Editor's Blog

Gov. Scott makes some news in the Herald

2012-01-20T17:43:00.000-05:00

Newsy day here in Bradenton -- and in the Bradenton Herald. Gov. Rick Scott flew in specifically to meet with our editorial board. He spent an hour discussing a wide range of topics, including economic development, jobs, merit pay for teachers, health care, the port and lessons learned from his first year in office. Herald photographer Paul Videla photographed the governor, while East Manatee Editor Jim Jones shot video.

But Metro Editor Marc Masferrer threw him the question that made for the most interesting headline out of the discussion: Who did he plan to endorse in the Florida GOP presidential primary?

"I haven't made a decision, but I'm leaning towards not to do it," Scott told us.

Great fodder for tweets, a breaking news story, Facebook and political blogs. Talk about multi-tasking. And Jim produced a great video grab from the entire discussion (see below).

And then the governor held his scheduled press conference on the state's unemployment rate dropping in Florida from the Herald. Business reporter Josh Salman dropped the conference call and grabbed the story live.

Not a bad morning!

Herald photographers are blogging

2012-01-18T14:31:00.013-05:00

One of the most popular features on Bradenton.com are our staff photo galleries. Bradenton Herald photographers Grant Jefferies, Tiffany Tompkins-Condie and Paul Videla are some of the most talented in their field (sure, I'm biased. But it's true!)

They have launched what is quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs:

Through the Lens

Their mini-profiles on the blog alone make it worth a visit.
In their first few blogs, they give sharp, personal insight to their vantage point behind the lens.
In many ways, "Through the Lens" turns the camera around for treasured snapshots of the Herald's photographers. I hope you'll enjoy the view.

Herald edit garners praise, heads to NEA

2012-01-11T18:48:00.005-05:00

Editorial Page Editor Chris Wille opined today on Realize Bradenton's waiting-list-only luncheon this week, where 180 civic leaders, activists and students gathered to talk about 'what's working' and 'what's next' for Bradenton's cultural success.

The group, as Chris notes, was diverse in both age and ethnicity, reflecting the ongoing, deep community engagement in Bradenton’s future. I think it was one of the best cross-sections of Bradenton's community leaders that I've seen gathered in a long time.

The brainstorming session was sponsored by the Knight Foundation, one of the key reasons Realize Bradenton even exists. (Here is a sampling of Grant Jefferies' photos from the luncheon.) From the years when Knight Ridder owned the Bradenton Herald through now, the Knight Foundation has considered Bradenton one of its key communities.

Dennis Scholl, vice president of the arts for the foundation, was the luncheon's keynote speaker. And he threw down the gauntlet for Bradenton to ramp up its cultural efforts. We should be known across the country for our collaborative efforts, he told all of us.

Well, it looks like he might really help us get there. Johnette Isham, Realize Bradenton's executive director, sent Scholl a link to the Herald's editorial. His response was packed with praise for the coverage, and for Bradenton's effort.

"Wow, they really got it," he wrote Isham. "I’ve sent this to the chair of the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) and the head of grantmakers in the arts..."

We predict: They are going to love this community.

Two stories collide in time

2012-01-06T19:45:00.003-05:00

Both stories involved 21 or 22 students. Both unfolded at the same time yesterday evening. Our night reporter could only cover one. And I had to put away iPhone, laptop and any other means of communication to focus on the other story. Talk about a challenge.

Every year, I have had the honor of joining the judges of the Martin Luther King Jr. essay/speech contest. The passion and determination found in those speeches continue to amaze me. This year's 22 finalists were no exception, as the sixth- through 12th-graders took the stage one after the other in front of more than 100 friends and family (and the five judges!).

But at the same time these 22 students were wowing us with their speeches, another 21 students -- classmates of some of the contestants -- were being rushed to area hospitals after their school bus crashed into a tractor-trailer in East Manatee. Before I had to turn off all ringers, their conditions were still unknown.

Thankfully, all injuries were minor, and the school district appears to be doing everything possible for the families involved. One of our stories today captures on video just how terrified the students were.

So we can praise our MLK winners without fears for their fellow classmates. That truly is a cause for celebration.

Here's a link to all the winners, and we will publish the winning entries on Jan. 15 in the Bradenton Herald.

The best Christmas is filled with love

2011-12-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

We receive so many heartfelt letters, requests, thank-yous and well wishes this time of year. Yes, we've had countless stories about how so many families are so much needier and struggling this Christmas season. But we thankfully have had just as many selfless stories about people giving to others.

Here is one of the more beautiful letters, passed along by Editorial Page Editor Chris Wille. A mom's "thank you" is one of the most cherished gifts in the world:

My husband I have a son with Down Syndrome who is quite self-sufficient for his condition. Last week he rode his bike to Taco Bell on Cortez Rd to purchase some lunch. Counting his money is not easy for him, so he generally shows the cashier what he has and they help him decide.

On this particular day he had a couple of singles and change in his pocket. According to his report, a young girl walked up and handed him several dollars and change. He was shocked and didn’t understand why. When I asked him what he did, he said he thanked her and wished her a Merry Christmas! Then, of course he ordered whatever he wanted and enjoyed his favorite food.

The irony of this story is that Matt can never pass a Salvation Army Kettle without putting money in and wishing the Bell Ringer a Merry Christmas. He says he loves to give to the less fortunate.

Thank you to the young girl for her generosity and the act of reminding us what the Christmas Season is all about, love and sharing what we have with others.

Merry Christmas to all.

Julie Warrender

Merry Christmas, everyone. And here's a hearty wish for a Happy New Year! May 2012 be a grand, prosperous year filled with love, peace and hope.

-- Joan

'Canes are state champs -- let's keep celebrating!

2011-12-21T11:56:00.005-05:00

The thrill of a state championship won't wear off soon! That definitive 40-0 romp by the Manatee Canes is one for the ages.

Columnist Vin Mannix joined the latest round of celebrations last night at Lee Roy Selmon's, as you can read in his feature story today. I made sure he had $20 from me for the championship T-shirts above -- they're keepers. (To order at $10 each, call Gene Brown at 941-720-9153.)

There are rumors of a citywide parade in January. Stay tuned to the Herald and Bradenton.com for details.

I can say this: Go CANES!!

2011-12-16T16:12:00.005-05:00

"On way to work with game face on. State title game tonight for Manatee High. Excuse my cheering in the press box. #BHCanes"

That was just tweeted by Night Metro Editor Brent Conklin ( @brentconklin ), heading in to cover the Metro Desk -- and back up the Sports Desk on a huge night: the Manatee Hurricanes are in Orlando for the Class 7A state title game, vying for their fifth state championship ever.

Just a few minutes later, I tweeted Go CANES! But as Sports Editor Tim Wolfrum and writer John Lembo reminded me: They're psyched, but not cheering for the team. They're covering the game. And that, dear readers, is not an easy distinction. Lembo, Alan Dell and Vin Mannix will all write columns from Orlando tonight and tomorrow, and those will have plenty of opinion. But the dozens of advance stories and tonight's game story should be void of that -- and of cheerleading.

We're glad we're on the sidelines as fans tonight! These students, captured by photographer Grant Jefferies as the team left Manatee High today, say it all:

Becky Canesse: Girls' leader extraordinaire

2011-12-12T15:05:00.005-05:00

"You can't be what you can't see."

That quote by Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, was the message that Becky Canesse quietly pounded home Monday.

As long-standing executive director of Just for Girls, Becky Canesse knows the prophetic truth in those words. So she has spent years making sure that the girls who go through her alternative school in Manatee County get to meet strong role models. And Becky keeps those community leaders in clear sight for those girls.

During Just for Girls' annual luncheon meeting Monday, Becky spent almost two hours singling out volunteers, board members, community leaders and her award-winning staff. She proudly brought Marimar Urieta-Morales, an eighth-grader at Just for Girls, to the podium. As Marimar spoke of the confidence the all-girls’ school has given her, the knowing nods could be seen throughout the room.

Becky reminded us that the power of woman starts in the power of "Mom." Marimer's mom, Maria Lina Urieta, was there, and Becky thanked her in Spanish for entrusting her daughter to Just for Girls. (Marimer proudly poses with her mother, at right.)

Becky also recognized her own mother, honoring her with a donation to the new West Bradenton Center and asking others to do the same for their moms, loved ones and future generations of troubled girls.

But Becky Canesse forgot to pay tribute to the key reason this school is working: Becky Canesse. Others made sure they did:

"I just love this lady!" board member Murrie Bumpers declared as she thanked Becky for all she does.

And Just for Girls President summed it up: "You get good leaders, you hang onto them."

Here's hoping Becky Canesse leads the way for a long, long time.

Staff photo shows hit-run suspect with officer

2011-12-08T12:15:00.006-05:00

The top local story this week has been the Herald's coverage of the tragic hit-and-run death of 5-year-old Kimora Samuel. We broke the news this morning that Kieron James, 38, has turned himself in and told investigators he was the driver they were looking for.

When we posted his booking mug, Herald photographer Tiffany Tompkins-Condie immediately realized she had already photographed him -- on Tuesday, while he was talking with a patrol officer next to the car that apparently struck and killed Kimora.

In this photograph, James, at right,is seen talking with Florida Highway Patrol's Master Cpl. Darrell Carrol and another resident. The vehicle has been impounded as the car that killed Kimora on U.S. 41 Monday night.

Why did it take investigators until James turned himself in 1 1/2 days later to charge him in the case? Keep watching Bradenton.com for updates.

Live coverage from Delmer Smith trial

2011-12-06T12:41:00.006-05:00

Laura Morel, the Herald's new crime/immigration reporter, is covering her first trial for us. Although the trial is in Sarasota, the defendant is of extremely high interest in Manatee County as well: Delmer Smith, suspected in a string of brutal home invasions -- including the murder of Kathleen Briles on Aug. 3, 2009, in Terra Ceia.

Laura and her editor, Marc Masferrer, have been tweeting and posting updates from the trial on Bradenton.com. Both @lauracmorel and @MRMasferrer are using this hashtag for the trial: #Smithtrial

Laura is doing a great job at taking us inside the courthouse. Check 'em out.

Reporter helps nudge film scoop onto 1A

2011-12-01T17:39:00.005-05:00

Sometimes a little lobbying will help land a reporter's story on Page 1A.

That was certainly the case with the Herald's strip story today about Armand Assante. Features reporter Wade Tatangelo got a tip late Wednesday that Assante might be coming to Tampa Bay for his next film, playing a wealthy patriarch with a horse farm in the thriller “Blind Pass.”

Wade's pitch: Before Assante and filmmaker Steve Tatone head to Italy and Ireland next month for shooting, they're coming here. For at least two weeks, Manatee and Sarasota will serve as backdrops for the principal photography.

Sold.

Wade also added some great detail about the movie in his blog Buzz Worthy today, if the story piqued your interest.

Go Palmetto! Go Manatee!

2011-11-25T16:27:00.005-05:00

Friday night football still reigns on two local high school fields tonight, as both Palmetto and Manatee hope to advance in the playoffs. Sports writer John Lembo captured the spirit in his column today.

We're rooting for both -- which means equal play in the Herald tomorrow if they both win. Two strong hometown teams in the playoffs! A fan's dream, a layout editor's challenge.

Here's what we did last Saturday. And Lakewood Ranch threatened to win with a huge upset -- all bets would have been off then!

Let's hope this Saturday's Herald Sports cover look just about the same.

Shuffleboard is part of Bradenton's heritage

2011-11-22T11:53:00.015-05:00

Who would have predicted the Herald's "Living Here" special section would propel me to the Bradenton Shuffleboard Club?

I certainly had no premonition, but as soon as I got Sue Daidone's call, my destination was made clear.

We had failed to even mention shuffleboard in Living Here, much less include that "the finest courts in Florida are in Manatee County," as Sue pointed out. And she wanted to give me a tour of her "home away from home" in the heart of downtown Bradenton, where 37 courts sit gleaming along Ballard Park Drive.

I hadn't visited since the courts were saved from the city's wrecking ball in 2006. The city still owns the courts, but they have been renovated and reborn with a lot of TLC and a lot of donations from its members. The scoreboards were donated; the tables and chairs inside the mess hall were donated; the gleaming glass beads on its 37 courts are from their dues...

On Monday, 57 teams from all over Florida began competing in the state regionals. As Sue and her husband Chuck noted, shuffleboard is an economic boost here. And it caters to both boomers and our older demographics -- members range from their early 50s into their 90s.

"This is the sport when you get older -- and anybody can play, regardless of medical challenges," Sue said as she proudly took me through the ranks.

Chuck noted that he's legally blind -- and he still can play a mean game. He uses a golf scope to navigate the court.

They want to get the word out that, for only a $15-a-year membership fee, your mornings can be filled with shuffleboard strategy and fabulous camaraderie. Just call 941-747-6184 for details.

The Herald has published John Brown's shuffleboard column every other week for years -- a welcome addition during season, which runs October through March. After meeting with so many of our Bradenton shufflers, I hope to add their photos, maybe a blog, certainly their insights. Here's to John's classic closing signature:

Happy shuffling!

