Skip to main content
Joe Hendricks

Joe Hendricks

February 11, 2017
Joe Hendricks the editor of the Anna Maria Island Sun. As a Sun reporter, Joe primarily covers the cities of Anna Maria and Holmes Beach, including those two city goverments. He also covers Island-related matters at the county and state levels.
Email Joe Hendricks
March 21, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
City, Mote Marine move forward on pier facility

City, Mote Marine move forward on pier facility

ANNA MARIA – Mote Marine is another step closer to opening its education center at the end of the City Pier. Mayor Dan Murphy and Mote Marine Laboratory President Dr. Michael Crosby signed a memor…
March 20, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Coryea looks forward to next professional adventure

Coryea looks forward to next professional adventure

MANATEE COUNTY – While the Manatee County Commission continues its search for an acting county administrator, former County Administrator Cheri Coryea has had a few weeks to decompress and evaluate h…
March 9, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Van Ostenbridge seeks Fifth Amendment protections

Van Ostenbridge to invoke Fifth Amendment in public records case

MANATEE COUNTY – County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge intends to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights when deposed under oath by Michael Barfield on Friday, March 12, according to court filings…
March 3, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
League of Women Voters fear county charter poses too much risk

League of Women Voters oppose county charter

MANATEE COUNTY – The League of Women Voters of Manatee County (LWV) no longer fully supports Manatee County becoming a charter government at this time. On Tuesday, the League issued a written statem…
March 2, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Mayor to meet with Mote Marine representatives

Mayor to meet with Mote Marine representatives

ANNA MARIA – The city’s pursuit of a proposed Mote Marine educational outreach center on the City Pier continues. During the Thursday, Feb. 25 city commission meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy said he pla…
February 25, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Commission approves $204,000 separation agreement with Coryea

Commission approves $204,000 separation agreement with Coryea

BRADENTON – Cheri Coryea’s two-year tenure as county administrator ended Tuesday evening after the Manatee County Commission approved a $204,000 separation agreement earlier that day. Deputy Count…
February 24, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Vanessa Baugh named in ethics complaint

Baugh named in ethics complaint

BRADENTON – Manatee County resident Jennifer Hamey filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics Tuesday regarding County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh’s recent role in organizing a pop-up COV…
February 24, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Lakewood Ranch vaccinations trigger criminal investigation

Lakewood Ranch vaccinations trigger criminal investigation

MANATEE COUNTY – Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh’s role in the controversial Lakewood Ranch pop-up vaccination distribution site has prompted a sworn criminal complaint filed by Sarasota-ba…
February 22, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
City pursues Mote Marine pier proposal

City pursues Mote Marine pier proposal

ANNA MARIA – City commissioners have asked Mayor Dan Murphy to approach Mote Marine for a final proposal outlining its plans to create a Marine Educational Outreach Center at the end of the City Pier…
February 21, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
COVID Ribbon Memorial honors Florida’s deceased

COVID Ribbon Memorial honors Florida’s deceased

ANNA MARIA – Spanning more than 250 yards and representing the life of each Floridian who has died of COVID-19, the COVID Ribbon Memorial of Florida was unveiled Tuesday morning. Comprised of a co…
February 15, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Slicker's Eatery opens in Cortez

Slicker’s Eatery opens in Cortez

CORTEZ – Owned and operated by Bob Slicker, Slicker’s Eatery is now open. Located at 12012 Cortez Road W., Slicker’s latest culinary adventure set sail on Tuesday, Feb. 9 with a ribbon-cutting cer…
February 15, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Mote Marine proposes City Pier education and outreach center

Mote Marine proposes City Pier Marine Educational Outreach Center

ANNA MARIA – No decision has been made, but Mote Marine has emerged as the leading candidate to occupy the vacant building on the Anna Maria City Pier. Representatives from the Sarasota-based Mote…
February 15, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Old Town Tram requires better promotion and consistency

Old Town Tram requires promotion, consistency

BRADENTON BEACH – The Old Town Tram parking shuttle program has reached an early crossroads in terms of advertising revenues, route consistency and other concerns. Launched as an experimental pilo…
February 10, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
COVID Ribbon Memorial to honor those lost

COVID Ribbon Memorial to honor those lost

ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria resident, photographer and artist Cathy Tobias and others are creating a public art installation that memorializes Floridians who lost their lives to COVID-19. Those lives…
February 8, 2021
By Joe Hendricks
Cities oppose Manatee becoming a charter county

Cities oppose Manatee becoming a charter county

MANATEE COUNTY – City officials representing the three city governments on Anna Maria Island oppose County Commissioner George Kruse’s desire for Manatee County to become a charter county. Governm…