About the Author: Kara Newhouse | Suncoast Searchlight
Kara Newhouse is Suncoast Searchlight’s investigative data reporter and has more than a decade of journalism experience in the U.S. and abroad. As a reporter in Pennsylvania, Kara’s investigation of a wealthy school district led to board member resignations, a more transparent superintendent search and the restoration of elementary art and music classes. It also won multiple state journalism awards.
Kara hold a master’s degree from the University of Maryland, where she was a fellow at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and worked on investigations related to housing, high school sports, worker safety and the legacy of Jim-Crow-era lynchings. Prior to Suncoast Searchlight, Kara was an editor and podcast producer for a digital news outlet focused on education.
Kara is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and moved to Sarasota from Washington, DC. When not writing, she loves to run, hike and watch women’s sports.
Reach Kara via email at kara@suncoastsearchlight.org
Developers aren’t alone. Greenbelt loophole tapped by Sarasota Orchestra, Mosaic and more
Real estate developers are not the only ones in Sarasota and Manatee counties to score major tax breaks through a decades-old law meant to preserve Florida farmland. Across the Suncoast, landowners tapping the Greenbelt [...]
Sarasota, Bradenton developers score big tax breaks with “Rent-A-Cow” loophole
A state loophole is costing Sarasota and Manatee counties millions in lost revenue by allowing developers to tap a decades-old law meant to preserve agriculture and shrink the taxes on pastures they intend to pave [...]
How we analyzed the Greenbelt data
To better understand how developers in the region are leveraging a loophole in Florida's Greenbelt law, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of business registries, property records, real estate deeds, and tax bills to assess [...]
