Manatee County

A Southwest Florida rancher is getting a high honor: he's going into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame. "When I got the call, it was extremely humbling," Jim Strickland said.

"All of those people came together because they knew how important it was to get the kids back on the island and back in their school. So, I just feel really, really grateful,” said Principal Katie Fradley.

Manatee County reports that 300 residents and visitors were safely rescued and evacuated from Anna Marie Island, Palmetto and unincorporated areas of the county.

The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation for the 2024 Presidential Preference Primary is Tuesday, February 20.

Two loggerhead sea turtles, nicknamed “Lilly” and “Farmer,” were released from Lido Beach on Tuesday after recovering from red tide toxins at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital.

Florida House Institute and Sarasota Urban ReForesters are creating micro forests in the Sarasota region as an environmental strategy to combat climate change. When 4,000 trees and plants are planted on a small parcel of land, a micro forest is created. The goal of the project is to grow a 100-year forest in just 10 years

Physician and researcher Dr. Joseph Ladapo was announced, Tuesday, as Florida’s new Surgeon General. In a news conference, Ladapo discussed his objection to mandates and lockdowns as tools to quell the spread of COVID-19, saying whether to get the vaccine should be a personal choice.Pfizer-BioNTech says its vaccine trial for 5-11-year-old kids is showing promising initial results. A vaccine for children may be approved by November or December.Manatee County Commissioners are among local elected leaders raising concerns about possibly being caught between state law banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates and President Biden's proposed federal mandate requiring large employers to require workers to get vaccinated, or be tested for the virus weekly.

Governor Ron DeSantis has appealed a Leon County Circuit Court Judge’s ruling striking down his executive order barring school districts from imposing student mask mandates.Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran sent a letter, last week, threatening to withhold state funding from the Lee County School district due to its mask-wearing policy for students, which only allows students to opt-out with a doctor’s note.The Florida Department of Health, last month, changed the way it reports the number of deaths from COVID-19 to a method that misleads people into believe there's been a decline in deaths.The Orlando Utilities Commission is reminding customers to conserve water as an unprecedented surge in the coronavirus causes a shortage of liquid oxygen. Two weeks after making the request, the utility says customers are saving on water, but not enough.With Florida legislative committee meetings starting later this month in advance of the 2022 annual law-making session, the state Senate is not planning to limit public access as Florida continues battling the COVID-19 pandemic.The Carnival Cruise Line plans to require proof of vaccination for passengers when cruises resume from some Florida ports in November.Federal COVID rental assistance relief funds in Sarasota and Manatee County have been slow to reach residents in need.

State Health officials reported 6,118 new COVID-19 cases and 120 deaths, Thursday. As of Wednesday, more than 3.1 million people in Florida have been vaccinated, including more than 1.4 million who have received a first dose and more than 1.7 million people who have completed the series.Retail pharmacy sites offering the vaccine like CVS and Publix are now offering doses to K-12 school employees, daycare workers and those extremely vulnerable to the virus due to a medical condition, regardless of age.Florida Democratic leaders like Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried remain critical of the governor’s vaccine rollout, citing another example of an affluent community in the Florida Keys including nearly two dozen financial supports of DeSantis, that was given vaccine priority.A draft Inspector General’s report, this week, details problems with Florida’s unemployment benefit system.A U.S. Census Bureau survey this week reveals that most U.S. businesses are not requiring COVID-19 testing for workers or vaccines when employees become eligible to receive them.Democrats in the Florida House, Thursday, introduced a broad COVID-19 relief bill.