WSLR News

The recently flooded Van Wezel got a few more years. The City of Sarasota is now taking steps to keep the historic performing arts hall in good shape, but there are many questions about the future of the Purple Cow.

Next up: Layoffs at Sarasota County’s largest manufacturing company seem to continue, after a merger last fall that resulted in the elimination of an entire shift. WSLR News reporter Noah Vinsky has the story of a struggling couple in North Port.

Then: We continue to follow the deportation of a young woman from North Port. Today, Ramon Lopez brings us the third chapter of her journey: What does the future look like for Lulu Martinez in Mexico? And what are her legal options, if she tried to return to the United States?

Then: Speaking of deportations - a protest is coming up in Sarasota this weekend. 

Finally: Rob Lorei was not loud, but this Tampa Bay area journalist left quite the legacy. He passed away last weekend, and we bring you a eulogy.

After weeks of ICE detention, a young woman who grew up in North Port signed those deportation papers and walked across the Mexican border. She told WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez what that was like.

Next up: 400 million and growing - that’s the cost of a new performing arts center in Sarasota. Suncoast Searchlight brings us a report that shows fundraising for that project is lagging. 

Then: Downtown Bradenton is changing fast, with little public scrutiny. We bring you a report about a city council vote that will change a historic neighborhood nearby. 

Next: Vaccination rates in Sarasota kindergartens have dropped below herd immunity levels. We bring you this Suncoast Searchlight investigative report.

Finally: A plan for a family resource center connected to a school in Newtown is taking shape. But even before fundraising has begun, the project has mobilized hundreds of community members. 

Lulu Martinez grew up in North Port and graduated from college there just last year. Last week, she walked across a bridge to Mexico, and WSLR News interviewed her about the weeks at an ICE detention camp in Texas before that. 

Next up: School board member Tom Edwards has been named executive director of Project Pride SRQ. Now the Sarasota Republican Party says this presents a conflict of interest and asks him to resign. 

Then: The Manatee County School Board narrowed its search for a superintendent to two finalists. Who are they?

Finally: Rents remain high across Sarasota and Manatee, outmatching wages for most renters. We bring you a Suncoast Searchlight analysis.

A local non-profit has tested the water quality in seven new locations in the bay, and what they’ve found is a lot of e. Coli. They recommend avoiding swimming at these spots. 

Next up: At a recent Republican gathering in Sarasota County, in-fighting within the GOP party reigned as a dominant theme. 

Then: Minors in Manatee County will find themselves restricted by a new curfew. The County Commission also continues to push back against SB 180. 

Finally: Sarasota City Commissioners denied a rezoning request by a synagogue to build apartments next to the temple. 

Following whistleblower complaints about lack of financial transparency, the New College Foundation is coming under more scrutiny: This time it’s about a donor who wants their money back. Mason Chambless explains.

Next up: An analysis by Suncoast Searchlight reveals that buyers in this region have little choice but to live in neighborhoods controlled and taxed by real estate developers. Derek Gilliam reports.

Then: Environmentalists and an indigenous tribe are suing state and federal agencies over the immigrant detention center in the Everglades. A Sierra Club organizer explains their reasons.

Then: Reporter Noah Vinsky has the latest on Manatee Schools’ superintendent search.

Finally: The North Water Tower Park is one of Sarasota’s best-kept secrets. Will it stay that way? 

The cold war between Manatee County commissioners and the DeSantis administration turned hot again at yesterday’s commission meeting. Noah Vinsky reports. 

Next up: A Trump administration budget cut makes ripples before it has even begun. Suncoast Searchlight reports about the financial squeeze on a nearby rural hospital. 

Then: We reported about the ICE detention of Lulu Martinez. The recent college graduate from North Port is now in Mexico, as Ramon Lopez reports. 

Then: Some protesters in Bradenton will express their rage at Rage Against the Regime, as Mason Chambless learned. 

Finally: Soon an open mic and yoga for the unhoused will be launching. Gretchen Cochran has that story. 

The Colson Hotel is a special place, and after its first 100 years, this Sarasota building is getting a new lease of life. Amayia-Marie Gaspard braced spiders to find out how.

Next up: On Tuesday, dozens of people lined up at a Sarasota School Board meeting to speak out against a change in discrimination policy. But the two board members who voted against that policy change say they are more concerned about a different challenge: Money. I will bring you this report.

Then: Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch is still fixing her home, after last year’s flooding. Student reporter Oscar Moore interviewed her about this experience, and what she thinks the city should do about future flooding.

Then: The city is giving away trees. Kiona Wehlage interviewed the City of Sarasota’s chief arborist about the Neighborhood Canopy Program. 

Finally: The Mobile Freedom School and its focus on African American history is back this summer. Mason Chambless took one class and learned about … the history of traffic lights. 

WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez is headed to Camp Blanding, where the governor wants to open a second camp to concentrate immigrant detainees. Ahead of his trip, Lopez brings us the latest news of this project.

Next: FPL wants to bury more power cables in Sarasota. That’s safer and more reliable after storms, but it’s costly, too. Noah Vinsky checks who will pay the bill.

Then: Thursday was Good Trouble Day, in memory of civil rights icon John Lewis. In Sarasota, it was a group of veterans who made the biggest noise. Mason Chambless has that report.

Then: The Florida Department of Transportation wants cities to paint over rainbow crosswalks. What will the City of Sarasota do with its Pride display on Cocoanut and Second? Kylee Worth reports.

Next: A Sarasota pastor connected to local political figures uses harsh anti-queer language, describes his political opponents as demonic, and portrays the country as on the precipice of war. Suncoast Searchlight brings us this report.

A 20-year old man who grew up in Southwest Florida and ran an ice cream shop in Tampa was killed in the West Bank. His death created an international incident, and two local events are ahead this week.

Next: The big budget bill signed by President Trump on July 4th comes at a cost for hundreds of thousands of Floridians. Reece Helmick is looking at the effects of the new budget on health insurance.

Then: New College presented its updated campus master plan yesterday. Reece Helmick has the details.

Then: After 31 years, Rick Piccolo is leaving the helm of the Sarasota airport to a successor. We looked at the new guy’s compensation, and his tasks ahead.

Finally: Running in a legal gray zone, some 20 gambling dens are operating in Sarasota and Manatee County. Suncoast Searchlight and the Bradenton Herald teamed up on this investigative report.

The Sarasota-based Southwest Florida Planned Parenthood is no more. After a merger with the other regional chapter in Florida, it’s now part of a bigger, statewide organization. Kylee Worth looks at the costs and benefits.

Then: The Sarasota County utility chief is pushing back, after an investigative report revealed neglect ahead of historic flooding last year. A new Suncoast Searchlight report responds to Spencer Anderson’s responses.

Next: The panel making recommendations about the future of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall reached its verdict, and Gretchen Cochran reports.

Finally: Storms and flooding are costly, and real estate is slowing. And that means counties, cities and towns in the region are facing tighter budgets. Noah Vinsky puts the spotlight on Sarasota County’s biggest city, whose voters just said ‘no’ to more borrowing.