Sarasota Observer 08.16.12

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bserver O SARASOTA

You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.

DIVERSIONS

Magida Diouri exposes ‘reel’ life in Sarasota. PAGE 15

OUR TOWN

FREE • Thursday, AUGUST 16, 2012

SUMMER FUN

NEWS

Kids get crafty with found objects at Bay Preserve. PAGE 21

trespassing trouble

Creative kids present their works of art. PAGE 7

by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor

HOMELESS HAVOC City police say a mandated lapse in a city trespassing program is part of the reason for an rise in a rowdy downtown homeless population.

Nick Friedman

+ Fond Farewell Family and friends gathered at Church of the Redeemer, Monday, August 13, to remember the life of Tiger Bay Club founder Marj Baldwin, who died Tuesday, Aug. 7. She was 88. Guests shared their memories of the late Baldwin, viewing a collection of photographs and articles written about her, as well as her scrapbook of the notable guests the Tiger Bay Club hosted over the years.

Loren Mayo

+ Snip, snip away!

Sarah Monasterios’ feet are planted on top of a chair that’s surrounded by sea of shredded locks. Standing behind her is Emily Racines, of Fashion Focus School, who is taking scissors to Sarah’s hair and creating a brand new do. Fashion Focus stylists headed over to Girls Incorporated Monday, Aug. 13, to give the girls free haircuts.

+ From UK to US citizen Nikki Caragiulo, wife of Sarasota City Commissioner Paul Caragiulo, became a U.S. citizen Wednesday, Aug. 15 when she took the oath along with 79 other people from 29 countries in a Tampa ceremony. Nikki Caragiulo, originally from Salisbury, United Kingdom, took the oath on her 32nd birthday in front of her husband, two daughters and her parents. Nikki Caragiulo moved to the area from Great Britain in 1995 and the Caragiulos have been married since 2005. Nikki Caragiulo applied for residency as a U.S. citizen in 2006.

There’s a new group of homeless people roaming downtown that’s drawn the ire of downtown residents, business owners and pedestrians. Making matters worse, there are rumors circulating that the group of roughly 40 people, estimated to be in their 20s, accepted bus tickets to Sarasota from the city of Clearwater and other neighboring cities. Downtown Sarasota resident Frank Brenner has been emailing Sarasota city commissioners for weeks, complaining about “a group of young able-bodied people” that are lounging around Selby Five Points Park and the Selby Public Library. The group, which has been making appearances in downtown for the last two months, carries their belongings with them and many of them have bicycles. “It’s a blight,” Brenner said. “You shouldn’t even call them homeless people because they are vagrants who could work if they had the drive to do so.” Peter Fanning, president of the Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association, said there’s a concern that the group in

FAUX NEWS

Courtesy photos

A group of homeless people sit directly across the street from Tsunami Sushi & Hibachi Grill. The restaurant's owner, who was attacked by a man in July, says their presence has dropped his profits by as much as 60%. question “is too aggressive.” “They seem to come and go in waves,” Fanning said. “But when they’re here, they make their presence known.” Tsunami Sushi & Hibachi Grill owner/manager Johnny Chen experienced, firsthand, the group’s aggressive behavior. July 23, a man who was loi-

tering with the homeless group across the street entered Chen’s restaurant after hours to use the bathroom. When Chen told him to leave, the intoxicated man grabbed a pen from a waitress and tried to cut Chen’s throat. The man spent one night in jail and has since returned to the area, holding bottles of alcohol

and taunting Chen’s customers, along with the rest of the group. “Since July when this group arrived, it’s affected my business as much as 60%,” said Chen, whose outdoor seating area is no longer used because patrons are scared to sit there and the group

SEE HOMELESS / 2

by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor

E-news outlet targets the Pelican Press with fake story The first-edition exclusive touted Donald Trump’s ‘plans’ to raze the Terrace Condominiums. No one but the The Pelican received the story. Sarasota News Leader, a startup news website, launched its first e-edition Friday, Aug. 10. And it had big news. Big, fake news, that is. When Pelican Press News Editor Alex Mahadevan opened his copy of the e-edition, the headline on the top story proclaimed: “Trump Tower takes Siesta Key by surprise.” And the lead of the story said:

“News that real estate tycoon Donald Trump has obtained options on land in Siesta Village for a planned 50-story Trump Tower has residents of Siesta Key in an uproar.” The story went on to say Trump had made plans to acquire and raze the Terrace Condominiums for what “easily will become the most recognizable building on the entire Gulf

Coast.” Surprised himself by the news, Mahadevan began calling Sarasota County officials, Siesta Key residents and business owners to determine the validity of the story. He learned, however, it was a hoax — intended only for him. This is a screen shot taken of the email Mahadevan received from Sarasota News Via interviews with others Leader. By this point renderings had been SEE FAUX NEWS / 2 deleted from the Web host.

INDEX Briefs...................... 5 Classifieds............ 27

Cops Corner.......... 10 Crossword............. 26

Neighborhood....... 21 Opinion................... 8

Real Estate........... 24 Weather................ 26

Vol. 8, No. 42 | One section YourObserver.com


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