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THE SARASOTA News Leader The Progressive Voice Of Southwest Florida November 2, 2012
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Copyright 2012 Sarasota News Leader All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The Sarasota News Leader is a publication of: Rachel Brown Hackney Editor and Publisher Rachel@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Cooper Levey-Baker Associate Editor Cooper@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Stan Zimmerman City Editor Stan@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Norman Schimmel Contributing Photographer NSchimmel@SarasotaNewsLeader.com David Staats Contributing Writer DStaats@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Fran Palmeri Contributing Writer Harriet Cuthbert Contributing Writer HCuthbert@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Elinor Rogosin A&E Writer ERogosin@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Scott Proftt Staff Writer Vicki Chatley Copy Editor Vicki@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Cleve Posey Production Manager / Graphic Designer Cleve@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Robert S. Hackney General Manager Robert@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Advertising Sales Sales@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Subscription Services Subs@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Press Releases & News Tips News@SarasotaNewsLeader.com facebook.com/SarasotaNewsLeader
I grew up in Eastern North Carolina, where the agship newspaper was The Raleigh News & Observer Its reach extended from the capital to the coast, as it readily touted. From the time the paper was acquired by Josephus Daniels in the late-19th century, it was dedicated to advancing the goals of the Democratic Party. Of course, until the last 10 years or so in North Carolina, if you were not a Democrat, you found it much harder to get elected to any ofce similar to the situation for Republicans in Sarasota County, as I learned when I moved here. Yet the N&O, as it is commonly known, served a region that was pretty con servative, so much so that many exasperated readers dubbed it the Nuisance and Disturber. Its circulation in the region remained incredibly strong, though, for one pri mary reason: No other publication in the eastern part of the state provided better coverage of local, state and national news. If you wanted to know what was going on, you combed its pages every day. Having worked at the N&O myself as a college intern, I knew how hard the reporters worked and I also knew how hard the management and editors labored to keep politics out of the newsroom. In all the months I was there, I never heard any whispers or gossip about a story being killed or pushed because of the Daniels familys political views. And believe me, I heard lots of gossip, especially on long Saturday nights. In all my 35 years as a journalist, I have maintained a similar commitment, and that carries through with our work on The Sarasota News Leader All of us work diligently to report fairly on whatever we cover, re gardless of our political views. That is why I was saddened last week by three sub scribers dropping out because of our 2012 Election Voters Guide which we are repeating in this weeks issue. Fortunately, we had more than 40 new sub scribers who took their places. We have called our publication The Progressive Voice of Southwest Florida from the outset, but The Sarasota News Leader never will compromise on the impartiality or comprehensiveness of its news coverage. Editor and Publisher
COVER PHOTOS: Front Robert Hackney; Sarasota Leisure Norman Schimmel TO THE POLLS! A PROGRESSIVE PROGRESSIONNEWS & COMMENTARY TO THE POLLS! 12 Vice President Joe Biden urges voters to cast their ballots in the Nov. 6 general election Cooper Levey-Baker A PROGRESSIVE PROGRESSION 16 Citys domestic partnership registry starts Nov. 6 Stan Zimmerman IN A SHARPER MANNER 17 County Commission requests formal notication of administrative staffs handling of issues agged in audits Rachel Brown Hackney TOO CHARMING 21 Analysis: Laurel Park ghts for a place in the sun Stan Zimmerman CHARTER CHANGERS 25 One proposed City of Sarasota charter amendment would dismember the Ofce of the City Auditor and Clerk Stan Zimmerman HURRICANE DIARY 28 Sandy saga shows the power of storm surge Stan Zimmerman A DIP INTO THE OIL MONEY? 35 Scott wants a hand in RESTORE Act state pot Cooper Levey-Baker COMMITTED TO RESULTS 38 Sarasota County Schools already at work on new program in response to workforce preparedness study released in August Rachel Brown Hackney AN OPEN WORLD 41 Booker High School has become the rst in the world to link with an existing International Baccalaureate program, thanks to a partnership with Riverview High Scott Proftt
TOO CHARMING HURRICANE DIARY MAKING THE CONNECTION 45 DID endorses proposal for studying merits of a U.S. 41 pedestrian overpass from downtown to the bayfront Stan Zimmerman AN EMERGENCY FIX 47 A contractor was scheduled to make temporary repairs to a collapsed section of North Beach Road this week as county staff worked on a permanent solution Rachel Brown Hackney NEW PLANNING COMMISSIONER 52 Former North Port City Commissioner Vanessa Carusone wins appointment to what is viewed as the County Commissions most important advisory board Rachel Brown Hackney PRAISING PRESERVATION 54 Crowley Family Home and Store in Old Myakka community win historic designation from Sarasota County Rachel Brown Hackney THE STUDENTS TURN 57 Local organization gives students a chance to ask hard questions of the Sarasota County School Board and district staff Scott Proftt NEWS BRIEFS 61 OPINION CARTOON BY RILEY 70 EDITORIAL 70 The Sarasota News Leader Voters Guide LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 72 Press Releases & News Tips News@SarasotaNewsLeader.com
EYES OPENED; EARS PLUGGED FREAKY FAIRY TALE LANDSARASOTA LEISURE EYES OPENED; EARS PLUGGED 76 Lumpytunes Live showcases local experimental music and noise to the Sarasota community Tyler Whitson ASK OTUS 82 With hundreds of colorful creatures, Celery Fields proves to be a backyard treasure for Sarasotans Otus Rufous FREAKY FAIRY TALE LAND 87 Planned Parenthoods Safe Sex Halloween Bash brings out the creativity and a variety of creatures for plenty of partying Staff Reports REFLECTIONS ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR 98 From depicting fancies of romance to reections on Baroque court formality, Paul Taylor dancers convey well the choreographers vocabulary Elinor Rogosin ARTS BRIEFS 103 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 108 SCHIMMEL SIGHTINGS 109 Enter To Win A New iPad e contest concludes when e Sarasota News Leader achieves 1,000 Likes on Facebook, One winner will be selected at random from among subscribers. Only subscribers are eligible to win the iPad, regardless of having Liked our page on Facebook. Contest is open only to residents of Sarasota County. Selected winners must provide a valid Sarasota County street address to receive the iPad. Contest is void where prohibited by law. 2 Then Like Us On FacebookWhen our Likes on Facebook reach 1,000, we will randomly select one of our subscribers to receive a new iPad. 1 Click to Subscribe
This may take a while. Some things are just hard to resist. Like The Sarasota News Leader Its a feast of indepth local news, delightful and entertaining features, and thanks to its partnership with This Week In Sarasota access to the best community calendar available. The rst impulse is just to gobble it all up. But its better to take it slow and relish every news morsel. Theres no rush. You have a whole week. SarasotaNewsLeader.com The Progressive Voice of Southwest Florida
TO THE POLLS! Vice President Joe Biden urges voters to cast their ballots in the Nov. 6 general election Cooper Levey-BakerVice President Joe Biden hit Sarasota Wednesday, Oct. 31, deliver-ing a ery 42-minute speech during which he tagged the Romney/Ryan ticket for cynical, cynical ad tactics.Campaign volunteers and staffers meanwhile urged supporters to vote early, then volunteer.Sarasota County has not voted for a Democratic president since FDR in 1944, but Bidens presence less than a week before Election Day is dramatic evidence of how the Republican-Democratic gap has dwindled in recent cycles. Obama came within 211 votes of carrying the county in 2008 after rallying supporters at Ed Smith Sta -dium in the campaigns nal week. Biden worked hard to recapture that enthusiasm this week. (Full story here) A PROGRESSIVE PROGRESSION Citys domestic partnership registry starts Nov. 6 Stan ZimmermanThe City of Sarasotas Domestic Partnership Registry will be open for business on Tuesday, Nov. 6.Subsequently the registry will be open three days a week Tues -day, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.Applicants may le their paperwork in the City Hall Annex on the rst oor in the newly renamed SRQ Media Studio. Lines are expected for the rst few days. You may call 954-4160 to schedule an appointment and avoid waiting. The city is seeking volunteers to help with the program. A training session will be held Friday, Nov. 2, starting at 10 a.m. If you want to volunteer, call the same num ber: 954-4160. (Full story here)
IN A SHARPER MANNER County Commission requests formal notication of administrative staffs handling of issues agged in audits Rachel Brown HackneyThe Sarasota County commissioners have asked County Admin -istrator Randall Reid to provide them updates on measures he and other administrative staff take to resolve problems agged in audits by the Sarasota County Clerk of Courts Ofce.The commissioners want to avoid a repeat of situations that led to the Procurement Department scandal in 2011, they told Reid.The discussion followed Clerk of Circuit Court Karen Rushings presentation of her ofces latest audit report during the commissions Oct. 23 regular meeting in Sarasota. That audit examined the countys permit and impact fees. The reports synopsis says, The permitting and impact fee assessment and collec -tion process is complex and there are not written guidelines or procedures docu -menting this process. Undercharges and overcharges were noted during the audit (Full story here) TOO CHARMING Analysis: Laurel Park ghts for a place in the sun Stan ZimmermanLaurel Park is everything you could ask for in a neighborhood. Geographically, it lies on the southern edge of downtown; all the urban amenities are within walking distance.It features the citys best collection of 1920s architecture from bungalows to apartment buildings. And it is close to all the citys major trafc ar -teries.The residents of Laurel Park have battled for years to keep their patch of paradise out of the hands of speculators and high-rise builders. They even had the city create a unique zoning district (RSM-9) for the area. That district does not allow for com mercial activity, even though the neighborhood already had a historic designation to protect its character. (Full story here)
CHARTER CHANGERS One proposed City of Sarasota charter amendment would dismember the Ofce of the City Auditor and Clerk Stan ZimmermanSix of the seven proposed amendments to the Sarasota City Char -ter were proposed by an appointed committee of citizens who took testimony, received legal advice and held spirited debates on the issues. The seventh was conceived in secrecy by an organization now under investigation by the Florida Elections Commission. The amendment had a legal aw that was rectied at the last minute. And it was put on the ballot by paid signature gatherers working piecemeal, paid per signature.These origins normally would scuttle public support for a charter change, but a surprising number of people think it is a good idea to break up the Ofce of City Auditor and Clerk (CAC), separating the audit function from everything else. The auditor and clerks position was created during the initial drafting of the citys charter in 1945. (Full story here) HURRICANE DIARY Sandy saga shows the power of storm surge Stan Zimmerman Editors note: Stan Zimmerman has been tracking hurricanes for decades. This is his story about the system that became Sandy.21 Oct. 10 a.m.: Hurricane Rafael came and went, thrashing Bermuda and then going subtropical on the way to Ireland.This morning another storm is forming in the same southern vicinity, and it is ex -pected to take the same exact path.Another Bahama thumper? Right now it is called Invest 99L, and it has an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical storm.The models are not sure of the path Cuba? Hispaniola? but one thing seems sure: It is following Rafael out to sea, and the Great Florida Barrier remains in force.22 Oct., 5 p.m.: Yup, it is now Tropical Storm Sandy, and it is sort of headed our way but is more likely to beat up the Bahamas on the exit to nowhere. Central pres -sure is 29.50 inches, with steady winds of 40 mph. The forecast has it strengthening to almost hurricane force in two days. (Full story here)
Vice President Joe Biden hit Sarasota Wednes day, Oct. 31, delivering a fiery 42-minute speech during which he tagged the Romney/ Ryan ticket for cynical, cynical ad tactics. Campaign volunteers and staffers meanwhile urged supporters to vote early, then volunteer. Sarasota County has not voted for a Demo cratic president since FDR in 1944, but Bidens presence less than a week before Election Day is dramatic evidence of how the Repub lican-Democratic gap has dwindled in recent cycles. Obama came within 211 votes of car rying the county in 2008 after rallying support ers at Ed Smith Stadium in the campaigns nal week. Biden worked hard to recapture that enthusi asm this week. Around 1,350 Obama supporters packed the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium well before Biden came onstage, and they were treated to speeches by a campaign volunteer and Obama for America Field Organizer Ed James. The message was simple: Go vote; then, sign up to make phone calls and knock on doors. Democrats are heavily emphasizing absentee and early voting this year, trying to collect as Vice President Joe Biden speaks to an enthusiastic crowd at the Municipal Auditorium in Sarasota on Oct. 31. Photo by Cooper Levey-Baker VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN URGES VOTERS TO CAST THEIR BALLOTS IN THE NOV. 6 GENERAL ELECTION TO THE POLLS! By Cooper Levey-Baker Associate Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 13 many ballots as possible before Election Day to shorten their list of get-out-the-vote targets. According to statistics provided by Saraso ta County Supervisor of Elections Adminis trative Assistant Joyce Soltis, as of close of business Wednesday, 42 percent of registered voters had already cast their ballots. Republicans had cast 36,192 absentee ballots to the Democrats 29,336 an 8-point differ ence in a county in which Republicans hold a 44 percent to 32 percent registration edge. In 2008, the Republican absentee advantage was 15 points. But as of Wednesday, the Republicans had a wider lead in early voting, having cast 47 per cent of the early ballots to the Democrats 34 percent. In 2008, the GOP bested the Demo crats by just 1 percent. Overall, Republicans had cast 45 percent of all votes as of Oct. 31, with the Democrats at 35 percent. Before Election Day in 2008, those numbers were 44 percent and 37 percent, re spectively. Ed James, an Obama for America eld organizer, energizes the audience at the rally in Sarasota. Photo by Cooper Levey-Baker
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 14 All those numbers, of course, do not account for the 22,597 absentee and early voters who are registered with neither major party. How those votes break down this year is anyones guess. Biden spent the majority of his Oct. 31 speech lambasting GOP candidate Mitt Romney and Romneys running mate, Paul Ryan, for their shifting stances on a number of issues in the campaigns nal month. From the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to their budget and tax plans, Biden said, the Republicans have repeatedly shifted positions because what they are for, the people dont like. Look, he said. Ryan got asked, as did Rom ney earlier, Will you commit to leave [Afghan istan] in 2014? And they used the word that ts them more than any candidates Ive ever heard. They said, It depends. It depends. With these guys, everything depends, he roared. It depends on the audience youre talking to. It depends on what the polls say. It depends what state youre in. He heaped particular scorn on a Romney ad running in Ohio that suggests American car companies helped by a 2009 bailout are plan ning to ship American jobs to China, a claim even a Chrysler executive called a leap that would be difcult even for professional circus acrobats. Why would they do this? Biden asked, speak ing softly. Why would they do this in the face of overwhelming facts? Well Ill tell you why. Theyre trying to scare the living devil out of a group of people who have been hurt so badly. Ohio car workers are on the balls of their feet, Biden said. They lost their homes. They lost everything. And now theyre back on their feet, just tentatively, back on their feet. They got their jobs back. But they still feel the sting of what happened four years ago. The Romney ads now have folks worried about their jobs, Biden said. He called the move a cynical, cynical thing to do. With just ve days to go, it is an all-out sprint to capture Floridas invaluable 29 electoral votes, and both the Obama and Romney cam paigns have packed Sunshine State calendars in the coming days. New York Times numbers guru Nate Silver gives Romney a half-point lead and 59 percent odds in his analysis, which just reinforces a clich I am sure you are sick of hearing: Florida could easily go either way. Editors note: Cooper Levey-Baker was an Obama for America eld organizer in 2008. I am so incredibly pleased, with my beautiful smile and my comfortable and natural bite. Barbara LeeFor a complimentary consultation call 941.923.5406 | Christine Koval, D.M.D. | www.askdrkoval.com
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The City of Sarasotas Domestic Partnership Registry will be open for business on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Subsequently the registry will be open three days a week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Applicants may le their paperwork in the City Hall Annex on the rst oor in the newly renamed SRQ Media Studio. Lines are expect ed for the rst few days. You may call 9544160 to schedule an appointment and avoid waiting. The city is seeking volunteers to help with the program. A training session will be held Fri day, Nov. 2, starting at 10 a.m. If you want to volunteer, call the same number: 954-4160. Applicants for the registry must appear in per son, and each partner will need a photo ID. They must ll out the application and pay a $30 registration fee in cash or with a check. The afdavit must be signed in front of a no tary. Notaries will be available. The afdavit may be downloaded After the early registration period ends, peo ple may register at the Ofce of the City Au ditor and Clerk. A reservation is suggested (same phone number as above). Partners do not need to be city residents. However, the registration conveys certain le gal benets within the city limits only, not in Sarasota County. Among the benets is being able to visit a partner in the hospital. Each partnership will receive an embossed certicate. The documents will be registered and become a public record on le at the Ofce of the Sara sota County Clerk of Circuit Court on Ringling Boulevard. A new day will dawn in the city of Sarasota on Nov. 6, as the city begins a service for domestic partners. Photo by Norm Schimmel CITYS DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP REGISTRY STARTS NOV. 6 A PROGRESSIVE PROGRESSION By Stan Zimmerman City Editor
