bserver O Happy Hanukkah!
SARASOTA
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
NEIGHBORHOOD Selby Gardens sheds some light on glowing holiday display. PAGE 15A.
OUR TOWN
crime watch
Thursday, DECEMBER 15, 2011
DIVERSIONS
NEWS
Gyotaku artist Linda Heath reels in her work. INSIDE
Christmas Boat Parade reflects feelings of cheer. PAGE 1B.
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
North Sarasota crime top priority Sarasota city commissioners will work toward reducing the crime and number of homicides in North Sarasota by enlisting the help of a criminologist who has reduced crime in cities nationwide. The Sarasota City Commission unanimously agreed at an informal workshop Monday that if the number of homicides in North Sarasota continues to increase, the crime is going to inch closer to downtown Sarasota. A tense debate between District
Myniea Handy, 8, poses with Santa Claus, Saturday, Dec. 10, during BBBS holiday party at Sun ’N’ Fun.
1 Commissioner Willie Shaw and the rest of the commissioners ensued when the commission began to discuss the goals for the city over the next two years. Shaw told the commission he had only one major goal to discuss at the meeting.
Noting that crime currently falls under the city’s “quality of life goal,” Shaw said something more needs to be done to reduce the amount of crime and the number of homicides in Sarasota. “The violence taking place in North Sarasota is unbelievable,”
Shaw said. “I would like support for us to label this a major concern and to dig deeper to figure out how to fix it.” Shaw’s comments came just 24
SEE CRIME / PAGE 7A
SANTA BABY
+ Children get festive for Santa More than 130 kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters watched as Santa Claus showed up to greet them in a bright red fire truck for their annual holiday party Saturday, Dec. 10, at Sun ’N’ Fun. Each child received two wrapped presents and got to decorate cupcakes, get their face painted and feast on pizza lunch. Children also picked up a teddy bear as they left. This year the Young Professionals Group helped out at the event as part of their monthly volunteer opportunity.
Rachel S. O’Hara
Cole Miller, 7 months, was dressed in his own Santa suit, Tuesday, Dec. 13, during Healthy Families Sarasota’s Holiday Party at FirstBaptist Sarasota’s Family Life Center. See more photos online at YourObserver.com.
Photos by Rachel S. O’Hara
+ 65 years and still going strong The Sarasota High School class of 1946 gathered for its 65th class reunion Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Marina Jack. The class has been gathering at least once a year, usually around the holidays, for the last 15 years. Bob Andrews organized the group of 30 by making phone calls and sending out emails. “There are about 40 students who still live in the area and about 10 who live out of state,” said Andrews. “We are the oldest and the toughest,” he laughed.
REPORT CARD
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
Building director defends department Tim Litchett, director of Neighborhood Development and Services, said the building department is offering exemplary service while performing the same level of service with less employees. Sarasota Director of Neighborhood Development and Services Tim Litchett said there is a growing misconception that there is a huge drop-off in construction within city limits and that his department is providing
subpar customer service. On Tuesday, Litchett provided a list of building permits and other licenses from the last two years that show the city is handling roughly the same number of permits, if not more, than in
years past (see sidebar). “I do think there’s a perception out there that there has been this huge drop-off of construction and work over the last year,” Litchett said. “But, really, our numbers show we have
been steady for some period of time.” Although the city is more than 95% built out, Litchett said it
SEE BUILDINGS / PAGE 2A
INDEX Briefs....................4A Classifieds......... 13B
Cops Corner....... 10A Crossword.......... 12B
Opinion.................6A Permits.............. 11B
Real Estate........ 10B Weather............. 12B
Vol. 7, No. 57 | Two sections YourObserver.com