OUR POSITION: The South Florida Water Management District may have sabotaged Ron DeSantis’ promise to expedite a fix for Lake Okeechobee runoff.
In the 2020 election, some, but not all, South Sarasota County voters will get to cast ballots for County Commissioner Nancy Detert of Venice, if she runs for re-election.
In 2012, Charlotte County was aflutter with the possibility that Mote Marine Laboratory might build a new aquarium in downtown Punta Gorda near Charlotte Harbor.
OUR POSITION: A kinder, gentler civil discourse needed.^p
A decade ago, Sarasota County transformed an overgrown railroad line into a quiet, car-free biking/pedestrian path between Venice and the Palmer Ranch area of Sarasota.
The race for the Sarasota County Commission District 4 seat pits an incumbent Republican with strong ties to the business and development community against a young Democrat making her first foray into elective politics.
Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission took over a year to formally propose eight amendments for this year’s ballot. In reality, the eight were a mash-up of supposedly similar items. Similar, that is, if you consider offshore oil drilling and indoor vaping to be vaguely in the same category.
The last three constitutional amendments on the ballot this year range from clearing obsolete language from the Constitution, to lobbyists and to dog racing.
OUR POSITION: The South Florida Water Management District may have sabotaged Ron DeSantis’ promise to expedite a fix for Lake Okeechobee runoff.
In the 2020 election, some, but not all, South Sarasota County voters will get to cast ballots for County Commissioner Nancy Detert of Venice, if she runs for re-election.
In 2012, Charlotte County was aflutter with the possibility that Mote Marine Laboratory might build a new aquarium in downtown Punta Gorda near Charlotte Harbor.
OUR POSITION: A kinder, gentler civil discourse needed.^p
A decade ago, Sarasota County transformed an overgrown railroad line into a quiet, car-free biking/pedestrian path between Venice and the Palmer Ranch area of Sarasota.
The race for the Sarasota County Commission District 4 seat pits an incumbent Republican with strong ties to the business and development community against a young Democrat making her first foray into elective politics.
Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission took over a year to formally propose eight amendments for this year’s ballot. In reality, the eight were a mash-up of supposedly similar items. Similar, that is, if you consider offshore oil drilling and indoor vaping to be vaguely in the same category.
The last three constitutional amendments on the ballot this year range from clearing obsolete language from the Constitution, to lobbyists and to dog racing.
Constitutional Amendment 5 on this year’s ballot is little more than the gift of an excuse for lawmakers to use when they do not properly fund programs such as education, health care and mental health.
When weighing your vote on constitutional Amendment 4, keep in mind these two Floridians:
It is rare that we recommend passage of any amendment to our state Constitution. We believe it is the duty of our elected representatives to take care of business and not have to pass their responsibility to amendments that can be created by the public or special interests.
Amendment 3 is surely a contentious issue, as there are Floridians for and strongly against casino gambling.
Two Venice City Council seats were supposed to be filled in this year’s General Election, but no one decided to challenge incumbent Rich Cautero in his bid for another three-year term. He’s in.
Telling people to vote against a state constitutional amendment that might save them money on taxes seems like a losing cause.
Sarasota County voters will dig their way through an especially long ballot this year, thanks to the many proposed state constitutional amendments (the number now is 12, but some may be deleted by the courts) and a higher-than-usual number of local referendums.
In the race for the open state Senate District 23 seat, well-known Republican Party stalwart Rep. Joe Gruters, District 73-Sarasota; faces political newcomer Faith Olivia Babis, a Democrat and disability rights activist.
Newcomer Tony Mowry, a Democrat, faces newcomer James Buchanan, a Republican, in the race for the House District 74 seat left open by the departure of two-term Rep. Julio Gonzalez of Venice.
For a group of people not known for indecisiveness, the members of the Venice City Council don’t seem to be able to figure out how they want to fund the fire department.
Recent stories by the Sun and the Tampa Bay Times about higher-than-normal ballot rejections may dissuade people from opting for a mail-in ballot.
The Legacy Trail is a wonderful community asset that will be enjoyed for generations to come, if county voters approve a $65 million bond issue to expand it into North Sarasota and North Port.