The Sarasota County commissioners have asked County Administrator Randall Reid to provide them updates on measures he and other administrative staff take to resolve prob lems agged in audits by the Sarasota County Clerk of Courts Ofce. The commissioners want to avoid a repeat of situations that led to the Procurement Depart ment scandal in 2011, they told Reid. The discussion followed Clerk of Circuit Court Karen Rushings presentation of her ofces latest audit report during the commissions Oct. 23 regular meeting in Sarasota. That au dit examined the countys permit and impact fees. The reports synopsis says, The permitting and impact fee assessment and collection process is complex and there are not written guidelines or procedures documenting this process. Undercharges and overcharges were noted during the audit The report notes, for example, Permit clerks and other personnel rely on their knowledge and refer back to emails and memorandums that they each may store for reference. Under the heading, Insufcient Segregation of Duties, it also points out, County per The Sarasota County Commission has asked for new administrative steps to follow up on audits by the Ofce of the Clerk of Circuit Court. File photo COUNTY COMMISSION REQUESTS FORMAL NOTIFICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFFS HANDLING OF ISSUES FLAGGED IN AUDITS IN A SHARPER MANNER By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 18 sonnel noted that all permit personnel who issue permits are also responsible for collect ing payments (cash, checks, credit card pay ments), have access to the system, can cancel and adjust permits and the related charges, and have physical access to the cash safe. In the course of the audit, the report says, staff reviewed fees assessed for a sample of 60 permits issued between Oct. 1, 2011 and July 31 of this year. Commissioner Nora Patterson asked Reid whether there was any mechanism through which he and his administrators could inform the commission about steps being taken to address ndings that they acknowledged were correct or to point out that a nding was in correct. It seems like these [audit ndings] just sort of evaporate, Patterson said. I think it would be good just to provide the board an update on the response to each of these, Reid said. But, basically, we have been sharing the results of the audits before they come before the commission, he added. The desire was to make sure you were aware of all the audits, Reid said. Most of the items that have been found to date have been issues of minor changes of policy. There hasnt been a major nding. A chart in a July 16 memo from County Administrator Randall Reid to the County Commission shows the status at that time of steps taken to improve Procurement Department practices as suggested by three entities: NIGP, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing; RSM, the nationally known rm RSM McGladrey; and the Sarasota County Clerk of Circuit Court.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 19 Understand that this isnt aimed at you, Mr. Reid, Commission Chairwoman Christine Robinson told him. You can be assured Im asking the clerks ofce to do independent audits on items I have observed that dont make sense or feel wrong, Reid replied. I address anything that seems wrong or out of place. PAST PROBLEMS Historically, going back a couple of years, Patterson said, some of the issues that turned out to be major issues were actually identied in some of these audits. Patterson pointed out that a couple of years before employee misuse of P-cards county-issued credit cards became public knowledge, Rushing and her staff had indicat ed a problem with the cards. I remember speaking to the administrator about that, Patterson added, referring to County Administrator Jim Ley, who resigned in May 2011 in the wake of the Procure ment Department scandal. He said, well, he was reducing the number [of P-cards available to employees] and addressing that. However, Patterson said, Thats not the same as a formal answer [such as], Were really looking at this because its a potential prob lem, and that was a big avenue where mis uses could occur. In a July 16 memo to the County Commission, Reid reported on a number of steps being tak en in the Procurement Department to improve practices, including the implementation of a revised P-card manual and training of Ac count Coordinators and cardholders. Staff was being trained, he added, to use new reporting tools and resources to conduct au dit reports such as a monthly spend analysis to monitor card usage and ag unusual trans actions. At that point, Reid wrote in the memo, 98 percent of the card users had completed the training. RECENT REPORTS During the Oct. 23 meeting, Reid said some of the more recent problems agged by audit involved work done in a sloppy manner. For example, he said, four of 54 documents that required two sig natures had just one. Robinson said she would like to see mem os indicating not only progress taken on spe cic matters but also a nal memo indicating a problem had been resolved. Rushing explained to the commissioners that after her staff gathers all the information for an audit, the ndings are discussed with the responsible folks and we are seeking agree ment on the comments being made or a rec ognition that we misunderstood something, which could happen from time to time. Most of the items that have been found to date have been issues of minor changes of policy. There hasnt been a major nding. Randall Reid County Administrator
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 20 Rushing added, If there is ever a signicant disagreement in the observation [of the audi tor] versus the viewpoint of the county, itll be noted. [For example]: The audit recogniz es X occurred and theres a dispute about it. However, she added, I dont think youre go ing to see many of those. She and Reid work closely together, Rushing said. Where there needs to be some real strengthening, she continued, is in regard to cases indicating the implementation of chang es from an enterprise-wide [countywide] per spective. She told the commissioners, I think your con cerns are well-placed. Patterson said, Im sure that in many cases these things are being addressed. Its just that I want that feedback. I have no objections to attempting to do that, Reid said. The important thing to note, Reid said, was that problems indicated by the October audit were not widespread. Everybody has to do their job in a sharper manner, Reid said. Enter To Win A New iPad e contest concludes when e Sarasota News Leader achieves 1,000 Likes on Facebook, One winner will be selected at random from among sub scribers. Only subscribers are eligible to win the iPad, regardless of having Liked our page on Facebook. Contest is open only to residents of Sarasota County. Selected winners must provide a valid Sarasota County street address to receive the iPad. Contest is void where prohibited by law. 2 Then Like Us On Facebook When our Likes on Facebook reach 1,000, we will randomly select one of our subscribers to receive a new iPad. 1 Click to Subscribe Join the campaign today! Keep medical decisions between a woman, her family, and her doctor. Visit www.VoteNoOn6.comVoteNoOn6.com Paid political advertisement paid for by Vote No on 6, 736 Central Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236. Distributed in-kind by Sarasota News Leader, Post Oce Box 5099, Sarasota, Florida 34277.
Laurel Park is everything you could ask for in a neighborhood. Geographically, it lies on the southern edge of downtown; all the urban amenities are within walking distance. It features the citys best collection of 1920s architecture from bungalows to apartment buildings. And it is close to all the citys major trafc arteries. The residents of Laurel Park have battled for years to keep their patch of paradise out of the hands of speculators and high-rise build ers. They even had the city create a unique zoning district (RSM-9) for the area. That dis trict does not allow for commercial activity, even though the neighborhood already had a historic designation to protect its character. Laurel Park shares another unique quality with two other close-to-downtown neighbor hoods: Any new structure built within 100 feet of an RSM-9 property can be only one story higher than what it faces. Now Laurel Park is seeking something else unique, and as with its other battles, the prog ress is uphill all the way. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL The neighborhood wants an overlay, a zon ing device that allows for special treatment. Laurel Park is known for its 1920s-era bungalows. Photo by Norman Schimmel ANALYSIS: LAUREL PARK FIGHTS FOR A PLACE IN THE SUN TOO CHARMING By Stan Zimmerman City Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 22 Siesta Key, for example, has had an overlay district since 1999 that establishes different residential standards than those found in the rest of Sarasota County. The overlay district also dictates a reduction in the size and height of signs, allows shell parking lots and identi es permitted and prohibited uses and struc tures. Laurel Parks proposed overlay does not go that far. It asks only that neighbors be alerted when a property adjacent to the boundaries of the neighborhood becomes targeted for de velopment or redevelopment, and it asks that residents be allowed to comment on any such proposal during a Sarasota Planning Board public hearing. Laurel Park is surrounded by downtown zoning. That means developers and build ers can simply drop off their applications for building permits at City Hall, and if all goes well, head to their sites in 10 days with per mits in hand, ready to start. This is a process called administrative ap proval, and it requires no public hearing or even public notice. Neighbors nd out when the construction equipment arrives. Anywhere else in the city, nearby residents would be alerted and a neighborhood meeting would be required, followed by consideration of a site plan by the Planning Board. But to spur development and settle a lawsuit, the city The blue area, which denotes a 100-foot-wide boundary, marks the edge of the Laurel Park neigh borhood. The yellow areas mark all the parcels in the downtown zones where planned construction would mean notication for the neighborhood and discussion before redevelopment. Map courtesy of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 23 agreed that construction plans for property located downtown would need only adminis trative approval to proceed. If the plans meet city requirements for zoning and construc tion, approval is automatic and no potentially messy public hearing is required. Developers believe administrative approval solves the citizen problem, said Kate Low man, the current president of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association. Developers prefer to call it certainty. THE OVERLAY The Laurel Park Neighborhood Association held a meeting at City Hall Tuesday, Oct. 30, to seek public comment on its proposed over lay district. Lowman moderated the meeting, because the change is being proposed by the neighborhood association, not the city. The Sarasota City Commission had approved the allocation of some staff time to help the res idents. The City Commission will vote again Dec. 3 on whether it wants to proceed with the district. The process entails a big and complex legal package, including a comprehensive plan change and zoning text amendment changes. Lowman says nobodys zoning will change and nobodys property rights will be amended, but the overlay will require people building large projects adjacent to the neighborhood to give residents the opportunity to evaluate their plans. The majority of the zoning around the neigh borhood allows ve stories or 10 stories, said long-time Laurel Park resident Juliette Reyn olds. Most of the big projects will face away from the neighborhood, so well be looking at their trafc patterns, security lights, garbage collection and other issues. Old shade trees are abundant in the Laurel Park neighborhood. Photo by Norman Schimmel
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 24 Lowman said city regulations do not provide enough protection. It is not possible for the zoning code to dene what and how each thing will be built, she said. Where is the genera tor located? How much noise is allowed? Will the lights shine in my bedroom? What are the mechanics of trash pickup? These are things neighbors want to have some choice about. The overlay would require a builder to notify the neighborhood, hold a public meeting and then seek site-plan approval from the Plan ning Board even if he just wanted to build something adjacent to but not inside the neighborhood. Lowman presented a map showing the how much property would be af fected. DEVELOPERS SPEAK Physician Mark Kauffman is a major property owner and developer focused on downtown. Ive had two encounters with this neighbor hood on two projects, he said. And both were delightful. He most recently worked with Laurel Park on the development of a new P.F. Changs restau rant on Mound Street, and he made changes to the plans based on neighborhood input. Kaufman suggested that instead of embark ing on the 18-month process to change the citys comprehensive plan and zoning texts, the neighborhood simply lobby the City Com mission to demand notication of any projects in the yellow zone denoted on the proposed overlay district map. I dont see why you cant look at the plans when we go to the city. What youre asking for is not unreasonable, he said. But you could get everything you want if you get notication from the city. R eal estate doyenne Michael Saunders is in the middle of the ght. It would be so easy not to take a year-and-a-half to get this over lay. Instead you could get a settlement agree ment that would bind the city in some way, she said. Make the City Commission demand meetings and then work with the developer. Whatever policy the current City Commission makes, however, can be unmade by a subse quent City Commission. And Laurel Park has had some experience with that level of be trayal since the administrative approval factor was implemented without public input; hence, the neighborhood residents desire to enshrine the overlay in the comprehensive plan. Both Saunders and the director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange, Mary Dough erty-Slapp, urged a faster resolution to the neighborhoods concerns. This recovery is about to happen, said Dougherty-Slapp. It is important for builders and developers to know what the rules are. In other words, leaders of the real estate, de velopment and builder communities agree to notication of residents regarding construc tion plans on the borders of Laurel Park. But they disagree with the neighborhood on the mechanics, and they do not appear to support the idea of a mandated visit to the Planning Board. Saunders and Kauffman want a City Commis sion policy to set the terms of the overlay dis trict. Lowman and the neighbors want policy spelled out in the comprehensive plan and zoning code.
Six of the seven proposed amendments to the Sarasota City Charter were proposed by an appointed committee of citizens who took tes timony, received legal advice and held spirited debates on the issues. The seventh was conceived in secrecy by an organization now under investigation by the Florida Elections Commission. The amend ment had a legal aw that was rectied at the last minute. And it was put on the ballot by paid signature gatherers working piecemeal, paid per signature. These origins normally would scuttle public support for a charter change, but a surprising number of people think it is a good idea to break up the Ofce of City Auditor and Clerk (CAC), separating the audit function from ev erything else. The auditor and clerks position was created during the initial drafting of the citys charter in 1945. Initially, the clerk and auditors job included management of central records, with the person acting as clerk to the City Commis sion (handling agendas, minutes, etc.), doing internal auditing (of city departments, lease holders and contracts, etc.), handling pension administration and presiding over city elec tions. (From left) City Attorney Robert Fournier, City Auditor and Clerk Pam Nadalini and City Commis sioners Paul Caragiulo and Willie Shaw listen to public comments during a regular meeting. Photo by Norman Schimmel ONE PROPOSED CITY OF SARASOTA CHARTER AMENDMENT WOULD DISMEMBER THE OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR AND CLERK CHARTER CHANGERS By Stan Zimmerman City Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 26 Over the years, the CAC took on additional re sponsibilities. Former Auditor and Clerk Billy Robinson started a public information ofce in City Hall in 2004 to handle public and press relations. Then-City Manager Mike McNees engaged in a tug-of-war with Robinson over control of the ofce, but McNees lost the City Commission decision over that battle. Normally, public information falls under se nior administration. Last year the City Commission stripped the city manager of responsibility for information technology (computers and communications). That department was transferred to the CACs ofce. While the shift was made following un proven allegations of email erasures by thenOne proposed city charter amendment would shake up the responsibilities of the ofces of the city manager and the city auditor and clerk. Photo by Norman Schimmel
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 27 City Manager Robert Bartolotta, a subsequent inquiry revealed inadequacies in the depart ment that the current clerk and auditor is try ing to remedy. The proposed charter amendment would split the responsibilities of the City Auditor and Clerks Ofce into two separate ofces. One would be the Ofce of City Auditor. It would be run by a charter ofcial appointed by the City Commission, and it would perform internal audits and make recommendations based on the audits. The auditing department currently has one employee and one opening. The amendment specically states: The City Commission shall not assign to the City Audi tor any duties not related to audit or investi gatory functions. The second ofce would work for the city manager. Its responsibilities would include all other functions of the current CAC, including records management, pension administration, information technology, city clerks responsi bilities and administration of oaths. Proponents say dismembering the current City Auditor and Clerks Ofce would streamline government by making one person responsi ble for city administration. And they believe establishment of an independent auditor with no other functions would provide the City Commission with the necessary checks on abuse of power by the city manager. Opponents dub this the Boss City Manager amendment. Some suggest it is a racist putsch to force the resignation of current City Audi tor and Clerk Pam Nadalini. She is the citys rst African-American charter ofcial, having served as No. 2 until the retirement of Robin son. When he was preparing to leave, she was offered the job as CAC. Pension administration and public informa tion are handled by the city manager in a sig nicant number of Florida cities similar in size to Sarasota. The Information Technology de partments virtually always report to the city manager in municipalities. Pension Manage ment ofces also report to the city manager in most Florida cities. For the clerking responsibilities minutes, agendas, correspondence, swearing of oaths the record is mixed. In Clearwater, Lake land, Fort Myers and Delray Beach, the clerks report to the city managers. In Venice, Naples, North Port and Lauderhill, the clerks report to the city commissions. Most of the seven city charter amendments proposed for the Nov. 6 ballot seek to slow down or even prohibit City Commission ac tions. One would delete nearly six pages of charter language aimed at defeating a Walmart store proposed several years ago. Only one the decapitation of the CAC ofce creates a fundamental change in government account ability. Voters who believe the city manager should be the person who really manages the city in all its aspects will vote in favor of this charter change proposal. Voters who believe the current system of split responsibilities provides a check and balance on government power will vote against the amendment.
