Community
Latest reporting from the Community desk.
Community
Latest reporting from the Community desk.
Community
Latest reporting from the Community desk.
Community
Sarasota's Fruitville Library reopens Oct. 15 after $28M renovation
Sarasota County's Fruitville Library reopens Thursday, Oct. 15, after a nearly $28 million renovation, with full services available but several new spaces and a 30,000-square-foot History Center still under construction.
Community
Diverse Fest expands across Harvest campus for fourth year
Sarasota's fourth annual Diverse Fest expands to both buildings at the Harvest campus on Saturday, Oct. 10, with more than 50 vendors, food trucks, live music, new workshops and free family activities after drawing about 1,500 attendees last year.
Sarasota, FL
83°F
Sunny
Feels like 87° · 0% rain
TueSunny88°F0%
WedSunny89°F0%
ThuSunny90°F22%
FriSunny88°F41%
SatIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms85°F45%
SunIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms83°F42%
MonIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms84°F32%
Community
Sarasota's Fruitville Library reopens Oct. 15 after $28M renovation
Sarasota County's Fruitville Library reopens Thursday, Oct. 15, after a nearly $28 million renovation, with full services available but several new spaces and a 30,000-square-foot History Center still under construction.
Sarasota, FL
83°F
Sunny
Feels like 87° · 0% rain
TueSunny88°F0%
WedSunny89°F0%
ThuSunny90°F22%
FriSunny88°F41%
SatIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms85°F45%
SunIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms83°F42%
MonIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms84°F32%
Community
Sarasota's Fruitville Library reopens Oct. 15 after $28M renovation
Sarasota County's Fruitville Library reopens Thursday, Oct. 15, after a nearly $28 million renovation, with full services available but several new spaces and a 30,000-square-foot History Center still under construction.
Sarasota, FL
83°F
Sunny
Feels like 87° · 0% rain
TueSunny88°F0%
WedSunny89°F0%
ThuSunny90°F22%
FriSunny88°F41%
SatIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms85°F45%
SunIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms83°F42%
MonIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms84°F32%
Community
Sarasota libraries launch otter-themed kids reading program
Sarasota County Libraries launches Little Otter's Big Reading Adventure on Sept. 28, replacing 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten with a 20-log reading program for children ages 0 to 6, kicking off with a live Mote Marine otter demonstration streamed to library branches.
Community
Sarasota advances $50,000 sale of toxic Newtown brownfield
The Sarasota City Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 8 to advance the $50,000 sale and rezoning of the contaminated Marian Anderson Place brownfield in Newtown, with the developer bearing an estimated $4.5 million cleanup cost, while commissioners rewrote pollution protections on the dais and left a data center question unresolved.
Community
Ringling College grad designs 2026 Ripley's book cover
Ringling College of Art and Design alumna Julia Louisa Moellman, a 2014 graduate and senior graphic designer at Ripley's, designed the cover of the franchise's 2026 annual book, Wired Into Weird.
Community
Sarasota Players launches $500K sprint to renovate Payne Park home
The Sarasota Players launched a $500,000 campaign to renovate Payne Park Auditorium into a 200-seat theater, following years of financial losses and a leadership overhaul that replaced most of the board and eliminated the CEO position.
Community
Sarasota's Modern Works Festival draws record submissions
Urbanite Theatre's seventh Modern Works Festival runs Sept. 17–27 with a record number of submissions, three finalist plays including one by a local Sarasota playwright, and Yale Prize-winning guest speaker Jacqueline Goldfinger.
Community
Air Force One pilot recalls steep 9/11 takeoff from Sarasota
Retired Col. Mark Tillman described launching Air Force One nearly vertically from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on 9/11 to evade a potential threat, while teacher Kay Daniels revealed a surprise phone call from former President Bush on the eve of the 25th anniversary tribute breakfast at SRQ.
Community
Sarasota's Bay Park celebrates four years with 70 free events
Sarasota's Bay Park marks its fourth anniversary and more than 1.2 million visitors with "One Park FOUR All," a month of more than 70 free events running Oct. 1 through Nov. 1, including food festivals, live music and family Halloween activities.
Community
Sarasota County approves 5,700-home Palmer East near Nokomis
Sarasota County commissioners voted 4-0 on Sept. 8 to approve Palmer East, a 5,700-home master-planned development on 2,350 acres near Nokomis that includes a town center with 500 affordable units and is projected to create 1,766 jobs over 20 years.
Community
Sarasota launches $1.2M dune restoration on Lido Beach
The City of Sarasota will begin placing 3,000 cubic yards of sand to build 1.2 miles of vegetated dunes along Lido Beach starting Sept. 21, with equipment arriving as early as Sept. 14 and the beach remaining open during the 60-day project.
Community
Sarasota County weighs 5,700-home Palmer Ranch East plan
Sarasota County commissioners will hear a proposal Tuesday to build 5,702 homes on 2,351 acres east of I-75 as part of the Palmer Ranch East development, the last piece of the county's 2050 Plan.
Community
Selby Gardens starts $60.9 million hurricane-proof conservatory
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has started vertical construction on a $60.9 million Phase Two conservatory complex in downtown Sarasota, built to shield approximately 20,000 plant specimens from hurricanes, with a November 2028 opening target.
Community
Sarasota approves $2.1M arts grants after Urbanite exits
The Sarasota County Commission approved $2.1 million in tourist-tax arts grants on Aug. 26 but dropped Urbanite Theatre after the company refused to sign an anti-DEI compliance form required under a new state law, forfeiting its $40,230 allocation.
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©2026 The Sarasota Record
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