Tracking Bradenton Herald Twitter accounts

2011-11-14T16:18:00.003-05:00

Just as the Project for Excellence in Journalism and The George Washington University release their national study on how news organizations use -- or don't use -- Twitter, everyone in the Bradenton Herald's newsroom is joining the effort.

Web Developer William Winter has created a smart page on Bradenton.com that offers one-stop shopping to anyone looking for our tweets: http://www.bradenton.com/twitter/

And I tweeted the page out before I blogged. Oh, my...

Scam artists: Beware of letter writers

2011-11-07T17:01:00.003-05:00

We get a lot of letters and news tips from readers who want to warn the public about scams -- mail scams, phone scams, online scams, bogus home service scams...

Resources often lead us to suggest they write a letter to the editor, allowing us to get their warning out there. And that often seems to do the trick -- it at least gets folks talking.

That was the case today, after Sunday's publication of Ardyth Heemskerk's Letter to the Editor. She wrote about workers who tried to scam them during an air-conditioning duct work service.

I have been scammed. I am writing this in the hope that this can be stopped. I will not mention any names, but people who have also fallen for this will know who I am talking about...

Editorial Page Editor Chris Wille forwarded me an encouraging note this morning, noting how the letter had connected two readers with a problem in common.

This reminds me of how small things mean so much to readers. (A reader) called this morning, hoping to connect with the letter writer who cited a scam over the weekend. I sent her contact information to that writer.

What Chris heard back:

Dear Chris,
Thank you for telling us about (the reader's) experience. We called her. She told us the same thing happened to her and thought they were victimizing older people who were brought up to believe what other people tell them.
She also reads the letters to the editor and appreciates the fairness in your selection of letters.
We appreciate your help.
Thanks so much,
Ardith and Bill Heemskerk

Now that's community outreach.

Teacher revives FSPA in Manatee

2011-11-03T16:05:00.006-04:00

I saved Jillian Bieber for this separate blog post about high school journalism efforts in Manatee County. This woman is one of the most tenacious high school journalism teachers I've met in recent years.

Jillian, social studies/journalism teacher at Braden River High School, is championing a great cause: reviving this area's participation in the Florida Scholastic Press Association. The FSPA is a non-profit organization that, since it was founded in 1946, has aimed to educate, train and support scholastic journalists and their advisers throughout the state. But our multi-county District 5 has been dormant for years.

Enter Ms. Jillian. She took over this school year as District 5 director for FSPA, and while the district encompasses several counties, she has placed the primary focus this year on Manatee. Last Saturday, she and her students held a fantastic workshop for FSPA and drew more than 100 students and teachers from all counties. East Manatee Editor Jim Jones and I had the privilege of joining the occasion.(Actually, Jillian got us on a short leash and had me as keynote and Jim as a workshop leader!)

She brought in FSPA Executive Director Wayne Garcia and President Joe Humphries, and built workshops for print, photojournalism, education, weeklies, yearbooks, TV production, sports broadcasting, multimedia, design and editing. It was quite an impressive agenda.

It was held in Braden River High School's Media Center, where she had copies of their outstanding newspaper, the Spyglass.

As Editorial Page Editor Chris Wille writes in Friday's editorial:

Any professional would admire this work, performed by a staff of more than 50 — an incredible number for a high school newspaper. At 16 pages, the October edition offers something for every student, from news columns to humor pieces, sports and features coverage, even advertising.
Look for their work in an upcoming “Journalism Next.”

Herald's 2011-12 'Journalism Next' launched

2011-10-31T15:09:00.009-04:00

The Herald launched our 'Journalism Next' project for 2011-12 today. For several years, we have published weekly articles written by Manatee County high school students. Most of the student writers are working on their school newspaper and/or taking a journalism class at school.

The survival of both of those endeavors are vital, we believe, to keep journalism alive. And from the representation in our schools this year, we believe the effort is alive and thriving.

East Manatee Editor Jim Jones and I met with several high school journalism teachers last week to prepare for Journalism Next. They talked about the budget cuts they had endured, the tough year ahead, and of their diligence to their students. And then we were told this testimonial: Nelson Lopez, Palmetto High's teacher, said one of the key reasons his journalism class had survived the cuts was "Journalism Next." Supervisors and budget-makers could see the results.

And there are some mighty promising high school journalists in our community. Today's lead-off writer is a shining example.

Aiste Zalepuga, a senior at Saint Stephens Episcopal School, contacted me a few weeks ago for a "favor." She was chosen to represent all of Florida this summer at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Journalism Conference. Upon her return, she was asked to try getting her essay about the conference published locally.

Aiste's essay is phenomenal, and fits right in with Journalism Next. (Saint Stephens has always been a great contributor, as well.) She came to the Herald last week, and her unbridled joy at being in our newsroom for the first time was contagious. Wow. (Oh, she also is a pianist, a swimmer, president of the National Honor Society and wants to teach yoga.)

Aiste is a first-born American; her parents are Lithuanian. Her passion for journalism stems from their passion for freedom. Will she pursue this as her career? We hope 'Journalism Next' has helped hook her for a while.

I'm only a tweet away -- finally

2011-10-26T13:20:00.004-04:00

Never say never. I'm tweeting. Baby steps, admittedly, and with a bit of trepidation. My love of words just doesn't fit in 140 characters. But we've asked everyone in the newsroom to launch a Twitter account, so here goes: Follow me at @JEKrauter

How we chose Gadhafi photographs

2011-10-21T09:37:00.005-04:00

McClatchy editors have an "editor-to-editor" email that we use for instant "roundtable" discussions without the pains of coordinating times, phone numbers and meeting places. We use it for alerts, but more often reach out for ideas, problem-solvers and strategies.

As photographs and videos began flooding our news services yesterday after Gadhafi was killed, one editor quickly jumped in to ask about using images of a bloodied body, or of the photo showing Gadhafi's head -- a screen grab without any blood.

For most of us, the photos were already populating galleries online. Should they stay there? Anders Gyllenhaal, McClatchy's vice president of news, stressed "the difference between the expectations in print and online, where you're never more than a few clicks away from the most graphic versions of photos like these. But many of our print readers have different expectations, which flows from the fact that we are invited into their homes, onto the breakfast table. Also, some communities are different than others, which is why this is a decision each of us makes and reflects our own sensibilities."

On Bradenton.com, we posted galleries with all the photos available, but we added this warning screen shot indicating that they contained graphic material. And we also decided that there was no compelling reason to display that on 1A in the Bradenton Herald's print editions.

Our editors chose the print photos from AP wisely, focusing on the jubilant Libyan people and revolutionary fighters who spent the past four decades under a dictator's tyranny. Inside, we published a black-and-white photograph that captured the image of Gadhafi's head being shown on TVs around the world.

The element of “is he really dead” was strong enough to warrant documenting the dictator's death. But we let you choose whether you wanted to see it, with a 1A editor's note: GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: This story contains vivid language and a photo of Moammar Gadhafi's body appears on 7A.

We're capturing high school bands in photos

2011-10-16T17:43:00.000-04:00

It's October, the month for baseball playoffs, high school football and...

Marching bands! Manatee County's high school bands are in full swing, with demanding practices in the days before Game Time interspersed with kids' good-hearted shenanigans.

Bradenton Herald photojournalists kicked off a new photo gallery series this weekend -- Strike Up the Band! -- to showcase these local band wonders. Tiffany Tompkins-Condie compiled 50 fun-filled photographs for our first gallery featuring the Southeast High Marching Band.

You can almost hear that tuba umpah-pah-ing.

Investigative team launches anthrax series

2011-10-11T10:11:00.002-04:00

McClatchy, the Bradenton Herald/Bradenton.com's parent company, has partnered with ProPublica and PBS's Frontline on a sweeping project that examines newly available documents and testimony in the case against Bruce Ivins, the accused "anthrax killer" who committed suicide.

We launched the series today, both in print and online. Almost a decade to the date of the anthrax mailings that terrorized the nation in 2001,some scientists wonder whether the real killer is still at large even as prosecutors continue to vehemently defend their case. In this wide-reaching investigative partnership, the McClatchy-ProPublica-Frontline series also examines the scientific aspects of the most expensive federal investigation in history.

One story in the series explores one of their findings: New, more powerful technologies already had overtaken the methods used to pinpoint the flask as the murder weapon when prosecutors revealed their case in August 2008.

The Herald will continue this series in print Tuesday and Wednesday, and will post updates online. The series coincides with Frontline's documentary on PBS tonight.

All of this was coordinated through McClatchy's Washington bureau with powerful results.

It's a dog's world on Bradenton.com

2011-10-05T11:28:00.003-04:00

We pitted dogs against cats for the past week -- and the dogs won, paws down.

Each week, the Bradenton Herald posts a photo gallery with images of the new cats and dogs held at Manatee County Animal Services that must find a new home. And those galleries draw a lot of traffic.

So which is more popular? We separated the dogs from the cats in these two galleries for a week to see.
Cats available for adoption
Dogs available for adoption

Bradenton.com viewers weighed in by the thousands on both galleries. But the competition wasn't even close: Our barking friends garnered 71 percent of the page views, leaving their meowing pals with only 29 percent of your cherished clicks.

In the name of all dog lovers, Bradenton.com is donating $50 to help Manatee County Animal Services. (And we won't complain if that goes toward a bit of catnip, too.)

This baseball lover's kind of night

2011-09-29T07:57:00.007-04:00

This had to be one of my favorite breaking news headlines of all times:

A wild night: Rays head to 12th; Cards win NL wild card

Last night was a baseball lover's dream come true -- I cared crazily about the outcome of four games. And with the Rays, Sox and Braves on TV and my No. 1 Cards on MLB.com, we had plenty of remote control action!

Night Metro Editor Brent Conklin sent out the above posting at 11:49 p.m. last night. I have the e-mail headline saved for posterity -- if you've clicked through, you already found that in the world of instant updates, Brent updated that posting with the Rays' clinching less than a half-hour later.

Fabulous reason, BTW, to hold the presses for a half-hour. And the Bradenton Herald's front page and sports cover are great today. My only quibble is the headline. This long-time Cardinals fan knows: You gotta believe.

Go Cards!!! Go Rays!!!

AP Photos/
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter and catcher Yadier Molina celebrate.
Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria hits a 12th-inning home run off New York Yankees relief pitcher Scott Proctor

Tip alerts us to local storm damage

2011-09-23T12:50:00.004-04:00

We love story tips -- keep them coming!

It's impossible to be everywhere, and we need you -- our community viewers -- to help out. And we're not talking just about misdeeds that warrant watchdog journalism. We're talking about what's going on in your world that warrants attention.

Here's a great example. I got an email at 4:55 a.m. this morning, photo attached, that a "mini-tornado" may have ripped through Christian Retreat. East Manatee Editor Jim Jones zipped out there as soon as I forwarded him the message. By noon, we had his story, with photos, posted that high winds had leveled trees, damaged structures and left a mess.

Keep those tips coming. Here's a link that provides contact information for the Bradenton Herald newsroom.

Seeking suspects in Palmetto slayings

2011-09-17T01:43:00.000-04:00

Violent crime smacked this community exactly one week ago, and it's fighting back -- that's the only option.

That's the dire consensus of everyone we ask, but people in the know still aren't talking enough. That's the only way to stop such gangstyle violence that ripped through Palmetto last weekend. And yet there are still no arrests (best case scenario: This blog is trumped soon by the arrest of a suspect in the killing of two people and 22 wounded).

We fervently hope this weekend is peaceful. It still will be painful, as both victims from the shooting are buried today. Herald reporter Paradise Afshar and photographer Grant Jefferies will be monitoring and covering this throughout the day, with the families' permission.

The community's response to date:

A violent crime task force as reported in today's story.

Vigils throughout the weekend, including this one Friday night.

Ministers gathering Monday.

Videos asking for community cooperation (see below).

Funds topping $20,000 to encourage tipsters.

We will continue to cover and report every turn in this story, with the overarching goal to help keep our staff and this community safe.

Paul Videla/pvidela@bradenton.com/ Vigil Friday night as no one is arrested yet in mass shooting one week ago.

Palmetto shootings bring intense coverage

2011-09-13T18:36:00.000-04:00

Bradenton Herald reporters Lee Williams, Richard Dymond, Vin Mannix and Paradise Afshar have been digging for answers since we learned of the horrific mass shooting Saturday morning in Palmetto. Williams has taken the lead in the coverage, and was the first to report Club Elite had canceled police coverage just months earlier.

Two dead, 22 injured. And no arrests made yet, despite a crowd of 300 at the club when at least two gunmen opened fire. Witnesses apparently are terrified of retribution.

As the Herald's editorial states tomorrow, this was an act of urban warfare. And it erupted even more disturbingly in the midst of commemorations on the 10th anniversary of 9-11.

