New city manager selected after 17-month search – The Sarasota City Commission unanimously selected Karie Friling as the city's next city manager on February 27, pending background check completion and contract negotiations. Friling will be the first woman to hold the position in Sarasota's history, concluding a search that began after the October 2024 retirement of Marlon Brown.

**Sarasota Housing Action Plan released, highlighting shortages and strategies.** Local funders including Gulf Coast commissioned the plan from the Florida Housing Coalition, which quantifies the housing crisis in Sarasota County and recommends coordinated actions for affordable housing.

**$13.5 million approved for St. Armands Circle flooding resiliency.** Sarasota County commissioners approved funding for tidal valves, pumping systems, and generators to combat flooding like that from Hurricanes Debby and Helene, which inundated businesses with feet of water for days; this is one of three recent stormwater projects.

**Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport's record 2025 growth**, including $200 million in expansions like a new concourse, 17 concessions, new baggage system, 11 airlines, and 69 nonstop destinations, setting up major 2026 plans.

**Voters to be asked to approve new $700 million Sarasota County jail.** Sarasota County officials are seeking voter approval for funding a major new jail facility, highlighted as a key local development.

**Roy McBean Boys & Girls Club to be rebuilt/expanded:** After years of repairs, the Roy McBean Boys & Girls Club in Newtown plans to replace the existing 21,197 sq. ft. building with a new ~21,760 sq. ft. facility and pursue rezoning/site-plan approval so the current structure can remain in use until the new building is finished.

**Governor Ron DeSantis proposes transferring USF's Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida.** The plan, part of the 2026–27 budget released last week, would give NCF over 32 acres, new residence halls, and a lab, with a handover deadline of October 30, 2026; USF students and staff would not transfer, amid NCF's enrollment and ranking struggles post-conservative overhaul.

**Arrest and allegations of inappropriate touching by a school aftercare worker** — A former aftercare staff member at Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences was arrested on charges including lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim under 16. Sarasota Police indicate there may be additional victims, and authorities and the school district are collaborating on the ongoing investigation.

**Sarasota County voters may approve $700 million new jail.** Officials plan to ask voters to fund a new Sarasota County jail facility amid ongoing local infrastructure discussions.

**Sarasota County Sheriff's deputies captured a 10-foot alligator at a 7-Eleven.** Deputies teamed up with trappers on Tuesday to safely remove the alligator from the parking lot, with video shared on social media noting it as another frequent gator incident in the area.