Ray Collins Media & Real Estate

06/17/2026

I recently had a flat tire in downtown Sarasota with no way to get my bike to the repair shop. The Mobile Bike Butler came to me--fixed the tire AND gave my bike a tune-up at a lower price than a brick-and-mortar store. www.MobileBikeButler.com
Short narrated video: https://youtube.com/shorts/btYb9ILZ41Y?feature=share

06/16/2026

(Sarasota Herald-Tribune) Another local pedestrian has died as a new study ranks the Sarasota metro area No. 15 among the nation’s deadliest metro areas for pedestrian fatalities.

The 2026 “Dangerous by Design” report was published by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition.

06/15/2026

SARASOTA, FL — The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota location is one of three luxury hotels being sold by Dallas-based Braemar Hotels & Resorts, a real estate investment trust, in a $437.5 million cash deal, according to multiple reports.

The properties are being sold by the REIT, a publicly traded company, to BRDO Property LLC, YNTV Property LLC, 1776 Sarasota Associates and 1776 Sarasota Golf Associates, as part of a strategic review process, the Business Observer said.

In addition to the Ritz-Carlton, the deal includes the Hotel Yountville and Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, California, CoStar reported. (Source: Patch.)

06/15/2026

I can't even count how many adults helped me with career advice when I was a teenager. Happy to pay it forward and help a friend's grandson. Never too early to start asking questions.

06/14/2026

Don't take that detour! 😃

06/12/2026

Helping good people reach their real estate goals: Was happy to represent both sides in this transaction featuring Illinois buyers and and an Illinois seller. (My 42nd and 43rd clients in Central Park II.)

06/09/2026

Sarasota is among the Top Ten places people are moving:
1) Myrtle Beach
2) Ocala
3) Dallas
4) Raleigh
5) Greenville, SC
6) Charlotte
7) Boise
8) Knoxville
9) Sarasota
10) Jacksonville

Source: Pods.com

06/08/2026

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake about 104 km (65 miles) off the coast of Cuba, northwest of Manuta, rocked the island nation on Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Light shaking from the earthquake could be felt in locations across South and Central Florida, on both coasts, and as far north as Tallahassee and Jacksonville, according to experiences that people self-reported to the USGS.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami danger from the earthquake, which happened around 2 p.m.

06/04/2026

Nine YEARS ago, I attended a performance ("A Motown Christmas") at the Westcoast Black Theatre. I was so impressed by one particular performer, JoAnna Marie Ford, I brought her on "Good Morning Suncoast" a couple mornings later.

Since that holiday show in 2017, life threw her some curve balls. So she wrote a one-woman show about her experiences--and is performing it this Saturday, one show only at 7:30. You'll recognize all the songs ("At Last," Etta James, etc.) but it's the monologues in between the songs that we're all anticipating. Earlier this week, I sat down for an interview with JoAnna. Here is a ONE minute snippet. Tickets: www.WestcoastBlackTheatre.org

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

06/01/2026

A few months ago, Magda Reyes asked me to help her find a house in Sarasota so she could move here and open the area's first Fresh Monkee store: Done and done! Half price healthy smoothies all this week at her store on Fruitville Road at Richardson (between McIntosh and Honoree). First she bought a house with me--and then I bought a smoothie with her. :)