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U.S. and Iran trade fire amid month-old ceasefire, Tennessee becomes first state to draw new U.S. House map after SCOTUS decision, U.S.'s continued strikes on alleged drug boats raise questions.
Suncoast Searchlight reviewed water-restriction complaints and enforcement records across Sarasota County during Southwest Florida’s most severe drought in nearly a decade and found municipalities are taking sharply different approaches to enforcement. While some jurisdictions actively patrol for violations and issue citations, others rely primarily on education and warnings and provide few clear ways for residents to report violations. We also examine how the drought has heightened public scrutiny over water use, with hundreds of residents filing complaints about sprinklers, lush lawns and suspected overwatering during the regional shortage.
Local officials thought a dispute over who would pay to collect a voter-approved school tax had been settled when Sarasota County commissioners agreed in a surprise vote this week to resume covering the millions of dollars withheld by Tax Collector Mike Moran. Turns out, the fight isn’t over. Behind the scenes, county, school and tax officials spent the next few days sparring over whether Tuesday’s commission vote actually restored the decades-old practice — or whether another formal vote would be required before the money could be released to the school district, according to emails obtained by Suncoast Searchlight.