bserver O SARASOTA
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
milestone
SPORTS
DIVERSIONS
Beloved volunteer celebrates her 100th birthday. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
FREE • Thursday, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
Riverview Rams junior makes some hard hits. pAGE 17A
The Sarasota Opera’s Richard Russell returns to familiar surroundings. INSIDE
’round and ’round
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
Connectivity Two U.S. 41 roundabouts are close to getting a green light, and another eight are in the works to ‘round out’ Sarasota’s bayfront connectivity plan.
Nick Friedman
Don Malawsky and Jackie LeClaire
+ Circus Sarasota unveils offices Circus Sarasota held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to showcase the completion of the newly renovated administrative offices Wednesday, Sept. 19. The renovations were made possible by a $75,000 grant from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation. Circus Sarasota acquired the management of the Sailor Circus program last October, and the two are now united in one location.
Traffic lights may soon become a rarity along a three-mile bayfront stretch of U.S. 41 as Sarasota drivers become acquainted with a different kind of traffic control. Two multi-lane roundabouts on U.S. 41, at 10th and 14th
streets, are close to fruition, with $11 million in funding already set aside and awaiting a green light for construction that could start as early as 2014. This pair of roundabouts would be the first two in a $100 million network that calls for eight additional
circular intersections to replace traffic lights along the bayfront — a total of 10 roundabouts within Roger Drouin a three-mile stretch of U.S. 41. The intersection at 10th Street Proponents say the chain of and U.S. 41 is one of the first roundabouts will do more than that will see a roundabout as part of a $100 million project to add SEE TRAFFIC / PAGE 6A the features along the bayfront.
+ Rock out against leukemia Seventeen-year-old John “P.J.” Combs was recently the center of attention at a benefit held in his honor at the Farm Bureau on Palmer Boulevard. After being diagnosed with leukemia, a benefit was thrown to raise money to support him. Several bands performed, and guests enjoyed a bounce house, food and drink. Combs also received a guitar signed by Dickey Betts.
ALL HEART Rachel S. O’Hara
Courtesy photo
Casie Helriggle, 11, wore her heart on her face at the 2012 Sarasota/Manatee Heart Walk Saturday, Sept. 22, at Payne Park. More than 1,500 people took part in the walk, which brought in more than $157,000. For more photos, see page 10A.
Noah and Max Kunkel
+ Temple Emanu-El holds food drive Temple Emanu-El is collecting food as part of its High Holy Days food drive. Members were given empty grocery bags after Rosh Hashanah services Sept. 17 and were asked to collect food by Yom Kippur, Sept. 26. Last year’s food drive collected 3,675 pounds of non-perishable food, which was donated to All Faiths Food Bank. Last year’s food was enough to provide 6,705 meals, and Rabbi Elaine Glickman says she hopes to surpass those numbers this year.
MARINA MANAGEMENT
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
Mooring field makeover complete After delays, a 99-acre mooring field becomes the 11th managed mooring field in the state. During the active storm season of 2004, several boats moored on the city’s bayfront broke free and crashed into other vessels. One of the anchorless boats collided
into the docks in front of Golden Gate Point condos. Then, again during Tropical Storm Debby, wind and waves broke at least seven boats free,
uprooting trees and ripping the sidewalks on shore at Bayfront Park. A long-planned mooring project designed to prevent that from happening was recently completed.
Rachel S. O’Hara
A pump-out boat will remove sewage from boats moored in the new SEE MOORING / PAGE 7A mooring field.
INDEX Briefs.................... 4A Classifieds..........25A
Cops Corner........12A Crossword...........24A
Opinion................. 8A Real Estate.........22A
Sports.................17A Weather..............24A
Vol. 8, No. 47 | Two sections YourObserver.com