Herald-Tribune
Tanenbaum nominated for state Supreme Court spot
Gov. Ron DeSantis now has named six of the state’s current high court justices with his Jan. 14 appointment of appellate judge Adam Tanenbaum – a staunch conservative who the governor said will “bat a thousand” as a jurist. Tanenbaum, a judge on the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Convicted tycoon’s property for sale
The half-century-old Fishermen’s Village is for sale after the Punta Gorda waterfront attraction was foreclosed on by a lender following legal difficulties for the property’s convicted tycoon owner. The more than 97,000 square feet of commercial space...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Furor at ICE shootings spurs demonstrations
Tensions remained high Jan. 9 as shootings involving immigration agents in Minneapolis and in Portland, Oregon, drew protesters to the streets and deepened fractures between federal and state officials. In Portland, a U.S. Border Patrol officer shot...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Maduro opponent vows to return
WASHINGTON – Venezuela’s main opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has vowed to return home quickly, praising President Donald Trump for toppling President Nicolás Maduro and declaring her movement ready to win a free election. Trump appears,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sarasota, Manatee housing sales mixed
Sarasota and Manatee counties’ November real estate market lacked consistency across housing segments year over year, with some areas showing notable growth while others declined, according to the most recent industry report. The Realtor Association...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Regenerative farming making a comeback
At Troon Vineyard, in southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley, Garett Long has turned composting into an art form, using it to support soil microbes and eliminate the need for petroleum-based fertilizers. • When Andrea Malmberg and her husband, Tony, bought...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
EVE SAMPLES,
“Once you immerse yourself in Big Cypress or other parts of the Everglades, it’s really a serene place. You feel protected under the cypress dome.”
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Challengers to Florida law defend drag as protected art
A federal appeals court has revived the debate over drag performances. That’s prompting First Amendment experts to warn that a renewed review of a controversial Florida law could have broad implications for free expression both within the state and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘The freedom to be unkind’
Alley Mills Bean approached the podium at a Los Angeles City Council meeting alongside council member Traci Park on a June day in 2024, Emmy in hand. She’d won it the previous year for her role as the hook-wielding serial killer Heather Webber on...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
AI to review Medicare claims in pilot program
A new Medicare program that uses artificial intelligence to review medical claims is set to launch in six states. Critics worry it will lead to patients being denied necessary care and more red tape for providers. The controversial new six-year pilot...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Luxury condos rise on Sarasota Bay
Barbecue, raffle prizes, custom shirts and a DJ were all part of an effort to thank hundreds of construction workers for their work on the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sarasota Bay in downtown Sarasota. Those working on the building recently celebrated its...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sarasota County gets start on flood prevention project
Sarasota County has begun a major flood prevention project at Phillippi Creek, after months of advocacy by local residents. The operation comes months after flood victims of Hurricane Debby told the Herald-Tribune they were anxious for a major project...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Workshop lays out plans for ‘ugly’ admin building
The locally based Benderson Development Company and engineering consulting firm Kimley-Horn held a community workshop recently to discuss the future of the Sarasota County administration building, located at 1660 Ringling Blvd. in downtown, adjacent to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Nick Fuentes hot topic at AmericaFest
On the first night of Turning Point’s sold-out AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Nicky Rudd stood in a packed ballroom and asked Ben Shapiro about something that happened 58 years ago. The 23-year-old Baylor University student was talking about the...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Federal agents pull back in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO – President Donald Trump vowed this year to flood San Francisco with federal agents – and even soldiers – to crack down on crime. Instead, his administration has quietly taken law enforcement away, leaving the city with less help to fight...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE’
LONDON – The West’s push to build a homegrown magnets supply chain to reduce its reliance on China – led by massive U.S. backing for Nevada-based MP Materials – is running into a critical problem: the scarcity of so-called heavy rare earth...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
PROTECTING SARASOTA'S PRIDE
Acentury-old swing bridge, a home of one of Sarasota’s first aldermen and a fountain dating back to Mable Ringling highlight the Six to Save list from the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation (SAHP). • “The list this year includes a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
States take up conservation goals terminated by Trump
WASHINGTON – With a snappy title and a laudable goal, “30 by 30” was a landmark plan hatched to help save at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. Alongside this multinational push, the United States had its own trailblazing version of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Restaurant targets return to Circle
Shore, a popular St. Armands restaurant and retail spot, is trying to come back to the Circle after closing its doors in December 2024 following extensive flood damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton. The redevelopment team submitted preapplication...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘SEEING PEOPLE AS PEOPLE’
When Elizabeth Dalzell’s daughter Liesl complained of severe pain in her left shoulder in June by using sign language, it began a nearly monthlong odyssey through New Jersey’s health care system before the young woman with multiple disabilities...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Is Sarasota tourism rebounding?
