The Nature Coast, north central Florida and the statewide decisions, storms and agencies that reach this shore.https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/en-usMon, 21 Sep 2026 11:35:59 GMTeditor@cedarkeybeacon.com (Florida & Cedar Key News)editor@cedarkeybeacon.com (Florida & Cedar Key News)Copyright 2026 Florida & Cedar Key News60https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/old-lightning-advice-is-out-here-s-what-actually-keeps-you-safe-on/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/old-lightning-advice-is-out-here-s-what-actually-keeps-you-safe-on/Updated meteorological guidance drops the 'lightning crouch' and sharpens the 30-30 rule, with real stakes for anyone working the water or the docks during Florida's afternoon storm season.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:35:59 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/tropical-storm-fay-forms-far-from-florida-as-2026-hurricane-season/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/tropical-storm-fay-forms-far-from-florida-as-2026-hurricane-season/The Atlantic's sixth named storm poses no threat to the Gulf Coast, but forecasters say the unusually inactive season is not over yet.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:35:37 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/screwworm-case-in-texas-horse-puts-nature-coast-livestock-owners-on/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/screwworm-case-in-texas-horse-puts-nature-coast-livestock-owners-on/A flesh-eating parasite not seen in a U.S. horse since the 1960s has surfaced in Texas, and state agriculture officials say Florida's climate could support it if it arrives.Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:36:35 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/bear-hunt-returns-to-ocala-forest-as-sierra-club-urges-lottery/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/bear-hunt-returns-to-ocala-forest-as-sierra-club-urges-lottery/Florida's 2026 black bear hunt applications are open, with Marion County's Ocala National Forest again at the center of a fight over lethal management that has echoes for wildlife policy statewide.Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:36:10 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/cold-front-to-cut-humidity-on-nature-coast-midweek-winds-and-seas-to/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/cold-front-to-cut-humidity-on-nature-coast-midweek-winds-and-seas-to/A mid-week cold front promises drier air and cooler mornings for the Big Bend, but forecasters warn of gusty winds and building seas before it arrives.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:36:07 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/bear-hunt-permit-lottery-reopens-as-fwc-enters-second-year-of-three/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/bear-hunt-permit-lottery-reopens-as-fwc-enters-second-year-of-three/Applications for Florida's black bear hunt lottery are open through Sept. 21, reviving a fight over conservation, cruelty and who gets a say in wildlife policy across the state, including bear country near the Nature Coast.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:35:35 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/gainesville-airport-s-9-11-named-k-9-retires-after-8-years-on-the-job/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/gainesville-airport-s-9-11-named-k-9-retires-after-8-years-on-the-job/Explosives-detection dog Beamer, named for Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer, hangs up her leash at Gainesville Regional Airport, a hub many Levy County travelers use.Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:36:08 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-threat-to-nature-coast-as-nhc-watches-distant-atlantic-system/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-threat-to-nature-coast-as-nhc-watches-distant-atlantic-system/Forecasters give a central Atlantic disturbance low odds of development, and even if it grows into Fay, steering patterns point it away from Florida.Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:35:34 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-hurricanes-yet-as-atlantic-season-hits-its-peak-but-cedar-key-s/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-hurricanes-yet-as-atlantic-season-hits-its-peak-but-cedar-key-s/A strengthening El Niño has kept storms from strengthening into hurricanes this year, but forecasters and this coast's own history say the quiet won't last through the season.Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:35:50 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-executes-hog-trail-killer-as-state-s-2026-execution-pace/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-executes-hog-trail-killer-as-state-s-2026-execution-pace/Daniel Conahan Jr.'s death by lethal injection marks the 15th Florida execution this year, part of a statewide pace that outstrips the record set in 2025.Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:35:34 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/new-state-law-requires-yearly-autism-training-for-teachers-including/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/new-state-law-requires-yearly-autism-training-for-teachers-including/House Bill 851 mandates autism-specific training for every Florida school district each year; a UF-Alachua County partnership offers one model for how districts might meet it.Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:36:09 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/state-university-board-bars-undocumented-students-with-uf-among-the/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/state-university-board-bars-undocumented-students-with-uf-among-the/A unanimous vote by Florida's university governing board will close enrollment to undocumented students starting in 2027-2028, a rule that reaches the University of Florida, the closest public university for many Levy County students.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:36:05 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-students-lightning-safety-project-wins-national-award-with-lessons/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-students-lightning-safety-project-wins-national-award-with-lessons/A University of Florida class project on lightning, the top cause of weather deaths in the state, took a national student journalism prize; a companion project on ecotourism's limits placed as runner-up.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:35:44 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/labor-day-forecast-flash-flood-risk-and-heat-advisory-reach-north/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/labor-day-forecast-flash-flood-risk-and-heat-advisory-reach-north/A Level 1 flash-flood risk, saturated ground and a Saturday Heat Advisory will shape outdoor plans across the Nature Coast through Labor Day.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:56:02 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-again-leads-u-s-in-lightning-deaths-with-fatality-data/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-again-leads-u-s-in-lightning-deaths-with-fatality-data/New NWS figures showing five Florida lightning deaths this year carry direct weight for boaters, anglers and beachgoers along Cedar Key and the Nature Coast.