Cooper Levey-Baker has written about food, politics, civic issues, the arts, and music in Southwest Florida for 15 years. His work has won multiple awards from the Florida Magazine Association and the Florida Society of Professional Journalists, as well as an honorable mention from the Julia Child Foundation. Follow him on Twitter: @LeveyBaker.

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Tourism Beat: Checking In

How will downtown Sarasota's new hotels impact the market?

02/03/2015 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Your Guide to Sarasota Specialty Grocery Stores

Staffers at Sarasota specialty grocers pick the items they love most.

01/28/2015 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Biz(941) Tourism Beat: Turbulence Ahead?

How Airbnb is impacting the hotel industry.

01/08/2015 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Sarasota's WSLR Radio Station Finds Its Voice

How Sarasota's community voice, WSLR, became the little station that could.

10/30/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Amendment 1 Aims to Aid Conservation Efforts

Amendment 1 would require the state to dedicate 33 percent of the excise tax on documents to “acquire, restore, improve and manage conservation lands." Plus, this month's Vintage Sarasota.

10/30/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Homelessness Shadows Downtown Sarasota's Rosemary District

Hot topics, talk and history.

09/30/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Should Denser Development Come to the Rosemary District?

Hot topics, talk and history.

06/26/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Should Sarasota Create a Cultural District on the Downtown Waterfront?

Hot topics, talk and history.

05/30/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Our Town: News and Notes from the Community, May 2014

The battle over Big Pass, the history of downtown's U.S. Garage Building and more community news.

05/01/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Should Medical Marijuana Be Legal? Sarasota Experts Weigh In

Should medical marijuana be legal? John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan and other Sarasota experts weigh in. Plus, this month's Vintage Sarasota and more.

03/01/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Season to Taste

Cortez Bottarga Has Become a Nationally Sought-After Delicacy

Cortez Conservas has introduced the nation to deliciousness that is salt-cured, sun-dried mullet roe.

01/31/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Inside Chef Derek Barnes’ New Bradenton Restaurant

Restaurateur Derek Barnes is rethinking what diners want with his new Bradenton Derek's.

01/31/2014 Photography by Alex Stafford By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Can Millenials Live the American Dream in Sarasota?

Millennials face more economic hurdles than previous generations.

01/02/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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The New Sarasota: A Diverse Group of Young Adults is Redefining Our City

Cooper Levey-Baker takes a look at how the millenial generation is adapting to--and changing--Sarasota.

01/02/2014 Photography by Everett Dennison By Cooper Levey-Baker

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SCAT, MCAT to Merge? Plus More Sarasota City News

Hot topics, talk and history.

01/02/2014 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Five Fun Spots Where You Can Shake It in Sarasota

Cooper Levey-Baker reports back on five fun Sarasota nightclubs.

11/01/2013 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Sarasota City News: October 2013

Hot topics, talk and history.

10/01/2013 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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New Sarasota City Commissioner Susan Chapman On "Brutal" Campaign

Susan Chapman won a hard-fought race. Now the real work begins.

07/01/2013 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Exactly What To Do in Sarasota This Summer

We've scouted out some great things to eat, see and do while the snowbirds are gone and the Sarasota is ours.

06/27/2013 By Cooper Levey-Baker

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Biz Bites: Shore Diner

03/01/2013 By Cooper Levey-Baker