By Jane Bartnett Several years from now, if developers are successful in securing approvals from Sarasota County, Siesta Key may be the home of two new up-scale hotels. As the Siesta Sand first reported in July, 2020, the proposed Hotel Read More
Concerns remain over proposed roundabout for Midnight Pass Road/Beach Road intersection
By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor Sarasota County’s Public Works Department director readily acknowledges that Siesta Key residents “weren’t all falling all over themselves” in May when he revived the idea of a roundabout at the intersection of Midnight Pass Road Read More
Siesta Key Home Sales are Going Through the Roof
By Lisa Codianne Fowler During the early 19th century, the term “selling like hotcakes” became a familiar expression for anything that sold quickly, effortlessly, and in mass quantities, making it difficult to keep up with demand. Today, the idiom couldn’t Read More
Ocean Boulevard public parking expansion has support and opposition
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com It took only about 15 minutes on an October morning for the Sarasota County commissioners to lay the groundwork for 22 new public parking spaces on Ocean Boulevard on the northern end of Siesta Key Read More
The Spawning of Mote SEA
By Lisa Codianne Fowler The reborn Mote Aquarium will be a traffic stopper. Literally. Due to its carefully considered perch at Sarasota County’s Nathan Benderson Park, just west of Interstate 75 near the Mall at University Town Center in Sarasota, Read More
Nonprofit organizations plan to appeal EPA decision on ‘fish farm’ off Sarasota County coast
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com Just days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it plans to issue a permit to Hawaii-based Ocean Era for a pilot “fish farm” off the coast of Sarasota County, representatives of a number Read More
Federal judge issues final ruling on Save Our Siesta Sand 2 lawsuit
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com The lawsuit Save Our Siesta Sand 2 (SOSS2) filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in January 2019, to try to stop the removal of sand from Big Sarasota Pass to renourish about Read More
Island Chatter: November 2020
Trolley still ‘Breeze-ing’ along The Siesta Key Breeze has been able to meet recent demand, even with coronavirus pandemic protocols in place, Jane Grogg, interim director of Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT), has reported. In August, the open-air trolley carried Read More
SK Coalition opposing hotel development increases
In a late September update, the leaders of the SK Coalition reported that their organization has grown to include representatives of a dozen homeowner associations. In mid-September, the figure was 10. The Coalition was established in response to the announcement Read More
Owners of Siesta Key Beach Resort Hotel and Suites files application to redevelop property
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com The owners of the Siesta Key Beach Resort and Suites, located at 5311 Ocean Blvd. in Siesta Village, want to demolish the existing 55-room facility and redevelop it into a 170-room complex, as explained in Read More