Weekly Newsletter

Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

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We’re here to keep you informed on the local issues that matter most. Each week, we share our latest in-depth reporting, along with the most important stories from around the region, so you stay connected and up to date with what’s happening in your community.

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NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

COLD SNAP REVEALS GENEROSITY — AND GAPS — IN SARASOTA'S HOMELESSNESS SERVICES

During a recent record-breaking cold snap that saw temperatures plummet below freezing on some nights, Sarasota’s homeless population faced life-or-death decisions unheard of this far south in the Sunshine State.

Joe Reuth, executive director of local nonprofit Resurrection House, was there at 5 a.m. on those cold mornings, opening over three hours earlier than usual to ensure people were showered, fed and dressed for the cold.

“Compassion and caring is essential, especially in the cold weather,” Reuth said. “It’s the difference between life or death. When they come into our day center, they're literally cold to the bones, shaking, definitely in need of warmth and a hot beverage, and that's what we provide.”

The dangerously cold weather began in January when an Arctic air mass pushed deep into Florida, sending overnight temperatures across the Suncoast into the low 30s. Wind chills made it feel even colder — in the 20s at times — and scattered snow flurries were reported in parts of the region. 

In a place where average January and February lows hover in the mid-50s and freeze warnings are uncommon, multiple nights near or below freezing marked one of the most unusual stretches of winter in recent memory and posed acute danger for people living outdoors.

Those bone-chilling temperatures may be waning, but the struggles faced by people experiencing homelessness won’t melt away with them. 

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

FLORIDA BILL WOULD LET HOMEOWNERS RECALL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT BOARDS

A new bill in the Florida Senate would add more homeowner protections and oversight to the boards that control governing decisions within community development districts across the state.

The proposed reform would add provisions that allow homeowners living in these districts to organize recall elections to remove members of the governing bodies over grounds like malfeasance, neglect, incompetence, a felony conviction or the inability to perform official duties. 

But the bill does not allow these communities to recall the initial board members appointed by the real estate developer, who often maintain control over spending decisions and district governance for decades with little oversight and no homeowner input.

“I would have probably had a hard time moving it forward if we started messing around with that,” said Sen. Kristen Arrington (D-Kissimmee), who sponsored the measure.

The legislation comes in response to a group of residents upset with how their CDD has been run in Osceola County – and no current resource to oust the board members they believe are responsible for a series of alleged misdeeds, including embezzlement and public records violations.

It also follows months of ongoing reporting by Suncoast Searchlight, which published the “Power and Profit” series last year exposing how real estate developers are reshaping Florida’s housing market through the unchecked proliferation of these independent special districts.

What do you trust when information is coming from everywhere? And how do you decide what’s missing, misleading or manipulated?

Join us for a conversation about evaluating information, understanding how misinformation spreads — and why curiosity, context and accountability matter.

Thursday, Feb. 19

5:30–7 pm

Selby Library, 1331 1st St, Sarasota (Jack J. Geldbart Auditorium)

Seats limited, save yours today

Presented as part of the Searchlight Series with Gulf Coast Community Foundation

HERE'S WHAT ELSE WE RECOMMEND READING THIS WEEK

FLORIDA EMERGENCY AGENCY RAN UP $405 MILLION IMMIGRATION TAB IN SIX MONTHS

FROM FLORIDA PHOENIX

Florida’s emergency managers spent more than $405 million in taxpayer dollars in six months to fight illegal immigration, but that doesn’t just include law enforcement, state spending records show: It covers private jet flights, restaurant meals, and badges. This means 70% of the state’s total immigration spending in four years occurred in the past six months. The disclosure comes as officials continue to insist Florida will be reimbursed hundreds of millions of dollars by the federal government — a promise federal authorities have cast serious doubt upon.

READ THE STORY HERE

CENTERSTONE OF FLORIDA USED FEDERAL FUNDS TO PAY CONVICTED DRUG FELON

FROM SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

Centerstone of Florida used federal grant money to pay an 80-year-old convicted felon to keep mentally ill clients inside her unlicensed group home, according to an employee's sworn deposition obtained by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A recent Herald‑Tribune investigation found that Centerstone repeatedly placed mentally ill criminal defendants into the unlicensed home operated by Jennings - a convicted felon with no formal mental‑health training - despite a history of dangerous incidents at the residence.

READ THE STORY HERE

NEIGHBORS AND DEVELOPERS CLASH OVER MANATEE COUNTY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

FROM BRADENTON HERALD

After a contentious public debate that lasted more than nine hours, Manatee County officially voted to deny a plan for a new housing community in East Bradenton. A housing developer requested a rezone of 56 acres of agricultural land near Zipperer Road, north of State Road 64 East. While commissioners stopped this project, they also delayed a decision on a nearby project that could bring 99 homes.

READ THE STORY HERE

COULD FLORIDA'S CONSERVATION LANDS SOON BE SOLD FOR AGRICULTURE?

