Friday, March 27, 2026

Enjoying this newsletter thanks to a friend? Subscribe here to get it in your inbox. 📬

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

GOLF DEAL FALLOUT DEEPENS DIVISIONS IN THE MEADOWS

Weeks after a controversial decision to lease its golf courses to Benderson Development Co., The Meadows is still grappling with the fallout.

The dispute inside one of Sarasota County’s oldest and largest planned communities has grown beyond the deal itself, spilling into board meetings, neighborhood interactions and competing efforts to influence residents ahead of an ongoing election.

An HOA candidate forum was abruptly canceled. Security was called to a confrontation involving residents and board members. And dueling messages — one from the board, another from a resident-run blog — each accused the other of misleading neighbors.

The conflict in The Meadows is a case study in how homeowner associations can struggle under the weight of high-stakes decisions, turning disagreements among neighbors into broader fights over control, trust and the future of their community.

Florida is one of the most HOA-governed states in the country, with millions of residents living in deed-restricted communities run by elected boards. These associations function as private governments, often wielding authority over finances, land use and daily life — but with less civic participation than their public counterparts.

Experts said that dynamic can make conflict inevitable, especially when decisions reshape the character or value of a community.

“When you start impacting people’s homes, which are typically people’s largest asset, it’s easy for folks to get quite animated and concerned about changes that are proposed,” said Douglas Christy, a Sarasota attorney who represents condo and homeowner associations across the Suncoast.

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

ICE TO EXPAND FOOTPRINT IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, SEEKING COWORKING SPACES

Employees using co-working spaces around Southwest Florida could soon get new officemates: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.

As ICE expands operations throughout the country, the agency is seeking flexible working space for its employees in 11 Florida cities, including Sarasota and Bradenton.

The push comes as Florida leads the nation in ICE apprehensions, and local law enforcement cash in on state funding for immigration enforcement – with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office bringing in more than $1.1 million from Florida’s State Board of Immigration Enforcement in February. 

The federal agency has identified more cities in Florida than any other state where it is seeking office space, followed by Arizona and California, according to documents posted to a government procurement website. 

The focus on Florida reflects how the state has furthered President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda through local cooperation – without high-profile sweeps like those in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago and other prominent blue cities. 

The national push would see roughly 300 federal employees placed in flexible office spaces across 90 cities. In a statement, an ICE spokesperson wrote that the agency has increased its national presence by 12,000 “officers and agents on the ground,” but declined to answer questions about its work in Sarasota and Bradenton. 

Searchlight Series Presents: Beneath the Surface

Join Suncoast Searchlight and the Science and Environment Council for a conversation about issues shaping our community, from water quality and wildlife to coastal resilience and growth.

April 15 | 3:00pm

Bayfront Community Center (Bay Park Conservancy)



Register →

HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS COMING UP IN THE SEARCHLIGHT SERIES

Join us for our public records series, presented in partnership with Gulf Coast Community Foundation, as we walk through real stories shaped by public records and explore how documents, delays and discoveries become accountability reporting.

Show us the Receipts

How public records uncover what's happening in our community

March 31 | 12:30pm

Manatee Community Foundation

Join Suncoast Searchlight, Florida Trident and Bradenton Herald reporters for a behind-the-scenes look at how public records shape investigative reporting.

Register →

Public Records for Watchdogs

Advanced workshop with Michael Barfield

April 10 | 12:30 PM

Gulf Coast Community Foundation – Sarasota Philanthropy Center

A deeper dive into the investigative strategies journalists use to uncover records, navigate denials and follow the paper trail behind accountability reporting.

Register →

HERE'S WHAT ELSE WE RECOMMEND READING THIS WEEK

SARASOTA IS IN AN EXTREME DROUGHT RIGHT NOW
FROM SARASOTA MAGAZINE

Sarasota County is in an extreme drought right now, with new water restriction orders significantly limiting outdoor watering—and even water service at restaurants. The drought is expected to persist for the next month and there’s no rain in the forecast for the next seven days, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.

