Suncoast Searchlight

Criminal citations for sleeping outside in Sarasota have increased more than fourteenfold since 2020, driven in part by expanded police training that now empowers officers throughout the department to enforce the city's lodging ordinance.

During the last five years, the Florida Legislature has voted to pass more than 50 laws restricting local government’s ability to respond to issues ranging from how they manage growth to how they fund roads or oversee elections.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office received 152 fireworks-related calls on July 4 compared to 64 last year. Deputies were dispatched to 22 of those calls, up from 16 in 2025.

The plan comes amid uncertainty over how basic services would continue to function if voters approve steep reductions in property taxes in a November constitutional amendment proposal.

Sarasota County will not even consider the notion of any large-scale data centers for at least a year, citing concerns over utility resources and environmental degradation.

Scrappy is still alive, still swimming in Sarasota Bay — and thanks to researchers who freed him — helping tell a much bigger story about dolphin conservation.

For Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Neunder and his reelection challenger Jim DeNiro, this year’s District 4 primary has become a battle of who can paint the other as most friendly to developers.

Airbnb funneled the money through a political committee called “The People Versus The Powerful.” The group is chaired by Andy Gonzalez, Airbnb’s Public Policy Lead for the Southeast and Gulf regions.

The overhaul would also restrict how local property taxes can be spent and make it harder for local governments to replace the lost revenue.

The transition comes a week after Suncoast Searchlight published details of a third-party review commissioned by the district to vet complaints of cheating, sexual harassment and misuse of school resources at Riverview High.

After nearly three hours of emotional public comment, DeSoto County commissioners on Tuesday took the first step toward a one-year moratorium on data centers.

The vacation-home boom has collapsed. Second-home purchases fell nearly 68% in Sarasota-Bradenton since 2021, suggesting the pandemic-era rush into vacation properties has fully reversed.