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News

John Davidson inside his store in 2015.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • January 30, 2024
John Davidson, patriarch of Siesta Key, dies at age 93

The community leader started Davidson Drugs in 1958, founded and published the Pelican Press and tirelessly served his fellow islanders.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
Northern portions of Longboat Key are typically more prone to flooding. However, the town has other portions of the island that are also low lying like the Sleepy Lagoon and Buttonwood Harbour neighborhoods.
    By
  • Carter Weinhofer
  • January 30, 2024
Sleepy Lagoon residents urge higher priority for drainage improvement

Longboat Key drainage projects are on the way, but the first won't begin construction until 2025.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Jury duty scams on the rise in Sarasota, county warns
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 30, 2024
Jury duty scams on the rise in Sarasota, county warns

The county advises residents to hang up the phone and verify court-related calls with the Clerk and Comptroller’s Jury Office.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Manatee County is having trouble filling its citizen advisory boards. Boards typically meet on the fifth floor of the Administration Building.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • January 30, 2024
Manatee County considers value of citizen advisory boards

Chief of Staff Andy Butterfield is in the process of reviewing all 18 advisory boards.

  • East County
  • News
Andrés Duany points out rooftops in Sarasota, stating they should be designed with their aesthetics in mind.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • January 30, 2024
Key Sarasota planner praises city while noting its shortcomings

"Have you seen (your bayfront)? It is such a collection of incoherent junk," says Andrés Duany, an influential planner of downtown Sarasota who is known as the "father of New Urbanism."

  • Sarasota
  • News
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • January 30, 2024
Attraction park proposed for Sarasota's City Island

Ride Entertainment wants to bring park golf, a 120-foot-tall tower ride and more to a reimagined Ken Thompson Park via private-public partnership.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Attorney alleges Battie had prior knowledge of hoax racist Facebook post
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • January 29, 2024
Attorney alleges Battie had prior knowledge of hoax racist Facebook post

The attorney for Kelly Franklin says evidence shows that Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie was aware of the hoax nearly a month before presenting it at a meeting.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Corrosion caused Longboat power issues during Idalia, FPL says
    By
  • Carter Weinhofer
  • January 29, 2024
Corrosion caused Longboat power issues during Idalia, FPL says

During Hurricane Idalia, 20 underground transformers failed and left 400 Longboat Key residents without power for 15 hours.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
The Karon Family Pavilion is the setting for a variety of events, including performances by area-based arts groups.
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • January 29, 2024
Library is next on list for Longboat’s town center

Longboat Key’s Town Center Green is set to become a lively hub for community gatherings, festivals, performances and educational opportunities.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
The ballroom at the Ora is 90% complete. Carpet will be installed at the end of this week.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • January 28, 2024
See inside Sarasota's newest event venue, The Ora

The venue at the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee has a 10,000-square-foot ballroom and is set for a soft opening in February.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Lourdes Ramirez is the face of the fight against Sarasota County government and developers to prevent high-density hotels from being built on Siesta Key.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • January 28, 2024
Siesta Key advocate leads the fight against large-scale hotels

Lourdes Ramirez, a Siesta Key resident and neighborhood advocate, is committed to safeguarding the Key from out-of-scale development.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
Construction of the Ritz-Carlton Residences South Tower in The Quay is expected to begin this summer.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • January 27, 2024
Construction on waterfront Ritz-Carlton tower begins this summer

Developer Kolter Urban has revealed plans for the first part of a three-tower Ritz-Carlton Residences campus overlooking Sarasota Bay and downtown.

  • Sarasota
  • News
During Tropical Storm Eta in November 2020, several residents were rescued by Longboat Key first responders and taken to shelter due to the storm’s flooding.
    By
  • Carter Weinhofer
  • January 27, 2024
New committee gets Longboaters involved in emergency management

Longboat Key Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi led the first meeting of a resident committee aimed at a more cohesive emergency management effort.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
John Walsh is the new chief operating officer of Harvest House.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 26, 2024
Former SCSO captain named COO of hunger relief, housing nonprofit

Harvest House has named former Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Walsh as chief operating officer.

  • Sarasota
  • Business
In 2019, Kim Verreault and her husband moved to Sarasota to be closer to her parents, who have lived in the area for 17 years.
  • By Emily Leinfuss
  • January 26, 2024
New leader takes the helm of Longboat’s chamber of commerce

Kim Verreault, the new president and CEO of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce, is a hands-on leader with a knack for community building.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
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Latest News

1
Brittany Lamont and Nicole Hackel congratulate Jacob Kinsel of the Manatee Education Foundation as he is announced as the winner of the "Next Gen" award at University Park Country Club May 13.
  • May 16, 2026
Young Leaders Alliance presents its top award in Lakewood Ranch
2
The Sarasota Orchestra bought a site on Fruitville Road for its Music Center in 2023.
  • May 16, 2026
Want to be where the people are? You have to go east.
3
Manatee County opens applications for Tourist Development Board
  • May 15, 2026
Manatee County opens applications for Tourist Development Board
4
Sarasota County this week activated the traffic light, the first of its kind in a roundabout in the area, the county said.
  • May 15, 2026
Traffic signal added to Apex Road roundabout
5
It’s time to remove our own regimes
  • May 15, 2026
It’s time to remove our own regimes

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