I can't describe how jarring it was Sunday morning to be searching for an image of an AK-47 to post online with Williams' breaking news on the weapons used in the shooting. I had never seen one. As I searched, I heard the names of the 9-11 victims being read at Ground Zero echoing from my TV. I stopped working the shooting story to observe the fourth moment of silence.

And then I found the image of an AK-47. Two dead, 22 injured. Life seemed a whole lot safer before I learned that.

Emotions still run high with 9/11 tribute

2011-09-09T20:28:00.009-04:00

As we headed Friday to the 10th Tribute to Heroes in downtown Bradenton,it was with a foreboding sense of ending.

So starts our editorial tomorrow in the Herald, which I finished just a little while ago -- hours after the Tribute to Heroes 10th annual luncheon concluded. (Editorial Page Editor Chris Wille is on vacation, so the honor falls to me...)

I found myself struggling mightily to opine, caught by surprise at the emotions that still overwhelmed me. I haven't missed any of the tributes, and watching the excellent video (see below) by METV and Charles Clapsaddle's crew brought back strong memories of each year.

I could barely hold back my tears as East Manatee Editor Jim Jones introduced me at the tribute to Stefenie Hernandez, Patrick Lay's mother. Her handshake was firm, her gaze clear, her voice strong as she thanked us for being there. Everyone in the room seemed to gravitate to her, as photographer Grant Jefferies captured here.

So much has changed; so much has stayed the same. The curse of war; the blessing of love. How do you put that into words?

Then I read Herald reporter Paradise Afshar's blog tonight, full of young hope, dreams, fears and convictions. She found the words. And I did cry.

I think we're going to be all right. And I hope we can help sustain the tributes to our heroes, as we encourage in the rest of Saturday's editorial:

Ticket sales have dwindled in the past few years. Indeed, the auditorium floor had plenty of room for more tables this year. At least one 10-top sat empty.

But next to that table, front and center, sat the family of Army Spc. 4 Patrick Lay II. Their heads were held high, their backs straight with pride, their faces wet with painful occasional tears. One of our own gave his life for our freedom.

Ten years ago, almost 3,000 Americans lost their lives in one of the biggest attacks in history on our country’s freedom. The victims at Ground Zero included 343 New York firefighters, 23 New York police officers, 37 Port Authority officers and 15 emergency medical technicians.

They are the men and women we honor each year at Bradenton’s Tribute to Heroes. Our community’s first responders gather, in full uniforms heavy with badges of honor, to remember their own who gave the ultimate.

So it was with great pride and relief to hear Mayor Wayne Poston preface his remarks at the Tribute with a declaration that, as long as he is mayor, Bradenton will continue to have some sort of 9-11 annual tribute.

We do need to look forward. We do need to move on, learning from that horrific day and the 10 years since. But we also need to remember the day we pulled together as a nation under attack. We need to remember the lives lost in the ensuing decade of war, praying that Spc. 4 Lay is our last loss, but knowing that more may follow.

Fly your flag this weekend. Join hands in prayers and hope.

We will never forget.

Never forget.

Help us build 'Bradenton Remembers 9-11'

2011-09-05T10:43:00.002-04:00

I can't use overseas travel as an excuse not to blog anymore -- but it was a grand reason for almost two weeks! It also took the past few days to get my land legs back, and to work through more than 3,000 accumulated emails (dang, the blackberry refused to work in the Mediterranean!)...

So we labor a bit on Labor Day -- and admit we're extremely happy to be working.

As we close in on the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorism attacks, Bradenton Herald staff writers are looking back to their own memories -- among the first, Wade Tatangelo was a full-time student and journalist hurled into a new appreciation of the real world; Vin Mannix feels anew the loss of his best friend at the Pentagon. And they are capturing the contributions of so many in our community. What they're finding: The loss will always be heart-gripping. Still, the miracles of survival and selfless dedication in the days and years since help us look forward with hope.

I hope you take a moment to click here and share with us your memories of Sept. 11, 2001. They will be part of a commemorative online section, "Bradenton Remembers 9-11," that we'll publish next weekend.

Maybe your thoughts and hopes will help all of us resolve to make the next decade peaceful and prosperous.

PAUL VIDELA/pvidela@bradenton.com
The 9/11 World Trade Center Steel Memorial outside Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue District headquarters

Loss of a soldier touches all of us

2011-08-14T11:08:00.004-04:00

News that a Bradenton native had just been killed in Afghanistan came via email early Friday. Publisher Bob Turner forwarded me the email, received from someone he didn't even know. It read, chillingly direct:

My nephew, Patrick Lay, was killed in action today in Afghanistan. Born and raised in Bradenton. Thank you for your time.

With little else to work from, reporter Lee Williams started some furious digging. He quickly tracked down -- via Facebook -- that it was painfully true.

As Williams and photographer Grant Jefferies began reaching out to the family, we were humbled by their response. Spc. 4 Lay's mom, Stefenie Hernandez, his fiancee Joann Steiff, his sister Nikki and countless other relatives and friends opened their door and their hearts to us -- out of deep respect, pain, loss and love of their lost soldier.

Grant's photo of Patrick's mom, above, lost in thought outside her home, speaks that proverbial thousands of words. We have been "lucky" in Manatee County for the past several years, as the war hasn't taken a direct hit in claiming the life of one of our own. This was a painful reminder of how much so many have given.

And it stirred fears and prayers in all who were touched by the news. We found an article and photos by Stars and Stripes, and wanted to share this one with our readers. The photo by Laura Rauch/Stars and Stripes shows Spc. Lay sitting on a vehicle as the sun sets over Combat Outpost Nalgham, Afghanistan on May 21. Editors there gave us permission to publish, in exchange for two copies of the Herald with the photograph. In sending Herald photographer Tiffany Tompkins-Condie the OK, administrator Jen Stepp wrote:

Tiffany,
You’re so very welcome. As I was processing your request I just became so very sad that here we have a soldier doing his duty and his photo appearing in the paper just a couple months ago to him having been killed today. My most sincere condolences go out to his family and those he served with.

And when I sent Williams' story and Jefferies' photographs to McClatchy-Tribune News Services for national publication, the Washington editor replied:

He reminds me of my best friend’s nephew who's going to Afghanistan in January. I hope I don’t read anything like this about him.

Say a prayer for all our troops to return home, safe and alive.

In memory of Dr. Brian Murphy

2011-08-12T12:48:00.004-04:00

Dr. Brian Murphy will be missed by our community. His death this week shocked almost everyone and, like me, left us wishing we could have one more conversation with him.

He always had a rye joke or a "hot tip" for me when we ran into each other, usually at the Eye Center where I'm a patient of Dr. Mike Mackie. One of the more memorable times was right after the 2002 elections, in which Dr. Murphy was defeated by Bill Galvano.

"I thought for sure I had the race sewn up when you guys didn't endorse me," Dr. Murphy cracked with a grin. (He was right, the Herald didn't -- but what a race it was, with these four candidates: Dr. Murphy, Galvano, Benjamin Milks and David Miner.)

Dr. Murphy went on to represent Manatee County in so many other ways. If you have memories to share, please sign the Legacy Guest Book created here.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Murphy's family.

'Manatee Featured Fugitives' leads to news

2011-08-05T18:20:00.008-04:00

Each Sunday, we publish "Manatee's Featured Fugitives" in the Local section and online, sourced by Manatee County Crime Stoppers. The feature includes 11 mugs of the most-wanted fugitives from Manatee County, with their personal data and the charges against them.

It also includes a strike through any fugitive caught the week before, and new mugs to replace those. Det. Dan Hutto, special investigator with Manatee County Sheriffs and a Crime Stoppers coordinator, sends me an email with all this information every Friday.

This afternoon, Detective Dan's email came with word that three fugitives had been nailed this week. Thinking that's the most we've had in one week, I forwarded the email to our news desk, suggesting a story. I didn't even look at the names.

1A News Editor Kelly Lipp let out a holler: "That's the guy suspected of beating Sister Nora!"

Police reporter Paradise Afshar quickly confirmed it: Eliseo Ortiz, 51, was arrested Thursday by the Tarpon Springs Police Department.

The plight of Sister Nora touched us all, and we wrote a dozen stories or columns, including this blog.

When columnist Vin Mannix contacted Sister Nora this evening, she took the news in stride.

“I forgave him long ago. Forgiveness is the Christian thing to do. It’s the more healing thing than keeping a grudge,” she said. “I hope they won’t be too hard on him. ”

Watch for the full story in Saturday's editions.

Now this footnote:

Detective Dan also indicates each week whether any of the arrests were the result of a tip to their hotline (none of this week's were). But one of our favorites was just a couple weeks ago, when Trevor Christeson, wanted on charges of grand theft, came off the list.

Christeson turned himself in, Detective Dan informed us, after he saw his photo in the Herald.

Bradenton.com has new business blog

2011-08-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

Business reporter Christine Hawes and Business Editor Jennifer Rich launched a new blog this week: Manatee Money Matters.

Christine hopes to make this blog interactive with readers:

Manatee Money Matters is a behind-the-scenes, personal, sometimes quirky look at business happenings and news throughout Manatee County. In this blog, Herald Business Reporter Christine Hawes applies a different “lens” to the companies, customers, employees and leaders in our local business world. As the Herald’s business writer, she welcomes your insight, tips and queries for Manatee Money Matters.

It couldn't be timelier, with a stock market roller-coaster and teetering economy making top headlines each day. Sharing your ideas about what works -- and what doesn't -- just might help.

SCF watchdog reporting gets results

2011-08-02T15:34:00.006-04:00

This just in:

Daily watchdog journalism gets results. Sometimes almost immediately, as was the case today with State College of Florida.

We published a story today by Herald reporter David Gulliver, outlining SCF's until-now unreported plans to buy a new $71,000 Cadillac sport-utility vehicle for its top officials to use on college business. And Gulliver found the perfect perspective: The news comes two months after the college raised students’ tuition and fees by 8 percent.

Less than an hour ago, Gulliver received a brief email from SCF, saying they were yanking their request seeking sealed bids for the price of a new “executive vehicle.” Gulliver quickly posted the news to Bradenton.com.

Almost immediately, one reader emailed me:

In reference to the SCF cadillac story!!!!!! Thanks for bringing it to light and I have a feeling that there were a lot of complaints. I, for one, was furious when I read that story. My son is one of the students who had to pay that 8% increase!!!!

Huge story? Not in the scope of the trillions of missing dollars swirling in Washington. But it got people's attention -- everywhere I went today, it was the proverbial water-cooler talker. And we think that made a difference.

Herald has new Washington correspondent

2011-07-29T11:15:00.003-04:00

You may have noticed a new Washington byline on our front page: Erika Bolstad.

Erika now covers Washington for the Miami Herald and Bradenton Herald. She replaces Lesley Clark, who has been promoted to cover the White House for all McClatchy newspapers. Since 2006, Lesley has done a great job tracking down our local politicians and covering stories extremely pertinent to Florida.

Erika has quickly stepped into those shoes in the past week. On the same day Erika was named our new correspondent, I shot her an email around 4 p.m. -- and asked her to chase down a story about Vern Buchanan. She had this story turned within two hours.

Erika has been in McClatchy's Washington bureau since 2007 as the correspondent for the Anchorage Daily News and the Idaho Statesman. I wagered she'll find hotter stories coming out of Florida -- and while she agreed, Erika reminded me that her clips include plenty of stories about Sarah Palin. And her work on the Larry Craig scandal for the Statesman was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category.

Follow Erika on Twitter: @erikabolstad

Harry Potter contest has sweet ending

2011-07-27T09:34:00.006-04:00

Features Editor Jana Morreale summoned us into her office yesterday to pick the winners for our Harry Potter contest. An impressive pile of entries awaited on her couch -- hundreds of our readers had rummaged through the pages of the Herald and/or Bradenton.com to find the coveted "snitches," cut them out, paste them to the game card and then deliver them to the Herald.

I got the first pick for a runner-up, and randomly was drawn to the envelope emblazoned with a screaming "PICK ME!!" Turns out Kevin Belanger of Bradenton was the magnet.

Web developer William Winter made the next pick, and we had geographic diversity with Sandra Engel of Parrish winning another $25 gift certificate to the movies.

Then Jana, the diva of our “Harry Potter -- Find the Golden Snitch” contest, stepped forward to pick the grand winner of tickets to Universal Studios.

And what a grand pick she made, as announced within minutes on Bradenton.com and featured today on 1A in the Herald:

Becky Raburn, a longtime Holmes Beach resident who credited her team of family and friends for her entry when Jana called her with the news. Mrs. Raburn also shared that she is a cancer survivor who once again is battling the disease -- and her joy at winning the contest brought Jana and me to tears.

As Jana wrote in her kicker, here’s hoping they have a magical time with their winnings!

Manatee businesses help starving food bank

2011-07-19T10:34:00.004-04:00

The economy took a vicious swipe at Manatee County's food bank, depleting most of its stock of food and supplies for our community's hungry.

The call for help came Monday morning, and our story published soon after on Bradenton.com and in the Herald this morning. Photographer Grant Jefferies added visual proof of the empty shelves, as the above image shows.

