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 school tax fight reaches Tallahassee as lawmakers propose fix

The ongoing fight between Sarasota County Schools and Tax [...]

By |2026-05-26T15:24:38-05:00May 26, 2026 3:24 pm|Sarasota, Suncoast|Comments Off on Sarasota school tax fight reaches Tallahassee as lawmakers propose fix
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Sarasota County vote on school tax punts long-term decision back to courtroom

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

By |2026-05-21T13:55:13-05:00May 19, 2026 5:32 pm|Sarasota, Suncoast|Comments Off on Sarasota County vote on school tax punts long-term decision back to courtroom
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‘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
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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
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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
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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
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