Politics

Funding Fallout

State and Local Leaders Cut Funding for Arts Organizations This Year. Will Things Be Any Better Next Time Around?

Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in funding for the arts in June due to concerns over content, and the Sarasota County nixed grants to three arts organizations a month later.

11/21/2024 By Kay Kipling

Information Overload

Why Was There So Much Disinformation After Hurricanes Helene and Milton?

Rumors and untruths proliferated as Hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed communities. Why do we keep falling for them?

11/20/2024 By Megan McDonald

Election 2024

A Guide to Election Results in Sarasota and Manatee Counties

Both counties saw voter turnout higher than 80 percent.

11/06/2024 By Staff

Election 2024

Who Designed Our Cute 'I Voted' Stickers?

Sarasota and Manatee counties both held student design contests. You'll see the winning stickers when you go to the polls.

11/05/2024 By Megan McDonald

Vote!

How to Vote in Manatee County, Florida, in 2024

Whether you're a first-time voter in Manatee County or an old pro who simply needs a refresher, here's everything you need to know.

11/04/2024 By Staff

Vote!

How to Vote in Sarasota County in 2024

Everything you need to know—from how to register to how to track your vote-by-mail ballot.

11/04/2024 By Staff

Crown Jewel

The History of Mar-a-Lago

How the mansion of a great Florida philanthropist became ground zero for one of the most consequential elections in American history

09/01/2024 By Robert Plunket

See Change

The SEE Alliance Is Working to Mobilize Florida's Young Voters

'The movement that is growing within Gen Z in Florida right now is monumental, unique to circumstance and cannot easily be recreated or reinvigorated later on,' says SEE Alliance founder Zander Moricz.

08/19/2024 By Elizabeth Djinis

Affordable Housing

New Affordable Housing Incentives Will Allow Triple Density Along Some Sarasota Thoroughfares

City commissioners voted 3-2 Monday to expand developer incentives in exchange for affordable units to address the city's affordability crisis.

04/03/2024 By Kim Doleatto

The New Sarasota

Is Sarasota Changing for Good?

Our region is becoming more populated, more conservative and more polarized, and many residents are wondering: Is it for the best?

01/17/2024 By Elizabeth Djinis

No Holds Barred

Liz Cheney Issues Dire Warning About Donald Trump and the 2024 Presidential Election

Cheney kicked off this year's Town Hall lecture series by calling Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, not just a "dereliction of duty," but an act of "depravity."

01/16/2024 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo

How Cinderella’s Castle Became the Latest Battleground in the Culture Wars

Is it changing from something aspirational and inspiring to something darker and even dangerous?

11/03/2023 By Robert Plunket

Let's Get Together

Filmmaker Damon Gameau Headlines a Sarasota Conference on Nature and the Environment

December's EcoSummit and Green Living Expo will stimulate audiences with a wide range of speakers and activities, including talks by Gameau and novelist Carl Hiaasen.

10/17/2023 By Cooper Levey-Baker

So Long, Smoke

Smoking at Sarasota County Parks and Beaches Is Now Banned

Citing safety and environmental impacts, the Sarasota County Commission created a new ordinance to ban cigarettes in county-owned spaces.

10/02/2023 By Kim Doleatto

Ukraine 2023

A Sarasota Photojournalist's Latest Images From Ukraine Depict Both Devastation and Resilience

Allan Mestel has traveled to Ukraine repeatedly since last year's Russian invasion. In a new interview, he discusses his most recent photographs.

09/29/2023 By Kim Doleatto

Beach Battle

In 1990, Sarasota Waged War on Thongs, Leading to Outrage, Protests and National Media Attention

Three decades ago, the city was divided in two by a narrow wedge issue: bare bottoms on beaches.

09/29/2023 By Kim Doleatto

Elections

New Voting Rules Prompt Workarounds in Sarasota, Manatee

Critics of SB 7050 say the new law creates unnecessary hurdles for voters, including increasing penalties for clerical errors made by third-party voter registration groups and forcing voters who want to vote by mail to reapply before every election.

09/18/2023 By Jim DeLa/Community News Collaborative

Strike Up the Banned

Bookseller Tiffany Razzano Relishes Dealing in Banned Titles

Razzano's store, This Bookstore Kills Fascists, has set up shop in Sarasota with a selection of “anything they don't want you to read in school.’’

08/31/2023 By Jim DeLa/Community News Collaborative

Q & A

A New Nonprofit Wants to Rehabilitate Hundreds of Acres of Local Oyster Habitat

“Anything I can do in my power to improve the fisheries and water quality, I’m pushing hard to do it,” says Oyster River Ecology founder and executive director Damon Moore. “We’re not aiming small."

08/14/2023 By Matthew Gutierrez

Generation Climate

A New Organization Is Recruiting Florida Retirees to Fight Climate Change

With the launch of the Florida chapter of an organization called Third Act, older Americans are taking action to preserve our state's natural resources.

08/08/2023 By Matthew Gutierrez