State Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, listed three priorities heading into the 2025 Legislative Session: child welfare, artificial intelligence, and transportation.

For years now, she has pushed to change a formula for distributing money to community-based care providers around the state. There’s a method in statute for awarding funds, but one based on dated methods like hotline calls when most reports come to agencies today through e-mail and internet communications. Because of that, the budget for groups over the last five years has been negotiated by the Florida Legislature each year, with the official formula largely ignored.

“If you are connected to a Senate President or Speaker of the House, you have a good funding year,” McFarland said. “That’s how we do a lot of funding but it’s tough when it’s child welfare. There’s nothing political about taking care of kids.”

She wants a change to how the Department of Children and Families and the state’s 14 contracted care providers receive funding, and for the methodology to be consistent and based on modern metrics. 

Similarly, she also wants the Legislature to re-evaluate the planning process for transportation projects. The state system sometimes rewards road planning that doesn’t always work for residents who use the roads daily, the lawmaker said.

As far as artificial intelligence, McFarland knows technological advances in content generation have created policy concerns across the country. She wants to look at transparency requirements on AI-generated content, including images, audio and video.

“What residents in Sarasota have spoken to is that fear of not knowing what they are looking at,” she said. “Whether it’s on social media or something in the news or in campaigns, people’s biggest fear is just being misled by an image or video that looks really convincing and it’s not real.” 

Photo courtesy Florida House: Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota.

HBK is pleased to announce the acquisition of Acuity Human Resources, a provider of human resources consulting services. The move enhances HBK’s infrastructure and aligns with the firm’s strategy to expand service offerings and deliver increased value to its clients and target markets. “Acuity is a perfect complement to our existing capabilities,” said HBK CEO and Managing Principal Thomas M. Angelo, CPA, CTIP. “Their expertise broadens the scope of services we provide, enabling us to better serve our clients. Beyond their professional credentials, Robert Floreak and his team are a cultural match for our firm and embody our brand values.” Founded in 2005, Acuity Human Resources is a trusted partner in human resources outsourcing, staffed by professionals with deep expertise across diverse industries and business sizes. The firm specializes in guiding and supporting strategic business, organizational, and HR functions.  

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Community members may now apply for the Stormwater Environmental Incentive Rebate Program. The program began on Jan. 1, 2025. The program encourages homeowners to implement best practices to improve water quality and stormwater. Enhanced water quality supports local plants, wildlife, recreational areas and other economic drivers. For additional information, please call 311 or 941-861-5000 or visit scgov.net/raincheck. 

Sarasota County's Fire Fest returns on Saturday, Jan. 25 to educate and inform the community about the importance of prescribed fire to the ecosystem. Throughout the event at T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve, staff from Sarasota County's Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources and Emergency Services departments, along with partners from AmeriCorps, will demonstrate why the county schedules prescribed burns, the benefits of fire to native habitats and wildlife and how the county manages wildfire. Sarasota County continues its commitment of environmental stewardship by sharing the value of prescribed burns in protecting public lands and surrounding areas through Fire Fest. The free event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1800 Mabry Carlton Parkway, Venice, and will also feature local exhibitors, games for children and light refreshments.

Sarasota County's Fire Fest, 10am-2pm, Saturday, Jan. 25, T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve, 1800 Mabry Carlton Parkway, Venice. 

From simple canvas tents to the comprehensive medical center that continues its serve its founding mission today, SMH is marking a century of service and care to the Suncoast in 2025 with a year-long celebration of its centennial. This week SMH is installing a special, 35-foot timeline in the lobby of its Sarasota hospital and sharing its 100-year history book, A Century of Caring, featuring historic events and milestones that shaped the public institution over the past 10 decades. The hospital also has an interactive webpage (smh.com/100), where community members can visit its website to add their own historical photos to the hospital’s online timeline, flip through the electronic version of its history book and stay up to date on special activities and events leading up to SMH’s 100-year anniversary on Nov. 2, 2025. 

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Lakewood Ranch has once again been named the top-selling multi-generational community in the United States, with 2,210 home sales in 2024, reaffirming its status as America’s Favorite Place to Call Home SM. For over 30 years, Lakewood Ranch has fostered a vibrant sense of place, belonging, and connection. Its diversity of experiences, access to nature and services, and top-quality schools and healthcare make the community popular with families, young professionals, empty nesters, and retirees alike. 

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The Mental Health and Wellness Center at HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital has been named a 2024 Human Experience (HX) Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey. This award is part of Press Ganey’s annual ranking of the top hospitals and health systems in the country, according to performance in patient experience for inpatient behavioral health treatment.  

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) extends its congratulations to Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman as he begins his second term today, January 7, as the 11th Sheriff of Sarasota County. Sheriff Hoffman’s leadership, commitment, and dedication have been a driving force for this community, and we are thankful for this opportunity for him to continue building on the foundation he started in 2021. Congratulations, Sheriff Hoffman, on this accomplishment and thank you for your dedication to our community. 

The Naples-based Ronto Group’s Vice President of Sales Van Osborne has announced luxury realtor Brittany Clemen has been named as the newest Sales Associate for Ronto Realty in Sarasota. As a seasoned sales professional and a Florida resident for over twelve years, Brittany will represent The Owen Golden Gate Point in Sarasota and join Broker Associate Jama Wyatt. The gated, mid-rise boutique building broke ground this past summer and is currently under construction offering 29 luxurious residences on ten floors. For more information on The Owen and Amara visit www.OwenGoldenGate.com and www.AmaraSarasota.com.  

Michael Saunders & Company’s Commercial Division is proud to announce that Eric Massey, Commercial Advisor, has successfully closed another lease, demonstrating his continued dedication to securing outstanding commercial real estate opportunities for clients. The recently leased property is located at 40 N. Osprey Ave, 2nd Floor. This 1,531-square-foot second-floor suite boasts wrap-around windows, an open and bright floorplan, and convenient onsite parking, making it an ideal space for a professional office environment. The suite has been leased to Ramate Construction. Michael Saunders & Company Commercial Division congratulates Eric Massey on this achievement and remains committed to delivering exceptional service and results for clients in the commercial real estate market. For additional information or inquiries, please contact MSC Commercial at 941.957.3730.  

Congressman Vern Buchanan announced that he has joined the bipartisan DOGE Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. The DOGE Caucus will lead the partnership between Congress and President-elect Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to rein in wasteful spending and make needed cuts to the federal bureaucracy. The House DOGE Caucus is chaired by Reps. Aaron Bean, Pete Sessions and Blake Moore. Buchanan has been a strong advocate for legislative solutions that cut wasteful federal spending and address the national debt. Last week, he reintroduced an amendment to the Constitution of the United States (H.J.Res. 3) that requires Congress to balance the federal budget, as he has done continually since first coming to Congress. 

Babcock Ranch continues to rank among the top-selling communities in the nation on industry-leading lists for 2024. America’s first solar-powered town was recognized as the 10th best-selling master-planned community by John Burns Research and Consulting.The rankings are based on the town’s 797 homes sales in 2024. For more information about Southwest Florida’s new hometown, located just northeast of Fort Myers off Babcock Ranch Road/State Road 31, visit the Woodlea Hall Discovery Center at 42850 Crescent Loop in Babcock Ranch, call 877-709-6620, or visit BabcockRanch.com.