Sarasota

As Trump ramps up mass-deportation efforts, Suncoast Searchlight found Florida jails have become a main pipeline for ICE arrests — sweeping up thousands of immigrants on minor charges before their local cases are resolved. Among them is Bradenton resident Oscar Romero Santos, whose wife is now struggling to keep their family and business afloat after his sudden deportation.

The new Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA) will open to the public on Wednesday, Oct. 8. Here's what to know.

Streets of Paradise’s board of directors abruptly dismissed Greg Cruz “without cause” at a brief board meeting, leaving his longtime partner and co-CEO Cathy Bryant as sole leader.

Phillippi Creek is a seven-mile-long waterway that stretches across Sarasota County. Residents say it desperately needs to be dredged to prevent the type of floods that ravaged the area in 2024.

Suncoast Searchlight partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Thomas “Fats” Waller wrote such jazz standards as “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” and “Honeysuckle Rose." In the 1930s, he was ranked at the top among African-American entertainers on stage and on the radio.

Last week, Fort Myers Mural Society executive director Shari Shifrin learned Sarasota is removing more than 200 sidewalk panels in the historic Burns Court arts and culture district.

Faced with an indefinite amount of time in detention, Maria Martinez chose to return to Mexico instead of fight her deportation case.

Art Center Sarasota, the city’s oldest visual arts institution, is marking the occasion with a yearlong lineup of exhibitions, community events and youth programs.

Sarasota’s proposed performing arts center has made far less progress than three other major cultural projects that were announced within about 18 months of each other less than a decade ago.

For decades, the gala was the city's social event of the year. It then faded away in practice but not in memory. As part of its centennial celebration, Art Center Sarasota is resurrecting the event next year.

Suncoast Searchlight partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.