Lakewood Ranch — your local wire.
Lakewood Ranch — your local wire.
Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Local Government
Manatee County commissioners moved forward Aug. 25 with a proposed ordinance that, if adopted, would give the Sheriff's Office additional enforcement tools against roughly 25 illegal gambling arcades in unincorporated Manatee County. The first of two required public hearings is expected Sept. 22.
Local Government
Manatee County commissioners moved forward Aug. 25 with a proposed ordinance that, if adopted, would give the Sheriff's Office additional enforcement tools against roughly 25 illegal gambling arcades in unincorporated Manatee County. The first of two required public hearings is expected Sept. 22.
Manatee County commissioners moved forward Aug. 25 with a proposed ordinance that, if adopted, would give the Sheriff's Office additional enforcement tools against roughly 25 illegal gambling arcades in unincorporated Manatee County. The first of two required public hearings is expected Sept. 22.
Local Government
Manatee County Commissioners George Kruse and Tal Siddique challenged the county's 20% reserve policy at a July 30 budget session, targeting $4.8 million in park reserves and $25.6 million in transportation reserves for road maintenance while the board held the tentative millage rate at 6.0326 ahead of a Sept. 24 final vote.
Local Government
Sarasota County arts organizations must sign a compliance pledge tied to Florida's new anti-DEI law or forfeit public grant funding, with one theater already giving up $40,230 ahead of the county commission's Aug. 26 vote on $2.1 million in cultural grants.
Local Government
A citizen-led efficiency committee found the Manatee County Sheriff's Office was a top spending outlier between 2022 and 2025, but attributed the growth to expanded duties including new judges, school crossing guards and hurricane response rather than waste.
Local Government
Manatee County has postponed its Comprehensive Plan transmittal hearing a second time with no new date set, as Commissioner George Kruse pushes to delay the vote until after the November election seats a full seven-member board.
Local Government
Manatee County begins the dual-lane widening phase of its $65.6 million 63rd Avenue East project on Aug. 10, bringing months of lane closures to a corridor used by Lakewood Ranch-area commuters.
Local Government
Manatee County resident Robert Cusick published an open letter identifying six "fatal flaws" in the county's proposed Comprehensive Plan rewrite, alleging consulting firm Kimley-Horn has a conflict of interest and that new roads east of CR 675 would push development into rural areas near Lakewood Ranch, just days before the commission's Aug. 6 transmittal vote.
Local Government
Manatee County has opened a 30-day public comment period on a proposed expansion of its Lasting Manatee disaster recovery program that would reimburse homeowners for out-of-pocket hurricane repair costs from 2024 storms, with two public hearings in August.
Local Government
Manatee County commissioners unanimously voted to return $2.5 million in withheld school tax funds, while a new state law by Rep. James Buchanan permanently bars tax collectors from charging school districts collection fees.
Local Government
Sarasota County Clerk Karen E. Rushing has published the annual list of residents and businesses owed unclaimed court funds ranging from $15 to over $1,500, with a hard Sept. 1 deadline to file a claim before the money is forfeited to the county.
Local Government
New Lakewood Ranch Medical Center CEO Jason Madsen, who started July 1, says the hospital aims to handle 80-90% of community healthcare needs locally, backed by a just-completed $120 million tower, a third da Vinci surgical robot arriving this year, and millions more in new equipment.
Local Government
The Bradenton Police Department's SWAT team conducted a scheduled training exercise Wednesday, July 29, at Saint Stephen's Episcopal School, a campus that draws Lakewood Ranch-area families, as regional law enforcement continues regular tactical drills at area facilities.
Local Government
BayCare placed the final steel beam on its $563 million hospital in Palmetto during a July 10 topping-out ceremony, keeping the 154-bed facility on its stated schedule to open in 2028 as Manatee County's first not-for-profit hospital.
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©2026 Lakewood Ranch Beacon
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