Sarasota

Anand Pallegar, the founder of Dream Large, which aims to drive social change in communities, says a coalition of groups is working to buy and revitalize the century-old structure.

Known originally as the Colson Hotel for Negroes, the building at 1425 Eighth St. was one of the few places in southwest Florida where Black people could stay during the Jim Crow era.

The county commission voted 4-1 to approve rezoning for 3H Ranch but stalled a smaller proposal to build 46 homes near Fruitville Road.

Rescue crews will return to help residents in the most heavily impacted areas in Sarasota.

The city of Sarasota on Monday declared a local state of emergency, which is a procedural step to allow emergency funding for any necessary repairs. Officials in North Port and in Fort Myers Beach met Monday morning to also declare local states of emergency.

The all-terrain EcoRover, developed by a local company, is available to use for free on Lido Beach in Sarasota County. It must be reserved a day ahead.

The new FAFSA was supposed to make filling out the federal aid form easier, but issues with the rollout had the opposite effect. Fewer students have filled out the FAFSA, so efforts are underway to close that gap.

Iain Webb has served as director of Sarasota Ballet since 2007. His wife, Margaret Barbieri, is associate director and together they have championed the works of Sir Frederick Ashton.

Gov. Ron DeSantis' vetoes cut millions of dollars in funds for more than 600 organizations in Florida, including in the greater Tampa Bay region.

Portions of Sarasota received an estimated 8 inches of rain in a three-hour period from an area of tropical moisture that produced powerful storms across Southwest Florida, flooding streets and inundating the county's drainage system.

States like Florida and Texas have long borne the brunt of the pig problem and struggled to manage it as the situation grows more dire nationally. Officials have incentivized hunters by instituting few restrictions. But some people, including hunters themselves, question whether the approach is overkill.

Dozens of young musicians and faculty artists are in town for the three-week festival, which gets underway June 2.