Despite a rebound in tourism in October 2025, Sarasota County tourism was down for fiscal year 2025, which included the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton’s landfall, compared to tourism data from fiscal year 2024. Downs & St. Germain...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Five years later, vaccine skepticism a lasting COVID-19 legacy.
It was touted as a watershed, a game-changer, a model and a transformational moment for the development of diseasefighting, health-improving vaccines. Five years later, however, the legacy of the coronavirus vaccine is way more complicated. To be...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Cathleen Nardi is part of a group of people who walk Blackburn Point Road and Casey Key Road daily, enjoying the scenery, as well as the historic Blackburn Point Road Swing Bridge. Cell phone in hand, Nardi frequently takes pictures of scenes that...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Beloved local business celebrates 50 years
Over the past 50 years, millions of sea creatures have passed through Seascape Aquarium & Pet Center, the beloved Gulf Gate shop that has become one of Sarasota’s most enduring family-run businesses. The once-small fish and marine supply store will...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Delivery drivers face different conditions
American households have become dependent on Amazon. The numbers say it all: In 2024, 83% of U.S. households received deliveries from Amazon, representing over 1 million packages delivered each day and 9 billion individual items delivered same-day or...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
AI could worsen school inequalities
Today’s teachers find themselves thrust into a difficult position with generative AI. New tools are coming online at a blistering pace and being adopted just as quickly, whether they’re personalized tutors and study buddies for students or lesson plan...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Inhumane treatment of detainees alleged
A global human rights organization is alleging inhumane treatment of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz, claiming some are subject to what they say is “torture.” A report by Amnesty International claims detainees are being mistreated at the a state-run...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DREAM DENIED
BOCA RATON – Fatima and Fatheha were going to cross the graduation stage at Florida Atlantic University in December, set to be the first persons in their families to earn college diplomas. Instead, Fatheha just transferred to a private university and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Protests, no testimony for redistricting panel
More than 150 people traveled across Florida to voice their opposition to the state House’s initial hearing on congressional redistricting – a rare, off-cycle redraw sought by President Trump to increase Republican chances of retaining control of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Centuries-old seashells tell history of habitats
During a day at the beach, it’s common to see people walking up and down the shore collecting seashells. As a paleontologist and marine ecologist, we look at shells a bit differently than the average beachcomber. Most people dig up shells in the sand...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Kirk death fuels ‘revival’ in some U.S. churches
The assassination of Charlie Kirk changed Danika Meyerson in a way that, at first, made her deeply uncomfortable. She wanted to develop a relationship with God. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. But Meyerson, a 45-year-old mom of two boys, wasn’t a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Winter storm to bring snow to East Coast
The first winter storm of the season hit New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions on Dec. 2, with “heavy snow and impactful icing” threatening road conditions, forecasters said. A total of more than 45 million Americans were under winter weather...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘I wish this country supported artists’
Being an artist is not viewed as a real job. It’s a sentiment I’ve heard time and again, one that echoes across studios, rehearsal halls and kitchen tables – a quiet frustration that the labor of making art rarely earns the legitimacy or security...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A HURRICANE SEASON THAT BROKE REALITY
Reality: In 2025, it was not very realistic. In a year when AI images of ALF dunking a basketball through Saturn’s rings overtook podcasts rating hot sauce as the most valuable economic sector, perhaps it was inevitable that the weather would follow...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
OLD FLORIDA. NO ROADS. DADE COUNTY PINE. NO CARS. RICH VEGETATION.
