Today's News

Summer work begins early in the morning for the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) students at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. Before the sun makes it over the long leaf pines in the forest, the ice is already in the cooler. Equipment for the day’s work is loaded into the truck along with other essentials, but nothing that would attract bats.

The Cape San Blas lighthouse, located 12-miles south of the city of Port St. Joe on the south point of the St. Joseph Peninsula, is no stranger to the effects of erosion. First lighted in 1849, the lighthouse fell down during a gale in 1851. The light was rebuilt in 1856 but destroyed two months later.

Property values are up a smidgen this year, so the Levy County Commission will be giving property owners a break, tentatively dropping the millage from last year’s 8.3307 to 8.2741 mills.

The unanimous action by the commissioners came at the end of a budget workshop on Tuesday, said County Coordinator Fred Moody. Property taxes are just one part of the budget picture with grants, fees, penalties and interest on due bills and assessments also being collected. The preliminary county budget is estimated to have $61,953,536 in revenue in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The third event of the Team SeaTow Elite Redfish Challenge 2014, organized by Capt'n Danny Allen,  is in Cedar Key this weekend. The event is expected to bring in a large number of anglers and their boats from around the state.
Allen, the Cedar Key Beacon's fishing columnist, is holding the event for the second time. The final event in the series will be Aug. 23 in Steinhatchee. Events have already been held at Steinhatchee and Homosassa.