Sarasota Observer 05.30.12

bserver O SARASOTA

You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.

NEWS

New children’s health facility to open.

PAGE 7A

Thursday, MAY 31, 2012

DIVERSIONS

NEIGHBORHOOD

Sculptor Ofra Friedman creates life-size people using wire mesh.

INSIDE

final candidates

Sarasotans honor fallen soldiers at Memorial Day parade. PAGE 16A

by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor

City manager list down to eight The eight city manager candidates presented to city commissioners Wednesday, May 30, include three Florida city managers.

ONLINE EXTRA Kaplan: Ponzi scheme cost him $22 million After being criminally accused in late January by Regions Bank of orchestrating a $10 million check kiting scheme, prominent Sarasota real estate investor, developer and entrepreneur Marvin Kaplan is speaking out.

Kaplan says in a 46-page counterclaim filed Wednesday in the 12th Circuit Court in Sarasota that Regions wrongly defamed him and that he lost $22 million in a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Larry Starr, a longtime Sarasota and Longboat Key tourism entrepreneur, and the owners of Fayettville, N.C.-based Smith Advertising & Associates. Starr denied Kaplan’s claim.

For the complete story, go to the homepages of YourObserver.com or Review. net; read the Sarasota Observer e-Edition on YourObserver.com; pick up a copy of the Gulf Coast Business Review; or call 366-3468.

A list of 104 Sarasota city manager candidates has been whittled to eight. The Sarasota City Commission will now be charged with making its final selection in July.

Search consultant Colin

Baenziger, of Wellington-based Colin Baenziger & Associates, and his team have spent the last four months analyzing candidates and gathering data on the finalists. The data, contained in 8-inch thick binders, was

shipped Wednesday, May 30, to City Hall for Sarasota city commissioners to review. The binders revealed the following: Three city managers in the list are current city managers in Florida, and none of the eight chosen is

See the list of candidates and their current positions / PAGE 2A a local candidate.

The Florida city manager choices include Daytona Beach

SEE MANAGER / PAGE 2A

PRECIOUS PATRIOTS

OUR TOWN

Rachel S. O’Hara

Dominic Stratford, 3, Aiden Baker, 4, and Ava Baker, 2, wave their flags during the annual Sarasota Memorial Day parade and ceremony Monday, May 28. The parade went down Main Street from the corner of Main and Osprey Avenue all the way down to J.D. Hamel Park, where the ceremony took place. For more photos, see page 16A.

IN THE RACE

File photo

+ Ringling Picnic packs its bags Foodies who want to enjoy some curbside cuisine at Sarasota’s Ringling Picnic Food Court only have one day left before the food trucks pack up and roll out for the summer. Friday, June 1, will be the last day of the season for the food trucks until fall, but upcoming special events will be announced on the group’s Facebook page.

by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor

Dorfman files for commission seat Sarasota city resident Richard Dorfman will run for one of the two at-large city commission seats that are up for grabs come March.

Former Sarasota City Commission candidate Richard Dorfman, who narrowly missed out on a runoff election in May 2011 for the District 1 seat, is ready to try again to attain a seat on the commission.

On Friday, Dorfman confirmed he

has filed paperwork at City Hall to become a candidate for one of the two at-large commission seats currently held by Mayor Suzanne Atwell and Commissioner Terry Turner. Both seats are up for grabs next year.

When asked why he would try again

for a commission seat, Dorfman said, “It’s more of the same, really. The city is in poor financial shape and a different approach needs to be taken to the

SEE DORFMAN / PAGE 2A

Dorfman

INDEX Briefs.................... 4A Classifieds..........22A

Cops Corner........10A Crossword...........21A

Opinion................. 8A Real Estate.........20A

Sports.................19A Weather..............21A

Vol. 8, No. 30 | Two sections YourObserver.com

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SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

MANAGER / FROM PAGE 1A City Manager James Chisholm; West Palm Beach City Administrator Edward “Ed” Mitchell; and Casselberry City Manager Barbara Lipscomb.

Rounding out the list of other current city manager choices are Oak Park, Ill., City Manager Thomas Barwin; McKinney, Texas, Deputy City Manager Rick Chaffin; Marine City, Mich., City Manager John Gabor; and Mercer County, N.J., City Manager Andrew Mair.

Only one candidate who made the list does not currently hold the title of city manager: Michael Hein, director of Emergency Management & Homeland Security for Pima County, Ariz. Hein, though, is the former city manager of Tucson, Ariz.

The tile of city manager experience was not a requirement for candidates.

“We were open to all candidates, but the main goal has always been to select the best city manager for this city,” said Del Borgsdorf, the chairman of the City Manager Citizens Advisory Panel and the retired city manager of San Jose, Calif.

Citizens Advisory Panel member Richard Dorfman was pleased to hear that Chisholm made the list.

“His qualifications and personality are a great match for the city,” Dorfman said.

Chisholm and Mitchell were both attending a Florida City County Manager Association Meeting and unavailable for comment. Lipscomb, who resigned as city manager of Casselberry in January, did not return a phone call as of press time Wednesday.

When reached for comment Wednesday, Sarasota city commissioners had not had a chance to look at the candidate binders yet.

Commissioner Shannon Snyder and others had pushed for the search firm to be open to candidates and said he’s confident the search firm did a good job.

“If this is the best of the best, I’m sure

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

DORFMAN / FROM PAGE 1A

TOP PICKS The Sarasota City Commission and city residents will have an opportunity to meet the following eight candidates for the city of Sarasota’s open city manager position next month: Candidate James Chisholm Edward “Ed” Mitchell Barbara Lipscomb Thomas Barwin Rick Chaffin John Gabor Andrew Mair

Michael Hein

Current Position City Manager of Daytona Beach City Administrator of West Palm Beach Former City Manager of Casselberry City Manager of Oak Park, Ill. Deputy City Manager of McKinney, Texas City Manager of Marine City, Mich.

City Manager of Mercer County, N.J. Director of Emergency Management & Homeland Security for Pima County, Ariz.

the search firm weeded out the candidates properly and made the right choices,” Snyder said. “I have a great deal of confidence in the consultant we hired.”

Commissioner Paul Caragiulo said he needed more time to review the list.

“I’m excited to look through the list of final candidates,” Caragiulo said.

The search came after former City Manager Bob Bartolotta resigned in January, in the wake of an ongoing computer investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI. The advisory panel of 10 residents met in March to provide input for a new city manager search.

Baenziger also met individually with each city commissioner, using those meetings to craft a rough draft of an employment profile brochure that was used for the city manager search.

On April 24, Baenziger presented a list of 104 city manager candidates to City Hall, which was then reduced over the past month to the eight finalists.

City commissioners will have the rest of the month to peruse the candidate profiles before a two-day finalist selec-

tion process begins in June.

That process includes candidate oneon-one interviews with city commissioners and a community meet-andgreet to be held at the Friday, June 29, Robert L. Taylor Community Center, at a time yet to be announced.

Then, Saturday, June 30, candidate meetings will be held with the Sarasota City Commission, department heads and the City Manager Citizens Advisory Panel.

In July, the Sarasota City Commission is expected to officially make its final selection and hire its new city manager at the Monday, July 2, regular meeting.

Baenziger’s memo to commissioners explains that the background material on the eight candidates includes “one notable error.”

“Probably the most notable error is a DUI that Mr. Hein got in 2010,” wrote Baenziger. “He admits it was a terrible mistake and that it changed his life. We recommend him, in spite of this, because of his body of work and his candid admission and regret.”

Baenziger said commissioners “will find far more positives than negatives with respect to these individuals.”

manage the city.”

Dorfman’s top four priorities last time around, as a commission candidate, were pensions; job creation and North Trail redevelopment; police services and public safety; and creating more of a cando environment in the City Commission.

Those priorities still hold true for Dorfman this time around.

Dorfman also wants to create a better dialogue between the city and its neighborhoods.

“There’s an obvious ‘us versus them’ dialogue that exists between the city and its neighborhoods,” Dorfman said. “We need to reconcile the disconnect between the city’s residents.”

Dorfman, however, admits it’s a difficult task during a time of budget cuts and fewer basic services within city limits.

City Auditor and Clerk Pamela Nadalini told the Sarasota Observer her office is still waiting on one document from Dorfman to make his filing official.

The only other at-large candidate who’s officially filed at this time is the Rev. Kelvin Lumpkin of Light of the World International Church. Mayor Suzanne Atwell and Vice Mayor Terry Turner currently hold the seats and have not announced their plans for their current seats at this time.

Interested candidates have until Jan. 11, 2013, to file for the two at-large seats.

A March 12, 2013, general election and a May 14, 2013, runoff election are scheduled for the seats.