READ THE STORY HERE

LAKEWOOD RANCH RESIDENTS FRUSTRATED AS MAIL THEFTS REACH $600,000

FROM ABC7

Lakewood Ranch residents are asking what it will take to catch the person behind a series of mail thefts that have been the community for six weeks. Victims say they are mailing out checks, only for them to disappear, get altered and end up in the hands of strangers. Linda O’Brien said she was hit multiple times in a matter of days, losing more than $300,000. “How can this happen to somebody in 10 days time three different batches of check stolen you know,” O’Brien said.

READ THE STORY HERE

FIRM HIRED TO STUDY THE 'SOUNDSCAPE OF SARASOTA'
FROM SARASOTA OBSERVER

As Sarasota continues to grapple with a reasonable and enforceable sound ordinance that balances the vibrancy the city needs with the rights of enjoyment of residents in their homes, the city has solicited the assistance of Gainesville-based Siebein Acoustic. The firm is tasked to provide a technical evaluation that includes field measurements and analysis of sound conditions in a variety of locations throughout the city, provide a review of the current code and offer suggestions for enforcement, comparisons with standards in other jurisdictions and make technical recommendations to support “clear, measurable and evidence-based regulatory standards,” according to city documents.

READ THE STORY HERE

SETTLEMENT COULD CLOSE THE BOOK ON FPL'S PAST CONTROVERSIES
FROM FLORIDA TRIB

A group of investors and Florida Power & Light’s parent company, NextEra, told a federal judge in recent days that they have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of securities fraud. The investors had argued that FPL officials made misleading statements while they were navigating a series of high-profile controversies throughout the state that had been uncovered by Florida newspapers.

READ THE STORY HERE

CITY SCRAMBLES TO STORMPROOF THE VAN WEZEL
FROM WSLR

So the City of Sarasota has committed to keeping the Purple Cow. But flood and storm proofing the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall before the next hurricane is quite the complex task, and it’s not happening overnight. It’s also going on simultaneously with the next stage of the Bay Park expansion. "I’ve been given the marching orders to get this done as quickly as we can," said Nikesh Patel, public works director for the city of Sarasota, talking about shoring up of the 67-year-old Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, following normal building aging and substantial hurricane damage in 2024.

READ THE STORY HERE

SARASOTA SHERIFF DISAGREES WITH POLK COUNTY COUNTERPART'S CALL TO SLOW DOWN MASS DEPORTATIONS
FROM WSLR

Grady Judd has been an advocate of strict immigration enforcement. That’s why the Polk County Sheriff surprised many last week when he announced he would advocate with the Trump administration for a slowdown in mass deportations. Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman does not think much of Judd’s initiative: "If you’ve come here illegally, then you’ve broken the law, and those warrants are in the system. Civil detainers, as they are, should be enforced."

READ THE STORY HERE

A BENEFIT SHOW IN SARASOTA CHRONICLES THE LIFE OF AN ARTIST WHO STRUGGLED WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER
FROM WUSF

The Sarasota Art Museum will host “Arts & Minds,” a benefit for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Sarasota and Manatee Counties, on Wednesday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. The event will showcase a collection of 40 self-portraits created over 40 days, highlighting the intersection of art, creativity and mental health advocacy while supporting NAMI’s free, peer-led programs.

READ THE STORY HERE

SHOREBIRD NESTING SEASON HAS BEGUN ON ANNA MARIA ISLAND
FROM ANNA MARIA SUN

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring (Turtle Watch) personnel and volunteers have started conducting beach nesting bird surveys on Anna Maria Island to locate, monitor and protect imperiled shorebird species nesting on the Island’s beaches. The shorebird breeding season runs from March through September. Early in the season, birds such as American oystercatchers, least terns, black skimmers and snowy plovers begin looking for areas to nest in Florida.