OLD FLORIDA. NO ROADS. DADE COUNTY PINE. NO CARS. RICH VEGETATION.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FL man detained by ICE back home after 172 days
Faustino Macedo has many things to be thankful for this year. His wife, his children, his health. But most importantly, he’s thankful for his freedom. After 172 days, or almost six months, in a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Inflation weighing on income growth
WASHINGTON – Inflation has helped set back income growth to levels comparable to the slow recovery from the Great Recession more than a decade ago, potentially constraining the spending power of consumers ahead of the critical holiday retail season,...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
GROWING THREAT
Botswana’s fertile Okavango Delta is one of the last remaining high-biodiversity ecosystems in the world, home to cheetahs, African wild dogs, baobab trees, crocodiles, termites and owls that catch fish. Roughly the size of the state of Connecticut,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Banned books being judged by their covers
Over the past decade, a growing movement to restrict access to books in public schools and libraries has spread across the country. Every year, there are hundreds of attempts to challenge or ban books, targeting thousands of titles. According to the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Uncertain future
The Sarasota County administrators have officially moved out of their downtown building, and temporarily into other places while the new county administration building on Apex Road awaits a 2026 completion. Locally-based Benderson Development bought...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Senate approves plan to end shutdown
WASHINGTON – The Senate approved a deal late Nov. 10 to end the nation’s longest government shutdown, putting Congress on the brink of resolving a weeks-long fight that has disrupted flights and halted food stamps for millions of Americans. In a 60-40...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sarasota leaders pick mayor, set city’s priorities for 2026
The City of Sarasota has named its new mayor and vice mayor, with Liz Alpert passing the mayoral gavel after two years to Vice Mayor Debbie Trice. During the statutory meeting on Friday, Nov. 7, which included many moments of heartfelt laughter, the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sarasota seeking $82M for stormwater projects
The city of Sarasota is requesting $82 million in federal funds for major stormwater projects in the wake of the historic flooding wrought by the 2024 storm season. Sarasota is requesting nearly all the funding from the Resilient SRQ Program – through...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Cardinal Mooney’s Jackson brothers reunite on the field
Brothers Connail, left, and Connell Jackson play football for the Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School Cougars. Connail is a running back and Connell is a defensive back.
Read Full Story (Page 2)
SEASON OF SHARING Sarasota mom embraces resilience, faith and family
Aubern Marshall was running errands this summer when the sudden sputtering of her car filled her with a sense of dread. Already the 35-year-old Sarasota woman had poured nearly $2,000 into the vehicle to fix a broken radiator and blown cylinder....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Spending at New College dramatically increases
As Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies have boasted about “cutting waste and woke ideology” at Florida universities, his Sarasota bayside project has escaped such scrutiny despite operating at enormous costs compared to peer state institutions. New...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sarasota Orchestra unveils new Music Center designs
With a new conductor preparing to make his debut, Sarasota Orchestra is hitting a high note offstage as well — unveiling new designs this week for its long-awaited Music Center and celebrating two major gifts totaling $70 million. The 32-acre campus...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
IS TOURISM DRYING UP?
Hotel room prices are up in Sarasota, but tourism is down, according to Visit Sarasota County’s September Tourism Data & Economic Impact report. Visitor direct expenditures — the amount of money tourists spent on goods and services such as food,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NEXT-LEVEL DEDICATION
The proof of Max Ellinger’s Costco fandom is his only tattoo, inked on his right arm. It’s the Kirkland Signature logo – the Costco house brand for everything from rotisserie chicken to laundry detergent. Ellinger got it in 2019 after a friend...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Wellen Park’s next phase
NORTH PORT – The newest phase of Downtown Wellen Park, which will include new shops, restaurants, luxury apartments, a dog park and a boutique hotel, will come to life starting in the spring of 2026. Master developer Mattamy Homes was already ahead of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Is falling back falling out?
It’s a solitarily human endeavor to control time, to manipulate 60 minutes, retool 3,600 seconds, to wrestle waking hours into submission by turning clocks one hour forward in spring and one hour back in fall. From founding father Benjamin Franklin...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Birds bounce back
When I started bird-watching as a teenager, a few years after the first Earth Day in 1970, several species that once thrived in my region were nowhere to be found. Some, like the passenger pigeon, were extinct. Others had retreated to more remote,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Maya’ verdict tossed
Almost two years after a jury awarded the family at the center of the “Take Care of Maya” case more than $261 million against a St. Petersburg-based children’s hospital, an appellate court has reversed the entire verdict and cleared the pathway for a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Jamaica reports damage, outages
Hurricane Melissa churned over Cuba as a Category 2 storm Oct. 29 as authorities in Jamaica began surveying the extensive damage left in its wake as the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Melissa reached Jamaica on Oct....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Melissa likely to devastate Jamaica
Potentially catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, now the strongest tropical cyclone of 2025 globally, killed at least seven people as it approached Jamaica. The storm intensified as it approached the island nation: As of the morning of Oct. 28, Melissa was...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sarasota dedicating $14.5M to dredge Phillippi Creek
Sarasota County will devote a hair under $14.5 million to dredge the more problematic portions of Phillippi Creek, the first stage of a massive effort to address the flooding concerns exposed by Hurricane Debby in 2024. County Stormwater Director Ben...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FL cattlemen have beef with president’s plan
Florida’s cattle industry is bristling at President Donald Trump’s proposal to import more beef from Argentina, arguing that the plan risks weakening domestic producers in the name of lower prices. The Florida Cattlemen’s Association put out a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
If it’s local you want, we’ve got it.
