WSLR News

The governor signed into law a Joe Gruters-sponsored insurance bill that will likely raise costs for condo dwellers and retirement home residents. The insurance industry had urged DeSantis to veto it, because it seems to heavily favor just one particular insurance business.

Then: 1899 Fruitville, a controversial residential project planned to fill two blocks near downtown Sarasota, took a big step towards groundbreaking. 

Next: Angie Nixon, the progressive candidate for US Senate, was at the radio station this week. We’ll bring you a teaser of a one-hour interview that will air on Rap Sessions, a new political podcast produced at WSLR.

Then: At a candidate forum in Newtown, issues were eclipsed by a sense of urgency about voter engagement.

Next: We are continuing our series of candidate profiles. Today, we offer a close look at Jim DeNiro, the Republican candidate for Sarasota County Commission challenging the Republican incumbent. 

Friday, high noon, was the candidate filing deadline for the upcoming elections. We were looking for last-minute drop-outs and add-ons, as well as at who is NOT running in Sarasota. 

Then: Investors want to build Planet Earth’s biggest data center just 40 miles from Sarasota. But they might have to overcome a hurdle or two when it comes to water use. 

Next: It’s a fact now: After 50 years, the Florida Legislature shut down the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. Reporter Nic Steinig has a close look at the ripples.

Finally: Next week is Juneteenth, and our reporter raises the curtain on a special celebration.

New College got national exposure again - but not the kind it wants. 

Next: Half a year ago, a buyer spent more than $1 million on a historically designated home in the Hudson Bayou neighborhood near downtown Sarasota. Now, they are asking the city to allow a tear-down. What gives?

Then: Do you feel overwhelmed by new development? But you feel your voice does not count and resisting is not worth your time and energy? Local neighborhood organizers disagree. Our reporter was at a CONA meeting yesterday.

Next: It’s election season, and you need to know about the candidates. Today we bring you Flo Entler, running for Sarasota City Commission, and - double feature - Joe Neunder, the incumbent for the district 4 seat of the Sarasota County Commission.  

New College is facing what looks like a financial head-on collision. Nic Steinig brings us this story.

Then: Four out of 10 Floridians support or sympathize with Christian Nationalism, and we have a U.S. administration that is pushing the envelope. An event in Sarasota is trying to raise awareness of what many Americans perceive as a danger to democracy.  

Next: Jen Ahearn-Koch wants to be re-elected - again - as Sarasota City Commissioner. We have a profile.

Our next candidate profile: Kristina Sargent is challenging incumbent Mark Smith for the District 2 seat of the Sarasota County Commission. 

 In-person neighborhood workshops are back in Sarasota County - developers who ask for exceptions from zoning rules now have to present their projects to actual neighbors again.

Then: Two recent, high-profile road deaths of bicyclists in the region have stirred up biking activists. 

Next: Frank DiCicco seeks to fill the Sarasota school board seat left by Robyn Marinelli. Ed James the Third brings you a profile.

Then: Measles are on the rise again, but Sarasota has one of the lowest child vaccination rates. 

Finally: We have a report on the power ladies that shaped Sarasota’s history.

The City of Bradenton is trying to change the role of its mayor, limiting re-election and stripping them of a vote on the city council. But will it result in a weakened mayor? We’re having a close look.

Then: One of the area’s oldest Black cemeteries has been in a state of neglect, and some graves have been vandalized. Our reporter Brice Claypoole found that history is repeating itself.

Next: To make way for a block-filling twin-tower condo project downtown, the city is allowing a developer to tear down a unique, century-old structure - without public review. Suncoast Searchlight brings us this story.

Then: Hurricane season begins Monday, and we have an update on forecasts - and on drones.

USF Sarasota-Manatee is no more. Republican state legislators made a deal that will close down the campus in a matter of months, even after thousands of area residents, students, and four chambers of commerce expressed their opposition. 

Then: Planet Earth’s biggest data center may be built some 40 miles from Sarasota. Suncoast Searchlight brings us that story.

Next: Another Suncoast Searchlight report: While in budget negotiations in Tallahassee, a local legislator is trying to permanently end a fight between the Sarasota School District and the Sarasota Tax Collector. 

Next: John Harshman wants to be your next Sarasota city commissioner. We will bring you a profile of the long-time commercial realtor.

Finally: Staying with candidate profiles: You may have got to know Michelle Pozzie as a passionate anti-masking and medical freedom advocate. She is now running for a Sarasota School Board seat.

A historically Black cemetery in Palmetto may have been vandalized months ago, but efforts to make the city aware of it went nowhere.

Next: Developers are pushing a massive data center project in rural DeSoto County. Will the pushback stop it?

Next: A Bradenton museum exhibition celebrates the history of Latino involvement in baseball and American culture.

Next: We are continuing our profiles of local candidates. Today: Megan Tennimon, who is running for Sarasota School Board.

Finally: A conscious listening effort in Manatee County brought together both sides of the aisle.  

Booker High School is an anchor of Sarasota’s African American community. Our reporter is gathering reactions to the appointment of a new principal. 

Next: The Sarasota County Commission yesterday took back part of its recent surprise vote to cover expenses of school tax collections, conditioning it on the outcome of a lawsuit. 

Then: Paid parking on Sundays brought upon the City of Sarasota the wrath of downtown churches.

Next: The shallow Phillippi Creek has triggered a lot of anxiety, after the waterway flooded dozens of homes in the epic 2024 storm season. But Sarasota County now has completed Phase 1 dredging of the waterway, complying with a major demand of nearby residents.

The drought has produced water restrictions. But they are not equally enforced. We have a Suncoast Searchlight report. 

Zander Moricz is at it again. This week, the youth organizer and viral debater was in Oxford to discuss the prompt “Youth activism is primarily performative”. We were at the debate watch party of his SEE Alliance in downtown Sarasota.

Greg Steube sailed to re-election twice, easily. In November he will again face a Democratic challenger, but in the last races, Steube did not think it was necessary to ever address his challengers. We bring you a profile of Steube, the incumbent candidate.

Our final candidate profile today is of Mark Smith. He is the incumbent in the District 2 race for Sarasota County Commission.