What would the local media world be like without Linda Carson? She’s been a presence in journalism, not to mention arts and culture, since she started working for ABC back in 1995. Remember the time she got head-butted by the goat? Or more serious moments, like 9/11, when she (along with me) was one of the reporters in the classroom as President George W. Bush found out America was under attack?

She’s one of the busiest people in town, what with her daily stint on Suncoast View and her news reporting for ABC 7. In a profession full of kids, she’s the exception: well into her 70s, she’s still going strong and working harder than ever. Now she has a new adventure looming. She’s selling her longtime home in Sapphire Shores and downsizing. 

Linda and her husband Bud, a famous NFL coach, bought the place when Bud retired in 1995. It’s very Key West in style, with a covered veranda on all four sides. Facing a good-sized lagoon where the Ringlings used to dock their yachts, it has a dock and a large pool overlooking the water.

Inside you’ll find three bedrooms and three baths, plus an enormous walk-in closet where Linda keeps her extensive TV wardrobe. Bud’s office—he died in 2005±is still mostly intact, with shelf after shelf of priceless football memorabilia. The home’s size—just over 3,000 square feet—makes it perfect for large-scale entertaining, and it’s even hosted several weddings.

Linda has reinvented herself several times in her career. Remember her famous facelift? She started out as a weather girl and worked her way up to the Grande Dame of local news. Her home, like its owner, basks in Sarasota’s own version of star power. 

361 S. Shore Drive is priced at $1.45 million. For more information call Lynn Robbins of Coldwell Banker at (941) 376-5077.