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Sarasota — your local wire.
Sarasota — your local wire.
Local Government
Sarasota County opens $100M administration center east of I-75
Sarasota County officially opened its new $100.15 million administration center at 1 Apex Road on Tuesday, Aug. 25, holding a ribbon-cutting and its first commission meeting in the new chambers after years of planning and hurricane damage to the old downtown headquarters.
Education
Pine View ranked No. 1 public high school in Florida
Pine View School for the Gifted in Osprey earned the No. 1 public high school ranking in Florida and No. 13 nationally among public schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2026-27 Best High Schools list.
Sarasota, FL
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Local Government
Sarasota County opens $100M administration center east of I-75
Sarasota County officially opened its new $100.15 million administration center at 1 Apex Road on Tuesday, Aug. 25, holding a ribbon-cutting and its first commission meeting in the new chambers after years of planning and hurricane damage to the old downtown headquarters.
Sarasota, FL
88°F
Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
Feels like 100° · 44% rain
ThuScattered Showers And Thunderstorms90°F44%
FriScattered Showers And Thunderstorms91°F48%
SatChance Showers And Thunderstorms92°F66%
SunMostly Sunny93°F80%
MonMostly Sunny91°F71%
TueMostly Sunny91°F64%
WedMostly Sunny91°F61%
Local Government
Sarasota County opens $100M administration center east of I-75
Sarasota County officially opened its new $100.15 million administration center at 1 Apex Road on Tuesday, Aug. 25, holding a ribbon-cutting and its first commission meeting in the new chambers after years of planning and hurricane damage to the old downtown headquarters.
Sarasota, FL
88°F
Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
Feels like 100° · 44% rain
ThuScattered Showers And Thunderstorms90°F44%
FriScattered Showers And Thunderstorms91°F48%
SatChance Showers And Thunderstorms92°F66%
SunMostly Sunny93°F80%
MonMostly Sunny91°F71%
TueMostly Sunny91°F64%
WedMostly Sunny91°F61%
Most Read
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Ruby Bridges to hold public town hall at Booker High School on Nov. 12
Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges will appear at Booker High School's Visual and Performing Arts Center on Thursday, November 12, for a public town hall organized by Embracing Our Differences, with net proceeds benefiting the nonprofit and the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition.
Mote team produces 1.5 million coral embryos in Keys restoration
Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and 11 partner organizations produced more than 1.5 million coral embryos during an assisted-spawning effort in early August 2026, a landmark step toward restoring Florida's reef after the 2023 heat wave devastated remaining branching coral populations.
New College students settle into former USF campus as classes begin
New College of Florida students began their first week of classes on the North Campus, the former USF Sarasota-Manatee property transferred to the college in July, with students reporting short dorm-to-class commutes but challenges navigating between the two campuses.
Imagine School at North Port opens $50 million campus Monday
Imagine School at North Port opens its new $50 million, 139,500-square-foot campus on East Price Boulevard on Monday, Aug. 10, consolidating its K-12 program under one roof for the first time since 2008 and nearly tripling capacity to 1,500 students.
Voters flip Sarasota school board; new majority faces $45M gap
Two former teachers won Sarasota County School Board seats Aug. 18, ending the conservative supermajority that controlled the district since 2022 and handing a progressive majority a board facing $45 million in voucher-related revenue losses, expired federal relief and 259 job cuts.
Nathan Benderson Park lands $10 million for indoor sports complex ahead of 2028 World Rowing Championships
Nathan Benderson Park secured $10 million in state funding for a 100,000-square-foot indoor sports complex on Regatta Island, with a planned October 2026 groundbreaking and a deadline to finish before the 2028 World Rowing Championships come to Sarasota.
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Local Government
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Sarasota County opens $100M administration center east of I-75
Sarasota County officially opened its new $100.15 million administration center at 1 Apex Road on Tuesday, Aug. 25, holding a ribbon-cutting and its first commission meeting in the new chambers after years of planning and hurricane damage to the old downtown headquarters.
Local Government
Lido Beach dune project to close stretches of shoreline starting Sept. 8
The City of Sarasota will begin a 60-day dune restoration project on Lido Key starting Sept. 8, temporarily closing portions of 1.2 miles of beach while crews build a 2.5-foot dune using Army Corps sand stockpiled from the New Pass dredging.
Local Government
Sarasota County jail earns national mental health accreditation
The Sarasota County Correctional Facility received national accreditation for mental health services from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, a voluntary designation that Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman said reflects his staff's commitment to quality care.
Local Government
Sarasota County opens $100M administration center Wednesday
Sarasota County holds a ribbon-cutting Wednesday at its new $100.15 million, 121,160-square-foot administration center at 1 Apex Road, completing a years-long relocation from its flood-prone downtown headquarters.
Local Government
Residents walk out of Sarasota parking open house, demand to be heard
Downtown business owners and residents walked out of Sarasota's Aug. 24 parking open house to protest a written-questions-only format, the latest flashpoint in a months-long fight over paid parking and the underperforming St. Armands garage.
Local Government
St. Armands garage earns 28% of projections as $12.1M debt looms
Sarasota's St. Armands parking garage has averaged $212,000 in annual revenue against a $751,000 projection since opening in 2019, leaving $12.1 million in debt through 2038 and forcing $1.2 million in general-fund transfers — the financial backdrop as the city heads into two public meetings on parking policy Aug. 24 and Aug. 31.
Education
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Pine View ranked No. 1 public high school in Florida
Pine View School for the Gifted in Osprey earned the No. 1 public high school ranking in Florida and No. 13 nationally among public schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2026-27 Best High Schools list.
