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 …
“Reader’s Digest” always claimed laughter was the best medicine . In Lee County, laughter has also become a resistance tactic for people who want to keep their community free of ugly sprawl …
The City of Bradenton is launching a comprehensive citywide Stormwater Master Plan aimed at enhancing local flood management, evaluating existing drainage infrastructure, and protecting neighborhoods …
Earlier this week, I wrote about Macklemore getting dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour for saying "Free Palestine" on stage. The fallout for Sheeran has been brutal, as every other artist involved has …
September is always a time to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and to recognize the first responders and service members whose courage and sacrifice continue to inspire us. This …
Two Israeli filmmakers are facing calls to have their citizenship revoked this week over a documentary that uses interviews with 24 IDF soldiers and intelligence officers to chronicle the genocide in …
At Snead Island Boat Works, the fourth generation of the same family still works from the office where their parents, grandparents, and great-grandfather once did. Nearly a century has brought new …
On April 12, a Florida job quietly disappeared. For more than 70 years, motorists approaching the Sunshine Skyway could roll down their windows and hand their toll to another person. Then, earlier this year, the bridge went cashless. The toll booth didn't disappear. Neither did the toll. But the person taking the cash, did. This week, we'll look at all the career paths in Florida that quietly disappeared.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is a busy, busy bee, darting from human trafficking prosecutions to going after shoplifting gangs to trying to outlaw drag queen Christmas shows to accusing …
This week in 1916, the National Park Service was born. But more than a decade earlier, Florida had already made conservation history. It started with a tiny island, a determined bird protector and …
Effort to manipulate children will fail because schoolkids now get their information from a world of sources
As a teenager, Jack Leffingwell dreamed of connecting Bradenton to the outside world by telephone, even stringing discarded copper fencing wire toward Tampa in pursuit of his plan. When his ambitious …
On Aug. 16, 1858, Queen Victoria sent the first message across the Atlantic by telegraph. Newspapers around the world hailed it as a miracle. Here on Florida's Gulf Coast, however, no one heard the …
School is back in session! This week, Bradenton Fire Department personnel joined in welcoming students back to school throughout the city. This annual event provides us the opportunity to greet …
Do you like where you live? I sure do. I live in a house built 100 years ago. It’s got a porch swing out front. It’s in a quiet neighborhood with brick streets. You could say it’s my ideal …