bserver O SARASOTA
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
NEWS
‘Unconditional Surrender’ returns to the bayfront. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
FREE • Thursday, DECEMBER 6, 2012
DIVERSIONS
NEIGHBORhood Sarasota flaunts holiday spirit in downtown parade. PAGE 1B
Home on Vamo Drive captures Old-Florida feel. INSIDE
first impression
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
DID could help clean sidewalks Merchants say dirty sidewalks speak volumes about downtown.
Jeff Shank
Courtesy photo
+ Reader on the roof Sarasota Christian School students recently held a contest to determine which school employee would “Go Crazy for Reading.” Throughout the school’s book fair, students were able to cast a vote with each book purchased to determine which teacher or administrator would have to do the crazy thing for which they volunteered. The votes were close between Bible teacher Brad Graber, who volunteered to shave his head, and Superintendent Jeff Shank, who offered to move his office to the school’s roof for a day. The students cast their votes, and Shank made good on his promise to relocate to the roof. The contest, which was designed to promote enthusiasm about reading, sold more than 385 books.
Ron Soto, owner of Soto’s Optics, doesn’t like what he sees when he walks into his store on lower Main Street. The sidewalks there haven’t been cleaned in nearly a year because of problems with the city’s previous contractor. The sidewalks contain a buildup of chewing gum, food stains and shoe prints, but the lack of main-
tenance speaks volumes about downtown, Soto said. “It’s the first impression anybody gets when they walk downtown,” Soto said. But sparse sidewalk cleanings may soon be the exception, not the rule. The Downtown Improvement District (DID), which funds downtown improvements, is set
to vote Dec. 11 on a plan that would double its sidewalk cleaning budget from $2,400 to $5,200. The district’s increase in funding will allow for additional sidewalk cleanings beyond what the city funds. The additional cleanings won’t just be pressure washing; a contractor will use
SEE SIDEWALKS / PAGE 2A
Some Main Street store owners say sidewalks need cleaning.
SANTA’S HELPERS
Madalyn Leigh, 2, tried hard to stay still while she and her sister, Mirabelle, 1, posed for family Christmas pictures Dec. 4.
DEVELOPMENT DEBATE
Nick Friedman
+ Chemis-tree Susan Roberts’ class at Brookside Middle School recently decorated a chemistry-themed Christmas tree with ornaments that represent elements of the periodic table. Students picked an element and decorated their ornament with elementthemed facts.
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
City postpones Laurel Park buffer decision Downtown neighborhood is split on a development buffer zone concept. City commissioners postponed making a decision on a controversial Laurel Park development buffer zone Monday, Dec. 3, stating they’d like to consider more options. The neighborhood of Laurel
Park was split about the idea of the buffer, which, if approved, would change the development process for projects planned within 100 feet of the downtown neighborhood. The neighborhood association took a vote supporting the
measure, but several residents at Monday’s City Commission meeting spoke out against it. Several variations of the buffer zone have been proposed. It would change the development process for projects near Laurel
INDEX Briefs.................... 4A Classifieds............9B
Pam Eubanks
Cops Corner........12B Crossword.............8B
Opinion................. 8A Real Estate...........6B
Sports.................15A Weather................8B
Vol. 9, No. 5 | Three sections YourObserver.com
Park in two major ways. It would require developers to hold public community workshops before submitting or applying for a building permit. Currently, city
SEE BUFFER / PAGE 14A
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