The Senior Caucus held an exciting Candidate Kick Off night on Thursday, January 29 th  at the Mellow Mushroom restaurant in Sarasota.  The event was sold out. Here’s a brief summary of the meeting and links to upcoming events.    A huge thank you to our Democratic Party Chair, David Dean, Senior Caucus President John Hervig, and to all of our incredible candidates and their dedicated staff for making this event such a successful and energizing campaign kickoff!   Running for

A rebound in vaccination—which may depend on government support  By  Katherine J. Wu   Feb. 5, 2026 Since measles vaccination became common among Americans, the logic of outbreaks has been simple: When vaccination rates fall, infections rapidly rise; when vaccination rates increase, cases abate. The United States is currently living out the first half of that maxim. Measles-vaccination rates have been  steadily declining for several years ; since last January, the country has

Nearly two years ago, Sarasota’s then-City Manager Marlon Brown had an ambitious idea to purchase downtown property near City Hall and turn it into large-scale affordable housing.   In an effort that would become the first-of-its-kind across Florida, Brown secured millions of dollars in pledges from the area’s largest philanthropic foundations and millions more earmarked from the Florida Legislature.    The blueprint promised to tackle one of downtown Sarasota’s most pressing

Ave Maria in eastern Collier County has at least 11 cases of measles so far that appear to be based at Ave Maria University. It is the first measles outbreak in Southwest Florida,  part of a surge in the highly contagious illness that is likely due to fewer people get vaccinated. There were six confirmed cases but the expectation is there are 11 positive cases as of mid-day Feb. 2, according to a certified physician assistant at the Mater Dei Clinic in Ave Maria The case coun

Feb.2, 2026 TALLAHASSEE, FL — The Florida’s State Department announced that no citizen-led initiatives submitted enough verified signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot, effectively shutting Floridians out of the direct democracy process. The Florida Democratic Party issued the following statement in response. “Citizen-led initiatives are an important part of Florida elections because it’s the way everyday people can hold politicians accountable when they refuse to listen.