Sarasota County

Weather

Cold weather shelters open in Charlotte, Sarasota as temps are expected to plunge tonight

WGCU Staff

Due to the National Weather Service forecasting cold temperatures Tuesday night, cold weather shelters will be available in Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

New water meters being installed in Sarasota County are assembled, checked out and installed on a house-by-house basis. The replacement project, expected to continue for five years, is now focused on unincorporated Sarasota County. The Siesta Key area was completed in 2023..

Government & Politics

Multi-year Sarasota County water meter replacement continuing

WGCU Staff

Sarasota County is continuing upgrading water meters throughout unincorporated Sarasota County to enhance the utilities system and improve response times during weather events and year-round. This project started in 2023 on Siesta Key and is expected to take five years to complete the remaining meter replacements throughout unincorporated Sarasota County.

Sarasota County fire station 9, 6750 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota

Government & Politics

Sarasota County Fire Department station open houses scheduled

WGCU Staff

The Sarasota County Fire Department will continue its monthly open house events in 2025, inviting the community to connect with local firefighters and learn about fire safety.

Transportation

Sarasota County resurfacing resumes for Siesta Key

WGCU Staff

Resurfacing and milling operations will resume Jan. 13 for Siesta Key after being suspended due to Hurricane Helene and Milton .Work will be done on local and residential roads first.Construction will occur Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., not including holidays. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2025.

A man pulls belongings out of his car and into a truck after his mother got it stranded in the high water. A massive amount of rain fell on the Sarasota area as well as Southwest Florida, Sunday into Monday. Now neighborhoods along Phillippi Creek are dealing with power outages and flooding from Hurricane Debby’s impacts leaving streets, cars and even homes underwater. The tropical storm produced more than a foot of rain and eventually turned into a category 1 hurricane once it made land fall.

Hurricane Recovery

Sarasota County expects $210,094,000 in additional hurricane recovery funding

WGCU Staff

Sarasota County will get a new $210,094,000 allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery to assist with recovery and mitigation efforts from Hurricanes Idalia, Helene and Milton and Tropical Storm Debby.The county created the Resilient SRQ program in 2023 to support Hurricane Ian recovery from the prior allocation of $201,535,000 in CDBG-DR funding. It assists the community in rebuilding homes, repairing infrastructure and addressing unmet needs from Hurricane Ian.

Weather

Burn ban now in effect due to dry conditions in Sarasota County

Thousands of sea turtle nests will hatch in Southwest Florida throughout this summer and fall, so if you see a local beach swarmed with hatchlings turtle scientists say to leave the baby turtles alone, move off the beach, and certainly do not help the animals

Environment

Sea turtles are packing Southwest Florida beaches with nests

Tom Bayles

This year's sea turtle nesting season is going great, with a leatherback on Sanibel and early nesting throughout the region. But few turtle lovers forget last season when early signs were record-breaking but the season's results were heart-breaking

New diverging diamond interchange at I-75 and Clark Road in Sarasota.

Transportation

Diverging diamond interchange at I-75, Clark Road in Sarasota set to open June 2 after final adjustment

WGCU Staff

The Florida Department of Transportation will make final configurations on the diverging diamond interchange at I-75 and State Road 72/Clark Road on June 1 in anticipation of it opening to traffic on June 2.The final implementation of the interchange requires closing all interchange ramps and Clark Road between Catamaran Drive and Queensbury Boulevard to motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists, from 7 p.m. Saturday, June 1 to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 2.

Cultural Affairs

Saving a Cornerstone of Black History in Sarasota: The Colson Hotel

Bryant Monteilh

The historic Colson Hotel in Sarasota was once a welcoming place for Black travelers during Jim Crow. Now, the building is facing demolition.

The above map shows abnormally dry conditions across the middle portion of the state. The conditions have lead to a burn ban currently in effect for Sarasota County due to local drought conditions and an increased chance of fire hazards. The U.S. Drought Monitor depicts the location and intensity of drought across the country using 5 classifications: Abnormally Dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought (D1–D4). The U.S. Drought Monitor is a joint effort of the National Drought Mitigation Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.drought.gov/states/florida/county/sarasotahttps://www.drought.gov/states/florida/county/sarasotahttps://www.drought.gov/states/florida/county/sarasota

Weather

Burn ban now in effect due to dry conditions in Sarasota County

WGCU Staff

A burn ban is currently in effect for Sarasota County due to local drought conditions and an increased chance of fire hazards.Information from the Sarasota County Fire Department said that under Sarasota County’s burn ban ordinance (Sarasota County Code Section 58-2), burn bans automatically go into effect countywide and prohibit almost all open burning when the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) meets or exceeds 500.