• Alternate Text

  • Loading

  • Holiday Gift Guide
  • Health Observed
  • Crossword
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • e-Newspaper App
  • Longboat
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Opinion
  • East County
    • News
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
  • Sarasota
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Siesta Key
  • Arts + Entertainment
    • Eat + Drink
    • Arts + Culture
    • Reviews
    • Things To Do
    • Black Tie
    • Spotlight Partners
  • LWR Life
  • Galleries
  • More
    • Hurricane Season
    • Red Tide Map
    • Health Observed
    • Sand Bucket List
    • Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Contests
    • Tributes
    • Submit a Celebration
    • Submit a Tribute
    • Public Notices
    • Classifieds
  • Longboat
    • Longboat
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Opinion
  • East County
    • East County
    • News
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
  • Sarasota
    • Sarasota
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Siesta Key
  • Arts + Entertainment
    • Arts + Entertainment
    • Eat + Drink
    • Arts + Culture
    • Reviews
    • Things To Do
    • Black Tie
    • Spotlight Partners
  • LWR Life
  • Galleries
  • More
    • More
    • Hurricane Season
    • Red Tide Map
    • Health Observed
    • Sand Bucket List
    • Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Contests
    • Tributes
    • Submit a Celebration
    • Submit a Tribute
    • Public Notices
    • Classifieds
  • Holiday Gift Guide
  • Health Observed
  • Crossword
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • e-Newspaper App

Your Observer | All

Beth Stewart and Christine Parseghian joined in the festive fun of the Frosty Frolic golf tournament on Dec. 9 at Harbourside Golf Course.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • December 11, 2025
Ladies dress to impress at Frosty Frolic

The toy drive-centric golf tournament invited members of the Women's Golf Association and the Key Niners to compete in six-person teams.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Former Sarasota City Attorney Robert Fournier has drafted an updated noise ordinance for the city, which was approved by the City Commission on first reading.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • December 11, 2025
City asks: How much noise is too much?

In a long-awaited new ordinance, the Sarasota City Commission says if you can hear it from 100 feet away, it's too loud.

  • Sarasota
  • News
The team including Rick and Josie Bertie and Paul Christenson won second place overall and the award for best "docktail" at the Lighting of the Docks on Dec. 6 at Longboat Harbour.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • December 11, 2025
Longboat Harbour light competition delights viewers

Attendees who judged and voted upon this year's Lighting of the Docks entrants at Longboat Harbour loved the model train and other intricacies of this year's docks.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Construction of the Ritz-Carlton Residences II in The Quay. The project will add 78 condos to downtown.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • December 11, 2025
Thousands of new residences are planned now and soon in downtown

Cranes dot Sarasota's skyline as multifamily construction continues infill redevelopment with a growing trend toward rental units.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Many holiday events took place the first weekend of December, but there are still plenty of opportunities for festive fun to have on the keys.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • December 11, 2025
Catch Santa on Longboat Key before Christmas

It's not too late to share those holiday wishes with Saint Nick before Christmas.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
A Kwanzaa display rests on the table during the event.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • December 11, 2025
Kwanzaa celebration prepares community for the holiday

The Kwanzaa Community Celebration will be followed by the 7-Day Candle Lighting Ceremony and Celebration from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Sarasota city commissioners adopted an ordinance in 2021 to register and regulate vacation rentals in coastal communities.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • December 11, 2025
Are complaints worth additional vacation rental oversight?

The city of Sarasota investigates the costs of expanding its short-term rental rules to areas encompassing 82 known vacation rental units.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Mason Jordan poses for a photo on Dec. 8 outside the entrance to Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School. The slot receiver is in his fourth and final season on varsity and is the second-leading pass-catcher for the Cougars.
    By
  • Jack Nelson
  • December 11, 2025
Family legacy endures with Cardinal Mooney wide receiver

Mason Jordan, a longtime starter for the Cougars, is the latest in a line of elite athletes.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
The Unit 1106 condominium at 1155 N. Gulfstream Ave. was built in 2017 and has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,701 square feet of living area.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • December 11, 2025
Top residential real estate sales for Nov. 24-28 in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Palmer Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis

A Siesta Key home on North Shell Road tops the week’s sales at $3,542,800.