Well, this community is answering the call for help. Kristen Theisen, vice president of development for Meals on Wheels and the food bank, says the response has been fantastic today.

"We've had more than a dozen businesses request barrels today," she told me. "We're thrilled with that because we need all the help we can get. Thank you, thank you for the coverage."

The Herald has its barrel by the front door. Let's fill 'er up!

Harry Potter contest is all the rage

2011-07-17T10:43:00.000-04:00

Blogging on something you don't quite get is dangerous, but here goes: We're challenging you to find the Golden Snitches.

Harry Potter fans know all about it, and we hope they're combing through the pages of Bradenton.com and the Bradenton Herald to find a numbered Snitch each day. The contest started Friday, so we're on No. 3 today.

I don't want to make it too easy, but in case you snoozed on Saturday, I'm anchoring a shortcut below. Sure, it counts -- click here for all the rules. And here's a link for you to download the game card. The grand prize: four tickets to Universal Studio’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Happy hunting!

Getting the crossword puzzle r-i-g-h-t

2011-07-11T16:58:00.008-04:00

Don't cross the crossword puzzlers -- for this I can vouch today.

The company that paginates the Herald's puzzles/comic pages placed the wrong crossword grid on Saturday's page. Oh, did we hear about it! And having to wait until Monday morning to figure out a solution added fuel to the fire.

Here's one soundbite from a -- rightfully so -- irritated puzzler:

The last thing that irked me was the totally screwed up crossword that appeared in Saturdays, July 9th 2011, edition. Not only were some of the clues kind of weird but the blank puzzle form was not correct for the answers required i.e., some squares were blocked out that should have been clear and some squares that were clear should have been blocked. Consequently some numbers were in the wrong squares.

In spite of this, I was able to(with great difficulty) solve almost all of the puzzle except six words...

Thanks to Features Editor Jana Morreale's diligence in tracking down the problem, we have two puzzles publishing in Tuesday's editions: the corrected Saturday puzzle on Page 6C (answers are on 2A with the correction), and Tuesday's regular puzzle appears on Page 5C.

Me? I'm sticking with Jumble and Sudoku.

Herald photographer for 25 years!

2011-07-10T13:43:00.001-04:00

This was definitely cause for celebration: photojournalist Grant Jefferies’ 25th anniversary with the Bradenton Herald.

We commemorated the occasion July 1 with a cake -- and vowed to reserve our cake-giving for joyful celebrations in the future rather than departures as has been the tradition. We sent Grant off with a bottle of bubbly and good vibes for his vacation to the Keys.

Now, as he returns to the grind Monday, Grant will probably lose that vacation glow in a day or so. But we welcome him home -- and thanks, Grant, for the countless amazing images you’ve captured over the years to document Manatee County’s history.

Hometown Fourth of July: quite a blast

2011-07-05T10:43:00.001-04:00

We're still hearing the oohs and aahs of a glorious fireworks display, witnessed last night just off the banks of the Manatee River from our perch near the Warner's Bayou Boat Ramp in Bradenton. Herald photographer Paul Videla, positioned right along the RiverWalk and downtown bridge, caught the grandeur in this beautiful gallery of fireworks photos.

Nothing makes you feel more young at heart than sharing sparklers and the Fourth of July with your loved ones. Mix in some baseball, brats and beach, and you have a perfect home-run weekend in Manatee County.

Breaking out our "Summer Scrapbook"

2011-06-29T15:41:00.001-04:00

Summertime, and the livin' is easy... well, we can daydream, right?

Our photographers are hard at work to find the summer hotspots in our newest photo gallery collection, "Summer Scrapbook" in Bradenton & Manatee County. We think you'll want to bookmark this link:

http://www.bradenton.com/summerscrapbook/

Here's the intro Web Developer William Winter posted today:

School is out, the Gulf is calm and warm and the roads are a bit less crowded… it must be summertime in Bradenton!

Each week this summer the Bradenton Herald’s photographers will showcase a new view into the unique people and places that is summer in Manatee County.

So grab a tall glass of freshly brewed iced tea and enjoy the summer through images from around Bradenton and Manatee County!

For our first entry, Herald photographer Grant Jefferies chose ArtCenter Manatee: KidsArt Summer Camp 2011. These kiddos are priceless -- and definitely enjoying summer.

In coming weeks, photographers Tiffany Tompkins-Condie and Paul Videla will join the rotation with their summer best. And we'll be looking for your scrapbook offerings soon, too.

Introducing our two newest Herald reporters

2011-06-22T12:09:00.010-04:00

Here's a hearty welcome to our two newest reporters at the Bradenton Herald:

Veteran reporter David Gulliver joined our newsroom this week as the Herald's enterprise/database reporter. David’s resume has a wealth of experience, including stints as a state government reporter, database/projects reporter and healthcare business reporter. And he most recently was editor/executive director of an online news website dedicated to healthcare.

David didn't waste any time getting his byline out there, with two stories in today's Herald and on Bradenton.com: a report on how our local hospitals will spend millions to care for the indigent, and that the funds are evaporating; and a quick take on the demolition that's starting on fishing piers by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

I hope you've been reading the work by our new business reporter, Christine Hawes . She joined us several weeks ago -- a self-described seasoned, versatile and self-motivated writer with 20-plus years experience in journalism, publication management and communications. And she's already turned more than 100 stories!

Christine loves to tackle both hard news reporting and feature writing, and her background includes beats covering business, government, health/fitness, and education.

She also tackled a medical-related story today, looking at how the cuts being considered in Medicaid funding could cost Florida nearly 75,000 jobs and up to $8.1 billion in business activity. One of her best reports to date was a takeout on Bradenton's Sandpile, in which she examined what has -- and has not -- transpired there in the past 13 years.

We're glad they're on board -- and they'd love to hear from you.

See if these 'ledes' grab you

2011-06-15T16:12:00.005-04:00

In our "best-of" recognition each week in the newsroom, we often single out good story leads: that first impression meant to grab the reader with cleverness or intrigue and not let go. (I typically label them "ledes" for my rather phonetic brain...)

We had three favorites in the kudos posted today. If you haven't read these stories, maybe the ledes will grab you, too:

Vin Mannix’s lede on this story about a vet from the invasion of Normandy:
Calvin Post is in the winter of his years.
He needs a walker to get around and he doesn’t hear so well anymore, eithttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifher.
Yet his memory works fine.
Especially on June 6.

And Vin again on his report about an honor bestowed John Vita (and if you know John...)
For a change John Vita’s got nothing going on after work this week. No coaching, No mentoring, No digging post holes. Nothing.

And sports writer John Lembo's lede on “Marauder soaks in near no-no”, his follow-up interview with the Bradenton Marauders pitcher who nearly threw a no-hitter.

His phone started to squawk at around 7 a.m.
“Real early,” Kyle McPherson said. “I told them, ‘Thank you very much.’ I kept it real short and sweet, and that was about it.”
Such are the spoils of nearly making history.

Words inspire at Just for Girls graduation

2011-06-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

Talk about empowering.

When you have a roomful of middle-schoolers about to walk across the stage in front of family and friends, it's tough to grab their attention. But that's just what keynote speaker Digna Alvarez managed to accomplish at this year's Just for Girls graduation ceremony.

Alvarez, regional director for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, talked directly to "all these beautiful girls" as she reminded all of us that our friends make us whole. She recalled her mom's Cuban saying, then gave us the rough translation:

"Tell me who you hang out with, and I'll tell you who you are."

The girls looked at each other, and knew exactly what Alvarez meant. And when she wrapped up her challenges for them to stay on a better path, the girls applauded -- and shouted out in unison,

"Thank you!"

The Just for Girls' graduating class of 2011 will be friends for life, if the tears and hugs shared yesterday are any indication. As Herald columnist Vin Mannix wrote in his story today, they have already been through so much -- gangs, scarring fights, juvenile detention.

But the graduation was all about the good stuff, and hopes for a brighter future. Share a few of those moments captured in Grant Jefferies' photo gallery .

Herald reporter uncovered Piney Point gusher

2011-06-03T08:54:00.001-04:00

Kudos to Herald urban affairs reporter Toni Whitt for breaking the Piney Point story early this week. As she first reported in this story, the protective lining in a phosphogypsum stack at the old Piney Point facility has torn, allowing potentially contaminated seawater to gush from the site at up to 2,700 gallons a minute -- creating an “imminent threat,” state environmental officials acknowledge.

What they didn't acknowledge until Toni uncovered the news was that anything was even wrong. Officials apparently knew for weeks that there was a leak while dredge from Port Manatee was continually dumped there. As the Herald's editorial noted Thursday, had Toni not discovered the problem, we still might not know -- even though the state agency fears for human health and safety. (Although, as you can see from Tiffany Tompkins-Condie's photo above, it now is hard to miss.)

And that’s wrong.

The state DEP is testing the discharge for nitrogen, phosphorus, conductivity and chloride, and investigating how the tear happened and how to repair it. We will continue to dig for independent answers as well.

Macohi students grill Herald journalists

2011-06-01T11:35:00.009-04:00

Throughout the year, the Bradenton Herald's newsroom has worked with the Manatee High students who produce The Macohi and their adviser, Erica Weiffenbach. Erica was awarded the Student/Newspaper Partnership Grant from the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, as mentioned earlier in this blog, and one stipulation was our dedicated support for her high school newspaper staff.

Editors, reporters and photographers visited her class each month, and we helped critique their stories. They recently had their last assignment: Pick a Herald staffer, shadow them, interview them and write up a report.

Kara Inglis, a junior and The Macohi's managing editor, tagged me. Her goal: to become an editor. Somehow, I didn't manage to talk her out of it. In fact, it proved quite a thrill to talk with a young person determined to make journalism her career. As she grilled me that afternoon, I recalled my first tour of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the smell of ink, the tough-looking reporters -- and not realizing that I'd just gotten hooked.

Kara sent me a copy of her report -- she got an A! -- and I felt a flash of pride for our career choice. (OK, and I admit -- I also felt a bit old after digesting Kara's lede:)

Joan Krauter is the Executive Editor of The Bradenton Herald. She has been passionate about journalism since before college and to this day, many years into her career, she is as passionate as she was when she started.

In her email, Kara announced the next step in her promising career: She's been name Editor-in-Chief for next year's Macohi:

"I thought you might like to know that I am officially the new EIC of the Macohi! I am very excited to work with my existing staff members as well as meet Ms. Weiffenbach's incoming Journalism 1 kids to make the paper even better and more school involved than it is now."

Grant or no grant, my staff is looking forward to working with more journalism students next year.

How to find videos on Bradenton.com

2011-05-25T12:28:00.004-04:00

It just got a lot easier to find videos on our website.

Thanks to Bradenton.com Web Developer William Winter, the links to “Video” in the navigation under Local News and in the Site Map at the bottom of the website will now take you here:

http://www.bradenton.com/video/

This section is still evolving, but already you'll find:
Latest Local Videos, produced by our staff
Editor Picks
Hot Videos Now
Business
Sports
Entertainment (check out Oprah today!)
and Weird News

Enjoy!

Win a $100 Publix gift card, and Go 'Canes!

2011-05-18T17:18:00.007-04:00

We're unabashedly cheering on our Manatee High Hurricanes, the local high school baseball team that's a state contender, with the Collectible ’Canes Cards.

Photographer Grant Jefferies spent an afternoon shooting each player for the cards, designed by editor Brent Conklin and web developer William Winter.

On 1A today and on Bradenton.com, we introduced the team's six Seniors, and spelled out a $25 gift card contest. Well, since then, Publix stepped up today and upped the ante to a $100 gift certificate!

Here's the skinny: Collect all 19 baseball cards by clipping from the Herald or printing from Bradenton.com. Seniors are today, Juniors publish Thursday and Sophomores on Friday.

Deadline to receive entries: Thursday, May 26. Include your phone number.

Send the entire set to:

Collectible ’Canes Cards
c/o Bradenton Herald
102 Manatee Ave. W
Bradenton 34205

Random drawing will be noon May 27, and the winner will be announced here on Bradenton.com and on our Facebook page.

Go ’Canes!!

Kristofferson package tops week's best list

2011-05-11T11:11:00.002-04:00

Topping my list of "Best ofs" for May 2-8 was Wade Tatangelo’s in-depth profile of Kris Kristofferson in Weekend. Wade had a fantastic phone interview with Kristofferson, who talked frankly and freely about his compelling life story. Wade wove the legend's timeless songs and the memorable characters he has played on screen throughout.

Wade followed with his Sunday A&E column on his favorite Kristofferson songs and with his BuzzWorthy blog entry on the top Kristofferson covers.

The story did great online, and was one of McClatchy-Tribune wire services' top headlines of the day.

Also making the Best list:
A great duo on last week's deluge Thursday, with photographer Grant Jefferies' tricky shot from the middle of Manatee Avenue, and Night Metro Editor Brent Conklin's clever headline: "Manatee Avenue Wet"

What joy to share a Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T15:41:00.001-04:00

It's a glorious Mother's Day here, a picture-perfect day as they say. And it has been a special treat for me, with my best friend, her daughter and her daughter's new mother-in-law all visiting for the weekend.

