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Opinion

Planners envision retaining the parking facilities from the now demolished Amore.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • October 9, 2019
Town center: Let market work

The 4.8-acre Amore property is another example of what happens when governments buy land.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
D.M. Williams
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • October 9, 2019
His roots as poor Texas farm boy influenced a charitable heart

D.M. Williams, 88, died Saturday.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Adrian Moore
  • October 3, 2019
Should we stop worrying and learn to love the roundabouts?

Florida has more roundabouts than any other state, but that doesn't mean locals and snowbirds are more comfortable with them.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
East County's Katie McCoy plays with her guide dog, Bristol.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • October 1, 2019
Let Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto take you on a tour of the dark

Side or Ranch: Jay Heater

  • East County
  • Opinion
The city has held tabletop demonstrations of how the roundabout at Fruitville Road and U.S. 41 would work.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 25, 2019
Hear and be heard on Fruitville roundabout

Sarasota plans open house on long-discussed project, about to begin.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Jeff Mayers and John Woods
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 25, 2019
Two legacies at the Longboat Key Club

General Manager, Tennis Director say their goodbyes after years of service.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
The town built one regulation pickleball court in Bayfront Park and is looking for ways to add more courts.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 25, 2019
Oh, what a pickle

Longboat commissioners should not be so addlepated over giving up two tennis courts for six pickleball courts. Why do so few occasional tennis players deserve free tennis courts to begin with?

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 25, 2019
Oil: villain or lifeblood?

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 248-120 on a bill to ban permanently oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 19, 2019
Final chapter for Colony

It's almost over. Chuck Whittall and Andy Adams are approaching the final battle. And Whittall appears to have the momentum to win.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 19, 2019
The city’s fiscal fiasco

With the city having to tap its savings for $19.7 million next fiscal year, if it were a business, shareholders would dump the board and CEO.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 19, 2019
He might cry ‘wolf,’ but it is for good reason

Sarasota businessman Martin Hyde used his three minutes at the City Commission meeting with a fiscal message.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Adrian Moore
  • September 12, 2019
Stopping sewage spills should be top priority

Sarasota County has had sewage spills almost every week since March. You would think commissioners would be alarmed.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • September 6, 2019
Our View: Who's playing politics now? Draw new county districts now

Sarasota County voters overwhelmingly approved single-member districts in the 2018 election. There are many compelling reasons to implement them.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • August 29, 2019
Our View: What's the strategy?

Add up all the projects the city talks about, and the total would top $600 million. Is there really a plan or strategy for all this?

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • August 29, 2019
Our View: More gun laws won't matter

In the wake of shooting tragedies, state lawmakers always want to adopt more laws, bloviating they will be the cure to stopping evil or a mangled mind. The lack of laws is not the problem. It's how we've devalued life.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
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Latest News

1
Manatee County staff and key stakeholders toss ceremonial dirt to kick off construction on a half-mile trail segment that will span from the Lake Manatee Water Treatment Plant to Rye Preserver.
  • June 22, 2026
Trail system breaks ground near Lake Manatee
2
Sienna Linn, a rising first grader at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy, says she has no pets at home but has had a blast with her dog, Mia, at the Little Vet School camp.
  • June 20, 2026
Little Vet School teaches skills at The Out-of-Door Academy's summer camp
3
Palmetto community leaders showed up strong at Longboat Island Chapel's latest charity drive to support Mt. Carmel Resource Center on June 16. From left, Deputy Ken Jewett, Sgt. Joy Jewett, Chief of Police Scott Tyler, City of Palmetto Mayor Daniel West, Shirley Pearson, executive director of Strength in Action, Inc., Rev. Brock Patterson, Pearson's sister Laura Wallace, and Town of Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton.
  • June 20, 2026
From food to furniture, chapel's programs continue to make an impact
4
Eadon Foster, a rising fourth grader at Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary, and Zion Stenzler, a rising fifth grader at Rowlett Elementary Academy, each use microscopes to look at a goldfish scale, dandelion fuzz, pollen, and more.
  • June 19, 2026
Mad Scientist Adventures Camp presents students with scientific challenges
5
St. Lucie County Administrator George Landry has been recommended by Howard Tipton to replace him as town manager as Tipton prepares to retire.
  • June 19, 2026
New town manager recommended for Longboat Key

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