WSLR News

The Sarasota County Sheriff is one of the most active Florida law enforcement agencies when it comes to ICE referrals. Kurt Hoffman suggests all the potential deportees are “criminals”. But are they? Ramon Lopez poured over hundreds of Sarasota County ICE referrals. Next: ICE is looking for office space in Florida, including in Sarasota. Suncoast Searchlight brings us this story. Then: Sarasota Se...

Grady Judd has been an advocate of strict immigration enforcement. That’s why the Polk County Sheriff surprised many last week when he announced he would advocate with the Trump administration for a slowdown in mass deportations. Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman does not think much of Judd’s initiative. Ramon Lopez has that story. Next: Expect thousands of opponents of the Trump agenda to rall...

The panel included immigration lawyer John Dubrule and UnidosNow co-founders Kelly Kirschner and CJ Czaia. Here is an edited recording of the event this week at the Bradenton Central Library.

Will the Historic Downtown Village on Fruitville Road soon be history? Ed James III brings us a report on a superblock development that could do away with yet another piece of Old Sarasota. Next: The State of Florida seems to have the power to shut down a controversial concrete crushing plant near downtown Sarasota. But will it? Jackson Rothman is looking for answers. Then: Mark Vengroff has becom...

A controversial concrete crushing plant continues to grind near downtown Sarasota. But now the city is getting ready to sue. Next: On the board of New College, a culture war crusader is out, and a football coach is in. We’re taking a close look at what Urban Meyer has to say about education. Then: An agreement with a large commercial developer to run their golf courses is creating anxiety at one o...

Shrinking student enrollment means less money, and that translates to tough decisions ahead for the Sarasota School District. Then: The Sarasota City Commission gave a nod to a scaled-down proposal for a new performing arts center, but it’s happening under a cloud of bigger financial uncertainty. Then: Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport has been disaster-free since 2000. But is SRQ ready whe...

As early as July 1, the Sarasota-Manatee campus of the University of South Florida could be gone. USF boosters are trying to prevent that, and a rally on the campus is underlining their intent. Ed James III has the details. Then: On Monday, City of Sarasota Commissioners will be presented with an updated and scaled down proposal for a new performing arts center. Parking should be a key part of tha...

Sarasota County is in the process of buying two high-profile properties for what could be upwards of $40 million. We have the details. Next: Owning a home in a developer-controlled neighborhood can come with hidden costs and other pitfalls. A pending bill in the Florida legislature seeks to rein in these private governments. Suncoast Searchlight brings us that story. In young Sarasota, the Leonard...

The community member with Somali immigration background describes how - even though most of them have U.S. citizenship - she feels the Somali community in Minneapolis was a key target of ICE enforcement during the soon-to-be concluded Operation Metro Surge. She also describes the community response around Signal neighborhood groups.

Coming up: The Trump administration’s EPA wants to gut wetland protections. Brice Claypoole explores what that could mean for Sarasota. Next: Who will be the next Sarasota city manager? The commissioners boiled down the field of applicants to six, and a front runner has emerged. Next: A controversial affordable housing project run by the City of Sarasota is back. Suncoast Searchlight brings you th...

Operation Metro Surge put Minneapolis in the national headlines, and the Somali immigrant community is at the center of that ICE storm. We interviewed a Somali immigrant who a couple years ago decided to move her family from Bradenton to Minneapolis. Here is our full-length interview with Lul Kassim.

It’s a first for Sarasota, the city of arts: A sizable apartment complex offering long-term, affordable housing for artists. We have the details of the Artscape project. Next: In the race for District 4, the recent past chair of the Sarasota County Commission, Joe Neunder, will be facing a Republican opponent in the primaries. Jim DeNiro is a cop.  Then: A Florida tip line that is supposed to prov...

On Tuesday, the Sarasota County Commission slammed the brakes on a 9,000-home development that could have eviscerated the last big chunk of rural land in the area between North Port and Englewood. Next: Last week, the Sarasota School Board narrowly passed a resolution promising full cooperation with ICE. But what does this actually mean? Alice Herman with Suncoast Searchlight tries to find answers...

