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Sarasota | Opinion

A partnership with the city of Sarasota would turn Payne Park auditorium into the new home of The Sarasota Players.
  • By William Skaggs
  • April 18, 2024
Sarasota Players committed to community

The CEO of The Sarasota Players writes that his organization is focused on entertaining, educating and engaging.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
The city is not a developer
    By
  • Adrian Moore
  • April 18, 2024
The city is not a developer

The city manager wants Sarasota to develop an $80M affordable housing project. Good intentions, but this approach always fails. A voucher program would be better.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
1943 wisdom shows how things don’t change
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • April 18, 2024
1943 wisdom shows how things don’t change

"The God of the Machine," written by Isabel Paterson in 1943, certainly could help save the United States today. Everything she wrote then is still relevant now.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Case for a new performing arts center is clear
  • By Letter to the Editor
  • April 16, 2024
Case for a new performing arts center is clear

A reader writes that the success of "Hamilton" in Sarasota highlights the need for a new performing arts center.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Will Florida go to pot?
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • April 11, 2024
Will Florida go to pot?

Floridians likely will vote to legalize pot. Arguments on each side are persuasive.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Decline in US economic freedom due to unregulated capitalism
  • By Letter to the Editor
  • April 9, 2024
Decline in US economic freedom due to unregulated capitalism

Capitalism without regulation is the cause of the decline in U.S. economic well-being, writes a reader in response to a recent editorial.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Policy shifts show Republicans favor big government
  • By Letter to the Editor
  • April 9, 2024
Policy shifts show Republicans favor big government

A reader attempts to set the record straight on President Joe Biden's policies.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Don't let crony capitalism run Siesta Key
  • By Letter to the Editor
  • April 8, 2024
Don't let crony capitalism run Siesta Key

A reader writes that Siesta Key doesn't need "mega" hotels.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Ready, set … give!
    By
  • Emily Walsh
  • April 3, 2024
Ready, set … give!

Philanthropy is like a sport in Sarasota-Manatee. It is no surprise Sarasota has its own Super Bowl of giving. Turn on your generosity engine.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Elections: Liberty, slavery?
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • March 28, 2024
Elections: Liberty, slavery?

The candidates’ political philosophies matter. Are they capitalists or statists?

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Rule of laws: Always grow
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • March 21, 2024
Rule of laws: Always grow

To stop a few vacation rental bad actors, city commissioners adopted new ordinances that have spawned a new bureaucracy. This is America: Collectivist laws that snuff out individual liberty.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Sarasota’s own answer to crime reduction
    By
  • Adrian Moore
  • March 13, 2024
Sarasota’s own answer to crime reduction

The most intractable problem of crime is that of repeat offenders. Solving that is no easy task, but in Sarasota, an impressive nonprofit called Project 180 is showing it can be done.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Biden’s fantasia vs. Florida’s fiscal responsibleness
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • March 13, 2024
Biden’s fantasia vs. Florida’s fiscal responsibleness

What a contrast — the Biden proposed budget and the historical federal deficits versus the Florida budget for 2024-2025.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
New College plan makes no sense for taxpayers
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • March 7, 2024
New College plan makes no sense for taxpayers

New College of Florida’s new president, Richard Corcoran, and the DeSantis board appointees have an ambitious plan. But when you analyze the economics, you can’t justify the $400 million-plus cost to taxpayers.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Start spreading the news
    By
  • Emily Walsh
  • February 28, 2024
Start spreading the news

Out with the old, in the with the new. The Observer may be the only newspaper company in the country installing new news racks.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
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1
Among Overland Partners designs at Selby Gardens is the new welcome center.
  • June 13, 2026
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2
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Though homesteaded residents would gain property tax savings if Florida's overhaul proposal gains 60% of support in the November elections, even non-homesteaded property owners would see new protections from sharply rising property assessments.
  • June 11, 2026
Property tax overhaul: What you should know
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