bserver O EAST COUNTY FREE • Thursday, APRIL 18, 2013
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
NEIGHBORHOOD Opera and animal enthusiasts gather for Singing is Saving gala. PAGE 1B
OUR TOWN + BRHS Drill Team takes state honors Cadets in Braden River High School’s JROTC program took top honors April 6, at the Florida State Drill Championship at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland. More than 150 schools competed in 18 categories. Braden River’s JROTC Drill Team brought home nine state championship titles, out of 11 total earned by Manatee County schools. “In my eight years as a JROTC instructor, I have never seen one school win so many state champion titles at one meet,” LTC (Ret.) Jay Bradin said. “I think this is truly an unprecedented accomplishment by our cadets.” State championship titles earned included: Color Guard Female, Color Guard Male, Unarmed Squad Male, Armed Squad Female, Squad Exhibition Male, Unarmed Platoon Male, Platoon Exhibition Female, Individual Exhibition Female and Dual Exhibition Female. Other awards earned were: Armed Squad Male (fourth place); Squad Exhibition Female (third place); Armed Platoon Male (third place); Platoon Exhibition Male (third place); and Unarmed Knockout (third place).
ag-venture
SPORTS
King Family Farms redefines its vision. PAGE 3A
Softball seniors say farewell in rivalry game. PAGE 13A
payback By Josh Siegel | Staff writer
District asks schools for money Manatee County schools are being asked to find money from their internal funds to help the school district recover.
EAST COUNTY — Last year’s end-of-school staff send-off — an annual Braden River Elementary School tradition — rocked, quite literally. Principal Hayley Rio and fellow administrators turned the school’s cafeteria into a rock ’n’ roll-themed bowling alley, lining the floor with swimming pool
noodles to make lanes, borrowing pins and dimming the lights. Teachers bowled with gusto. Rio and others provided catered food and bought gifts for staff members. But because the Manatee County School District desperately is trying to make up a $3.4 million deficit from last year, a
ruling made by Superintendent Rick Mills and other finance staff will have impacts on events such as this one. In an April 2 memo to principals, Mills asked school leaders to provide excess funds from their individual school accounts, called
SEE SCHOOLS / PAGE 8A
GIRL POWER Pam Eubanks
Senior Amelia Moore scores a touchdown at the Braden River High School Student Government Association’s annual Powder Puff competition Friday, April 12. For more photos, see page 8A.
BUILDING THE FRAMEWORK
by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer
Permit sets off vertical construction of mall + Cameras ready in Stone Ridge Residents of the Stone Ridge neighborhood in Lakewood Ranch gathered March 25, for the community’s first “dog photo shoot.” “We have a dog-friendly neighborhood with more than half of the residents owning dogs of varying pedigrees,” resident Marshall Goldstein says. “The dogs meet daily at 5 p.m. for yappy hour and socializing.”
SEE OUR TOWN / PAGE 4A
Sarasota County gave Taubman Centers the go-ahead to build the shell of The Mall at University Town Center. EAST COUNTY — It’s a twostep process — a balancing act played out by hundreds of contractors on 73 acres at the southwest corner of Cattlemen Road and University Parkway. After Sarasota County gave its blessing last week, Taubman Centers, the construction manager for the 880,000-square-foot,
Officials expect The Mall at University Town Center to bring more than 2,000 permanent jobs to the area, as well as about 1,000 construction jobs.
two-level enclosed Mall at University Town Center, can begin building the facility’s shell. “This is the next step that allows for the construction of the core building, mall concourse and tenant space,” said John Eggert, Taubman’s development di-
Josh Siegel
SEE MALL / PAGE 11A
INDEX Business............ 11B Calendar............ 12A
Classifieds ........ 13B Cops Corner....... 10A
Crossword.......... 12B Real Estate.......... 8B
Sports................ 13A Weather............. 12B
Vol. 14, No. 16 | Two sections YourObserver.com