Episode 319: WSLR News Wed., Feb. 5, 2025: New College expansion; cell phone use in Sarasota schools; funding freeze affects Sarasota Bay Estuary Program; Lakewood Ranch plaintiff interview;

New College is land-hungry. But the administrators’ efforts to expand the small campus have yielded mixed results. This week they seem to have scored one win and one loss. Then: Cell-phone use at school is a thorny subject. The Sarasota school district waded into the controversy by polling students and parents. Ramon Lopez reports about the survey’s results. Next: The federal spending freeze this week affected at least one local program. We tell you how.Finally: The developer of Lakewood Ranch scored a major victory last week in a Tampa appeals court for their massive expansion plans in Sarasota County. We had an in-depth interview with the plaintiff about what’s next, and what this all means.