  • Sarasota
  • Real Estate
  • By Florida Power & Light (FPL)
  • December 11, 2025
Florida Families Can Help Neighbors and Celebrate an Energy-Efficient Holiday

Tips to Save Energy All Season Long and a Chance to Win Holiday Energy-Efficiency Kits for 80 Floridians

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Sponsored Content
  • By The Sarasota Ballet
  • December 11, 2025
Monday’s Child is Fair of Face

The Sarasota Ballet performs Jazz Calendar, Divertimento No. 15, and Mozartiana - December 19 & 20 at the Sarasota Opera House.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Sponsored Content
Cannons Marina is at 6040 Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key. The 70-plus year-old business started as a fish camp in the late 40s opened by Ernie Cannon.
    By
  • S.T. Cardinal
  • December 10, 2025
Cannons Marina boats burglarized of more than $40,000 of equipment

The boat dealership, rental company and service center had GPS devices stolen from five boats overnight.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
SMR's new coffee table book, "Lakewood Ranch — A Legacy of Living with the Land" is available locally and on Amazon.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • December 10, 2025
'Lakewood Ranch — A Legacy of Living with the Land' is a fun history lesson

The coffee table book, written by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, documents the development of a successful, southwest Florida community.

  • East County
  • Opinion
Carrie Walden, the Project Edge classroom instructor, is teaching 10 students including Mia Pardella and Justin Torres in the Project Edge program at MTC East.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • December 10, 2025
MTC program teaches students with disabilities skills to enter workforce

At Manatee Technical College, Project Edge is transitional program for students with intellectual disabilities to learn foundational skills.

  • East County
  • Schools
Samara Williamson has been at the Lake Club for more than four years, moving to her general manager position from that of assistant general manager in 2023.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • December 10, 2025
Lake Club manager named tops in her field

The honor was part of November's Lakewood Ranch Community Appreciation Awards.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
« 1 2 3 4 5 6 »
The best of Your Observer, delivered directly to your inbox

Get the latest in news, sports, schools, arts and things to do in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Longboat Key and East County.

Sign Up

Latest News

1
Santa (Steven Trudell of St. Petersburg) gets the runners fired up just before the start of the 2025 Jingle 5K Dec. 12 in Lakewood Ranch.
  • December 13, 2025
More than 500 runners go the distance in Lakewood Ranch's Jingle 5K
2
Longboat Key Police Deputy Chief Frank Rubino (left) accepts a framed display of medals, patches and pins that demonstrate his 45-year career in law enforcement.
  • December 13, 2025
Longboat deputy chief with 45 years of experience to retire
Sponsored Content
3
  • December 12, 2025
ANNIE
Sponsored Content
4
  • December 12, 2025
“Catskills After Dark”
5
Nicholas Savarese, a teacher who has a background in chemical engineering, judges junior Lillian Pevzner-Downer's project on the comparison of conventionally grown crops with chemicals and pesticides versus organically grown crops at the Lakewood Ranch High School Science Fair.
  • December 12, 2025
Lakewood Ranch High revives its science fair

App

Download the Your Observer app

Stay in the know with the latest local news. Any device, anytime, anywhere.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Contact

  • 1970 Main St.
  • Third Floor
  • Sarasota, FL 34236
  • Phone: 941-366-3468
  • FPN Verified

Extra, Extra!

  • Newsletters
  • App
  • Crossword
  • Contests

more

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • Advertise
  • Rack Locations
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Options

sister sites

  • Business Observer
  • Jax Daily Record
  • Orange Observer
  • Accessibility Options
  • Copyright © 2025 Observer Media Group Inc., All Rights Reserved
Sign Up for Daily Headlines

A daily dose of news from Longboat Key, East County, Sarasota and Siesta Key.

Sign Up for In Case You Missed It

A Saturday dose of the week's top stories from Sarasota, Longboat Key and East County.

The Your Observer App is Here!

Get local news you can trust — now on your phone, tablet or laptop. Fast. Free. Easy to Use.
Stay informed, wherever you are.

Download Now