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Community News


August 15, 2023
HOLMES BEACH – For some children, it was their first day of kindergarten, and emotions ranged from excitement to just plain nervousness. For fifth graders, it was the first day of their last year at…
August 15, 2023
MANATEE COUNTY – Parking garage plans for Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach are moving forward despite pushback from Anna Maria Island residents and one commissioner. During an Aug. 14 work session, cou…
August 15, 2023
MANATEE COUNTY – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is conducting an extensive study of the Cortez Road corridor from the east end of the Cortez Bridge in Cortez to the tip of U.S. Highw…
August 14, 2023
BRADENTON BEACH – A Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) sergeant is on administrative leave after being arrested and charged with obstruction without violence by Bradenton Beach police (BBPD)…
August 12, 2023
BRADENTON BEACH – Longtime Cortez and Bradenton Beach resident Marty Tupin passed away on Aug. 1, just a few weeks before his 63rd birthday. Over the years, Marty was a commercial fisherman, a fib…
August 8, 2023
ANNA MARIA – City officials are concerned about ground-level storage spaces in vacation rental homes being illegally converted and used as additional bedrooms. Mayor Dan Murphy addressed these conce…

August 8, 2023
ANNA MARIA –City officials rejected Manatee County’s proposed water taxi-related modifications to the City Pier, but negotiations remain ongoing. On Aug. 3, Mayor Dan Murphy presented the county’s p…

August 8, 2023
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Due to increased insurance costs, the popular Monkey Bus shuttle service on and around the Island has been suspended with the hope of resuming operations soon. Sally Dirbas and h…

August 8, 2023
COQUINA BEACH – Nearly a year after the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau took over the management of the Coquina Beach Market from the previous market director, a new manager and opening…

July 31, 2023
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The Island’s evolution into a vacation rental destination and the resulting lack of affordable housing has displaced many former permanent residents who rented their homes. Alex B…