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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.
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July 13, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Governor says bar restrictions will remain in place

Governor says bar restrictions will remain in place

BRADENTON – Gov. Ron DeSantis says he does not anticipate reopening bars without food licenses anytime soon. During Saturday’s press conference at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, The Sun asked…
July 13, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
School reopening plan requires mandatory face coverings

School reopening plan includes mandatory face coverings

MANATEE COUNTY – Manatee County students, teachers and staff members will be required to wear face coverings in school buildings and on school buses if schools reopen on Aug. 10 or soon thereafter…
July 12, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
School board members question the legality of reopening order

School board members question legality of reopening order

MANATEE COUNTY – Education officials differ on whether schools must reopen for in-person learning in August as recently ordered by Florida Department of Education (DOE) Commissioner Richard Corcoran…
July 9, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
High school graduate serving as city intern

High school graduate serving as city intern

ANNA MARIA – High school graduate and lifelong Anna Maria resident Augustus “Gus” Bayard is spending his summer working as an intern for the city of Anna Maria. On June 11, his second day on the j…
July 9, 2020
By Joe Hendricks

School Board to discuss reopening today

MANATEE COUNTY – The Manatee County School Board will continue discussing its school reopening plan today. The discussion will take place during the school board workshop that begins at 1 p.m. The…
July 4, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Fourth of July celebrated on Bradenton Beach beaches and waterways

Fourth of July celebrated on beaches and waterways

BRADENTON BEACH – Folks flocked to Bradenton Beach and the south end of Anna Maria Island to celebrate the Fourth of July. At 9:30 a.m., a short line of vehicles towing personal watercraft and boa…
July 4, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Nurse and others assist unconscious Island Time guest

Nurse and others assist unconscious Island Time guest

BRADENTON BEACH – Bradenton resident and registered nurse Cindy Zembrzuski recently helped revive a fallen patron at Island Time Bar & Grill in Bradenton Beach. Now she’s caring for COVID-19 pati…
July 2, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Anna Maria extends mandatory mask order

Anna Maria extends mandatory mask order

Updated July 3, 2020 – ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy and the Anna Maria City Commission have extended the city’s mandatory mask order for another seven days. The emergency mask order originally en…
June 30, 2020
By Joe Hendricks

Masks remain optional in Bradenton Beach

BRADENTON BEACH – The Bradenton Beach City Commission is not mandating that masks and face coverings be worn and there are no plans to close the county beaches during the Fourth of July weekend. D…
June 29, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Smoking prohibited on new City Pier

Smoking prohibited on new City Pier

ANNA MARIA – Smoking is now prohibited on the new Anna Maria City Pier. Dogs, bicycles and alcohol were already prohibited on the pier, and these new and existing prohibitions are being addressed…
June 29, 2020
By Joe Hendricks

First COVID-19 case reported in Anna Maria

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – According to the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), the first positive COVID-19 case in Anna Maria became known on Friday, June 26. The case appeared on the Saturday, June 27…
June 29, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Devon Straight named Officer of the Year

Devon Straight named Officer of the Year

BRADENTON BEACH – Devon Straight is the Bradenton Beach Police Department’s Officer of the Year. “I’ve prepared for my law enforcement career for as long as I can remember and I’m more than honore…
June 26, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Anna Maria Island bars ordered to close again

Anna Maria Island bars ordered to close again

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – On Friday, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) enacted an emergency order that once again prohibits bars, pubs, night clubs and other non-restaur…
June 25, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
Anna Maria enacts mandatory mask order

Anna Maria enacts mandatory mask order

UPDATED June 28, 2020 at 2:41 p.m. ANNA MARIA – The Anna Maria City Commission has enacted a seven-day emergency order that mandates face masks be worn inside spaces beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday…
June 23, 2020
By Joe Hendricks
County commission has no plans to make masks mandatory

County commission has no plans to make masks mandatory

MANATEE COUNTY – This afternoon, Manatee County commissioners informally discussed face masks as they pertain to the COVID-19 pandemic, but no commissioner proposed making masks mandatory or pursuing…