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THE SKINNY

• Spring Bling Giveaway

• DST - Don’t Forget We’re an Hour Ahead

• Lennard Girls’ Flag Football

• Lazy Gator Goes Quiet

• Mirrors in The Sky

Featured Story

Southshore Champions

Lennard wins the She Is Football Flag Invitational hosted by the Buccaneers

For the Lennard High School girls’ flag football team, this weekend has shaped up to be one for the history books. The Longhorns captured the 2026 She Is Football Flag Invitational title, winning a tournament that brought together some of the top high school girls’ flag football programs in Florida.

The event was hosted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as part of She Is Football Weekend presented by Jabil and took place at the Buccaneers’ AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa. Eight teams from around the state competed in the two-day tournament, including Lennard, Bloomingdale, East Bay, Steinbrenner, Apopka, Belleview, Harmony, and Hernando.

For Lennard, the path started Friday afternoon with opening matchups before moving into the semifinals Saturday morning and the championship game shortly after. By the time the final whistle blew, it was the Southshore squad standing on top of the bracket.

The invitational is part of the Buccaneers’ larger She Is Football initiative, which focuses on creating opportunities for girls and women in sports while celebrating the rapid growth of girls’ flag football across Florida.

That growth has been remarkable over the past few years. Florida has become one of the leading states for girls’ flag football at the high school level, and the sport continues to gain national attention as it moves toward inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games.

The Lennard team is one of those things that makes Southshore great. Congratulations to the team not just for this win, but for the stellar season they’ve been putting together. If you haven’t had a chance to watch them play, check out their schedule in the sports section and make sure to get out to a game.

And judging by the way Lennard played this weekend, this probably will not be the last time the Longhorns make headlines.

What Happened to The Lazy Gator

The Ruskin restaurant is for sale after a sudden closure that surprised many locals

If you live near Ruskin, then you’ve probably been to the Lazy Gator or at least driven by it. It’s one of those places that’s just familiar and you assume will always be around. There are a few restaurants in the area like that. So when it suddenly closed two months ago, many patrons and locals were left scratching their heads.

The owner was ready for retirement and some enjoyment of the finer things in life, and honestly, who can blame him? But the story does get a bit confusing from there. Several questions are circulating about whether it’s been purchased, purchased and resold, who the current owners are, or why the restaurant closed operations and then ended up listed for sale. So, in addition to a restaurant and land sale, you may have a proper mystery to unravel as well.

Either way, if you’ve got an itch for an adventure and ample parts patience, maybe it’s something worth looking into. You can read more about the listing below, and if you end up snagging the place, invite us in for a drink.

Check out the Listing

Things to do

What’s Washing Up on The Shore This Week

Your Weekly What in the World

Proposal for a million satellites and mirrors in the sky

You ever seen things happening and just wondered, who on Earth thought this was a good idea? This is one of those.

The FCC is reviewing two proposals that sound like they came straight out of a sci-fi comedy sketch. One is from a California space start-up called Reflect Orbital, which wants to launch satellites equipped with giant mirrors designed to reflect sunlight back down to Earth. Their dream is to provide “sunlight after dark,” lighting up areas that are normally pitch black. Their first satellite, Earendil-1, could launch as early as April, and the mirrors are supposed to beam light comparable to a full moon back at us.

The other comes from SpaceX, the private rocket company led by Elon Musk. SpaceX is asking the FCC for permission to eventually put up to one million satellites into orbit as part of a plan to build space-based data centers.

None of this sounds good. Night and day exist for reasons. The planet has operated on that rhythm long before any of us showed up. It’s nothing short of the arrogance of man to look at that balance and think, “We’ll fix it.” We’ve done that all over this planet, and now we’re taking our hold my beer attitude intergalactic.

I’m not sure how many people are lining up asking for orbiting mirrors to brighten their backyard at 10 p.m. And I’m pretty certain most people are not on board with Elon launching a million satellites to clutter up the heavens. Although judging on his past performance with the cyber truck and the roadster, it might be 200 years before any of those satellites get off the ground.

Whether you love the idea or think it’s cosmic insanity, you don’t have to sit on the sidelines. The FCC has opened a public comment period where you can weigh in before decisions are made. Anyone can submit a comment through the FCC’s online portal. You don’t need a PhD in astronomy or a rocket scientist badge. Just say what you think about preserving the natural night sky versus turning it into a canvas of man-made light.

More Information Here

Southshore Spotlight

The Mabel & Ellsworth Simmons Charitable Foundation, INC

The Simmons Foundation is a nonprofit committed to supporting children, families, and educational opportunities across the Tampa Bay region. Through a mix of scholarships, community grants, and partnerships with local organizations, the foundation works to expand access to education and improve the quality of life for young people. Its programs focus on empowerment, resources for underserved communities, and long-term investment in the success of local students and families.

Nominate your local hero by emailing us at [email protected]

We Know a Guy…or Girl

Southshore Services

Need a painter? A plumber? Someone brave enough to tackle that lightbulb orbiting 30 feet above your living room? We’ve got you. And the best part, they’re all right here in our community.

Interested in joining the list? Shoot us an email to [email protected]

“Keep it Local!”

Foodies Only

Eggs Up Grill

If you’ve got a restaurant, food truck, or even a lemonade stand, it could be featured here. Email us at [email protected]

Local Sports

Our area high schools boast state champions and multiple division titleists. Come out and show your support for these teams and for our community.

Got news, events, or press releases that the Southshore needs to know about? Submit them here. (We’ll do our best to add press releases in our regular rotation.) If you’re looking to run an actual ad, go here instead.

Until next time,

Keep It Local.