Sarasota selects next city manager
Seventeen months after the retirement of Marlon Brown, Sarasota has a new city manager. Following a brief discussion on Friday, the Sarasota City Commission unanimously selected Karie Friling as the city's next top executive. The executive director of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Illinois since...
Ramblin’ Man Comes Home: US-41 Renamed Dickey Betts Memorial Highway
Florida just gave Dickey Betts a fitting tribute: drivers cruising through his hometown on U.S. 41 will now see signs for the Dickey Betts Memorial Highway. It’s a stretch of road in south Sarasota County, running from North Creek down to Blackburn Point Road, in the place Betts called home.
French Bakery and Brunch Spot Opening in Bradenton
BRADENTON, FL - Merci Cafe, a French bakery and brunch concept, is targeting a mid-March opening at 310-212 12th St W, Bradenton, FL 34205. Owners Fanette and Patrick Maquet told Business Debut they are bringing a French franchise concept to the area, marking their first restaurant. The couple said they...
TAYLOR WALKS AWAY AFTER PRO MODIFIED CRASH DURING DI WINTER SERIES TESTING AT BRADENTON
Jimmy Taylor went to Bradenton Motorsports Park for open testing ahead of the final event of the three-race DI Winter Series. On Wednesday, the Pro Modified driver was reminded how quickly a routine session can turn violent when his car snapped left and slammed the wall at more than 200 mph.
How the Sarasota Garden Club discovered Ringling’s Secret Garden
The jardiniere would never have been standing alone in a field of grass. It was an indication that there had been a garden there. As Merle Suave walked the grounds of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in 1978, she noticed that between the blades of grass, bits of concrete were visible.
Sarasota County seeks to curb spending to avert budget crisis
The story was updated with additional information from Sarasota County. Sarasota County is aiming to reduce its government spending next year to avoid a budget shortfall. A model from August 2025 showed that the county would be underwater on its general fund by 2028, with a $37.8 million deficit the next year....
The Queen of Broadway Comes to Sarasota
On March 6, The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation will welcome the award-winning superstar, Idina Menzel, to the stage to perform as part of the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation Gala: Defying Expectations: An Evening in Three Acts. The Foundation’s Gala will showcase Menzel’s...
Lakewood Ranch murder-suicide leaves 11-year-old, 14-year-old dead
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances leading up to a murder-suicide that left a 44-year-old mother and her two children, a 14-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl, dead Thursday in Lakewood Ranch. Deputies responded around 8:30 p.m. to a residence in the 8200 block of Pavia Way — in the...
Swine discovery has Sarasota officers seeking pig’s owner
Sarasota Police took into custody an unlikely fugitive overnight — a 100-pound, pot-bellied pig. No, there won’t be any swine/law enforcement jokes here, but the friendly and cooperative runaway porker wore no collar and carried no sign of whom it belongs to, other than its black spots on generally white hair with a...
Brush fire threatened homes in Englewood, Port Charlotte
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A brush fire that threatened homes in Englewood and Port Charlotte has been largely put out, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said. The Friday afternoon fire was active in the area near Gisinger, Jennings and Gillot boulevards, adjacent to the Myakka State Forest’s Jennings Trailhead.
