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A Florida beach was named among the “15 Best White-Sand Beaches Around the World,” according to a new list from Travel + Leisure magazine.
Clearwater Beach landed at No. 12 on the list dominated by global destinations.
“Americans don't have to travel far to find a stunning beach destination. As its name implies, this spot has beautiful Gulf of Mexico waters and white, sandy shores, making it perfect for water sports and sunbathing,” the magazine wrote about Clearwater Beach.
The only other U.S. beach on the list is Kauna'oa Bay in Kohala, Hawaii, which landed at the No. 7 spot.
Angaga Island in the Maldives took the No. 1 spot on the list.
Find the full list of “best white-sand beaches” here:
A Carnival cruise ship rescued nearly 30 people who were stranded at sea after departing from Tampa over the weekend.
The crew on Carnival Paradise saved 28 Cuban nationals after they were spotted signaling for help on an adrift vessel around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“The bridge team onboard spotted the vessel and turned the ship around to rescue them,” Carnival said in a news release. “All were taken aboard, given food and were seen by the medical team.” Carnival Paradise notified the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West and Roatan officials.
The Sarasota Bay Estuary started the deployment of 24 artificial reefs into Sarasota Bay Tuesday.
The reefs are being placed at six sites throughout the bay in both Sarasota County and Manatee County waters, including Bayshore North Reef, Whale Key Reef, Bayshore South Reef, Walkers Reef, Harts Reef, and Sportsmans Reef.
Reef Innovations of Sarasota constructed the deep-cover reef modules. They are specially designed to attract species of fish that are popular among commercial and recreational fishermen, such as gag grouper, sheepshead and mangrove snapper.
The fish call the reef home during their juvenile years before heading back out into the bay or even offshore. The reef is designed to house a large number of fish and protect them from predators as well as people.
As we approach the high-intensity summer months and pool opening season, water safety is of utmost importance. Local emergency officials say now would be a good time for families to start the process of updating their safety skills, instructions, and plans.
In Sarasota County, a CPR specialist is going into communities to teach residents how to help each other in case of an emergency.
So far, nearly a dozen classes have been held this year already with 216 people trained in bystander CPR.
At the Lakeshore Village Condominium community, around 20 neighbors took part in a hands-only CPR training program.
"We're really training people to act fast, call 911, push hard and fast in the center of the chest because for every minute that goes by, where CPR is delayed, the chance of survival goes down 10%," Emily Myers, an EMS quality and clinical coordinator for Sarasota County, said.
Myers said whether it's someone having a heart attack or someone who has been pulled from underwater, CPR can be the difference in whether that person survives the medical emergency.
You can also pick up a Water Watcher Badge at these various locations in Sarasota County:
- Sarasota Chamber of Commerce – 1945 Fruitville Road
- Longboat Key Fire Station 91 – 5490 Gulf of Mexico Drive
- Venice Fire Rescue Station 52 – 200 Grove Street North
- North Port Fire Station 81 – 4980 City Center Blvd.
- Sarasota Bradenton International Airport – 6000 Airport Circle
Tampa General Hospital (TGH), in partnership with Manatee County and Archer First Response Systems (ArcherFRS), has announced a groundbreaking program that uses drone technology to deliver life-saving emergency equipment to 9-1-1 callers. The program, set to launch on May 1, aims to improve response times for health-related emergencies in the Manatee County coverage area.
TGH’s president and CEO, John Couris, emphasized the transformative potential of this initiative. “Through the use of technology and innovation, Tampa General Hospital is transforming health care,” said Couris. “This first-in-the-nation program can effectively save lives by responding to health-related emergencies faster than ever before.”
The program will deploy drones carrying automated external defibrillators (AEDs), NARCAN Nasal Spray, and tourniquets, providing quick access to life-saving equipment for emergency situations. The goal is to enhance survival rates for cardiac arrests, opioid overdoses, and trauma-related injuries.
The program will initially serve a 3.5-square-mile area from the Manatee County EMS Lakewood Ranch Station, with plans to expand coverage to 35 square miles with additional approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The drones are equipped with safety features such as ASTM-certified Parachute Recovery systems, on-board computers, and LTE cell modems.
On Tuesday, Florida Highway Patrol reported a serious crash at US 301 and Northgate Blvd in Sarasota.
According to the release from FHP, vehicle 1 failed to stop for the red light at the intersection of US 301 and Northgate Blvd as vehicle 2 was in the intersection.
Vehicle 3, vehicle 4, and vehicle 5 were stopped at the red light at Northgate Blvd.
Vehicle 1 crashed into the front left of vehicle 2, causing it to overturn.
Vehicle 1 then continued to travel south in the intersection, overturning, causing the rear of vehicle 1 to collide with the front of vehicle 3. Vehicle 3 hit the front left of vehicle 4. As vehicle 1 continued to overturn, the front left of the vehicle collided with the rear of vehicle 5.
The passenger, a 71-year-old from Bradenton, was pronounced dead on-scene by Sarasota County EMS. One individual has critical injuries, six have serious injuries, and two have minor injuries.
The Florida Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Unit continues to investigate this crash.
