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bserver SARASOTA
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
NEWS
Prospective hotel’s features will focus on local flair. PAGE 5A
free • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013
DIVERSIONS
REUNITED
State Street Eating House gives us the scoop on cocktails. INSIDE
Old friends ‘band’ together again to make music. PAGE 17A
OUR TOWN
College leaders would like to see increased retail and dining options for students and a safer, pedestrian-friendly North Trail.
Courtesy photos
+ Valued volunteer On June 18, Rick Hughes and Bob Rosinsky, of Goodwill Manasota, presented the Observer Media Group Multimedia Advertising Consultant Penny DiGregorio with the 2013 Outstanding Volunteer Award and the Observer Media Group with the 2013 Outstanding Partner Award. DiGregorio is on Goodwill’s marketing committee and has donated glass jewelry she made to its annual Mardi Gras fundraiser. In addition, she helps with events and donates clothing to Goodwill on a regular basis. To see more photographs from the Goodwill Ambassador Recognition Luncheon, visit YourObserver. com.
+ Rays rewards The Rays Baseball Foundation awarded Forty Carrots Family Center a $5,000 grant to underwrite transportation costs for its On Wheels Parenting Program. The parenting program reaches families via two vans that travel five days a week to locations throughout Sarasota and Manatee County, bringing free parenting classes to families in their homes. Forty Carrots’ two vans cover 350 miles weekly and serve 2,700 individuals throughout the year. The Rays Baseball Foundation provided $100,000 in grants to a number of community organizations throughout the bay area.
New Perspective
Nick Friedman
Driving south on U.S. 41 from the North Trail into downtown Sarasota, Dr. Donal O’Shea was surprised by what he saw early last summer. Largely undeveloped and dotted with vacant storefronts, the five-mile stretch of highway that serves as a gateway to the city showed little sign of the educational hub he knew existed there. The renowned mathematician and newly appointed president of New College of Florida had just relocated from Mount Holyoke College, a women’s liberal arts college in South Hadley, Mass., where he served as dean of faculty and vice president of academic affairs. A liberal arts-college enthusiast, he was familiar with New College, but he says without prior knowledge he would have had no idea that he was in the middle of such a wealth of academic resources. These include: New College, consistently a top producer of Fulbright Scholars per capita; Ringling College of Art and Design, ranked among the top art schools in the world; and
Leaders of five area colleges revive the push for a more collaborative college community in Sarasota. INSIDE Presidents of three local colleges share their visions for the North Trail.
things are kind of haphazard. Our visitors — even some of our residents — don’t realize how many great educational institutions are right here, within just a few miles of each other.”
Meeting of the minds
University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee, which offeris accredited undergraduate and graduate degrees. “When you come out of the Sarasota airport and make a left (onto U.S. 41), you should realize that you’re hitting an educational corridor,” says O’Shea. “Instead,
O’Shea’s 32-year career at Mount Holyoke College largely influenced his first impression of the area. The college was a member of one of the most highly developed collaborative college systems in the country, called the Five College Consortium. The five participating schools shared resources, including transportation, a library system and joint departments and programs, and students were encouraged to cross-register
SEE COLLEGES / PAGE 10A
PARKING SPAT by David Conway | News Editor
Proposed parking ban divides residents Patron traffic from Walt’s Fish Market has caused headaches for some neighbors, but no consensus on the issue has been reached. A little more than a year ago, Sarasota mainstay Walt’s Fish Market and Restaurant was expanded to include a chickee bar. On it’s face, the move has paid off: Since the open-air bar, which often hosts live music, was built, turnout has increased. In the eyes of several residents on nearby Ivanhoe
Street, though, that success has come with a price. In January, eight property owners and residents signed a petition to prohibit parking on the south side of Ivanhoe. Residents presented the petition to the county’s Traffic Advisory Council in March. The document says the addition to Walt’s
has negatively impacted traffic, pedestrian safety and the ability to enter and exit driveways on the dead-end street of about 20 residences. In response to that petition, the County Commission considered an ordinance prohib-
SEE PARKING / PAGE 11A
David Conway
Vehicles line Ivanhoe Street, near Walt’s Fish Market and Restaurant, on a Friday night.
INDEX Briefs.................... 4A Classifieds..........25A
Cops Corner........12A Crossword...........24A
Opinion................. 8A Real Estate.........22A
Sports.................15A Weather..............24A
Vol. 9, No. 34 | Two sections YourObserver.com