Week in review: ADL calls out extremist hate in Florida + Bradenton's top cop cleared + Manatee teachers getting a raise + free bus rides + airport fights new apartment complex

Investigation clears Bradenton police chief of any wrongdoing, Manatee school employees are getting pay raises, Carol Whitmore and Scott Hopes are feuding and county’s newest park will have a big name.

But first this …

The stain and stench of anti-semitism and other extremism is on the rise in Florida, and Manatee-Sarasota are not immune to the hate, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

In a report released this week, the ADL reported there were 190 documented incidents of anti-semitism in Florida in 2021, twice the number counted the year before. In 2020-2022, there were 400 instances of white supremacist propaganda being distributed in Florida. One group, called “the Endangered Souls,” responsible for some of this is based in Bradenton, the ADL said.

Naomi Feinstein @naomifeinstein

According to a new ADL report, "an overlapping network of white supremacists has emerged" in Florida. The neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups disseminate anti-Semitic and racist propaganda, contributing to a rise of extremist activity in the state.

bit.lyAntisemitism and Extremism on the Rise in Florida, ADL Report SaysThe Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism found 400 incidents of white supremacist propaganda occurred in Florida from January 2020 to August 2022.