SARASOTA – City leaders will consider today whether to award a contract to electric shuttle vendor Gotcha Ride to offer free rides around the downtown area. The service would include seven six-seat electric shuttles that can be hailed on a mobile app to ferry residents, visitors and workers around downtown without moving their cars. If … MORE>>

Local politico Paul Caragiulo wants to talk to you about the dreaded “E” word: Elections. In a cheeky video uploaded to YouTube last week, the Sarasota County Commission chairman and former city commissioner pleads with voters to turn out for the upcoming city elections — which typically draw embarrassingly low voters compared with general elections such as … MORE>>

It’s basically official: The Atlanta Braves say they are committed to moving to North Port in 2019. But the exact designs, costs and process to making that a reality are far from over. So what’s this all about and what happens next? Here are the six main things you need to know about the Braves’ … MORE>>

Welcome to the Thunderdome! The field is officially set for the Sarasota City Commission race this spring. Eight candidates enter, two commissioners leave.** The lineup includes one incumbent, a former mayor, a pair of neighborhood leaders, city critics and a few outsiders looking to bring a fresh perspective to City Hall. At stake: The opportunity … MORE>>

City Commissioner Susan Chapman is under fire this week for sounding a siren about ambulances driving through her neighborhood on Orange Avenue. In an email last Friday with the subject line “Ambulance scofflaws,” Chapman chided two specific ambulances driving to and from Sarasota Memorial Hospital for repeatedly using Orange Avenue to bypass the Lift Station … MORE>>

Downtown leaders are pursuing a new plan to put up new signs around downtown that tell drivers they’re, well, downtown. The aptly named Downtown Improvement District signed off on the idea to install three new “gateway signs” at major intersections on the perimeter of downtown last week. The banner signs will span about 60 feet across from … MORE>>

Redevelopment plans finally can move forward for the dilapidated downtown shopping center once proposed to become a Wal-Mart. The owners of the Ringling Shopping Center won approval Monday night for a series of revisions to Sarasota’s planning designations for the 9.7-acre property at Ringling Boulevard and Lime Avenue that would allow it to be redeveloped … MORE>>

Sarasota County leaders are seeking feedback and advice on the area’s affordable housing crisis through a new online survey and upcoming workshops. The survey is designed to gauge what programs and policies local government, nonprofit and development leaders should pursue to combat what the county is calling “gaps in the housing mix.” Launched last week, … MORE>>

Food trucks are officially unfettered and free to roam throughout most commercial areas of unincorporated Sarasota County, thanks to changes that relax its archaic mobile vendor rules. The County Commission voted unanimously to approve the rules Tuesday, ending more than a year of often frustrating and repeatedly delayed negotiations with a major victory for several … MORE>>

A sculpture by local artist Jorge Blanco should be featured at the center of the planned roundabout at Ringling Boulevard and Orange Avenue, Sarasota’s Public Art Committee decided Tuesday. The roughly 20-foot-tall, powder-coated aluminum sculpture called “BRAVO!” received the highest rank and unanimous approval among three finalists chosen from among more than 160 submissions for … MORE>>