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Sarasota

Gisele Pintchuck leads a Q&A session with Omer Shem Tov.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • October 29, 2025
Former Israeli hostage meets Sarasota supporter, recounts experiences

Omer Shem Tov, captured by Hamas during the Nova music festival in 2023 before he was freed this year, found a "second mother" who lives in Sarasota.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
A silver Volkswagen SUV was reported leaving the Town Square University Parkway with several leafy plants strapped to a roof cargo rack.
    By
  • Eric Garwood
  • October 29, 2025
Burglar makes off with Manatee senior center's therapeutic garden

Town Square University Parkway hopes donors now can help replace what was stolen.

  • East County
  • News
Senior midfielder Sofia Sepulveda (10) embraces junior midfielder Emily Simone (16), with junior midfielder Colette Maute (6) and sophomore midfielder Mia Alexander (12) joining in on the celebration. Riverview girls' soccer enters the 2025-26 season as back-to-back district champions.
    By
  • Jack Nelson
  • October 29, 2025
Storylines to watch as high school soccer returns to Sarasota

The Cardinal Mooney boys, Riverview girls and Sarasota Christian girls are among the teams with intriguing trajectories for 2025-26.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
Women prevent man from obeying restraining order
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • October 29, 2025
Women prevent man from obeying restraining order

A man tries to leave a bar in compliance with a protective order but is blocked. This and other Sarasota Police Department reports in this week's Cops Corner.

  • Sarasota
  • Cops Corner
Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis' compensation package including salary, benefits and pension contribution is $460,000.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • October 29, 2025
Commissioners lament top county officials' evaluation process

Expressing disdain for the public evaluation process of the county administrator and attorney, Sarasota County commissioners award a token bonus as a tough budget season looms.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Wilma Davidson at home on Longboat Key, where she and her husband have lived full time for 20 years.
    By
  • Eric Snider
  • October 29, 2025
Curiosity and a zest for life drive Longboat woman's storied career

Writer, educator, pilot and lifelong learner Wilma Davidson has built a career — and a life — defined by curiosity, achievement and purpose.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Siesta Key Kiwanis Club members Shawna Smith, incoming president Mary-Lynn Desjarlais, Joy Horne Jones, Candace Anderson, Kimberley Amos and Steve Stonecipher (front). The club meets the first and third Wednesday of the month at Gecko's on Clark Road in Sarasota. (Photo taken at Hub Baja Grille on Siesta Key.)
    By
  • Louis Llovio
  • October 29, 2025
'Mighty' Siesta Key Kiwanis Club helps children, one community at a time

Poverty can happen anywhere. The Siesta Key Kiwanis Club is working to insulate Sarasota kids from its effects.

  • Siesta Key
  • Neighbors
Il faut cultiver notre jardin
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • October 29, 2025
Il faut cultiver notre jardin

Delving into a pile of history books during a sabbatical revealed a depressing truth: Nothing has changed. To improve society, we must tend our own garden.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
  • By Casino Craft
  • October 28, 2025
Add Excitement to Your Party! Casino Craft Deals in Risk-free Fun and Games

Casino Craft has four standard games – blackjack, craps, roulette and poker – but customers aren’t limited to those.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Sponsored Content
Dru Hershberger poses for a photo on Oct. 28 at Selby Aquatic Center before a practice with Sarasota Sharks. The freshman won gold for Sarasota Christian in the 500-meter freestyle at the FHSAA Class 1A District 8 championship.
    By
  • Jack Nelson
  • October 28, 2025
Sarasota Athlete of the Week: Dru Hershberger

The freshman for Sarasota Christian girls' swimming & diving brought home gold on Oct. 25 at the FHSAA Class 1A District 8 championship.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
The meeting chamber at the former Sarasota County Administration Center now stands empty after the final County Commission meeting held there on Oct. 21.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • October 28, 2025
Sarasota County closes business at 1660 Ringling Blvd.

With staff having vacated in preparation for the final move to its new center, the Sarasota County Commission gaveled out its final meeting on Ringling Boulevard.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Stephen Leatherman, aka “Dr. Beach,” who is director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University, ranked Siesta the No. 1 beach in the country in 2011 and 2017.
    By
  • Beth Luberecki
  • October 28, 2025
Siesta Beach returns to the top of the rankings

We all know Siesta Beach is awesome. But here's what goes into those "best beach" rankings — and why they matter.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
An extensive project to repair North Casey Key Road is expected to be completed by March 2027.
    By
  • Elizabeth King
  • October 28, 2025
Casey Key marches down the road to recovery and resilience

A once-quiet stretch on normally quiet Casey Key is bustling with the early stages of a $44 million road repair project.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
Jordan Sacks, Brooke Strickland, and Coast hang out at the event.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • October 27, 2025
Two Pride groups merge to create Gulfcoast Pride Festival

Held Oct. 26, the festival was Sarasota's largest Pride event and featured headlining musical act Zee Machine.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Mushu and Emmett dressed as Kermit and Fozzie, while Teagan Nickols dressed as Miss Piggy, claiming eighth place.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • October 26, 2025
Dogs and humans get into costume at Dog-A-Ween

Costumers went all-out for the contest, held at the Sarasota Farmer's Market by the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
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Latest in Sarasota

1
Glenn and Linda Courtney and their daughter Chelsea Courtney look at seashells.
  • March 24, 2026
Sarasota Farmers Market continues to create community
2
Lockwood Ridge Road was closed near Gocio Road early Monday morning after a fatal incident between a vehicle and a pedestrian.
  • March 23, 2026
Pedestrian killed crossing Lockwood Ridge Road
3
Mike and Julie Paige, and Amber and Lenny Larson, pose by an "SRQ Wine" sign.
  • March 22, 2026
Festival pours wines from around the world, all at Selby Five Points Park
4
Sarasota Crew's championship-winning Women's U16 Eight boat races past opponents at Nathan Benderson Park in June 2025. The USRowing Youth National Championships are one of the biggest events on the local sports calendar for 2026.
  • March 20, 2026
Watersports events line up at Benderson Park in April
5
The the site of the proposed 1899 Fruitville apartment development is outlined in red.
  • March 19, 2026
Proposed apartments would replace Breakfast House and more on Fruitville

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