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Featured Story

From Southshore to Tallahassee

The Florida legislative session is on the horizon, and here’s a look at the things that could send a few ripples our way here in Southshore. Think of it as Tallahassee season. Love it or hate it, it tends to affect life down here whether we’re paying attention or not.

One of the big topics expected to get plenty of airtime is property tax relief. Southshore homeowners know property taxes aren’t just numbers on a bill you glance at and sigh. They help fund schools and services, but they’re also a very real line item in the cost of living here. Any talk of cutting or reshaping them sounds nice, but it can also come with ripple effects for how local services are paid for.

Education is also front and center, as usual. Lawmakers are looking at teacher pay, staffing challenges, and how schools are funded. All things that matter if you’ve got kids in the system or if you’d simply prefer your child’s classroom to have a consistent teacher from August to May. There’s also more debate around school choice and voucher programs, which use public dollars for private tuition and could impact funding for traditional public schools that many Southshore families rely on.

Infrastructure will join the session, because apparently, everyone has finally noticed traffic is a thing. Discussions about roads, congestion, and regional growth are on the table, and if you’ve ever crawled along US-301 or wondered why I-75 feels like a parking lot at 5:12 p.m., you already know why this matters. Where the state puts money can affect commute times, job access, and how smoothly Southshore continues to grow.

There’s also a strong focus on business climate and economic growth, which can influence local jobs and the overall cost of living. Add utilities and insurance into the mix, and suddenly these conversations feel very personal. From how much you pay for power (yes, TECO, we need to talk) to how local businesses weather rising costs, these debates have a way of sneaking into everyday life.

Nothing is finalized yet. Bills will be filed, tweaked, debated, argued over, and possibly rewritten more times than a group text trying to pick a dinner spot. But if history tells us anything, what happens in Tallahassee over the next few weeks will shape our schools, our taxes, and how Southshore keeps moving forward.

As always, we’ll keep an eye on what’s actually gaining traction and bring you the updates that matter most to your family, your wallet, and your corner of Southshore.

Monday Money Minute

The Subscription Hamster Wheel

Before the week gets rolling, here’s a quick money check-in. If you haven’t looked at your recurring subscriptions in a while, this is your sign. Most households are paying for at least one service they forgot about, and canceling just one can free up enough cash to cover gas, groceries, or a utility bill this month. Five minutes today can make the rest of the week a little easier.

One word: bundles. Every week, there seems to be a new bundle that can cut your cost in half compared to paying for each service individually. And if you’re anything like me, you probably have two or three streaming services that got bundled with something you already pay for, and no one bothered to tell you. That means you’re still paying for the standalone versions too, and those companies have no problem continuing to bill you.

To clean things up, check your last one or two bank or credit card statements for monthly or recurring charges, then review subscriptions directly in your phone’s settings. Don’t be afraid to cancel first and ask questions later. If you miss it, you can always resubscribe, and chances are you’ll come back to a better deal anyway.

Things to do

What’s Washing Up on The Shore This Week

Southshore Spotlight

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology by teaching girls and nonbinary students the skills they need to succeed in computer science. Through free clubs, summer programs, and community initiatives, they’re building confidence, creativity, and pathways into future tech careers..

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

Why Life Fast-Forwards After 30

Perception is Everything

Think back to when you were ten. Summers lasted forever, one class felt like an eternity, and you couldn’t wait to grow up. Now, you blink and three years roll by like a bullet train. You don’t plan in days anymore, you plan in months or years. A notion that would’ve sounded completely unfathomable to your younger self. Did someone hit fast forward on life all of a sudden?

As it turns out, this feeling isn’t just in your head. Or rather, it is, but in a very real way. When you’re young, almost everything is new. New places, new experiences, new emotions. Your brain takes detailed snapshots of those moments, which makes time feel long and expansive when you look back on it. As we get older, routines take over. Days start to look similar, and our brains stop recording them with the same level of detail. Fewer memorable moments make weeks and months blur together, and suddenly an entire year feels like it vanished.

There’s also a simple math problem at play. When you’re ten, one year is a huge chunk of your life. When you’re forty or fifty, it’s a much smaller slice. Each passing year carries less psychological weight, so it feels like it slips by faster. Add in work schedules, family responsibilities, traffic, calendars filled months in advance, and a brain that’s constantly thinking about what’s next, and time starts to feel compressed.

The good news is that this feeling isn’t permanent, and it’s not inevitable. There are ways to slow things down, at least in how they feel. One of the biggest is novelty. New experiences force your brain to pay attention again. That doesn’t have to mean booking a big trip. It can be as simple as trying a new restaurant, taking a different route home, learning a new skill, or saying yes to something you’d normally pass on. Small changes create new mental markers, and those markers stretch time.

Being present helps too. We spend a lot of our days either replaying yesterday or planning tomorrow. Pausing to actually notice where you are, who you’re with, and what you’re doing gives moments more weight. Time doesn’t slow down, but it starts to feel fuller.

Life may feel like it’s moving faster than ever, but it’s not running away from you. It’s just moving efficiently. And every once in a while, it helps to step off the bullet train, look around, and remind yourself that this moment counts too.

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

Your Restaurant

New menu items, promos, specials, events- feature them here. This is the place to tell 30,000 readers in Southshore what you've got. Only 20 spots for the year. Claim yours today.

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

The break’s over. It’s time to chase championships!

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.