to find anything on our shores comparable to the fish houses of the New England. Floridians love their seafood, but nowhere near the same degree as Bostonians do. Go to any town along the coast of Massachusetts and you’ll find places like Boston Beef... [Read more...]

Tobin Bennison

Crush Eleven was destined to cause a stir from the instant it was conceived over a year ago. This newest addition to the Cocoa Village dining scene is the brainchild of John and Mona Foy, whose name, thanks to its attachment to their Cocoa Beach restaurant, the Fat Snook, is synonymous with excellence... [Read more...]