Manatee Post

Coming This Week: Eat Everything, Then Join a Gym

2026-09-28T14:23:00-04:00

Friends, the next two weeks on the Suncoast have a plot. Act one: eat everything. Act two: repent at a gym the size of a small airport. I have already bought a headband! I have not yet used the headband.

Here's what's coming, roughly Sept. 28 to Oct. 12, all checked against real sources.

Tuesday: the chicken salad stampede

Chicken Salad Chick celebrates its grand opening Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 6650 Fruitville Road, in the Fruitville Farms shopping center just east of I-75. The first 100 guests in line win free chicken salad for a year, counting from the first guest in line at 10:30 a.m., and there are daily giveaways through Saturday, Oct. 3.

A year of free chicken salad is the closest thing Sarasota has to winning the lottery. Pack a lawn chair and patience.

Saturday: markets and pumpkins

The Bradenton Public Market returns to Old Main Street on Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with new vendors and returning favorites. I'm carbo-loading for the gym, obviously!

That same weekend kicks off the Fruitville Grove Pumpkin Festival, five weekends in a row: Oct. 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25 and Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Yes, it's still sweaty out. Pumpkin spice is a state of mind.

Sunday: a free concert with a side of breeze

Sundays at The Bay brings a free performance by Jesse Daniels on Oct. 4, 6 to 7 p.m. at The Oval at The Bay, 1055 Blvd. of the Arts. If it rains, the show moves to the Sarasota Garden Club. Bring a blanket and your best sway.

Around Oct. 5: bonjour, croissants

Comptoir: The Counter Café is moving into the former Shelf Indulgence Used Book Café space at 2805 N. Tamiami Trail, across from Ringling College. The owners hope to open by Oct. 5, open daily 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with kouign-amann, ham and cornichon baguettes and croque monsieur. "Hope to" is restaurant for "fingers crossed," so check before you go.

Oct. 10-11: pretzels, paddles and pours

Oktoberfest featuring the Benderson Chase takes over Nathan Benderson Park on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10-11: a youth rowing and adult dragon boat regatta on the water, Oktoberfest fun on land. Watching other people row counts as cardio if you cheer loudly enough. (It doesn't.)

Oct. 12: the reckoning

And now, the headband moment. Life Time Lakewood Ranch, at 5000 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. N., says on its official page that it's arriving Oct. 12. It's an 86,000-square-foot "athletic country club" with pools, pickleball and group fitness classes, and the Herald-Tribune reports it's the chain's first club in the Sarasota-Manatee market.

Eighty-six thousand square feet. That's enough room to walk off roughly one croque monsieur.

Marina's sign-off

Eat the chicken salad. Buy the pumpkin. Row the boat (or watch the boat). Then, on Oct. 12, put on the headband. I'll be right behind you, finishing a pretzel.

Plans change. Check each link for the latest before you head out.

Florida Man: Our Most Famous Neighbor (Please Don't Wave Back)

2026-09-28T11:19:00-04:00

Every town has a local legend. Ours just happens to show up in the headlines holding a machete, wrestling an alligator, or wearing nothing at all. Sometimes all three. According to a recent piece from WWSB / MySuncoast, reported by Mike Modrick out of Sarasota, Florida Man is alive, well and very much our problem.

Even the tourists know him. Russ and Garrett Hilbig, visiting from California, told WWSB that Florida Man stands for the "zaniest, craziest" things that happen, in an eccentric, cool kind of way. Garrett went further and said nowhere has crazier people than Florida. That's high praise from Californians, and we'll take it.

The meme got its big break in 2013, when magazine editor Freddie Campion started the @_FloridaMan Twitter account. He ran it for about six years before retiring it in 2019. Local author and Florida native Craig Pittman explained why: it started to feel like punching down on people dealing with drug and mental health problems, who deserved sympathy, not ridicule. That's worth keeping in mind before we all hit "share."

So what exactly counts as a Florida Man story? Pittman describes them as ridiculous, embarrassing or funny news headlines, often involving machetes, alligators or nudity (or some combination). The catch is that the behavior often crosses into illegal territory. Funny and weird, sure, but also illegal. Keep your clothes on and your gators wild, friends.

