Weekly Newsletter

Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

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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:

‘HOME RULE’ FIGHT OVER FLORIDA’S SB 180 EXPOSES GROWING RIFT INSIDE REPUBLICAN RANKS

During an October meeting of Sarasota MAGA Patriots — a rightwing coalition pursuing a range of issues, from anti-vaccine activism to emergency preparedness — attendees railed against a new state law curbing local oversight of development and the Republican lawmakers who backed it.

Their ire reflects tensions inside Florida’s dominant party, between Tallahassee’s power brokers and the populist base that helped put them there.

Passed this spring with near-unanimous support in both the Senate and the House, SB 180 limits counties and cities from imposing new limits on building — a measure framed as a way to help homeowners rebuild after major storms, but whose reach extends statewide and far beyond coastal areas still recovering from 2024 storms.

The backlash to SB180 highlights a growing divide within the GOP, between state leaders consolidating control in Tallahassee and grassroots conservatives demanding decisions stay local. It has also united a broad range of political groups — libertarians, MAGA activists, conservationists, blue-leaning municipalities and good-government groups who say the law favors developers over communities.

Already, chapters of the Republican Liberty Caucus — a national group with roots in the Tea Party movement — have condemned the bill as “a giveaway to developers at the expense of Florida’s families, farms and future.” They’ve found unexpected allies in organizations such as Audubon Florida, League of Women Voters of Florida and neighborhood coalitions like Sarasota’s Phillippi Creek Coalition, whose members warn that unchecked growth could worsen flooding.

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

SARASOTA SCHOOLS DRAFTED A PLAN TO PREVENT ‘SCHOOLS OF HOPE’ TAKEOVERS. HERE’S WHAT’S IN IT.

Sarasota County Schools has drawn up a sweeping plan to shrink its empty classroom space — and, in the process, try to shield itself from a new state law that allows charter schools to move into underused public campuses.

The strategic plan, which Superintendent Terry Connor is set to present to the school board Tuesday, calls for selling the district’s headquarters at The Landings and relocating those offices into existing schools, razing or reconfiguring some campus buildings and expanding programs in schools with the most vacant seats, among a host of other strategies.

Among the schools affected are Alta Vista Elementary, Fruitville Elementary, McIntosh Middle and Venice Middle. District officials crafted the proposal as state education leaders toured 12 Sarasota schools in mid-October to review the district’s current usage and provide guidance on the viability of its plan to maximize it.

The resulting proposal achieves a reduction of 3,100 “student stations” — the state’s term for classroom seats — boosting utilization rates at several campuses and reducing the number of openings that could be claimed by charter schools under the controversial “Schools of Hope” law.

Suncoast Searchlight, with help from the Florida Center for Government Accountability, obtained the PowerPoint presentation Friday through a public records request. Connor asked that publication of the story be delayed until he could present the plan publicly first, citing its level of detail and his desire for residents to hear it directly from those who developed it. Suncoast Searchlight declined, noting that the proposal is a public record and that early access allows residents to review it in advance.

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

SARASOTA SCHOOL BOARD PRAISES PLAN TO CURB CHARTER TAKEOVERS, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN

Faced with a state law that opens the door for charter schools to claim unused public classrooms, Sarasota County School Board members on Tuesday gave cautious support to the district’s strategic plan to reduce vacant space — while pressing for answers about its cost and whether it will be enough to keep charters out.

Superintendent Terry Connor presented the proposal, which was first reported by Suncoast Searchlight last week, during a special work session at the district’s headquarters at The Landings. 



Board members said they’ve heard strong community support for the plan since its release and called it an innovative way to get ahead of the state’s newly expanded “Schools of Hope” law, which allows charter-school operators to move into underused public campuses regardless of their own academic performance.

School Board member Karen Rose said the plan — which affects a dozen schools, including Alta Vista Elementary, Fruitville Elementary, McIntosh Middle and Venice Middle — allowed for increased flexibility and put Sarasota ahead of other districts across the state: “I think that is actually the catalyst to having all this flexibility and to be able to really make this a very positive piece for students and families."

Board member Bridget Ziegler said it was exciting to see the community’s enthusiastic response after Suncoast Searchlight’s story brought the plan to light: “This is something we wanted for our community. There is a way you can look at things as a negative aspect, or you can see them as opportunity, and I think that the competitive spirit has actually brought us to a place that I believe will be fruitful.”

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE WE RECOMMEND READING THIS WEEK

WHAT DOES FLORIDA'S NEW BEACH ACCESS LAW MEAN?

