After the Capitol riot, one Florida man became Podium Guy : Another man turned him in Josh Salman and Carlos R. Munoz, USA TODAY
Capitol Riot Horn & Lectern suspects in court
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PARRISH, Florida – Allan Mestel booked a flight to Washington D.C., to photograph the pro-Trump demonstrations on Jan. 6. But he canceled it after his wife warned him: This will escalate into riots.
For the past four years, the photographer from Southwest Florida has chronicled the Black Lives Matter movement through his Nikon lens. A proud liberal himself, Mestel has attended dozens of BLM street rallies. He’s also crossed the lines into the counterprotests to document the names and faces of President Donald Trump’s supporters.
Several thousand gallons of sewage spilled into the Manatee River after a sewer pipe was broken in downtown Bradenton on Tuesday, the state reports.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, a contractor accidentally hit a force main at 4th Avenue West and 9th Street shortly before noon.
About 3,000 gallons of sewage spilled into a storm drain and into the Manatee River.
The broken pipe was repaired and the area was cleaned. River water is being sampled for contamination.
Ninth Street northbound was closed for several hours while the damage was repaired.
411 and 417 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota; 941-388-3987; 941-388-3300; columbiarestaurant.com; chacha-coconuts.com
Columbia Restaurant, a St. Armands icon that has been serving authentic Spanish and Cuban cuisine since 1959, will be open regular hours, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., on New Year’s Eve. Its next door sister restaurant and bar Cha Cha Coconuts will then remain open until 1 a.m. Guests at Coconuts can expect live music, party favors, and a champagne toast at midnight. Both restaurants also offer curbside takeout.
Fins At Sharky’s
1600 Harbor Drive S., Venice; 941-999-3467; finsatsharkys.com
A steakhouse that’s also serious about seafood and sushi, Fins will be offering upscale waterfront dining with views of the Gulf of Mexico alongside its more casual sister restaurant Sharky’s on the Pier, which will be hosting live music (subject to weather conditions), despite the annual New Year’s Eve Beach Bash being canceled. Reservations are not required, but Fins rec
For those not familiar, Cortez can be found nestled along north Sarasota Bay, just east of Anna Maria Island and nine miles west of downtown Bradenton. Founded in the 1880s, it’s one of the last commercial fishing villages in Florida. Mullet, grouper, stone crab claws and shrimp are among the freshly caught sea creatures offloaded at the docks. Large quantities are shipped around the world while the rest stays in town. Not in the mood for seafood? That’s OK. Cortez offers lots of other tasty dishes, too.
For this list, presented in alphabetical order, we included all six restaurants in Cortez offering outdoor dining on the water. My wife and I have been frequenting all of them regularly for years and routinely have wonderful experiences at each. Also, for this list, it should be noted all the restaurants are locally owned and operated, often by folks living right in Cortez Village with Cortezian parents and perhaps even Cortezian grandparents and great-grandparents. These
Rotary Clubs partner to help Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Four Rotary clubs in Manatee County are partnering to help Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee provide food to families in need.
The Rotary clubs of Anna Maria Island, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch and Manatee River each received a $1,000 grant and are combining efforts to support the Food4Families Food Distribution program, which was created in March for COVID-19 relief.
The $4,000 investment will provide over 4,800 meals to local families, according to Amy Towery, vice president of development at Meals on Wheels.
In addition to the donations, each club sent three volunteers to pack the meals on Wednesday. Another set of volunteers will distribute the meals on Dec. 30.