Three powerful deportation proponents shared the stage at New College Thursday. Farah Vallecillo tells you about some of the points they tried to get across. Then: Outside the same New College venue, hundreds of protesters told their side of the immigration story, and we talked to a New College student who was both in- and outside. Finally: A beloved jazz musician and former teacher passed away, and we’ll play a tribute put together by Ramon Lopez....
Mar 21, 2025•31 min•Ep. 332
Sarasota city commissioners decided to postpone a $400 million vote, and Gretchen Cochran has the details. Then: Downtown Sarasota is seeing a race for height and density for new skyscraper projects. Ramon Lopez explains. Next: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Homan openly defied a judge’s order to stop the deportation of nearly 300 Venezuelans. He will be in Sarasota tomorrow to talk about immigration, sharing the stage with two other hardliners. New College students are wondering about their ro...
Mar 19, 2025•31 min•Ep. 331
The Sarasota Democrats elected a new leader this week, but few people have heard his name. WSLR News reporter Gretchen Cochran sat down with David Dean the morning after the election. Then: Sarasota County will dredge. Ramon Lopez reports about a county commission workshop discussing responses to the catastrophic flooding of the last storm season. Next: What’s the endgame for the new New College? A Suncoast Searchlight report puts the spotlight on the campus administrators’ ambitious real estate...
Mar 14, 2025•31 min•Ep. 330
Hundreds of homeowners along Phillippi Creek were flooded during Hurricane Debby last August. That has raised questions about deficits in stormwater management and how it could be improved. The Suncoast Searchlight brings us this report. Then: A coalition of non-profit, business and government organizations says they have outperformed the Sarasota County government in recovery efforts after Hurricane Ian. Now they are asking the county to give them the lead in the recovery spending from last yea...
Mar 12, 2025•31 min•Ep. 329
A developer is proposing a massive condo project in downtown Sarasota. The 'Adagio' will be taller and denser than local zoning allows, and a new Florida law entitles them, the developer says. Then: Sarasota’s downtown master plan is getting an update after 25 years. A first meeting at city hall kicked off the process. Finally: A Bradenton banker and former chamber of commerce chief has become a major organizer for undocumented immigrants in this region. What gives? WSLR News talked to him....
Mar 07, 2025•31 min•Ep. 328
Hundreds of protesters in opposition to Trump’s executive measures gathered in downtown Sarasota again yesterday. Then: Ever heard about rent-a-cow? Developers have used this tax loophole for years, depriving counties of much-needed funding. The Suncoast Searchlight brings us that story. Next: A non-profit in Sarasota is helping thousands of prisoners return to society, and you may be able to see their work soon on the big screen. Then: Just after Debby, we talked to one flood victim. We revisit...
Mar 05, 2025•30 min•Ep. 327
That check in the mail could take a bit longer. Truckers in Tampa and Miami hauling much of the Postal Service’s mail are on strike. Then: George Kruse is a political survivor. The chair of the Manatee County Commission sat through a frank interview on WSLR’s The Detail, and we bring you excerpts. Next: The Suncoast Searchlight is bowing, and we are delighted to bring you a double feature today. First, Josh Salman tells us about sewage spills during last year’s epic storm season. Then: These sam...
Feb 28, 2025•30 min•Ep. 326
Yesterday, Sarasota County commissioners surprised their critics and campaign donors again. In a narrow vote, they postponed a decision on a key part of a major development, prompting the developer to huddle with neighbors who are trying to stop the project. Ramon Lopez reports. Then: The governor is setting in motion a takeover of yet another iconic institution in Sarasota. But the resistance is taking shape. Next: Next month, City of Sarasota commissioners are expected to take key decisions re...
Feb 26, 2025•31 min•Ep. 325
Some 5,000 Ukrainian immigrants live in South Sarasota County. And they’re not happy campers when it comes to the Trump administration’s and Rep. Greg Steube’s pressure campaign on Ukraine. Then: The Manatee County commission is trying to come to terms with the epic flooding during the last storm season, and what it may take to prevent an encore. Next: Amid Elon Musk’s cost-cutting and firing, the Small Business Administration is chugging on here in Sarasota, trying to help with disaster recover...
Feb 21, 2025•32 min•Ep. 324
The firing of federal employees is happening not only in Washington. It’s making ripples here on the Suncoast, as Gretchen Cochran found. Speaking of DOGE: There is also pushback, in the shape of protests, against what many decry as executive overreach. There were 17 protests on President’s Day in Florida, including one in Bradenton and two in Sarasota. We have reports on those. Finally: New College hosted an academic with rock star status in the LGBTQ community. Judith Butler called on the newl...