FROM SARASOTA MAGAZINE

For decades, Florida’s beaches have been at the center of a battle between the public and private landowners, with access shrinking as more coastal homeowners fence off shoreline property. The conflict intensified after the Legislature passed House Bill 631 in 2018, which shifted the burden of proof from property owners to local governments and made it harder for the public to claim customary use of beaches. That law led to more restrictions and private enforcement against beachgoers. This spring, lawmakers reversed course with Senate Bill 1622, restoring local authority over public beach access and streamlining restoration projects — a move Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed as a win for Floridians, though questions remain about how meaningful that victory will be.

READ THE STORY HERE

FDOT TO REINSTALL GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE SIGNS

FROM LONGBOAT KEY OBSERVER

After removing road signs signifying the name of Longboat Key’s main road, the Florida Department of Transportation will now put the signs back up — with the name Gulf of Mexico Drive. The reinstallation of the signs comes as a surprise as FDOT originally told town staff that they would not reinstall the Gulf of Mexico Drive signs regardless of what the town decided. “If we want to name it anything other than Gulf of Mexico Drive, they will put a new sign up,” Tipton said in September. “But if we keep it as Gulf of Mexico Drive, they will put up a sign that says State Road 789.” That stance has changed. FDOT District One Director of Public Information Janella Newsome said in an email to the Longboat Observer that the old Gulf of Mexico Drive street signs would be reinstalled soon.

READ THE STORY HERE

A PALMETTO FLEA MARKET IS STRUGGLING AMID THE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

FROM WUSF

Immigration enforcement has cast a chill over Mr. G Flea Market in north Manatee County, once a thriving gathering place for the Hispanic community. Vendors and shoppers say fear of deportation and increased federal crackdowns—reflected in a tripling of daily immigration arrests in Florida—have driven customers away, emptying booths and parking lots that were once packed. Owner Giovanni Palacios reports losing a third of his business and more than 100 vendors this year, while remaining sellers struggle to cover rent and buy from one another to stay afloat.

READ/HEAR THE STORY HERE

HOW WILL BRADENTON STOP SEWAGE SPILLS INTO THE RIVER? THIS IS THE CITYS' PLAN

FROM BRADENTON HERALD

Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown says the city is years ahead of a 2032 deadline to stop discharging treated wastewater into the Manatee River, but there’s still plenty of work to do . One of the newest projects at the city’s Water Reclamation Facility is a $13 million deep injection well that, when activated, will allow the city to discharge treated water 1,600 feet below the surface rather than into the river. City officials hope to have the option available in 2028.

READ THE STORY HERE

NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA SHOWS SOARING EXPENSES AS STATE TARGETS 'WOKE WASTE'

FROM SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

As Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies have boasted about “cutting waste and woke ideology” at Florida universities, his Sarasota bayside project has escaped such scrutiny despite operating at enormous costs compared to peer state institutions. New College of Florida appears to be the most financially inefficient school in the university system, according to a study conducted by the state, with expenses per student and per degree far above average. The study was carried out by the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and state education officials are expected to review it publicly at the University of South Florida on Nov. 6.

READ THE STORY HERE

TAMPA’S SEA TURTLE HOSPITAL, PUSHED TO THE LIMIT, FIGHTS TO SAVE A RECORD NUMBER OF RESCUES

FROM TAMPA BAY TIMES

On one of the coldest mornings ever in Florida, a young green sea turtle flailed through freezing surf. Too stunned to swim, he got caught in currents, walloped by waves, until he washed up on a Duval County beach. Rescuers found him caked in sand, his flippers flaccid, his bulgy eyes half-shut. He couldn’t lift his head. Eleven others languished nearby — all juveniles, about the size of dinner plates. The crew bundled the turtles in towels and set off. Their ultimate destination: one of the state’s biggest turtle hospitals, on the edge of Tampa Bay, where a vet tech and her team rushed them inside in wheelbarrows.

READ THE STORY HERE

COMMENTARY: BIRD-DEFENDING AUDUBON CHAPTER DEFEATS FLORIDA DEVELOPMENT PLANNED BY NATION’S LARGEST HOMEBUILDER

FROM FLORIDA PHOENIX

In this commentary, environmental journalist Craig Pittman recounts how the Sarasota Audubon Society beat back three attempts by homebuilding giant D.R. Horton to rezone flood-prone land next to the Celery Fields—a former stormwater site turned bird sanctuary that now draws 130,000 visitors a year. The piece highlights how organization, persistence, and public pressure helped local advocates protect one of Sarasota County’s most beloved natural habitats from overdevelopment.

