Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie called criticism of him “a public lynching” as his fellow board members boosted his legal defense another $10,000 in city funds at a Monday meeting. Battie thanked each commissioner by name for their support after Sarasota Circuit Judge Stephen Walker agreed last month to dismiss the defamation lawsuit against him […]
It’s the 9th of the month – the day that signals a gut-wrenching pain for Amy Thompson. It was the date she lost her son to a shooting, and it’s another month – another reminder – he was taken too soon. Colton Wright, 24, was killed in a Sarasota shooting on Dec. 9, 2021. Thompson […]
The Sarasota City Commission will decide on Monday, July 1, whether to approve additional money for Commissioner Kyle Battie’s legal fees, which already exceed the $15,000 that was originally approved. The city commission should decline the request for more money. Battie was sued for defamation by Kelly Franklin, a private citizen, after he brandished a […]
SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — In a signal of LGBTQ+ support and pushback toward Gov. Ron DeSantis’s “Freedom Summer” order, the Sarasota nonprofit Project Pride SRQ on Saturday will be carrying a 700-foot rainbow flag over the John Ringling Causeway. “We felt that this is the best way that we could represent our own free voice,” […]
From seafood to ramen, to pizza, Thai food, and burgers, there are plenty of tasty bites to sink your teeth into around the Sarasota and Bradenton area. Here’s a photo gallery of the best food and restaurants Sarasota and Bradenton have to offer. Whether you want to lounge on the sand at the best beach […]
The Sarasota County Commission is working toward a budget topping $2 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. The spending plan took shape through a series of budget meetings last week outlining a preliminary budget that allows the county administrator to draft a proposal that will go before the commission for final adoption in September. The […]
A busy week for the Sarasota County Commission preparing for next year’s budget concluded on Friday with a contentious but largely symbolic special meeting about the costs of illegal immigration. The two-hour special meeting on the “impacts of illegal immigration” in Sarasota County saw around 30 residents and members of advocacy groups speak out against […]
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Sarasota County deputies arrested 15 people in an undercover anti-drug operation, the sheriff’s office announced Thursday. During the operation, which lasted nearly two years, deputies seized “significant quantities of fentanyl, crack and powder cocaine, other stimulants, substantial amounts of cash, and firearms,” according to a news release. Deputies executed search warrants […]
LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. (WFLA) — A boat crash in Sarasota Bay left two people hospitalized Friday evening, according to officials. A spokeswoman for Longboat Key Fire Rescue said at about 7 p.m., a boat carrying seven people crashed in the bay just off Jungle Queen Way. Home prices are expected to fall in this Tampa […]
Vote to ax early learning no surprise The photo of the Sarasota County commissioners on Page A11 on June 12 tells us all we need to know. Five white men, with four voting to slash funding for a school readiness program designed to assure that the children of those on the economic margins enter school […]
Six people have filed to run as write-in candidates for the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, including a pair of North Port Republicans who share the same address at Gran Paradiso in Wellen Park. On Thursday, three of the six filed and qualified to run for the At-Large Seat 1. On Wednesday, Donna Hurlock filed […]
Flash flooding hit parts of west central Florida on Tuesday, June 11, with as much as 10 inches falling in coastal Sarasota County, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. Footage taken by Noel Haydon shows flooding affecting FL-789 in Sarasota on Tuesday night. Sarasota Police were working Wednesday morning to clear abandoned and disabled vehicles […]