News & City Life

Partisan Lines

Florida’s Mid-Cycle Redistricting, Explained

Florida lawmakers are pushing to redraw congressional district maps mid-decade. Political scientist Frank Alcock explains the uproar.

09/30/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Grant Report

Hugh Culverhouse Jr. Matching Challenge Results in $707,938 in Contributions to Florida Humanities

Plus, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation celebrates $100 million in philanthropy, and more.

09/29/2025 By Staff

Fast Track

Cannons Marina Acquired by Ingman Marine

Plus: the Barancik Foundation honors five educators, the City of North Port names a new city attorney and finance director, and the Sarasota Chamber's 2026 Youth Leadership class.

09/29/2025 By Staff

Hurricane Helene

Today Is the One-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Helene's Landfall

Catastrophic storm surge, fierce winds and billions of dollars in damages left Sarasota and Manatee struggling to rebuild in the storm's wake.

09/26/2025 By Megan McDonald and Kim Doleatto

Room to Breathe

At Booker Elementary, Revamped Sensory and Motor Rooms Offer Students a Way to Rest and Reset

The updated rooms give children short breaks to regulate their nervous systems so they can return to class ready to learn—tools that many schools struggle to provide.

09/25/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Bot Boast

Did You See a Robot Walking Down Lemon Avenue This Week?

We did.

09/25/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Suncoast Searchlight

She Paid His Bond. ICE Took Him. Bradenton Family's Saga Shows How Florida Jails Fuel Deportations

In Florida, the jail-to-deportation pipeline is one of the main engines of Trump’s mass-deportation push. Routine arrests, even for minor charges, are a direct gateway into ICE custody—the most frequent method of immigration arrests in the state.

09/19/2025 By Kara Newhouse/Suncoast Searchlight and Alice Herman/Suncoast Searchlight

Seeding Knowledge

Sarasota County Schools Has Launched Its Newest Education Initiative: a Working Farm

The $8 million agricultural complex sits on 39.1 acres next to McIntosh Middle School, where county students can get down and dirty while learning about agriculture.

09/18/2025 By Lauren Jackson

Campus Memorial

New College of Florida Plans Statue of Charlie Kirk

The Sarasota school is commissioning a privately funded monument to the slain activist as other campuses weigh tributes following his murder in Utah.

09/16/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Mo' Mote

Mote's New Science Education Aquarium (SEA) Is Set to Open Oct. 8

The $130 million, 146,000-square-foot aquarium marks Mote Marine Laboratory’s 70th anniversary and ushers in a new era of science education, research and public engagement.

09/16/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Fast Track

Stephenie Whitfield Named President of Bank of America Sarasota/Manatee

Plus: SMH's Trauma & Acute Care Surgery Services Division is recognized by the Department of Defense, and more.

09/15/2025 By Staff

Grant Report

Sarasota Ballet Receives Three-Year, $180,000 Grant

Plus: funding for the Sarasota Opera, Parenting Matters, Teen Court, Embracing Our Differences and more.

09/15/2025 By Staff

Traffic

Temporary Lane Closures on the North Trail Start Today

Utilities crews are beginning work on a multi-phase, $30 million water main improvement project that's expected to be completed in 2028.

09/15/2025 By Staff

Paths Reimagined

Sarasota Turns to Art After Statewide Crosswalk Ban

Community members in Sarasota will gather to create mosaic stepping stones after the state ordered the removal of rainbow crosswalks and sidewalk art.

09/12/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Making a Splash

Randy and the Dolphins

Marine scientist Randall Wells knows Sarasota’s dolphins better than anyone in the world. Just don’t ask him to read their minds.

09/05/2025 By Isaac Eger

Suncoast Searchlight

Streets of Paradise Co-Founder’s Firing Sparks Turmoil at Sarasota Homeless Nonprofit

Greg Cruz did not found the organization alone, but his personal history and visibility made him inseparable from the group’s identity.

09/05/2025 By Carrie Seidman/Suncoast Searchlight

Suncoast Searchlight

Privatization Push Emerges at New College as Ex-Insider Breaks With DeSantis Allies

New College alum Nathan Allen has laid out a multi-million-dollar proposal to wean New College off taxpayer dollars over the next decade

09/05/2025 By Alice Herman/Suncoast Searchlight

Suncoast Searchlight

Sarasota County Seeks Stormwater Rate Increase, but Audit Finds Millions Available

New Stormwater Director Ben Quartermaine, who has proposed raising annual rates by more than one-fourth, on average—but the recommendation contradicts a newly released audit

09/05/2025 By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast Searchlight and Michael Barfield/Florida Trident

Whisker Wonderland

At Katy’s Cat Café, Adoptable Cats and Kittens Are the Stars

At Katy’s, one side of the space is a beverage and ice cream outlet, where you can view, but not physically hang out with the cats. A separate entrance takes you into the “cat lounge,” where you can cuddle adoptable cats and kittens lazing about.

09/04/2025 By Lauren Jackson

Mosquito Buzz

You’re Not Imagining It. Mosquitoes Are Getting Worse Here.

More than 80 mosquito species call Florida home, and each mosquito species has different habitat preferences.

09/03/2025 By Isaac Eger

Sarasota Magazine

News & City Life

Sarasota's Joe Gruters Named Chair of Republican National Committee

We're Looking for Editorial and Sales & Marketing Interns

Mote Expands Seagrass Restoration Efforts With Three New Research Facilities

What Are Natural Disasters Doing to Our Mental Health?

Tervis Names Roger Parsons Its New President, Chief Revenue Officer

Sarasota Filmmaker Shaun Greenspan Brings His Star-Studded Opioid Drama to Burns Court

Florida’s Mid-Cycle Redistricting, Explained

Hugh Culverhouse Jr. Matching Challenge Results in $707,938 in Contributions to Florida Humanities

Cannons Marina Acquired by Ingman Marine

Today Is the One-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Helene's Landfall

At Booker Elementary, Revamped Sensory and Motor Rooms Offer Students a Way to Rest and Reset

Did You See a Robot Walking Down Lemon Avenue This Week?

She Paid His Bond. ICE Took Him. Bradenton Family's Saga Shows How Florida Jails Fuel Deportations

Sarasota County Schools Has Launched Its Newest Education Initiative: a Working Farm

New College of Florida Plans Statue of Charlie Kirk

Mote's New Science Education Aquarium (SEA) Is Set to Open Oct. 8

Stephenie Whitfield Named President of Bank of America Sarasota/Manatee

Sarasota Ballet Receives Three-Year, $180,000 Grant

Temporary Lane Closures on the North Trail Start Today

Sarasota Turns to Art After Statewide Crosswalk Ban

Randy and the Dolphins

Streets of Paradise Co-Founder’s Firing Sparks Turmoil at Sarasota Homeless Nonprofit

Privatization Push Emerges at New College as Ex-Insider Breaks With DeSantis Allies

Sarasota County Seeks Stormwater Rate Increase, but Audit Finds Millions Available

At Katy’s Cat Café, Adoptable Cats and Kittens Are the Stars

You’re Not Imagining It. Mosquitoes Are Getting Worse Here.

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