SARASOTA COUNTY

An internal review last month found that Sarasota Memorial, one of Florida's largest public hospitals, did far better than some of its competitors in saving COVID patients’ lives. But that did little to quell detractors, whose campaign against the hospital has not relented. The hospital had become the latest public institution under siege by an increasingly large and vocal right-wing contingent in one of Florida’s most affluent counties, where a backlash to pandemic policies has started reshaping local government.

A 62-year-old Illinois woman claimed her $1 million winnings this week after playing the 300X The Cash scratch-off game, Florida Lottery officials confirmed Friday.

Trustees picked by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee New College of Florida voted Tuesday to abolish its small office that handles diversity, equity and inclusion programs targeted by conservatives throughout the state university system.

The New College of Florida board of trustees — now dominated by conservatives chosen by Gov. Ron DeSantis — voted Monday to approve hiring a DeSantis ally as the interim president.

A 55-year-old man won a whopping $1 million playing the 500X The Cash scratch-off game, Florida Lottery officials confirmed this week.

An entertainment complex built by a Republican business executive has emerged as a conservative hub in Florida. It offers a window into how elements of the far right have grown more emboldened.

The Florida Medical Examiners Commission announced on Friday that Hurricane Ian killed 144 people in 19 counties.

Subtropical Storm Nicole is strengthening as it heads toward Florida's East Coast, but tropical storm conditions could affect Sarasota and Manatee.

The retired deputy says providing wheelchairs for disabled animals was life-changing not just for them — but for himself.

A Sarasota man is behind bars facing charges for allegedly selling LSD to an 11-year-old.

Late September was filled with great uncertainty as Hurricane Ian approached South Florida. It became clear that Hurricane Ian would have little effect on Miami. Hurricane Ian is a perfect example of natural disasters exposing inequity in society. In hindsight, it’s easy to see how fortunate southeast Florida was to evade Hurricane Ian, but is that enough? The road to recovery from Hurricane Ian will be long and costly.

Florida authorities are warning residents of a possible levee break in Sarasota County. A notification alerted that there was a potential of 15 feet of flood water.

When hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida many Sarasota County residents weren't prepared. The county is now working to restore power and water.

Hurricane Ian's most damaging winds began hitting Florida's southwest coast Wednesday, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status.

Evacuations for Hurricane Ian have been ordered in Florida for counties on the west coast. Here's what evacuees should be gathering and packing if they haven't already.

Here’s what to know Tuesday as Bradenton and Manatee County prepare for a possible major hurricane.

We’re now hearing from a Florida man who survived an alligator attack, but lost his arm in the process.

A Florida man and his daughter are facing felony charges after a video posted to social media showed them burning a raccoon alive in a dumpster, according to authorities.

A Florida man awoke to find a man sharpening a machete with a baseball bat in his bedroom Thursday morning, leading deputies to shoot and kill the man after he stabbed one of them.

In Sarasota, a slate of conservative Republicans is running for seats on a hospital board, highlighting how once-obscure offices are emerging as a new ideological battlefront.

Two alligators attacked and killed an elderly woman after she fell into a pond at a southwest Florida golf course Friday.

A Florida judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit in which the parents of Gabby Petito claim that Brian Laundrie told his parents he had killed her before he returned home alone from their western trip.

Florida deputies responded to calls of a driver seen driving on a Sarasota County sidewalk to avoid rush hour traffic.

The manhunt for Laundrie, who is named a person of interest in the disappearance of his late fiancée Gabby Petito, has stretched on for weeks.

The articles were discovered during a search of Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida. Laundrie is the only person of interest in Gabby Petito's death.

The attorney for Petito's family, Richard Stafford, told Insider the remains found on Sunday belonged to the 22-year-old.

The child was found unconscious and not breathing. It's thought he ingested cocaine while in the care of the couple at their home in Venice, Florida.

Appearing at a community center in Venice on Wednesday, the governor said that more of Florida’s allotment — at least for now — will go to counties where fewer seniors have been vaccinated. On Wednesday, that was Sarasota County. Venice will get 3,000 doses to give out to seniors at a state-run site, and Walmart could soon give doses out at some of its Sarasota County pharmacies.

Nicole Bozkurt Sarasota, Florida 2 p.m. Thursday, April 23Sarasota farm finds new way to sell cropsWhile the public ravages the supermarkets for the last of the produce available, Worden Farm has found a new way to sell its organic goods, and without the help of local grocery stores. The pandemic has sparked a new creation for the farm: veggie boxes. Each $25 box is packed full of a variety of organic vegetables and delivered to homes throughout Sarasota County and St. Petersburg. With a surplus of vegetables, the Farm has even begun donating its veggie boxes to local, struggling families who recently lost jobs due to the pandemic. A list of recipes can be found on its website, Worden Farm to Table.Worden Farm is an 85-acre certified organic family farm in Southwest Florida that has been in business since 2003.

The Gantt ReportBy Lucius GanttTHOUGHTS AT LARGE:Keep an eye on whats going on in Sarasota, Florida. A law suit filed in federal court in Tampa accuses Sarasota County of violating the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by shifting the boundaries of County Commissioner Mike Morans District 1. Wealthy Floridian Hugh Culverhouse Jr., an investor in hedge funds, oil and gas, is putting his name and money behind the law suit. The Oyibo family has accused a hospital of medical malpractice after a severe case of gout affecting Usman Oyibo was misdiagnosed and labeled as a mysterious unknown disease. Trump has raised money and Russians have contributed money to Senators that are willing to sell their votes and support to the highest bidders.

The families of three Florida high school students who died after their principal hypnotized them have prevailed in a wrongful death suit against the school. Each family will receive $200,000 in a legal settlement with the Sarasota County school board. But the parents of one of the victims, Brittany Palumbo, told CBS News this case is about raising awareness, not money. Vladimir Duthiers reports.

Nature: Florida alligators This week's moment in nature leaves us knee-deep in alligators at Deep Hole in Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County, Fla.