1+ hour, 58+ min ago   (346+ words) Your Observer Children First Celebrates its 65th Anniversary Over the past decade, the organization has raised over $1.5 million to support low-income families. As Children First celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2026, its signature fall events have collectively raised more than $1.5 million over the…...

1+ day, 6+ hour ago   (818+ words) Not even the gathering gloom of a late-day Florida thunderstorm could dampen the spirits of the 25th year commemoration of 9/11 in the pavilion at Sarasota National Cemetery. It’s a somber tradition that occurs only every five years, and this year marked…...

20+ hour, 58+ min ago   (636+ words) Key takeaway: A proposed master-planned community with 5,700 homes and more than 1.4 million square feet of commercial space at the Interstate 75 interchange and State Road 681 called Palmer Ranch East is moving forward, with a unanimous vote by Sarasota County commissioners. Core…...

3+ day, 6+ hour ago   (1739+ words) Manatee County commissioners are considering a public-private partnership that could generate revenue and produce cleaner reclaimed water, but the deal could also raise utility rates for residents and cause chemical-laden water to be trucked into the Lena Road Landfill from…...

3+ day, 20+ hour ago   (331+ words) Shifting time frames, not necessarily changing priorities, have resulted in the transfer of nearly $16.5 million in Surtax III and Surtax IV capital improvement funding for projects throughout the city. The Sarasota City Commission approved the moves in a single batch…...

4+ day, 16+ hour ago   (124+ words) The Sarasota Sailing Squadron-hosted annual Parrot Head Poker Run Regatta returned for a second year on Labor Day. General Manager Susan Clark, who originated the idea last year, said it saw a great response with more than 80 members of the…...

4+ day, 11+ hour ago   (739+ words) Anyone old enough to remember has a story to tell about their experience on Sept. 11, 2001, but perhaps none more insightful than the man who was responsible for getting President George W. Bush and members of his senior staff off the ground…...

4+ day, 17+ hour ago   (336+ words) It has taken decades for a project to be proposed to reclaim and develop a blighted site in the heart of the Newtown community. And, in a matter of inconvenient timing, plans for commercial projects on a city-owned brownfield site…...

4+ day, 15+ hour ago   (184+ words) With an eye toward the Nov. 3 general election and Florida Amendment 3 on the ballot, the Sarasota City Commission held its first of two public hearings on the city's fiscal year 2027 budget Tuesday evening. The budget work began five months prior…...

4+ day, 20+ hour ago   (321+ words) 1:49 p.m., 5000 block of Stevens Drive Civil dispute: A woman called law enforcement because a contractor she hired to restore tile floor beneath her vinyl flooring was refusing to complete the job. There was no signed contract and no money exchanged hands,…...