SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — City commissioners voted unanimously Monday to move forward with the more than $7 million purchase of two pieces of prime real estate in the center of the downtown core. The plan is to transform the two properties along First Street into affordable workforce housing. The property directly across the street from City Hall has the potential to one day house hundreds of members of the city's working class from first responders and government workers to nurses and teachers. The project proposal includes two 12-story towers, making up 192 workforce units. This would include ..read more

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Sarasota County is looking forward to a "Fresh Start with a Cart." The solid waste department is making changes to its trash collection service. The county is ending its contract with Waste Management and moving forward with two new trash haulers. FCC Environmental Services of Florida will service the southern part of the county, while Waste Pro of Florida will work in the northern portion. The new trash collection services will start March 31, 2025. It's unclear how collection will change for specific neighborhoods. Leaders at the department say they're focused ..read more

SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — As the violence in the Middle East continues to escalate, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in downtown Sarasota for a demonstration demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. In the heart of Sarasota, voices are rising together with those impacted by the conflict between Israel and Hamas ..read more

VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — A 911 call was recently released after a Venice woman found a nearly 8-foot alligator in her home late last month. Mary Hollenback called the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office after an alligator busted through her screen door and made itself at home on March 28. "An alligator just broke into my house through the screen door. I don't know who to call," Hollenback told dispatchers in a 911 call that lasted nearly seven minutes. "It came through the screen door and basically stopped there ..read more

SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — A popular Sarasota café is closing its doors after 10 years. The Cafe in the Park in downtown Sarasota's Payne Park will permanently close on Friday, April 26, the restaurant announced on Facebook ..read more

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A North Port man is accused of drugging and sexually battering a teenager, not allowing her to leave his home, according to police. North Port police said David Bunn, 37, met the victim through social media and used a ride-sharing service to take her to his home ..read more

Video above: Nearly 8-foot-long gator removed from Venice home NORTH PORT, Fla. (WFLA) -- As alligator mating season gets underway in the Sunshine State, local authorities are encouraging residents to keep an eye out for unsuspecting reptiles. The reminder comes after North Port Police stumbled upon a "little dinosaur" that was spotted hiding under the wheel of a vehicle in the Oasis community on Tuesday. Gator bursts through Venice woman’s screen door, settles in kitchen The police department shared a photo of the alligator on social media, saying, "It's that time of year when #Alligators are ..read more

SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) -- The affordable housing crisis is impacting families all across the Tampa Bay area. In the City of Sarasota, commissioners have taken measures to incentivize developers to build more affordable and attainable housing such as density and height bonuses. However, now the local government may be taking the attainable housing shortage into its own hands ..read more

SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Sarasota's Historic Preservation Board has denied an applicants proposal to demolish a historic hotel in the city's Rosemary District, an area formerly known as Overtown. There is a placard that now sits on the corner of Central Avenue and Boulevard of the Arts that shares the history of Overtown, the first Black community in the City of Sarasota. The Colsen Hotel was built in 1926 and was the only hotel where Black visitors to the city could stay while the city was segregated. Sarasota zoning code change gives developers 3x density bonus for including affordable housin ..read more

VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — Mary Hollenback was enjoying her Sunday afternoon watching the television when she heard her front door rattle. Thinking that an intruder was trying to enter her Grand Palm home, she got up to investigate. However, what she saw standing before her was quite frightening—a nearly 8-foot alligator had busted through the screen door and made itself at home. Where there’s water, there’s a gator: Here are the most alligator-infested lakes in Florida "So, I'm sitting on my sofa. It's late in the afternoon. I'm just watching TV, and I heard my front door rattle, my screen door. A ..read more