Joyce and daughter Jen have been here before, and never stop raving about our beaches, fried grouper and my magic margaritas. Cammie paid her first visit, and fell in love with everything except the grind called Manatee Avenue (yep, another chance to take a shot at that mess, as this previous blog post still holds true!).

This morning, I expected everybody would want to make one last trip to the beach and work a bit more on those tans before they head back home -- to Boulder, San Francisco and Fritch, Texas (I'll let you find that dot on the map). Instead, Jennifer took us to Mother's Day brunch -- "my three Moms," she declared.

I've known her all of her 27 years, through thrills and tears and triumphs. And those words made me so proud and humbled.

The same emotion runs through Vin Mannix's Mother's Day column today. Whatever you do today, make sure you hug your mom. Or hug somebody's mom. Or have a conversation with your moms, wherever and whoever they may be.

“Twas heaven here with you.”

That's Joyce next to me, with daughter Jen across from her with Cammie.

Bradenton.com viewers set another record

2011-05-04T08:33:00.001-04:00

We've had record traffic on Bradenton.com since news broke that Osama bin Laden had been killed. That is yet another telling indication of the historic nature of this event: It is rare that international news drives our site, where local news and local photo galleries almost always top the most-viewed list.

That actually still held true, creating quite a dichotomy of top stories and galleries. The most popular throughout the weekend and into the work week? The DeSoto Grand Parade photo gallery.

By Tuesday, however, topping the list were photos from Osama's hideout in Pakistan and McClatchy Washington reporter Jonathon Landay's story of how the Navy SEALS slid down ropes from their hovering helicopters and pulled off the raid on bin Laden's compound.

Chronicling Manatee's Civil War veterans

2011-04-24T01:43:00.001-04:00

Manatee County is rich in history, and our reporters revel in uncovering untold stories from decades past.

In Sunday's editions, columnist Vin Mannix explores one of those stories through the discoveries of a local historian.

More than 100 known Civil War veterans are interred in more than two dozen cemeteries throughout Manatee County. The majority of those veterans fought for the Confederacy, as Vin reports. And chronicling their histories has been Joe Kennedy’s passion.

Vin worked with staff photograher/videographer Paul Videla to chronicle Kennedy's research. As they came to the final production hours for an accompanying video, Paul needed a narrator. Here's a great snapshot into how stars aligned for their project, as Vin told me:

When I wrote the obit on “Miz Mac,” Virginia Rood McInnis, one of the folks I interviewed was Tina Crawford.
During our conversation, I couldn’t help noticing her delightful Southern accent.
She told me she’s from Phenix City, Ala.
That was Tuesday.
That night, Paul had an idea for a video voiceover on the cemetery story we’ve worked up about the 100-plus Civil War veterans interred around Manatee County.
He asked if I knew anybody with a Southern accent.
Sure do.
I called Tina, ran the idea by her and she came in Wednesday to read down the names while Paul recorded her.
She was perfect.
Vin

Listen for yourself. This is definitely one for the scrapbooks.

Herald government reporter launches blog

2011-04-20T12:32:00.005-04:00

Toni Whitt, our new urban affairs reporter, is blogging now in "Off the Agenda." As she writes, this blog is designed to look at the effects of government decisions on neighborhoods, businesses and individuals.

In her most recent posting, Toni notes a genuine success story where residents' voices were heard. She wrote last week about residents in Bayshore Gardens pleading for help with abandoned homes in their neighborhood, where arsonists have set more than a dozen fires in the past 18 months and squatters have trashed the properties.

As she notes in her blog today, the county staff has found some grant money to begin demolishing those houses.

Toni will continue to track the highs and lows of our elected officials here in Manatee County. We definitely know there's plenty to write about.

Herald's "Healthy Living" section debuts

2011-04-19T12:31:00.006-04:00

Healthy Living debuted today, as promised, with a fresh look designed by Features Editor Jana Morreale. The tab format is back by popular demand, especially from the medical community. A tab's "shelf life" is typically longer, so we hope to plant copies throughout our doctors' waiting rooms.

We also have a new health correspondent, Susan Hemmingway, who has reported on health issues over the years for several Tampa Bay publications, including the Tampa Tribune.

Healthy Living's new features include:
* Faces in Health: Mini-profiles of our Manatee neighbors involved in the industry of healing.
* Eating for Life: Healthy nutritional recipes, tips and guidance.
* Columns by staff at Blake Medical Center and Manatee Memorial Hospital.

Know someone who is a fabulous "face" to introduce to our readers? Have ideas for the section as it grows? We want to hear from you:
jmorreale@bradenton.com
jkrauter@bradenton.com

Our online content can be found at bradenton.com/living/health. And don't forget to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter.

Sign up for new Healthy Living e-newsletter

2011-04-18T17:18:00.003-04:00

Make sure you look for the new Healthy Living tab in Tuesday's editions -- it's a revived, locally focused weekly health section.

And if you sign up now, you can receive the first edition of our new Healthy Living e-newsletter.
1. Sign in to Bradenton.com
2. Click on your username
3. Click on newsletters
4. Sign up!

Here’s to your health!
Joan

Newsroom best last week: Williams' release

2011-04-14T16:16:00.004-04:00

This was breaking news at its best, with online and print elements that told such a powerful story.

Late Monday afternoon, we learned that Derrick Williams, in prison for 18 years, was going to be freed based on DNA evidence. We had a few hours to make the trek to Hardee County, but our cop reporter was already out on two stories.

Urban affairs reporter Toni Whitt grabbed the opportunity, despite an already-long day in the office, declaring, "We can't NOT have that story!"

Music to my ears.

Toni tracked down Paul Videla, who was ready to go with camera and video. And they captured the drama of the moment, first with a breaking news post, then for Tuesday's editions. Toni's story for print editions Tuesday, April 5, was packed with detail and emotion.

And Paul's photos and video, particularly the ones posted here, and his gallery spoke a million times over.

Applauding newsroom's best work each week

2011-04-07T11:54:00.009-04:00

We've started a weekly inhouse recognition of the Bradenton Herald's best work, focusing particularly on these topics:

Story. Photo. Video. Blog entry. Layout. Lede. Breaking news posting. Headline.

I share our list every Thursday with the Herald's publisher and directors in our weekly operating committee meeting. And I promise you -- it's quite an adrenaline rush to take pride in some of the hard work being done by our journalists.

What have we enjoyed or felt brought our readers quality journalism? Here's a glimpse at a few from the week of March 28-April 3:

BEST STORIES
The team’s reporting on the slaying of Manatee School for the Arts Teacher Kenneth Ellis. Metro Editor Marc Masferrer, reporters Paradise Afshar and Angie Taylor and photographer Grant Jefferies worked the story quickly and relentlessly throughout the day. Angie’s story was written with heart, but had the crucial crime details that were known in the early moments of an unfolding mystery.
Her lede:
Heads were bowed. The American flag flew at half-staff. And tears were shed among teachers, students and administrators gathered Wednesday....

Reporter Toni Whitt on Tallevast (Sunday, April 3). The thorough report reminded us again that more than anything, Tallevast is a human story.

BEST COLUMN:
Alan Dell, April 2, “NCAA’s old Sanity Code needs update”. Well-researched column about the hypocrisy of the NCAA.

BEST BLOG POST:
John Lembo, April 1, innovative poll on his sports blog. Look to the right side of the blog. Now vote!

BEST BREAKING NEWS:
When the skies opened up last Thursday, the editors and photographers jumped into action. Stories and photographs posted throughout the afternoon did very well, contributing to our best single day for page views.

BEST LAYOUT:
Universal Desk editor Mary K Means won kudos this week for her Sunday Local front. It's a clean, appealing page that welcomes the reader to look around and stay for a while.

BEST PHOTO:
Tiffany Tompkins-Condie, Palmetto long jumper flying through the air.
Great photo of high school athlete at height of her ability.
BEST PHOTO GALLERIES:
Grant and Tiffany at Seafood Fest: Our viewers online LOVED these photos! Literally thousands of views were logged throughout the week.

BEST VIDEO
This week was all about sound:
Paul Videla’s "Soothing Scene from De Soto National Memorial,"
and
"Presbyterian Church Bell"

BEST HEADLINES
Who said reporters can’t write headlines!?!
Sara Kennedy: “Bill aiding port sails through subcommittee.”
Toni Whitt: “Beach renourishment: It’s more than just sand”

A round of applause, please!
-- Joan

Boys of spring move on -- Play ball!

2011-03-31T13:05:00.002-04:00

I never had mixed feelings about Opening Day before living in Bradenton. That day really was the start of the calendar, growing up in St. Louis. Who needed New Year's Day when you had Cardinals baseball?

But as the National Anthem rings from Yankees Stadium at this writing, I'm feeling that twinge of regret that Spring Training has wrapped up for another year. And it was a glorious March at McKechnie Field, with attendance shattering records as reported by sports writer John Lembo: in his story here, in his Spring Training blog and, of course, on Facebook and Twitter.

We were in the stands Sunday, celebrating the last game of the year and soaking in a perfect day at McKechnie. (Hey, the Pirates even won!) How grand was it? Check out this photo of Vin Mannix, perched in the perfect bleachers spot above us.

Now, on to the 2011 MLB season. The Cards square off with the Padres at 4 p.m. EDT!

Searching Bradenton.com gets a boost

2011-03-23T14:43:00.005-04:00

We've upgraded our search engine again on Bradenton.com, making the process much faster. A couple other benefits to note:
* Results are more relevant to the search words.
* Articles are indexed faster, so they're available as search results sooner.
* More sections on the site are searchable.

What are people searching for? We actually monitor that, looking for popular items that might attract traffic. From the past week, that list includes:

police arrest
car accident
motorcycle accident
bradenton prep
scf
horoscope
oil prices
gang related drive by shooting
japan crisis
bayshore
chinese drywall
rick scott
beach renourishment
amish cook

Now that's an eclectic profile of our users!

There's an author in every journalist

2011-03-17T13:43:00.006-04:00

OK, I admit it -- I was jealous.

Novelist Jennifer Weiner had the sold-out crowd at yesterday's Library Foundation's Books & Authors luncheon in the palm of her hand. She wittily walked us through her life and how she got to that "glamorous life of an author."

I applauded her beginnings: "Before I was a writer, I was a reader."

So what was my problem? She was/is a journalist. She had her humble beginnings in a newsroom. Heck, they were even Knight Ridder newsrooms, same as my resume shows I've spent many, many, many days.

But for those of you who know a journalist: We all have that great American novel in us. And Weiner figured out how to give birth.

Most of us never give up that dream. (I won't tell you what Metro Editor Marc Masferrer consoled me with -- something about Grandma Moses...)

But I quibble with Weiner on one key point: Reporters often tell great stories in their writing -- it's a lot more than punching in words!

In fact, Weiner still has a lot of that newsroom blood in her. Her humor, for one thing -- nothing is sacred. She admits that after all those years in newsrooms, she has to write in a coffee shop for the buzz and adrenaline. And as Wade Tatangelo reported in his preview story, she admits she really enjoyed being a reporter. But writing fiction was always her dream.

In the end, Weiner was reaffirming what everyone in the audience wanted to reaffirm: Reading and writing are core to learning, to living, to loving, to being.

Here's to the Library Foundation for fighting to keep that alive in our community.

Find all your March Madness needs here

2011-03-15T10:05:00.005-04:00

March Madness is upon us, and anyone with an ounce of gambling blood in them has the jitters. I'm not even going to try pretending to understand "THE BRACKETS" -- I've always vied for last place betting on my Missouri Tigers to go all the way each year. I'll leave that to sports editor Tim Wolfrum, who admits to just about the same track record in his column here this week.

We have a great March Madness package here on Bradenton.com -- click here and you'll find just about any stat available, including:

-- Brackets in Flash for online and a downloadable PDF for printing both men's and women's brackets. (We also published the brackets on the back of the Bradenton Herald's Sports section Monday and Tuesday.)

-- Matchups

-- Scoreboards

-- Champions

-- MVPs (going back to 1939)

And check out our updated online Basketball section, here at bradenton.com/sports/basketball . Web Developer William Winter has updated it from a simple list of articles to a new layout that includes top story highlights with images and gallery sliders.

Let's tip it off!

Manatee Avenue IS a hellish mess!

2011-03-09T11:54:00.006-05:00

Journalists and caffeine make natural soul mates. Hence, the Starbucks cattycorner to the Bradenton Herald gets steady business from our newsroom.

Wait. That means you have to cross Manatee Avenue. What was I thinking this morning?

Nothing like first-hand experience to confirm what you read in the newspaper: Manatee Avenue is a nightmare.

As reporter Duane Marsteller spelled out in today's story, motorists will have to contend with the downtown construction zone for at least another four months.