FROM TAMPA BAY TIMES

Sugar cane farms on land set aside for Everglades restoration? Peanut farming on property that could have been a Florida state park? That’s what some environmental groups are worried about with a proposal buried in a sweeping farm bill, moving steadily through the Florida Legislature, that they argue would “fundamentally change how Florida treats conservation lands.” A section of Senate Bill 290 would direct Florida’s environment and agriculture departments to determine whether any state-owned land purchased for conservation since January 2024 is “suitable” for agriculture, according to the bill language.

READ THE STORY HERE

FLORIDA SENATORS WANT TO END 'FOREVER FEES' IMPOSED BY SOME BIG HOMEBUILDERS

FROM SEEKING RENTS

Key leaders in the Florida Senate want to crack down on a scheme used by some large developers to lock homebuyers into legally murky “forever fees.” The ploy involves master-planned communities built with recreational facilities such as golf courses, fitness centers and tennis courts, and managed by homeowners’ associations that collect monthly assessments from residents for operations and maintenance. In some communities built around Florida in recent years, the developers have decided to retain ownership of the recreational facilities for themselves rather than turn them over to the resident-controlled HOA. But they have still bound homebuyers to covenants that compel them to pay monthly “club fees” or “amenity fees” — fees that include an incremental profit margin for the developer and that can continue on in perpetuity.

READ THE STORY HERE

'WE'RE AS AMERICAN AS HE IS. WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.'

FROM WSLR

Lul Kassim, a nurse practitioner and immigrant from Somalia who moved from Bradenton to Minneapolis recently, shares her perspectives on how Operation Metro Surge has affected her life, and how she responds to the challenge. "They’re everywhere, basically. You can’t avoid them. You see them. So now it’s like, okay, you really don’t wanna go outside unless you absolutely need to go outside. Even the gas station, I make sure – now my husband is here – he comes with me to go to the gas station. It’s such a planning, it’s such a planning you have to do because you really have to be careful. We, we feel like we are being watched, and we’re major target."

READ/HEAR THE STORY HERE

A Q&A WITH SARASOTA ORCHESTRA'S MUSIC DIRECTOR ABOUT HIS ROLE IN BAD BUNNY SUPER BOWL SHOW

FROM ARTS BEAT

Barely 36 hours after taking part in one of the biggest musical experiences of his life, Sarasota Orchestra Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero hadn’t had time to watch his part in the Super Bowl LX halftime show featuring Bad Bunny. Guerrero said he had a whirlwind 10 days from being asked to take part through the performance on Feb. 8. During a morning of media interviews on Feb. 10, Guerrero talked to ArtsBeat about his experience, his initial doubts that it was a prank, and the international impact Bad Bunny’s inclusion of so many types of music will have. They became friends and he talks about Bad Bunny by his real name, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio.

READ THE STORY HERE

PROPOSAL CREATING UNIVERSITY TOWN CENTER IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT CLEARS FIRST HOUSE COMMITTEE

FROM FLORIDA POLITICS

A proposal by Rep. Bill Conerly to create a new special taxing district to fund infrastructure, stormwater management and enhanced public services in the University Town Center area in Sarasota and Manatee counties has cleared its first House Committee stop. HB 4091 would establish the University Town Center Improvement District, an independent special district designed to oversee roads, drainage systems, parking facilities, recreational amenities and other infrastructure in one of the region’s predominant commercial corridors.

READ THE STORY HERE

USF SARASOTA-MANATEE BOOSTER ANNOUNCE RALLY TO SAVE CAMPUS

FROM BRADENTON JOURNAL

Supporters of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee are organizing what would be the most visible pushback yet against Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposal to shutter the campus and hand its 32-acre bayfront property to New College of Florida. A Feb. 25 community rally, billed as a forum to “Save USF Sarasota-Manatee,” will focus on derailing the governor’s plan as the Florida Legislature considers it as part of their 2026-27 budget negotiations.

READ THE STORY HERE

MEASLES CASE RISE IN FLORIDA AS VACCINATION RATES REMAIN LOW IN SARASOTA

FROM SARASOTA MAGAZINE

Measles, once declared eliminated in the U.S., is again gaining ground. What was long considered a childhood disease, largely kept at bay by vaccination, has resurfaced in clusters across multiple states, driven largely by pockets of low immunization and ease of transmission. Health officials warn that even small immunity gaps can allow the virus, one of the most contagious diseases in the world, to spread quickly.

READ THE STORY HERE



DID YOU MISS OUR PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER?

HERE'S WHAT WE SHARED:

A BOLD AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN SPUTTERED. NOW SARASOTA IS TRYING AGAIN

Nearly two years ago, Sarasota’s then-City Manager Marlon Brown had an ambitious idea to purchase downtown property near City Hall and turn it into large-scale affordable housing.

In an effort that would become the first-of-its-kind across Florida, Brown secured millions of dollars in pledges from the area’s largest philanthropic foundations and millions more earmarked from the Florida Legislature. 

With the support of city commissioners, Brown’s plan would see the city take direct control over the development, own the property and supply nearly 200 units of attainable housing in two high-rise buildings on First Street, with a groundbreaking anticipated in mid-2025.

