bserver O SARASOTA
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
NEWS
Residents share their visions for Main Street. PAGE 3A.
OUR TOWN
Thursday, OCTOBER 13, 2011
NEIGHBORHOOD
DIVERSIONS
Towles Court artist Jini Mount tries her hand at acting. INSIDE
park problem
G.WIZ partners with The Players Theatre for Seuss spectacular. PAGE 15A
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
City to revisit Five Points benches The majority of downtown residents and business leaders agree that the atmosphere in Selby Five Points Park has improved since benches were removed three months ago.
Courtesy photos
+ Flying object makes a splash The large red stapler that the Sarasota-based team, Accrisoft, designed for the 2011 Red Bull Flugtag, held Oct. 8, didn’t exactly fly 1,800 feet over Tampa Bay as anticipated. There was actually more of a “kerplunk” sound as the stapler — a borrowed prototype from Milton in the movie “Office Space” — smacked the water after the 30-foot drop from the flight deck.
Spencer Opal-Levine hands out party favors to Daniel Mizrahi.
+ Third-grader parties for purpose For the second year in a row, instead of asking for gifts on his birthday, Spencer Opal-Levine, 9, asked for charity donations. He calls it a “party with a purpose.” This year, more than 30 of his classmates at Pine View School attended his party at the Crowley Museum and Nature Center and made donations to Wildlife Inc., which focuses on the rehabilitation and release of injured and orphaned animals in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Park naturalist J.T. Eldrich of Project Critter took the students on a nature walk down the Children’s Discovery Path to see deer, a raccoon and bobcat tracks. Wildlife Inc.’s Damon Hurd stopped by with a few rescued animals. At the end of his party, Spencer handed out lime green aluminum water bottles with “Party with a Purpose” printed on them. “Sometimes giving is the best gift,” Spencer says.
Those who live and work near Selby Five Points Park say that crime has been reduced and that transients are virtually non-existent since the city removed six benches from the park three months ago. Sarasota Police Capt. Paul Sutton backs up the crime-drop claims. From July 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2010, Sutton said the department received 16 calls related to the park. In the same time period in 2011, the department received three calls.
GOVERNOR’S GOALS
And, the overall police district that the park sits in received 67 calls from July 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2010, compared to 39 calls in the same time period for 2011. There were also 19 arrests made in that district during the 2010 timeframe, compared to 12 arrests for the same period in 2011. “However, you want to measure it, crime is
SEE BENCHES / PAGE 7A
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
Scott: Jobs will solve state’s problems Gov. Rick Scott’s visit to The Observer Group prompted discussion on economic growth, the importance of jobs and Scott’s intention to reduce state taxes. Florida Gov. Rick Scott believes the state’s road to economic recovery depends upon the jobs he believes can be created the quickest — those in the hospitality and agriculture industries. Scott, who met with The Observer Group’s editorial board Monday at the company’s downtown Sarasota office, said those two industries will be the driving forces in helping to pull the state out of an anticipated $1.2 billion shortfall this year. The state had previously anticipated a $1.5 billion surplus after cutting the budget approximately $700 million last year. “Tourism will continue to do well,” said Scott, who noted that the Florida Panhandle hotel bedtax numbers were up 100% compared to a year ago when the BP oil spill devastated the region and its tourism numbers. “There’s no reason to expect the agriculture industry won’t have a good year as well, and our ports have big opportunities.” The elimination of a visa requirement for Brazilians, Scott said, will also help bring more tourism to the area. Scott also intends to deliver on a campaign promise that involves bringing 700,000 jobs to Florida in seven years. In a new statement he released over the weekend, Scott said “no matter what the economy might otherwise gain or lose,” his goal
Loren Mayo
Florida Gov. Rick Scott visited The Observer Group’s downtown Sarasota office Monday to answer questions for its editorial board about his agenda for the upcoming legislative session. was always to create that many jobs. “We are going to get there,” Scott told The Observer. “We are adding 10,000 jobs a month right now in the private sector alone.”
Scott said the state and its economic leaders must do a better job of promoting the state and also realize that Florida is competing with everyone else for jobs. The governor said he’s not will-
ing to lure companies to the state with promises of huge tax breaks if they can’t deliver on their promise of jobs and economic growth to
SEE SCOTT / PAGE 2A
INDEX Briefs....................4A Classifieds......... 26A
Cops Corner....... 10A Crossword.......... 25A
Opinion.................6A Permits.............. 24A
Real Estate........ 24A Weather............. 25A
Vol. 7, No. 48 | Two sections YourObserver.com