Four months of this?! Photographer Tiffany Tompkins-Condie captured just how torturous this is in her photographs. And there's not even relief after they're done with "the boulevard." Right after that, Marsteller reports, work will begin on resurfacing Manatee Avenue’s eastbound twin, Sixth Avenue West, between 10th and 15th streets.

Sure, we've been spoiled. Ever drive in Chicago's rush hour? But right now, I'm in the camp asking why we're messing with our main drag in the middle of season. If it's not broke... geesh.

Wolfrum promoted to Herald sports editor

2011-02-28T12:51:00.007-05:00

Meet our new sports editor: Timothy R. Wolfrum.

Tim launched his weekly column today: "Going Deep."
You may already recognize his byline -- Tim most recently covered city and county government for the Bradenton Herald.

Tim joined us in 2006 from Ohio, where he was sports editor at three small newspapers in communities much like Bradenton.

And, just as in Ohio, he plans to focus our sports coverage on local issues, games, events and trends that readers can’t find anywhere else.

And he'll also keep a healthy sampling of all the state and national sports -- no small task, but he has the passion to accomplish that.

Check out Oscar galleries, Tweets tonight

2011-02-27T11:21:00.006-05:00

If you plan to watch the 83rd Annual Academy Awards tonight, a copy of today's A&E section is required reading -- and a great scorecard during the gala. Features Editor Jana Morreale crafted the cover with a piece by Laremy Legel of Film.com that presents "Should wins" and "Will wins" for the key categories.

Tonight, Bradenton.com will post gallery after gallery, live from the red carpet.

And on Twitter, editor Morreale will Tweet live about film and fashions at http://twitter.com/accentbradenton.

And the winner is...

Photographer captures Rye Preserve's beauty

2011-02-22T16:16:00.002-05:00

By now, many of you are following our latest photo gallery series, "Our Parks."

This week's entry by photographer Tiffany Tompkins-Condie is just as beautiful as the other entries. She explores Rye Preserve in Parrish, a nearly pristine 145 acres along the Manatee River that reporter Richard Dymond visited Sunday for this accompanying story.

Click here for the entire series, which Web Developer William Winter has crafted for a lasting resource on Bradenton.com.

Say a prayer for Sister Nora

2011-02-16T15:30:00.008-05:00

Reaction to Vin Mannix's coverage today on the outrageous beating of Sister Nora Brick has been swift and furious.

The 81-year-old nun, reknowned for her acts of kindness throughout the community, was beaten so badly that she has been hospitalized. As the news spread, well-wishers have swamped Manatee Memorial Hospital with cards, flowers and gifts -- so many that the hospital is turning people away. Hundreds of people at the Manatee Community Foundation's annual Spirit of Manatee Awards luncheon today bowed their heads in prayer for Sister Nora. And we heard from newspapers as far away as Ireland, with requests for photos from The Irish Sun on Bishops Square in Dublin.

Metro Editor Marc Masferrer posted this informative blog yesterday, explaining why we named a victim in this instance. It was a decision made only after much discussion, as he notes. Based on the outpouring of care as a result, the decision proved sound.

Tiffany Tompkins-Condie's photo illustrates only the beginning donations at Stillpoint House of Prayer, where Sister Nora Brick prays.

Herald reporter wins top McClatchy award

2011-02-13T01:43:00.003-05:00

Duane Marsteller, the Herald’s database/investigative reporter, has won a prestigious McClatchy Co. President’s Award for his 2010 investigative reporting of Manatee Rural Health.

McClatchy, our parent company, owns 30 daily newspapers, and Duane's work was up against entries from all of them. McClatchy presented a total of 11 awards for work done in 2010, detailed here in this press release.
Here's how the President's Awards were described by Anders Gyllenhaal, vice president of news, in seeking nominations last month:

"The President’s Award, now in its 12th year, is distinctive in several ways. It honors the highest quality work from across our newsrooms, from public service campaigns to special sections to online projects to visual work. There aren’t specific categories, so instead the judges review all entries for work that stands out for its quality and impact. That means you are competing not so much against other papers, or with newsrooms of differing sizes, but with the high standards the award has set over the years."

Here is what the judges said of the Herald’s coverage of Manatee Rural Health:

“This is a great example of accountability journalism that revamped the way this agency was run. They’ve stayed on this story as only a dedicated newspaper can, which has served their readers and taxpayers well.”

But the most telling comment came from Duane after the awards were announced last week. In an email thanking everyone for their kudos, he wrote:

I'm not one to be big on awards (just ask Joan), but I am honored by this one because of the level of competition involved. I'm also proud that the series led to reforms within Rural Health that, I hope, make it a better agency and improve the services to the people it serves. That, to me, is the true reward.

When stories have a national appeal

2011-02-11T10:30:00.008-05:00

It's always a bit of a thrill when reporters see their story picked up in other news venues across the United States. Our focus here at the Herald is 99.9999 percent local, but there's a lot of news here that catches national attention (and not just Balloon Boy's dad!).

One sure bet is the entertainment field, and features writer Wade Tatangelo has had a winning streak in the past few weeks. Today, he captures an interview with "Glee" star Jane Lynch, who with her wife, Lara Embry, has donated $15,000 to Palmetto High School's new rowing team. How's that for local?!

And in the past month, Wade has made a splash with these interviews -- seen first on Bradenton.com and in the Bradenton Herald, then picked up by web sites and newspapers from the LATimes to Kansas City Star:

His interview with The Band Perry, seen here on the Lexington Herald-Leader's entertainment web site.

His interview with Regis Philbin -- just as Philbin was announcing his retirement -- appearing in several publications including the Kansas City Star.

His pre-Super Bowl story on Fergie and the Black-Eyed Peas, which appeared here in the Los Angeles Times.

And still my favorite, as we blogged earlier, his great Bill Cosby phone interview for this feature.

Legislators meet with Herald news staff

2011-02-06T09:30:00.006-05:00

With barely a month left before the Florida Legislature opens the 2011 regular session on March 8, Manatee County's delegates met last week with us at the Bradenton Herald. They carved almost two hours out of their day to talk about what they see as the most pressing issues facing them this session, and about the key bills they have drafted.

The group included freshmen Reps. Greg Steube and Jim Boyd, and veteran Sens. Nancy Detert and Mike Bennett (who declared that wrinkles have value), along with Rep. Darryl Rouson, the sole elected Democrat at the table.

Representing the Herald were Editorial Page Editor Chris Wille, reporters Sara Kennedy and Grace Gagliano, Metro Editor Marc Masferrer, photojournalist Grant Jefferies (who produced this gallery) and myself. No question was off-limits, but our main goal was to gain a baseline for our expectations from this year's session.

And the expectations are high, as outlined in Kennedy's story today. With record unemployment and a burgeoning state budget, employment initiatives and cutting the state’s expenses topped everyone’s list. And the fact that those two aren't logical bedfellows escaped no one.

First to bring you high school signing news

2011-02-02T10:13:00.005-05:00

Our sports writers and staff photojournalists were out early today, making sure Bradenton.com visitors got all the high school news first -- pretty much in real time as players signed at Southeast, Manatee and Palmetto high schools.

Writers John Lembo, Jason Dill and Alan Dell worked with online editors Marc Masferrer and William Winter to get the news posted. Stay tuned throughout the day for updates, both on the home page and through this one-stop shopping click:
www.bradenton.com/signings PAUL VIDELA/pvidela@bradenton.com
From left, Southeast High School football players Boe Brand, Terran Williams and Dyron Speight take the spotlight

What's next after much-needed VISTA program?

2011-01-30T17:59:00.007-05:00

“I don’t think anything can replace what this VISTA project has done. I never dreamed it could become what it is. ... I don’t know if it can be replicated.”

With those words, VISTA project leader Rosie Wiley humbly summed up her life for the past three-plus years with Volunteers in Service to America. As Herald reporter Tim Wolfrum wrote in today's story, VISTA's local program ends in August without a renewal of federal funding.

That, Tim wrote, is "a sad fact for the volunteers and the groups that employ them." It's also a sad fact for this community if nothing comes along to replace this group's amazing sacrifices to tackle so many worthy projects.

'They have revitalized neighborhoods -- Washington Park and Samoset are among them -- built wheelchair ramps, started community gardens, designed playgrounds and put together community coalitions to help the poor and get young people involved in government.'

Somehow, though, I doubt we've heard the last of Rosie Wiley, seen above in Grant Jefferies' photograph. She is one of the most spirited leaders of volunteers I've ever met. And she has never seen a challenge too big to tackle.

Our Parks, Chapter 3: Jiggs Landing

2011-01-25T13:59:00.004-05:00

Herald pohotographer Paul Videla crafted the latest photo gallery in Our Parks series, featuring the renovated Jiggs Landing Preserve in East Manatee.

Bradenton Herald's Our Parks series will help capture an extremely important element of Manatee County's legacy, we believe. Let us know if you have a nature's gem you'd like to see us tackle next.

PAUL VIDELA/pvidela@bradenton.com A kayaker skirts the edge of the shoreline of Evers Reservoir at Jiggs Landing Preserve

Are you on our webcam at the fair?

2011-01-21T15:59:00.005-05:00

If you're going to the Manatee County Fair this weekend, look for the Herald's camera. You could be spotted on our new webcam!

After some hard work by Fair Manager Dan West, Bright House techies and the Herald's web developer William Winter, we have a bird's-eye view streaming onto www.Bradenton.com/Fair. It's a simple model, snapping a new picture every 30 seconds and sending it to our site for viewing. But we hope it's great fun for the last two days of the fair.

See if you can find the "magic circle" right below the camera out there and wave. It's on a utility pole adjacent to the Chaires Building/Arts & Crafts Department, facing southeast toward the Midway.

To date, our online readers have LOVED all things Manatee County Fair, with four photo galleries being the most popular with tens of thousands of page views:

1. Manatee County Fair's annual cheerleading competition
2. Dog Show at the Fair
3. Sunday at the Fair
4. Senior Day at the Manatee County Fair

MLK honor carries huge responsibility

2011-01-17T09:53:00.010-05:00

On this Martin Luther King Day, I have more reason than ever to reflect on how much that one man stands for -- in what has changed in this country, and what still needs to change.

For the past 18 years, our community has celebrated Dr. King's legacy with a weekend of events centered around the Palmetto Youth Center. The center recognizes five community leaders every year for their service to Manatee County, as reported by Timothy Wolfrum in this story.

I was stunned when I learned a few weeks ago that their choices included me this year. While I still can't believe it, the honor -- Outstanding Citizenship Award -- brought with it a tremendous sense of responsibility ahead.

Here's the standard set for this nomination: "This award was established to honor those individuals who have demonstrated high standards of fairness, justice and the ideals of Dr. King and have made outstanding contributions to the community."

Wow.

Which brings me to why I'm blogging on this. The esteemed Pat Glass (the REAL outstanding citizen of Manatee County, as established on the fairgrounds last week)introduced me in a humbling video, bestowing me with far too much praise for doing what I love: journalism.

But because of those expectations, I post my own comments here, to remind myself that I need to keep the faith in our newsroom at the Herald, or wherever a story needs to be told.

Pat, thank you. YOU are the one who’s on the Bradenton Herald’s front page today as Manatee County’s distinguished citizen of the year. My gosh, how humbling to be introduced by you.

A huge thank you to the Palmetto Youth Center. I’ve been in a state of shock since Frankie Craddock called me with the news.

And gratitude I can’t begin to measure goes to my staff at the Bradenton Herald -– many of whom are working as we party here!

In trying to grasp why I would receive such a huge honor, I realized that this is really about your all’s belief in me and the Bradenton Herald and what we represent every day in this community.

Central to the thinking of Martin Luther King is the concept of the "Beloved Community."

Well, this community has more heart and soul than any other place I have lived. So, as the editor of Manatee County’s main news source, it’s a sobering responsibility to be the soul and the conscience of this community.

But that’s my lifelong passion, and what we strive for every day at the Herald.

We’ve been through a tough couple of years and like every other business have had to change some of the things we do. But one thing remains constant –

Now, more than ever, our community needs the Bradenton Herald as the trusted source for local news and information, protecting and advocating the public’s right to know.

The Herald is committed to passionately uphold the First Amendment and to embrace the sense of community that defines Manatee County.

Martin Luther King said that “Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

This award has put that challenge at a new level for me.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The other winners tower over me:
Gwen McElroy, the Louise Rogers Johnson Award
Elihu Wallace, the Seymore E. Sailes Award
Byron Shinn, the Edgar H. Price Award
Raymond Bellamy, the Trailblazer Award

This year's first-place MLK essay winners were also phenomenal, as you can read and hear through these links:

Madelyn Kumar, middle-school first-place winner

Dakota Lawson, high-school first-place winner

One final thought: If you ever get the chance to ride in a parade, do it! I loved getting to sit on the back of a convertible Mercedes Benz, chauffered by Bob Davis as the parade wound through Palmetto Saturday afternoon, and we threw candy and beads to thousands lining the streets.

Herald project hopes for yearlong giving

2011-01-10T01:43:00.005-05:00

Manatee County residents have come through another challenging year, capping 2010 off with many gestures of good will through the holidays. But as the year 2011 has begun anew,so have the needs of too many in our community.

