bserver O Happy Easter and Passover!
EAST COUNTY FREE • Thursday, MARCH 28, 2013
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
COMMUNITY
OUR TOWN + This paper is more than meets the eye No, you’re not seeing double — this week’s issue of the East County Observer includes a magic-eye puzzle. If done properly, the text on this page will reveal a 3D image. To see the image, hold the paper up to your nose, focus your eyes as if they were looking past the picture and let your eye muscles relax. Slowly take the picture away from your face while keeping your eyes relaxed for two minutes to see the hidden picture. Submit your findings to peubanks@yourobserver.com.
Mayberry Festival coming to East County. PAGE 3A
NEWS
schools
44th Avenue Extension project grows. PAGE 3A
Manatee School District discovers surplus in budget. PAGE 2A
clear signal by Pam Eubanks | Managing Editor
Mega mall to get cell tower Developers will erect a 160-foot cell tower to help provide quality cell-phone reception at the new mall location. EAST COUNTY — As shoppers become more and more dependant upon their mobile devices for finding coupons, getting directions and other tasks, developers of the proposed mega-mall site off University Parkway are signaling for better cell-phone reception for their existing and future customers. Officials say the sheer scope of the project and the volume of customers it will draw to the area, particularly around the Christmas shopping season, will make the tower necessary, despite the existence of a cell tower in The Meadows community nearby. The new 160-foot tower will be placed in one of the medians closest to Nathan Benderson Park, which hosted the Sarasota Invitational Rowing Regatta March 23 to March 24 and will host the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association competition April 5 and April 6. A roundabout is also being discussed for that median to help with the impending influx of traffic. To help promote the park and its up-and-coming designation as a world-class rowing venue, the cell tower will be disguised as two large oars. “The oars will serve as an easy-to-
+ Take a whiff and smell us anew! Following numerous phone calls from our readers who reported the ink on our newspaper smelled so badly they had to keep the paper in the garage for a few days before picking it up to read, we’ve taken action. So, take a big long sniff! In fact, take two! Starting this week, we’ve started using a new ink that comes in a variety of smells — cotton candy, licorice, bubble gum and even peppermint. Each week we’ll test a new smell. Please send your feedback about which smell you like the best to peubanks@yourobserver. com. Please indicate which issue you smelled and what exactly it smelled like.
Project developers say the new towers will “blend in,” as shown in this rendering.
SEE TOWER / PAGE 4A
HIGH LIFE by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer
+ ‘Big bird’ crane spotted in East County You’ve seen sandhill cranes before. But one bird spotted last week in Lakewood Ranch stands 5 feet tall and has been estimated by local Florida Audubon Society members to weigh 65 pounds. “Bird is certainly the word in East County,” one member said. The bird loves attention and has even known to cock its head to the side for photos — its signature move. If you capture a photo of this bird, email it to peubanks@yourobserver.com.
Courtesy rendering
SMR adds ‘green’ to its portfolio SMR Farms is shifting crops to meet Florida’s medical marijuana demand. LAKEWOOD RANCH — With the ongoing detrimental issues of citrus greening, SMR Farms, a subsidiary of Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, has announced it now will begin growing marijuana for medical purposes. The company, which will utilize a portion of its citrus groves that have been devastated by citrus
greening for the new venture, plans to sell the marijuana to medical practices and other entities in California and Colorado, where medical marijuana has been legalized. The first crop will be planted this fall. SMR President and CEO Rex Jensen signed an agreement March 25 with the state of California to export the entire harvested crop. “We’re very excited about this
growing sector of what will soon be mainstream agriculture, and we hope to expand operations into the states of Washington and Colorado as well, where marijuana is already legal, and not just for medical purposes,” Jensen said. Though marijuana is not legal in Florida, SMR has received state waivers to grow the crop, be-
SEE GREEN / PAGE 4A
INDEX Business............ 13B Calendar............ 18A
Classifieds ........ 15B Cops Corner....... 14A
Crossword.......... 14B Real Estate........ 10A
Sports................ 19A Weather............. 14B
Vol. 14, No. 13 | Thirty sections YourObserver.com