Richard Dorfman Age: 60 Hometown: Manhattan, N.Y. Education: business and communications degrees from American University Occupation: Retired sports agent

CLASS OF 2012 CONGRATULATES THE Class of 2012 College Acceptances

Members of the Class of 2012 were admitted to over 300 different colleges and universities throughout the United States. A sampling of those schools is as follows:

Amherst College Auburn University Babson College Baldwin Wallace College Bard College Bates College Boston University Bowdoin College Bryn Mawr College Butler University Carleton College Clemson University Colgate University College of Charleston College of Wooster Colorado College Colorado State U. Columbia University Cornell University Davidson College Denison College

DePaul University DePauw University Dickinson College Drexel University Eckerd College Emory University Florida Atlantic U. FAU (Honors College) Florida Gulf Coast U. Fordham University Florida State U. Furman University Georgia Institute of Tech.

Guilford College Hamilton College High Point University Hobart & William Smith Colleges Indiana University Ithaca College Lafayette College

Lake Forest College Lehigh University Louisiana State U. Loyola College Loyola University Merrimack College Miami University Michigan State U. Mt. Allison U. (Canada) Mt. Holyoke College New College of Fl. Northeastern U. Occidental College Pratt Institute Purdue University Rhodes College Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) RIT RPI Scripps College

Simmons College Smith College SMU St. Anselm College St. Bonaventure U. St. Lawrence U. Stetson University Syracuse University Temple University Trinity College Trinity University Tulane University University of Alabama University of Colorado University of Delaware University of Florida University of Hawaii University of Miami U. of Rhode Island U. of Richmond University of San Diego

U. of South Carolina University of Tampa University of Vermont U. of West Florida University of Wyoming UC San Diego UC Santa Barbara U. of North Florida Union College Ursinus College USC (CA) U. of South Florida Villanova University Virginia Tech Wake Forest U. Washington & Jefferson College Wheaton College

100% Matriculation to four-year colleges & universities

94% of Class received unsolicited merit/ academic scholarships

Over $132,000

Average four-year scholarship per recipient

Over $7 million

in total scholarship dollars awarded

89% - Application acceptance rate

Be a part of the largest enrollment in the school’s history! Schedule a personal tour today!

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SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

downtown destination

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by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor

Mannausa forms ‘The Jewel’ of Sarasota Tom Mannausa plans to build an 18-story condominium tower that boasts views unlike any other building in downtown Sarasota.

The corner of Main Street and Gulfstream Avenue has been eating away at longtime Sarasota real-estate developer Tom Mannausa for more than 20 years.

In 1989, Mannausa had a fifthfloor office in the Palm Tower building and remembers looking down at the one-story buildings on the Main Street block between Gulfstream and Palm avenues.

“I would come there every day and look at the view of those properties before Epicure was even built there,” Mannausa said.

“I always thought it would be a terrific residential site … the best residential site in downtown Sarasota.”

A downturn in the economy, followed by a recession, made Mannausa’s goal unattainable.

But in December 2010, Mannausa made his move, purchasing the corner lot at the corner of Gulfstream Avenue and Main Street for $870,000 from the estate of developer Samuel Hamad, whose Marquee on the Bay residential project fell apart during the downturn in the economy.

When Mannausa purchased the Hamad property, the purchase price came with Hamad’s former plans designed by Hoyt Architect President Gary Hoyt.

“The prior presentation only encompassed the corner lot, though, and I knew that was wrong,” Mannausa said. “ My vision has always been the entire block.”

Immediately, Mannausa began negotiating a purchase price for the Living Walls furniture store.

Mannausa told the Sarasota Observer he closed on the property last week.

Mannausa has also worked out an agreement to purchase The Sports Page Bar & Grill from owners Kenny Barr and Bob Richards, in July.

“I’ll own the corner free and clear up to Epicure,” Mannausa said.

Coming full circle, Mannausa has also negotiated an agreement with Epicure, which will stay put in exchange for the ability to make design modifications

Kurt Schultheis

Architect Gary Hoyt and developer Tom Mannausa plan to build an 18-story condominium tower on Main Street between Gulfstream and Palm avenues. that will allow Mannausa’s new condominium tower to blend in with the Epicure property.

“We will integrate the design of the first three levels of our property with Epicure, so, architecturally, our theme will be carried through the entire block,” Mannausa said. “Everything will be cohesive.”

Epicure, meanwhile, will be given exclusive rights to allow future residents of the condominium tower to order anything on its menu and have it delivered.

‘The Jewel’ of Sarasota

Years of planning have led to Mannausa’s goal of building what he perceives as the premier condominium tower in downtown Sarasota. Mannausa calls it a “no-brainer” to name his project located at 1301 Main St., “The Jewel.”

The modern, contemporary tower being designed by Hoyt calls for 18 floors.

Mannausa is so confident the market is ready for a project like this that he’s already starting to commission structural, me-

residential squall

BIO

Tom Mannausa Title: President of T. Mannausa & Co.; practicing real estate since 1978; completed more than 50 realestate developments.

Hometown: East Lansing, Mich.

Local presence: Moved to Longboat Key in 1980 fulltime Hobby: Songwriting Interesting fact: Mannausa is in the final stages of completing a new song and negotiating with a record label to bring it to market. Mannausa collaborated on the song with musician Rick Derringer and his wife, Jenda. Derringer and his band, The McCoys, recorded “Hang on Sloopy” in the summer of 1965, the No. 1 song in America at that time. chanical, civil, waterproof and wind-load engineers to assist in

Courtesy rendering

The Jewel will have 18 floors and have sweeping views of Sarasota Bay and the surrounding area. Construction could start in the summer of 2013.

creating the building. Sarasota land-use planner Joel Freedman has already been obtained to assist in maintaining compliance with all of the codes through the project’s design-development and construction-drawing phases.

Several preliminary meetings with the city’s planning department have already been held, and Mannausa has leased a space across the street from the project for a leasing office that’s expected to open no later than the end of July.

The mixed-use project will include two floors of 7,800 square feet of commercial space that will house Living Walls Furniture (on the first and second floors), Les Ciseaux Salon & Spa (which is moving from St. Armands Circle), Valerie’s Fine Art Studio and Gallery and a local jeweler who’s also committed to move to the future space. The second floor will make up Living Walls Furniture, the salon and T. Mannausa

& Co.’s corporate offices.

As far as the residential portion, Hoyt said residents would enter the urban building with sweeping glass views through a 30-foot, two-story lobby, complete with LED lighting.

“It’s a gateway project,” Hoyt said. “The importance and focus we have on the street, the Main Street streetscape and creating a pedestrian-friendly environment is very important.”

The third floor of the building is strictly for resident amenities and includes an infinity pool, social center, Jacuzzi, spa, a yoga room, a tennis court and a putting green.

The fourth level will house two two-bedroom, two-and-ahalf bathroom apartments that include a den at approximately 2,000 square feet apiece.

Although the fifth floor could contain the same type of apartments, floors six through 18 of the building will house 4,080-squarefoot apartments with four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. Those models include two master suites. Price points have not been set for the units, yet.

All of the apartments will have 11-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass.

“We will maximize views to Sarasota Bay, City Island, Longboat Key, Siesta Key and all of downtown that are unparalleled when compared to other downtown condos,” Mannausa said.

Mannausa said two of the apartments are already spoken for: “When I land 10 sales contracts, I’m No. 11 and my mom and dad are No. 12,” Mannausa said. “Then we will get our building permit.”

Mannausa is hopeful the project could begin construction in the summer of 2013, the same time the Downtown Improvement District and the city hope to begin a Main Street streetscape project.

It will take approximately 16 months from construction to the building receiving its certificate of occupancy, Mannausa said.

“We’re ready to go and I’m very excited about a project that will inject more life into downtown Sarasota,” Mannausa said.

by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor

Homes, town center coming to Palmer Ranch Approximately 350 homes are coming to Palmer Ranch along with a new town center.

DiVosta Homes, a division of Pulte Homes, took the first step toward building a new 350 single-family home community in Palmer Ranch last week by holding a community workshop Wednesday, May 23.

DiVosta Homes officials told approximately 30 people last week at Covenant Life Church on McIntosh Road that Sarasota County’s Planning Board and, then, Sarasota County commissioners would review the project in late summer or early fall.

The community workshop was the first of two workshops required by the county as part of the county planning process.

DiVosta Homes is under contract with Palmer Ranch Holdings to purchase a 145acre parcel near Interstate 75 and Central Sarasota Parkway for its housing project.

The gated community will include an amenity center with a pool, fitness center and meeting room space.

The housing project was dealt a setback earlier this year, however, when it was discovered the county still needed to remove an interchange project that was originally planned in the vicinity of Central Sarasota Parkway and I-75.

To speed up the process, DiVosta Homes is paying administrative costs to help the county amend Comprehensive Plan language, which currently states that an interchange should be built there. An interchange would be a deathblow to any housing projects in the area, because interchanges require surrounding properties to be zoned for commercial buildings, such as fast-food restaurants.

County staff will now work to remove

any and all references of an interchange at Central Sarasota Parkway.

Taylor Morrison, meanwhile, also plans to build approximately 260 homes in the area, which will include a clubhouse with amenities for residents.