Editors note: Stan Zimmerman has been tracking hurricanes for decades. This is his story about the system that became Sandy. 21 Oct. 10 a.m.: Hurricane Rafael came and went, thrashing Bermuda and then going sub tropical on the way to Ireland. This morning another storm is forming in the same southern vicinity, and it is expected to take the same exact path. Another Bahama thumper? Right now it is called Invest 99L, and it has an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical storm. The models are not sure of the path Cuba? Hispaniola? but one thing seems sure: It is following Rafael out to sea, and the Great Florida Barrier remains in force. 22 Oct., 5 p.m.: Yup, it is now Tropical Storm Sandy, and it is sort of headed our way but is more likely to beat up the Bahamas on the exit to nowhere. Central pressure is 29.50 inches, with steady winds of 40 mph. The forecast has it strengthening to almost hurricane force in two days. The far-out forecast offers a small chance of tropical-storm-force winds on Flor idas east coast on Friday, Oct. 26, and Satur day, Oct. 27. Meanwhile, there is another tropical depres sion (TD 19) that could become a tropical storm tomorrow. It is headed due north in A NOAA image from the National Hurricane Center on Oct. 31 shows projected continuing rainfall from Sandy. SANDY SAGA SHOWS THE POWER OF STORM SURGE HURRICANE DIARY By Stan Zimmerman City Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 29 the mid-Atlantic Ocean and expected to turn northeast in the next 36 hours totally away from anybody until late Friday, when it could threaten the Azores. The Azores? 23 Oct., 9 p.m.: Soon-to-be Hurricane Sandy is projected now over Jamaica and the east ern half of Cuba, then into the Bahamas. Right now, only the Miami/West Palm area is in the zone of a 10 percent or higher chance of tropi cal storm winds. Sandy is not expected to stay a hurricane very long, with forecasters saying the trip over Cuba will do it in. Still, it is a little too close for comfort. 24 Oct., noon: Sandy is ofcially a hurricane now, with central pressure of 28.73 and sus tained winds of 80 mph. The track takes it di rectly over Jamaica and on to Cuba and the Bahamas. The Florida Keys and Floridas east coast are under a tropical storm watch at present, while the Bahamas are under a tropical storm warn ing. At this point, the forming storm system is far enough away from the mainland to cause only limited concern. Image courtesy of Weather Underground A diagram showing moisture levels in the northeastern and central United States indi cates the possibility of snow, thanks to San dys projected track.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 30 Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Tony is in the mid-Atlantic with maximum winds of 50 mph; it is heading straight to the Azores. Oddly should I even say it the Gulf of Mexico re mains quiet. 24 Oct., 10 p.m.: Sandy could be a bell-ring er, an event that changes forever the national perception of tropical weather. The Washington Post tonight is teasing the idea that Sandy will come ashore a tad north of the Chesapeake Bay and raise huge mis chief. The newspaper has models and maps galore, far in advance of those of the National Hurricane Center. Models disagree on where the storm will recurve and make landfall: sim ulations vary from the mid-Atlantic to Maine. There remains a chance, though diminishing, the storm will slide harmlessly out to sea, the Post reports. What is worse is that the storms landfall could coincide with the full moon, making for high tides above the normal level. And, hang on: Snow is an issue. Snow!!?? At the higher elevations, the moisture of a tropical system could produce killer snowfall levels in Pennsylvania and New York. Some models suggest over a foot of heavy, wet snow could fall in places like western Maryland and central and western Pennsyl vania. This amount of snow on top of existing foliage could result in tremendous tree dam age and power outages, The Washington Post says. A historic event? Not here, but elsewhere? At midnight on Oct. 27, the National Hurricane Center is showing the projected wind elds for Sandy Image courtesy of NOAA
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 31 25 Oct., 1:30 p.m.: Sandy is now a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 105 mph and central pressure at 28.47 inches. It still looks like it will pass offshore of the Florida east coast. The northerly winds blowing against the Gulf Stream are going to play havoc with boating conditions. Here is the marine forecast off shore of Palm Beach: FRIDAY NIGHT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS EXPECT ED. N OF 29N W OF 79W...N TO NE WINDS 30 TO 40 KT...BECOM ING N 35 TO 45 KT LATE. ELSEWHERE...N TO NE WINDS 55 TO 75 KT...BECOMING N 50 TO 70 KT LATE. SEAS 22 TO 32 FT. NU MEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TSTMS. VSBY 1 NM OR LESS. Yessiree, 32-foot seas and 70-knot wind. Sounds a bit Cape Horn-ish to me. The Baha mas are expecting a 5to 8-foot storm surge; for Florida, on the protected side of the storm, the surge is predicted to be only 1 to 2 feet. Locally we are told to expect gale-force winds starting tomorrow and continuing through Saturday, but little rain. My family and I were planning on launching the boat this weekend, but needless to say, thats not happening. Sandy is the 10th hurricane of the year and the fourth to reach Category 2 or higher. It was supposed to die somewhere between Jamai ca and Cuba, but instead it intensied. Even the Cuban highlands did not affect it, and it Sandy has come ashore in southern New Jersey. Image courtesy of NOAA
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 32 emerged intact as a Category 2. Now the Ba hamas are getting lashed. The damn thing is anticipated to head north to make landfall in the New Jersey/New York area and combine with a cold front to create holy hell all the way from Ohio to Maine. Forecasters are calling it Frankenstorm. 26 Oct., 11 p.m.: Sandy is back down to a Category 1 after ravaging the Bahamas. So far the death count Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas is more than 40. And the storm is growing. Yesterday, the radius of hurricane-force winds was 30 miles; tonight it is 70 miles, and tropical storm-force winds extend out 415 miles! In other words, the di ameter of tropical storm winds is almost 850 miles! The National Hurricane Center still projects a DelMarVa Peninsula landfall on Monday, with hellacious rains. Storm surge along the lower Chesapeake is predicted at 2 to 4 feet, with 8 inches of rain all the way up the bay. Bad juju potential here. 27 Oct., 2 p.m.: Sandys central pressure is going down; now it is 28.38 inches. Last night, the barometer at the Sarasota-Bradenton In ternational Airport read 29.6. Sandys wind eld is expanding, with hurricane-force winds now out 105 miles and tropical storm winds out 450 miles from the center. The storm is slowly growing. It is now 140 miles due east of Cape Canaveral. 27 Oct., midnight: Just back from the uber sexy Planned Parenthood Safe Sex Bash at Mi chaels on East. Our winds are settling down, and our local barometric pressure is rising, but Sandy keeps going and growing. Sandys barometric pressure is 28.35 inches, and maximum sustained winds are 75 mph. Tropical storm-force winds are now 520 miles from the center, a diameter of 1,000-plus miles! From Ocean City, MD, to Long Island, NY, the storm surge is predicted to be 4 to 8 feet, with rain, lots and lots of rain. 28 Oct., 11 a.m.: No change in path or in tensity is reported, although the central pres sure continues to fall; it is now at 28.08 inches. The wind eld is still expanding, with hurri cane-force winds out 175 miles from the un formed eye; the tropical storm-force wind eld is unchanged at 520 miles. The real threat is storm surge. New York Har bor and Long Island are on the wrong side of Sandy, and they are looking at 6 to 11 feet from Ocean City, MD, to the Connecticut/ Rhode Island border, with 2 to 4 feet in the middle and upper Chesapeake Bay area plus the rain, of course. 29 Oct. 11 a.m.: Sandy remains on track, with sustained winds now 85 mph and cen tral pressure still dropping, now at 27.94. The ring of tropical storm winds has collapsed a bit, now with a radius of 485 miles. The diam eter of hurricane-force winds is 175 miles, un changed. Gale-force winds are now lashing the shoreline from North Carolina to Long Island, NY. Long Island Sound and New York Har bor are looking at 6 to 11 feet of storm surge. Heavy rain up to 12 inches is expected over the Mid-Atlantic States, and snowfall of 2 to 3 feet is to occur in the mountains of West Virginia, with lesser amounts in the mountains of Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee. Oct. 29, 2 p.m.: Sandy is strengthening and accelerating towards the New Jersey shore.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 33 Central pressure is 27.76 inches (a quar ter-inch drop in three hours!!!), and sustained winds are up to 90 mph, with gusts to 110 mph. Forward speed is 28 mph, so on the wrong side, winds are 118 mph. The storm is huge. The National Hurricane Center says, SUS TAINED WINDS TO TROPICAL STORM FORCE ARE OCCURRING FROM SOUTH ERN NEW ENGLAND THROUGH LONG IS LAND AND LONG ISLAND SOUND...AND SOUTHWARD ALONG THE COASTS OF NEW JERSEY...DELAWARE...AND EASTERN VIRGINIA...AND INCLUDING ALL OF THE CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE BAYS. Sandy is going extra-tropical at this hour, merging with a major polar low-pressure sys tem to mix-master a colossal dump of rain and liberated heat into the now-dominant polar air mass. Seas are running 45 feet at the center of circulation. Meanwhile, the jet stream is plunging from Minnesota down to the Florida Panhandle, bringing us the seasons rst nippy temps. It could get into the 40s inland tonight. This is Sandy at its most menacing, with circulation restored. It is strengthening and it remains 18 hours from landfall. Image courtesy of NOAA
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 34 Oct. 29, 5 p.m.: Sandy now has formed an eye, about 20 miles across, just prior to land fall at the Delaware Bay/New Jersey border later this evening. This track will put the en tire northern Chesapeake, Washington, D.C., and Annapolis areas under hurricane-force winds tonight. Pressure and top sustained wind speed remain unchanged. The storm is still moving northwest at 28 mph. And it is cold there, with temperatures in the 40s to night under hurricane horizontal rain. Tropical-storm-force winds are being experi enced from South Carolina to Maine. This is one huge storm, and we are getting gusts to 30 mph here as part of this zany hurricane-cold front mash-up. Oct. 29, 8 p.m.: Sandy is ashore just south of Atlantic City, NJ. Central pressure is up a tad to 27.93; sustained winds now are 80 mph. The hurricane barely made it to shore. The dry air it has been ghting for days has stripped the southern and eastern quadrants of moisture. More than a million people are without power, the majority of them in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Tidal gauges are setting re cords in and around New York City. An 1821 record of 11.2 feet at the Battery (southern most Manhattan) was broken with a record of 11.25 feet and still rising. In northern New Jersey, a Sandy Hook record of 10.1 feet was superseded by a 12.0 reading and water is still rising. Sandy is no longer a hurricane, and the Na tional Hurricane Center is saying goodbye. But before the federal agency leaves the scene, it offers an image of the wind swath that just grew and grew and ended up sending a big punch right into the midriff of the East Coast. Lower Manhattan is ooding tonight, millions are without power and there is more to come as the system slows and merges but retains its strongest winds. 30 Oct. 11 p.m.: Twenty-four hours have passed since landfall. Watching Hurricane Sandy was like seeing a piece of Celadon porcelain falling from a shelf to a tile oor. Concentration went into slow motion, as inch by inch we watched a shattering catastrophe unfold: six million people without power; Wall Street under water; a century-old New York subway system ooded; property losses in the billions; economic losses yet uncounted. What can be counted is rainfall. The big win ner was Easton, MD, with 12.5 inches, fol lowed by Georgetown, DE, with 10.2 inches. Kitty Hawk, NC, on the oh-so-vulnerable Out er Banks, received 5.9 inches. New Jersey was soaked, with totals between 6.2 and 11.9 inch es across the state. Virginia was in the 7to 9-inch range, Pennsylvania had 5 to 7 inches and Ohio saw 3 to 6 inches. Washington, D.C.s Reagan National Airport got 4.78 inches. The damn storm is not done. Central baro metric pressure is at 29.18, and the maximum sustained wind is 45 mph. It is in southwest ern Pennsylvania and headed into Canada and for all I know, the North Pole on a due north projected track. The storm touched millions and millions of lives. In four days, the nation goes to the polls to elect a president. In the political campaign, nobody once mentioned global warming or cli mate change. Records two centuries old were broken this week. Leave it to Mother Ocean to remind us.
T he Sarasota County Commission voted last month to join a coalition of Gulf Coast coun ties affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill that will oversee how Floridas pot of BP ne money is spent. However, according to Sarasotas delegate, Gov. Rick Scott is asking for a big say in where those dollars are directed. The money in question will come from pen alties paid by BP to the federal government, which could add up to anywhere from $5 bil lion to $20 billion. Bipartisan federal legisla tion known as the RESTORE Act divvies up that money among national grants, a state fund and direct assistance to counties. The Florida Association of Counties spearheaded the creation of the Gulf Coast consortium to direct where that state pot goes. Last Tuesday, Oct. 23, Commissioner Nora Patterson picked as Sarasotas represen tative in the new consortium gave a brief recap of the groups rst meeting to her fellow board members, announcing that Scott wants the right to appoint 25 percent of the consor tium members and appoint its chairman. Say ing she was not all that surprised at Scotts request, Patterson added that Florida Associ ation of Counties leaders are planning to meet with Scott to discuss what his role might be. Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he wants to work with a consortium of counties that will divvy up BP oil spill funds. Photo courtesy of the governors ofce. SCOTT WANTS A HAND IN RESTORE ACT STATE POT A DIP INTO THE OIL MONEY? By Cooper Levey-Baker Associate Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 36 Sarasota County Commissioners Joe Barbetta and Carolyn Mason present a trophy to members of Sarasota Crew after their victory during an April regatta at Benderson Lake. County commission ers say they would like for some of the RESTORE Act funds to be invested in the rowing facility. Photo by Norman Schimmel
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 37 Patterson tells The Sarasota News Leader she is OK with Scott appointing some of the consortiums leaders, but she wants to make sure those board members are people who are knowledgeable around the state, not just political supporters. The leadership structure of the consortium has not yet been solidied; Patterson says she expects the group will map out a clear timeta ble for action at its next gathering. Asked what projects she thinks would be worth funding with the BP dollars, Patterson cites a handful of environmental restoration projects that would be winners, but she also made the case for funding economic develop ment projects. It would be fabulous if it were possible to allocate some dollars to the rowing facility, she says, to see if we could speed it along. The Nathan Benderson Park rowing facility has been a major beneciary of taxpayer dol lars this year. Scott himself approved $5 mil lion in state money for the project, the same month Benderson Management Services do nated $25,000 to the governors re-election bid. Patterson also cites Warm Mineral Springs as an economic development project deserving of funding through RESTORE. Florida Association of Counties Communica tions Director Cragin Mosteller says having the governors ofce involved in the consor tiums efforts would be ideal, because it would help Florida present a unied front to the federal government. Does the association believe Scotts proposal to staff 25 percent of the leaders and appoint a chairman is appropriate? I think its too soon to speculate, Mosteller says. If the counties are interested in the state helping with the consortium, we are happy to continue conversations with the counties on what that might look like, Scott Press Secre tary Jackie Schultz writes in an email state ment. Patterson told the commission last week she does not know how the negotiations will shake out, either. I dont really know whats going to happen on this one, she said.