Our Sunday refresh offers more local news and sports, as well as “Weekend Exclusive” content to help you navigate your lives. So enjoy your Sunday reading filled with stories that will inspire, educate, inform and entertain you.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump says he cut off trade talks with Canada
WASHINGTON – A day after President Donald Trump announced that all trade talks with Canada had been terminated for using a “FAKE” advertisement showing former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs, he said the country’s tariff...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
In Sarasota, DeSantis touts some auto insurance relief
Gov. Ron DeSantis made a quick appearance in Sarasota on Wednesday morning, Oct. 22, to announce nearly $1 billion in rebate credits for customers of Progressive Auto Insurance in Florida. The governor did not specify when the rebates would be...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
LOSING A LIFELINE
For the first time in U.S. history, there are more Americans over 62 than under 18. With the national workforce getting older every year, many economists argue that having people keep working longer than they used to would help maintain a robust labor...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Noem: Self-deporting is one option for undocumented
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem paid a quick visit to Bradenton on Oct. 20 as part of her ongoing national tour to sell President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts to the public. Noem has spent much of her time running Homeland Security as...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘No Kings’ protest attracts crowd to downtown Sarasota
An estimated 3,000 people turned out at Payne Park in downtown Sarasota on Saturday, Oct. 18, for a “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump’s administration. The event coincided with a tribute to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Lawmakers quiet as charter looks to occupy schools
The Suncoast lawmakers who voted earlier this year to let charter schools move into underused public campuses have stayed quiet as a Miami-based charter operator’s early push to occupy local schools set off confusion and concern among parents and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SCALES & TALES
It began with an everyday pond turtle. Ty Park was 6 years old and living with his family in South Korea when his father gave him the tiny turtle. “It was a Reeves turtle from Japan,” the career herpetologist and conservationist recalled. “I didn’t...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘CHEMICAL OF CONCERN’
Microplastics seem to be everywhere – in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. They have turned up in human organs, blood, testicles, placentas and even brains. While the full health consequences of that exposure are not yet known,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
HIGHS AND LOWS
A surge in the number of Florida marijuana patients after the 2019 legalization of smokable medical marijuana has subsided, according to a new report from the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use. Bobbie Smith, the OMMU director, told the Health...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
How the United States is eating Trump’s tariffs
U.S. companies and consumers are bearing the brunt of the country’s new import tariffs, early indications show, contradicting assertions by President Donald Trump and complicating the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation. Trump famously predicted...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
In Israel, a ‘day of profound joy’
Israel celebrated the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks as the first phase in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan was met with joy around the world on Oct. 13. Twenty Israeli hostages in Gaza were...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Civil servants caught in moral ‘loyalty trap’
For many Americans, work is not just about earning a paycheck. It is a centerpiece of their lives, and they want their job to be meaningful. ▪ Decades of research suggest this is true for most federal civil servants, who aim to serve not only their...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A Bradenton orthopedic surgeon and her team win a rowing gold medal.
Dr. Sara Simmons, a Bradenton orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and wrist surgery, excelled recently at the the World Rowing Masters Regatta in Banyoles, Spain. Simmons and Sarasota County Rowing Club (SRC) teammates Jessica Archibald, Jill...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
‘Hostile takeover’
Mater Academy Inc., a Miami-based charter school operator, has submitted notices to occupy three Sarasota County public school campuses, marking a sharp local escalation of the state’s newly expanded “Schools of Hope” law, which allows charters to take...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
What happens if hurricane hits during the shutdown?
The Sarasota-Bradenton area has been fortunate this year as it has not been affected by any tropical activity, unlike in 2024, when Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene caused damage that some businesses and beachfront rentals continue to recover...
Read Full Story (Page 1)