Cathy Carter

Sarasota is home to a longtime theater troupe that features African American actors and the work of black playwrights.

On Monday, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe kicks off its 20th anniversary season with a celebration at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota. The show will feature songs from WBTT’s most memorable musicals, including original compositions, Broadway tunes and Motown hits. 

A career retrospective from one of the founding cartoonists of MAD magazine has come to Sarasota. The Ringling College of Art & Design exhibition is a showcase of American pop culture told in ink, marker, colored pencils and watercolor.

In military language, a Stand Down is period of time when combat troops can rest.

But for the homeless veterans community, Stand Down events are an opportunity to receive creature comforts and critical social services.

Beekeeper Matt Davis has to walk something of a labyrinth to get to the rooftop apiary at The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. First he climbs a set of stairs, passes a gallery of boldly colored canvases, and then walks down a series of hallways.

In the addiction recovery pod at the Sarasota County Jail, large windows flood the detention unit with sunlight. Two stories of jail cells frame an open area where men in orange jumpsuits sit at tables to chat or play a game of chess.

Soon, inmates like John will gather for one of the pod's four daily meetings focused on sober living.

In the middle of the lake at Nathan Benderson Park, a 42- foot long pink canoe rocks lightly in the wake of a passing boat.  Inside, 20 women sit two by two on narrow benches. Each holds a single paddle just above the water's surface.

Helping homeless people get back on their feet is the goal of a new specialized court in Sarasota.

Known as ‘Community Care Court,’ the cases are limited to homeless people charged with non-violent misdemeanors, such as trespassing or possessing an open container of alcohol.

The court does not sentence the defendants, but instead recommends resources for rehabilitation and sometimes requires them to check back in on their progress over the course of several hearings.

At the Bishop Animal Shelter in Bradenton, new arrivals like Petey and Joan of Arc wag their tails and enthusiastically greet visitors and potential new family members.

The dogs are among the dozens of animals from a shelter in Martin County that have been transported across the state to one in Manatee County.

A different kind of battle raged in Sarasota recently.

The participants came to the Art Ovation Hotel armed with palette knives, brushes, and tubes of paint.

Public schools are known for helping children who don’t speak English as a native language. But there isn't as much focus on "English Language Learner" education for adults with a similar language barrier.

Everyday situations like filling out a job application, reading street signs or going to the doctor can be daunting for someone born in a non-English speaking country.

On a perfectly manicured practice field at the new Atlanta Braves spring training facility in North Port, dozens of girls from across the country are lined up for batting practice.

They are here for a girls baseball camp, and are being coached by members of the gold medal winning U.S Women’s Baseball World Cup team, players from Canada’s national team, and alumni from the World War II era, All American Girl's Professional Baseball League, which inspired the movie, "A League of their Own." 

When the state released school grades recently, 20 in Manatee County received an A, and for one school in Palmetto, that score signified a jump of three full grades.

By Robin Sussingham, Stephanie Colombini, Steve Newborn and Cathy Carter.

They’ve had to battle shark attacks, pollution, massive beach developments and confusing light sources, but sea turtles are bouncing back.

With nesting season well underway, Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham speaks with experts about how sea turtles are faring and efforts to protect them in our state.

By Cathy Carter

It's just after sunrise on Sarasota's Lido Beach and the start of sea turtle patrol for Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium Senior Biologist Melissa Bernhard.

“We have a report of a possible nest a couple hundred feet down,” she said on a recent morning. ”We're just going to walk down to it and see if it is a nest and take some data on it, regardless."

Manatee County Schools will soon offer its first ever dual language program.

This coming school year, Daughtrey Elementary, a Title I school in Bradenton, will teach a group of kindergartners in both English and Spanish. 

Sarasota arts education advocate Nancy Roucher has been honored by the state for her longtime contributions to promoting arts education. On Friday, Roucher will be awarded with the Dr. Mary Palmer Trailblazer Award from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education at the organization’s annual summit in Fort Lauderdale.

In a courtyard gazebo at Booker Middle School in Sarasota, dozens of kids with berets on are eating cake. Parents and assorted family members mingle with school staff as creative writing teacher Joanna Fox arrives, brandishing a giant pair of scissors. A ribbon is stretched across her classroom door.