Although a committees report on community workforce preparedness will not be present ed to the Sarasota County Commission until Nov. 7, the Sarasota County Schools district already is developing a new manufacturing program for adult students at Sarasota County Technical Institute as a result of the commit tees work, district ofcials told The Sarasota News Leader this week. According to SCTI Director Todd Bowden, the goal of the new program is to certify 100 machinists within ve years of the programs introduction in August 2013. Were working with CareerEdge, Sarasota County and local manufacturers to develop this program to meet the needs of employers, Bowden told the News Leader in an email. When they complete the one-year technical training program, students will be qualied for jobs that pay in the $15to $18-an-hour range. During a joint meeting of the School Board and the County Commission on Aug. 29, the Bradenton organization CareerEdge presented the results of a survey of area manufacturers showing that 41 percent of the jobs that had gone unlled for three or more months were classied as skilled production. Fifty-six of the 103 respondents in the survey said they The Sarasota County Commission met with the School Board Aug. 29 in the countys Think Tank at the Administration Center in downtown Sarasota. Photo by Norman Schimmel SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOLS ALREADY AT WORK ON NEW PROGRAM IN RESPONSE TO WORKFORCE PREPAREDNESS STUDY RELEASED IN AUGUST COMMITTED TO RESULTS By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 39 needed to hire skilled pro duction workers a huge percentage, according to Stephanie Kempton of Kemp ton Research, who had un dertaken the survey for Ca reerEdge. Were looking forward to continued collaboration with local employers, agencies and governments to close the skills gap in local manu facturing, Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Lori White told the News Leader We offer engineering and manufacturing-related career and technical education pro grams at seven of our middle schools and at all ve comprehensive high schools. More than 2,700 students are current ly enrolled in these programs. She added, Some will use these skills in post-secondary education, but we realize that not every student is bound for a four-year college experience. Our administrators and teachers constantly are nding new ways to raise awareness and spark interest in manu facturing as a career option students can ex plore. After discussing the manufacturers survey results during the Aug. 29 meeting, County Commission Chairwoman Christine Robin son, visibly frustrated when no other member of her board took action, passed the gavel to Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Mason to make a motion calling for County Administrator Ran dall Reid to meet with the appropriate repre sentatives of the School Board, CareerEdge and county economic devel opment staff, among others, and bring back a plan of ac tion within 90 days. Robinson told the News Leader in an Oct. 16 inter view that workforce pre paredness was one of the critical issues the county needed to address over the next several years. Her feel ing after that Aug. 29 discus sion, she said, was Lets get this going. She wanted the various groups to collaborate, she added, to work towards a common goal on the same path, as opposed to trying to get there in our own individual ways. THE COMMITTEES UNDERTAKING When Commissioner Joe Barbetta objected to the 90-day time frame for completing the committee report, Reid said he might be able to facilitate committee action to report back in 60 days. As it turned out, that 60 days was compressed into about two weeks, Mireya C. Eavey, exec utive director of CareerEdge, told the News Leader That was a result of trying to work around the schedules of those selected to serve on the committee, she added. I am very impressed with how everybody stepped up, and we actually had a group of people working and not talking. It was more actions and strategies, she said. It was intense. Sarasota County Schools Super intendent Lori White/File photo
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 40 Because of the collaboration, she said, I think our community as a whole is going to be very impressed. Along with representatives from CareerEdge, the school district and Sarasota County, the committee reflected collaboration with the Gulf Coast Commu nity Foundation, the City of North Ports economic develop ment ofce, the Great er Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Atlantic Mold & Manufacturing Corp., the State Col lege of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, the Sara sota Manatee Manufacturers Association and Suncoast Workforce. The groups Plan of Action Summary says, A broad-based community effort to iden tify future and current career pathways, as sess career interests and provide incremental training is needed to employ citizens of our community. Once accomplished, this Plan of Action will develop appropriate levels of op portunities to receive hands-on experience in the workplace within related career elds and provide commitments for citizens to viable ca reers with local employers. The plan lists four key components: aware ness and promotion; education both at the post-secondary level and in kindergarten through 12th grade; business and community partnerships; and employer engagement. It lists the following as proposed steps in Phase Two: Separate the Plan of Action into micro-plans so each segment and line item included can be drilled down to specific ac tionable and achiev able steps. Assign organizations to items within the mi cro-plans so work can be designated and associated with each step that will lead to the achievement of the goals included in the Plan of Action. Create a manageable and specic timeline for outlined actions and tasks to be accom plished by each party. The County Commission is scheduled to dis cuss the report when it meets at the Adminis tration Center, 1660 Ringling Blvd., on Nov. 7. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Were looking forward to continued collaboration with local employers, agencies and governments to close the skills gap in local manufacturing. Lori White Superintendent Sarasota County Schools Take Your Time You Have All Week Enjoy The News Leader Anytime Day or Night
As if parent and student afrmations were not adequate to convey the success of Riverview High Schools International Baccalaureate, or IB, program, the schools recent selection as one of four out of more than 4,000 to participate in a new IB program made that clear. The international ofc es of IB, a 45-year-old nonprofit organiza tion operating in 144 countries, recently an nounced the selection. This [new programs success] is due in large part because of the visionary leadership of Dr. [Rachel] Shelley (principal of Booker High), said Stephen Cantees, executive director of secondary schools for the Sarasota County Schools district. Dr. Shelley was con cerned about not be ing able to offer the full diploma program because of the size of the school, Riverview Principal Linda Nook Booker High School students talk with International Baccalaureate program staff. Photo by Scott Proftt BOOKER HIGH SCHOOL HAS BECOME THE FIRST SCHOOL IN THE WORLD TO LINK WITH AN EXISTING INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM, THANKS TO A PARTNERSHIP WITH RIVERVIEW HIGH AN OPEN WORLD By Scott Proftt Staff Writer It is an absolutely amazing opportunity for our two schools. Im really, really pleased. Linda Nook Principal Riverview High School
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 42 said in a Sarasota County Schools news re lease. The Open World pilot program remedies that because it does not require a large group of students or new instructor training, the news release noted. According to Paul Gallagher, Riverview Highs IB coordinator, it can take two years for a school to become authorized to offer the full IB program. A school needs to be big enough to maintain such classes, he pointed out. The IB program began at Riverview in 1999. Nook said she is thrilled to have the collabo ration with Booker High. It is an absolutely amazing opportunity for our two schools, she said in the district news release. Im re ally, really pleased. While the other [IB] schools are still devel oping strategic plans or else have had few students participate, Booker has seized the opportunity, Gallagh er told the Booker students on Oct. 29. You are the rst cohorts [of this new program] in the world. You should be proud of yourself. And the eagerness of not only Bookers ad ministration and students but of those in Riv erviews IB program to reach out and inter act was important enough to bring IB leaders from around the world to Sarasota on Oct. 29 to meet with the Booker students and staff. One of the major purposes of the get-togeth er was for those IB representatives to learn how the initiative was working for the Booker students, and what, if any, problems they had encountered. Eleven students are active in the Booker IB program. The number is expected to expand next year, Shelley said. With their IB classes online, the Booker stu dents can nd themselves working with other young people anywhere in the world. Film Studies student Cindy Allen, an 11th grader, said she loves logging in to take the class, in part because of the creativity of the site and course design. She added that the di versity of the students with whom she inter acts is one of the highlights of the class. Booker High junior Angelo Buenano, who is studying Manda rin Chinese, said he is honing his skills in all aspects of the lan guage: speaking, lis tening, writing and reading. I love the Asian culture, and I already speak Spanish uently, so I really wanted to take Chinese, he said. He records himself speaking Mandarin, then submits them to his teacher, who is in the Philippines; they meet face-to-online-face, al lowing for active involvement in the learning process. A lot of people are very interested in your ex perience because you represent the rst-time the IB has opened the doors to say if youre not able to have the full IB experience, heres You are pioneers, true pioneers. This is really big, big, big for the IB program. Denise Perrault
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 43 Paul Gallagher is the IB coordinator at Riverview High School. Photo by Scott Proftt
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 44 a way for you to have this opportunity, De nise Perrault, head of online learning devel opment for IB, told the Booker students on Oct. 29. She had own from The Netherlands to Sara sota for the meeting. You are pioneers, true pioneers, she added. This is really big, big, big for the IB program. This program can prepare students for the next phase of education, Gallagher pointed out. More than 60 percent of kids who go to college dont nish. IB provides a chance to learn about the college experience, he added, referring to the intensity of the courses. International and local IB program representatives meet with Booker High students involved with a new program called Open World, linking Riverview with another IB school in the Sarasota district, Booker High. Photo by Scott Proftt Gwen McCaw, who is taking an IB psychol ogy class at Booker, said. Its really, really time-consuming, but I really like it. They give you many different options and I really like how you can interact with your peers. Its more focused than regular school. But getting it all done is a reality check. I know it cant have been easy for you guys, IB representative Ed Lawless told the Booker students. But I will say this: The issue of time management is the issue that we hear time and again from students.
Sarasotas Downtown Improvement District on Tuesday, Oct. 30, supported a plan to study a pedestrian overpass across U.S. 41 at the bayfront. The idea goes back to 1959. Gil Waters was one of the original proponents of the overpass, and at 86, he is still pushing to complete the plan to bring downtown and the bayfront together as a walkable whole. He started a new organization Sarasota Vi sion to make his case. The group has offered $200,000 as seed money for design and engi neering work. It increases commercial vitality, it offers a complete shopping and pleasurable experi ence and it provides a safe and scenic bridge to walk over U.S. 41 to the bayfront and Island Park, said Waters of his vision. Its not too late, but it certainly isnt too soon. Waters is a former city commissioner, news reporter and property developer. Waters said he was asking for the districts support prior to going before the Sarasota City Commission and then to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, in search of fund ing. The overpass is estimated to cost about $3 million. Waters along with architect Brent Park also is supporting a plan to pave Main Street Pedestrians long have complained of the difculty of reaching Bayfront Park from downtown Sara sota. Photo by Norman Schimmel DID ENDORSES PROPOSAL FOR STUDYING MERITS OF A U.S. 41 PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS FROM DOWNTOWN TO THE BAYFRONT MAKING THE CONNECTION By Stan Zimmerman City Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 46 with brick during the upcoming city makeover of sidewalks and parking areas. We think bricks are important to create a sense of own ership. It makes a nice plaza, said Park. Cars behave differently. They slow down. The engineering rm Kimley-Horn & Associ ates is working on a design for the street al terations. You could simply ask what it will cost to brick the streets, said Park. The rms representative agreed to provide a gure by the end of the week. However, one city staffer warned it is not just a question of laying brick. It depends on the extra engineering. If takes an extra $1 million, the whole project goes into shutdown while we renegotiate, said City Planner Steve Stan cel. Water lines run under Main Street, for ex ample, as do other utilities. District board member Dr. Mark Kauffman made a motion to express our support in studying the potential production of a walk over. The motion passed 4-0, with board member Pat Westerhouse absent. In other downtown news, DID Operations Manager John Moran reported that 79 people have applied to become the areas next eco nomic development coordinator. Their appli cations are under review by the citys Human Resources Department. Additionally, Moran debuted a new website for the district, including the groups budgets since 2009, projects, email links and other connectivity material. In yet other business, Stancel reported that eight rms had responded to a design-build so licitation for a State Street parking garage. He said some of the rms are nationally known. Enter To Win A New iPad e contest concludes when e Sarasota News Leader achieves 1,000 Likes on Facebook, One winner will be selected at random from among subscribers. Only subscribers are eligible to win the iPad, regardless of having Liked our page on Facebook. Contest is open only to residents of Sarasota County. Selected winners must provide a valid Sarasota County street address to receive the iPad. Contest is void where prohibited by law. 2 Then Like Us On Facebook When our Likes on Facebook reach 1,000, we will randomly select one of our subscribers to receive a new iPad. 1 Click here to Subscribe
It probably will take four to six weeks before permanent repairs can be made to a 15to 20-foot wide, 150-foot-long section of North Beach Road on Siesta Key, which collapsed Sunday night, Sarasota County Chief Engineer James K. Harriott Jr. told The Sarasota News Leader this week. In the meantime, Frederick Derr & Co. em ployees were on site, Harriott said, working on an interim solution. The temporary x can be done pretty quick ly, possibly as soon as the weeks end or by early next week, he said. Derr employees were working on design and permitting for the permanent repairs a soil step revetment system at the same time workers were shoring up the damaged part of the road, Harriott noted. Once the permits were pulled, a crew could complete the step revetment system, he added, noting that Derr has done that type of work in the past. The Sarasota companys website says it is known for its expertise in heavy highway con struction, site development, utility installation and coastal protection structures. Trafc cones tumbled as the pavement on a 150-foot-long section of North Beach Road collapsed on Oct. 28. Photo courtesy Sarasota County A CONTRACTOR WAS SCHEDULED TO MAKE TEMPORARY REPAIRS TO A COLLAPSED SECTION OF NORTH BEACH ROAD THIS WEEK AS COUNTY STAFF WORKED ON A PERMANENT SOLUTION AN EMERGENCY FIX By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 48 Gulf of Mexico surf undercuts the pavement on a section of North Beach Road. Photo courtesy Sara sota County
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 49 It all should be coming together in the next several weeks, Harriott said. The short-term x will cost close to $200,000, Tom Maroney, general manager of business operations in the countys Public Works De partment, told the News Leader on Oct. 30. Earlier that day, Harriott had been optimistic the cost would be about half that much. Still, Harriott conceded, You can see utilities lay ing down through that [damaged] area Those broken utility lines were adding to the cost, Maroney said. Nonetheless, Harriott told the News Leader Derr is a company that works with the county on unit-price contracts. There is a competi tive nature to some of the pricing we will get. Even given the state of the road, he added, county officials do not take expenditures lightly. As for the cost of the permanent solution: It will be quite substantial, Harriott said probably upwards of $1 million. After property owners and residents com plained about the state of that section of road in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debbys onslaught of Siesta Key in June, county staff had undertaken work about six weeks ago to stabilize the area using what Harriott called a soil/cement base to ll in the voids, with a cap of asphalt laid on top. But thats all gone, he said on Oct. 30. Those waves and the surf undercut it. Sand was missing from an area about 3 to 4 feet deep under the asphalt, he added, making the area unsafe for driving, though pedestri ans could maneuver around it. THE FEMA FACTOR One factor that may complicate the timing of the permanent repairs is the need for Federal Emergency Management Agency ofcials to sign off on what the county wants to do, Har riott pointed out. Although he had talked with representatives of both FEMA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Oct. 29, Har riott said, that was before Hurricane Sandy came ashore in southern New Jersey, wreak ing billions of dollars in property damage as it moved inland. He acknowledged that agency ofcials are go ing to be very busy for the next several weeks dealing with the aftermath of Sandy. Nonetheless, he said, FEMA has a special grant fund for emergency repairs such as those needed on North Beach Road. In such cases, FEMA could be expected to pay 75 per cent of the total cost, with the county picking up the remaining 25 percent. Were optimis tic that FEMA will do a reimbursement, he added. He emailed photos of the damage to the FEMA ofce in Tampa on Oct. 29, he said. Usually the appropriate state and federal agencies work quickly to help a local govern ment deal with a situation such as the one on North Beach Road, Harriott pointed out. There are homes impacted from an ac cessibility standpoint, he noted. None of the agencies want to keep [the road] in that condition.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 50 The Sarasota County Commission also will need to approve a variance, because the work will have to be undertaken beyond the Coastal Setback Line. PAST AND PRESENT North Beach Road probably dates to the 1940s or 1950s, Harriott said. There was always a seawall there [off the beach], but never much of a seawall, he said, adding that he expected more beach was there decades ago, too. County Commissioner Nora Patterson, who lives on Siesta Key, told the News Leader she recalled problems with the road going back 20 or 30 years. At the outset, she said, it was two lanes. It would wash out, and the county would repair it. It would wash out, and the county would repair it, over and over again, she added. Finally, the county designated that part of the road accessible only to the property owners and residents, she noted. A photo emailed to the County Commission on Oct. 29 shows a different perspective of the road dam age, with a crew on site assessing the situation. Photo courtesy Sarasota County
