There was a time when orange juice was a staple on American breakfast tables and roadside citrus stands greeted travelers at nearly every Florida interstate exit. But times have changed.
Sunday best wasn’t always required, and neither was leaving the car. From Venice’s drive-in church to beachside services and worship at the Flora-Bama, Florida congregations have found some …
Growing up, I watched a lot of Bugs Bunny cartoons. I always cracked up when inept hunter Elmer Fudd would turn to the camera, put a finger to his lips and tell viewers, “Be vewwy vewwy quiet — …
An undertaker guarding an empty hotel ought to have been difficult to frighten. But according to a story collected by Venice author Kim Cool, David Farley found himself threatening to release a dog …
One of my favorite cartoons, drawn by a Pensacola artist named Jem Sullivan, shows a flock of sad-looking chickens gathered around a casket. The chicken minister delivering the eulogy says, “And …
An old rivalry is returning to the softball diamond! After a multi-year hiatus, the Bradenton Police Department and Bradenton Fire Department will once again go head-to-head in Boots vs. Badges, a …
As we welcome the fall season, we look forward to cooler temperatures, community gatherings, and holidays that bring families, friends, and neighbors together. Hurricane season is not yet behind us, …
A house whose owner loved it so much she wrote it a love letter. An antique doll that reportedly wouldn’t stay where it was placed. A phantom bus said to haunt the Sunshine Skyway. This week’s …
Do you have a favorite movie? Mine is “Singin’ in the Rain.” Maybe because I grew up in the rainiest city in Florida, Pensacola. I could identify with Gene Kelly splashing around in all those …
Earlier this month, I joined local, state, and federal leaders at City Hall to recognize Christine Olson and 20 years of To Inform Families First, known as TIFF. After losing her daughter, …
A balcony door moves on its own. Music drifts through a hotel hallway. Someone spots a light in a building that has stood empty for years. Around Tampa Bay and Sarasota, old hotels have accumulated stories that don’t appear in their guest registers. Their histories are documented; whether anyone stayed beyond their allotted lifetime remains a matter of belief.
The Miss Cortez III didn’t stay close to shore. The all-day fishing boat carried passengers 20 to 50 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, part of a fleet that became a familiar sight along the Cortez …
For 40 years, I have lived on the banks of the Braden River in Manatee County, Florida, watching its waters from my home just feet from the shoreline. As a retired marine scientist with over 50 years …
When naturalist John James Audubon visited Florida in the 1830s, he marveled at our vast flocks of birds but complained about all the wetlands covering the landscape. “The general wildness, …
Welcome to Episode 1 of Bellamy University, a video series hosted by Reggie Bellamy, candidate for Manatee County Commissioner, District 6 At-Large. In this episode, Bellamy examines historical …
Once upon a time, one Florida legislator was the fiercest climate warrior in Tallahassee. You could see his stance written on his unusual footwear. When he was a senator, Jose Javier Rodriguez …
Back when my kids were in Boy Scouts, our troop spent a lot of time at the Sand Hill Scout Reservation in Brooksville. We always brought home a lot of that sand — in our tents, in our uniforms, and …
When a natural disaster sweeps across a community, the immediate focus is always on safety and survival. But once the sky clears, independent business owners often face a secondary, daunting crisis: …
Stand By Me made the term “barf-o-rama” legendary. But what if the original didn't involve kids in a pie eating contest, but pigs on a boat? You’re in for a choppy ride this week. This story …
A year and a half ago, when Suncoast Searchlight published its first stories, I wrote a column explaining why we were here. Local newsrooms had been shrinking for years, I wrote. The journalists …