READ THE STORY HERE

JUDGE GRANTS LIMITED INTERVENTION IN HOPE FLORIDA GRAND JURY CASE
FROM FLORIDA TRIDENT

Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh issued an order earlier today granting the Florida Center for Government Accountability (FLCGA) and its publication, the Florida Trident, a limited right to intervene in court proceedings related to a secret grand jury presentment in the ongoing Hope Florida investigation. The ruling marks a significant step in the effort to bring transparency to a process that has so far unfolded almost entirely outside of public view.

READ THE STORY HERE

COMMENTARY: LANDOWNER LAWSUIT OVER FLORIDA SCRUB JAY HAS NATIONAL RAMIFICATIONS

FROM FLORIDA PHOENIX

There’s no “Cutest Critter in Florida” contest but, if there were, I can name a few contestants. The diminutive Key deer, for one. The seagrass-munching manatee for another. And, of course, the friendly Florida scrub jay. You may not be familiar with the scrub jay. Contrary to what The Trashmen used to sing, not everybody’s heard about the bird. They’re classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, which means they’re not fluttering all over the state.

READ THE STORY HERE



DID YOU MISS OUR PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER?

HERE'S WHAT WE SHARED:

SARASOTA ERASED DOWNTOWN ART WITHOUT PUBLIC NOTICE, ARTISTS NOW SEEK DAMAGES

David Blanch labored for hours in the spring of 2024 painting a Sarasota sunset that transformed two sidewalk panels on Pineapple Avenue into a burst of pink, blue and yellow.

It wasn’t a big payday — just a couple hundred dollars. But participating in the city’s Avenue of Art initiative was something the professional artist hoped would bring joy to people strolling downtown.

In August, he learned the city ground away his art in a cloud of concrete dust. 

“It was the most ridiculous thing a city could ever do,” the 40-year-old Sarasota resident said.

Within a matter of days last summer, the city removed hundreds of feet of sidewalk art that had drawn visitors downtown for years, rushing to comply with a Florida Department of Transportation memo warning against paint covering public right-of-ways.

Blanch is one of at least nine sidewalk artists who have since filed legal notices against Sarasota, claiming the city violated their rights by removing the art without first notifying them. The individual claims — filed under the Visual Artists Rights Act, or VARA — seek anywhere from $1,200 to $150,000.

Public records show the city’s decision to remove the artwork unfolded largely behind the scenes — with no public discussion and little evidence officials considered challenging FDOT’s directive even after a state official notified them there was an administrative path to do so.

Emails obtained by Suncoast Searchlight and ArtsBeat show Sarasota officials moved quickly to comply with the directive as they faced the threat of losing $67 million in state funding.

DECISIONS ARE BURIED IN PUBLIC RECORDS. HERE'S HOW TO ACCESS THEM IN FLORIDA

At a time when access to government records is increasingly under pressure — and key decisions are often buried within them — a series of upcoming community events aims to show Suncoast residents how to find and use public information for themselves.

Suncoast Searchlight will host two, free public workshops focused on accessing public records, one of the most powerful, and often overlooked, tools available to everyday citizens. The events are part of the newsroom’s ongoing community engagement series, presented in partnership with Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

The workshops will come on the heels of Sunshine Week, a national initiative held March 16–20 that promotes transparency, open government and the public’s right to know.

“These laws aren't about journalists. Journalists use them because they're trying to get information on behalf of the public, but really, this is for the public,” said David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, who also participated in an earlier virtual session about public records hosted by Suncoast Searchlight this month.



The upcoming sessions — scheduled for March 31 and April 10 — are designed to take that foundation a step further, offering practical guidance on how to request records and how to use them.

FLORIDA HOUSE APPROVES SCALED-BACK UTC DISTRICT THAT BENDERSON WOULD CONTROL

The Florida House of Representatives unanimously approved a scaled-back bill Wednesday to create a special district around the booming University Town Center area — a proposal that would still give one of the region’s largest developers significant influence over the new entity spanning more than 1,400 acres across Sarasota and Manatee counties.

If the bill becomes law, Manatee County-headquartered Benderson Development Co., which owns much of the land inside the proposed district, would hold a majority voting interest in the new government entity, according to the developer’s Tallahassee lobbyist.

