WSLR News

After massive flooding last year, Sarasota County is asking the City of Sarasota to take over stormwater management. That would end an agreement that began in the last century.

Then: You’d think a forest that brings back turtles and birds would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. It’s not for one homeowners’ association in suburban Manatee County that actually ripped out a microforest.

Next: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers created a successful model that’s not only good for immigrant tomato pickers, but also for farmers and grocery store and restaurant chains. As deportation talk is reaching fever pitch, the Coalition is reaching out to new allies across Florida.

Finally: Red Tide produces a neurotoxin, and that may affect your brain health. WSLR News reporter Joanne Mills reports about groundbreaking research happening in Sarasota.

Three powerful deportation proponents shared the stage at New College Thursday. Farah Vallecillo tells you about some of the points they tried to get across.

Then: Outside the same New College venue, hundreds of protesters told their side of the immigration story, and we talked to a New College student who was both in- and outside.

Finally: A beloved jazz musician and former teacher passed away, and we’ll play a tribute put together by Ramon Lopez.

Sarasota city commissioners decided to postpone a $400 million vote, and Gretchen Cochran has the details.

Then: Downtown Sarasota is seeing a race for height and density for new skyscraper projects. Ramon Lopez explains.

Next: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Homan openly defied a judge’s order to stop the deportation of nearly 300 Venezuelans. He will be in Sarasota tomorrow to talk about immigration, sharing the stage with two other hardliners. New College students are wondering about their role in this "Socratic Stage" event, if any.

Then: The second Tesla Takedown protest in Sarasota was bigger than the first. And it had a new element: A handful counter protesters. The WSLR News team was there.

Finally: Red Tide produces a neurotoxin, and that may affect your brain. WSLR News reporter Joanne Mills reports about groundbreaking research happening in Sarasota.

The Sarasota Democrats elected a new leader this week, but few people have heard his name. WSLR News reporter Gretchen Cochran sat down with David Dean the morning after the election.

Then: Sarasota County will dredge. Ramon Lopez reports about a county commission workshop discussing responses to the catastrophic flooding of the last storm season.

Next: What’s the endgame for the new New College? A Suncoast Searchlight report puts the spotlight on the campus administrators’ ambitious real estate expansion plans.

Then: The legislative session is on in Tallahassee, and working families are knocking at legislators’ doors. Farah Vallecillo has the details.

Hundreds of homeowners along Phillippi Creek were flooded during Hurricane Debby last August. That has raised questions about deficits in stormwater management and how it could be improved. The Suncoast Searchlight brings us this report.

Then: A coalition of non-profit, business and government organizations says they have outperformed the Sarasota County government in recovery efforts after Hurricane Ian. Now they are asking the county to give them the lead in the recovery spending from last year’s storms, as Ramon Lopez reports. 

Next: FEMA has already paid out a billion dollars in the areas affected by last year’s trio of storms. But many disaster relief applications are still in limbo, and FEMA agents are asking for your help.

Then: The Tesla Takedown came to Sarasota last weekend, and it’s coming back next Saturday. We have a report.

Finally: What’s in your drinking water? A lot of chemicals. Sera Deniz reports from a local forum about the bad and the good.

A developer is proposing a massive condo project in downtown Sarasota. The 'Adagio' will be taller and denser than local zoning allows, and a new Florida law entitles them, the developer says. 

Then: Sarasota’s downtown master plan is getting an update after 25 years. A first meeting at city hall kicked off the process.

Finally: A Bradenton banker and former chamber of commerce chief has become a major organizer for undocumented immigrants in this region. What gives? WSLR News talked to him.

Hundreds of protesters in opposition to Trump’s executive measures gathered in downtown Sarasota again yesterday. 

Then: Ever heard about rent-a-cow? Developers have used this tax loophole for years, depriving counties of much-needed funding. The Suncoast Searchlight brings us that story.

Next: A non-profit in Sarasota is helping thousands of prisoners return to society, and you may be able to see their work soon on the big screen.

Then: Just after Debby, we talked to one flood victim. We revisited her more than half a year later, to see how she is doing.

Finally: If you’re pregnant it’s become increasingly hard to find medical help. A coalition has formed in Sarasota that wants to change things.

That check in the mail could take a bit longer. Truckers in Tampa and Miami hauling much of the Postal Service’s mail are on strike.

Then: George Kruse is a political survivor. The chair of the Manatee County Commission sat through a frank interview on WSLR’s The Detail, and we bring you excerpts.

Next: The Suncoast Searchlight is bowing, and we are delighted to bring you a double feature today. First, Josh Salman tells us about sewage spills during last year’s epic storm season.

Then: These same storms wrecked small businesses in this area, and that still makes economic ripples. Josh Salman of the Suncoast Searchlight brings us that story.

Yesterday, Sarasota County commissioners surprised their critics and campaign donors again. In a narrow vote, they postponed a decision on a key part of a major development, prompting the developer to huddle with neighbors who are trying to stop the project. Ramon Lopez reports.

Then: The governor is setting in motion a takeover of yet another iconic institution in Sarasota. But the resistance is taking shape.

Next: Next month, City of Sarasota commissioners are expected to take key decisions regarding the future of the Purple Cow. One of them is whether to seek a historic designation for the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center. Gretchen Cochran reports.

Finally: Activists are planning a nationwide economic blackout this Friday. We explain what’s behind the idea.

Some 5,000 Ukrainian immigrants live in South Sarasota County. And they’re not happy campers when it comes to the Trump administration’s and Rep. Greg Steube’s pressure campaign on Ukraine.

Then: The Manatee County commission is trying to come to terms with the epic flooding during the last storm season, and what it may take to prevent an encore.

Next: Amid Elon Musk’s cost-cutting and firing, the Small Business Administration is chugging on here in Sarasota, trying to help with disaster recovery.