Next to the new housing developments, Palmer Ranch Holdings has plans for a 100,000-square-foot community town center concept that would include an anchor tenant such as a Publix or Whole Foods supermarket.

Residents were more interested in the town center last week, inquiring what kinds of commercial stores were coming to their community.

Palmer Ranch Holdings LLC Vice President Justin Powell said there were no firm commitments for tenants but confirmed for resi-

dents the town center would not house a “big-box” store such as a Walmart or Target.

“We understand your wants and needs don’t include such a large tenant,” Powell said. “That’s why we dropped the original plans that called for a 200,000-square-foot town center. The biggest user you’re looking at here is a grocery anchor and a restaurant.”

SARASOTA Observer

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This week on

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

FLORIDA’S NO. 1 WEEKLY NEWSPAPER WEBSITE

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NEWSBRIEFS

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+ Three parking meters receive new home The city of Sarasota is donating three coin-operated parking meters to Mote Marine Laboratory for its use along streets on Mote Marine Laboratory property. The three meters will not be placed in the free public parking area.

As far as the rest of the paid parking meters and pay stations that are sitting in a storage area since the city removed them, Interim City Manager Terry Lewis said Sarasota city commissioners will discuss in June whether to sell the meters, return them for a credit or take legal recourse against the company from which they purchased them because there were claims they never worked properly.

+ County offers energy upgrade workshops Web exclusive Visit our website to see more photos from the Lakewood Ranch and downtown Sarasota Memorial Day parades.

MOST READ STORIES ONLINE LAST WEEK: 1. “Sarasota voted No. 1 arts destination” (May 21) 2. “City commission approves downtown projects” (May 22) 3. “Musical man Daniel Moe dies” (May 25) 4. “PHOTO GALLeRY: Police Chief Albert Hogle Memorial Service” (May 24) 5. “PHOTO GALLeRY: Sarasota Crew banquet” (May 21)

DAILY BROADCAST: Regsiter on YourObserver.com and have our daily video broadcast delivered to your inbox.

Sarasota County will offer a free 30-minute Energy Upgrade workshop to guide participants through a five-step process for reducing their energy use and lowering utility bills.

The workshops are available for civic groups, clubs, faith organizations and other nonprofit associations, as well as businesses that would like to offer the workshop to their employees.

Dale Lewis, an experienced contractor, will answer questions and share methods for saving energy that run the gamut from inexpensive doit-yourself projects to investments such as installing high-efficiency air conditioners and attic insulation.

Sarasota County developed the Energy Upgrade program to help residents understand the benefits of improving a home’s energy efficiency.

To schedule a free Energy Upgrade workshop, contact the

IN THE KITCHEN: Watch a video of Susan Asselstine making pasta with a Bolognese sauce, one of her family’s favorites.

ONLINE CONTEST:

Meetings agendas

&

 Florida Public Service Commission Hearing Regarding FP&L Proposed Rate Increases — 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 31, City Hall, Commission Chamber, 1565 First St., Sarasota.  Alta Vista Neighborhood Association Meeting — 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 31, Concordia Lutheran Church, 2185 Wood St., Sarasota.  Sarasota City Commission Regular Meeting — 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, June 4, City Hall, Commission Chamber, 1565 First St., Sarasota.  Downtown Sarasota Alliance Regular Meeting — 8 a.m.

Wednesday, June 6, Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota.

Sarasota County Call Center at 861-5000 and ask about Energy Upgrade workshops.

+ Sarasota County receives budget award Sarasota County has received the “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” for its fiscal year 2012 budget. The county has won the award for 22 consecutive years. The award is the highest professional recognition in governmental budgeting and is presented by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).

The GFOA cited the county budget for demonstrating the highest principles of government accounting. The award was presented to Sarasota County’s Office of Financial Planning and Steve Botelho, interim chief financial planning officer.

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a program of the sarasota orchestra Robert Levin, Artistic Director

Father’s Day photo contest

Calling all dads! Enter your favorite picture of you and your child in the Father’s Day photo contest through Wednesday, June 6, on YourObserver.com.

Voting begins online Thursday, June 7 and ends Sunday, June 10. The prize is a facial and one hour massage from Massage Envy. Good luck!

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Sarasota in June never sounded so good.

Classical musicians from around the world converge on Sarasota for three weeks of breathtaking performances.

June 4 - 23, 2012 Tickets available now.

Display Advertising: To obtain information, call Donna Condon at 941-366-3468, Ext. 301. Advertisers also may obtain all Observer Group Inc. advertising rates and editorial calendars online at www.YourObserver.com.

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THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

muted maintenance

by Kurt Schultheis | Staff Writer

St. Armands officials bemoan lack of service

Sarasota County sees increase in parking tickets issued According to Sarasota County records of weekly parking violations, by location, from Feb. 1 to May 1, there has been a rise in ticket distribution.

From Feb. 1 to Feb. 28, a total of 1,521 parking tickets were issued. From April 4 to May 1, there were 1,862 violations, a 341-ticket increase.

City Parking Manager Mark Lyons told the Sarasota Observer that there is a citywide focus to ensure ordinances are properly followed. The City Commission voted to repeal the city’s paid parking program — and to remove downtown parking meters — March 5.

“It’s not about increasing tickets,” said Lyons. “Meters are designed to create a turnover in parking spaces, and if they are gone, we have to do that in some other way — through enforcement.”

Currently, most downtown parking spots consist of two-hour parking with parking enforcement occurring from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

There are some three-hour parking

St. Armands Circle officials warn city staff that the lack of services is starting to affect the Circle’s appearance.

Provide garbage cans with lids on them and prune the palm trees.

The St. Armands Landowner’s Merchants and Residents (LMAR) members don’t think they’re asking too much of the city to perform these two basic tasks.

And, although city Public Works Director Todd Kucharski doesn’t disagree, he said there’s no available funding to trim the trees or replace the trashcans at this time.

“I simply have no money budgeted for it,” Kucharski said.

The city eliminated funds for both services more than a year ago, and LMAR members said the Circle is headed down a slippery path. Specifically, rodents living in the overgrown palm trees could begin making their way onto the Circle to rummage through the garbage inside open trashcans.

Kucharski urged LMAR members to lobby the commission to request annual palm trimming when the commission discusses its upcoming budget this summer.

Kucharski also noted that the commission directed staff to investigate tree trimming around the city after it was pointed out that dead palms falling off the trees could be considered a public safety hazard.

“Emphasize in a letter you need an increased level of service,” Kucharski said.

St. Armands Circle Business Improvement District (BID) Chairman Marty Rappaport the BID LBK -said 2010 - I would address levels of service on the Circle at its next meeting to LBK - board 2010 can - Iwork more closely with see if its city officials to address service issues.

“The problem is we don’t know the level of service has been cut until it’s too late and

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now the palms are causing us problems,” Rappaport said, adding that he and others are frustrated because the city has helped pay for Circle projects, such as enhanced medians, that it now isn’t maintaining.

Noting that 65% of those who visit Sarasota come to the Circle, Rappaport said, “It seems to me the city has to look to a certain extent at what areas they are getting a benefit from and realize they are cutting areas that help our local economy.”

St. Armands Circle Association President Diana Corrigan called the city’s lack of funds after it’s helped create more infrastructures “totally illogical.”

“We have all these things (the city) has done and now (the city) doesn’t have the money to maintain it,” Corrigan said. “Now the city doesn’t look beautiful because they don’t have the money to put in. If you invest money to build something, it’s illogical not to have money set aside to maintain it.”

The conversation evolved into a discussion on how both commercial and residential districts are going to have to operate in the future moving forward to counteract a reduced level of service from the city.

“BIDs and DIDs are obviously the wave of the future to attack the lack of city funds and attain a level of service we want and feel we deserve,” Rappaport said.

When Rappaport suggested residential communities in Sarasota should start forming organizations that tax themselves to get the level of service they want, it was mentioned the Circle’s homeowners association is in the early stages of creating such a district.

spaces, however, that exist on St. Armands Circle, Hillview Street, along the Sarasota bayfront near Marina Jack and Burns Court that are enforced from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The Sarasota City Commission voted in March to make all downtown parking enforcement hours uniform: from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. According to Lyons, the new time span will be put into effect once signs reflecting the change are erected in the coming weeks.

“The goal is that we are fairly applying parking tickets throughout the city,” said Lyons.

Overall, the commission approved $2,550 worth of existing signs to be modified and 170 new signs to be installed.

“We have increased the number of employees on staff from what we previously had a month after the City Commission repealed the paid parking system,” says Lyons, “which sort of brought our focus in a different manner.”

