Governor Ron DeSantis has announced that Spanish-language ballots will be offered in all Florida counties by Aug. 1 of this year. Both Sarasota and Manatee counties have not provided Spanish-language ballots in past elections, in spite of Sarasota having over 6,000 Latinx residents, according to…
Growing fruits and vegetables in the front yard for one’s personal consumption and enjoyment is no longer prohibited in the state of Florida. New legislation, inspired by a 2017 legal dispute, recently passed in the Florida Senate in a 35-5 vote. Sen. Robert Bradley's Senate…
Every movement is born somewhere. The Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) was born in Feb. 2000, at the March for Dignity organized by the SFA’s longtime partner, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). The CIW is a worker-led human rights organization that is built on a foundation…
Katrina Carlin/Catalyst The current regulation leads to many problems in the retention ponds. Rep. Margaret Good filed a bill on Feb. 11 that will alter the Florida landscape: House Bill (HB) 737. Ten months earlier, at the Science and Environment Council Environmental Summit held at…
Gov. Ron DeSantis released the largest proposed budget in Florida’s history in a move that highlights some of the subtle breaks between him and the Republicans in the state House of Representatives. DeSantis released his budget proposal, calling it his ‘Bold Vision For A Brighter…
Although the dust has settled after another tumultuous midterm election in Florida, the state and its citizens now face the integration of a slew of new constitutional amendments. Out of the 11 measures on the ballot which passed, Amendment 13 addressed the controversial sport of…
Around 1.5 million people in Florida are going to have their voting rights restored, thanks to the 5 million people who voted “yes” on Amendment 4. This constitutional amendment will automatically restore the voting rights of former felons upon the completion of their sentence, as…
The current outbreak of red tide has done more than wreak havoc on marine life. It has affected the livelihood of people in Sarasota County. Visit Sarasota, the official tourism marketing agency for the county, surveyed 40 tourism partners in August and compared it to…
*Editor’s note: The author hosted CONCERT SUR LA BAY and FREESTYLE/FLOETRY/F*CKERY PCP with performers SDotBraddy, Yoshi Thompkins and Sekajipo present.* Hip-hop may have been declared the most popular music genre of 2017 by Billboard, but its popularity in certain circles still surprises many…
An old postcard from circa 1920 shows Mary’s chapel. (Photos courtesy of Gulf Coast Heritage Association) The definition of “Old Florida” is more than what the magazines and newspapers describe. It’s not just quaint fishing towns and hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurants. It’s more than sepia-toned…