It was uncharted territory in Sarasota. Development of affordable housing is typically done on less expensive land facilitated with complicated financing that often requires tax credits. Instead of high-rise development, these projects are typically not more than three or four stories — an exception being Lofts on Lemon, which is five stories — and involve partnerships with developers that have decades of experience in the highly regulated industry. 

Even then, deals can take years to go from plans on paper to shovels in the ground. What Brown proposed would speed up the timeline, deliver more units and keep the city in full control along the way.

Sarasota spent more than $7 million on two parcels in September 2024.

A month later, Brown resigned. The anticipated groundbreaking never happened. Promised foundation dollars never materialized. And the project seemingly languished as Sarasota cycled through two interim city managers.

But it is now stirring again.

FLORIDA RESIDENTS USE FDLE TIP LINE TO REPORT NEIGHBORS, ACQUAINTANCES

In the first months after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement set up a tip line for people to report agencies for not complying with the state’s immigration laws, only a trickle of responses flowed in — and many of them focused less on police than on the people next door.

The “Law Enforcement Accountability Dashboard” asks tipsters to identify non-compliant law enforcement agencies, but records obtained by Suncoast Searchlight show many submissions hinge on allegations about neighbors and community members suspected of being undocumented. Often embedded in those complaints are accusations that local agencies are not doing enough about it. 

One informant complained about his son’s bus driver being “foreign.” Three tipsters seemingly focused on individuals with whom they had personal quarrels. Two others complained of loud parties. 

“These Haitian residents throw extremely loud parties 2 to 3 nights per week,” wrote a Lake Worth Beach resident. “The primary resident may be here legally, but we feel their party goers may not be.”

The tool was created in March to “provide a direct channel for officers and employees to report any failure by their agency to comply with Florida’s immigration enforcement policies” — though the portal also welcomes tips from the public.



SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT WINS FLORIDA PRESS CLUB HONORS

Journalists at Suncoast Searchlight were honored with six awards from the Florida Press Club for education, business, environmental coverage and in-depth reporting.

The statewide awards were presented Saturday evening during a ceremony in West Palm Beach. They are the first media honors for Suncoast Searchlight since the nonprofit newsroom’s official launch in February 2025. The awards honored work produced in Florida and published between June 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025.

Suncoast Searchlight investigative reporter Alice Herman took first place in the Class B education category for stories that focused on New College of Florida, including an article about a Chinese professor fired under a controversial state law that limits public universities from employing people from so-called “countries of concern.”

Investigative Editor Josh Salman and former data reporter Kara Newhouse also won first place in the Class B business journalism category for their stories on Florida’s greenbelt law.

The series revealed how the state loophole is costing Sarasota and Manatee counties millions in lost revenue by allowing developers to tap a decades-old law meant to preserve agriculture and shrink the taxes on pastures they intend to pave over.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work produced by our team,” said Emily Le Coz, Suncoast Searchlight’s executive editor-in-chief. “What makes these honors especially meaningful is that all of this work was done within our first few months of publishing. It reinforces why we launched Suncoast Searchlight — to deliver ambitious, deeply-reported journalism on the issues shaping people’s lives across our region.”

Suncoast Searchlight also was awarded second and third-place honors in the annual competition for work on environmental coverage, general news, in-depth reporting and public service journalism.

CURIOSITY IN CHAOS: HOW LOCAL NONPROFIT TAKES ON HOSTILE POLITICAL DIVISION

Don’t say the word “debate” around Bill Woodson.

He’ll politely clarify that a debate implies two sides disagreeing. At Woodson’s Sarasota-based nonprofit, Conversations Across the Aisle (CATA), there aren’t any winners or losers –– just a group of people from varying ends of the political spectrum trying to understand one another.

“People who are curious are not the mainstream,” Woodson said. “If we gave value and valence to getting both sides of an argument, I think it would lead to better policies and better quality of life for everybody.”

Woodson founded CATA about three years ago as a deeply personal response to a question that has come to define modern political life: What happens when people stop listening to one another? 

Through a series of facilitated dinners, CATA seeks to “rehumanize” people on all sides of the political spectrum, bringing together those with different political beliefs not to debate or persuade, but to sit at the same table, share a meal and try to understand how a reasonable person could see the world so differently.

The first such dinner took place in October 2023, and the organization has held six more since then — one each quarter, tackling topics like “the evolving relationship between church and state,” “the war on woke” and “what is due process; is it a universal right?”

GOT A TIP OR STORY IDEA?

Share your tips and story ideas using our online form. Your name and contact info will be kept confidential.

Suncoast Searchlight is a 501c3 nonprofit news organization whose mission is to produce investigative and explanatory journalism that serves and empowers the residents of Florida’s Suncoast region (Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties). We shine a light on critical issues affecting our community. Through independent reporting and collaboration with diverse media partners, we foster transparency, accountability and an informed citizenry, ensuring that all voices are heard and that the public has access to the information they need to drive meaningful change.

CONTACT US:

Suncoast Searchlight

PO Box 99 Sarasota, FL 34230

(941) 724-4450