Suncoast Searchlight

Republican incumbent Mark Smith faces challenger Kristina Sargent in the District 2 Sarasota County Commission race, a contest to represent the county’s most politically moderate district.

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.

National polling shows a favorable political environment for Democrats in 2026. That could extend all the way down-ballot to a county commission race.

If approved, the legislative measure could effectively resolve the central dispute in the school board’s lawsuit by clarifying in state law that schools should not bear the collection costs.

The requests describe the project as a public-private partnership that would include a 100,000-square-foot indoor sports complex with basketball, pickleball, tennis and volleyball courts, museum space and event facilities.

The fate of a more than century-old downtown Sarasota building could be headed to court following a last-ditch effort from a preservation group trying to stop it from being razed for luxury condos.

A proposed AI data center complex in rural DeSoto County is drawing sharp debate as local officials embrace it as a potential economic lifeline while residents warn about environmental and quality-of-life impacts.

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.”

Sarasota County commissioners finalized a plan this week to pick up the bill for more than $2 million that Tax Collector Mike Moran withheld from Sarasota County Schools to process a voter-approved referendum for education.

Anxious residents who live near flood-prone Phillippi Creek can expect at least some relief this storm season now that the county has removed 60 tons of sediment from the creek bed. But there is still a long way to go.

The worst water shortage in nearly a decade has drained regional water reserves and prompted emergency water restrictions and rule changes along the Peace River, raising concerns about the long-term impact on Southwest Florida’s ecosystems.