Sarasota FL

PALMETTO, Fla. (WWSB) - A crash involving a motorcycle and a truck closed lanes for a time on U.S. 301 East near Haben Boulevard Wednesday, Aug. 6. The motorcyclist was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, Palmetto police told ABC7. No other details were immediately available.

A 44-year-old Nokomis woman has been charged with murder and first-degree arson in connection with the Aug. 5 death of a man at the Palm & Pine mobile home park in Nokomis, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has reported. Juanita Marie Pendell, of 255 N. Tamiami Trail in Nokomis,...

Manatee County Animal Welfare is asking for tips from the public after someone found a pink crate with three abandoned cats near the 1700 block of Lena Road.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health reports the suicide rate of first responders is more than two times higher than the overall rate of working-age Floridians. A Manatee County family grieving the loss of their loved one, who died by suicide in 2015, has made it their mission to help support the mental...

A best-selling Florida author who created the Doc Ford character in his novels is suing a restaurant management company. Randy Wayne White in early July 2025 sued HM Restaurant Group LLC, claiming it was "repeatedly browbeating" him about reducing his royalties tied to the Doc Ford brand. White sued for breach of...

A 76-year-old Louisiana woman died in a drowning accident on July 31 near Longboat Key Club. According to a Longboat Key Police report, officers responded to 220 Sands Point Drive at approximately 5:44 p.m. When officers arrived, they found 76-year-old Betty Martin of St. Francisville, Louisiana, unresponsive on the...

*A Florida man is charged with felony bigamy for marrying three women in separate counties. According to ABC Action News, the women, Michele, Brandi, and Tonya Betsey, discovered they were all wed to Henry Betsey, Jr., exposing flaws in Florida’s marriage licensing system. “There are no safeguards, and I feel like...

Living in Lakewood Ranch, Justin Boudreau drove past the businesses on State Road 70 every day. Seeing lots of chain restaurants just east of Creekwood Boulevard, Boudreau said the neighborhood needed an affordable non-chain place to eat. So when Applebee’s closed its location at 7175 State Road 70 E., Boudreau...

August 7, 2025 – Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is proud to announce that two First Physicians Group cardiothoracic surgeons have been named to Newsweek’s 2025 list of “America’s Leading Doctors.”. Jonathan Hoffberger, DO, director of minimally invasive cardiac surgery at SMH, ranked #20 in the...

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) — An Englewood man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for DUI manslaughter in a 2023 crash that killed a motorcyclist on Thanksgiving night. Court records show that Michael Burke Risley, 46, was sentenced on June 23, 2025, to 14 years in the Florida Department of Corrections, followed by...