Last week all we had was a meeting summary.

Now a reported story from the Tampa Bay Beacons says the same thing, so here it is in plain English.

Less office park, more places you'd actually drive to on a Tuesday night.

The kinds of tenants on the plan: a grocery store, retail, a bank, automotive, medical, fast food, a coffee shop, and a gas station.

No names.

Anybody in a Facebook group telling you which grocery store is guessing.

The Crosswind Point neighbors got two real wins out of this: the tower is out, and there's a buffer.

Commission Chair Tal Siddique, on the record: "You're preserving the look and feel of Parrish."

Our take: a grocery store at 62 and 301 means the north end stops driving down to Moccasin Wallow for a gallon of milk, and that beats 83,000 square feet of offices nobody asked for.

What we don't know yet: when the dirt moves.

No construction date has been published.

Story: Tampa Bay Beacons, Sept 21 · Meeting summary: Citizen Portal

Last week we said we'd print the result.

Here's the honest result: there isn't one yet.

You may have seen a headline that said the county "issued a one-year ban."

The county's own release says September 22 was the first hearing, and adoption comes October 6.

We're going with the county's words.

If it passes, county staff get a year to write the rules on these buildings before anyone can file for one.

Here's what did pass at the same meeting.

A ban on simulated-gambling machines that aren't legal under Florida law, in unincorporated areas.

About 1,462 acres of ranchland protected through state easements, with the county's share capped at $2 million.

Up to $75 million in bond financing for 1,249 affordable apartments, and the county says no county tax dollars go into it.

Duette Preserve hunters: registration moves online next year, and the hunt has sold out ten years running.

Our take: circle Tuesday, October 6, because it's the data-center vote and the day the new ER on 301 opens.

Source: Manatee County, Sept 22 board actions

Harrison Ranch Blvd at US-301: the Manatee ER at Harrison Ranch opens to patients Tuesday, October 6, per the hospital's ribbon-cutting announcement.

Manatee Memorial's own page still says "Fall 2026," so call (941) 746-5111 before you count on it.

Once it's open, Parrish has two 24-hour freestanding ERs: this one, and HCA Florida North River Ranch on Little River Way, which turns one this Saturday (party's in The Weekend).

Manatee ER at Harrison Ranch · WWSB, Sept 26

Moccasin Wallow Rd, Segment 2: the promise was "September 2026."

Today is September 29.

The last post on the project's alerts page was the Labor Day notice on September 2.

One day left, no word.

Project alerts

SR 62 at US-301: 174,000 square feet of stores, no tower (story above).

A community garden, somewhere in Parrish: County Parks and UF/IFAS Extension will show renderings at the Parrish Civic Association meeting, Tuesday, October 13, 6:30 p.m., in the media center at Parrish Community High, 7505 Fort Hamer Rd.

It's open to the public, and they want to hear what features you'd use.

Which park, how big, and what it costs haven't been published, which is the whole point of the meeting.

Pulse of Manatee

ADVERTISEMENT

This space is reserved for the businesses, events, and organizations that make Parrish feel like home.

Sponsor spot — available now.

The Parrish Express lands in local inboxes every week. Want the whole town to meet your business? Get featured →

For once, Saturday morning is stacked in town.

Two stops ten minutes apart, then a free plant festival Sunday.

The Fall Charity Market for the Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 4800 Foxbrook Trail, Parrish.

It's inside the Foxbrook neighborhood off SR 675, about 10 minutes.

Don't drive to the shelter in Myakka City.

About 46 vendors: jewelry, tumblers, soap, jams, sourdough, wood cutting boards, and 3D-printed stuff.

Food trucks, a big raffle table, a 50/50, and adoptable dogs you can meet.

Organizer Heather Abruzzino picks a different local nonprofit every year, and this is year six.

Admission and parking aren't posted anywhere we could find.

Bring cash for the raffle.

Our take: hit this at 9, then the ER birthday party at 10:30, and you're home before lunch.

Story: WWSB, Sept 23 · The shelter: Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch

HCA Florida North River Ranch Emergency turns one with a community birthday, 10 a.m. to noon, 12145 Little River Way, Parrish, about 10 minutes.

Free: a Teddy Bear Clinic, games, birthday cake, and free teddy bears while they last.

A kid who's been inside the ER for cake on a good Saturday walks in calmer on a bad one.

It's still a working ER, so leave the ambulance lane alone when you park.

Details: Pulse of Manatee calendar · The ER: HCA Florida North River Ranch

The Palma Sola Botanical Park Fall Plant & Garden Festival runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 9800 17th Ave NW, Bradenton, about 35 minutes.

