WSLR News

Sam Freitas discusses the candidates for the district 1 seat of the North Port City Commission.

On January 29th, Sarasota City Manager Marlon Brown appointed a new chief of police. Becca Hadwen spoke with Brown to learn more about his decision, and with Chief Jim Rieser on where he will take the department.

On Tuesday, the Manatee County Commission meeting teemed with drama, including disclosures of extramarital affairs, accusations of blackmail, and potential Sunshine Law violations. All this resulted in a vote to once again pursue firing County Administrator Cheri Coryea.

On February 1st, This is my Brave will air the second volume of “Stories from the Black Community.” This two-part series creates a platform for Black Americans to share their experiences regarding mental illness and recovery. I spoke with Kyaien Conner on the role of storytelling in fighting stigma.

Sarasota county rolled out a new COVID 19 vaccination appointment system at noon on January 20th. As of January 21st, over 70,000 people had registered to receive the COVID 19 vaccine and 1,000 people have been vaccinated at Twin Lakes park.

On January 13th, Sarasota County Commissioners voted to pare down affordable housing requirements. Instead, developers now have incentives.

The rocky start of vaccine distribution in Manatee County led to website shutdowns and complaints about accessibility. On January 7th, Manatee County launched a new system for vaccine registration. Cheri Coryea and Jacob Saur explained the changes in the January 6 County Commission meeting.

The Black Lives Matter Manasota Alliance hosts a Kwanzaa book drive. The drive is part of their literacy initiative and hopes to get books to children in underrepresented communities.

In a special meeting on November 19, Manatee County Commissioners voted 4-3 to discuss terminating their County Administrator, Cheri Coryea. Coryea has worked on the County government for over 30 years and recently received glowing evaluations. Commissioners in support of removing Coryea cited a 30 million dollar land deal, while commissioners opposed pointed toward the influence of developers.

Thanksgiving has a wide range of associations, going from family to settler colonialism to community service. Becca Hadwen spoke with Dr. Kristine Thomas Jones about the history of the holiday and its food.