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 51 About three years ago, Patterson said, she be came concerned about the appearance of the road. It just looked terrible. Moreover, she said, Those arent cheap homes there. Its valuable property. She added, It did not occur to me [the road] would completely wash out and now its dangerous, not just to the residents and vis itors who rent houses along that stretch, but to people who like to walk along that part of the island at night. With the wind and surf building on Friday, Oct. 26, Harriott said a small hole developed in the affected part of the road, so a county crew tried to shore it up. On Sunday, the road began breaking up further, he added. He talked with people on Sunday who had walked their dogs along that area of the road and noticed it was deteriorating, he said. County Administrator Randall Reid told the News Leader Harriott had notied him ear ly Monday morning about the road collapse, adding that Harriott had said it was the most extensive damage he had seen to that part of the road. With the gusty winds coming primarily out of the northwest over the weekend, Harriott said, and the waves crisscrossing each other as they rolled toward shore, the combination was more than the road could handle. Patterson received a plea by email on Oct. 29 from Jean Furlong, a property manager for Roberti Enterprises on Siesta Key, worried about county workers having blocked off ac cess to property the company owned along that section of the road. Furlong has contacted Patterson in the past when problems have arisen with North Beach Road, Furlong told the News Leader Com missioner Patterson has especially been our campaign manager for several years to nd a permanent solution. The tides and winds this year really accel erated the problem, Furlong added. I think everybody understands the liability issue. At least Siesta residents and property owners made it through most of the hurricane sea son, she said, before this situation occurred. I guess we should count our blessings. I wish I had a magic wand to just make it better, Patterson said. We struggle with the permitting process, Harriott said, because of the proximity of the road to the shoreline. Its a ne balance of what we do and how we do it. We just cant bandaid it anymore. Take Your Time You Have All Week Enjoy The News Leader Anytime Day or Night
A two-term North Port city commissioner not only has been appointed to ll an unex pired Sarasota Planning Commission term through December, she also will stay in the seat through December 2016. The Sarasota County Commission voted unan imously on Oct. 23 to name Vanessa Carusone to the seat recently vacated by Christopher King. Carusone was one of eight people who applied for the position; several of them had sought seats when the County Commission named three people to the Planning Commission on Jan. 24. Although the County Commission had the op tion of appointing someone just to serve out Kings term, which was to end in December, Commissioner Joe Barbetta said it made no sense to put someone on that advisory board for such a short time, only to have to follow up on the action with a four-year appointment in a couple of months. Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Mason nominated Carusone for the seat. No other names were put forth. Carusones application points out that she is president of the board of Tri-County Counsel ing & Life Skills Center Inc. in North Port. Sarasota County Commissioners Joe Barbetta (left) and Jon Thaxton both served on the Planning Commission before winning election to the County Commission. File photo NEW PLANNING COMMISSIONER FORMER NORTH PORT CITY COMMISSIONER VANESSA CARUSONE WINS APPOINTMENT TO WHAT IS VIEWED AS THE COUNTY COMMISSIONS MOST IMPORTANT ADVISORY BOARD By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 53 While on the North Port Commission, she wrote, I gained an expansive knowledge in governmental planning & development ser vices. She also noted that she presided over a num ber of appellate cases dealing with land uses, zoning and impact fees. Among the other applicants were the follow ing: Gregory A. Bacon of Sarasota, a Manatee County Emergency Management ofcer. Michael J. Baumier of Osprey, who is an ex ecutive with Gilbane Building Co. in Lake wood Ranch. Samuel P. Cohen of North Port, a retiree. Keith McMahon of Venice, owner of Accu rate Precision International based in En gland. McMahons application notes he was president of the South Venice Civic Associ ation in 2009. Donald A. Neu of Sarasota, a consultant. His application says he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Plan ners. Toddington S. Tracy of Englewood, a real estate broker and licensed appraiser trainee with Las bury Tracy Realty Inc. in Englewood. His application says he is on the Engle wood Community Redevelopment Au thority. Edward J. Wolfe of Sarasota, who was se nior planner with Sarasota County Govern ment before he retired recently, following 17 years of service with the county. His ap plication says he is a director of the local chapter of the Florida Planning and Zoning Association. Cohen, Neu, Tracy and Wolfe all were appli cants for the Planning Commission seat open ings in January. There were a lot of great candidates on this list, Commission Chairwoman Christine Rob inson said after the Oct. 23 vote, and we en courage everybody to keep their name in the pool for future appointments. This is a very valuable board, Robinson add ed of the Planning Commission. In a December 2011 interview, Commissioner Joe Barbetta told this reporter the Planning Commission is a sounding board with the public, to vet out projects as they come to fruition. We look at all nine seats as very important. Barbetta served on the Planning Commission for 14 years before seeking his County Commission seat. After the Oct. 23 vote, Robinson noted that it took Commissioner Jon Thaxton 13 tries over seven years to get a Planning Com mission appointment; it took her two tries. The Commission shall review all proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments, Zoning Atlas map amendments and special exception petitions. The Commission shall consider all testimony and report. All such matters shall be advisory only to the Board of County Commissioners pursuant to Zoning Ordinance Article 22.214.171.124. Rules of Procedure Planning Commission Sarasota County
Thanks to unanimous action of the Sarasota County Commission, the owner of the Crow ley Family Home and Store on Old Myakka is hopeful he will be able to obtain grant funds to assist with the restoration of the buildings, which date to the late 19th and early 20th cen turies. Without that funding, Mark Fineout told the board, I dont make enough money to make [a restoration] happen right away. On Oct. 23, the County Commission unani mously voted to approve an historic designa tion petition for the property, which is located at 2009 Myakka Road. A memo to the commissioners from Lorrie Muldowney, manager of the Sarasota County History Center, says Fineout had presented the petition for the historic designation to the countys Historic Preservation Board during a public hearing on Aug. 28. The board found the property was eligible for the designation, the memo adds. In comments during an Oct. 23 public hear ing before the County Commission, Fineout pointed out that the store was very signicant to the Myakka agricultural community. Fam ily descendent Jasper Crowley, Fineout said, was integrally involved in the establishment A county staff photo shows the north side of the Crowley Family Home looking south. Photo courtesy Sarasota County CROWLEY FAMILY HOME AND STORE IN OLD MYAKKA COMMUNITY WIN HISTORIC DESIGNATION FROM SARASOTA COUNTY PRAISING PRESERVATION By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 55 of the Future Farmers of America chapter in the county. Further, he said, the family has a histo ry, coming from way out there in the boon docks, of public ser vice, including win ning seats in Congress and the U.S. Senate. Alton Crowley was the rst manager of Myak ka River State Park, Fineout added, and Jas per Crowleys uncle was the rst bridge tender at New Pass. Fineout noted that he has been interviewing Crowley Family members to learn more about their ancestors accomplishments. Muldowney told the commissioners the Crowley home dates to about 1927; one sec tion of the store might have been constructed in 1910, with the rear addition completed in 1925. However, she said, research also had turned up the date of 1925 for the entire store. The property is at the intersection of Myakka Road and Rawls Road. In the late 1800s, Muldowney said, John Crow ley moved to Florida with his wife and three children. He built houses and wagons and worked as a blacksmith, she added. We know The front of the Crowley Store faces northeast. Photo courtesy Sarasota County Its just great to see these older buildings preserved You dont see a lot of that in Sarasota. Commissioner Sarasota County
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 56 he made a signicant contribution to the com munity, Muldowney said. The store itself served as the community post ofce until the mid-1930s, she added. It had gas pumps as well, Fineout told the commis sion. When Commissioner Jon Thaxton asked whether he planned to restore the structures, Fineout said he already had had several meet ings with community residents about the fu ture of the buildings. There will be a replica of the gas station We want to do it right. Referring to the effort to achieve the historical designation for the property, Fineout added, Ive been trying to do this for 20 years. A resolution the commissioners approved says Article IV, Chapter 66 of the Sarasota County Code of Ordinances provides that for a site, building, structure, object or district to be designated as historically signicant, it must convey an overall sense of past time and place through at least three of the following attributes of integrity: location, design, set ting, materials, workmanship, feeling and as sociation. The code also notes, In addition, the proper ty must be associated with a signicant his torical event or person; possess a distinctive construction type, period or method; repre sent the work of a master builder, architect or designer; possess high artistic values; or yield important historical information Thaxton, who made the motion to grant the historical designation, told Fineout he had been keeping an eye on the old store since I was just real little. What amazing work youre doing, Chair woman Christine Robinson said. Its really a treasure for our county. Asked for any further comments after he made the motion, Thaxton said, I think its a pretty easy one for us. Its just great to see these older buildings preserved You dont see a lot of that in Sarasota. Join the campaign today! Keep medical decisions between a woman, her family, and her doctor. Visit www.VoteNoOn6.comVoteNoOn6.com Paid political advertisement paid for by Vote No on 6, 736 Central Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236. Distributed in-kind by Sarasota News Leader, Post Oce Box 5099, Sarasota, Florida 34277. Take Your Time You Have All Week Enjoy The News Leader Anytime Day or Night
Just after the Sarasota County School Board meeting concluded on Oct. 16, most people hastily departed. However, a group of stu dents who had been present for the proceed ings lingered, and a select group of district leaders stayed with them: School Board Chair woman Caroline Zucker, Superintendent Lori White, School Board member Shirley Brown and Steve Cantees, executive director of high schools. The students went to work, pulling chairs into a circle; then, everybody sat down for a round of discussions. The questions were cogent, important and asked in a pleasant, formal manner that was impressive to observers. The group was part of Community Youth De velopment (CYD), a Sarasota organization that touches the lives of thousands of young people through an assortment of programs. The students on this particular afternoon were participants in STAR Leadership Train ing, which is designed to encourage youth to take active roles within the community, ac cording to Kelsey Roehr, youth development specialist with CYD. Among the topics of discussion that afternoon with the district leaders were school lunches Students in the STAR program ask tough questions of Sarasota County Schools leaders, including School Board Chairwoman Caroline Zucker (center at the top of the circle). Photos by Scott Proftt LOCAL ORGANIZATION GIVES STUDENTS A CHANCE TO ASK HARD QUESTIONS OF THE SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AND DISTRICT STAFF THE STUDENTS TURN By Scott Proftt Staff Writer
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 58 (with favorable comments by many about the new salad bars offered this year), campus se curity, class offerings, technology and teacher assessments. When several students asked how to deal with a bad teacher, for example, White and Zucker offered detailed advice. You need to be very specic in your feedback and give the feedback rst of all to an assis tant principal, a guidance counselor or a prin cipal, White said. But be specic: On this date at this time, this happened. We welcome that information; we are here to serve you. She pointed out that some of the more senior teachers in the district are trying to get up to speed with new tech nologies that were not integral to classroom instruction even a few years ago. ... I personally have gone through some of these issues and I have had to go through a full year [of them] in [one] class, a CYD stu dent said. White replied, Some of these issues, such as problems with the classroom technology, will involve remedial actions, and many of these, such as poor performance by the teacher, may take two years before a teacher can be removed. But some of the issues, such as sub stance abuse, will not take that length of time. Two years is [allowed] for teachers struggling to meet the evaluation criteria and trying to improve. Zucker interjected that if the student was not getting satisfaction through her school, Just get on the phone and call me. I have a grand son in the schools here. Ill listen, and Ill do something. Following the discussions, The Sarasota News Leader posed its own questions to Roehr: News Leader : How many students are in the STAR program? Roehr : Currently we have 19 students partic ipating in the STAR Leadership Training from various high schools throughout Sarasota County. More than 125 youth who completed the training are still involved through service in leadership positions. STAR is just one of the 100 activities offered by CYD that serve approximately 2,000 Sara sota County youth (students from mid dle-school age through high school) through out the year. News Leader : How do students join CYD? Roehr : CYD offers a variety of events for middleand high school students ... The Students Taking Active Roles, or STAR Leadership Training program, was created to encourage youth to take active roles within the community. High school youth will participate in training focused on devel opment of leadership skills, communication and team-building skills, knowledge about civics and how to be more civically engaged as well as specic tools needed to serve on advisory boards or committees. If a student is interested in joining STAR, they need only to apply and can nd the application on our website: www cydonline org Just get on the phone and call me. Ill listen, and Ill do something. Caroline Zucker Chairwoman
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 59 However, CYD offers a variety of events open to all Sarasota County youth [in middle and high schools] that students can join at any time! A list of these events can be found on our website under the Whats Happening tab. News Leader : If students are interested, can they join now? Roehr : We offer three sessions of the STAR Leadership Training per year: fall, spring and summer. Currently, we are in the middle of the fall training session, so if a student is interest ed, they can apply now and be considered for the following spring or summer sessions. Youth in grades 9, 10 and 11 are invited to ap ply for the STAR Leadership Training. Its free! [They also] may be eligible for academic credit for completing [it]. Upon successful ly completing the training, students will be placed on committees/boards as full voting members. Serving on these boards counts to ward community service hour requirements. Each student will be matched with an adult partner, who will provide technical assistance and support as the youth serves a one-year term on a committee. Ongoing support and training will be provided for [program] grad uates throughout the year. The board service is truly an opportunity for students to express their points of view and take an active role in their community. The training benefits not only the student but the community as a whole. CYD currently partners with more than 75 different boards throughout Sarasota County, and that number continues to grow. News Leader : How long has the organization been doing this? Roehr : CYD began in 1996 ... STAR began in 2000 as a model for reconnecting young peo Students in the fall STAR Leadership Training program gather after the Oct. 16 School Board meeting.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 60 ple to civic life. STAR started out with 10 stu dents and 10 boards. We now have more than 125 high school-aged youth who have com pleted the training ... The success of the STAR training led to a change in Florida State Stat utes that makes it legal for youth ages 15 and over to serve on nonprot boards of directors. Florida is one of just four states that allow this! News Leader : How often do the students get together and go on outings such as attending the School Board meeting? Roehr : Students in the fall session of STAR Leadership Training meet once a week on Saturdays for 13 weeks. We have a variety of events that are built into the curriculum of the training. After the students go to a School Board meeting, they have the opportunity to enjoy an open discussion with available School Board members, Superintendent White and Steve Cantees, executive director of high schools. The School Board members, White and Cantees are always very welcoming and generous with their time, and this gives the students an opportunity to openly ask ques tions relating to their school or the district. As you probably noticed, some of them are not shy with their questions! Another popular training event takes place on what we like to call County Day. For this, we spend an entire day touring Sarasota County Government, with students given a behindthe-scenes look at our local government func tions. They sit in on a County Commission meeting, and they tour the 911 Call Center, the Emergency Operations Center, the Access Sarasota TV facility and the county jail. The commissioners join the students for lunch and open discussion as well. It is a great opportunity for students to see how decisions are actually made at the local level. News Leader : Do you have any standards or goals you are required to meet? What is your main funding source? Roehr : Our mission is To empower youth as leaders in service to their community. Our goals are to engage 2,000 youth in positive activities in the community and to serve 300 youth in leadership training programs. We have a contract with Sarasota County Gov ernment to provide activities to youth, and we receive funding from the Community Founda tion of Sarasota County for the STAR Leader ship Training. We also have a large number of individuals and businesses that support CYD. News Leader : How did you get involved with CYD? Roehr : I am recent graduate of our very own University of South Florida-Sarasota Manatee, and, not wanting to leave the area Sarasota is just way too nice of a place to live! I be gan searching for organizations that were in line with my personal interests and passions. I came across CYD, and I truly believe that our youth have a unique and important per spective. I was initially drawn to the way CYD treats youth: as equal partners. CYD strives to cre ate an atmosphere of youth-adult partnership, and I personally believe that is essential for our youth. Knowing that their opinions and perspectives are important can make a huge impact in their lives, and I wanted to be a part of it.
Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent is urging voters to be sure their correct addresses are on file with the elec -tions ofce before head -ing to the polls on Election Day, Nov. 6. Voters who have moved to Saraso ta County from an -other Florida coun -ty may update their addresses by calling any one of Dents ofc-es: Sarasota (861-8619), Venice (861-3760) or North Port (423-9540).These voters also may submit address chang -es online at www SarasotaVotes com or by emailing tsmith@SarasotaVotes.com. To ensure a smooth Election Day experi ence and avoid the need to vote a pro visional ballot, Dent said, all voters should take the op portunity to update their address informa -tion with my ofce prior to going to the polls. The Sarasota Supervisor of Elections urges all voters to make sure their address information is cor rect before Election Day. Americanspirit|Dreamstime.com NEWS BRIEFS VOTERS URGED TO UPDATE ADDRESS INFORMATION
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 62 The end of Daylight Saving Time and the start of Eastern Standard Time on Nov. 4, when clocks get turned back one hour, serves as a reminder that it is time to change smoke alarms and weather batteries, Sarasota Coun ty Emergency Management ofcials are telling the public. Approximately 70 percent of home re deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms, a coun ty news release says. Smoke alarms can save lives, but only when they are working correct ly, the release points out. A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm will provide an early warning signal to a family, providing the chance to escape. Weather radios also are as important as smoke alarms in saving lives. For additional information regarding weather radios, contact the Sarasota County Call Cen ter at 861-4000 and ask for Sarasota County Emergency Management. If you cannot afford a smoke alarm or want more information on smoke alarms, contact the Call Center and ask for the Sarasota County Fire Prevention Ofce. CHANGE SMOKE ALARMS AND WEATHER RADIO BATTERIES According to Interim Fire Marshal Don Damron, the fol lowing safety tips could save lives: Install smoke alarms on every level of your home. For extra safety, install smoke alarms both inside and out side any sleeping areas, especially if you sleep with your bedroom door closed. Make it a habit to replace the batteries in your smoke alarm when you adjust your clocks for the time change. Make sure to mark the second Sunday of March on your calendar when you set your clocks forward one hour. Keep smoke alarms clean. Dust can interfere with how your smoke alarm works. Regularly vacuum over your smoke alarm. The chirping noise you may hear could mean your battery is low. Replace the battery right away. Replace your smoke alarms about every 10 years. They do wear out, so write the purchase date with a marker on the back of your smoke alarm. That way you know when it should be replaced.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 63 The Democratic Club of Sarasota will host an Election Night Victory Party at the Marina Jack Portside Patio on the Sarasota bayfront. The event will begin after the polls close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6. Local Democratic candidates and party lead ers will be present. The party is free. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Valet parking will be provided. DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE ELECTION NIGHT PLANS For more information, visit www sarasota dems com The Sarasota County Republican Party is in viting all Republicans to come to its celebra tion at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Hyatt Sarasota. The event is free, but tickets are required. To register, visit www SarasotaVictoryParty com A live band and cash bar will be available. Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) bus rid ers will face more detours on SCAT Routes 7 and 8 in the Orange Avenue area of the city of Sarasota during November and December, the county has announced. The rst set of detours required for the City of Sarasotas Orange Avenue stormwater im provements project began Oct. 8. The new de tours as a result of that project began Monday, Oct. 29, and are expected to extend to Dec. 21. SCAT bus stops on Orange Avenue will be closed between 10th and 12th streets. The clo sure will affect Route 7 (Newtown-Northeast Plaza) and Route 8 (Newtown-U.S. 301). Route 7 will be detoured at the intersection of Orange Avenue and 10th Street. The detour route will be east on 10th Street, north on U.S. 301 and west on 12th Street, then back to the main route at Osprey Avenue and 12th Street. Route 8 will turn east to follow the Route 7 detour on 10th Street, then head north on U.S. 301 and west on 12th Street, before returning to the main route at Orange Avenue and 12th Street. For both routes, service north of 12th Street and south of 10th Street will not be impacted by the detour, a county news release says. For more information, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 861-5000, or visit www scgov net / scat SCAT ROUTES TO HAVE MORE DETOURS ON ORANGE AVENUE Take Your Time You Have All Week Enjoy The News Leader Anytime Day or Night
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 64 The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the Sarasota County Extension Ofce will host a Buttery Workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Satur day, Nov. 3, at Twin Lakes Park, 6700 Clark Road, Sarasota. Attendees will learn how to attract butteries by planting and maintaining their own butter y gardens, a county news release says. They also will have an opportunity to propagate buttery plants from the garden and tour the buttery garden at Twin Lakes Park to learn COUNTY EXTENSION SERVICE TO HOST BUTTERFLY WORKSHOP how Florida buttery populations have varied over time. The workshop is free; however, space is lim ited and registration is required. Attendees are invited to bring gloves and pruners to take cuttings for the propagation class. For more information on the workshop, con tact the Sarasota County Call Center at 8615000, or visit http :// sarasota ifas u edu / The Baltimore Orioles and OriolesREACH, the ball clubs charitable arm, are teaming up with Sarasota County charities to ght hunger in the local community. The rst initiative will benet the Mayors Feed the Hungry Program through a 12-day food drive and a sorting day hosted on Nov. 16 at Ed Smith Stadium, the Orioles year-round training facility and home for the spring train ing season, the team has announced. Families and individuals in Sarasota Coun ty are desperately in need of assistance to address a most basic need: food, said Lau ra Williams, the Orioles director of Florida operations, in a news release. The Orioles and OriolesREACH join the Mayors Feed the Hungry Program in urging local residents to bring donations of nonperishable food items to Ed Smith Stadium starting on Nov. 5 and then volunteer to help sort and package food on Nov. 16. The Mayors Feed the Hungry Program is an all-volunteer, nonprot organization that has helped more than 370,000 hungry persons in Sarasota and Manatee counties since 1987, the news release notes. The organizations Thanksgiving food drive collects approxi mately 34 tons of nonperishable food items annually. Food is distributed through charita ble groups, religious institutions and service agencies. Mayors Feed the Hungry also uses cash donations to distribute food gift cards, the release says. Mayors Feed the Hungry does not receive government funds, and we are all volunteers, said Scott Biehler, vice chairman of the chari ty, in the release. Corporate partners like the Baltimore Orioles are vital to serving the thou sands of local residents who would go hungry without our help. The program is endorsed by the mayors of Sarasota, Bradenton, Palmetto, Venice and Longboat Key, as well as the chairs of the ORIOLES TEAM UP TO FIGHT HUNGER IN SARASOTA COUNTY
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 65 Teaming up with local partners for a food drive is just one way the Baltimore Orioles demonstrate their commitment to the community beyond spring training, team ofcials say. Photo by Norman Schimmel North Port City Council and the Sarasota and Manatee county commissions. To drop off food at Ed Smith Stadium starting on Nov. 5, the public may park in short-term spaces along Euclid Avenue and enter the em ployee gate just south of Caf 54. Bins will be located at Fan Assistance inside the gate. Collection hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To inquire about volunteering for the sorting day, which runs from 1 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 16 email firstname.lastname@example.org or call 350-6075. Ed Smith Stadium is located at 2700 12th St. in Sarasota. Food items also will be collected at area schools and local businesses. For a list of drop-off locations and information on how to provide a cash donation, visit www mayors feedthehungry org
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 66 With Sarasota County experiencing cooler weather overnight, many residents sleep with their windows open. Since an open window can be an open invitation for burglars, the Sarasota County Sheriffs Ofce has crime prevention tips to help keep residents safe: Be sure the windows you choose to leave open will not allow someone to reach inside and unlock a nearby door. Secondary locking devices allow you to leave windows open enough for ventilation but block them from being opened any wid er. These devices can be purchased at home improvement stores. The cost is minimal but the benets are tremendous, a Sheriffs Ofce news release says. COOL-WEATHER CRIME PREVENTION TIPS OFFERED While track locks are strongly recommend ed, inexpensive wooden dowels can block horizontal sliding windows from opening too far, and pins inserted through the frames of vertical sliding windows and doors also can keep them in place. Should your home be outfitted with an alarm system, consider the installation of wired screens that enable you to protect those window openings and detect intrud ers. Finally, whenever you leave the house, close and lock all possible entry points. Open enrollment for Sarasota Virtual School began Thursday, Nov. 1, for the second semes ter of the current 2012-13 school year. The en rollment period will close at 4 p.m., Friday, Nov. 30. The semester will start Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, the Sarasota County Schools has an nounced. Sarasota Virtual School (SVS) is a district public school that provides a full-time, online learning option for students in grades K-12, a district news release notes. Students in kin dergarten through fth grade may enroll in the districts full-time virtual program regard less of where they were previously enrolled in school. Students in grades six through 12 must have been enrolled full-time in a Flori da public school (traditional, charter or alter native) in the previous year to be eligible for enrollment in SVS. Sarasota Virtual School is an interactive learn ing environment created through technology. Through it, the student and teacher are sep arated by time, space or both. Students ac cess lessons and assignments and receive as sessments via the Internet. Using technology, teachers communicate with students and par ents in many different ways. The school meets all Florida public school standards and requirements. Students com pleting graduation requirements will be awarded a high school diploma, the news re lease says. The Sarasota County School District contracts with two outside virtual instruction providers SECOND-SEMESTER ENROLLMENT UNDER WAY FOR VIRTUAL SCHOOL
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 67 (VIP) approved by the School Board. K12 Flor ida provides the district with online learning services for students in grades K-12; Florida Virtual School serves students in grades nine12. High school students have the option of using either of the two VIPs to meet their specic needs. The school uses a state-approved curriculum with instructional materials that include text books and a variety of printed materials. Com puters may be provided at no charge to eligi ble students who meet family income require ments, the district news release points out. Comcast Cable also offers an affordable pro gram, www internetessentials com for Inter net access. Instructors are highly qualied and/or certied teachers, as dened by the federal No Child Left Behind law, the news release says. For more information, visit the other provid ers websites www k 12. com / vp (grades K-12) and www vsft com (grades nine-12). Parents of eligible students who are interested in the virtual school option must schedule an appointment with the Sarasota Virtual School administrator to discuss their students needs. The ofce may be reached at 927-9000, ext. 32289, or via email at SVS@sarasota.k12..us The Sarasota County Procurement Depart ment is improving the quality of its operations and services through professional staff with extensive local government procurement ex perience, a county news release says. In addition to strengthening the staff, the Procurement Department has signicantly revised procurement practices, adopted new ethical policies, expanded solicitation meth ods and improved vendor relations, the re lease says. Peter Boers, who brings 15 years of procure ment experience to Sarasota County, manages bids for construction and architectural ser vices. He is a Certied Purchasing Manager and a Certied Professional Public Buyer, the release points out. Boers also is a member of the Institute for Supply Management, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the Florida Association of Public Purchasing Ofcers, the release adds. Boers came to Sarasota County from Fort My ers Beach, where he managed contracts and grants, according to the release. He previous ly was a contract specialist for Cape Coral, where he implemented and administered a procurement card program and coordinated all procurement functions. Boers also managed procurement operations and processes at Guilford Technical Commu nity College in High Point, NC, and Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. Keith Raney, who is a procurement analyst for Sarasota County, had 10 years of public PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT ADDS PROFESSIONAL STAFF
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 68 During the 92nd Annual Membership Meet ing of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Com merce, held on Oct. 22, Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta received the Del Borgsdorf Award. Barbetta was honored before a capacity crowd of more than 550 business and com munity leaders attending the meeting at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, according to a cham ber news release. The Del Borgsdorf Award is for demonstrat ed achievement in building bridges and cre ating public-private partnerships by uniting business, government, and civic interests to create a stronger Greater Sarasota. procurement experience in Venice, the news release says. He is a Certied Public Procure ment Ofcer, a Certied Professional Public Buyer and a Florida Certied Contract Man ager. Raney is a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the Florida Association of Public Purchasing Ofcers, the release adds. Following a 2011 scandal in the Procurement Department that led to dismissal of employees and the resignation of then-County Adminis trator Jim Ley, Interim County Administrator Terry Lewis began taking measures in the summer of 2011 to improve practices in the department. County Administrator Randall Reid has car ried on that effort since he took his position in January. The County Commission also recent ly approved new proposals suggested by Pro curement Ofcial Ted Coyman and his staff to incorporate higher standards in the depart ments work, including new ethics guidelines. Coyman was appointed to his position in late July. COMMISSIONER RECOGNIZED FOR SERVICE TO COMMUNITY, CHAMBER Press Releases & News Tips News@SarasotaNewsLeader.com Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta/ Photo by Norman Schimmel
VoteNoOn6.com Stop political interference! Amendment 6 puts politics where it doesnt belong: in personal medical decisions.Keep medical decisions between a woman and her doctor. Visit www.VoteNoOn6.com today and join the grassroots campaign to vote no on 6! Paid political advertisement paid for by Vote No on 6, 736 Central Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236. Distributed in-kind by Sarasota News Leader, Post Oce Box 5099, Sarasota, Florida 34277.
