Unfortunately, the larger the government body, the more difficult it can be to find positive stories to tell. As a rule, the bigger the bureaucracy, the more entrenched it becomes. The longer the …
At a Nov. 7 Land Use meeting, Manatee County Commissioners voted 4-2 to give a sweetheart deal to a politically connected developer who wants to build “luxury, market-rate apartments” …
We do not cover island races and rarely cover island issues because AMI's unique economic ecosystem allows it to support multiple independent publications that do good work. Joe Hendricks of the AMI …
On Tuesday, outgoing Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge made a surprise motion in the closing minutes of the Manatee County Commission meeting to fire County Attorney Pamela D'Agostino. Many people …
The Manatee County School Board will soon name a new K-8 school in east county and is currently soliciting input from citizens. One option stands tall above the rest: "the Mother of …
At Tuesday’s meeting, the soon-to-be-replaced majority on the Manatee County Commission demonstrated yet again why voters are sick of their schtick and kicking incumbents to the curb.
After Hurricane Milton, Floridians across the state are only starting to pick up the pieces and take the first steps on what is sure to be a long road to recovery. In the wake of devastating …
The Manatee County Commission District 5 race will feature Republican Robert McCann and NPA candidate Joseph Di Bartolomeo. Dr. McCann won an impressive grassroots victory over …
The Manatee County School Board D3 race will feature former school board member Charlie Kennedy and political newcomer Jonathan Lynch in a non-partisan runoff. Kennedy nearly won an outright …
The Manatee County Commission D7 race features incumbent Republican George Kruse against Democratic challenger Sari Lindroos-Valimaki. D7 is an “at-large” seat, meaning it is contested …
The non-partisan Bradenton City Council Ward 5 race sees newcomer Iris Thomas Garcia challenging first-term incumbent Pam Coachman. Coachman won an 8-point victory over Keenan Wooten in 2020, …
The Manatee County District 1 race features three candidates who we feel confident would be qualified and competent commissioners if elected. Carol Anne Felts scored the most impressive upset of …
Manatee County Government deserves kudos for its efforts to radically improve communications following a relatively poor performance during Hurricane Debby. Those efforts paid off during Hurricane …
The Manatee County Commission District 3 race features Republican Tal Siddique and Democrat Diana Shoemaker.
In Wednesday’s column, I offhandedly mentioned that there was a rumor that one of the Bradenton City Council seats might be vacated after the November election, and, if so, the plan was to …
To call Tuesday’s Manatee County Commission meeting surreal would be an incredible understatement. The historic, across-the-board upsets in the August primaries were bound to provoke some sort …
Less oversight and reduced regulation of the building industry have made our region a contender for the “Sewage Spill Capitol of the World.” Contact with water contaminated with raw …
On Wednesday, I attended Dam 101, a media event put on by Manatee County Government to help local outlets better understand the functions of the dam and reservoir at Lake Manatee in light of the …
On Tuesday night, Manatee County Republicans overcame long odds and beat the deep-pocketed developer machine, electing Scott Farrington as Supervisor of Elections. The landslide victory means not …
Yesterday morning, I was enjoying a walk along the beach when my phone started buzzing with text notifications from people forwarding an article in Sarasota’s Herald Tribune in which its …