It’s no fluke: the uptick in more real estate inventory, and median days to contract is holding. But prices that might ordinarily drop in response are barely ticking down—especially in the case of single-family homes, according to March and 2024 first-quarter data by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
Compared to last March, the median price of single-family homes in Sarasota County is only down by 2.5 percent, from $528,013 to $515,000. Meanwhile, single-family home median prices in Manatee County, now $498,805, show an increase of 1.4 percent compared to last March, the median price was $491,988.
Among condos and townhomes in Sarasota County, the median price has dipped by almost 9 percent, from $423,245 last March to $385,775 a year later. In Manatee, the median price dropped by almost 3 percent and is now $342,988, compared to $353,000 in March 2023.
In good news for buyers, inventory is up across all home types and in both counties, giving them lots more options to choose from. The month’s supply of inventory (MSI) is now at 5.3 months in Sarasota County, up from 3.1, last March, representing an increase of 71 percent and reaching the same level as March 2019. In Manatee, the MSI is 4.1 months compared to 3 months last March, an increase of 37 percent.
The benchmark for a balanced market—favoring neither buyer nor seller—is 5.5 months of inventory, according to Florida Realtors. It’s a milestone condos and townhomes have now superseded, tipping that segment of real estate into a buyer’s market. In fact, the MSI for condos and townhomes in Sarasota skyrocketed by 106.1 percent compared to March last year and is now at 6.8 months of inventory. In Manatee County, te MSI s up by 73 percent, to 6.4 months of inventory.
The Sarasota Police Department announced that it will again partner with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Saturday, April 27, 2024, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
This event allows the community to prevent drug abuse, theft and other dangers from potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. There is a drop-box available year round in the lobby of the police department, residents are encouraged to bring expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for part of the National Take-Back Day on April 27 at these locations.
- Sarasota Police Department Headquarters; 2099 Adams Lane, Sarasota, FL 34237
- The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center; 1750 17th Street, Sarasota, FL 34234
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse. Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved, abused, or illegally sold.
Proper disposal of unused drugs can save lives and protect the environment. Prescription drugs unused and flushed can contaminate water supplies.
Officers will only collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. The DEA National Take-Back Day is free and anonymous, with no questions.
During the last National Take-Back Day in October 2023, the DEA collected 300 tons (599,897 lbs.) of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications nationwide.
Land that’s been vacant for more than 10 years in the north end of the Rosemary District will soon house a five-story, mixed-use project bringing 254 units, a rooftop amenity space, a restaurant and a small retail market.
The site address is 850 Cocoanut Ave., just north of CitySide Apartments. The almost 3.5-acre land parcel sold in March for $15.5 million, according to the Sarasota County property appraiser, but represents a partnership investment between the previous sole owner, the Sarasota-based Longboat Group and Miami-based development firm Allen Morris, which also has offices in Atlanta.
The Longboat Group brought Sarasota the CitySide Apartments, as well as the recently opened food and beverage compound, Parkside, on Central Avenue. You could say BaySide will be CitySide’s posh cousin: a multifamily project that’s similar in scale. Groundbreaking will happen in the next two weeks, and it’s slated for completion in about two years.
Second suitor emerges to lease Payne Park Auditorium
Hispanic/Latino organization UnidosNow pitches the city on a proposal to occupy the city-owned building as The Sarasota Players' plan works its way through staff scrutiny.
Even as The Sarasota Players have begun the process of working toward approval of their plans to expand Payne Park Auditorium, a new player has entered the stage.
During its first meeting before the city’s Development Review Committee on April 17, The Stage at Payne Park, a subsidiary of The Sarasota Players, heard of plenty of issues to be addressed prior to its next round before the panel of city department representatives.
But in the days prior another local organization, UnidosNow, submitted notice to the city that it has plans to only renovate the existing building whereas The Stage plans to triple the size of the structure, rendering the existing facility as backstage and office space.
For the time being, though, UnidosNow will have to wait its turn.
Former Sarasota city commissioner, mayor and UnidosNow board member Kelly Kirschner has submitted an unsolicited proposal to lease the facility from the city. In an email to city officlals, he wrote, “Beyond serving as a vital hub for the Latin community and centralizing UnidosNow administrative offices in the auditorium, we would seek to partner with CreArte Latino to host Spanish-language theatrical performances and educational events open to the entire community.”
As the city has already agreed in principal to a lease with The Sarasota Players — formerly The Players Centre for Performing Arts — pending approval of its plans, City Manager Marlon Brown responded to Kirshner in an email that the process of approving or denying plans proposed by The Stage must first work its way through approval or denial.
Presuming it receives full DRC sign-off, plans for The Stage will go before the City Commission for consideration.
“Just a heads up that this discussion should just center only on if the negotiations with the Players fall through,” Brown wrote in an email to Kirschner. “(City Attorney) Bob Fournier will have to weigh in on the discussion since we are in the middle of discussions and negotiations with the Players since this was directed by the City Commission.”
Meanwhile, civic activist Kelly Franklin pressed Fournier in an email on when the city may entertain the UnidosNow proposal. Fournier responded that there is no set due date for The Stage’s application, no set date for when the City Commission may discuss a final plan and vote on either the lease or the major conditional use and site plan.
The commission has final say as Payne Park Auditorium is zoned Government.
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