READ THE STORY HERE

ORCHESTRA RELEASES SCHEMATICS OF ITS PLANNED MUSIC CENTER

FROM SARASOTA OBSERVER

Advancing the concept of blending the natural environment with performance, education and public open spaces, the Sarasota Orchestra has released the first schematic renderings of its planned Music Center, offering a preliminary glimpse of the 32-acre campus at 5701 Fruitville Road. Led by the design architects at William Rawn Associates of Boston in collaboration with executive architects at HKS Architects of Orlando, release of the schematics marks a key milestone toward a 2027 groundbreaking. The schematic drawings offer the first look inside the concert hall and the education center, plus an enhanced exterior view.

READ THE STORY/VIEW THE SCHEMATICS HERE

'WE DID EVERYTHING RIGHT' - LOCAL MAN DETAINED BY ICE DURING STANDARD INTERVIEW, SENT TO ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ

FROM NORTH PORT SUN

A signature from an ICE supervisor is the difference between Ricardo Ruiz returning to his wife and business or being deported to Argentina. Ruiz came to the United States from Argentina on Sept. 2, 2000, under the Visa Waiver Program. He has lived in Florida for 25 years and married Jennie Miller, a U.S. citizen, in 2015. They run a construction firm out of North Port. On Tuesday, the couple were joined by their attorney as they went to Fort Myers to finalize Ruiz' green card paperwork. However, when Ruiz and his attorney went to leave the Fort Myers office, they were told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wanted to speak to him. They had a removal order for him, but said it might be a clerical error. Ardila immediately tried to file an order to have Ruiz stay in the United States until the issue was resolved. ICE agents took him.

READ THE STORY HERE

PLANS FOR A NEW PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN LAKEWOOD RANCH NARROWLY RECEIVES BOCC APPROVAL

BY THE BRADENTON TIMES

A site plan for the development of a new Manatee County high school squeaked by the county commission on Tuesday, receiving a narrow approval with just a one-vote majority. Manatee School Board Chairman Chad Choate addressed commissioners during Tuesday’s hearing to advocate on behalf of the school district’s plan. For now, the future school facility has been dubbed "High School AAA" until it receives its official name. After receiving the county commission’s approval on Tuesday, the new school will be constructed on a roughly 85-acre parcel located at the corner of Rangeland Parkway and Post Boulevard in Lakewood Ranch.

READ THE STORY HERE

DID YOU MISS OUR PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER?

HERE'S WHAT WE SHARED:

'SCHOOLS OF HOPE' LAW EYES UNDERUSED PUBLIC SCHOOLS. BUT CHARTERS HAVE EMPTY SEATS, TOO

Florida’s new charter-school law promised to open more classrooms for kids. In Sarasota County, where enrollment has stalled and desks are supposedly sitting empty, it could just end up spreading school resources even thinner.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has hailed the new “Schools of Hope” measure as a way to help students “failed by the system,” giving charter operators access to public-school space they say is going to waste. 

But a Suncoast Searchlight analysis of district and census data shows Sarasota’s situation is far more complex: Local charter schools have nearly the same percentage of underused space as traditional campuses, and the district’s vacancy rates — measured through a metric known as utilization — are less about failure than Florida’s demographics.

Sarasota is hardly a struggling system. The district has maintained an A rating from the state for more than a decade, buoyed by an older, wealthier tax base and a relatively small school-age population. Yet those same demographics now leave Sarasota with more classroom space than children to fill them.

District data show Sarasota’s public schools operate at a median 82% utilization, nearly identical to the 84% rate at the county’s 14 charter schools.

THE TALLY: WHAT THE DATA REVEALS ABOUT ICE DETAINERS IN FLORIDA

The Tally is a new Suncoast Searchlight series that examines issues affecting communities across the Suncoast and Florida through data.

When Eddy Macario, a Bradenton father and house painter, was arrested for driving without a license last spring, he spent a month in Charlotte County jail before being sentenced and fined. But instead of walking free afterward, he was transferred to custody of Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE).

Macario was released from ICE detention in early October, but Oscar Romero Santos, another Bradenton father and a business owner, wasn’t as lucky. After his arrest for driving without a license in July, his wife paid a bond, expecting him to be released. Instead, he was detained by ICE and later deported to Honduras.

That’s similar to what happened to Maria Martinez, a recent college graduate in North Port this summer. Her family paid a bond for her release on a charge of driving without a license in May. The 22-year-old chose to self-deport after weeks in ICE detention.

They are among the thousands of immigrants who have been transferred from jails and prisons across Florida into ICE facilities since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

The tool behind this pipeline is called a detainer: a request by the federal agency to state and local law enforcement to hold individuals who are not U.S. citizens for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release for possible detention and deportation.