Why does Florida produce so many? Pittman points to a lot of people crammed into a roughly 30-mile strip along the coast and the I-4 corridor, with a colorful mix of residents: retired CIA folks on Sanibel, Scientologists in Clearwater, former South American strongmen in South Florida. Pack all that together and you get chaos, right down to neighbors arguing over whose dog pooped on whose lawn. (Here in Manatee County we'd never. Probably.)

And don't expect him to retire. Pittman notes that Florida grows by about 900 people a day, and plenty of newcomers don't know what they're getting into, because "rules are different here." His prediction: more Florida Man stories, not fewer. Hollywood agrees. Netflix made a seven-part series based on the legend in 2023, and HBO followed with "It's Florida, Man" in 2024.

Want the full story? Read the original report from WWSB / MySuncoast by Mike Modrick. Then maybe go for a nice, uneventful walk on the beach. Our manatee recommends it.

While You Were Sleeping: Monday, Sept. 28

2026-09-28T05:07:00-04:00

Good morning, Suncoast! Grab your coffee and settle in. The wee hours were pretty quiet around Sarasota and Manatee, so this roundup pulls together the most important local stories from roughly the past 36 hours, from Saturday evening through Monday morning.

1. Venice man dies after motorcycle crash in downtown Sarasota

A 51-year-old Venice man died after a crash involving two motorcycles and a vehicle around 2:30 p.m. Sunday near Gulfstream Avenue and Bayfront Drive, according to Sarasota police. Investigators say he struck a vehicle he was trying to pass, then hit a pole, and his motorcycle caused a second rider to crash; that rider was not hurt. He was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he died. Police are asking witnesses to contact Traffic Homicide Investigator Jason Frank at 941-263-6870.

Why it matters: Police are still looking for anyone who saw the crash. All lanes around Gulfstream Avenue and Bayfront Drive have since reopened.

Source: WWSB / MySuncoast

2. Palmetto woman charged with stealing nearly $65K from jailed acquaintance

Sarasota police arrested Jessica Elizabeth McVay, 48, of Palmetto on Sept. 23 on five felony charges, including grand theft. Police allege she used the bank accounts and credit cards of a woman held in the Manatee County Jail for personal expenses between November 2025 and July 2026, with an estimated loss of $64,923.85. According to the affidavit, McVay knew the victim through her work as a Veterans Affairs coordinator for the 12th Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office. Through her attorney, she declined to give police a statement.

Why it matters: Police say the victim told investigators McVay was helping handle her affairs while she was in jail, and did not have permission to use her money for personal expenses.

Source: WWSB / MySuncoast

3. Possible suspect identified in Bradenton double homicide

Bradenton police say a man already in custody on unrelated charges may be connected to the Sept. 22 shooting in the 400 block of 12th Avenue East. Antonio Rosario, 30, died at the scene and Willie Stubbs, 43, died on the way to the hospital. No charges have been filed in the homicides and the suspect has not been named. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 941-932-9300.

Why it matters: The investigation is ongoing, and police are still asking the public for information.

Source: WWSB / MySuncoast

4. Coquina Beach renourishment almost wrapped up

Good news for beach lovers: the $2 million project to repair Hurricane Idalia damage at Coquina Beach is nearly done. Dredging and sand pumping finished last week, and crews expect to finish pipeline removal and beach tilling this week. The project restores nearly a mile of beach with 63,450 cubic yards of sand. Localized closures will move with the work, but the rest of the beach stays open.

Why it matters: FEMA is covering 75% of the cost, with the rest split evenly between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Manatee County.

Source: WWSB / MySuncoast

5. Sarasota Memorial moving ahead with a Venice cancer center

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is moving forward with a new outpatient cancer center in Venice, bringing care closer to patients in south Sarasota County. It will be in a new outpatient building on Curry Lane, next to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice campus, and will also offer other services, including endoscopy. The project expands SMH's Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, just months after the Milman-Kover Cancer Pavilion opened on the main Sarasota campus.

Why it matters: It expands access to advanced cancer care for patients throughout south Sarasota County and surrounding communities.

Source: SRQ Daily

That's the news, friends. Be kind out there, and we'll see you tomorrow morning!