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Leslie Lake

Leslie Lake

July 11, 2022
Leslie Lake covers Bradenton Beach, Cortez, the environment and Anna Maria Elementary School.
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October 10, 2022
By Leslie Lake

Local fishermen help those devastated by Ian

CORTEZ – The local commercial fishing community has mobilized to help their southern counterparts following the devastation from Hurricane Ian. The Organized Fisherman of Florida (OFF) Cortez chap…
October 10, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Wildlife Inc. cares for animals during, after hurricane

Wildlife Inc. cares for animals during, after hurricane

BRADENTON BEACH – With crates full of hungry adult and baby rescue animals at Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc., it was business as usual following Hurricane Ian, despite the power outages…
October 2, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Turtle Watch director Suzi Fox dies

Turtle Watch director Suzi Fox dies

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Suzi Fox, a longtime former Island resident and executive director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, died last week at HCA Florida Blake Hospital…
September 20, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Turtle hatchlings break record on AMI

Turtle hatchlings break record on AMI

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Sea turtle hatchlings have broken the Anna Maria Island record set by the 2018 crop of local loggerheads, with 35,850 hatchlings so far this year. The number, recorded…
September 20, 2022
By Leslie Lake

County, vendors face off on takeover of beach market

BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County commissioners debated the county’s takeover of the Coquina Beach Market last week as vendors defended ousted organizer Nancy Ambrose. The beach market saga…
September 13, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Bowlers roll to raise funds for Center

Bowlers roll to raise funds for Center

ANNA MARIA – Several hundred people gathered Saturday night with a common goal in mind – to support The Center of Anna Maria Island. All 64 lanes of the Bowlero Bradenton bowling alley were sold o…
August 29, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Hurricane season’s second half could be unusually active

Hurricane season’s second half could be unusually active

CORTEZ – Halfway through a quiet hurricane season, it’s too soon to relax, as experts are still predicting above-normal 2022 Atlantic hurricane activity. Atmospheric and oceanic conditions still f…
August 22, 2022
By Leslie Lake

Coquina Beach Market on county commission agenda

BRADENTON BEACH – County officials announced earlier this month that they would take control of the Coquina Beach Market, but some commissioners are saying, “Not so fast.” Commissioner Carol Whitm…
August 15, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Ambrose explores new venues for market

Ambrose explores new venues for market

BRADENTON BEACH – Since the Aug. 2 announcement that Manatee County would take over the Coquina Beach Market from Nancy Ambrose, its director for the past decade, she has been looking for new venues…
August 15, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Piney Point stormwater to be discharged into Tampa Bay

Stormwater released this week from Piney Point

PALMETTO – Stormwater collected over several months in a pond on top of a phosphogypsum waste stack at Piney Point is being released this week into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee, according to the Florida…
August 8, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Rescued manatee calf, mom released

Rescued manatee calf, mom released

CORTEZ – When Gale Tedhams was visiting her mother at a Cortez Road condo last May, she immediately recognized the signs of a manatee calf in distress. “There was a mother and baby in the canal be…
August 8, 2022
By Leslie Lake
Trails, bridges, planned for FISH Preserve

Trails, bridges, planned for FISH Preserve

CORTEZ – With a new round of imminent funding, long-awaited enhancements are coming to the 100-acre FISH Preserve in Cortez. After what Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage board members chara…
August 8, 2022
By Leslie Lake
AME ready for first day of school

AME ready for first day of school

HOLMES BEACH – The first day of the school year at Anna Maria Elementary will have an added layer of excitement as it becomes the first home in the country to the Guy Harvey Academy of Arts and Scien…
August 8, 2022
By Leslie Lake

Manatee County takes over Coquina Beach Market

BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County officials have announced that the county tourism agency is taking over the Coquina Beach Market from longtime director Nancy Ambrose. Manatee County Information Di…
August 3, 2022
By Leslie Lake
No-Swim Advisories lifted at Manatee Beaches

No-swim advisories lifted at Manatee beaches

MANATEE COUNTY – It’s safe to go back in the water. The no-swim advisories that have been in place since July 26 were lifted Wednesday morning for Bayfront Park north, Manatee Beach north, Coquina…