Manatee County

More than half of the candidates running for Florida statehouse seats this year across Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties are self-reported millionaires.

Anti-growth candidates swept into office in 2024 have struggled to implement campaign promises, constrained by pushback from Gov. Ron DeSantis and laws preempting their ability to control development.

Manatee's Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of a data center moratorium at a July 28 meeting. The move also directs county staff to potentially revise their land development code.

The decision came after a long-simmering controversy over who should pay the cost of collecting the voter-approved tax.

Three candidates are running for District 5, which has performed well academically and is building new schools due to population growth.

An incumbent, attorney, media personality, retired communication specialist and a teacher are running in the District 2 race

Ten counties split up $2 million through the Coordinated Opioid Recovery Network, which connects people dealing with addiction to treatment, psychiatric care, housing services and more.

The audit found that more than 200 employees were owed back pay between June 28 and March 30. Some were shorted a few hundred dollars. Others were owed thousands. One was underpaid by $9,000.

Experts say that riptide forecasts are unpredictable and change daily due to weather conditions and coastline characteristics.

The vacation-home boom has collapsed. Second-home purchases fell nearly 68% in Sarasota-Bradenton since 2021, suggesting the pandemic-era rush into vacation properties has fully reversed.

A race that could become a key swing vote on issues like new development has attracted a crowded pool of candidates. It includes a candidate who went viral as “Lectern Guy” after he was photographed holding Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the capitol riot in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners has approved the allocation of $6.18 million in Tourist Development Tax (TDT) funding to advance a major beach renourishment and recovery project on Anna Maria Island following significant storm-related erosion caused by Hurricane Idalia in 2023 and Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton in 2024.