A developer is marketing the affordable housing in their downtown Sarasota high-rise as short-term rentals. What gives? Suncoast Searchlight investigates. Then: Florida’s Live Local Act is meant to produce affordable housing. But one Sarasota County Commissioner has problems with that law. Ramon Lopez has that story. Finally: The killing by ICE agents of a nurse in Minneapolis is making waves in S...

The post-Larry Thompson era is in sight at Ringling College of Art and Design. We have the details about the first new president picked to take the helm of the private campus in Sarasota this century.  Next: The grandchildren of the family whose name is on the Van Wezel shocked some in Sarasota when they endorsed the project of a new performing arts center. We have a report with more details about...

If it is built, it would be one of the region’s largest infrastructure projects in years: A cruise terminal at the foot of the Sunshine Skyway. We get local reactions to the big plans.  Then: Sarasota School Board member Bridget Ziegler got her way: Her proposed resolution pledging full cooperation with ICE and other law enforcement triggered a protest, more than four hours of public comment at ye...

Last Sunday, WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez tagged along on a bus trip with a group of Sarasota clerics, worshippers and activists to a protest at the controversial immigration detention camp in the Everglades. Here is the report he filed.

Sarasota County commissioners voted on federal funding for affordable housing yesterday, and it’s not good news for two high-profile projects near downtown Sarasota.  Next: Immigration enforcement continues to make ripples. For one - an estimated 1,000 protesters rallied in Sarasota, Venice and Englewood this weekend, responding to the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. Then: The water war at a...

A makeover of Sarasota’s elementary and middle schools is moving at a fast pace, taking on a dynamic way beyond the original intent of repelling for-profit schools’ takeover of buildings. Then: Enrollment at two historic schools in Sarasota’s historic African American neighborhood has dipped, while enrollment at a new charter school has gone up. We have a report why - despite this - there’s excite...

The Sarasota County Commission has a new chair. Also, at its strategic retreat, one of the commissioners suggested stormwater management should be planned with more intense storms in mind. WSLR News reporter Louise Machinist has the details. Next: Trump’s EPA is trying to redefine “wetlands”. If passed, a big chunk of Florida wetlands could lose their protection. Brice Claypoole has this report. ...

MCR Health serves more than 100,000 low-income and under-insured patients in this area. WSLR News reporter Dania Hefley talked to its CEO, after the non-profit re-emerged from bankruptcy. Then: Rattlesnake Key was just sold to a private buyer. WSLR News reporter Brice Claypoole tries to find out what that means for what is the longest stretch of natural coastline in Manatee County. Next: Just five...

Coming up: The Manatee County Commission has a new chair, and we have the details. Next: The arts community in Sarasota is still reeling from the erasure of hundreds of pieces of sidewalk art in September. Will a lawsuit be filed? Dania Hefley has a report. Then: The Trump administration is saber rattling around Venezuela. We interviewed a close observer who will be talking at a World Affairs Coun...

Near downtown Sarasota, a polluting plant may be on its way out, and truly affordable housing could be on the way in. The host of WSLR’s The Detail interviewed the man behind the project. Then: Decades after a military contractor polluted the groundwater in a majority African American community in Manatee County, the cleanup is slow to come. WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez brings us Part 3 of his s...

Coming up: This Thanksgiving, hunger is more widespread in Florida. What’s going on? Our reporter talked to volunteers who distribute food, to find out. Then: Artists on the Suncoast who produce public art are coping with erasure. Our reporter talked to a painter of murals whose art was erased not once, but twice. Next: Her four-year old twin sister died during Josef Mengele’s concentration camp e...

Coming up: Manatee County adopted a juvenile curfew - a broadly supported idea. But WSLR reporter Gretchen Cochran also heard the anxious voices of those who fear the effects of more policing. Then: The Trump administration wants to expand oil drilling in the Gulf closer to Florida shores. It’s no surprise that has prompted pushback here - but the pushback comes from both sides of the political ai...