WSLR News

After letting pass more than 80 bills that pre-empt local decision-making, Gov. Ron DeSantis - to the surprise of many - just vetoed one bill that troubled local communities. We have the details.

Then: A month ago, New College cut some 40 trees - including historic slash pines - in a preserve. Now neighbors are hosting a memorial service this weekend. Everyone is invited, and Tyler Oldano has the story.

Next: Low-income housing and environmental causes rarely converge. But they do in a new incubator in Sarasota. I was at a ribbon-cutting this morning to get the scoop.

Finally: For one Sarasota resident, being sent to the Democratic Convention in Chicago this August as a delegate for the local party means coming full circle. She was in Chicago in 1968 to cover that protest-laden convention as a young reporter. Ramon Lopez has her story.

Due to the governor's fiat, the Ringling Causeway bridge will NOT be lit in rainbow colors during Pride Month this year. Instead, hundreds of Sarasotans will carry the world's longest rainbow flag across it this Saturday.

Then: Even though it has little to no jurisdiction over immigration, the Sarasota County Commission held a hearing about the QUOTE "impacts of illegal immigration". The workshop last Friday produced little new information, but drew loud protest. 

Next: Monday marked the second anniversary of the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade. Now, reproductive healthcare is at risk, as Meghan Bowman with partner station WMNF reports.

Then: A St Petersburg news outlet just hired a new reporter: artificial intelligence. Chris Young with partner station WMNF has more about this controversial move.

Finally: A close observer believes the political tide in developer-controlled Manatee County politics could be turning in the upcoming elections. Listen to the second part of our interview with Mitch Maley, editor of the Bradenton Times. 

Agriculture in Sarasota County is disappearing, and that even includes the latest generation of organic farmers. Tyler Oldano has a report on how one relatively young farm in Sarasota announced its demise.

Then: Manatee County voters seem restless, giving incumbents a hard time. Will that translate into any surprises? We talked to a long-time observer of local politics, to give us a race-by-race rundown of what will be on the ballot in the upcoming elections in August and November.

Next: The county tax collector is supposed to run government business smoothly and efficiently in the background. Election challenges to incumbents are rare, but all that has been turned on its head in Sarasota, as Florence Fahringer reports.

The latest ALICE report just came out, and it shows that the number of people living paycheck-to-paycheck keeps growing. Our news team is pointing at the elephant in the room: Low wages.

Then: Two affordable-housing projects are going through the approval process in the City of Sarasota, as Ramon Lopez reports. But so is another luxury condo tower that will increase demand for low-pay workers and therefore affordable housing.

Next: Jon Thaxton is a former county commissioner. He is also a forceful advocate for affordable housing. On today's Peace & Justice Report on WSLR, he advocated for a local funding source and for putting the onus on luxury developers.

Finally: Today is Juneteenth, and it's time to celebrate. Mark Warriner and WMNF have a few leads on how to go about it both in Sarasota and Tampa.

Affordable and quality childcare is increasingly hard to come by. Businesses complain the lack of it makes for higher staff turnover. Even so, Sarasota County commissioners voted 4-1 to cut funding for one of the biggest childcare providers in the area. WSLR reporter Tyler Oldano is looking at the fallout.

Then: Thousands of low-income seniors may end up on the streets, if HUD housing management companies continue a new practice to calculate income. WSLR reporter Victoria Kasdan talked to one HUD tenant who fell into the Medicare trap.

Next: On Thursday, the New College board of Trustees approved tenure for two professors - ignoring the objections of faculty and their union. The board also approved version 2.0 of a long-term business plan for the small public campus. Florence Fahringer was there.

Finally: The score is developer Pat Neal 1, grassroots opponents zero. A judge ruled on Thursday in a case filed by neighbors against the City of Venice over a commercial development, as Ramon Lopez reports.

First it was extreme drought, now it's a 200-year rain event. Florence Fahringer talks with a meteorologist and climate activist to make sense of the weather we're facing.

Then: An unknown young woman filed as a candidate for the District 1 seat of the Sarasota County Commission. And her filing could mean nearly half the voters in the district anxious about overdevelopment have no voice, and could end up with a developer-sponsored commissioner.

