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East County | News

Manatee County commissioners approve the purchase of Mixon Fruit Farms for $13.5 million July 29, exactly two years after the farm's last day of business.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 6, 2025
Manatee County moves forward with Mixon Fruit Farms purchase

The property will be purchased for $13.5 million and be developed into a living museum, a library and other public uses.

  • East County
  • News
The final leg of the 44th Avenue East extension project will open to drivers on Aug. 9.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 6, 2025
44th Avenue East extension into Lakewood Ranch welcomes drivers Aug. 9

The project that took over $268 million and over 50 years to come to fruition is complete.

  • East County
  • News
Commissioners George Kruse, Bob McCann and Amanda Ballard debate the merits of a curfew for residents under the age of 17 at the Aug. 5 commission meeting.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 5, 2025
Kids 16 and under in Manatee County face possible curfew

Commissioners directed the county attorney to draft an ordinance to establish a curfew in unincorporated Manatee County.

  • East County
  • News
The second option for High School AAA, with a $107,000,000 budget, would provide 1,000 student stations and 139,000 square feet of space. Later additions might include an auditorium, gymnasium and other athletic fields.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • August 5, 2025
School board to decide fate of new high school in Lakewood Ranch

Two options being studied for a high school at Rangeland Parkway and Post Boulevard, along with a possible expansion at Braden River High.

  • East County
  • Schools
Manatee County CFO Sheila McLean presents a new budget proposal July 31.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 5, 2025
Manatee property values decelerate, but tentative millage stays steady

Countywide property values were anticipated to grow by 10% but only grew by 7.09%.

  • East County
  • News
The electric dirt bike seen here is a Talaria XXX Pro that retails for about $3,000. The manufacturer states that it was designed for off-road use by riders 16 years of age or older.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 4, 2025
Electric bicycle use regulated in unincorporated Manatee County

The ordinance prohibits kids under 16 from using Class 3 electric bikes on shared-use paths and roadways.

  • East County
  • News
Sara Geary, the head of schools at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy, and Patty Scerbo, a mother to two students who attend the school, look forward to potential improvements that may be funded by their share of the half penny tax.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • July 30, 2025
Charter schools eager to make use of sales tax dollars

Starting in the 2025-26 school year, Manatee County charters will receive 50% of their proportionate share of anticipated revenue from the half-penny sales tax.

  • East County
  • Schools
A bulldozer moves trash at the Lena Road Landfill.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • July 30, 2025
Lena Road landfill's lifespan changed by slope strategies

Manatee County says reconfiguring the way waste is packed into cells will add two decades to the landfill.

  • East County
  • News
Julie Busa (Janet Mixon's daughter), Janet Mixon, Commissioner Amanda Ballard and Dean Mixon are all smiles on July 29. Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously to purchase Mixon Fruit Farms.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • July 29, 2025
Manatee County purchases Mixon Fruit Farms for $13.5 million

Commissioners voted unanimously to purchase the citrus farm that operated in Manatee County for 84 years.

  • East County
  • News
Allegiant is one of the top airlines at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 29, 2025
Allegiant to begin service from SRQ to Toledo

Allegiant's new service between Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and Toledo, Ohio is one of several new routes available from Southwest Florida airports.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Lakewood Ranch is regularly ranked the top-selling, multigenerational, master-planned community in the United States.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • July 28, 2025
Lakewood Ranch maintains No. 1 standing among master-planned communities

Multigenerational buyers scooped up 1,185 news homes in the first half of 2025 in Lakewood Ranch.

  • East County
  • News
Gov. Ron DeSantis announces July 25 that Manatee County will be audited by the DOGE Task Force.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • July 28, 2025
Manatee County welcomes audit by Florida DOGE Task Force

Auditors will visit Manatee County in August to review its spending.

  • East County
  • News
Rex Jensen, CEO of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, speaks to residents July 24 about a possible roundabout at the intersection of University Parkway and Legacy Boulevard and Deer Drive.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • July 25, 2025
SMR executive and residents discuss roundabout for University Parkway

More than 400 residents signed a petition because they do not want a roundabout where Legacy Boulevard and Deer Drive intersect with University Parkway.

  • East County
  • News
Mixon Fruit Farms has been a staple in Manatee County for decades.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • July 23, 2025
Manatee County commissioners to decide future of Mixon Fruit Farms property

Either the county will purchase the property, or it will be sold to a developer.

  • East County
  • News
Antonella Imperiale, Sebastian Chasey, Naomi Rodriguez and Sarah Arco attended first grade at Braden River Elementary School which was given an A grade for the 2024-2025 school year.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • July 23, 2025
12 of 17 east Manatee County schools earn overall A grades

The School District of Manatee County receives an overall B rating.

  • East County
  • Schools
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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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