1. The Manatee County Board of Commissioners will hold its public hearing on the budget and proposed millage rate tonight at 6 p.m. in county commission chambers. The county worked out a compromise with the sheriff to fund half of the new positions he requested, without having to raise the ad valorem tax rate. This is the first of two public hearings on the budget.

2.The Bradenton Marauders dropped the opener of the Florida State League playoffs 4-2 to the St. Lucie Mets at McKechnie Field. The Marauders now travel to St. Lucie needing two wins on the road to keep their playoff hopes alive.  Brett Lorin takes the ball at 6:30 p.m. today.

3. Rep. Greg Steube, R.- Dist. 67, is hosting an open house at his office, 5830 Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, on Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. As part of the open house Steube will hold a food drive for Manasota Operation Troop Support for the the service men and women stationed overseas during the Christmas season. Some of the most requested items include, Clif Bars, Slim Jims, Beef Jerky, lemonade and iced tea powder mixes, peanuts, trail mix and peanut butter crackers. And they always need postage to mail those care packages.

4. G.I. Jobs Magazine named State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota a 2012 Military Friendly School. As a top military friendly school, SCF ranked in the top 20 percent of all colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide. The honor is based on nonfinancial efforts to recruit and retain veteran students, financial commitment through tuition benefits and other program benefits and academic accreditations. More than 400 veterans from all branches of the military are enrolled this fall.

5. First responders and those directly affected by the events of 9/11 will share their personal experiences and stories at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. Presented by the university's Institute for Public Policy and Leadership, the program, “Triumph over Tragedy: Remembering 9/11 a Decade Later,” will take place in the Selby Auditorium, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota beginning at 4:00 p.m. today. Among those featured will be Dan Hoffe, who was on the 61st floor of the South Tower when the North Tower was hit and was still in the building when the second plane hit the south tower and Bonnie Greenball Silvestri, who worked at the Family Assistance Unit at Pier 49 in New York and helped victim’s families obtain death certificates. The public is welcome. Space is limited so those who want to attend are encouraged to RSVP to 941-359-4602.