Initially, the bill, which was introduced by state Rep. Bill Conerly, R-Lakewood Ranch, in January, would have allowed the district to levy property taxes and exercise broader government powers across the area.

But lawmakers narrowed its scope as it moved through subcommittees. 

Among the changes: Land owned by Sarasota Memorial Hospital was removed from the district, though Sarasota County-owned Nathan Benderson Park — which makes up about a third of the district’s footprint — remains included.

Lawmakers also stripped the district of its ability to levy property taxes on landowners.

LESS SUNSHINE, MORE SECRECY AS FLORIDA LIMITS PUBLIC RECORDS ACCESS

After state lawmakers introduced dozens of measures this year restricting access to government records, only a few cleared the Florida Legislature. But open government advocates warn the ones that did pass could substantially limit transparency.

Lawmakers proposed more than 50 such measures, which ranged from increasing privacy for individuals on the Parkinson’s disease registry to exempting records regarding the selection of data center sites from public disclosure. More than a dozen of the bills would have shielded the personal information of different government employees from public view. 

Fewer than 10 will ultimately reach Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk to be signed into law. Government watchdog groups say this year’s legislation reflects a longstanding trend toward government secrecy in the Sunshine State.

“In Florida and throughout the country, we're seeing more and more bills being introduced to keep records secret from the public,” said David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida. “The exemptions just keep piling up every year.” 

One of the bills that cleared the Legislature would allow agencies to withhold from the public the names of crime victims — including temporarily shielding the identities of law enforcement officers who say they were assaulted or threatened on the job. The bill expands on the victim’s rights measure known as Marsy’s Law, which blocks sensitive information about crime victims from public view. This measure specifies that the names of victims are exempt. 

It comes just two years after the Florida Supreme Court prevented law enforcement officers from hiding their identities under that law.



HOW MARK VENGROFF BECAME A MAJOR FORCE IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THE SUNCOAST

A few years ago, Sarasota affordable housing developer Mark Vengroff tried to buy the Magic Castle Inn and Suites in Kissimmee.

Made famous in the 2017 film “The Florida Project,” the faded purple motel a few miles from Disney World served on screen — and in real life — as a last refuge for struggling families living on the edge of homelessness.

For decades, properties like that were the backbone of the Vengroff family’s approach to affordable housing. Mark’s father, Harvey Vengroff, built a business buying aging motels, renovating the rooms into efficiency apartments and renting them at prices low-income tenants could afford.

The Magic Castle would have fit the model perfectly.

But the deal never happened.

“We couldn’t make the numbers work,” Mark Vengroff told Suncoast Searchlight during a wide-ranging interview at his office on North Tamiami Trail, where another former motel he converted now operates as affordable apartments.

Today, Mark Vengroff is moving away from the motel conversions that defined his late father’s legacy and toward a different strategy: building new affordable apartment complexes from the ground up, often financed through a patchwork of public subsidies and philanthropic support. 



FIGHT ERUPTS OVER PLAN TO HAND SARASOTA GOLF COURSES TO DEVELOPER

A plan to lease hundreds of acres of golf courses and green space in The Meadows to Benderson Development Co. for nearly 50 years has sparked a lawsuit over the future of one of Sarasota’s oldest and largest communities.

The Meadows Community Association board voted 6-3 last month to authorize its president to sign the contract. The deal would transfer control of 500 acres — including three, 18-hole golf courses and vast expanses of open space — to a subsidiary of Benderson Development, which owns and operates the nearby Mall at University Town Center.

The lease comes after years of operating losses pushed the country club into bankruptcy and forced two of its courses to close. Under the deal, Benderson would pay off the mounting debts and work to reopen the courses.

But the agreement has divided residents.

Some homeowners say the negotiations were conducted with too little transparency and fear the deal gives the developer too much control over land long seen as the heart of the community. 

One of them, Donald Breece, filed a lawsuit arguing the contract goes far beyond a simple golf lease. Instead, his suit says, it allows long-term and potentially permanent changes to the land that defines the 3,500-home community without a vote of property owners.

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