Sarasota parking violations

Total tickets given in Sarasota County Expired Main Street meter tickets Parked in excess of posted time on Main Street tickets Total Main Street tickets Total St. Armands tickets Total Hillview tickets*

Feb. 1 to Feb. 28 1,521 532

Feb. 29 to March 27 1,737 72

314 335 72 63

241 176 114 39

March 28 to May 1 1,862 0 473 275 230 87

*Parking violations tickets on Hillview Street and Hillview lot Information courtesy of Sarasota County

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SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

Observer opinion | our view SARASOTA

“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

Editor & CEO / Matt Walsh, mwalsh@ yourobserver.com Executive Editor / Lisa Walsh, lwalsh@ yourobserver.com Associate Publisher-Multimedia / Emily Walsh Parry, ewalsh@yourobserver.com Deputy Executive Editor / Jessica Luck, jluck@yourobserver.com Assistant Managing Editor/Design / Nancy Schwartz, nschwartz@yourobserver.com City Editor / Kurt Schultheis, kschultheis@ yourobserver.com Arts & Entertainment Editor / Heidi Kurpiela, hkurpiela@yourobserver.com Black Tie Editor / Loren Mayo, lmayo@ yourobserver.com Community Editor / Nick Friedman, nfriedman@yourobserver.com Web Editor / Edwin Kirsch, ekirsch@ yourobserver.com Staff Photographer / Rachel O’Hara, rohara@yourobserver.com Copy Editors / Randi Donahue, rdonahue@ yourobserver.com; Maria Amodio Editor-at-Large / Rod Thomson, rthomson@ yourobserver.com Director of Advertising / Jill Raleigh, jraleigh@yourobserver.com

Don’t fall for steelworker’s sob You have to be dreading the next five months. We are.

We’re dreading the incessant, negative political attack ads, the malicious lies and distortions. Republicans and Democrats alike will engage in this. This practice is as old as the republic.

It’s still annoying.

The ads that are the most galling at the moment are the Barack Obama steelworker ads, portraying Mitt Romney, his Bain Capital and capitalism as “vampire(s),” “job destroyers” and the destroyers of “thousands of people’s lives.”

Romney, Bain and capitalism are horrible evildoers, Obama and his message spinners proclaim, because, in the course of buying, selling and operating businesses, Romney and his company shut down money-losing steel mills and eliminated jobs.

The fact Obama and his hack jobbers are demonizing Romney and Bain for these outcomes is a deliberate distortion of an economic and business reality that has existed since trade began before Christ. It’s as simple as this: Market forces never tolerate the misallocation and inefficient use of resources.

Market forces always destroy the least efficient. That is, with one exception — when politicians intervene and prop up the losers

(i.e. GM, Chrysler, the U.S. sugar industry, Solyndra and on and on).

Did Romney and Bain destroy those steel workers’ lives? No. The steel workers themselves and the inept owners and managers who preceded Bain are the real culprits.

They failed to innovate with ever-changing market forces. They failed to or were unable to stay competitive.

If Obama and his handlers were honest with American voters, they would acknowledge what Obama should have learned at Harvard — that is, the term the famous 1940s Harvard economist, Joseph Schumpeter, coined: “creative destruction.” Wrote Schumpeter in 1942: “The history of the productive apparatus of a typical farm, from the beginnings of the ratioalization of crop rotation, plowing and fattening to the mechanized thing of today — linking up with elevators and railroads — is a history of revolutions. So is the history of productive apparatus of the iron and steel industry …

“The opening up of new markets, foreign or domestic, and the organizational development from the craft shop and factory to such concerns as U.S. Steel illustrate the same process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroy-

ing the old one, incessantly creating a new one. This process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism. It is what capitalism consists in and what every capitalist concern has got to live in.”

Everyone who has ever worked in a private business knows this. If you want to stay employed, you must remain efficient and indispensable; your firm’s management must be forward thinking and invest to innovate and remain efficient and competitive.

When the Obama ads present the forlorn, laid-off steelworker, the man who looks worn and tired, Obama’s distorters want you to feel sorry for this symbol of a life destroyed by capitalism. They want you to see him as a victim.

But if you understand the reality of market forces, you might look at this symbolic character another way: Of course, he’s out of work. He and his employers didn’t do what they should have done.

When Romney and Bain came in and risked their and their shareholders’ capital, they didn’t come in with the intent to destroy lives. You can bet they came in with the intent to do what you as a shareholder would expect: Make your investment grow.

Wish, we will, for political ads that tell the truth. This one doesn’t.

Digital Advertising Manager / Kathleen O’Hara, kohara@yourobserver.com

Advertising Executives / Victoria Baga, vbaga@yourobserver.com; Penny DiGregorio, pdigregorio@yourobserver.com; Chris Kelley, ckelley@yourobserver.com; Robert Lewis, blewis@yourobserver.com; Suzanne Munroe, smunroe@yourobserver.com; Laura Ritter, lritter@yourobserver.com; Lori Ruth, lruth@ yourobserver.com; Kenji Trujillo, ktrujillo@ yourobserver.com Sales & Marketing Coordinator/Account Managers / Susan Leedom, sleedom@ yourobserver.com; Rachel Livingston, rlivingston@yourobserver.com Classified Advertising Sales Executive / Maureen Hird, mhird@yourobserver.com; Courtney Callahan, ccallahan@yourobserver. com Advertising-Production Operations Manager / Kathy Payne, kpayne@ yourobserver.com Multimedia Production Manager / Caleb Stanton, cstanton@yourobserver.com Advertising-Production Coordinator / Brooke Schultheis, bschultheis@ yourobserver.com Advertising Graphic Designers / Monica DiMattei, mdimattei@yourobserver.com; Marjorie Holloway, mholloway@yourobserver. com; Chris Stolz, cstolz@yourobserver.com; Luis Trujillo, ltrujillo@yourobserver.com Chief Financial Officer / Laura Keisacker, lkeisacker@yourobserver.com Accounting Manager / Lori Downey, ldowney@yourobserver.com Accounting Assistant / Kathy Klein, kklein@ yourobserver.com Administrative-Circulation Assistant / Donna Condon, dcondon@yourobserver.com

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my VIEW by Gil Waters

Let’s demand the best for city manager The first thing to be said is we need a system balancing local desires with experienced and skilled management.

So here goes: In 1948, I was assigned as a New Haven Register reporter to cover the New Haven city government beat. Heading the planning department was Charles Downes, a student and disciple of Edward Logue, leading American pioneer of city-manager government administration.

Ideally, a municipal city manager is chosen by merit from his performance in his previous positions. He/she is specialized in the field of managing the ship of municipal government.

A good city is a successful combination of trained and supervised staff headed by a driving, experienced director similar to that of the director of a concert orchestra.

And for whom does this director work?

Ideally, the elected city commissioners.

They hire him; they evaluate his experienced activity. Together they conceive the general picture and direction and depend on the city manager to lead his team to plan for the detailed execution of the continuing endeavor.

If the individual commissioners enter the daily activity, chaos emerges. The city manager will be measured by his abil-

ity to deflect the danger to the chain of command. Likewise commissioners can instigate, react or delegate. They enact appropriate improvement programs through the manager.

By these criteria, Sarasota has had an unsatisfactory record for city managers.

One, who served longest, was hired to complete the sewer and water system. He remained for three more decades, but saw his position one of being the chief negative force. He felt that if a program succeeded beyond his objections, it was worthy of acceptance. Few were. Thus, few positive programs occurred in his latter career.

One specific problem new city managers will face is that of the need to play catchup. For instance, today three elements of an 11-element plan first voiced in January 1959 remain uncompleted. Leadership and planning would have had the remainder properly planned and implemented.

Instead, we were embarrassed to see a rerun of parking meters, a failure two generations ago.

The ideal makeup a commissionermanager form of government includes: experienced, successful, courageous, inspirational, elected citizen commissioners working with an experienced, successful, knowledgeable city manager. Each commissioner participates in a consensus — the city manager in turn develops the working plans for the successful operation of the joint plan.

THE CASTAWAY by Jorge Blanco

Perhaps the best way to select a candidate is to find out about his most recent career. Especially important is comparing his city’s present state upon his takeover.

Details of major points of change could be elicited. This line of comment might be followed in the final interviews.

In this same line of thought, commissioners (and department heads) might be asked to prepare questions as well.

The empirical value of the commissionmanager system is that a professional manager trains and masters the art of a operating a local full-time government. He subtly educates his commissioners and protects them from their errors.

Likewise, he is chief operating officer.

He, too, educates, stimulates and leads all city employees. A good total service in one position is between five and 10 years.

His record is marked by how well he navigates the many agencies at the federal, state and local levels. And how he is respected by his fellow leaders, regulators and those who need his services.

The commission-manager system is a century old. It is still evolving, as are the systems and people around it. Now, as the city of Sarasota embarks on the selection of its next city manager, the electorate must speak up, organize and demand and support the best.

Gil Waters is a former Sarasota city commissioner. The new Ringling Bridge was dedicated in his honor.

SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

opinion | my view by Denise Kowal

We shall not abandon the plan In adopting the Downtown Sarasota Master Plan in January 2001, the city of Sarasota embraced the responsibility for civic parking, after hosting over the course of several years an inclusive, informative and transparent process that gained consensus among our entire community for the plan. The thoughtful steps that culminated in this adoption were longsighted acts that focused on a rounded understanding of all aspects of sustainability Kowal for our city core. It cost taxpayers millions of dollars and welcomed the most enormous amount of public input our city has ever experienced, with numerous workshops, charrettes, forums, debates, appeals and commission meetings.

Parking was an integral component within the adoption of our Master Plan and within the adoption of the Downtown SmartCode in June 2004, for which Sarasota became the third community in the United States to welcome transect-based planning and zoning codes based on environmental analysis that promoted smart growth.

In June 2005, the comprehensive Downtown Parking Master Plan was adopted. These planning decisions, which our entire community invested so much in, were to shape our downtown redevelopment area, giving it more predictability by transforming

it into a more livable, economically functional and ecologically sound city and, most ironically, “ ... so that is consumed less of the public discussion ‌ â€?

The Parking Master Plan called for a number of timely actions, and by the end of 2005 the city was on track to fulfill Phase 1 that was earmarked for completion by 2008. A professional parking manager was hired and staff worked to make the plan a reality by seeking various options for paid on-street parking (yes, mature cities have parking meters), as well as the garage on Palm Avenue, partnerships for a State Street garage and searches for land to purchase for the Burns Square garage. We had CRA/TIF funds available to complete Phase 1.

The plan has many far-reaching benefits, such as preserving Sarasota’s “Old� Urbanism history as well as supporting the New Urbanism legacy we set out to build upon. The plan understood that we can no longer behave or live as we did during the 1880s, 1920s or even the 1990s, but, instead, we can respect, love and desperately try to preserve what has been lost with our 100year obsession with cars that gave way to sprawl.

Recapturing the charm we all adore in this era of the automobile is difficult. Not only is the city of Sarasota competing with

suburbia, but we must also find ways to deal with the suburbanlevel love affair with the unrestrained and spoiled mobility mentality. People who expect to travel as far as they want, whenever they want, in whatever they want, regardless of the environmental and cultural costs, remain the majority.

The New Urbanist movement that is the basis of our adopted plans was formed directly from the reality that urbanism, as we know it, was losing the fight and the automobile was winning.

This is where the new balancing act begins between civic parking responsibilities and private parking conveniences. We want developments and businesses to be responsible for their parking needs, but at what cost? We learned that incorporating required parking into a development added to the bulkiness of buildings that many rejected, and it put fewer feet on the streets that are needed to create a vibrant community.

We changed our parking requirements for these reasons.

Civic parking was needed for the customers of existing historic structures that never had parking or, worse, still have the antiquated private surface parking lots that are the “worst type of street frontage, affording the passerby little sense of enclosure, protection or interaction,� which makes walking uncomfortable and boring. The civic parking facilities supported

these small lot locations, too, so they could develop into excellent frontages with lively shops and services making our walks worthwhile, safe and interesting — the “A� frontage we envision for downtown.

Overall, civic parking separated from or adjacent to other destinations encourages healthier volumes of pedestrian traffic and preserves some historic structures in addition to sustaining some districts’ smaller-scale character and development while acknowledging the businesses and customers’ habits.

If we want to recapture some of the “Old� Urbanism we love, we need to embrace some of the New Urbanism principles, such as civic parking as proposed in our adopted plans. “Providing infrastructure for stationary cars is no different than providing it for moving ones,� stated DPZ. Tweaking any plan is always acceptable. But committees must resist the temptation to make wholesale changes to a plan that was thoroughly vetted and endorsed by the entire community. As stated in our Downtown Master Plan 2020, “The history of Sarasota is likely to be measured in centuries; it is incumbent to reserve sites for civic buildings, civic spaces, and municipal parking structures that may prove necessary only after the window of the Master Plan has closed.�

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Dear Editor: Regarding the confiscation by Sarasota County Sheriff’s Animal Services from a Venice breeder/hoarder: Our community needs to be aware of the immense resource of experience and skill Sarasota County is fortunate to have. Volunteers, supervisors and staff members worked until 9:30 or 10 p.m. only to return at 7 a.m. to start the process again. The teamwork, organizational expertise and camaraderie of these people are truly remarkable. I am not sure our residents actually understand what a monumental responsibility it is when there is a situation like this.

When you think of examining, identifying, photographing, labeling, cleaning/ clipping as much as you can, and then housing, feeding, watering and giving towels and toys to more than 250 little dogs ‌ it is a MAJOR undertaking.

Although much of the public carries a negative image of shelters, Sarasota County Animal Services has a low euthanasia count because of the networking it has in place and the tireless efforts of both staff and volunteers. It was this networking, media coverage and the fact that the owner of these dogs signed them over that put the wheels in motion to transfer the dogs to rescues, giving hope to all animals in Sarasota County. My hat is off to Sarasota County Animal Services for a job well done! I also praise the rescues that stepped up. They all deserve our support.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Denise Kowal is a New Urbanist, downtown stakeholder of one of Sarasota’s most visible historic buildings and graduate of the SmartCode.

9A

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SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

13A

NEIGHBORS

ERIC PIAZZA

the app industry is still relatively new, so the tools are still evolving.”

Piazza and his Southdowns partners are currently working on a set of updates, which include social-media integration, voice feedback and more features to cater to individual runners.

Piazza says he’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and he hopes to see other people pursue their creative ideas as well.

“There are very few people out there who don’t have that one idea they’re passionate about,” he said. “My advice would be to just go for it. Obstacles like finding time and resources can always be overcome — you can always find a way to make it happen.”

— Nick Friedman

Learn more about Piazza’s app at runningclubapp.com

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app tracks each person’s progress in real time.

“I’m competitive by nature, so being able to see the other runners’ dots in real time makes me run harder,” said Piazza. “And signing up for the race in advance gives you some accountability, so I’m less likely to blow it off.”

Piazza and another software developer created the app over the course of about eight months, and the app officially launched earlier this month. The two developers, along with a handful of other friends across the country, work together virtually as part of their company, Southdowns Interactive LLC. “It’s more challenging than you would think,” said Piazza of creating the app. “It’s a fairly complicated app. There are a lot of things going on in real time, and

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Like many people, Sarasota resident Eric Piazza often had trouble finding the motivation to exercise. When he did go for a run, it was often alone, and without a running partner, he found it difficult to push himself.

“With kids and work, I didn’t always have time to meet up with friends or co-workers to run,” said Piazza. “I thought, ‘Why not make an app for that?’”

A software developer by profession, Piazza created his free app, called Running Club. As the name suggests, the app allows users to schedule runs, walks or even cycling trips with friends or strangers in a virtual club.

Users create a profile and then invite others to a scheduled event. Before the run, participants meet in a chat room, where they can catch up with old friends or enjoy some goodnatured, pre-run trash talk. Each runner is assigned a dot, and the

Software developer Eric Piazza’s new app allows sporty — and competitive — friends to connect from anywhere in a virtual running club.

14A

SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

LegaL notice

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Economic and Property Damages Settlement Providing Money to Individuals and Businesses If you have economic loss or property damage because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, you could get money from a class action settlement with BP Exploration & Production Inc. and BP America Production Company (“BP”). Go to DeepwaterHorizonSettlements.com for more information, including information on how to file a claim.

Who is included in the economic & ProPerty damages settlement?

The Economic and Property Damages (“E&PD”) Settlement Class includes people, businesses, and other entities in the states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, and certain counties in Texas and Florida, that were harmed by the oil spill.

The website DeepwaterHorizonSettlements.com has detailed descriptions and maps to help you determine whether a geographic location may be included in the E&PD Settlement. Additionally, you can call 1-866-992-6174 or e-mail questions@ DeepwaterHorizonEconomicSettlement.com to find out if a geographic location is included.

What does the economic & ProPerty damages settlement Provide?

The E&PD Settlement makes payments for the following types of claims: (1) Seafood Compensation, (2) Economic Damage, (3) Loss of Subsistence, (4) Vessel Physical Damage, (5) Vessels of Opportunity Charter Payment, (6) Coastal Real Property Damage, (7) Wetlands Real Property Damage, and (8) Real Property Sales Damage. There is no limit on the total dollar amount of the E&PD Settlement; all qualified claims will be paid.

hoW to get Benefits from the economic & ProPerty damages settlement You need to submit a Claim Form to request a payment. You can get a copy of the various Claim Forms by visiting the website or by calling 1-866-9926174. Claims can be submitted online or by mail. If you have questions about how to file your claim, you should call the toll-free number for assistance.

The deadline to submit most E&PD claims will be April 22, 2014 or six months after the E&PD Settlement becomes effective (that is, after the Court grants “final approval” and any appeals are resolved), whichever is later. There will be an earlier deadline to submit E&PD Seafood Compensation claims. The earlier deadline to submit Seafood Compensation claims will be 30 days after final approval of the Settlement by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (regardless of appeals).

