It continues to amaze me how focused Sarasota politics can get on immigration. In a largely homogenous community with extraordinary wealth, it’s hard to imagine many people worry their jobs will be taken because of border crossings on the other side of the Gulf of Mexico.

But in the era of President Trump, strict immigration policy has become a bedrock Republican principle. And state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, has made a ban on “Sanctuary Cities” his top legislative priority of the year. It’s also a high enough priority for Gov. Ron DeSantis to warrant mention in his first State of the State address, so expect the bill to get as much outside-the-region attention as any our local lawmakers file the year.

The biggest argument posed against the legislation centers on whether Sanctuary Cities exist in Florida at all. That’s really a semantic issue. The loaded term means different things to people. No municipalities in Florida now embrace the label the way as some major cities like New York have done. But the Center for Immigration Studies counts Clay County and Alachua County as jurisdictions that won’t honor detainers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement except under court order. Miami-Dade County for five years proudly boasted it would not honor ICE detainers past 48 hours, though it never celebrated the “sanctuary” name, and has since run from the policy entirely.

Gruters’ Sanctuary Cities bill primarily requires cooperation. In fact, it would make every jurisdiction follow the lead of Sarasota County and develop an agreement with ICE for full compliance with detainers. That’s something only 29 of Florida’s 67 counties have in place today.

To be clear, there’s not been an issue in Florida with cities actively impeding ICE agents from doing their jobs. But Gruters’ proposal will expect a different level of cooperation than exists in much of Florida today.

As the legislation has been debated in Tallahassee, language aimed at punishing officials tempted to go full sanctuary route disappeared from the bill. The biggest questions now center on financial burden for localities. How long must jails hold undocumented immigrants? Things have settled around two days, an amount the federal government will (eventually) reimburse.

The bill seems a sure shot at passage within the GOP-controlled legislature, and largely makes clear law enforcement and corrections departments can’t obstruct the work of federal immigration officials. Those jurisdictions with no taste for holding an alien with no valid drivers license indefinitely seem most concerned about the cost of doing ICE’s work for them. Most likely, those concerns will be fully addressed before a bill becomes law.

That leaves local authorities merely enforcing state and local law, then housing individuals for a couple days if ICE takes an interest. Put in those terms, one might wonder what all the fuss is about.

But this legislation means more symbolically than from a policy perspective. One might wonder why a requirement for police agencies to cooperate with one another would inspire the Florida Democratic Party to label the bill as “anti-immigrant status.” Or why Republicans want so badly to stop anyone from adopting a moniker with which literally no jurisdiction in Florida wants to be saddled.

A ban on Sanctuary Cities ultimately broadcasts the state’s broader position on national issues. Do we value rule of law? Are we the welcoming environment Visit Florida advertises? Do we hate and fear other cultures? Will we protect our citizenry?

All that has more to do with base political values than the particulars of law enforcement practices. But that’s why Florida’s loudest political voices have so much to say.

Jacob Ogles is senior contributing editor for SRQ Media Group. 

As a small, public liberal arts college, New College of Florida offers students advantages that are difficult to replicate at larger institutions. At the same time, we are not immune to the challenges facing small colleges across the United States. As SRQ writer Jacob Ogles noted in an article earlier this week, we plan to increase our student enrollment over the next several years, but will do so without decreasing the quality of our students or the rigor of the education that we provide.

New College prepares intellectually curious students for lives of great achievement, and we deliver on that mission spectacularly. Our small size is critical to that. Even after growing to 1,200 students, we will still be the smallest university in the State University System by far. And we will be among the smallest of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges. Unlike many small colleges that are private, however, we are a public institution. We offer in-state tuition to Florida residents and guaranteed scholarships to virtually all admitted first-year students. As a result, our students graduate with the lowest student debt among all universities, public or private, in the state. Our affordability is one reason The Princeton Review named us to its list of the Top 200 Best Value Colleges in Higher Education.

New College has received financial support from the state to increase the number of our faculty members in order to maintain our low student/faculty ratio of 10-to-1 as student enrollments increase. Close interaction among faculty members and students is the crucible that powers a New College education. Our undergraduates work one-on-one with faculty on their research projects, which are a cornerstone of a New College education. Every student completes three independent study projects and a senior thesis in order to graduate. Observers liken the experience to graduate education for undergraduates.

New College is a member of the Cross-College Alliance here in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. Our students can access the diverse course offerings of five institutions while still enjoying the benefits of a small residential campus. We remain true to our mission of providing a distinctive academic program that develops students’ intellectual and personal potential as fully as possible.

I look forward to welcoming more students to New College and to the Sarasota-Bradenton community in the coming years. We are proud to serve as The Honors College of Florida.

Donal O'Shea is president of New College of Florida. 

Children First was recognized as the 2019 Nonprofit of the Year at the 14^th annual WEDU Be More Awards. As recipient of the Be More Unstoppable Award, Children First was chosen from a field of the Tampa Bay area’s most esteemed organizations. The winner was selected by an independent judging committee and given to the organization that, through a superior level of service, helps their constituency Be More. Children First received a second accolade, the “Be More Knowledgeable” Award, recognizing the longtime Nurturing Dads Program. The award is for the organization that, through a specific project, offers guidance, knowledge, and emotional or physical support aimed at improving specific aspects of community life. 

Report cards are out for the nation’s hospitals, and Sarasota Memorial Hospital again received the highest 5-star rating. It is the only hospital in Florida — and one of just 52 across the nation — to consistently earn the federal government’s highest quality rating for the fifth consecutive rating period, since the star program’s inception in 2016. Of 3,724 U.S. hospitals evaluated, less than 8 percent earned the federal government’s highest rating in the February 2019 update on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website. Like previous years, most hospitals received two, three or four stars.  

The Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research was recently awarded to University of California professor Katerina Akassoglou, Ph.D. for her work understanding the origins of nerve damage in MS and identifying potential therapies to prevent it. The Barancik Prize was established by the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation to inspire original ideas in stopping the disease. The most prestigious of its kind in the MS scientific community, the annual award comes with $100,000 to be used at the discretion of the recipient. Akassoglou is the sixth recipient of the award.  

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) announces that it has added an additional week of performances to the special encore run of its runaway hit Cabaret,Unchained Melodies. After completing more than 160 performances over the course of 18 weeks in FST’s Court Cabaret, an exclusive remount ofUnchained Melodies will play in FST’s Keating Theatre, now through March 23. Written by Richard Hopkins and Rebecca Hopkins with arrangements by Jim Prosser, Unchained Melodies features songs from legendary doo-wop and Motown groups like The Drifters and The Temptations. 

Discover Sarasota Tours launched a fun new way to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint—with a Saint Patrick’s Irish “Hooley” on the Trolley Tour! Guests will enjoy complimentary wine or beer at the trolley depot while browsing through the Vintage Sarasota Gift Shop.Then they'll join guide Steve McAllister aboard the air-conditioned trolley to hear Irish jokes, songs & stories as they visit the Irish pubs in Sarasota and hear about their history. Includes a stop at Lynches Pub on St. Armands for a sample of Irish beer and sing-along with Steve. 

On Saturday, March 9^th, during the Palmetto Heritage Festival Opening Ceremonies at 10:00 AM, the first sign of the historic Citrus Label Tour of Manatee County will be unveiled at the Manatee County Agricultural Museum, 1015 6^th St. West, Palmetto. Palmetto Mayor Shirley Bryant and Miss  Florida Citrus Megan Price will be presenting the inaugural sign. Project Organizer, Jay Ellis, will be on hand to speak with visitors and potential sponsors interested in the citrus label signs.