WSLR News

The Sarasota County Emergency Management folks want you to know: Hurricane season is at its peak - not the time to let your defenses down.

Next: ICE is increasingly mining Florida jails for undocumented immigrants to arrest. That leaves in limbo many who have been arrested on minor charges. Suncoast Searchlight brings us this report.

Then: Today, the Florida Board of Education discussed how to implement a new law that would allow charter schools to take over public schools and their buildings. We have a report on the first school in Sarasota that may close - in anticipation of "Schools of Hope" enforcement.

Finally: He’s an illustrator, he wants to publish a book about hats - and he actually makes hats, too. WSLR News was at an exhibition opening in Sarasota featuring Oliver Dominguez’s art … and hats. 

The Sarasota school district may end up closing down its first school since 1969. And Wilkinson Elementary is not the only Title 1 school that could end up disappearing, amid shrinking student numbers and budgets for public schools.

Next: The Sarasota County Planning Commission has long been seen by activists as a rubber stamp board for developers. But at least one recent appointment could be changing that perception.

Then: That same board will be weighing a 1,000-unit project on agricultural land by a prominent developer. We have the details.

Selby Botanical Gardens found itself in the awkward position of having to field legal arguments to be allowed to cut down grand trees that enjoy special protections by the City of Sarasota. We explain.

Next: The ongoing immigration crackdown has thrown one Bradenton family into extreme distress. Ramon Lopez talked to a mother of two who is homebound facing a serious health challenge.

Then: Sarasota clerics are organizing weekly prayer vigils in support of immigrants. We have the details. 

Next: Free speech on campus is in the spotlight. We talked to a watchdog group that ranks universities’ free speech environment, to find out why Florida colleges are not looking good.

The Sarasota County Commission rejected a big homebuilder’s bid to build 156 homes on pasture land next to a bird sanctuary. On Thursday, DR Horton was back with a changed plan, asking the county to reconsider. Noah Vinsky reports.

Then: A small business owner in Sarasota ended up in a social media tornado, after she reposted an Instagram post on Charlie Kirk. We talked to her.

Next: Florida schools are failing teenagers when it comes to sex education. Dania Hefley has that report.

Finally: A first-responder ceremony in Sarasota reminded us of September 11, and Ramon Lopez has a report reminding us of this area’s close ties to the events of that day in 2001.

The Van Wezel’s lease on life seems to be expanding. Gretchen Cochran reports on the city’s latest plans with the historic performing arts hall.

Next: Sarasota County is committing to keeping Midnight Pass open, after last year’s hurricanes blew open that inlet on Siesta Key. But that comes at a risk and cost.

Then: New vaccine policies are creating confusion. Our reporter helps you understand what it now takes to get a COVID booster shot. 

Next: After nearly 70 years, Sister Cities International is as American as apple pie. But in today’s political environment, that people-to-people organization is facing headwinds. Our reporter talked to the diplomat who chairs the Sarasota chapter of Sister Cities about the challenges.

Finally: Clergy in Sarasota are beginning weekly prayer vigils and protests against the treatment of immigrants.

Expect your Sarasota County water bills to go up by nearly 10 percent. That’s needed in part, the county says, because we have to spend upwards of $300 million to build infrastructure for the water needs of a growing population.

Next:  If you’re a homeowner in Sarasota County, there’s more rising cost: The stormwater fee on your annual property tax bill. The county commission met Friday  to discuss stormwater management.

Next: Here’s another radical idea coming out of New College of Florida: Privatize it. Suncoast Searchlight brings us this report.

Then: David Jolly is a former Republican running as a Democrat for governor of Florida. Ahead of a visit to Sarasota next week, he answered a few questions from our reporter Brice Claypoole.

Finally: Mark Vengroff’s One Stop Housing is on a roll. His workforce housing projects are multiplying in the area, and we bring you excerpts of a one-hour interview he gave to WSLR’s Peace and Justice Report this week.

They did it after all: On Tuesday, Manatee County commissioners voted 6-1 to join a lawsuit against a controversial state law. that restricts counties' and cities' ability to control development.

Then: The Sarasota County Sheriff presented a scaled-down version of a costly jail expansion project. But if current incarceration trends continue, the expansion will need an expansion in just 10 years.

Next: It's trouble at Streets of Paradise, after the board of the non-profit for homeless Sarasotans fires a co-founder.

Finally: A union candidate for state senator, a 100-year anniversary for stagehands, and plenty of protest - Ramon Lopez summarizes Labor Day action in Sarasota.

Coming up: The Sarasota County Commission approved Pat Neal’s road in South Sarasota County, giving residents at his fast-growing Wellen Park development a straight shot to the beaches. Dania Hefley reports. 

Next: Responding to an ultimatum by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the City of Bradenton removed paintings off sidewalks at Village of the Arts. Brice Claypoole reports. 

Then: It’s Labor Day this Monday, and we have union news. For one, City of Sarasota employees voted overwhelmingly last week to continue to be represented by the Teamsters. In other Teamster news, hundreds of warehouse workers in Sarasota got their first contract ever, and that comes with a big bump in hourly pay. We have the details.

Finally: Did you know? One union in Sarasota is turning 100 this year. They will celebrate with a cake on Labor Day, and we will tell you which union it is.

City of Bradenton and City of Sarasota work crews are sandblasting art off sidewalks, to the dismay of artists. What’s happening?

Next up: Manatee County Schools have a new superintendent. Noah Vinsky tells us who the pick is.
 
Then: Suncoast Searchlight continues its series about the hidden costs of living in a privately run development: Josh Salman reports about trouble at a subdivision in Manatee County.

Next: A luxury developer is proposing to tear down a 12-story office building in the heart of downtown Sarasota and replace it with a taller tower. We have the details.

Finally: Some activists believe the historical Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is facing death by neglect. But the City of Sarasota’s interim manager told our reporter this ain’t so.

The Manatee County Commission was set for a showdown this week with state authorities and developers over controls for new development. It did not happen, and WSLR News reporter Dania Hefley explains.

Next up: Everybody is riled up about flooding. WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez got Sarasota County’s new stormwater management czar in front of his microphone, and he asked Ben Quartermaine a few questions.

Then: After hand-wringing about runaway spending and a possible deficit opening up in a few years, Sarasota County Commissioners agreed to hold a fifth budget workshop this week. It ended with few, if any, cuts, as Suncoast Searchlight reports.

Finally: A Miami judge just upended the immigrant detention center in the Everglades set up by the state government. We get local reactions.