Actual claim filing deadlines will be posted on the website as they become available. Valid claims will be paid as they are approved, beginning shortly after the Court-Supervised Settlement Program commences. It is highly recommended that E&PD Settlement Class Members complete and submit their claim forms promptly. Please read the Medical Benefits Settlement notice because you may also be eligible for benefits from that settlement.

your other oPtions If you do not want to be legally bound by the E&PD Settlement, you must Opt Out or exclude yourself by October 1, 2012 or you won’t be able to sue BP over certain economic and property damage claims. If you stay in the E&PD Settlement, you may object to it by August 31, 2012. The Detailed Notice explains how to exclude yourself or object.

The Court will hold a hearing on November 8, 2012 to consider whether to approve the E&PD Settlement. You or your own lawyer may ask to appear and speak at the hearing at your own cost. The Court will also consider Class Counsel fees, costs, and expenses including an interim payment of $75 million and additional awards equal to 6% of class claims and benefits paid. Class Counsel fees, costs and expenses under the Economic and Property Damages Settlement Agreement and the Medical Benefits Settlement Agreement jointly cannot exceed $600 million. Class members’ payments will not be reduced if the Court approves the payment of Class Counsel fees, costs, and expenses because BP will separately pay these attorney fees, costs, and expenses.

DeepwaterHorizonSettlements.com



1-866-992-6174

SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

15A

LegaL notice

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Medical Benefits Settlement Providing Benefits to Clean-Up Workers and Certain Gulf Coast Residents

Who

included in the medical Benefits settlement? is

The Medical Class includes (1) clean-up workers and (2) certain people who resided in specific geographic areas in coastal and wetlands areas along the Gulf Coast during specific periods in 2010. The website DeepwaterHorizonSettlements. com has detailed descriptions and maps to help you determine whether a geographic location may be included in one of these zones. Additionally, you can call 1-866-992-6174 or e-mail info@ DeepwaterHorizonMedicalSettlement.com to find out if a geographic location is included.

What

medical Benefits settlement Provide? does the

The benefits of the Medical Benefits Settlement include: (1) payments to qualifying people for certain acute (short-term) and chronic (ongoing) medical conditions occurring after exposure to oil or chemical dispersants; (2) provision of periodic medical examinations to qualifying people; and (3) creation of a Gulf Region Health Outreach Program, consisting of projects to strengthen the healthcare system. Benefits (1) and (2) will be provided only after the Court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved.

hoW to get Benefits from the medical Benefits settlement You need to submit a Claim Form to request benefits. You can get a copy of the Claim Form

by visiting the website or by calling 1-866-9926174. Claims can be submitted by mail. If you have questions about how to file your claim, you should call the toll-free number for assistance.

The deadline for filing a Claim Form is one year after the Medical Benefits Settlement becomes effective (that is, after the Court grants “final approval” and any appeals are resolved). The exact date of the claim filing deadline will be posted on the website. It is highly recommended that Medical Class Members complete and submit their claim forms promptly. Please read the Economic and Property Damages Settlement notice because you may also be eligible for a payment from that settlement.

your other oPtions If you do not want to be legally bound by the Medical Benefits Settlement, you must Opt Out or exclude yourself by October 1, 2012 or you won’t be able to sue BP over certain medical claims. If you stay in the Medical Benefits Settlement, you may object to it by August 31, 2012. The Detailed Notice explains how to exclude yourself or object.

The Court will hold a hearing on November 8, 2012 to consider whether to approve the Medical Benefits Settlement. You or your own lawyer may ask to appear and speak at the hearing at your own cost. Class Counsel will ask the Court to consider an award of fees, costs, and expenses of 6% of the value of the benefits actually provided under the Medical Benefits Settlement Agreement.

Class Counsel fees, costs, and expenses under the Medical Benefits Settlement Agreement and the Economic and Property Damages Settlement Agreement jointly cannot exceed $600 million.

Class members’ payments will not be reduced if the Court approves the payment of Class Counsel fees, costs, and expenses because BP will separately pay these attorney fees, costs, and expenses.

DeepwaterHorizonSettlements.com

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If you have a medical claim related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, you could get benefits from a class action settlement with BP Exploration & Production Inc. and BP America Production Company (“BP”).

Go to DeepwaterHorizonSettlements.com for more information, including information on how to file a claim.

SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

By Rachel S. O’Hara | Staff Photographer

B

ANNA PHILLIPS

ar

Anna Phillips, 15, has been involved in Sarasota Aquatic Synchronized Swimming at the YMCA (SASSY) since she was in the sixth grade. Now in her fourth season with SASSY, Phillips will compete in the eSynchro U.S. Age Group Synchronized Swimming Championships. The team has 10 girls who will be competing at nationals from June 23 to June 27. Phillips will be competing at nationals for the first time.

Age: 15 Grade/School: Ninth grade at Sarasota High School Position: Second base Number: 8 What do you enjoy most about baseball?

Hitting.

Why did you decide to start playing baseball?

Because all my friends played.

Who is your favorite baseball player?

Robinson Cano.

If you could describe The Observer baseball team in one word what would it be? Good.

How often do you practice?

We practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for two-and-a-half hours and Sunday from usually noon to 3 p.m.

Did you have a favorite routine this season?

The second routine, which was a trio. It had a fun beat, and the moves went along with it very well,

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and it was enjoyable.

What is Knox?

It’s an unflavored gelatin you can buy at any store.

You just boil it with hot water and put your hair in a braided bun and use your fingers to rub it on your hair. I really enjoy Knox, nobody else does. I just use a lot of conditioner to get it out.

What is the hardest part about synchronized swimming?

Trying to get up as high as you can and holding your breath for a long time.

What are your hopes for

nationals?

To get into the top 10 and compete in top eight.

Crow’s Nest!

eReading

View the electronic edition of The Observer before the print edition hits the newsstands.

How many teams will be at nationals?

I heard more than 40 teams.

What is your favorite part about being involved in synchronized swimming?

The people on the team and all the friends I’ve made. Also, the awesome teams you get to see at competitions and friends you make (through synchronized swimming) that you see during the season.

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How did you get into synchronized swimming?

Three years ago, my friend in sixth grade told me she was going to do this with her friend and she told me to come along with her. She left after the first season, but I stayed on because I liked it a lot.

What is one of your favorite figures?

My favorite figure is a Reverse Catalina, and we are going to get to do that at nationals. You start on your stomach and go into a pike and put one of your legs up into a crane position and then you turn into one of the walls into a “Y” and then you face your head up and turn your body around again into a ballet leg.

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20A

SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

real estate | transactions

By Adam Hughes | Research Editor

Four-bedroom Casey Key home sells for $3.1 million The following residential real-estate transactions took place between May 14 and May 18. A home on Casey Key tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. William and Sherry Frost, trustees, sold the home at 955 Casey Key Road to Gregory Kuelbs, Nokomis, for $3.1 million. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, six baths, a pool and 7,414 square feet of living area.

SARASOTA La Bellasara

Michael Levine, Nokomis, and Brian Levine, Venice, trustees, sold the Unit 402 condominium at 464 Golden Gate Point to 4S&F LLC for $1.82 million. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 3,135 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $1.86 million in 2008.

Orange Blossom Tower

John Lucas and Ronald Butine, Sarasota, sold their Unit 3 condominium at 1330 Main St. to Kathleen Mahoney, of Ashburnham, Mass., for $1.48 million. Built in 1926, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 3,954 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $1 million in 2004. s s llow e pi rdine 2 fren of sase of a a a c h & a h purc or set wit matt

Condominium on the Bay

PALMER RANCH Turtle Rock

William Cheesman, as President of 888 Christmas Development Inc., Sarasota, sold the Unit 304 condominium at 888 Blvd. of the Arts to Fredric and Elizabeth Levine, Sarasota, for $495,000. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,729 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $325,000 in 2011.

Tahiti Park

Dennis and Beverly McEuen, trustees, Osprey, sold the home at 1155 Hampton Road to Stanford and Rona Ross, trustees, Sarasota, for $360,000. Built in 1985, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,899 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $210,000 in 2009.

Stonebridge

Monique Brand, trustee, of Columbus, Ohio, sold the home at 7413 Featherstone Blvd. to Byron and Susan Masterson, Sarasota, for $340,000. Built in 2000, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,159 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $238,900 in 2001.

Poinsettia Park

BankUnited sold the home at

sleep king

Since 1972

File photo

Unit 402 at La Bellasara, 464 Golden Gate Point, has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 3,135 square feet of living area.

It sold for $1.82 million.

1831 Oleander St. to Dockside Homes LLC for $300,000. Built in 1950, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,445 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $32,800 in 1977.

Floyd’s

Susan Copenhagen, Sarasota, sold her home at 1870 Loma Linda St. to JC Seminole LLC for $290,000. Built in 1954, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,248 square feet of living area.

Bay’s Bluff

Helena Kner, trustee, sold the

Unit 508 condominium at 1100 Imperial Drive to Lydia Bohn, Sarasota, for $270,000. Built in 1971, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,262 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $94,000 in 1996.

