About the Author: Kara Newhouse | Suncoast Searchlight
How we analyzed the data on ICE detainers, arrests and deportations in Florida
To examine how local jails are fueling an immigration crackdown in Florida, we analyzed hundreds of thousands of federal immigration arrest, detainer and deportation records. Local jail records also informed our reporting; however, because [...]
Sarasota kindergarten vaccine rates plummet — and doctors fear speaking out
As childhood vaccination rates plummet across the Suncoast and measles cases resurge nationwide, Sarasota County faces a critical threat to public health. Roughly 82% of kindergarteners in the public school system were fully immunized [...]
Want a new home on the Suncoast? It likely comes with developer debt
When Suncoast Searchlight first revealed how real estate developers were using special-purpose governments to shift the cost of building new local communities onto future homeowners — while keeping control over how the money was [...]
DeSoto County’s only hospital considers sale or merger as Medicaid cuts loom
In DeSoto County, where cattle pastures and orange groves stretch for miles and a shortage of doctors already strains access to basic care, the only hospital is weighing its future at a time of [...]
How we analyzed the data on new homes and condos in special-purpose government districts
To examine how much of the Suncoast’s recent housing growth occurred in special-purpose government districts, we analyzed hundreds of thousands of tax collector assessments and property appraiser records from Sarasota and Manatee counties. Below, [...]
As LGBTQ+ rights face setbacks, Suncoast elders reflect on pride and perseverance
Dressed in a glittery rainbow caftan and knee-high boots, Darcel Stevens strutted across the dance floor at Silver Pride this month in downtown Sarasota, lip-syncing to Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) a [...]
Florida troopers tapped surveillance network for immigration searches, raising alarm
Florida Highway Patrol has tapped into a vast private surveillance network — performing hundreds of searches for license plates scanned by cameras controlled by the controversial surveillance company Flock Safety — to aid in [...]
How we analyzed the Flock license plate reader data
To examine how Florida Highway Patrol used automatic license plate reader technology from Flock Safety during the state’s recent immigration crackdown, we conducted an analysis of a national database of more than 4 million [...]
Nearly half of Suncoast families can’t afford the basics, new report finds
Across the Suncoast, almost half of all households struggle to make ends meet, according to a new report by the United Way Suncoast and its research partner United for ALICE. The report, released Monday, [...]
Mental health funding grew 157% since Parkland, but Suncoast schools still stretched
Seven years ago, Florida lawmakers responded to the deadly school shooting in Parkland with a pledge: more money for student mental health. Since then, the state’s Mental Health Assistance Allocation has more than doubled, [...]
Sarasota Schools dispute reporting on mental health program — but records back it up
Two Sarasota County Schools administrators disputed recent reporting on the district's contract with The Florida Center for Early Childhood Tuesday night, saying inaccurate information was provided. But the numbers they disputed came directly from [...]
Sarasota Schools to end on-campus therapy program that helped hundreds of kids
Sarasota County Schools is ending a longstanding contract that placed full-time mental health therapists in elementary schools at a time when demand for such services remains high and political attacks have targeted mental health [...]