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:55:41 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/shark-science-segment-tracks-atlantic-hot-spot-but-the-numbers-behind/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/shark-science-segment-tracks-atlantic-hot-spot-but-the-numbers-behind/A WUFT weather report on Florida's 'shark bite capital' focuses on the Atlantic coast, but the conservation math behind it applies to sharks in Nature Coast waters as well.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:55:05 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/gainesville-family-s-ice-detention-and-a-new-police-order-test-how/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/gainesville-family-s-ice-detention-and-a-new-police-order-test-how/A Venezuelan mother and son released after two weeks in a Texas detention center highlight a rising arrest rate and a Gainesville Police order that could shape how officers across north central Florida handle immigration status.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:54:35 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/state-university-board-drafts-campus-safety-rule-tightens-admissions/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/state-university-board-drafts-campus-safety-rule-tightens-admissions/A new Board of Governors regulation reaching every Florida public university, including UF, will set safety and enrollment rules that touch Levy County students long before any campus incident occurs.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:38:12 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/seagrass-beds-sea-grant-touts-statewide-are-the-same-grass-flats/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/seagrass-beds-sea-grant-touts-statewide-are-the-same-grass-flats/A University of Florida Sea Grant post on seagrass ecology doesn't mention Cedar Key by name, but the fisheries and monitoring program it describes run straight through the Nature Coast's grass flats.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 11:41:51 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-sea-grant-highlights-seagrass-science-that-underpins-cedar/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-sea-grant-highlights-seagrass-science-that-underpins-cedar/A new Florida Sea Grant post on statewide seagrass habitat and its citizen-science monitoring program points to the underwater meadows that sustain Cedar Key's fisheries and scalloping.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:39:04 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-sea-grant-remembers-communications-leader-whose-work-touched/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/florida-sea-grant-remembers-communications-leader-whose-work-touched/Dorothy L. Zimmerman helped translate the science behind oyster collapses, algal blooms and seafood safety rules that shaped programs still used along the Nature Coast.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:38:35 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/two-cross-city-men-die-in-crash-with-semi-north-of-bell/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/two-cross-city-men-die-in-crash-with-semi-north-of-bell/A Florida Highway Patrol report says a sedan failed to yield at a stop sign on CR 340, sending the crash into the path of a northbound tractor-trailer on US 129.Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:37:46 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-launches-atlantic-red-snapper-tagging-study-but-it-s-not-the-gulf/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-launches-atlantic-red-snapper-tagging-study-but-it-s-not-the-gulf/A new University of Florida tagging project offers a $250 reward for reported catches, but it targets Atlantic red snapper, a separate stock from the Gulf fish caught off Cedar Key.Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:39:51 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-wins-1-79m-federal-grant-for-ai-water-carbon-forecasting-tool/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-wins-1-79m-federal-grant-for-ai-water-carbon-forecasting-tool/A new NSF-funded UF project will use artificial intelligence to model how land-use and climate changes affect water and carbon systems statewide, with no Cedar Key-specific application yet named.Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:38:54 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-ifas-rolls-out-new-plant-and-pollinator-app-for-florida-friendly/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/uf-ifas-rolls-out-new-plant-and-pollinator-app-for-florida-friendly/A free UF/IFAS tool merges three older apps into one guide for choosing plants that fit local soil, sun and water conditions - useful for anyone gardening near the Gulf.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 11:41:20 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-active-disturbances-in-the-atlantic-as-hurricane-season-s-peak/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-active-disturbances-in-the-atlantic-as-hurricane-season-s-peak/The National Hurricane Center's twice-daily outlook shows a quiet Atlantic basin heading into the season's historical peak, even as forecasters track development elsewhere in the Pacific.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:38:28 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/stage-west-one-seat-over-premiere-2026-08-22/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/stage-west-one-seat-over-premiere-2026-08-22/Brian S. Brijbag, who has had plays staged off-Broadway and abroad, premieres "One Seat Over" at Stage West Playhouse on 22 August, the anchor of the theatre's New Works Festival on the Nature Coast.Tue, 18 Aug 2026 13:15:00 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-storms-brewing-in-the-atlantic-as-nature-coast-hits-peak-hurricane/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/no-storms-brewing-in-the-atlantic-as-nature-coast-hits-peak-hurricane/The National Hurricane Center's latest outlook shows a quiet Atlantic even as the calendar turns toward the season's historic peak.Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:00:33 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/atlantic-hurricane-season-peak-cedar-key-2026/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/atlantic-hurricane-season-peak-cedar-key-2026/NOAA is holding to a below-normal 2026 season. Cedar Key’s three worst storms in living memory all arrived in the back half of the calendar, and the back half starts now.Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:00:00 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/suwannee-water-district-permits-how-to-read/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/suwannee-water-district-permits-how-to-read/The Suwannee River Water Management District lists every permit it grants, with the project name, the county and the full application. It is also where the objection window opens.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/pollinator-census-august-2026-levy-county/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/pollinator-census-august-2026-levy-county/The Great Southeast Pollinator Census runs on 21 and 22 August. UF/IFAS wants all 67 counties taking part this year, Levy County included.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:30:00 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFloridahttps://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/cedar-key-weather-outlook-2026-08-11/https://www.cedarkeybeacon.com/florida/cedar-key-weather-outlook-2026-08-11/The National Weather Service forecast for Cedar Key and Levy County, with any watches or warnings in force.Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:33:10 GMTFlorida & Cedar Key NewsFlorida