Granada

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. sold the home at 1674 Bonita Lane to Jason and Laine Nixon, Sarasota, for $241,500. Built in 1984, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 1,429 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $161,000 in 1999.

Country Club of Sarasota

Jeanne Simpson and Virginia Halstead, trustees, of Malvern, Pa., sold the home at 3876 Spyglass Hill Road to Richard Murray and Michelle Jackson, Sarasota, for $377,000. Built in 1980, it has four bedrooms, three-anda-half baths, a pool and 3,565 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $290,000 in 1993.

e in for f r 2 Ho ee a ur

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Nancy Whitaker, trustee, of Vicksburg, Mich., sold the home at 8561 Park Shore Lane to Curt Gilroy, of McLean, Va., for $468,000. Built in 1995, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,842 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $315,000 in 1997.

Rita Miller, trustee, of Louisville, Ky., sold the home at 5063 Timber Chase Way to Dale and Margareta Josephson, Sarasota, for $395,000. Built in 1998, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,558 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $224,800 in 1998.

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06/4 Mon 2:38 AM H 6:02 AM L

12:01 PM H 8:49 PM L

06/5 Tue 3:36 AM H 6:39 AM L

12:48 PM H 9:38 PM L

06/6 Wed 4:25 AM H 7:25 AM L

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10:24 PM L

a - A.M.; p - P.M. SOURCE: NOAA New Moon

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juNe 19th

juNe 27th

juNe 4th

juNe 11th

A Bittersweet Announcement Classics Shapes in Hair on Siesta Key is closing its doors on June 10, 2012. The time has come for Joseph to celebrate his 50 year career as hairdresser and successful business owner. After surviving a long illness, a well deserved retirement is waiting.

Tide Table Sponsored By Economy Tackle

Kayak Sales, Rentals

Sandra and Kim will take the summer off and investigate employment options in the fall. We wish to thank each of you for your loyalty, support and generosity over the years. Your kindness and encouragement as friends will be fondly remembered. It has been our pleasure to serve you as clients.

• West Coast Florida’s largest inventory

With Sincere Appreciation and Best Regards 83979

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Good luck in your new Hair Adventures and fell free to contact us if we can help you during this transition.

Joseph, Sandra, Kim, Fatima & Annamarie

941-365-7875 Michelle golden

34074

Time

81528

Time

82956

DATE

SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

RAINFALL

Sarasota

Wed. May 23 Thurs. May 24 Fri. May 25 Sat. May 26 Sun. May 27 Mon. May 28 Tues. May 29

MOON PHASES

0.00 0.58 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.58 0.03

June 4 Full

June 11 Last

June 19 New

June 26 First

21A

Weather Photo Contest Winner

Month to date: 2012 2011

2.04 in. 1.97 in.

Year-to-date:

2012 2011 7.66 in. 15.48 in.

TemperatureS

Wed. May 23 Thurs. May 24 Fri. May 25 Sat. May 26 Sun. May 27 Mon. May 28 Tues. May 29

High 90 95 94 94 88 87 85

Temps.

Low 70 72 73 72 73 75 80

Record Temps.

High Low 96 (1959) 57 (1981) 95 (2012) 55 (1971) 94 (2012) 58 (1931) 94 (2012) 55 (1979) 95 (1953) 52 (1979) 98 (1953) 59 (1942) 95 (1989) 57 (1935)

Average Gulf water temperature: 82

RED TIDE

Sunrise/sunset Sunrise 6:36 6:35 6:25 6:35 6:35 6:35 6:35

Sunset 8:20 8:21 8:21 8:22 8:22 8:22 8:23

Karenia brevis, the red tide organism, was not detected alongshore or offshore Sarasota County, Friday, May 25, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

PHOTO CONTEST: Win an iPad 2 or Canon EOS T3 camera. Enter your sunset, sunrise or weather-related photos for The Observer’s weather photo contest, sponsored by . To enter your photos, visit YourObserver.com, and click on the “Contests” tab in the upper-right corner. Weekly winners will have their photo printed in the paper and will be entered into a drawing for that month. The monthly winner will choose between an iPad 2 or Canon EOS T3 camera.

84243

Thurs., May 31 Fri., June 1 Sat., June 2 Sun., June 3 Mon., June 4 Tues., June 5 Wed., June 6

Jared Serfozo submitted this photo, taken behind the Sarasota Courthouse looking east.

O B S E RV E R C RO S S WO R D

GOLF 101 by Mark Hooper

Edited by Timothy E. Parker

2

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121 Act broadly 68 Supreme Court 53 Bees aplenty ACROSS count 55 Command to Fido 1 Fleeting muscle 69 Arabian sailing 56 Thai or Taiwanese, dOwn problem vessel e.g.

1 Permanent pen 6 Thing on a golf 70 Play on the banjo 57 Have a suspicion brand course 72 Amish and Hasidim, 58 Oozes 2 Company car, for 11 Adds some for two 61 “Down under” fowl example seasoning 74 Reaction of 63 What shad are 3 Ring legend 16 Country singer West astonishment prized for Muhammad 17 “Sexy” woman in a 75 Orchestral 70 Busy one’s list 4 A deadly sin Beatles song composition based heading 5 Allegorical beliefs of 18 All-points bulletins, on literature 71 Big-city newspaper a culture e.g.

77 “Big Band,” for one department 6 Supplies for 20 “Ben Hur” vehicle 79 Crisis center 72 Comparatively rightguitarists 21 Bird warble connections minded “Still mooing,” at a 22 Made fuzzy 81 Father figures 73 Ticket remnant steakhouse 24 Carefree escapade 82 Christmas tree 76 Welcome word on a 8 Miner’s way in 25 Before or until that holder bill 9 Grain storage locale time 84 “Shoulda, woulda, 78 “Go, team, go!”

10 Inward wallowing 28 Apply asphalt coulda” one 80 Boater’s worry 11 Israel natives 29 Viper with an 85 At a slow tempo 82 Played the tourist 12 Bowler’s milieu upturned snout 88 Featherbrain 83 Bright planets, 13 Director Spike 30 A Pueblo people 90 Monkey-bread tree sometimes 14 Thing on a golf 31 Broadway offering 94 Coated with 85 Buddhist in Nirvana course 32 K-___ (big name in hoarfrost 86 Royal headband 15 Bedrock, e.g. records) 95 Bearer of the Golden 16 California mountain 87 Strong-smelling 33 Inflexible Fleece cleaning solution 19 Longest river in 36 Button on a fax 96 Certain thick-piled 88 With the bow, in Great Britain machine rugs violin music 20 Choker hardware 38 Gives a hand 98 Small ridge on the 89 Appointment book 23 “Animal House” 39 Gush forth edge of a button or entry house 41 Saffron-flavored dial 91 Short-haired cat 26 Event in Olympic Spanish dish 99 Amateur radio 92 Known by very few fencing 43 “Me, me, me” types operator 93 Lacking taste 27 An 88, for one 45 Barnard graduate, 100 “The Seven Year ___” 34 Banned football 95 Site of the 2004 e.g.

101 “Don’t move!”

Summer Games formation 46 Cravings 103 “His Master’s Voice” 97 Aerial combat 35 Bloodsucking insect 48 Full of twists and brand mission 37 Blood bank turns 100 The Five Pillars of supporter 49 Footwear brand ___ 104 Bustling commotions ___ 38 Inquired McAn 106 Some track and field 102 The 23rd is a famous 39 ___ gin fizz 50 Makes ineffective athletes one 40 Bodybuilding film of 54 It may be more than 110 Dillinger chaser 105 Thing on a golf 1977 enough 111 Based on sound course 42 “A Bug’s Life” 55 Complimentary reason 107 Bit of Cuban bread? characters ticket 113 “The Wizard of Oz” 108 “What have you 44 “At Seventeen” 59 Genesis garden coloring been ___?” singer Janis 60 “Teenage Mutant 109 With an even score 45 “Can I get a word Ninja Turtles” setting 114 Concluding part 116 Dweller on ancient 110 Definitely not a in?”

62 “All I Have to Do Is Crete dearth 47 Barely contains one’s ___” 117 Autumn bloomer 112 Breathtaking snake rage 64 “No more 49 John Deere product 115 1969 Nobel Peace explanation needed” 118 Handle poorly 119 “Get Smart” star Prize grp.

50 Grassy plain, in 65 Singer k.d.

Don Africa 66 Beret’s cousin 120 “How I Play Golf” 51 Forty-third state 67 A way to sell stocks author 52 Half a dovetail joint (Abbr.)

Thursday, May 31, 2012 Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Sarasota Observer reserves the right to classify and edit copy, or to reject or cancel an advertisement at any time. Corrections after first insertion only. *All ads are subject to the approval of the Publisher. *It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in The Sarasota Observer to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with town codes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property.

