Sarasota County

Recent rain showers coincide with the start of the annual fertilizer ban. Key nutrients from fertilizer runoff contribute to algae growth, which leads to murky, stinky waters and hurts marine life.

Local government officials are pushing back on a plan by Gov. Ron DeSantis to eliminate property taxes for many Floridians, saying the sweeping cuts would cripple basic services that range from classrooms to hospitals and libraries.

Since Donald Trump took office in January 2025, federal funding policies based on culture-war debates have created uncertainty around grants, contracts and other kinds of government support.

After years of using dogs to track the scents of missing people, a Sarasota County search-and-rescue group has added a new team member. It's a really social aquatic animal with thick fur and webbed paws.

Although fears of a recession over President Trump’s tariff policies did not come to fruition, UCF's Sean Snaith said Florida is experiencing a “ho-hum labor market.”

Suncoast Searchlight reviewed water-restriction complaints and enforcement records across Sarasota County during Southwest Florida's most severe drought in nearly a decade and found municipalities are taking sharply different approaches to enforcement.

Richard Freshwater has been in and out of the justice system in Charlotte and Sarasota counties for the past 20 years, often with charges that start as mental health scenarios and then continue to build on each other.

A long-running fight over a proposed subdivision next to Sarasota’s Celery Fields has escalated into a lawsuit, with D.R. Horton abandoning an arbitration process and suing Sarasota County after officials repeatedly rejected its scaled-down plans to build up to 170 homes on nearby Smith Farm.

Three times now, environmental advocates hoping to stave off a housing community proposed next to the Celery Fields bird sanctuary have seen huge victories in the Sarasota County Commission chambers. But a developer that calls itself "America's largest homebuilder” is still carrying on with its plans.

County staff presented a combination of funding options, including an additional sales tax for residents or increased mobility taxes on new housing developments.

A burn ban automatically went into effect for Sarasota County due to local drought conditions and an increased chance of fire hazards.

Bill Furst heads the political action committee American Mission Florida, which filed registration paperwork with the state in February, listing its primary address as a Staples store in Tallahassee. A month later, the PAC put $2 million towards pro-Byron Donalds advertisements.