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NEW COLLEGE ALUMNI ORGANIZATION ENDORSES PRIVATIZATION PROPOSAL
FROM THE BRADENTON TIMES
Novo Collegian Alliance, a not-for-profit organization composed of New College alumni and other supporters of the New College community, announced its endorsement Tuesday of a proposal to privatize the school. The plan is being pushed by Nathan Allen, an alumnus who served as New College President Richard Corcoran’s vice president of strategy and special projects in 2023 and 2024. "We have carefully monitored New College’s business situation and consider the College to be in a state of unparalleled crisis, involved in gross waste of its resources and, in the absence of new leadership and a new, credible business plan, unable to maintain its academic standards without an unjustifiable level of public expenditure," wrote Novo Collegian Alliance board members.
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NEARLY A THIRD OF FLORIDA PROFESSORS LOOKING FOR WORK IN ANOTHER STATE
FROM WUSF
Citing state policy on tenure, elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and the cost of living, Florida faculty laid out their frustrations in a recent survey. In a Faculty in the South survey conducted by various conferences of the American Association of University Professors, 31% of Florida respondents said they have applied for a job outside of Florida since 2023. “The governor of Florida threatens at every turn to take funding away so administration at colleges don’t stand up to him or board of education. I no longer have any motivation or creativity to make courses better,” a tenured professor at a public community college wrote.
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NATURE OPENED MIDNIGHT PASS. SARASOTA COUNTY INTENDS TO KEEP IT THAT WAY
FROM YOUR OBSERVER
Water in 11-month-old Midnight Pass runs deeper, extends farther and flows through in greater volume these days than it has since October's Hurricane Milton finished the job September's Helene started by reopening the south Siesta Key waterway. Now, more than 40 years since Midnight Pass closed the last time, Sarasota County leaders are devising plans to not only keep it open in the short term but also for the foreseeable future. Less than three weeks after the Pass was torn all the way open by wind and waves on Oct. 10, 2024, survey teams began weekly measurements of its area, depth and flow at a consistent location. Those measurements indicate Midnight Pass might just stick around past infancy.
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DOGE THIS! FLORIDA DOT HIDES CROSSWALK CRACKDOWN RECORDS
FROM ORLANDO SENTINEL
As you’ve probably seen, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his DOGE team are traveling the state, hurling accusations at one local government after another, accusing them of hiding records about how they’re spending tax dollars. Yet at the same time, this same administration is refusing to release records about how many tax dollars they’re spending on their crusade against colorful crosswalks. And it’s not just the spending totals they’re hiding. The state also hasn’t released records that would show whether all these middle-of-the-night, cover-up contracts were competitively bid, why certain crosswalks were targeted while others went untouched by state contractors and whether the state destroyed records about all this. That’s an awful lot of secret-keeping for people who claim they’re committed to transparency.
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'WE'RE ANXIOUS.' BRADENTON NEIGHBORS CALL ON CITY TO SPEED UP SEWAGE FIXES
FROM BRADENTON HERALD
Bradenton leaders have repeatedly promised to fix the city’s troubled wastewater system, but residents of one neighborhood say they want to see quicker progress on a long-term solution. The River Haven neighborhood along the Manatee River is a hot spot for sewage problems — one of the worst in the city. In interviews with the Bradenton Herald, neighbors questioned the city’s temporary solution and said they would prefer to see headway on a permanent fix. The neighborhood’s lift station, one of the oldest in Bradenton, is in critical condition and in danger of failing, city officials say. To prevent that, Bradenton leaders plan to install a temporary lift station in the neighborhood to avoid a disaster while working toward a long-term solution.
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CHARLIE KIRK WAS ONE OF SEVERAL INFLUENTIAL CONSERVATIVES WITH LONGBOAT KEY CONNECTIONS
FROM SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE
U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan was among those who expressed his sadness over the shooting death of influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday. Buchanan and Kirk were not only close in political views, but in domestic proximity as well. Kirk was a resident of Longboat Key, a wealthy island in Sarasota County that contains an abundance of prominent conservative personalities and politicians such as Buchanan. Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while giving a speech on a college campus in Utah. Not only was he a well-known conservative voice who encouraged students and young people to become engaged in politics, he was also a strong ally of President Trump. Kirk purchased a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo on Longboat Key for $855,000 in 2019, property records show. It is not known how much time he spent in Sarasota County. His primary residence reportedly was in Phoenix.
