If you have been on the Bike Path recently, you may have noticed that compost has been added where washouts have created areas where there is a steep edge. This week a sod company will be on-site to add sod to these areas. This will create a smoother transition along the path. The completion of this project will be pleasing to the eye and create a more enjoyable experience for path users.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, there are 82 affected area codes across the country that have had to be changed, as they all have one thing in common: Their area codes are all similar to or too close to “988,” which is now the established national number for the crisis line. The 82 affected area codes have one thing in common: using 988 as a local exchange, a term that describes the middle digits of a 10-digit phone number (for example: 123-988-1234). Four of those area codes are in Florida: 321, in Brevard County; 352, in north-central Florida; 941, which covers an area from Bradenton to North Port; and 561, in Palm Beach County.

All it takes is one homeowner or, in some cases, a corporation, to try to impose this regulation on beaches, and soon others follow suit. GIS maps can be misleading to potential property owners, as in many cases it shows the property line going out into the water. In Florida the law states that all beaches are public from the mean high-water line down to the water, and that used to be a cut-and-dried rule. But in 2018 former Governor Rick Scott created House Bill 631 (now Florida Statute 163.035), which is known as the “Establishment of Recreational Customary Use.” It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now it has proven to make a touchy situation even touchier in the fact it can be interpreted in many ways … including ways that benefit the property owner, not the public.