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East County | News

Students of Bayside College gather for orientation.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • September 3, 2025
Bayside College adds dorms to Lakewood Ranch campus

The $3 million housing project will eventually accommodate 256 students.

  • East County
  • News
The Government Efficiency Liaison Committee meets for the first time Aug. 26 at the Manatee County Administration Building.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • September 3, 2025
Manatee County DOGE committee gets to work

The five-member committee will dig through 4,500 documents over the next year to find savings in Manatee's budget.

  • East County
  • News
Artist Andrew Viera has been working on seven murals at Mote SEA since April 2024.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • September 2, 2025
Setting the scene at the Mote Science Education Aquarium one mural at a time

Gifted local artist Andrew Viera places his talent on exhibit at the Sarasota landmark.

  • East County
  • News
Residents wear red shirts to a Town Hall meeting July 24 to show their opposition to a roundabout on University Parkway at Legacy Boulevard and Deer Drive.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • September 2, 2025
Manatee County consent agendas cause controversy

Some say the tool meant to streamline commission meetings is used to hide information.

  • East County
  • News
A group of strangers band together Aug. 17 to save seven ducklings from a drainage grate on 44th Avenue East near Lena Road.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • September 1, 2025
44th Avenue East rescue stops ducklings from going down the drain

Bradenton good samaritans have all their ducks in a row during the three-hour rescue operation.

  • East County
  • News
Laurie Breslin has been named the new superintendent for the School District of Manatee County in a unanimous vote on Aug. 26.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • August 27, 2025
Laurie Breslin named as the new Manatee County superintendent

After a two-month superintendent search, the Manatee County School Board decided to hire from within.

  • East County
  • Schools
Georgie Hristov, Christian Womeldorph, Antonio Saviano and Gregory Kotlarczyk are eager to explore the partnership between Wellness Concepts and Florida Premier.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • August 27, 2025
Wellness Concepts offers Premier service in Lakewood Ranch

Wellness Concepts partners with Florida Premier FC SWFL to provide free injury prevention training and services to soccer players.

  • East County
  • News
Commissioner Bob McCann says he'll restore the wetlands lawfully.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 26, 2025
Commissioners vowed to restore wetland buffers. So what happened?

A final vote to restore Manatee County protections was scheduled Aug. 21, but the meeting was canceled.

  • East County
  • News
Commissioner Jason Bearden says the process of getting the roundabout approved was deceptive.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 25, 2025
Commissioners spar over University Parkway roundabout

One Country Club resident says she will begin legal action because she feels the citizens' rights were violated.

  • East County
  • News
Rain drives the protest against the Little League fields inside the Lakewood Ranch Library for a photo, but library supervisor Tiffany Mautino wants it noted that protests are not allowed inside the library.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 22, 2025
Lakewood Ranch community at odds over youth baseball fields

Manatee County is planning to build three youth baseball fields at Country Club East Park next year.

  • East County
  • News
A four-bedroom, five-bath home at 18826 Ganton Avenue in the Concession closed Aug. 20 for $6.9 million to become the second highest-priced sale ever in the Lakewood Ranch area.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • August 21, 2025
Concession home sells for $6.9 million

The Schemmel Soda Group, which handled the sale, says it is the second-highest priced home ever sold in the Lakewood Ranch area.

  • East County
  • News
River Club's Douglas Whitney, an architect for 43 years, always has loved drawing by hand. He is the only one in WBRC's Lakewood Ranch office to still have a drafting table.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • August 21, 2025
Noted architect leaves his mark on Lakewood Ranch

Doug Whitney, who died Aug. 11, blazed a trail for WBRC architecture in Lakewood Ranch.

  • East County
  • News
A roundabout will replace the signalized intersection on University Parkway where Legacy Boulevard meets Deer Drive.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 20, 2025
Roundabout moves forward on University Parkway at Legacy Boulevard

Residents fought for an upgraded signalized intersection, but Manatee County commissioners decided to stick to the current plan for a roundabout.

  • East County
  • News
Sheriff Rick Wells holds a press conference Aug. 19 at the District 3 Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 20, 2025
Sheriff says no foul play in North Carolina teen's death

Camera footage shows Giovanni Pelletier alone, running down the embankment toward the pond where his body was found.

  • East County
  • News
The two finalists for the superintendent position are Misty Mathis, the executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Nassau County School District, and Laurie Breslin, the executive director of student support and family engagement for the School District of Manatee County.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • August 20, 2025
Superintendent finalists share their goals for Manatee County School District

Laurie Breslin and Misty Mathis spent Aug. 18 being interviewed by the school board and meeting with community members.

  • East County
  • Schools
« 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »
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Latest in East County

1
Santa (Steven Trudell of St. Petersburg) gets the runners fired up just before the start of the 2025 Jingle 5K Dec. 12 in Lakewood Ranch.
  • December 13, 2025
More than 500 runners go the distance in Lakewood Ranch's Jingle 5K
2
Nicholas Savarese, a teacher who has a background in chemical engineering, judges junior Lillian Pevzner-Downer's project on the comparison of conventionally grown crops with chemicals and pesticides versus organically grown crops at the Lakewood Ranch High School Science Fair.
  • December 12, 2025
Lakewood Ranch High revives its science fair
3
Greenbrook's David, Hannah and Jaime Marco all had a part in creating Jaime Marco's new book “Unfunkt: Quiet the Noise. Ignite the Light.”
  • December 12, 2025
Readers can shed the funk with Lakewood Ranch author's 'Unfunkt'
4
SMR's new coffee table book, "Lakewood Ranch — A Legacy of Living with the Land" is available locally and on Amazon.
  • December 10, 2025
'Lakewood Ranch — A Legacy of Living with the Land' is a fun history lesson
5
Carrie Walden, the Project Edge classroom instructor, is teaching 10 students including Mia Pardella and Justin Torres in the Project Edge program at MTC East.
  • December 10, 2025
MTC program teaches students with disabilities skills to enter workforce

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