E
N 1 # AMERICA’S
PER A P WS
bserver SARASOTA
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
NEWS
Tube Dudes find new home on Main Street. PAGE 5A
FREE • Thursday, JANUARY 24, 2013
DIVERSIONS
NEIGHBORHOOD Longboat Observer Senior Editor Dora Walters retires. PAGE 1B
OUR TOWN
big plan
Town Hall Lecture Series organizers give the scoop. INSIDE
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
DID considers expansion The proposal for an expanded tax district and overlay area is linked to a projected streetcar project.
George Swartz shaves Brian Russell’s head.
+ Just a trim
Two downtown business owners hope a development overlay area and an expanded tax district would bolster redevelopment on the perimeter of downtown. Forrest Shaw, owner of Pastry Art café, and John Anderson, owner of Mozaic, presented their proposal for the overlay and expanded tax district to the Downtown Improvement District
(DID) board Tuesday morning. Shaw, an advocate for a streetcar project, said the overlay area, combined with a fixed-rail streetcar downtown, would spur redevelopment and eventually bring millions in tax revenue to the city. The proposal for all three concepts — the expansion of the DID, overlay area and the streetcar project — is preliminary. It
would take a lengthy public process before such changes could happen. “This is planting a seed for a tree to grow,” Shaw said before the meeting Tuesday, Jan. 22. “We are at the beginning of this entire process.” Under Shaw’s proposal, the overlay area would allow changes in land use and density de-
signed to encourage development. The proposed expansion of the Downtown Improvement District would bring in tax revenue that would pay for area capital improvements, possibly including part of the cost of the streetcar project. “Today, we are not proposing
SEE DID / PAGE 2A
Brian Russell, franchise operator of five Sarasota and Bradenton GNC stores, recently issued his employees a challenge: raise $12,000 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital “Thanks and Giving” donation drive, and they could shave his head. Throughout the 65-day campaign, the employees raised $12,093, and Russell kept his promise.
+ Financial boost G.WIZ recently received a significant financial donation to assist its current renovations. The Floyd C. Johnson and Flo Singer Johnson Foundation have donated $150,000 to help fund construction. “Flo really had an interest in G.WIZ, and she visited the center several times,” said board member Diane Barth. Sara Rankin, G.WIZ CEO, says the donation is set to cover building maintenance and sponsor the museum’s new educational exhibits, now called AIDES.
+ Top honors Adelaide Boedecker, of Sarasota, recently took first place in the scholarship division of the 27th annual Vocal Competition of the National Opera Association, which took place in Portland, Ore. Boedecker graduated from Pine View School in 2007. After completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Florida, she was accepted into the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. She will complete her final year of graduate study in vocal performance and literature at Eastman in May 2014.
Yaryna Klimchak
Above: Downtown advocate Forrest Shaw hopes an overlay would bolster redevelopment on the edge of downtown, such as the old Scotty’s Hardware property across from Payne Park. Right: The overlay and expanded tax district would also include properties such as this one at the corner of Fruitville Road and Lemon Avenue.
defining moment
Roger Drouin
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
Walmart appeal scheduled for Feb. 19 The store’s classification is at the forefront of the debate. An appeal of a proposed Walmart Supercenter on the edge of downtown will likely come down to two words — department store. The core issue at the Feb. 19 appeal before the City Commission is whether the 97,000-square-foot Walmart is, in fact, a department store, a type of commercial use that is prohibited at the current Ringling Shopping Center. The Walmart would replace an empty Publix and mostly shuttered storefronts at the shopping center. Thus far, some opponents of the big-
box store and Walmart representatives have publically made their arguments. A group of nearby residents appealing the planning board’s approval of the site plan for the Walmart says the store is not compatible with the neighborhood and doesn’t belong so close to downtown. Wal-Mart representatives and city officials contend the supercenter would bring an economic boost to the area. “Our project will generate new jobs
SEE WALMART / PAGE 6A
Yaryna Klimchak
The Walmart Supercenter, approved by the Sarasota Planning Board, would replace an empty Publix and mostly-shuttered storefronts at the Ringling Shopping Center.
INDEX Briefs.................... 4A Classifieds..........11B
Cops Corner........13A Crossword...........10B
Opinion................. 8A Real Estate...........6B
Sports.................16A Vol. 9, No. 12 | Three sections Weather..............10B YourObserver.com