• Alternate Text
  • Loading

  • Sand Bucket List
  • Health Observed
  • Crossword
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • e-Newspaper App
  • Longboat
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Opinion
  • East County
    • News
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
  • Sarasota
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Siesta Key
  • Arts + Entertainment
    • Eat + Drink
    • Arts + Culture
    • Reviews
    • Things To Do
    • Black Tie
    • Spotlight Partners
  • Things to Do
  • Galleries
  • More
    • Hurricane Season
    • Elections
    • Health Observed
    • Sand Bucket List
    • Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Contests
    • Tributes
    • Submit a Celebration
    • Submit a Tribute
    • Public Notices
    • Classifieds
  • Longboat
    • Longboat
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Opinion
  • East County
    • East County
    • News
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
  • Sarasota
    • Sarasota
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Siesta Key
  • Arts + Entertainment
    • Arts + Entertainment
    • Eat + Drink
    • Arts + Culture
    • Reviews
    • Things To Do
    • Black Tie
    • Spotlight Partners
  • Things to Do
  • Galleries
  • More
    • More
    • Hurricane Season
    • Elections
    • Health Observed
    • Sand Bucket List
    • Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Contests
    • Tributes
    • Submit a Celebration
    • Submit a Tribute
    • Public Notices
    • Classifieds
  • Sand Bucket List
  • Health Observed
  • Crossword
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • e-Newspaper App

Trending | Sarasota

Gary Kompothecras and his family live in one of the largest houses on Siesta Key — a three-story, 13,560-square-foot estate on Point of Rocks Road.
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • February 1, 2024
Gary Kompothecras may be larger than life, but he’s also down to earth

Siesta Key resident and entrepreneur Gary Kompothecras has been called many things. “Creator” is his favorite.

  • Siesta Key
  • Neighbors
Located on the edge of Sarasota Bay, Plymouth Harbor offers stunning water and city views.
    By
  • Eric Snider
  • February 1, 2024
Plymouth Harbor’s remarkable residents reflect the community's long legacy

Plymouth Harbor is home to people who have enjoyed distinguished careers in business, medicine, law, academia and, especially, the arts.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Ben Baldwin was part architect, part decorator, part horticulturalist — an elegant gentleman whose goal in life was to create beauty to live in.
  • By Robert Plunket
  • February 1, 2024
Owners of Siesta Key home preserve its modern lineage

Designer Ben Baldwin had a vision for his Siesta Key home that remains safe with its current owners — down to every detail.

  • Siesta Key
  • Neighbors
Cardinal Mooney's Bri Behn drives the lane against The Academy of Central Florida.
    By
  • Ryan Kohn
  • January 31, 2024
Secondary contributions key to elite basketball team success

Having top-end talent helps, but the deeper a roster goes, the better its chances of winning playoff games.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
Dissatisfied diner calls police over service dispute
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 31, 2024
Dissatisfied diner calls police over service dispute

A woman wants officers to file a report following a dispute with a server and manager. This and other Sarasota Police Department reports in this week's Cops Corner.

  • Sarasota
  • Cops Corner
Construction of the $132 million Mote SEA is on schedule for opening by the end of 2024.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • January 31, 2024
$700 million worth of Sarasota projects take shape

Project leaders update the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce on the expected cultural and economic impacts of Mote, The Bay and more.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Booker High girls basketball sophomore Yvette Brown.
    By
  • Ryan Kohn
  • January 30, 2024
Sarasota Athlete of the Week: Yvette Brown

The Booker High girls basketball sophomore has been on a roll in January.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
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
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
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
Janet Minker’s love of architecture is rooted in her career as a graphic designer.
    By
  • Eric Snider
  • January 29, 2024
Sarasota architecture inspires graphic designer to preserve its legacy

Lido Shores resident Janet Minker is a tireless advocate for preserving Sarasota’s historical buildings — and, by association, the city’s character and charm.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
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
« 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 »
The best of Your Observer, delivered directly to your inbox

Get the latest in news, sports, schools, arts and things to do in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Longboat Key and East County.

Sign Up

Latest in Sarasota

1
School safety patrol supervisor Justine Holcomb, Noah Moise and Principal Patti Folino stand together.
  • May 22, 2026
Tuttle Elementary fifth grader named AAA School Safety Patroller of the Year
2
Riders set out on the ride.
  • May 22, 2026
Ride of Silence honors cyclists injured or killed while the community mourns recent losses
3
The expansion of McCown Towers would surround the parking structure that would include 160 public parking spaces owned by the city.
  • May 22, 2026
Senior affordable housing project funding remains one step short
4
  • May 21, 2026
Sarasota gunfire remains under investigation
5
A massing model of The Bay phases 3A and 3B show a parnking deck to the right, to the left the Sarasota Performing Arts Center location flanked by two restaurant spaces and the current parking lot converted to green space. The Van Wezel is at the bottom left corner.
  • May 21, 2026
Bay Park Conservancy reveals final phase concepts for The Bay park

App

Download the Your Observer app

Stay in the know with the latest local news. Any device, anytime, anywhere.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Contact

  • 1970 Main St.
  • Third Floor
  • Sarasota, FL 34236
  • Phone: 941-366-3468
  • FPN Verified

Extra, Extra!

  • Newsletters
  • App
  • Crossword
  • Contests

more

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • Advertise
  • Rack Locations
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Options

sister sites

  • Business Observer
  • Jax Daily Record
  • Orange Observer
  • Accessibility Options
  • Copyright © 2026 Observer Media Group Inc., All Rights Reserved
Sign Up for Daily Headlines

A daily dose of news from Longboat Key, East County, Sarasota and Siesta Key.

Sign Up for In Case You Missed It

A Saturday dose of the week's top stories from Sarasota, Longboat Key and East County.


Anytime. Anywhere. Observer.

From in-depth local reporting to real-time breaking news, stay connected to the stories shaping our community with the Your Observer app.

Download Now for Free