Next: The City of Venice Council finalized it yesterday: In a controversial referendum, Venice voters will decide whether they want to move their local elections to coincide with general elections. The move was expected, but there was a wrinkle, as Ramon Lopez reports. 

Finally: Low-wage workers in this area are facing increasingly long commutes, and a lack of affordable childcare. How does a new hotel trying to hire 400-plus workers go about this? We are reporting from a hiring fair in Sarasota.

Hurricane season is upon us, and most people are looking to the county and its emergency chief for guidance. But did you know there's grassroots disaster-response organizing going on? Ramon Lopez took part in a drill in his own neighborhood.

Then: Developer Pat Neal's 3H Ranch is one the biggest proposed developments in Sarasota County's rural east. He wants to squeeze 6,500 homes into a what's called a "village" concept, and that forces him to ask the county for a rezone and multiple variances. This, in turn, prompted a rant by one elected official.

Next: Some call them the condo nazis. We're talking about homeowners associations that not only tell people what they can and cannot do in their homes, but they also play a key role in maintaining, streets, walls, roofs, and other shared assets. Now, the governor signed a law that tries to rein in some common abuses. Ramon Lopez reports.  

Finally: Primary elections are coming up on Aug. 20 and a general election Nov. 5. But who is doing the heavy lifting on election day? The county's Supervisor of Elections office depends on temporary paid poll workers to make it happen. We talked to Sarasota elections chief Ron Turner, and he says that's an opportunity for high school and college students.

'End corporate welfare' has become a battle cry of the political right in Florida. Sarasota County Commissioner Mike Moran, who has taken his crusade against subsidies to childcare and transit, is now mirroring that by going against the chamber of commerce crowd. Tyler Oldano reports.

Then: A dozen like-minded academics took to the campus of New College last weekend to discuss how to end what they decry as intolerance in universities. At the end of a full day of deliberations, they got support from a cowboy boots-clad governor, as Mark Warriner reports.

Meanwhile, across the street, a handful of neighbors protested - not the War on Woke - but New College's tree cutting. Our news team was there.

Finally: The Sarasota School Board unanimously passed a six-year strategic plan yesterday. But while all board members applauded it, speakers in the audience pointed out two important elements missing in the plan: bilingual education, and the community schools concept.

Two weeks ago, New College graduates walked. But the commencement ceremony before that was full of security, glitches and unprogrammed action, including chants and heckles. Now, the college administration wants to discipline five students they accuse of disrupting the speaker. WSLR reporter Florence Fahringer talked to one of them.

Next: Sarasota County issued an ozone smog alert yesterday, as did Tampa, and today St. Petersburg. If the dry and hot weather continues, we may see more alerts. That comes after two decades of decline in ozone pollution in this area. We talk to an expert. 

Then: The District One race for Sarasota City Commission now has three candidates. We interviewed political newcomer Sequoia Felton, and provide a profile of incumbent Kyle Battie.

This morning, New College began to cut big slash pines in the Uplands Preserve, to make space for a soccer field and volleyball courts. This, despite a big orange "stop order" sign put there by the City of Sarasota on Saturday. But in the afternoon, college and city were in synch again.

Then: Getting medical care is beyond the financial capacities of one in five people living in Manatee County. That has put a burden on emergency rooms and public funding for them. County health officials want to change that, and Tyler Oldano has the details about that.

Next: Hugh Culverhouse Jr. is one of the Sarasota developer heavyweights, and as such it's not surprising he is a major campaign contributor to local political candidates. What IS surprising is that he was the single largest contributor for one candidate he found himself recently with on opposite sides of an issue in a very public way. But there's more to the story, as Florence Fahringer learned.

Then: The Venice City Council took another step towards a referendum to change election dates and councilmember terms. The only members affected by the change are Democrats, and grassroots opposition is beginning to take shape. Ramon Lopez reports.

Finally: Thinking about running for office? It's still possible, but you have to act quickly, because the deadline is near. We interviewed the Sarasota Supervisor of Elections for the nuts and bolts of filing for office.