WSLR News

Citizen reporter Dan Coughlin interviewed Alice White, a longtime environmental advocate from North Port, who is running for the District 5 seat on the Sarasota County Commission. Two Republicans are also running for the seat, former North Port Mayor Christopher Hanks and financial adviser Ron Cutsinger.

Citizen reporter Dan Coughlin interviewed Vicki Nighswander, a candidate for the Sarasota Hospital Board. Nighswander will face Steven Kleinglass in the Democratic primary election on August 18th, 2020.

In this interview, listen to Assistant Director at the Florida Studio Theatre Meg Gilbert talk about the Suffragist Project's journey. The Suffragist Project is coming to a close after a year of programming led by FST as the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment approaches on August 20th, 2020.

Citizen reporter Dan Coughlin interviewed Jerry Wells, a candidate for Sarasota City Commission District 2. Currently, five candidates are running to beat out incumbent Liz Alpert for the District 2 seat. Hear why Wells entered the race and why he thinks he'll do the best job.

Last week, five candidate finalists for superintendent of Sarasota County Schools answered a series of questions from the community. In a normal world, there would be a casual meet and greet held where members of the community could ask the finalists questions. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this was not a possibility. However, the community submitted over 75 pieces of input that were then summarized into a few questions that each superintendent answered in a virtual forum that was streamed live. Several themes ran throughout the questioning, including rebuilding trust in the district, and the superintendent's approach to diversity, early learning, and zoning. Andrea Messina, Executive Director of the Florida School Boards Association, facilitated the questions. The School Board is scheduled to choose the next superintendent on Tuesday, July 14th, at 3pm.

I interviewed Travis Ray, owner and founder of the Dapper Bowtique, an online bowtie and accessory brand. We spoke about the dream that inspired his business, the impact ancestry can have on one's craft, and his commitment to his community.

Dan Coughlin, our citizen reporter, interviewed two candidates running for Sarasota School Board for District 3. Dan spoke with Eric Robinson, who is running for reelection, and Tom Edwards.

In this Critical Times podcast episode, listen to our interview with Dr. John Kirk, a professor of Spanish and Latin American studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dr. Kirk is an expert on Cuban medical internationalism and is the author of several books, including "Healthcare Without Borders: Understanding Cuban Medical Internationalism." He also spent two months embedded with the Henry Reeve Cuban medical brigade in El Salvador. We spoke about Cuba's international medical response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In this episode of the Critical Times podcast, citizen reporter Dan Coughlin had a chance to talk to District 70 State Representative Wengay Newton about the local impact of coronavirus. Here's what Rep. Newton had to say.

In this podcast episode, listen to Gloria Browne-Marshall's lecture, "From Suffragettes to Voters: Black Women Creating a Powerful Path," at the New College of Florida as part of their Black History Month programming. Browne-Marshall is a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who has spoken globally on issues of law and justice. Put together by Critical Times News Intern Becca Hadwen, the episode explores several themes Marshall touched on during her lecture.