Free admission, donations welcome.

A big plant sale, artisans, live music, and food.

Our take: the serious plant people show up at 10, so if you want the weird tropical stuff, so should you.

Details: Fall Plant & Garden Festival

Friday, October 2, is the free Chuckleheads improv night at Parrish Community Park, 7550 Fort Hamer Rd, 6:30 p.m., and you bring the chairs. Pulse of Manatee

The Bradenton Public Market opens its season Saturday, 9 to 2, on Old Main Street (12th St W), about 25 minutes. Pulse of Manatee calendar

9800 17th Ave NW, Bradenton. (941) 761-2866.

About 35 minutes, out toward the beaches on the west side of Bradenton.

Free admission, donations requested.

Open 8 a.m. to dusk every day.

The catch, and it's a real one: the park often closes on weekends for weddings and private events.

Check their park calendar before you load the car.

It's 10 frost-free acres, and the Rare Fruit Trail has dragon fruit, jackfruit, lychee, and more than 25 other kinds of fruit trees.

There's a monthly art show in the Galleria building.

The Hidden Garden Nursery opens Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9 to noon, October through May, so it opens for the season this week.

It's a nonprofit with no government money, so the donation box pays the bills.

Our take: do the festival Sunday, then come back on a quiet Tuesday morning when the nursery's open and you can actually see the trail.

What the website doesn't say: dogs, restrooms, or parking.

Call.

Hours and rules: Visit Palma Sola

1525 51st Ave E, Ellenton. (941) 721-7773.

Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 to 10.

About 12 minutes, down 301 to where it meets I-75.

Not Parrish, we know.

It is 12 minutes, and the back deck looks out over real Florida water, not a retention pond.

It's been open since 2003, which makes it older than most of the rooftops in North River Ranch.

Dogs are allowed on the outdoor seating.

There's a full bar, a semi-private room for a birthday crowd, and they take big tables.

The AMOB app has rewards and daily deals, and you can order online for pickup.

Our take: sit outside, because seafood facing the water with the dog under the table is the reason to drive to Ellenton instead of eating on 301.

Got a go-to order there?

Reply and tell us, and the best one gets printed.

Location and hours: Anna Maria Oyster Bar, Ellenton

Florida Railroad Museum, 12210 83rd St E, Parrish. (941) 776-0906.

Ticket office Wednesday through Sunday, 10 to 4, and parking is free.

About 15 minutes from the Moccasin Wallow light.

Plenty of people who moved here in the last few years have driven past the sign and never pulled in.

October is the month to fix that, because the museum runs the Pumpkin Patch Express.

It's a 2.5-hour trip.

The train rolls out to a patch with hay rides, arts and crafts, Lincoln Log building, and games.

Every kid picks one pumpkin to take home.

One, and they put that in writing.

Food and drinks are for sale on board and at the patch.

The seats, from fanciest down:

The rules that trip up first-timers:

Dates and prices live on the booking page, not the museum's main page, and we couldn't read them this morning.

Listing sites point to mid-October.

Check the booking page before you promise anybody a pumpkin.

Our take: book the open-window Excursion car, because October air through a train window is the whole point.

Details and booking: Pumpkin Patch Express

Neutered male, brown tiger and white domestic shorthair, about 7 years old, about 13 pounds.

ID A095875, kennel DT 5.

He came in July 30.

That's 61 days, the longest wait of any cat on the county's list this morning.

Here's why that number matters.

The county waives the adoption fee once an animal passes 60 days, and Buddy passed it yesterday.

Email [email protected] with his ID to confirm the fee and that he's still there before you drive.

If the waiver hasn't kicked in, today is Half-Price Tuesday.

The $20 county license is on top either way.

Thirteen pounds of grown-up cat means no curtain-climbing phase.

He skipped straight to the good part.

Where he is: Cat Town Adoption Center, 216 6th Ave E, Bradenton, about 25 minutes.

Walk in, 10 to 4, every day.

Also still waiting at Cat Town: Jimmy, the brown tabby and white cat we featured September 15, ID A138856.

Two cats, one trip.

See him: Buddy on 24Petconnect · Jimmy on 24Petconnect · Fees and hours: Adopt a Pet, Manatee County

Next Tuesday the new ER opens and the data-center vote happens, and somewhere a guy with a clipboard is still deciding which grocery store we get on 62.

Until next week — stay gritty, stay healthy, and keep Parrish strong. — Greg.