Education
New College students settle into former USF campus as classes begin
New College of Florida students began their first week of classes on the North Campus, the former USF Sarasota-Manatee property transferred to the college in July, with students reporting short dorm-to-class commutes but challenges navigating between the two campuses.
Public Safety
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Public Safety
Sarasota, Manatee sheriffs help recover 46 children in state's largest operation
The Sarasota and Manatee county sheriff's offices participated in Operation Statewide Shield, Florida's largest-ever child recovery initiative, which recovered 163 missing children statewide with the Tampa Bay region leading all regions at 46 recoveries.
Public Safety
Sarasota agencies debut helicopter hoisting in joint water-rescue drill
Sarasota Police, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office held their biannual helicopter-and-dive training at Nathan Benderson Park on Aug. 21, adding a new hoisting extraction technique made possible by the Sheriff's Office's recently acquired helicopter.
Public Safety
Three agencies pull sailboat captain from Big Pass sandbar in nighttime rescue
Sarasota Police, Longboat Key Police and a Sarasota County Sheriff's helicopter coordinated a nighttime rescue on July 28 after a sailboat captain became stranded on a sandbar near Big Pass between Lido Key and Siesta Key.
Public Safety
North Port Fire Rescue practices flood rescues as hurricane season peaks
North Port Fire Rescue conducted water rescue training drills during the week of Aug. 4, simulating Category 4 hurricane conditions at multiple locations as Sarasota County enters peak hurricane season.
Public Safety
Water main break shuts down Beneva Road for hours near Markridge intersection
An overnight water main break at Beneva Road and Markridge Road closed lanes on a major Sarasota corridor for most of Wednesday, Aug. 5, before all lanes reopened by 5:45 p.m.
Public Safety
Sheriff's office targets 14 high-crash roads in pedestrian and bike safety blitz
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office will deploy extra deputies along 14 high-crash corridors starting Aug. 10 as part of a state-funded pedestrian and bicycle safety enforcement program running through May 2027.
Community
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Mote team produces 1.5 million coral embryos in Keys restoration
Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and 11 partner organizations produced more than 1.5 million coral embryos during an assisted-spawning effort in early August 2026, a landmark step toward restoring Florida's reef after the 2023 heat wave devastated remaining branching coral populations.
Community
Anti-DEI law puts $2.1M in Sarasota County arts grants at risk
All 34 arts organizations in Sarasota County's $2.1 million tourism grant pool must sign a DEI compliance pledge under Florida's SB 1134 before the County Commission votes Aug. 26, with any resident able to sue the county if public funds are found to support DEI programming.
Business
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Business
Michelin-recommended Tralia to open second restaurant in Rosemary District
Chef Anthony Petralia plans to open a second Tralia restaurant in Sarasota's Rosemary District by December 2026, bringing a full-bar Italian concept with 150 seats and up to 30 jobs to the former Wolfie's & Rascal House space on Boulevard of the Arts.
Business
Sarasota goldsmith Todd Alan headed to New York Fashion Week runway
Sarasota master goldsmith Todd Alan, known as "The Ringmaker," will present eight handcrafted jewelry collections at New York Fashion Week in September, marking a milestone year for his family-run studio's 10th anniversary.
Business
Bee Ridge Denny's sells for $4.25 million; new retail brands planned
The former Denny's at 3701 Bee Ridge Road sold for $4.25 million on Aug. 4 to West Palm Beach firm Rich Global, which plans to renovate the building into two or three storefronts occupied by brands not yet in Sarasota.
Business
Ed's Tavern sports bar to open first Sarasota County location in former Chili's on US-41
Ed's Tavern, a Manatee County sports bar chain with three locations, has leased the former Chili's building at 4131 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota and plans to open its first Sarasota County restaurant there in 2027.
Business
Sarasota orders new rules for condo-hotel hybrids after two projects expose zoning gap
The Sarasota City Commission directed planning staff on Monday, July 20 to develop the city's first policy framework for hybrid condo-hotel buildings after two proposed projects exposed a gap in the zoning code that currently exempts such developments from residential density limits.
Business
Downtown Sarasota medical office building sells for $8.43 million
A Maryland-based investor paid $8.43 million for a downtown Sarasota medical office building vacated by Florida Cancer Specialists and plans to renovate it into a multi-tenant medical property starting in late 2026.
Sports
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Venice tops area football rankings after 72-7 rout
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune's first Super 10 poll of 2026 positions Venice as the area's top team after a Week 0 that saw the Indians rout Gulf Coast 72-7, Riverview fall to Port Charlotte, Cardinal Mooney get shut out by St. Thomas Aquinas, and Wellen Park win its inaugural game.
Sports
Sarasota bike builder chases Bonneville records in father's honor
Sarasota motorcycle builder Mark Salle-Tabor, 27, will attempt two land speed records at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials Aug. 23–27 on a custom 1978 Kawasaki his late father nicknamed "Wasabi," honoring Aaron Tabor, who died of cancer in February.
Megan O'Neill
Megan published her first poem in the Sun Sentinel at the age of 11 and has been locked in ever since. She attended UF and FIU and has a degree in Communication Arts. Her professional background includes photography, editing, writing, translation, and graphic design. Megan enjoys learning language, art and vegan foods.
Megan O'Neill
Megan published her first poem in the Sun Sentinel at the age of 11 and has been locked in ever since. She attended UF and FIU and has a degree in Communication Arts. Her professional background includes photography, editing, writing, translation, and graphic design. Megan enjoys learning language, art and vegan foods.
Megan O'Neill
Megan published her first poem in the Sun Sentinel at the age of 11 and has been locked in ever since. She attended UF and FIU and has a degree in Communication Arts. Her professional background includes photography, editing, writing, translation, and graphic design. Megan enjoys learning language, art and vegan foods.
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©2026 The Sarasota Record
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