Derek Gilliam | Suncoast Searchlight

About Derek Gilliam | Suncoast Searchlight

Derek Gilliam is a watchdog/investigative reporter at Suncoast Searchlight. During his career, he has covered courts and crime, mental health, real-estate, economic development and general business issues for news organizations throughout Florida. Most recently, Derek has focused on real estate and development while also covering local businesses for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where he untangled a particularly egregious example of real estate fraud months before the police arrested the fraudster. That story attracted the attention of a local legislator who then was able to pass a state law to close a loophole identified in his story. A student of the University of Florida, Derek’s work has earned numerous statewide journalism awards. He has lived in Sarasota since 2021. Reach Derek via email at derek@suncoastsearchlight.org

Sarasota County vote on school tax punts long-term decision back to courtroom

Sarasota County commissioners finalized a plan this week to [...]

By |2026-05-20T08:46:35-05:00May 19, 2026 5:32 pm|Sarasota, Suncoast|Comments Off on Sarasota County vote on school tax punts long-term decision back to courtroom
Read More

‘You are playing games’: School tax fight erupts after Sarasota vote

Local officials thought a dispute over who would pay [...]

By |2026-05-07T19:51:34-05:00May 8, 2026 4:50 am|Sarasota, Suncoast|Comments Off on ‘You are playing games’: School tax fight erupts after Sarasota vote
Read More

Sarasota County Schools sue tax collector over multi-million-dollar funding dispute

The Sarasota County School Board and two county taxpayers [...]

By |2026-04-28T18:04:21-05:00April 28, 2026 4:29 pm|Sarasota, Suncoast|Comments Off on Sarasota County Schools sue tax collector over multi-million-dollar funding dispute
Read More

Scientists to discuss Suncoast environmental threats at free Sarasota panel

One researches dolphin pods in Sarasota Bay.  Another studies [...]

By |2026-04-14T18:55:41-05:00April 10, 2026 4:10 am|Sarasota|Comments Off on Scientists to discuss Suncoast environmental threats at free Sarasota panel
Read More

Sarasota County blocks ‘Live Local’ law, risking clash with developers

In a unanimous vote that could set up a [...]

By |2026-04-09T20:39:41-05:00April 9, 2026 3:45 pm|Sarasota, Suncoast, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Sarasota County blocks ‘Live Local’ law, risking clash with developers
Read More

Sarasota erased downtown art without public notice, artists now seek damages

David Blanch labored for hours in the spring of [...]

By |2026-03-19T16:46:09-05:00March 20, 2026 5:45 am|Sarasota, Suncoast|Comments Off on Sarasota erased downtown art without public notice, artists now seek damages
Read More

CONTACT US:
Suncoast Searchlight
PO Box 99
Sarasota, FL 34230
(941)724-4450

© Suncoast Searchlight. All Rights Reserved | Site Map | Milwaukee Web Design

Press “ESC” key to close

Go to Top