The Bradenton Herald is launching a new feature, “Manatee Gives Back,” focusing on the crucial needs of the nonprofit organizations working diligently to help.

We’re seeking the most pressing needs so we can ask our readers to help, too. Each week, we plan to feature one group, one family, one challenge that must be helped.

Please send the name of your organization and an outline of that special need to bconklin@bradenton.com.

Please, help us keep the “Season of Giving” going all year long.

A Bill Cosby moment in the newsroom

2011-01-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

We had a celebrity moment this morning in the newsroom, and it was a welcome high.

Metro Editor Marc Masferrer picked up the 7000 line -- our hotline extension in the newsroom -- just like we do a hundred times a day.

Suddenly, I heard his voice change. "Why, yes, Mr. Cosby! That was Wade you talked with. Let me find him!"

Cosby. As in Bill Cosby. We were like kids at Christmas gathered around Marc's desk. Sure enough, Bill Cosby had called back -- following up on a 90-minute interview he'd already had with Features Writer/Columnist Wade Tatangelo.

Actually, when Wade was finally able to give us all the details, it was far more of a wonderful conversation than a typical "star interview." It's rare that anyone of Mr. Cosby's fame spends almost two hours on the phone with a reporter. But as you will see in Wade's Buzz Worthy blog, Cosby is far from typical.

Cosby's bio credits him as star comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician, activist and more at age 73. The peg for Wade's interview: Cosby's two performances Jan. 16 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota.

Wade later confided to me his own adrenalin rush, starting at about 5 a.m. when he woke with a start and realized, "I've got an interview with Bill Cosby at 8 a.m.!" Wade spent the next three hours with a bit of nervous prepping and pacing. He called the number provided by Cosby's publicist, and introduced himself.

Long pause. "It's 8:03. You're late."
A hurried apology by Wade.
"I've been waiting in this phone booth..."
And then a famous Cosby chuckle, and the conversation began.

Later, when Cosby unexpectedly called back to play Wade some John Coltrane (honest!), Marc gave us a great impression of that call. In his best Cosby voice, Marc repeated the casual exchange:

"Hi, this is Bill again. Bill Cosby. I was just talking with a nice young man, and hoped you might have a minute to track him down..."

Photojournalist Grant Jefferies captured the glee of the moment:

"Hey, you should have gotten a phone autograph!"

Whoever said we journalists are a jaded bunch?

-- Joan

Manatee's parks: new photo galleries

2010-12-21T13:10:00.005-05:00

We launched "Our Parks" this week on Bradenton.com and in the Herald -- a nature lover's dream, we hope.

I asked Metro Editor Marc Masferrer for three words to help craft an intro. His choices: pastoral, rustic, wild.

That's the essence of our photojournalists' project at Bradenton.com/ourparks/:

Manatee County offers dozens of wildlife habitats, rustic parks and pastoral gems of nature. Here, Bradenton Herald’s photojournalists will take you on a virtual tour through these havens.

Our first entry: Grant Jefferies' spectacular 40+ images from Emerson Point Preserve, a 365-acre preserve at the tip of Snead Island in western Palmetto. Here is one of my favorites: An osprey is perched high atop a tree at Emerson Point Preserve.

Season of giving finds plenty of need

2010-12-17T09:55:00.008-05:00

One glance at Bradenton.com makes it clear: This needs to be the season of giving. And this was before new (higher) unemployment numbers came out today .

Here's a sampling:
-- Southern Manatee Fire Rescue is asking the community to help the family of six who lost almost everything in a house fire. Reporter Beth Burger's coverage brought calls offering that help almost immediately.

As told in this story and photos by reporter Paradise Afshar and photographer Paul Videla, Kingdom Life Christian Church and the Bradenton Police Department helped 100 families in the third annual Honoring the Badge -- a shopping spree that helps kids in need, and helps build a much-needed bod between officers and our community's youth.

-- Southeast High students created a special Christmas for developmentally disabled youngsters attending Manasota ARC, as chronicled in reporter Angeline Taylor's story here.

-- Downtown Bradenton merchants and non-profits have organized a charity drive to help people in need -- and their four-legged friends.

Here at the Herald, HR director Holley Pauley organized a drive for the Community Coalition on Homelessness in Bradenton. Hearty piles of donations were stacked in our conference room this morning. Here's a list to keep handy -- all year.

Here are a few items that are desperately needed.

Dog food/treats – The shelter is completely out of dog food.
Children’s clothing all sizes boys/girls
Baby diapers
Small bottles of Shampoo
Toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss
Deodorant
Lip balm
Lotions
Small stationery kit with notepaper, envelopes, pen, stamps
Comb, hairbrush, and small hand mirror
Soap and washcloth
Disposable razors
Warm gloves
Underwear all sizes (male/female/children)
Warm socks
Knit caps
Blankets and sleeping bags (can be used if recently washed)
Non perishable snack foods
Deck of cards or small games
Hand can openers
Duffle bags (easy to carry)

Recycled clothing items
Tops and jeans of all sizes
Sweaters and jackets
Shoes in good condition

Bradenton.com is giving away an iPad

2010-12-14T10:55:00.003-05:00

Does your Christmas wish list include an iPad? Sign up for any or all of our newsletters and you could win an iPad from Bradenton.com.

Dozens of you have already entered for a chance to win. The countdown is at nine days. The deadline to sign up: 12:01 a.m. Dec. 23.

Click here for the details.

To register to become a member of Bradenton.com, go here:
http://www.bradenton.com/reg-bin/int.cgi?mode=register

If you already subscribe, now's a good time to update your account:
http://www.bradenton.com/static/insite/login.html

You're already in for the random drawing, but who knows? It might improve your odds. Click on the Newsletters link in the right column to add email newsletter subscriptions.

Live, from Manatee vs. St. Thomas Aquinas

2010-12-10T15:53:00.004-05:00

Live, from tonight's Manatee vs. St. Thomas Aquinas game:

Sports reporter Alan Dell will be sending live updates right from the field in Fort Lauderdale. (The fun has already started, as you can see from this gallery as the Canes left at noon.)

You can check out these updates on our sports home page (http://www.bradenton.com/sports)
On Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/BradentonSports)
On our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/BradentonHeraldNews).

You'll also find updates on our Sports Blogs:
brsoundingoff.blogspot.com
preprallybradenton.blogspot.com

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m., so join us online and you won’t miss a thing during the game.

-- Joan

Editor's multitasking all in a night's work

2010-12-08T11:08:00.009-05:00

Today's story on the arrest of Willie Lee Shannon, an Ellenton resident, in a 20-year-old cold case out of Las Vegas is a great opportunity to highlight how much newsroom jobs have changed.

You'll notice the byline: Brent Conklin. Notice the photo credit as well: Brent Conklin. What most of you don't know: Who was the Night Metro Editor? Brent Conklin.

Brent's evening, albeit a bit more hectic than others, really wasn't out of the ordinary anymore. We got the tip on the story late Tuesday afternoon, when our night cop reporter Paradise Afshar was already covering the ceremonial cutting of the metal beam from Ground Zero. Southern Manatee Fire Rescue is transforming the 3,000-pound beam into a 9/11 monument here in Bradenton.

So Brent picked up a reporter's notebook and a camera and headed to Shannon's neighborhood, looking for leads and background information on the suspect. He spent the rest of the night tracking down the story from Manatee and Las Vegas law enforcement officials. He found the online story by the Las Vegas Sun, and called the editors there. He posted the story and photo to Bradenton.com, updating throughout the night. He wrote the 1A story for today's editions, and shared it out to the Sun.

And Brent still was the night editor, editing all the late copy, proofing all the pages and setting up coverage for today.

In his nitenote, Brent humbly wrote:

"Phew. It was a wild night with writing that Shannon story and having to read two stories each from Paradise and Beth, and Lembo’s MANATEE story. Apologies in advance if any typo(s) got through."

And my Bradenton Herald was still on my driveway by at least 5:30 a.m., when I first checked.

Wow.

-- Joan

Did 'Noles get cheated? Watch this video

2010-12-04T11:49:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the Manatee Hurricanes, the top-ranked team in Class 5A, as they beat Palm Bay Bayside 35-32 to secure a date in Fort Lauderdale next week with St. Thomas Aquinas. But what has ended up even more a talker is the Southeast Noles' 28-21 loss to South Fort Myers in the Class 3A-Region 3 championship game.

Our coverage was superb, from John Lembo's detail-packed game story on the 'Canes winning march to the state semifinals, to Alan Dell's deadline story on everyone questioning that last-minute call against Noles' Antonio Ray.

Did he catch the ball for a touchdown? You decide, thanks to this video, courtesy of the Fort Myers News-Press.

Herald's Cookie Exchange starts today

2010-12-01T12:49:00.006-05:00

Get ready to give your sweet tooth a workout.

We launched our yummy Cookie Exchange today, heralding the arrival -- already!! -- of December. You can post your favorite recipe to this searchable database, or find a new one as others share. As of this writing, there are already 23 recipes to peruse.

And if you sign up for our Taste newsletter, you'll get a new recipe every day between now and Christmas.

An added bonus this year: The Herald's own Down-Home Cook Diann Greene will be showcased twice by Publix in Bradenton, demonstrating holiday cookie recipes:
9-11 a.m. Dec. 8 at Beachway Plaza Publix, 7310 Manatee Ave. W.
9-11 a.m. Dec. 15 at Lakewood Ranch Gateway Publix, 1755 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.

Read more in Diann's column today.

Still giving thanks on this holiday weekend

2010-11-28T13:43:00.003-05:00

I'm just returning from a long Thanksgiving weekend up north, where the temps actually dipped to 8 one morning. But the warmth of friends and family made that impossible to believe as we celebrated the holiday. And you know, pulling out the heavy sweaters and mittens only added to the festive spirit. (Sure, it probably helped knowing that mid-70s awaited here in Bradenton, but...)

Before we gear up for end-of-the-month reports, the traffic jams as work on Manatee Avenue drags on (check out this photo gallery by Grant Jefferies), and a full week after that blessed holiday break, there's still plenty of time to revel in the joys of Thanksgiving.

As features writer Wade Tatangelo reflects in his column today, being home for the holidays -- whether it's immediate or extended family, new or old friends -- is an unparalleled joy. And if you didn't make it home -- especially for the men and women serving our country overseas -- thoughts and prayers of thanks were sent to embrace you.

-- Joan

Free tickets to check out Harry Potter

2010-11-21T10:46:00.006-05:00

What does Draco Malfoy name his son?

The trivia question was posted yesterday on Bradenton Herald's Facebook, and Will Hefner was the first to list the right answer (Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy). He scored himself two Carmike Cinemas tickets for the latest movie craze, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Every day this week, we'll be posting a Potter trivia question. And usually the first Facebook pal to answer correctly will win another deuce of tickets. "Like us" on Facebook, get the right answer and you might find yourself with a date to the theater.

What's in the stars for you today

2010-11-12T20:35:00.002-05:00

We noticed that many of our viewers are searching for 'horoscope' -- yes, we study those SEO lists religiously.

But we didn't make it easy for you to find. Now, thanks to Bradenton.com Web Developer William Winter, you can click to our daily horoscope page from the home page's dropdown menu, or from Bradenton.com/horoscope.

A glance back at Friday: I should have read mine way sooner!

-- Joan

Salute our Veterans with photos, tributes

2010-11-09T11:24:00.004-05:00

A friend recently sent me a must-read opinion piece about the defeat of U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, the Wisconsin Democrat who often was labeled the Senate's conscience for the past 17 years.

Whether you agree or not isn't why I point you there. The column launches by taking you back to the days after 9-11, when patriotism was fierce throughout America.

Bring yourself back, if you can bear it, to October, 2001. Remember flags ubiquitous, tears irrepressible. There were a good many of us who declared at the time that we were afraid not only of the threat of violence from abroad but also of the domestic danger that our liberties would be revoked in the name of security.

I thought again about this as I read our 1A tease today for Veterans Day events. The list is long, but the patriotic trumpets don't sound as loud. We hope our advance stories stir more reverence for all our veterans. We've launched a photo tribute page here at www.bradenton.com/veteransphotos. And on Thursday, your Bradenton Herald will include a full-page American Flag for your windows and bulletin boards.
A salute to veterans like Hurb Thompson, who took the story behind his Purple Heart to Braden River middle-schoolers yesterday.
Photo by Grant Jefferies

What a sweet treat for our fans

2010-10-29T04:13:00.005-04:00

We've had fun picking among our Facebook fans for Hunsader tickets these past few weeks. But none has been sweeter than our grand prize winner, Lucille Skidmore.

And in today's story, columnist Vin Mannix talks to Skidmore, who knows how much her autistic grandson Jacob Shahinian will enjoy himself at the Hunsader Farm Family Pumpkin Festival.

“Walking through the maze, playing in the bounce house, sitting in the pumpkin patch with his sisters, he loved all of it,” Skidmore said. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we go back.”

