5 Things You Need To Know Today: February 17

1. IMG Academies will host the third annual Beach Blast basketball tournament this weekend. The tournament, which is open to the public, features top high school basketball players. The tournament will include 32 teams from ten states. The three-day, 48-game tournament will showcase more than 50 nationally-ranked athletes, a handful of whom have already committed to top collegiate programs. The games will begin today at 9 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5.

2. Government offices will be closed on Monday for President's Day. Trash, recycling and yard waste collections for the week will be postponed one day from Tuesday through Saturday for county residents. For city residents, household garbage normally collected on Monday, will instead be collected on Saturday. Yard waste collected on a Monday, will instead be collected Thursday. There will be no change to recycling collection. Manatee County Area Transit and the Anna Maria Island Trolley will operate normal daily routes. Manatee County parks and beaches will be open to the public.  Manatee County and Buffalo Creek Golf Courses will be open.  Blackstone Skate Park will be open.  G.T. Bray Recreation Center will be closed. G.T. Bray Skate Park is currently closed for repairs.For more information on Manatee County Government, visit online at www.mymanatee.org or call (941) 748-4501.

3. A portion of the northbound lane on 12^th Street West between Manatee and 6^th Avenues west is scheduled to be close from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday for crane work on the courthouse roof. The sidewalk on the east side of 12^th Street West in the same area will also close.

4. Don't miss Mainly Art at the downtown Farmer's Market Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Bradenton Farmers' Market almost doubles as the Art, Crafts, Gift, and Art Supply vendors join the ranks. Mainly Art intersects the Farmers' Market at Old Main Street and 4th Avenue.

5. More than 100 students at Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary are attending school on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in what is being billed as “ORB College.” The goal is to help third, fourth and fifth-grade students sharpen their math and reading skills for the upcoming FCAT testing. Students who attend the sessions get a bright orange t-shirt that says “ORB College Student.” Saturday morning sessions are scheduled through March 31.