Apollo Beach and Ruskin — your local wire.

80°F

Apollo Beach and Ruskin — your local wire.

80°F

Sports

Apollo Beach tennis clinics for kids with autism start Oct. 10

By Apollo Beach-Ruskin Tribune staff · September 11, 2026 · 1 min read

A tennis player jumps to hit the ball during an intense indoor match. — Photo by Florian Doppler on Pexels

Sports

Apollo Beach tennis clinics for kids with autism start Oct. 10

By Apollo Beach-Ruskin Tribune staff · September 11, 2026 · 1 min read

Sports

Apollo Beach tennis clinics for kids with autism start Oct. 10

By Apollo Beach-Ruskin Tribune staff · September 11, 2026 · 1 min read

Children and teens with autism in Apollo Beach can sign up for six weeks of Saturday tennis clinics starting Oct. 10 at Apollo Beach Racquet Club, 6520 Richies Way.

ACEing Autism, a national nonprofit operating at about 200 locations, is partnering with Experienced Autism Alliance (EAA) to run the program, the Osprey Observer reported. EAA founder Tanya Hines, who has an adult son with autism, started the Hillsborough County nonprofit to support local families raising children with autism.

The 5-to-13 age group plays from 11 a.m. to noon each Saturday. Participants 14 and older take the court from noon to 1 p.m. The final session is Nov. 14.

Registration costs $120. ACEing Autism offers scholarships for families who need help covering the fee.

Volunteers are also needed. No tennis or autism experience is required, and training will be provided. Families can register at aceingautism.org or email [email protected] with questions.

More local news

A gray brindle dog rests its front paws on a kennel wall, looking at the camera.

Community

Hillsborough shelter waives dog adoption fees as count hits 320

Hillsborough County's Pet Resource Center has waived all dog adoption fees after its population hit 320 dogs, a five-year high at 177% of capacity, with adoptions down 146 from last summer.

September 18, 2026 · 2 min read

Community

Hillsborough schools launch town halls on half-penny tax renewal

Hillsborough County Public Schools is holding five town halls starting Sept. 22 to inform voters about renewing the Half-Penny Promise sales tax, which has funded more than $1.326 billion in school improvements since 2018.

September 18, 2026 · 2 min read

Graphic listing cross country tryout results for middle school and elementary divisions.

Sports

Waterset Charter School selects cross country teams for fall

Waterset Charter School in Apollo Beach announced its 2026-27 middle school and elementary cross country teams after tryouts, the second fall sport to finalize rosters at the campus.

September 18, 2026 · 1 min read

Community

Ruskin's Ice Age dig unearthed 20,000 fossils near Cockroach Bay

In July 1983, self-taught paleontologist Frank Garcia found fossil bones exposed by a dragline at the Leisey Shell Pit near Cockroach Bay in Ruskin, leading to a 1984 excavation that recovered more than 20,000 Ice Age specimens representing 203 species, with the legacy preserved at a historical marker on Mammoth Trail and the free Paleo Preserve Fossil Museum at Camp Bayou.

September 18, 2026 · 3 min read

Community

FDOT runs $96M in construction along South Shore's US 301

The Florida Department of Transportation has more than $96 million in active construction on the US 301 corridor alone, with the $58.4 million Big Bend Road intersection rebuild not finishing until late 2027, while separate projects reshape US 41 through Ruskin.

September 18, 2026 · 2 min read

A pufferfish swims among dense seagrass blades on a sandy ocean floor.

Public Safety

Old Tampa Bay study tests if 90°F utilizes harms seagrass

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program launched a five-year study deploying temperature sensors in Old Tampa Bay to determine whether water above 90 degrees is stressing or killing seagrass, a direct concern for Apollo Beach anglers and boaters.

September 18, 2026 · 2 min read

Megan O'Neill

Megan published her first poem in the Sun Sentinel at the age of 11 and has been locked in ever since. She attended UF and FIU and has a degree in Communication Arts. Her professional background includes photography, editing, writing, translation, and graphic design. Megan enjoys learning language, art and vegan foods.

Megan O'Neill