That will be this weekend — a fourth birthday present for Jacob and his 14-year-old sisters, twins Samantha and Savannah.

Sweet treat. Congratulations to all of our winners.

Early voting proves to be plenty patriotic

2010-10-27T12:47:00.008-04:00

I voted today, joining the ranks of early voters for the first time. And it was, surprisingly, just as rewarding as voting on Election Day.For some reason, I hadn't expected that feeling of good ol' patriotic pride that comes with walking into the polling place on the first Tuesday of November each year.

But the line was actually longer today at the Supervisors of Elections office than it typically is at my neighborhood church/polling place.

The glut of campaign signs, the banter of the latest opinions surrounding various races and the earnestness of the elections workers provided quite a lift. It felt a lot more significant than the state Legislature's dry definition of early voting: "casting a ballot prior to election day at a location designated by the supervisor of elections and depositing the voted ballot in the tabulation system."

Manatee Supervisor of Elections Bob Sweat says the line has been steady all week. As of day's end Tuesday, 5,690 of the county's 202,710 registered voters had cast their ballots. Early voting continues 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday & Friday; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday. More details can be found on the supervisor of elections site.

We all left today emblazoned with "I Voted" stickers. We just have to wait a bit longer to see if our choices prevail.

-- Joan

Going pink: Manatee makes time to care

2010-10-24T09:24:00.007-04:00

Throughout October, Manatee County residents have been raising awareness of the toll that breast cancer takes on women -- and men. In the Herald's coverage today , you'll see the statistic: More than 240,000 women and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the United States. And 12,000 of those live in Florida.

At least that many men, women and children walked somewhere in Manatee County over the weekend to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization.
I think we all know someone who has been stricken with cancer. Many of us have had at least a scare. What better reason to take that sticky note on the front of today's paper and get a free cancer screening if you haven't already? And read through the stories we recently published in "Pink," a special section dedicated to breast cancer awareness.

Take time to care.

Journalism Next: working with our future

2010-10-19T10:46:00.004-04:00

We're constantly being asked about the future of journalism -- newspapers in particular. One of the best ways to help define that answer is to work with the next generation of journalists.

The Bradenton Herald has renewed that effort this school year, working with students at every high school in Manatee County. The project, Journalism Next, is being led by Presentation Editor Jennifer Conklin. Leading the way among our high schools is Manatee High, which has published the student newspaper The Macohi for almost a century.

The Macohi and the students are lucky to have Erica Weiffenbach as their Macohi adviser. She met with me last year to brainstorm on applying for the Student/Newspaper Partnership Grant from the Newspaper Association of America Foundation -- a prestigious nod to only four high schools each year across the nation.

Well, she won the grant. With that brings $5,000 in funding and a yearlong commitment to working with the Herald as the area's local daily newspaper, as Jennifer wrote in her story here Sunday. Newsroom staffers meet at least once a month with Macohi students, helping them edit stories and produce the student newspaper.

On Monday, we launched the Journalism Next series in print -- weekly stories written by local high school students about something relevant in their world. Our first entry was reported and written by Manatee High student Jaina Patel, who showcased a new program by the University of South Florida that encourages high school freshmen to build a path to college.

We'll be building a section on Bradenton.com soon. Please send your ideas -- and students, if you want to get involved, let us know!

-- Joan

For Ringling: returning byline & our own dancer

2010-10-14T11:34:00.014-04:00

A byline from years past has rejoined the Bradenton Herald, and he couldn't have picked a better week.

Wade Tatangelo is our new features writer/columnist, joining us just in time to cover the Ringling International Arts Festival. In his opening 1A story today, Wade took us to opening night of "Southwest Florida’s most highly anticipated arts event."

Wade almost begged to review the world premiere of Florida's own Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz's “Hurricane,” staged Wednesday night at the Historic Asolo Theatre. He interviewed Cruz as well, who describes the play as an examination of the displacement of the soul.

Another noteworthy insight into a Herald staffer: Photojournalist Tiffany Tompkins-Condie was a classic ballet dancer in her life before newspapers. And while she is a truly gifted photographer, she also has a wonderful way with words. So she combined all those diverse skills to provide us with an authoritative review of the festival's main attraction, dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov performing with contemporary artist David Neumann.

Coming Friday: the inside scoop on Bonnie and Clyde. You also can follow Wade on his blog, Buzz Worthy.

-- Joan

True, half true or on fire? Check out PolitiFact

2010-10-10T18:20:00.004-04:00

"Did you just hear that political commercial? Are his pants on fire, or what?"

Welcome to PolitiFact. With elections just three weeks away, PolitiFact Florida, the fact-checking website that’s a joint project of the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald, has made all of their copy available to the Bradenton Herald's print editions as a public service.

PolitiFact Editor John "J.Bart" Bartosek has been sending us these self-described "thoroughly reported, well-sourced and smartly written Truth-O-Meter items" each day. The claims are then rated by the Truth-O-Meter – True, Mostly True, Half True, Barely True and False. The most ridiculous falsehoods get the lowest rating, Pants on Fire.

On Bradenton.com/politics, we also have posted a widget linking to the ratings and updated items each day.

Here's the explainer on PolitiFact Florida, courtesy of St. Pete and Miami:

PolitiFact Florida is a partnership of the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald to help you find the truth in politics.

Every day, reporters and researchers from the Times and the Herald examine statements by Florida elected officials and candidates and anyone else who speaks up on matters of public importance. We research their statements and then rate the accuracy on our Truth-O-Meter.

In Sunday's editions, the Herald published PolitiFact's examination of the GOP's latest ad against Alex Sink, which states “Newspapers say Florida made bad investments, lost hundreds of millions of dollars, billions in pension funds lost. Who was in charge of Florida’s investments? Alex Sink.”

The Truth-O-Meter ranks it "Half True." See Page 13A of the Herald, or check it out at the PolitiFact site.

'Like' us -- you might win free movie tickets

2010-10-05T16:13:00.005-04:00

Our 1,000th fan has arrived on Bradenton Herald's Facebook. That's a minuscule milestone when you consider that Facebook's homepage has 20,696,049 fans as of this writing.

But we've had some fun getting the most recent fans to sign on, offering a chance to win free movie tickets.

To coincide with the release of "The Social Network" -- the Facebook movie -- the Bradenton Herald/Bradenton.com each day through Oct. 15 is giving away two pairs of Carmike Cinema tickets to two of our Facebook users who "like" the Bradenton Herald. Metro Editor Marc Masferrer and Community Relations Manager Jill McGarry are doing the contest's heavy lifting, coordinating the daily picks and contacting the winners.

Current and new "fans" are eligible. You can find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BradentonHeraldNews.

No purchase is necessary. Winners will be contacted via Facebook daily. You can pick up the tickets at the Bradenton Herald, 102 Manatee Ave. W., or we'll mail them to you.

So if you haven't signed on, like us and get a chance to a free visit to the silver screens. And you'll then be linked into our top-of-the-news picks every day.

-- Joan

Bradenton.com changes commenting service

2010-09-29T07:49:00.006-04:00

Dear Bradenton.com commenters,

We're introducing a new article-commenting service today called Disqus. That's pronounced “discuss,” and it offers new ways to watch, follow and share comments — and, according to the provider, promotes greater accountability among contributors to boost the quality of comments. You'll find the new commenting style on all stories created after 10 a.m. today.

Like any change, it will take some getting used to. But the basics remain the same. If you're already registered, your existing login should still work. But you can also use Facebook and Twitter logins to access the comments. You'll have to reintroduce your avatar. For more details, here's a full Q&A we published today.

The old comments were posted through a service called Pluck. For the next week, you'll be able to view those comments. Starting next Thursday, those comments will be retired and no longer on our site.

Problems with the new system, or want to share feedback? Please e-mail the web team (and I'll see those e-mails) at webdesk@bradenton.com.

Let's keep talking!

-- Joan

Palmetto fight video ignites community debate

2010-09-26T00:18:00.005-04:00

Do we or don't we post the video?

That was the debate in the newsroom last week as a quick scan of the web -- and YouTube in particular -- surfaced videos of two 16-year-old girls fist-fighting in that vacant Palmetto lot and one of their mothers urging her daughter on.

We decided to provide the link, as long as it was available on YouTube. We did not put a download of the video on Bradenton.com, because we didn't film it ourselves. But that video is very much a part of the news story.

As reporters Beth Burger and Paradise Afshar outlined in their story today, the videos shot by some of the almost 100 teens watching that fight have catapulted the incident into an international news story.

Neither girl was apparently seriously injured, which the Herald editors also discussed before posting the video.

One of the girls' mother, April Newcomb, has been charged with child abuse. Her attorney acknowledges that the video catapulted this case into high drama.

From today's story:

“The actions of a high school student getting into a fight is not necessarily news. That’s been happening for years,” said Newcomb’s defense attorney, Kevin Hayslett, of Clearwater.

“Part of the snowball effect of this story is that it was beamed around the world within 24 hours,” he said. “Had it not been for the power of the Internet, this would have been a fight the kids talked about at school, but would not have had any lasting consequence for the participants or spectators.”

The Herald will continue to push for community conversation on this case. As columnist Vin Mannix notes in his column today, we're lucky no one was killed in this fiasco.

-- Joan

Calling us for the rest of the story

2010-09-22T11:26:00.005-04:00

The top call this morning: Our readers were rightfully irritated by a story in the Bradenton Herald that abruptly ended mid-sentence.

The story: Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. "Dick" Etchberger's courage, posthumously recognized 42 years later. President Barack Obama on Tuesday posthumously recognized Etchberger for service "beyond the call of duty" by giving him the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor. Obama said those three words can now be etched into a granite monument to Etchberger's memory at Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana.

You can read the complete story here. For those who wanted a hard copy, I've promised to mail them a printout.

AP Photo - President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor posthumously to the sons of Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger, right to left, Richard Etchberger Corey Etchberger, and Steve Wilson during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Our Manatee Beaches -- a lasting tribute

2010-09-14T15:14:00.003-04:00

This e-mailer sent words to live by this morning:

Dear Mr. or Ms Jefferies,

I have never written before but felt compelled to write you regarding the photos in today's Bradenton.com website. I moved to Bradenton 11 years ago. I always thought that if I moved close to a beach that I would visit that beach as often as possible. Alas, due to work, family, etc., I find myself lacking in "me" time. After viewing your beautiful photos of Holmes Beach, I will be visiting the beach more often!

Thank you for the excellent photography!! I wish you much success in your career!

Sincerely,

Hazel F. Griggs

This week marks the final gallery entry to "Our Manatee Beaches", Bradenton.com's special summer project that was spurred by the fear of oil on our beaches. The pages and galleries have been extremely popular with our viewers -- we set new daily records for online visitors with each one.

As Ms. Griggs recognized, photojournalist Grant Jefferies took ownership of this project, producing stunning galleries for the past three months. As a result, "Our Manatee Beaches" provides beautiful insight into Manatee County's natural resources. We plan to keep these live for plenty of viewing in the future. Thanks to all of you who added photos, viewed Grant's work, and sent them to friends via e-mail and Facebook.

-- Joan

Never forget: 9/11 is our history

2010-09-11T10:24:00.008-04:00

"... can you believe nine years since 9/11?"

In that simple e-mail, my friend captured the moment. "9/11" is a noun, an event, a day that shook us and changed us. How can we forget? Because we're human. And time heals. Or helps pain fade. Or just makes us numb.

The words "Never Forget" still reverberated through the memorials and observances that laced yesterday and today. But the crowds have thinned; the tears brush away more quickly; the shock of seeing a plane smash into a building has eased into history.

In our coverage of the "Tribute to Heroes" events, columnist/reporter Vin Mannix found many voices determined to honor the memories of those lost on 9/11, and their faces of resolve were captured in these photographs by Grant Jefferies and Paul Videla.

They need our help. Each of us needs to take a long moment today and remember -- and then resolve to hold our neighbor's hand, help someone in need, make a plan for tomorow. Nine years ago, we clung to that ability as we tried to make sense of the senseless. Time heals. Let's just not forget.

-- Joan

Speaking of tweets...

2010-09-08T09:44:00.006-04:00

Odds are that tweeting will eventually morph into some other social media fad. But Twitter has continued to grow since it was introduced in 2006, and those 140-character texts are often the first tease to breaking news.

The Bradenton Herald is using several Twitter feeds, including Sports' new Twitter feed, @bradenton designed to bring followers the latest breaking sports headlines and links to other coverage.

Taking feeds from sports writers and sports fans alike, News Editor Jason Bartolone (jbartolone@bradenton.com) and other editors are posting interesting local sports tidbits –- from prep sports, Marauders, IMG, local golf, and more. Jason's key focus for tweets: live events, especially Friday Night Football.

You also can follow news headlines @bradentonherald and entertainment headlines @accentbradenton .

All tweets and our Facebook at www.facebook.com/BradentonHeraldNews eventually lead you to Bradenton.com. And that, dear readers, takes you full circle, 24-7, from our beloved print edition every day.

-- Joan