While You Were Sleeping: Sunday, Oct. 4

Sarasota County broke ground Friday on a $25 million project to return 2.3 miles of Alligator Creek to a naturally flowing tidal waterway, Your Sun reported. The two-year project aims to restore habitat, improve resiliency and water quality. Plans call for a meandering path in place of today's straightened channel, planted slopes and lagoons that can serve as fish habitat, with hopes of bringing back red drum, snook and tarpon. A $14.5 million federal NOAA habitat-restoration grant, awarded in 2023, covers part of the cost; the rest comes from the 1-cent sales surtax and stormwater assessments. Completion is expected in the fall of 2028.

Why it matters: Construction is now moving on a project that dates back to Mote Marine Laboratory's fish surveys of the creek in 2021.

Drivers on Interstate 75 in southern Sarasota County can expect overnight lane closures and possible slowdowns this week while crews sample road decks on 16 bridges between the Venice Connector and River Road in North Port, Your Observer reported Saturday. Work runs from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., starting Sunday night and continuing through Friday morning, on both the northbound and southbound sides. The Florida Department of Transportation says at least one lane will stay open in each direction, and the schedule is subject to change with weather or other conditions.

Why it matters: The first overnight shift starts tonight on a major Suncoast corridor.

Sunday looks like a nice day to get in the water, with minimal surf, seas around 1 foot and a low rip current risk, WWSB / MySuncoast's forecast said. Skies will be partly cloudy with east to south winds of 10 to 15 mph, and an isolated thunderstorm could pop up in the late afternoon. Boaters should expect southeast winds of 10 to 15 knots easing to about 10 knots from the south by afternoon, with seas of 2 to 3 feet. The forecast calls for a wet pattern to take over early next week, with showers Monday and scattered thunderstorms Tuesday and Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center is also watching a broad area of low pressure over the southwestern Gulf, with a very low chance of development in 48 hours and about a 30 percent chance over seven days.

Why it matters: Today is the calmer window before the rain arrives.

The Town of Longboat Key is testing a service called Placer.ai that estimates visits to places like beaches, parks and shopping plazas from anonymous mobile-device signals, WWSB / MySuncoast reported Friday. The town says it cannot identify or follow an individual, that the figures are estimates best suited to trends, and that sensitive sites such as schools, places of worship and health facilities are blocked. Town Manager George Landry said the data will eventually be shared with local businesses to help them plan for the off-season. A few locations will gather data over the next six months before any island-wide rollout. A Longboat restaurant manager supported collecting more information, while one visitor from Iowa said he is not comfortable with it.

Why it matters: Officials say the aim is to give small businesses better information for the slow months.

Sea turtle nesting season is winding down on Anna Maria Island, with five nests remaining and fewer hatchlings than in recent years, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch told WWSB / MySuncoast on Friday. Through Oct. 2, volunteers counted 460 nests and 17,513 hatchlings, compared with roughly 31,000 in 2025 and about 20,000 in 2024. The group says beach erosion, which floods nests from underneath, and coyote predation are the likely causes. Turtle protection ordinances stay in effect through Oct. 31. The group's annual "Suzi Fox Turtle Watch Wednesday" fundraiser is Oct. 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Hurricane Hanks in Holmes Beach and is free to attend.

Why it matters: Beachfront lighting rules still apply for the rest of October.