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Your Observer | All

Season is heating up. Here's what you can look forward to on the arts scene.
    By
  • Su Byron
  • August 21, 2025
Season is heating up. Here's what you can look forward to on the arts scene.

From bold exhibitions to boundary-pushing performances, the months ahead promise something for every kind of art-lover.

  • Arts + Culture
Dick Vitale in his Lakewood Ranch office, surrounded by a lifetime of achievements — and still chasing new goals.
    By
  • Eric Snider
  • August 21, 2025
Life for Dick Vitale is pretty great. But a stinging failure set up his shot for success.

From national fame to personal travails, famed ESPN sportscaster Dick Vitale talks resilience, reinvention and what keeps him going.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
Jean Blackburn rides through a canopy of oak and palm on her Old Miakka property — 14 acres of native Florida habitat that fuels both her artwork and conservation efforts.
    By
  • Su Byron
  • August 21, 2025
Myakka City is known for its rural nature — and its salt-of-the-earth people

In a place where cowboy hats outnumber stoplights, three locals live by the rhythm of the land.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
The kitchen and family room have been reborn in a contemporary style, showcasing a new coastal look.
  • By Robert Plunket
  • August 21, 2025
A dramatic update brings a Country Club home into the future

A well-loved family home gets a stylish refresh — proving that smart updates and staging can make all the difference for resale.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
Prince Knight performs on Aug. 18.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • August 20, 2025
Jazz Jam SRQ lets the community play together

The free-to-attend, improvised performances, held at Selby Public Library, are being paired with education in the fundamentals of jazz.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
A roundabout will replace the signalized intersection on University Parkway where Legacy Boulevard meets Deer Drive.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 20, 2025
Roundabout moves forward on University Parkway at Legacy Boulevard

Residents fought for an upgraded signalized intersection, but Manatee County commissioners decided to stick to the current plan for a roundabout.

  • East County
  • News
Purple Ribbon Committee Chairman Charles Cosler presents the committee's report to the Sarasota City Commission while facilitator Jim Shirley (left) looks on.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • August 20, 2025
Task force advises Sarasota to keep Van Wezel running optimally

With no arts group stepping up to assume operating the Van Wezel, the Purple Ribbon Committee recommends making it last five to seven years should a replacement be built.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Denise Allen and fiancé Mark Latcheran of Parrish visit with Dr. Shilpa Jadeja, who was part of Latcheran's care team at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • August 20, 2025
Chalk up a life saved for Lakewood Ranch Medical Center

Parrish's Mark Latcheran tells a feel-good story about the hospital's staff.

  • East County
  • Opinion
Sheriff Rick Wells holds a press conference Aug. 19 at the District 3 Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 20, 2025
Sheriff says no foul play in North Carolina teen's death

Camera footage shows Giovanni Pelletier alone, running down the embankment toward the pond where his body was found.

  • East County
  • News
Leon S. Pitts II and Ariel Blue star in Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe's "Big Sexy: The Fats Waller Revue," which runs from Aug. 22 through Sept. 7.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • August 20, 2025
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe pays tribute to Fats Waller with 'Big Sexy'

The musical revue showcases the talents of Leon S. Pitts II and Ariel Blue.

  • Arts + Culture
The golf course at Longboat Key Club, which is accessible by membership or stay at the resort, has 45 holes to play.
    By
  • S.T. Cardinal, Andrew Warfield
  • August 20, 2025
Longboat golfers' only public option is to hit a long drive

For the nonmembers, golfers from Longboat Key have to venture to the mainland to play at Bobby Jones Golf Club in Sarasota.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Homeless man takes up residence in restaurant shed
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 20, 2025
Homeless man takes up residence in restaurant shed

Officers discovered a man living in a storage shed and helping himself to a restaurant's liquor bottles. This and other Sarasota Police Department reports in this week's Cops Corner.

  • Sarasota
  • Cops Corner
The two finalists for the superintendent position are Misty Mathis, the executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Nassau County School District, and Laurie Breslin, the executive director of student support and family engagement for the School District of Manatee County.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • August 20, 2025
Superintendent finalists share their goals for Manatee County School District

Laurie Breslin and Misty Mathis spent Aug. 18 being interviewed by the school board and meeting with community members.

  • East County
  • Schools
Bradenton's Steve Doll takes his best shot on Hole 17 at River Run Golf Links, one of the few affordable golf opportunities in Manatee County.
    By
  • Jay Heater, Lesley Dwyer
  • August 20, 2025
Is affordable golf in the Lakewood Ranch area a myth?

Some local opportunities still exist, but the future of affordable golf in East County is cloudy at best.

  • East County
  • News
This map shows where the homes would be clustered in relationship to the Miakka Golf Club, along with the access points to both.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 20, 2025
Some Myakka residents fear TerraNova rezone will set bad development precedent

TerraNova is requesting to lower the minimum lot sizes it is selling from 5 acres to 1 acre.

  • East County
  • News
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Latest News

1
Larry Debb of GSP Development with a scale model of Saravela at the development's sales center.
  • July 24, 2026
City staff instructed to develop condo-hotel policy
2
Danae Tran plays the violin for Longboat Island Chapel attendees of the July 19 morning service before she and fellow scholarship recipient Michelle McLeod move to greet guests at the award reception.
  • July 24, 2026
Scholars celebrated at Longboat Island Chapel award reception
3
Cindy and Chris Common
  • July 23, 2026
Final Manasota Track Club beach run to memorialize late members
4
Sarasota Police Department K-9 Kodak seems ready for deployment with handler Officer Ryan Block.
  • July 23, 2026
Police work is dogged determinaton for SPD's K-9 Unit
5
Can you eat both halves of a corned beef sandwich? You can test your skills when Wolfie's Hand Cut opens at UTC late this year.
  • July 23, 2026
Can new concept earn the bread for Wolfie's at University Town Center?

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