Feb 19, 2025•31 min•Ep. 323
The project to build a super tall and super exclusive condo tower in downtown Sarasota for the super rich survived one challenge. But it has to clear one more hurdle. We have that story. Then: There was a small earthquake in Sarasota County politics this week. Ramon Lopez puts the spotlight on two “no” votes that make a dent in the seemingly unstoppable suburban sprawl machine. Speaking of sprawl: In the middle of a decades-old suburb in Sarasota, a three-acre showcase for urban agriculture and ...
Feb 14, 2025•31 min•Ep. 322
You could call it a political earthquake. Sarasota County Commissioners voted yesterday AND today against two major suburban development projects, both with 5-0 votes. Ramon Lopez has that report. Then: Tuesday was also a big day for the Sarasota Performing Arts Center project - the costliest undertaking yet in the history of the city. Gretchen Cochran is following it closely. Next: A St. Petersburg Republican filed a bill that could defund the public arts programs of Florida cities - including ...
Feb 12, 2025•31 min•Ep. 321
Donald Trump decreed that immigration enforcers can now enter churches, hospitals and schools. Sarasota School Board members and the superintendent discussed their response this week. Then: It’s Black History Month, and a photo exhibit at the Fogartyville celebrates the struggles of civil rights activists. Finally: Florida used to be the nation’s leading cattle state. Not anymore, as Florida’s head count of cows keeps shrinking. A new book puts the spotlight on the Great Florida Cattle Drive, an...
Feb 07, 2025•30 min•Ep. 320
New College is land-hungry. But the administrators’ efforts to expand the small campus have yielded mixed results. This week they seem to have scored one win and one loss. Then: Cell-phone use at school is a thorny subject. The Sarasota school district waded into the controversy by polling students and parents. Ramon Lopez reports about the survey’s results. Next: The federal spending freeze this week affected at least one local program. We tell you how. Finally: The developer of Lakewood Ranch ...
Feb 05, 2025•31 min•Ep. 319
It was not what many in the community - and two men on the dais - wanted: This week, the Sarasota County Commission voted for what looks pretty much like the beginning of the end for the last volunteer fire district in the county. Ramon Lopez reports. Then: The news desert keeps growing, but new wells are springing up. We report about the second version of a million-dollar news project on the Suncoast a non-profit is about to launch. Next: Progress dies in isolation. Preventing that is what an e...
Jan 24, 2025•31 min•Ep. 318
Sarasota County was ground zero for flooding in Florida this storm season. Yesterday, the Sarasota County Commission held a workshop on stormwater management, and Ramon Lopez was there. Then: Yesterday, three appellate judges heard arguments in a lawsuit that tries to stop the Lakewood Ranch Southeast mega-development. We listened closely to the judges’ questions. Next: Light pollution is getting worse at Myakka River State Park. The Our Changing Environment show on WSLR put the spotlight on tha...
Jan 22, 2025•32 min•Ep. 317
Were you under water during this epic storm season? This Tuesday, the Sarasota County Commissioners will discuss stormwater management lessons learned from the recent flooding. Then: The state legislature is providing heat protections unequally. Surreal News interviewed a Florida farmworker advocate about a heat bill that may be back in the upcoming session in Tallahassee, after it died repeatedly in committee. Next: Coalition building is needed to achieve positive change, but the culture wars h...
Jan 17, 2025•31 min•Ep. 316
How much will it cost to keep the recently flooded Van Wezel Performing Arts Center? A fraction of what building a new one would cost. That's according to the latest engineering report, and Gretchen Cochran has the details. Then: The Sarasota County Fire Department wants to expand its coverage area. But its proposal to cut back the county's last volunteer fire department increasingly feels like it's too hot to handle. Ramon Lopez reports. Next: This Saturday - two days ahead of Donald Trump's se...
Jan 15, 2025•31 min•Ep. 315
Sarasota County announced another $200 million-plus federal grant to help with storm recovery. The HUD funds will bail out many distressed homeowners here, and most of the money is supposed to help low- and moderate income households. Then: The first fully bilingual school in the region is expanding, and Dayana Melendez has the details. Next: The Manatee County Commission has a new chairman who wants to be transparent. He took his aspirations for a test-run in the first meeting under his gavel. ...
Jan 10, 2025•31 min•Ep. 314
Manatee County politics never cease to entertain. The same day the new chair of the county commission let his priorities be known, news broke about a lawsuit. Then: Developer Pat Neal's plans for a controversial commercial development in Venice changed election outcomes in the still-quaint but fast-growing city. Yesterday, Neal's project got a step closer to groundbreaking. But he still expects pushback. Next: The City of Sarasota spent quite some time and money to have a new logo designed. On M...
