Sarasota

After Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed transferring The Ringling Museum from Florida State University to New College of Florida, at least three people say they’ve pulled or are reconsidering planned estate gifts totaling more than $750,000.

The Mote Science Education Aquarium — or Mote SEA — will open as soon as the animals adapt to their new home.

Suncoast Searchlight studied property appraisals and tax bills for more than 300 homes across these special districts to create a first-of-its-kind dataset comparing their annual fees to the property taxes they pay for city and county services.

Dancers come to learn the technique that founders Ariel Serrano and Wilmian Hernandez studied at the Cuban National Ballet School in Havana. It is one of the few Cuban technique training centers in the U.S.

Karim Manning, 39, teaches beatboxing, lyricism and digital music at schools around the Tampa Bay area. He shows kids how to use their own voice to make beats, with some history lessons along the way.

A developer bought the Colson and wanted to tear it down, saying the structure would require millions to fix. But a local company with another plan bought the structure after building an alliance of local leaders.

The new Atala Hall marks a new chapter for what used to be a commuter school. Officials hope this will raise the profile of the tight-knit campus along Sarasota Bay.

The Legacy Trail stretches from downtown Sarasota to Venice. The goal is to complete the Florida Gulf Coast Trail through seven counties.

Sarasota-based Rocket Phonics works with kids in Newtown to improve reading scores.

At a Sarasota news conference, Attorney General Ashley Moody says xylazine is being mixed with other, more common illegal drugs, and being sold to unsuspecting users.

We also talk with the mayor of Sarasota about the future of his growing city in 2023 and beyond.

Earlier this year, three activists who are opposed to COVID vaccines and standard treatment protocols for the illness were elected to the board of Sarasota Memorial Hospital.