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SIESTA KEY BEACHFRONT LAND SETTLEMENT FACES FURTHER LEGAL HURDLES
FROM SARASOTA OBSERVER
Sarasota County agreed to pay $400,000 and swap a county-owned Siesta Key parcel to settle a decades-long dispute over three beachfront lots appraised at just $90,000. But the deal has sparked another legal fight: Protect Siesta Key and four residents are suing, arguing the county lacks authority to trade away the parkland it bought for $1.4 million in 2017.
READ THE STORY HERE
MANATEE SCHOOLS GIVE FIRST RESPONDERS LIVE ACCESS TO SECURITY CAMERAS
FROM WUSF
Manatee County schools are the first in Florida to give police and first responders live access to school surveillance cameras during emergencies. The $831,000-a-year system, now at 62 sites, can be triggered by staff panic buttons and has already been used during medical emergencies.
READ THE STORY HERE
FLORIDA'S LIMITED BAN ON FLOCK CAMERAS ONLY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
The existence of thousands of cameras reveals only a partial view of the broader surveillance apparatus. For example, while the St. Petersburg Police Department reportedly operates only about 50 Flock cameras, its officers can search data collected by Flock cameras operated by more than 1,000 other agencies nationwide. With access to this network, agencies don’t need to happen upon a car to conduct a search. They can potentially reconstruct where a car has been and when across multiple jurisdictions – regardless of whether the vehicle is connected to a crime.
READ THE STORY HERE
APARTMENT DEAL FALLS THROUGH FOR SARASOTA'S HISTORIC DOWNTOWN VILLAGE
FROM SARASOTA MAGAZINE
A deal to replace Sarasota’s colorful Historic Downtown Village with 324 apartments has fallen through, giving the 17 local businesses there a reprieve. The owners say the Fruitville Road property is no longer for sale — welcome news for tenants who had spent months preparing to relocate.
THE STORY HERE
... BUT SARASOTA RESTAURANT'S VILLAGE PLAN MOVES AHEAD AFTER SURPRISE TWIST
FROM SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
Plans for Sarasota Bungalow Village are moving forward despite the collapse of a land sale that would have displaced several shops and restaurants from downtown Sarasota’s colorful cottages on Fruitville Road.
THE STORY HERE
TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL TAKES OVER DESOTO MEMORIAL IN ARCADIA
FROM WINK
Tampa General Hospital has taken over operations of DeSoto Memorial Hospital in Arcadia, bringing the rural hospital into its health system. The partnership is aimed at expanding access to specialty care and other services while allowing DeSoto Memorial to remain locally owned and governed.
READ THE STORY HERE
FLORIDA RANKS SECOND IN SCHOOL BOOK REMOVALS NATIONWIDE
FROM ORLANDO WEEKLY
Florida, once the nation’s leader in the movement to rid schools of books that some consider offensive, inappropriate or just too gay, is now trailing the state of Texas in book bans. The Sunshine State this year ranked second to Texas in the record-high number of books removed from public schools over the last year, according to PEN America’s latest annual book ban report. Over 3,200 books were removed from Florida schools alone, according to the report, while more than 8,000 were removed from Texas schools.
READ THE STORY HERE
OPINION: GREEK LIFE CULTURE SHOULD NOT COME AT THE COST OF STUDENT SAFETY
FROM THE ORACLE (USF)
Fraternities and sororities can offer students community and belonging, but hazing, excessive drinking, drink spiking and pressure to conform can put students at risk. At USF, a recent fraternity president’s arrest and the university’s hazing-prevention efforts have renewed questions about accountability and what students should be expected to tolerate to belong.
READ THE STORY HERE
18 BILLIONAIRES HAVE FUNDED THE FLORIDA GOVERNOR RACE. 17 GAVE TO DONALDS
FROM TAMPA BAY TIMES
The race to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis has attracted the attention of magnates and moguls who are contributing to candidates nationwide. Seventeen of them have given to Donalds, including some who previously backed DeSantis, like Miami hedge fund manager Ken Griffin. But that falls short of the number supporting DeSantis’ 2022 campaign, which drew more than twice as many billionaire donors.
READ THE STORY HERE
BRADENTON WOMAN ARRESTED IN UNDERCOVER SEA TURTLE POACHING BUST
FROM BRADENTON HERALD
A Bradenton woman is among several people facing charges following a multi-year undercover investigation into illegal fishing and wildlife poaching in Florida. FWC said the investigation began while looking into complaints about reef fish poaching in the Gulf when one of the suspects approached an undercover officer about buying illegally caught fish.
READ THE STORY HERE
COURT ERASES HOPE FLORIDA GRAND JURY REPORT AFTER SHUTTING OUT ANYONE WHO WOULD DEFEND IT
FROM FLORIDA TRIDENT
The grand jury report that put Attorney General James Uthmeier at the center of a “sophisticated scheme” to move $10 million from a Medicaid settlement into his political committee was erased Wednesday by a state appeals court, in an appeal in which no one was allowed to argue in defense of the report, the court’s own opinion shows.
READ THE STORY HERE
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