EDITORIAL President of the United States Barack Obama U.S. Senate, Florida Bill Nelson U.S. House of Representatives, District 16 Keith Fitzgerald Florida State Representative, District 71 Adam Tebrugge Florida State Representative, District 72 Liz Alpert Florida State Attorney, 12th Judicial Circuit John Torraco Sarasota Charter Review Board, District 2 Donna Barcomb Hospital Board, Central, Seat 1 Teresa Ca rafelli RETAIN SUPREME COURT JUSTICES AND APPEALS COURT JUDGES: Retain Justice R. Fred Lewis YES Retain Justice Barbara J. Pariente YES Retain Justice Peggy A. Quince YES Retain Judge Anthony K. Black YES Retain Judge Darryl C. Casanueva YES Retain Judge Charles A. David, Jr. YES Retain Judge Edward C. LaRose YES THE SARASOTA NEWS LEADER ENCOURAGES VOTERS TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING IN CASTING THEIR BALLOTS ON TUESDAY, NOV. 6: OPINION
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 71 STATE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS: Amendment 1 NO Amendment 2 NO Amendment 3 NO Amendment 4 NO Amendment 5 NO Amendment 6 NO Amendment 8 NO Amendment 9 NO Amendment 10 NO Amendment 11 NO Amendment 12 NO SARASOTA COUNTY AMENDMENTS Sarasota County Charter Amendment YES CITY OF SARASOTA CHARTER AMENDMENTS: Amendment 1, Supermajority vote for certain transactions YES Amendment 2, Charter Review Committee General Recommendations NO Amendment 3, Derivatives prohibition YES Amendment 4, No certicates of participation without referendum YES Amendment 5, Deletion of alternate minimum wage YES Amendment 6, Citizens Initiative Petition, ex tension of time YES Amendment 7, Split ofce of City Auditor and Clerk NO Note to readers: For an explanation of these recommendations, please click here OPINION Enter To Win A New iPad e contest concludes when e Sarasota News Leader achieves 1,000 Likes on Facebook, One winner will be selected at random from among sub scribers. Only subscribers are eligible to win the iPad, regardless of having Liked our page on Facebook. Contest is open only to residents of Sarasota County. Selected winners must provide a valid Sarasota County street address to receive the iPad. Contest is void where prohibited by law. 2 Then Like Us On Facebook When our Likes on Facebook reach 1,000, we will randomly select one of our subscribers to receive a new iPad. 1 Click to Subscribe
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 72 vative political organization. If you want the Tea Party in charge, vote for Buchanan. Ray Pilon, in his two years in Tallahassee, vot ed for several bills to suppress the votes of minorities, seniors and students; bills placing 11 amendments to the Florida Constitution on this years ballot all of them rejected by the non-partisan League of Women Voters; and re quiring drug testing of everyone seeking nan cial aid and randomly of all state employees, both without showing any cause or reason. He also voted for a reduction in payment of unemployment benets from 26 to 20 weeks. This vote was cast as Minutes aired a segment showing children in Sanford, FL, liv ing in a truck while their widowed and unem ployed father looked for work. He also par ticipated in numerous attempts by Gov. Scott and the Legislature to gain more control over the court system. Liz Alpert, a smart, determined candidate who worked her way through college and law school while raising three children, is oppos ing Pilon. She will represent us We need representatives who will ght for leg islation in our best interest, not vote to tag along with the Tea Party and their sugar daddy billionaires. Art Ginsburg Sarasota To the editor: The best indicator of what an incumbent po litical candidate will do is not what that can didate says, but how he has voted. Two incumbents who have records are U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key who is running for re-election and state Rep. Ray Pilon, R-Sarasota, who is asking for a return to his District 72 seat in the Florida Legislature, where he has a two-year record. We know much about Buchanans record. He has been in the news regularly, ghting charges of violations of campaign nance law as well as lawsuits led by former business partners alleging fraud. Im sure he has spent some of the time we pay him for defending himself against those charges. However, it is his voting record and how he campaigns that get my attention. Buchanan has followed the Tea Party in cast ing nearly all his votes. His main goal was to defeat the president, not represent us. The Re publicans also voted down Obamas jobs bill, which would have provided veterans return ing from Iraq and Afghanistan with job and training opportunities. Buchanan also refused to debate his oppo nent, Keith Fitzgerald, a highly respected New College professor, at a press-covered luncheon at Sarasota Tiger Bay Club, a known conser BUCHANAN, PILON HAVE NOT REPRESENTED THEIR CONSTITUENTS WELL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OPINION
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 73 To the editor: Concerning the story, Back to the Woodshed (Oct. 26), about retraining city advisory board members on Sunshine Law requirements, it appears there is a missing element here. We have done this in the past, numerous times, and we are now doing the same thing again and expecting a different result (there is a denition for this process). We are missing an audit(s) that ensures policy and procedures are followed. The City Auditor and Clerks Ofce has nev er audited the clerks responsibilities. This brings us to a strong argument for having an independent auditor, reporting directly to the City Commission. This is the basis for the pro posed charter amendment that would change the organization of the city so that the clerk reports to the city manager (needed for best city management practices and efciency) and the auditor becomes an independent position. Lets stop the Sunshine Law violation merrygo-round and x the process. Vote for the pro posed charter amendment to split the ofce of auditor and clerk. Richard Clapp Sarasota Editors note: The writer is a former mem ber of the City Commission. FORMER COMMISSIONER ENDORSES CITY CHARTER AMENDMENT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Sarasota News Lead er welcomes letters to the editor from its readers. Let ters should be no more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone number of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com with Letter to the Editor in the subject line. Letters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other factors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, gram mar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted be come the property of The Sarasota News Leader. Old school journalism. 21st century delivery. For Advertising Info Sales@SarasotaNewsLeader.com (941) 227-1080 OPINION
I like to take my time. Sure, its a temptation to rush. Each issue of The Sarasota News Leader is brimfull of in-depth coverage of all the news and goings-on in Sarasota County. And it has delightful and informative feature stories. Thanks to its partnership with This Week In Sarasota I always know what the most exciting happenings are each week. Plus, it is simply so beautiful, with photography that takes my breath away. There is so much there, I dont know where to begin. So it is hard to resist the urge to read it all at once. But I know better. Take your time and indulge in all that it has to offer. You have a whole week. SarasotaNewsLeader.com The Progressive Voice of Southwest Florida
Featuring Sarasota Leisure ASK OTUS EYES OPENED; EARS PLUGGED Inside
Community radio station WSLR and popular local bar and venue Growlers both inu ential forces in the Sarasota music scene joined together on Friday, Oct. 19, to bring residents and visitors alike a night of engaging performances at the third annual Lumpytunes Live concert. Those in the audience were treated to a variety of acts whose composi tions and improvisations could be considered difcult listening as part of a live showcase of the artists and music played by host Rob Demperio on the Lumpytunes program on WSLR. Attendees who arrived at the showcase with out an understanding of what difcult listen ing is may have left a few hours later feeling just as, if not more, unsure than they did be fore. That is because the term doesnt neces sarily refer to any kind of music in particular it is a highly subjective label that can be applied to a diverse collection of sound, noise or the lack thereof, which challenges the ex pectations of the listener. Some listeners, in fact, may not even consider much difcult lis tening to be music. Essentially, it is in the eye or, in this case, the ear of the beholder. That being said, there was plenty to behold in the crowded bar that evening. Kicking off the show, a three-piece free jazz band performed an improvisational set with a highly unusu Growlers bartender Cabe Unger and others in the audience participate enthusiastically in Wampos performance. Photos by Tyler Whitson and Arielle Scherr LUMPYTUNES LIVE SHOWCASES LOCAL EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC AND NOISE TO THE SARASOTA COMMUNITY EYES OPENED; EARS PLUGGED By Tyler Whitson Contributing Writer
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 77 al tonal and rhythmic structure, captivating and disorienting the audience with a revolving repertoire of instruments that included a dig ital saxophone, a trumpet, utes, guitars and more. Later on, a masked performer aggres sively manipulated what looked like a credit card reader from the late 1980s, producing a maelstrom of distorted noise while his part ner unleashed a wall of sound from a heavily processed guitar. Toward the end of the night, a man instructed audience members to wear paper bags on their heads before he beat an amplied trash can with multicolored LED lights attached to the ends of his ngers. The Bilderberg Jazz Arkestra, Vasectomy Par ty and Wampo, described above in respective order, were just a few of the highlights of the evenings showcase of talented artists, which also included Lets Make the Water Turn Black, Dark Highways, Drut PD, Lovebrrd, John Lichtensteins Essex Project, the Black Beast of Arrrghhh!, Dream Marina and High Triste. Some of these acts, such as Vasectomy Party, Dark Highways, Lovebrrd, the Black Beast of Arrrghhh! and Wampo, extracted beauty and Dream Marina, from Seminole, plays music that has a cosmic, psychedelic avor. Click to watch the video of Dream Marina in action
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 78 John Lichtenstein plays bass at blistering speeds and runs the signal through homemade equip ment.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 79 nuance from what some would consider to be noise. Others, such as the Builderberg Jazz Arkestra, John Lichtensteins Essex Project, Dream Marina and High Triste, toyed more with the subtleties of instrumental compo sition and improvisation to create an aural experience of depth and intricacy. Taking a different type of approach, Lets Make the Wa ter Turn Black and Drut PD turned the notion of pop music on its head, using its structured form as a vehicle for delivering playful pecu liarities and idiosyncrasies to create some thing unique, challenging and fun. The diversity and distinctiveness of the sounds and styles present at the showcase demon strated what Demperio, self-described Head Lump and creator of Lumpytunes, most ap preciates in music. Im always looking for whats new, he told The Sarasota News Lead er in an interview on Tuesday, Oct. 23. Although most people do not look at listen ing this way, Demperio suggested that a slight change in perspective could clear the passage to a new world of sound. In listening to ex perimental music, you really have to open your mind to what music is and what sound is. Lovebrrds music straddles the line between noise and ambient, using keyboards and effects pedals to generate sharp, yet soothing tones and powerful sonic reverberations.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 80 Wampo has been participating in the experimental and noise music scene since the 1970s.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 81 Demperio explained that presuppositions about music are what often discourage people from enjoying experimentation. There were people at the show on Friday who came up to me and said that its not music, that its noth ing you could dance to, so its not music, he said. Well, you could dance, if you wanted to, to anything. You could dance to the sound of a car accident, if youre so inclined. Although none of the artists who performed at the event did anything this extreme, Demperio emphasized that the music can get somewhat loud and that it is important that listeners pro tect their hearing with earplugs if necessary. Aside from keeping an open mind about the boundaries of music, Demperio suggested that listeners also consider who it is creating it. Realize that the guy or girl whos making the music is a librarian, is an artist, is a janitor, a newspaper writer, he said. The common link between all of those people is that they have an addiction to sound equipment. Not only do shows like Lumpytunes Live offer these passionate people who might not oth erwise meet an opportunity to get together and share ideas, they help to develop a strong, interwoven community of individuals who share a common interest, be they musicians or listeners. This idea is big part of the reason Demperio decided to bring Lumpytunes out of the studio and into the community once every year, and it ts in perfectly with the goals of WSLR. It really opens the community up to the mu sic, because people from all walks of life lis ten to the station, Demperio explained. The radio station is kind of a conduit for people to have access to experimental or noise mu sic that normally would shut it off or not be interested or not seek it out. A sort of feedback loop is created, then, be cause the Lumpytunes program exposes com munity members to a type of music that they may not have been interested in before, and then Lumpytunes Live brings them all togeth er in person. There are results to back this idea up, too: Demperio said that although many in the audience at the event were WSLR programmers, musicians and friends, he saw dozens of new faces throughout the night. In this way, difcult listening, especially on a local level, can be seen not as about alienating listeners, as is the common misconception, but the exact opposite: engaging listeners and fostering community, creativity and collabo ration. For those who were unable to attend Lumpy tunes Live, or who want to satiate their de sire for more experimental music, the St. Pete Noise Fest begins on Friday, Nov. 2, at the Venture Compound in St. Petersburg. It will feature more than 57 acts many of which are local to Sarasota over the course of two nights. Click to listen to part of a Lumpytunes program with Wampo
ASK OTUS Dear Readers, The road to the Celery Fields is a short, pleas ant ride for Sarasotans with cars or bicycles. For an Eastern Screech-Owl visiting from south Siesta Key, it is an arduous ight. Several things kept up my spirits and resolve while trying to maintain that ve-wing-beatsper-second tempo: One was mouse and moth snacks at rest stops; the second was recalling a fabulous tale from The Arabian Nights. Im sure you all know it. A man traveled the world in search of treasure. After years of fruitless searching, he returned home defeated and destitute only to discover the treasure had been in his very own backyard all that time. I love happy endings! And thats what the Celery Fields is: a trea sure in every Sarasotans backyard. The 216 (and counting!) bird species that permanently and seasonally make Celery Fields their home draw visitors here from all around the world. The 216 species are impressive statistics. But statistics, being rather cut-and-dried, cant ad equately describe those clouds of birds beat ing their wings, uttering strange cries of de light or warning off of strangers. WITH HUNDREDS OF COLORFUL CREATURES, CELERY FIELDS PROVES TO BE A BACKYARD TREASURE FOR SARASOTANS Barred Yellows butteries have been abounding at Celery Fields, too, for mating season. File photo
A Redwing Blackbird chases a Stilt at Celery Fields. Photo by Rick Greenspun Statistics dont capture the dazzling dancing courtship rituals birds with pretentious ly puffed-up feathers strutting their stuff, all in the hopes of attracting a female. For example, I saw a charming Red-Winged Blackbird defending his tiny space, hoping his derring-do would attract a mate. I was impressed. I hope his female audience was, too! I was more tired than I realized when I ar rived at Celery Fields and deposited Ne bougepas, my Trojan Owl, close to Belle Barn Owls abode, because on my ight to ward my hotel oak tree, I ew straight into a mountain and knocked myself silly.