Jan 08, 2025•31 min•Ep. 313
A private workforce housing project near downtown that has been years in planning took another step towards groundbreaking. That's a rarity in posh Sarasota. Then: Ditto for a suburban mega-project. A big chunk of the Lakewood Ranch Southeast expansion is moving close to a vote by the Sarasota County Commission - with little scrutiny for potential flooding and traffic, and disregard for a pending lawsuit. Next: Sarasota County is ready to dredge, should nature try to close Midnight Pass again. B...
Jan 03, 2025•31 min•Ep. 312
How does a warming climate change the balance of water? Noah Vinsky talked to the retiring director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, who has been quite vocal on this topic recently. Next: Humans aside, dolphins are the top predator in around Sarasota Bay. And when Flipper is doing OK, all is well. So how well IS Flipper? We asked an expert to find out. Then: The hurricanes this season have produced big challenges and shown deficiencies of local stormwater management systems. Ramon Lopez inte...
Jan 01, 2025•31 min•Ep. 311
The Colson Hotel - a landmark in what was once the heart of African American life in Sarasota - has been saved from the wrecking ball. Ramon Lopez has some specifics about the deal. Then: You may have biked on the Legacy Trail. But do you know about the big-picture trail plans for this region? Cathy Antunes, on her The Detail show on WSLR, interviewed the man who spearheads those plans, and we have a summary. Next: A new anti-terror law winding its way through U.S. Congress has non-profit news o...
Dec 27, 2024•30 min•Ep. 310
Two developers presented their plans to build luxury condo towers in downtown Sarasota. Each of them wants to build taller than local zoning allows - with different arguments. Then: College degrees aren't worth the investment anymore - right? Wrong, says a new study. Dayana Melendez reports. Next: Young voters have been elusive at the polls, and the League of Women Voters want to change that. We'll tell you how. Finally: The Teamsters have taken on the world's biggest retailer. Days before Chris...
Dec 20, 2024•31 min•Ep. 309
Developers are gobbling up rural communities in Sarasota County. One grassroots group in Venice is trying a new approach to save rural lifestyles. Then: The Sarasota County Fire Department wants to take over the last remaining volunteer fire department in the area. They were in for a surprise, as Ramon Lopez witnessed. Next: The Teamsters have taken on the world's biggest retailer. Days before Christmas, union workers and community supporters will be picketing Amazon distribution centers, includ...
Dec 18, 2024•31 min•Ep. 308
The Mike Moran era is over, and the Sarasota County Commission has a new chair. Who did the five commissioners pick? We have the details. Then: Once a year, the Sarasota County Commissioners sit down to pick their top long-term strategic priorities for the coming years. We put the spotlight on what they did NOT talk about. Next: When a luxury developer proposed the tallest tower yet for downtown Sarasota, it went down in a hail of criticism, both by planners and the public. Now it's back, and Fl...
Dec 13, 2024•31 min•Ep. 307
A former odd-man-out is now chairing the Manatee County Commission, after an election that brought big change. And at the first meeting of the newly constituted board, a sitting commissioner went to great lengths signaling that he got the message of the anti-developer groundswell of these elections. Then: Manatee County is moving along at good speed when it comes to workforce housing. A high-profile project in Bradenton took a big step towards becoming reality. Next: The big win for Trump wasn't...
Dec 11, 2024•31 min•Ep. 306
Can homeowners' associations discriminate based on income? One HOA at Lakewood Ranch does, and Dayana Melendez reports about it. Then: The Florida state government is squeezing public-sector unions, and cafeteria workers, groundskeepers and school bus drivers feel most of the pain. Noah Vinsky has that report. Next: Florida Studio Theatre has ambitious plans to expand its campus in downtown Sarasota, as Ramon Lopez learned.
Dec 06, 2024•31 min•Ep. 305
The week before Thanksgiving, amid what still looks like a boom for window and door makers, local manufacturer PGT Innovations laid off 225 workers in Tampa, and then another 150 in Venice. The layoffs came after PGT was taken over by Miter Brands, a Pennsylvania-based company. Johannes Werner talked to one Venice worker who says he and his wife lost their jobs the same day. The newly constituted Sarasota City Commission went through a test on Monday. That test came about when Commissioner Jen A...
Dec 04, 2024•36 min•Ep. 304
New rules for condos 30 years and older will take effect in one month. It will make life for hundreds of people in Sarasota-Manatee much more expensive, if not impossible. Della Hale investigates. Then: President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations. How will this play out in Florida, home to one out of 10 undocumented immigrants? Surreal News host Lew Lorrini asked an immigrant advocate. Next: The president of New College removed two members from the board of the foundation that coughs up...
Nov 29, 2024•32 min•Ep. 303
