About the Author: Michael Barfield | Florida Trident
Auditors say Sarasota tax collector’s $100,767 payout violated state law
Six days after Mike Moran took office as Sarasota County’s newly elected tax collector, another government agency he had just left paid him $100,767. The money came from the Florida PACE Funding Agency, an [...]
Abuelas, jardineros, incluso niños, caen en la sombría base de datos migratoria del estado de Florida
Traducción por Aimée Barat Read in English here Cuando un agente de la oficina del alguacil del condado de Manatee detuvo a Jean Gustave en septiembre, el haitiano de 45 años tenía Estatus de [...]
How we extracted thousands of records from Florida’s immigration dashboard
An investigation into Florida’s immigration surveillance system found that law enforcement officers have submitted tens of thousands of people they suspect may be in the country without authorization to a state database — including hundreds of [...]
Grandmothers, landscapers, even kids, swept into Florida’s shadowy immigration database
Leer en español aquí. When a Manatee County Sheriff’s deputy pulled over Jean Gustave in September, the 45-year-old Haitian man had temporary protected status, offering him legal protection from detention and deportation. An investigation [...]
D.C. event reveals extremist ties in Florida DOGE’s national push
On a July evening in Washington D.C., right-wing operatives and artificial intelligence enthusiasts gathered in a historic building on Capitol Hill to sip cocktails and hear from Florida officials about their efforts to slash [...]
Massive Tatum Ridge apartment proposal underscores Live Local concerns
Dozens of residents gathered inside a quiet, gated subdivision off Tatum Road last week, many dressed in yellow golf shirts, to protest a plan they fear could transform their rural corner of east Sarasota [...]
Sarasota County blocks ‘Live Local’ law, risking clash with developers
In a unanimous vote that could set up a major legal showdown, Sarasota County commissioners this week moved to block developers from building large apartment complexes next to rural homes and farmland, rejecting applications [...]
Sarasota County seeks stormwater rate increase. But audit finds millions available.
Sarasota County administrators are stiff-arming recommendations from a stormwater consultant and plan to push another rate hike on residents despite a new audit showing the utility could have more than $70 million over the [...]
Sarasota assistant county administrator resigns amid stormwater fallout
Sarasota Assistant County Administrator Mark Cunningham resigned on Wednesday, becoming the highest-ranking official to step down in the wake of revelations about widespread failures in the county’s stormwater management system. County officials did not [...]
Sarasota County stormwater crisis sparks major shakeup after public trust erodes
Sarasota County leaders voted Tuesday to create a separate stormwater department — breaking it off from Public Works — just days after a joint investigation by Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident revealed systemic mismanagement [...]
Stormwater chief defends dredging permit and flood response, says he divided rainfall forecast by 3
Three days after a Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident investigation exposed critical mistakes by Sarasota County during Tropical Storm Debby, the county’s top stormwater official took to the lectern to defend his department. During [...]
Sarasota County officials downplayed flood risk. Tropical Storm Debby exposed their failures
. Tropical Storm Debby didn’t look like trouble. No hurricane-force winds. No mass evacuations. Just forecasts, quietly urgent, calling for historic rainfall. Sarasota County officials weren’t alarmed. Days before landfall, the public works [...]
