Winter holiday circuses, numerous 'The Nutcracker' productions and more in this week's top arts events in the Sarasota area.

Sarasota County awarded $57 million in hurricane recovery dollars to projects from St. Armands to Forest Lakes, in a major effort to reduce flooding.

A long-running, beloved Siesta Key bar and restaurant goes all in for the holidays with immersive décor, festive drinks, and a warm Christmas vibe.

From flip-flop casual to date-night worthy, here are Sarasota’s best new restaurants worth your time and money.

The FWC said it executed search and arrest warrants on Dec. 19 after an extensive investigation across multiple counties. Connor Wiegand, 21, of Sarasota, and Reagan Weidner, 19, of Myakka City, as well as an unnamed minor, are now facing multiple charges in relation to the investigation.

Traffic on Tamiami Trail and Gulf of Mexico Drive has returned to normal. Fire crews working a commercial-building fire in the 1600 block of Tamiami Trail have cleared the scene, and the drawbridge malfunction on the north end of Longboat Key has been repaired.

333 Cocoanut, located at 1290 4th St, faced the DRC for the second time and received partial sign-off. The development requested site plan approval to redevelop less than half an acre downtown for a mixed-use residential building.

On Dec. 19, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission served search and arrest warrants for Connor Riley Wiegand, 21, of Sarasota, 19-year-old Reagan Davis Weidner of Myakka City, and another minor for the illegal take of American alligators.

The first Sarasota area restaurant opened in 2017 at 497 Cortez Road, Bradenton, in Manatee County. There are more than two dozen Mr. and Mrs. Crab restaurants, with most of them in Florida. Out-of-state locations include Gulfport, Mississippi, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Taylorsville, Utah.