Two weeks. That's all that's left of summer break. 🎒

Manatee County kids head back Monday, August 10.

And this year, Parrish gets its own brand-new school — Rye Ranch Elementary on Rutland Rd. 🏫

A new school means new boundary lines.

Some kids who rode to one school last year ride somewhere else now.

📍Check your child's assignment and bus stop before the first bell, not the night before.

The car line on day one is going to be a scene.

Pack your patience.

Here's one worth watching if you live out toward Rye. 👀

KB Home wants 131 houses on 51 acres near Rye Rd and Waterline.

They already trimmed it from 180 homes to 131, pushed open space to 63%, and added an 8-foot fence on the south line.

The county's own planning board still said no.

Now it goes to the seven commissioners — the board's next land use hearing is Thursday, August 6 at 9:00 AM in the Patricia M. Glass Chambers. 🏛️ Check the agenda before you drive down →

The fight isn't really about the houses.

It's about Rye Rd — two lanes, already busy, and folks say there's nowhere for the traffic to go. 🚗

If you've got an opinion, this is the window to show up and use it. 🗣️

The 48-acre plaza has four signed leases.

One is a grocery store, about 48,000 square feet.

Nobody will say which chain yet.

Publix? Aldi? Sprouts? Your guess is as good as mine.

That's the question everybody in the post office line is asking.

Word is a second Texas Roadhouse for the county is planned here.

Also on the list: Glory Days Grill, Slim Chickens, and a Wendy's. 🍔

Nothing's serving yet.

But the dirt is moving. 🚧

The last steel beam went up on July 10 — they officially topped it out. 🏗️

Six floors, 154 beds, a $560+ million investment, and a new healthcare hub coming in 2028. 🚧✨ The topping-out story →

Real hospital beds on this side of the river, with a NICU. That one matters.

They broke ground June 18, and phase one is under construction now. 🚧

It runs from Waterline Rd near the water plant north toward SR-62, eventually tying Palmetto to Parrish. 🚲

A real off-road path to walk and bike, finally. 🌳County announcement →

📅 Date: Wednesday nights (July 29, Aug 5)

📍 Location: Poppo's Taqueria, North River Ranch, Parrish

Cost: Taco and margarita specials; pay as you go

Details: North River Ranch events calendar →

A standing midweek deal out at North River Ranch. 🍹

Poppo's runs taco and margarita specials on Wednesday nights. 🌮

Check the North River Ranch calendar for this week's hours before you roll out.

📍 Location: 10824 Erie Rd, Parrish • 941-776-0501

What they do: A Florida-native plant nursery — butterfly plants, wildflowers, shrubs, trees, ferns, and grasses.

Hours: Tue–Fri 9–4, Sat 9–2. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Why we love them: Twenty years growing the plants that actually belong in this dirt. 🌿sweetbaynursery.com →

Tucked off Erie Rd, Sweet Bay has been at this for two decades.

They grow Florida natives — the stuff that grew here before the subdivisions did.

Why does that matter? Native plants drink less water and pull in butterflies and birds. 🦋

Less time dragging a hose. More cardinals on the fence.

Skip the big-box garden center for a weekend.

Tell them which corner of your yard is fighting you, and let them point you to a plant that wins.

📍 Location: 12060 US-301 N, Parrish (inside the 7-Eleven) • 941-803-6245

Hours: 24 hours a day

Good to know: Flour tortillas pressed in-house and a real salsa bar.🌶️Store page →

Yes, it's inside the 7-Eleven. Hear me out.

Laredo presses its flour tortillas fresh, and you can taste the difference.

The move is the carnitas, tucked in one of those warm tortillas, then loaded up at the salsa bar.

Breakfast tacos before the morning rush hit the spot too.

It's open 24 hours, so the midnight taco run is officially back on.

Don't overthink the chicken. Stick with the pork and let the tortilla do the rest.

📍 Location: 7550 69th St E, Palmetto — about 15 minutes from downtown Parrish

🕒 Hours: Sunrise to sunset

Cost: Free

Good for: A 0.75-mile paved loop, playgrounds, ball fields, basketball courts, a rentable pavilion, and real restrooms. 🌿

When Fort Hamer starts feeling like the only park in the world, drive fifteen minutes to Buffalo Creek.

Forty-two acres right next to Buffalo Creek Middle School in Palmetto.

A three-quarter-mile paved loop, room for the kids to run, and enough ball fields that somebody's always got a game going.

Go early or go near sunset — the middle of a July day is for the pool, not the trail.

Bring your own water. The shade out there is thinner than you'd like.

📜 The Man the Town Is Named After

Ever wonder who "Parrish" was?

His name was Crawford Parrish.

A cattle rancher and orange farmer from Georgia.

Back in 1868, he bought land out here from a man named William Iredell Turner.

Only this wasn't Parrish yet. Folks called it Oak Hill.

Crawford and his family worked it — cattle, citrus, the hard Florida kind of farming.

Then the railroad came looking for a route.

Crawford's son, John Parrish, gave the railroad land for a depot.

He asked one thing in return: name the stop after his father.

So the Oak Hill depot became the Parrish stop.

That depot pulled in packing houses, a general store, doctors — a town.

The name stuck. It's still on the welcome sign today.

One small wink from the guy writing this: the founder's first name was Crawford.

The fella running your newsletter? Also a Crawford.

No relation that I know of. But I'll take the coincidence. 🙂

🐱 Meet TUCK

Shelter: Manatee County Animal Welfare, 305 25th St W, Palmetto

ID & Age: A133403 • about 3½ years old, male, neutered

The story: A mostly-white shorthair cat who's been waiting since winter.

First cat we've run in a long while — and he earned the spot.

TUCK is a mostly-white shorthair, about three and a half, already neutered.

Here's the part that gets me: he's been at the shelter more than seven months.

Seven months of watching people walk past for the puppies.

He's calm, he's past the kitten chaos, and he just wants a windowsill and a warm lap.

If the house has felt too quiet lately, TUCK's your guy.

📞 Call the shelter at 941-742-5933 and ask for A133403.

TUCK's listing (shelter photo) → • All adoptable pets →