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 a community like West Volusia, the effects of recent legislation and much 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 inclusion for our entire West Volusia community.

Want more local news? Visit The Beacon's website at ⁠⁠www.beacononlinenews.com⁠⁠. You can also find The Beacon on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

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 makes them available in the spirit of inclusion for our entire West Volusia community.

Want more local news? Visit The Beacon's website at ⁠⁠www.beacononlinenews.com⁠⁠. You can also find The Beacon on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

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 not in school, acting as an unofficial ambassador for her home country.

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 local news? Visit The Beacon's website at ⁠⁠www.beacononlinenews.com⁠⁠. You can also find The Beacon on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

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 them all and makes them available in the spirit of inclusion for our entire West Volusia community.

Want more local news? Visit The Beacon's website at ⁠www.beacononlinenews.com⁠. You can also find The Beacon on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠.

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 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 local news? Visit The Beacon's website at www.beacononlinenews.com. You can also find The Beacon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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 "controversial" by the state of Florida, as well as how they feel everyone could benefit from taking a gender studies or critical race theory course.

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 local news? Visit The Beacon's website at www.beacononlinenews.com. You can also find The Beacon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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 the topics he speaks about in this episode online, here: www.theintercept.com/2022/06/23/honduras-berta-caceres-murder-money-trail/

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 local news? Visit The Beacon's website at www.beacononlinenews.com. You can also find The Beacon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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. Yet, our podcast values them all and makes them available in the spirit of inclusion for our entire West Volusia community.

Want more local news? Visit The Beacon's website at www.beacononlinenews.com. You can also find The Beacon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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 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 local news? Visit The Beacon's website at www.beacononlinenews.com. You can also find The Beacon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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 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 local news? Visit The Beacon's website at www.beacononlinenews.com. You can also find The Beacon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.