SARASOTA, Fla. - So you want to be a star? Tuesday a lot of beginners got their chance, showing up for a casting call in hopes of landing a featured role in the upcoming opera "Of Mice and Men". But this was a little different kind of audition. It was for dogs.

MANATEE COUNTY - There are many hidden treasures here on the Suncoast; amazing sights of beauty we may sometimes miss entirely unless someone points them out for us – like St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church on Lockwood Ridge Road at Tallevast Road.

SARASOTA COUNTY - We've all heard the advice that when you face cloudy skies look for a silver lining, or when life hands you a lemon you make lemonade -- advice that is not so easy to follow when you're in dire straits. But one Suncoast agency has done just that.

SARASOTA - She's a woman who aimed for the stars and never took no for an answer. And now, against all odds, she sits near the top of state government.

SARASOTA - For centuries, people have searched for buried treasure on the Suncoast left here by pirates. We don't know where that's buried, but at Sarasota Architectural Salvage, you'll find a different kind of treasure.

PALMETTO - The Manatee County Fair continues in Palmetto this week, where there are more than 60 rides on the midway and some great stage shows with big name stars. But there's much more to the fair than that.

SARASOTA - The Martin Luther King celebration began Monday morning in Sarasota as it has for 30 years, with a memorial breakfast in Newtown. And this year, for the first time, it was held in the newly remodeled Booker High School.

PALMETTO -- A big part of the Manatee County Fair is the livestock competition by area youngsters. The students buy dairy cows, beef cows, hogs, goats, chickens and rabbits. They raise them, care for them, then bring them to the fair hoping to win a prize.

BRADENTON - For 85 years, the huge Manatee River Hotel -- nicknamed the ‘Pink Palace’ by locals -- has loomed over the heart of downtown Bradenton. Once the very essence of glamour and luxury, it has sat empty in recent years; but all that is about to change.

MANATEE COUNTY - These are troubling times for the U.S. Postal Service. Thei 2012 fiscal year ended with a record loss of almost $16 billion. To cut expenses, the service has announced it is shutting down the Manasota distribution center and moving those operations to Fort Myers.

SARASOTA - Be careful driving down the Tamiami Trail around the old Sarasota High School. It's not often you see a work of art stop traffic, but this one may do just that.

SARASOTA - The biggest college bowl game of the year happens Monday night in South Florida as #1 Notre Dame takes on #2 Alabama for the national championship. And a lot of hearts are pounding on the Suncoast as fans get ready for the big game.

A former police officer from Pennsylvania recently decided to get away from it all and move to Florida to open – what else – a doughnut shop.

There has been plenty of talk that the school shooter in Connecticut was suffering from mental illness. Access to resources -- or the lack thereof -- have also been topics of discussion. It made us take a look at our own community and the help available to Suncoast parents who suspect their child might have mental health issues.

Pedestrian safety is a problem all across the Suncoast. Pedestrians blame drivers, and drivers say most often the pedestrian is at fault.

SARASOTA – Holiday shipping crunch time is here.

An 8-year-old girl continues her recovery after a SeaWorld Orlando dolphin bit her last month. The girl’s parents are furious with SeaWorld over the incident, which got us wondering: what risks should parents be willing to accept in these types of situations?

A Suncoast landmark is celebrating its 45th anniversary. Moore's Stone Crab restaurant started with a fisherman who wanted to make a living doing what he loved, and the Longboat Key restaurant continues today with his grandchildren.

The ACLU dropped a bomb on the Sarasota Police Department Tuesday that has taken them completely by surprise. Upset over a homeless man's arrest for charging his cell phone at a public park, the ACLU used the open records law to request communications between police officers. And what they found stunned even them.

Suncoast State Senator Nancy Detert doesn't give up easily. For the 5th year in a row, she has filed a bill to make it illegal to text while driving. And this year, she thinks her bill has a good chance of becoming law.

For thousands of blind people stumbling in the dark, Southeastern Guide Dogs has provided a miracle: a strong, wise, loving companion to step up beside them and lead them safely through life.

For many on the Suncoast, it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a Yoder's pie. And the restaurant's kitchen is working hard to meet the demand.

How do we get Suncoast students to score better on the FCATs and to retain what they learn about difficult subjects? That's a question educators grapple with every day. And now an answer has come from a very unexpected source: clowns.

With emotions running high in this election, and predictions indicating long lines at the polls, many people voted early or by absentee ballot. But for those who did show up Tuesday to vote, just how long did they have to wait?

The circus-themed playground that opened at Payne Park in June is one of the jewels of the city. But lately, many of the people who've shown up there have become very angry and frustrated because there are no drinking water or bathroom facilities in the park.

The 5th annual Chalk Festival is now under way in Sarasota's Burns Court. The first couple of days, the weather had made it difficult for the artists, with the winds blowing the chalk away as fast as they could put it down. But conditions were much improved Wednesday.

As the Northeast braces for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, some travelers on the Suncoast are already feeling the effects of the storm.

The Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections has issued warning about a voter scam is sweeping across the Suncoast.

For four years, a dark cloud has hung over Anna Maria Island after one of their own, motel owner Sabine Musil-Buehler, disappeared. Law enforcement have turned the island upside down searching for her, with no success.

PALMETTO - A year ago this week, Manatee County Animal Services came up with an innovative plan

The Manatee High Hurricanes are ranked number one in the latest USA Today coming off a nationally televised win on Sunday.

BRADENTON - Students at Rogers Garden Elementary School in Bradenton must go to school 90 minutes longer than the students at any other schools

When Sarasota Hardware opened on Main Street, it was owned and operated by a woman, which was very unusual in those days.

It happens every time Palmetto gets a hard rain: the streets in the area around 13th Street flood, making it hard for residents to get in and out of their neighborhoods.