There are no mountains in Sarasota County. The land is at as a pancake around here. Had I wandered off-course into the Great Smoky Mountains? I saw green grass and white Span ish Needle owers. Butteries in the hun dreds, Barred Yellows (Eurema daira), in their summer and autumn morphs, darted about playfully, unabashedly mating a coterie of little nymphs and satyrs! It turns out that I was at the foot of the high est peak in all of Sarasota County. Its not a mountain but a gently sloping 75-foot-tall hill called Observation Point. From its very tip-top, on a clear day you can see forever! Well, almost forever. You see skies, the elds, copses of trees by lakes and ponds, trails lead ing throughout the 400 acres and people shing, jogging and picnicking. Tranquil en joyments amidst the lively background of the birds also shing, picnicking and vying for their place in the sun, in the gnarled oaks, the reeds, the golden grasses and in the thermals high above Observation Point. The jewel I seek in this treasured bird sanc tuary is the Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea aja ja). Just a couple of years ago, we all would have had to travel to the Ding Darling Na tional Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island to see a ock performing lively courtship displays. Poor John James Audubon had to travel all the way to the Florida Keys to nd them. And what a miserably long journey he had by ca noe, cutter and skiff. As he wrote in his jour nal, Reader, if you have not been in such a place you cannot easily conceive the torments we endured. He was referring to mosquitoes something we fortunately lack in the cool, dry air of high season. Otus has learned the secret to seeing the glorious Roseate Spoonbill at Celery Fields. Photo by Rick Greenspun
I was but a cute owlet when I saw my rst Rosie ying over Siesta Key. This being Flor ida, home to Miami Vice re-runs, I assumed Flamingo! Its a common error among us all, probably due to watching too much CSI: Ft. Myers (Warning! Gratuitous gore!) And I ever so wanted to grow rosy-feathered-dawn plumage. Mama assured me I would if I just ate enough carotenoids, particularly those containing astaxanthin. No roseate feathers unless you nish your crustaceans. Hmm ... These exquisitely colored feathers were high ly prized as fashion accessories: The feathers of the wings and tail of the Roseate Spoonbill are manufactured into fans by the Indians and Negroes of Florida; and at St. Augustine these ornaments form a regular article of trade. (J.J. Audubon, circa 1832). Then came the professional plume hunters with their guns, turning the ne art of hunting for decorative plumes into assembly-line car nage. The favored method of collecting feath ers was to shoot the parents while they were nesting in communal colonies, leaving their chicks to die and other nearby nesting birds to abandon their trampled chick and egg nests. This method was so brutally efcient and so nancially protable that by the 1930s, tens of thousands of rosy-dawn feathered fans graced the wardrobes of fashionable ladies all over the world, but the Florida population of Rose ate Spoonbills was down to some 35 breeding pairs. Thanks to federal protection and the advo cacy of the Audubon Society, the number of Roseate Spoonbill breeding pairs in Florida today has climbed to 1,000. Still, thats not Click to watch the CSI: Ft. Myers video
very many when you picture them spread out through Celery Fields, the Keys, Ding Darling and other Florida bird preserves and sanctuaries. Im not always guaranteed a Rosie sighting at Celery Fields. Roseates feed in early morn ing and evening. They wade through shallow waters, swinging their spoon bills back and forth, sifting through the mud until a nerve in the bill senses prey inside it and the bill snaps shut on some delectable carotenoid. So, low water levels are the secret to viewing this lovely, gentle, distinctively amboyant Florida denizen. And patience! Otus ABOUT OTUS Otus Rufous, an Eastern Screech-Owl, was born on Sies ta Key and is a full-time resident there. An avid hunter, accomplished vocalist and genuine night owl, Otus is a keen observer of our local wildlife and knows many of natures secrets. Otus will answer your questions about our amazing wildlife, but only if you Ask Otus. So please send your questions and photos to askotus@sarasotanews leader.com. Thank you. A Roseate Spoonbill ies through the Celery Fields. Photo by Rick Greenspun
Regular Saturday night patrons at Michaels on East cast long, curious looks as they strolled out into the courtyard on Oct. 27. All around them, people in attire of a fanciful nature many-hued and multi-themed danced and cavorted, prowled and purred, in the name of a good cause. It was the annual Safe Sex Halloween Bash hosted by Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. More than 500 people contributed to one of the organizations biggest fundraisers of the year and let their imaginations run wild in accord with the theme, Deadtime Stories. The entrance for the Safe Sex Bash on Oct. 27 featured a giant poster of the theme artwork and, to the right, a ghoulish face. Photos by Robert Hackney PLANNED PARENTHOODS SAFE SEX HALLOWEEN BASH BRINGS OUT THE CREATIVITY AND A VARIETY OF CREATURES FOR PLENTY OF PARTYING FREAKY FAIRY TALE LAND Staff Reports
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 88 (From left) Amber and David Burgess with Krista Toomre
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 89 Sarasotas favorite vamp, Beneva Fruitville, is easy to spot in her costume.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 90 ChrisAnn Esformes
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 91 Caroline Sampey and Jesse White
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 92 The dance oor vibrates to the sounds of a DJ and the mass of bodies in full party mode. A volunteer spends time on the morgue gurney positioned near one of the doors, inspiring close-up examinations to see if he was real.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 93 James and Tara Cocco
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 94 Kelly and Kimi Barnett
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 95 Rochelle Currey Nigri
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 96 Santa DeOliveira and Leonard Guerra
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 97 Spike and Buffy Berry
It is a well-known fact that Paul Taylors ca reer as a choreographer began when he stood on a New York stage and did not move a mus cle for 10 minutes. And it is that ironic twist to whatever an audience expects that has continued to be Taylors trademark since he emerged from the cocoon of the Martha Gra ham Dance Company in the 1950s. Though I havent seen half of Taylors 136 bal lets, I have watched enough of his work over the years to recognize his quirky humor and cynical appraisal of human behavior in the three ballets performed by The Paul Taylor Dance Company on the opening night of The Sarasota Ballets 2012-2013 season. Only Paul Taylor would use the world of bees and bugs for his whimsical, delightful but sardonic exploration of love in Gossamer Gallant with music by Smetana and set and costumes by Santo Loquasto. The men, resem bling a strange breed of insects with wings, jump and roll on the oor, hands nestled un der their chins as they ineffectively poke at the empty air. It is all fun and games until the girls shimmy into view. They are slinky, ap ple green visions of female vamps, and as the music sings, the men do cartwheels in their Sean Mahoney and Michael Novak in Gossamer Gallants FROM DEPICTING FANCIES OF ROMANCE TO REFLECTIONS ON BAROQUE COURT FORMALITY, PAUL TAYLOR DANCERS CONVEY WELL THE CHOREOGRAPHERS VOCABULARY REFLECTIONS ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR By Elinor Rogosin A&E Writer
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 99 excitement. Overcome by love, the men or, should I say, the male insects whirl and leap as, one by one, the girls come and go, swishing their hips and caressing their strange antennae that emerge like tendrils from tight caps. Whether they will mate is the proverbial ques tion, for the women become the predators in Michelle Fleet and Jamie Rae Walker perform in Gossamer Gallants. Photos by Tom Caravaglia, courtesy of The Paul Taylor Dance Company
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 100 Michael Trusnovec in The Uncommitted
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 101 this strange, slightly misanthropic, but always witty commentary on the way a man chases a woman until she captures him. Though this amusing ballet sets the mood for the evening, above all, do not be fooled: Paul Taylor is a serious and thoughtful artist. The Uncommitted continues Taylors explo ration of contemporary relationships; but in this complex ballet set to the effective and haunting score by Arvo Part, the popular Es tonian composer, Taylor is in a more somber mood. Again, the costumes are by Looquasto and the patterned, owered unitards might re ect both the changing nature of the seasons and of relationships, the focus of this work. As the ballet opens, the 11 dancers rush onto the stage, circle in slow strides and suddenly, with the sound of a gong, rush off, leaving a solo dancer center stage. Each solo is that of a lone gure reaching, hoping and pleading for an answer. One dancer doubles into herself; a man ings himself around the stage; another punches the air: each one, alone searching, arms stretched into the empty air and look ing up as if to nd an unseen force that will provide the hidden answer. This emotional, powerful pattern is repeated over and over with the group getting smaller and smaller, as if one by one, they leave this universe. The focus shifts in the second section of the ballet to a series of duets that reect how easily we leave one another. Groups enter, regroup and leave two men ght; men and women easily exchange partners in a series of duets; and in the last pas de deux, when the woman is left alone as her indifferent part ner walks away, the story of misplaced loyal ty that Taylor is telling is emphasized in The Uncommitted I am not sure if I wanted to protect myself from the anguish on stage, but though I was pulled into the extraordinary inventiveness and originality of the dance in the rst sec tion, it was the power of the music that kept me entranced in this second section. A word here about the 11 dancers who make up The Paul Taylor Dance Company: Each one has absorbed Taylors aesthetic and move ment vocabulary, which is a blend of modern dance techniques and ballet, and they dance with a seamless, expressive cohesiveness. Last but not least, my favorite piece of the evening, aptly titled Cascade was pure dance: a cascading, nonstop explosion of movement to Bachs Concertos for Piano and Orches tra. I love the music of Bach and I love to watch highly trained, beautiful dancers skim across the stage like a group of elegant pan thers stalking their prey. Taylors longtime partners, Jennifer Tipton (lighting) and Santo Loquasto (costumes), worked with him to suggest the quasi-Baroque period of Bachs world. The dancing, rooted in the dances of the period, retained a sense of Baroque court formality in the various duets. However, when the men danced in unison, all sense of formality was pushed aside as they followed George Smallwood, a bald, older dancer who jumped with the tensile strength of a goat. Like Taylor, who was once a large, graceful dancer, the men in his company are strong, quick and light on their feet.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 102 At the ballets climax, it was as if Taylor had said, Enough of that, and the dancers bound ed into the modern world, joyfully crisscross ing the stage and riding the waves of the mu sic in long running leaps, arms swinging in the air: a lovely, fast, blissful celebration of music and dance to end the evening on a high note. Sarasota will see more of Paul Taylors cho reography in November when the Sarasota Ballet will perform Company B set to the popular music of The Andrews Sisters and the songs of World War II. Parisa Khobdeh and Francisco Graciano perform in The Uncommitted
The rst show of the 2012-13 season for The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT), Nate Jacobs s Jukebox Revue will open on Friday, Nov. 16, and run through Sunday, Dec. 16.Conceived and directed by founding Artis -tic Director Nate Jacobs, this original revue promises to be an exciting new musical that gives homage to the heyday of rock n roll.What a fun and innocent time the s were, said Jacobs in a news release. Poodle skirts and bobby socks, fast dance tunes for jitter -bugs and ballads for the romantics. Life was good, reected in the popular music of the day. Lyrics were upbeat and the music was energetic. We began to see the emergence of African-American artists such as Fats Domi -no, Little Richard and Muddy Waters. I really wanted to relive this exciting musical era and weve had a lot of fun introducing it to our younger Troupe members.In addition to the music presented by the Troupe, the WBTT show presents a story. Nate Jacobs s Jukebox Revue has the audience follow a group of singers, musicians and danc -ers performing on the Chitlin Circuit. The plot takes the group to many American cities, from Memphis to New York, experiencing life on the road.A large cast includes some regular Troupe members as well as newer performers. Em -manuel Avraham, Ariel Blue, Dhakeria Cun -ningham, Will Little, Charles Manning, Michael Mendez, Tzadok Porter and Alyssa White will surely be recognized by regular WBTT attend-ees. Newer members of this show are Gordon The male performers in The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe strut their stuff in Nate Jacobs 50s Jukebox Revue. Contributed photosJUKEBOX REVUE TO OPEN WBTT SEASON NOV. 16 ARTS BRIEFS
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 104 Gregory, Davronette Henson, Kristal Walker and Henry Washington. The musical director is James Dodge, the cho reographer is Dhakeira Cunningham, the cos tumer is Cristy Owen and the set designer is Michael Newton-Brown. We are really look ing forward to opening our sea son in the s, continued Jacobs in the news re lease. After sing ing and swinging to songs like Why Do Fools Fall in Love Stagger Lee and Shake Rattle and Roll, youll be dancing out the door! The mission of WBTT is to pro duce plays that promote and celebrate the African-Amer ican expe rience and attract diverse au diences while using the productions as a vehicle for sup porting African-Ameri can artists and building the self-esteem of Af rican-American youth, the news release points out. Throughout the past de cade, WBTT has produced many productions locally and around the state of Florida. All per formances will be held at the WBTT theater at 1646 10th Way in Sarasota. Times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with 2 p.m. mati nees on Sundays. Tickets, which are $28, may be purchased online at www.wbttsrq.org or by calling the box ofce at 366-1505. The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe women are ready to wow audiences in the rst show of the 2012-13 season
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 105 Glen Campbell/Contributed GLEN CAMPBELL RETURNING TO THE VAN WEZEL The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall will wel come back country music icon Glen Campbell during a stop Sunday, Nov. 4, on his Goodbye Tour. Alongside Campbell on the stage will be three of his children Cal, Shannon and Ashley who are also highly talented musicians with a passion for great storytelling, a news release says. Not only do they add sentimental value to the Goodbye Tour, the release adds, but they also provide their father with support as he puts on a wonderful performance, night af ter night. Campbell rose to stardom in the late 1960s and early 1970s, winning multiple Grammys and landing 27 songs in the Top 10. Timeless classics such as Southern Nights, Wichi ta Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy in the Campbell canon still are garnering accolades today. Tickets are priced from $10 to $65. For more information, call the box ofce at 953-3368 or visit www VanWezel org The Van Wezel is located at 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 106 Joseph Haydns Sonata in B Minor, Hob. 47 selected works from Griegs Lyric Pieces and Holberg Suite Frederic Chopins Ballade No. 3 in A-at Major and Sergei Rachmaninoffs Prelude in E-at Major, Op. 23, No. 6 and the Etude-Tableau in E-at Major, Op. 33, No. 7 Munchtime Musicales is a series of free concerts featuring performances by high-caliber, area-based art ists. The series is designed to offer a wide variety of musi cal genres, including classi cal, folk and jazz, featuring both vocal and instrumen tal performers. For more information, call 351-7467 or visit www sarasotaconcertassocia tion org The Sarasota Concert Association will present Sylvia Reynolds Eckes, a professor emeritus of piano at Ohio University, in a Munchtime Musicales performance on Nov. 14 at noon in David Cohen Hall inside the Beatrice Fried man Symphony Center, 709 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Eckes holds degrees from Peabody Con servatory, the Juilliard School and the University of Kansas, according to a news release. Following decisive critical acclaim from her debut concerts in Oslo, Norway, and Lincoln Center in New York City, the release adds, she be gan performing in concerts as a soloist and chamber musi cian, as well as with orches tras in China Europe, Scandi navia and throughout the United States. In 2011, Eckes was award ed the Royal Norwe gian Order of Merit, Knight, First Class, for her extensive work on the music of Ed vard Grieg, the news re lease notes. Eckes pro gram on Nov. 14 will fea ture Franz Sylvia Eckes will perform during the Nov. 14 Munchtime Musicale in Sarasota. Contributed photo ECKES TO PERFORM FREE CONCERT ON NOV. 14
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Page 107 For more information, call 366-1552 or visit www jazzclubsarasota org The series is sponsored in part by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The Jazz Club of Sarasota will present Ron Kraemer & the Hurricanes in a Joy of Jazz per formance on Saturday, Nov. 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Centennial Park in downtown Venice Kraemer is a noted blues, jazz and swing gui tarist whose understated stage presence be lies impressive instrumental mastery as he runs up and down the neck of his jazz guitar with focus and uidity, according to music blog columnist Susan James. Accompanying Kraemer for this concert will be JP Coley on upright bass, Art Siegel on drums, Eddie Tobin on keyboards and Mark Gould on sax, according to a news release. Well do a mix of blues, jazz and swing, says Kraemer in the release. Every song we do has at least one of those elements to it and sometimes the song has all three elements! One way or the other, our music is sometimes jazzy, often bluesy but always cool. The 2012-2013 Joy of Jazz series will include three more concerts, dates and details to be announced soon. Its a perfect way to spend a weekend after noon, enjoying the great melodies, rich har monies and soulful rhythms of jazz, says Bill Beckman, a Jazz Club of Sarasota board mem ber and producer of this series, in the news release. The concert is free, but donations will be ac cepted in support of the Jazz Clubs scholar ship fund. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Food and beverages will be available; coolers are not allowed. KRAEMER & HURRICANES TO PERFORM IN DOWNTOWN VENICE Ron Kraemer/Contributed
02 NOV Nunsense Nov. 2 to 4, 7:30 to 9 p.m., Players Theatre, 838 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $25. Information: 365-2494 or www.theplayers.org 02 NOV Ariel Quartet in concert (Perlman Music Program/Suncoast) Nov. 2, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tube Dude Gallery, 1001 Central Ave., Sarasota. Tickets: $5, in advance; free if space available; 955-4942. 02 NOV Sarasota Chalk Festival Oct. 28 to Nov. 6, Burns Square (South Pineapple Avenue and Laurel Street), Sarasota. Free admission. Information: www.ChalkFestival.org 04 NOV Barbara Ras Poetry Reading Nov. 4, 1 to 2 p.m., Bookstore1Sarasota,1359 Main St., Sarasota. Free admission. Infor mation: 365-7900 or bookstore1sarasota.com 09 NOV 3rd Annual Crystal Classic Master Sand Sculpting Competition Nov. 9-12, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Siesta Public Beach; $5 daily admission; thecrystalclassic.org VIP Meet the Sculptors Reception, Nov. 8, 6 to 8 p.m., Cafe Gabbiano, 5104 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key. Admission: $50; for information: 364-3880 or email@example.com 10 NOV Sarasota Medieval Fair Nov. 10-11, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sarasota Fairgrounds, 3000 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota. Admis sion: adults, $16.95 daily; children, $8.95. Information: sarasotamedievalfair.com ComMunity CALendar The best of the upcoming week To get all the details on these and other great ac tivities food, nightlife, music, art, theater, chil drens events, learning opportunities and more go to Sarasotas No. 1 source for local events, hot spots, fun activities and hidden gems:
Each week, Staff Photographer Norman Schimmel searches Sarasota County for iconic shots that underscore why the community is a favorite with residents and tourists alike. SCHIMMEL SIGHTINGS FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD