El Jobean, FL

Zander Moricz was the first openly gay student body president at Pine View School in Osprey, Florida, and when he stepped to the microphone at his school’s graduation on Sunday, he was determined to speak truthfully about his experiences — one way or another. Earlier in May, Mr Moricz — the youngest public plantiff in the lawsuit over Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gill” law — tweeted that his school’s principal had called him into his office to tell Mr Moricz that his microphone would be cut off at graduation if he referenced his activism in his speech. “I am the...

NORTH PORT, Fla. – North Port’s Parks & Rec Department has reported that Warm Mineral Springs Park was temporarily closed Thursday morning due to an alligator being in the area. According to officials, low water levels in the area have caused wildlife to search for new bodies of...

Publix Super Markets has opened a new store at Venice Villages Shoppes.

A high school teen is going viral for the way he was able to get around being explicitly told not to say “gay” during his graduation speech. Pine View High School president Zander Moricz gave a speech at his graduation ceremony in Osprey, Fla., where he used a unique phrase to get around his school's requirement that he could not say or refer to himself as “gay” in his speech.

One thousand flags are displayed in a Field of Honor at Laishley Park in Punta Gorda. They all look the same, but they all tell a different story, just like the special people they represent. What makes a hero a hero? In the Field of Honor in Punta Gorda, it’s...

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - North Port Police are warning citizens of a series of scams in the area involving phony real estate listings, officials said. Police explain the scam in a YouTube video like this: Scammers copy photos and descriptions of legitimate rental property listings and post them on sites such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, often at a lower price.

NORTH PORT – The North Port City Commission will decide how to conduct team-building retreats in a future meeting or workshop, after it opted against asking the office of Attorney General Ashley Moody for a legal opinion on how state open meeting laws should apply to such meetings. City...

Five Sarasota County Schools teachers are the latest recipients of the Barancik Foundation’s Ripple Effect awards, emblematic of their positive impact on their students’ lives. The awards are presented twice a year, on the birthday of Chuck Barancik in May and on the birthday of Margery Barancik in...

The Venice Police Department arrested 31-year-old Edward Delehanty for allegedly sexually assaulting a victim under the age of eighteen.

Richard Bottorff captured this red-bellied woodpecker in Saddlebag Creek in Myakka City. Go to yourobserver.com/weather to submit a photo, or several photos! Each week, we will choose a photo to run on the weather page of our print edition. All submissions will be entered for the 2022-23 Weather and Nature...

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - One of the young ospreys viewers have been watching from the ABC7 tower camera is recovering at the Wildlife Center of Venice after falling from the nest Wednesday morning. A passer-by saw the young osprey fall from the nest and land in the grass beneath the...

NORTH PORT – Victor Dobrin, a four-year member of the West Villages Improvement District Board of Supervisors and a staunch advocate of fiscal responsibility, recently filed to run for the District 5 North Port City Commission seat. That decision may seem odd when contrasted with the fact that the...

Pine Island and Matlacha residents are concerned Cape Coral is encroaching on their way of life by approving voluntary annexation of two parcels.  Mike Hannon, president of the Matlacha Civic Association, said he sees the city's recent approval of a voluntary annexation as a way to develop against the wishes of those on the islands.  He...

Venice, Fla., High School offensive lineman Makhete Gueye is going to look a little different when he arrives on campus this weekend to move in for his freshman season at the University of Louisville. The native of Senegal, who played just one season of high school football and committed to...

The Hermitage Artist Retreat is planning several new community programs in June with Hermitage Fellows that span music, visual art, and theater. The newly added programs will be presented at outdoor venues throughout Sarasota County as part of the Hermitage’s partnerships with local organizations, including Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, the Van Wezel Foundation, and Art Center Sarasota.

Three Punta Gorda residents were arrested after copious amounts of drugs were found in a home located at 4010 Michigan Drive in Charlotte County.

A former soccer coach at Venice High School was arrested on charges of sexual assault of a student-athlete. The Venice Police Department arrested Edward Delehanty, 31, on a charge of sexual battery by a custodian on a victim under 18 years old. While coach of the junior varsity soccer team during the winter 2021 season, he began a sexual relationship with a member of the team, VPD officials said in a Facebook post.