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'FEELS LIKE A VIOLATION.' VILLAGE OF THE ARTS REACTS TO BRADENTON'S ART REMOVAL
FROM BRADENTON HERALD
For Village of the Arts residents, losing sidewalk art felt like losing a piece of their identity. Around 5 a.m. on Aug. 27, residents in Bradenton’s Village of the Arts (VOTA) watched as city employees sandblasted sidewalks, removing murals and paintings of Alice in Wonderland and Frida Kahlo. The art removal was part of a statewide directive handed down by the Florida Department of Transportation. The first wave left “ghosts” of the artwork on some sidewalks, described Zoe Von Averkamp, owner of Divine Excess Folk Art Gallery. Two weeks later, residents say crews returned to paint over some sidewalks. Von Averkamp said it was an insult to injury when the crews came back “whitewashing” the sidewalks. The state’s targeting of VOTA troubled residents, especially in a community that is a special district dedicated to public art. Co-founder of Yoga Arts, Carrie Price, said it felt like the city was not only removing art but infringing on the basis of VOTA.
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REHABBING MANATEES CAN BE STRESSFUL WORK. IT'S HER 'WHOLE LIFE.'
FROM WUSF
If you've ever wondered how sick or injured manatees are treated, meet Virginia Edmonds. She rehabs manatees at the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton. "We have a stressful job. Everyone thinks working with animals is so glamorous and exciting. 'I'd love to work with animals!' But they're living things, and it can be very stressful. You want to protect them, and you need to when they're here, too. They need the best conditions," Edmonds told WUSF's Sky Lebron. "I've worked with animals for 38 years now, so it's been my whole life, and I'm used to it. I have to get used to other people not being used to it more when everyone's like, 'You don't get Christmas off?' and I go, 'No. why is that a big deal?'
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THE TOWERS THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES: RETIRED TEACHER LOOKS TO DONATE SEPT. 11 COVETED DRAWING
FROM VENICE GONDOLIER
First grader Stephanie Hernandez made a drawing for her teacher Linda Greenfield 24 years ago. The 6-year-old drew the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan with a halo over it and wrapped in angel wings. That was 24 years ago and Greenfield kept the student’s artwork long after she retired. Now, the retired educator who lives in Charlotte County wants to donate the work of art to a local fire department. “It really means so much to me,” Greenfield said. “Now I want someone who would appreciate what it means to have it.”
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PARENTS AND CHILDREN RALLY OUTSIDE OF WILKINSON ELEMENTARY AS THE SCHOOL BOARD ANNOUNCES POSSIBLE CLOSURE
FROM ABC7
Parents and children said they’re outraged that their school, Wilkinson Elementary, could close. A crowd gathered outside of the school on Wednesday afternoon. Wilkinson Elementary School has been around since the 70’s, recently becoming the only nationally certified STEM school in the state. “Anytime you talk about closing a school like that, that guts you,” said Sarasota County School Board Member Liz Baker. School board members said they’re considering closing Wilkinson because it is 50% below utilization. Three other elementary schools in the county, Brentwood, Alta Vista, and Gulf Gate, are also below utilization.
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THINK TANK FOCUSED ON SAVING DEMOCRACY LAUNCHES IN LAKEWOOD RANCH
FROM FLORIDA POLITICS
A new think tank based in Lakewood Ranch aims to save democracy with the power of civic discourse. The Saving Democracy Institute, headed by political scientist Jeffrey Orenstein, just launched as a national effort to bring academic discussions of democratic institutions into the marketplace of ideas. The nonpartisan effort aims to raise awareness of the nation’s foundational values and whether U.S. leaders are currently living up to them. “Most people have no clue what democracy is,” Orenstein, the Institute’s managing director, said. “We want to discuss what it is and isn’t. It’s under crisis because there are people who are not pursuing it in the national government and in state and local government.”
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