Sarasota superintendent: ‘No teachers have been laid off’ despite budget squeeze
Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Terry Connor says no teachers have been laid off this year — despite swirling rumors — and insists the district’s proactive summer staffing moves were designed to “protect the classroom” in the face of budget shortfalls and enrollment shifts. In an interview with the Herald...
Ballard’s Farm Supply’s 92-year-old female owner claims she was beaten by women who stole...
VENICE, Fla. - The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a 92-year-old woman said she was beaten by women who stole her dogs. The bruises on 92-year-old Julia Ballard's arms are just part of the reason why she feels pain today. Her heart is also broken, after she...
The Amish Restaurant In Florida Locals Swear Has The State’s Best Baked Pies
In the heart of Sarasota’s Pinecraft neighborhood sits a culinary time machine disguised as a modest green building with a red entrance sign. Yoder’s Restaurant is where the pies are so good they’ve achieved mythical status among Floridians. You know how some places just have that special...
Commissioner Knight finds no support from colleagues in suggesting reduction of Sheriff’s Office budget...
Other board members put emphasis on spending limitations in future fiscal years. As the former county sheriff, Sarasota County Commissioner Tom Knight made several attempts this week to engage his board colleagues in a discussion about lowering the Sheriff’s Office budget even more for the 2026 fiscal year, which...
Manatee School Board reinstates employee accused of grabbing, dragging student
The School Board of Manatee County recently voted to keep a longtime district employee despite recommendations from a state agency and former superintendent to fire him. Verlin “Skip” Wilhoit, a program specialist with the School District of Manatee County, was caught on video last year putting his hands on a student...
Rare Ringling-era mansion in Sarasota hits the market for $17.5M
In the 1930s, Sarasota was buzzing with circus stars, Gilded Age money, and Mediterranean Revival mansions springing up along its waterfront. One of the finest survivors of that era, Casa del Carnevale — a nationally registered historic estate with roots in John Ringling’s glittering circle — has just hit the market...
Laid off PGT worker claims disability discrimination
Hostile working conditions have been par for the course since a recent takeover, the 31-year employee alleges. Host: PGT is the largest manufacturing employer in Sarasota County. Last November, after being taken over by a competitor, the Venice-based window and door maker laid off an entire shift, with little notice....
Surveillance video shows teen’s last movements before being found dead in a pond
BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB/Gray News) - Law enforcement in Florida released new evidence related to the death of an 18-year-old who went missing earlier this month. During a media briefing, Manatee County Sheriff released surveillance video and cellphone data related to Giovanni Pelletier’s movements before his death....
County Commission chair says constituents troubled by high salaries and raises for county department...
Neunder stresses taxpayers’ burdens and concern for lower-level county workers. As the Sarasota County commissioners this week stressed their need to reduce the county’s budgets over the coming fiscal years, Chair Joe Neunder brought up an issue that he indicated has proven controversial among his constituents: the...
A grocery store in downtown Bradenton? Manatee County has plan to make it happen
A new development could bring housing, more parking spaces and possibly a grocery store, to the heart of downtown Bradenton. Manatee County recently opened an invitation to negotiate (ITN) for its cluster of downtown properties, including the seven-story public parking garage and the county employee fitness center....
