Sarasota

A Sarasota County judge dismissed a legal challenge to a controversial Siesta Key land swap, clearing the way for a 5,000-square-foot home to be built on a county-owned parcel originally purchased for preservation.

While community donations and volunteers met the immediate surge in need, advocates say the emergency response highlighted deeper gaps, including limited shelter access, enforcement of anti-camping laws and a shortage of affordable housing that leaves many people cycling between the streets and short-term aid.

The suspect had a romantic relationship with one of the Fort Lauderdale victims, who was connected to the victims in the second shooting in Sarasota.

A couple of college challenges are in the spotlight. We get an update on the New College-USF controversy and learn about the growing concern of student food insecurity.

In an update Jan. 27, the county said the dredging of high spots began in December and is going well, but the next stage could be delayed until the end of this year as it seeks more environmental permits.

Sarasota’s effort to directly develop affordable housing downtown — an unprecedented, city-led plan championed by former City Manager Marlon Brown — faltered after the city spent more than $7 million on land without a finalized construction budget or financing strategy and as anticipated state and philanthropic funding did not come through.

Sarasota-based Boar's Head permanently stopped making liverwurst and recalled 7 million pounds of deli products in the wake of the illnesses.

The play depicts the engineers behind the first moon landing as quirky outside-the-box thinkers, focusing on the creative process behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements.

A proposed 18-story downtown Sarasota condo tower that won city support by promising 40 below-market apartments in exchange for quadruple bonus density has stalled after developers began marketing the building as a short-term rental destination with three-day minimum stays, a use city officials say would violate local zoning rules.

The resolution, approved despite hours of emotional public opposition, does not spell out what documentation agents would need to enter schools, whether judicial warrants would be required for non-public areas, or who would make those decisions.

Cynthia Sayer is also an American Banjo Hall of Fame member and founding member of Woody Allen’s New Orleans Jazz Band.

A free performance of "Building the Wall," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, will take place at a Sarasota church on Friday.