INSIDE THE MANATEE CASINO CASE THAT NAMED 1-800-ASK-GARY FOUNDER AND WENT NOWHERE

When Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies raided the Spin Fun Arcade two years ago this month, they believed they were shutting down one of the county’s more blatant illegal gambling dens.

Perched along U.S. 41 in a busy Bradenton strip mall, the arcade’s darkened windows were wrapped with images of floating dollar bills, mounds of gold and the word “jackpot” in bold letters — advertising that left little mystery about what awaited inside.

The man they alleged was behind it all wasn’t an obscure operator but Gary Kompothecras — the well-known Sarasota businessman behind the 1-800-ASK-GARY lawyer referral network, political donor to governors and state attorneys alike, and financier of the MTV reality show Siesta Key.

Deputies said Kompothecras owned the building, controlled the cash flow and profited from the arcade’s illegal operation, according to pages of investigative documents obtained by Suncoast Searchlight and Bradenton Herald. Yet within months of the bust, the same storefront was back open for business.

No one, including Kompothecras, was ever arrested or charged.

The Spin Fun case highlights the challenges local authorities face in enforcing Florida’s gambling laws.



AFTER NEAR-DEATH ATTACK, SARASOTA STYLIST HELPS OTHER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS

The buzz of blow dryers and hum of small talk fill Rhonda Calahan’s Sarasota salon most days — until her phone rings. She doesn’t hesitate. She sets down her scissors, wipes her hands and answers, her tone soft but urgent. 

On the other end might be a woman whispering from a locked bathroom, a mother searching for a safe place to sleep or a survivor trying to decide if it’s finally time to leave.

“I am the hotline,” Calahan said. “My phone can ring anytime, day or night. I always answer.”

Calahan runs Queens of Domestic Violence Awareness, a small nonprofit organization she launched to help survivors find safety, counseling and support. For Calahan, the mission is personal. Fifteen years ago, an ex-boyfriend nearly killed her after she tried to end their relationship. The scars — physical and emotional — still drive her to pick up the phone today.

Her work meets a pressing need in Sarasota and Manatee counties, where law enforcement recorded an average of nearly 2,600 domestic violence cases annually over the past decade. Experts say the real number is far higher, since many incidents are never reported to the police.



CHARTER FILING AT SARASOTA'S OAK PARK RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT SPECIAL-NEEDS SERVICES

When one of Florida’s largest charter school networks set its sights on Oak Park School — Sarasota County’s only K-12 campus dedicated to students with disabilities — it brought the state’s charter-school push into one of public education’s most sensitive spaces.

Miami-based Mater Academy filed notices this month to open new charter schools on several of Sarasota County Schools’ underused public campuses — including Oak Park, Emma E. Booker Elementary and Brookside Middle — under Florida’s newly expanded and controversial “Schools of Hope” law.

The filings do not mean Oak Park’s existing students would be displaced. But they raise a pressing question for families and educators alike about how a charter operating alongside a school that serves children with complex needs would handle its own obligations to such students. And whether charters are equipped, or even willing, to meet the same legal obligations as traditional public schools.

This is the question that cuts to the heart of equity in public education, said Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of the Center for Learner Equity. 

“Charter schools are public schools, and public schools have to educate kids with disabilities, they have to be prepared to meet the full array of needs for kids with disabilities,” she said. “Kids with disabilities have a highly individualized right to educational services that would provide them a free, appropriate public education — that's just non-negotiable — and all charters need to be prepared to do that.” 

SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT KICKS OFF SERIES WITH FORMER NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF DEAN BAQUET

Suncoast Searchlight is launching a new series of community engagement events aimed at deepening public understanding of the media industry and connecting residents with the journalists who serve them.

The series, called The Searchlight Series, is presented in collaboration with Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

The inaugural event will take place Nov. 13 at the Sarasota Garden Club with one of journalism’s most respected figures at the helm — Dean Baquet, former executive editor of The New York Times and now head of the Times’ Local Investigative Fellowship program. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m., and the program will begin promptly at 11. The event is free to attend, but seating is limited and registration is required.

Baquet will be interviewed by Emily Le Coz, executive editor-in-chief of Suncoast Searchlight, about the shifting media landscape, the rise of nonprofit newsrooms and how national efforts — including the Times’ fellowship program — are helping to rebuild local investigative reporting.

“It is important to the news industry — and to the country — that local newsrooms survive and thrive,” Baquet said. “Deep, local, independent investigative reporting about government and business is the most important journalism.”

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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