INFO & RATES: (941) 955-4888 • Fax: (941) 362-4808 • Email: classified@yourobserver.com HOuRS: Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-5pm • DEADLINES: Classifieds: Tuesday at Noon • Service Directory: Friday at 3 pm

Items Under $200 For Sale ALMOND DISHWASHER: GE Eterna Series, Excellent condition, $175. 941-966-5439.

ANTIQUE DINING Table: Duncan Phyffe, 38x58, $180.00. 941-383-0834.

CANOE: ALUMINUM, 15' 11'' Coleman, $200.

941-729-7827.

COCKTAIL TABLE with glasstop, 42”x42”, modern on formica base, $189. o/b/o. 941-346-1564.

COMPUTER DESK and chair. Must see, $75.00 for both. 941-228-8368.

DINNERWARE: DANSK green: plates, soup, cups, bowls, gravy, butter, serving bowls, casserole, $200.00. Call 941-377-7131.

ELTON JOHN up close original oil portrait, on 16”x20” canvas, $175. 941-320-7775.

SMALL KITCHEN Table (27x40) with drop leafs, plus 2 folding wooden chairs, $35. 941-586-5672.

TABLE: GLASSTOP, 42” round, 4 swivel chairs, fiberglass (wicker look), $65. 941-924-5031.

TENNIS RACKETS: 1 Kinetic, $15. 1 Prince, $25.

2 Wilson, $25/ea. 941-925-7485.

Autos Wanted AUTOS WANTED! Let me take the hassle out of selling your car. Cash offered today! Call Mike, 941-713-2277.

Furnishings LANAI FURNITURE: 60” round table with 4 padded chairs, 70” octagonal table with 4 padded chairs, 2 spring rockers with cushions. Heavy wrought iron. $899. 941-346-1564.

Garage/Moving/Estate Sales

Business Opportunities

Homes For Sale

ABBEX, INC 941-365-3833 Well Known Restaurant Breakfast and lunch only.

Gross Sales: $1,400,000 - Price: $750,000 Service Company Nets: $110,000 - Price: $175,000 WWW.ABBEXINC.COM Steve Alexander

BANK OWNED PROPERTIES & more!

View them at LarrySellsSarasota.com LARRY BRZOSTEK RE/MAX Alliance Group 941-993-3125

JAN PRO CLEANING FRANCHISE: $950 Down Required, Financing Available for growth, Includes customers. Earn up to $10,000 Month+ Call 941-907-8141

Help Wanted CNA’S/HHA’S FOR non-medical in-home care.

F/T, P/T, flexible 4 hour to 12 hour shifts available.

941-257-4457.

Work in Sarasota. 20 needed. Call 941-257-4452.

GROOMER POSITION available, downtown Sarasota location. Will train qualified candidates.

Grow with us. Call 941-388-3647.

Homemakers/ Companions CNA’S/ HHA’S

You Can Make a Difference. Help seniors stay independent. We provide: non medical care, personal care, meals, light housekeeping, transportation & companionship. Flexible hours availableF/T, P/T, Overnight, Weekends and Live-In. Positions available in Sarasota/ Bradenton/ Venice. To work now, fax resume to: 941-929-7438 or email: stephanieck@comcast.net FL Reg #HCS227965, HCS228619, HCS228620 FL Lic #HHA299992670

OUR BOOKS 1/2 Price BEE RIDGE BOOKS 4104 Bee Ridge Road Bee Ridge Plaza Trade-In your Paperbacks 941-377-8998

Condos/Apts. For Rent

JEFFERSON CENTER 930 N. Tamiami Tr., Sarasota, FL 34236

MASSAGE CHAIR Model Popular-600, brown leather, like new. 941-922-6997.

941-953-9585 800-955-8771 TDD/TTY

Merchandise Wanted

Events

83302

Rentals from $427-$588

SENIOR LOOKING to purchase precious metals, time pieces, coins, jewelry and antiques. Please call Marc, 941-321-0707.

Utilities & Cable Included

PELICAN COVE. Beautiful 3/2 turnkey furnished annual rental in this amenity rich community. This ground floor unit is available at $1,450/month. Call Siesta Beach Realty @ 941-993-5722.

END OF SEASON CLEARANCE!!!

Fill 1 Bag for $5 - Get 2nd Bag Free!!

Fri., June 1st & Sat., June 2nd 9AM-1PM Presbyterian Church of the Covenant 7950 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota Info: 941-922-5509

SUTTON PLACE TOWNHOME, LBK: 2BR/2BA, spacious open floor plan, W/D, garage, 2 pools, beach/ boat access. Annual or Seasonal.

941-383-0993.

Storage STORAGE FACILITY Boat/ RV/ Trailer. Secure facility, low monthly rentals, Clark Rd area.

941-809-3660, 941-809-3662.

Things To Do

FURNISHED OR UNFURNISHED: 1BR condo in The Meadows. Available now. $750/mo. Annual.

Call 923-6050.

Condos For Sale BELLA VILLINO: One of the nicest 2BR/2BA units in this resort style community on Palmer Ranch.

Located on the 3rd floor across from the heated pool and all for $128,900. Call Siesta Beach Realty @ 941-993-5722.

GULFSIDE MINI-VACATION IN NAPLES JUST $175 PER PERSON ***

COZY COVE: Large 2BR/2BA at Turtle Beach with water views and boat slips. Comes newly furnished and ready to go………$329,000. Call Siesta Beach Realty @ 941-993-5722.

Your Mini-Vacation Includes: s 'ULFSIDE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR NIGHTS

s #ONTINENTAL "REAKFAST "UFFET s $INNER EVENING VOUCHER AT YOUR CHOICE OF LOCAL RESTAURANTS

s ,UNCH DAY VOUCHER AT YOUR CHOICE OF LOCAL RESTAURANTS

s !DMISSION TO OF LOCAL ATTRACTIONS 3OME ATTRACTIONS MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FEES s #HECK IN 3UNDAY THROUGH 4HURSDAY FOR ADDITIONAL LUNCH VOUCHER AND DINNER DISCOUNT

Room For Rent LONGBOAT KEY. Senior non-smoker to share furnished 2BR/2BA Villa, bayfront. $600 +1/2 electric. No pets. 941-809-8770, Ronnie.

SWIFT/PROCTOR: Furnished Efficiency, Quiet Secluded, 1st Flr. Private Entrance, Screened Deck, Utilities Included, Washer/Dryer, $545/mo.

941-349-8900.

VILLAGE GREEN: Female looking for same for 2BR/2BA Villa. Pool & Green area. $550/mo.

941-356-7245.

Vacation/Seasonal Rentals ON BEACH or Bay!! 1-3 Bedrooms, Weekly or Monthly. Available Immediately.

Seaside Management, 941-923-6077.

ASSISTED LIVING in the Privacy of your Home. Complete Care from Homemaking, Transportation, Dressing and Grooming, Medications to RN Supervision and Case Management. License # 30211372, bonded and insured. Services available all hours.

Call 377-4465.

CARING COMPANION SERVICES Dr. Appts., Shopping, Social Outings, Daily Walks, Housekeeping, Cooking, Laundry, Book Reading www.caringcompanionservices.com Lic. #232533 Bonded and Insured

FREE ESTIMATES! Call Dotty, detailed cleaning.

24 Years Exp. Lic./Ins. Residential/Commercial.

Looking for year-round customers! Dottie, 941-321-6645.

QUALITY CLEANING Service. 10 years experience. Residential & Commercial. Call Anghelika, 941-204-3589.

Furniture Repair ALBERTO’S REFINISHING Of Fine Furniture, Antiques, Gold Leaf, Cane, Rush, Upholstery.

Quality Work. Call: 941-296-5427.

Home Improvement/ Remodeling ED’S PLUMBER CONNECTION. 24 Hour Emergency service. All maintenance work.

941-726-7776.

Home Services EUROPEAN HOUSE Cleaning: Honest, Hard working, Experienced. Weekly, Biweekly, Year round. References available. Call Renata at (941)328-2347.

Masonry EUROPEAN MASONRY "No Job Too Small" We specialize in brickwork, walkways, sidewalks, concrete work, retainer walls, pavers, patios, and all stone work. (941)400-7338 eumasonry@gmail.com www.eumasonry.com

Painting/Wallpapering CARLO DATTILO PAINTING. Licensed & insured.

Interior/ Exterior painting including drywall repair and retexturing. Wallpaper installation & removal, pressure washing. Residential & commercial, condos. Honest & reliable. Free estimates.

941-744-1020. 35+ years experience.

RICK STEAKLEY PAINTING. Interior/Exterior.

Pressure Washing. Wallpaper Removal. Drywall Repairs. Reasonable. Reliable. Professional.

30+/years experience. References available.

Free Estimates.

Lic./Ins. 941-228-7605, rlsteakley@comcast.net

Pet Services DOGGY HOTEL. 24 Hour Daycare. Brown Avenue near Bee Ridge and 41 behind Sleep King (new owner). First day FREE. Grooming by Mark.

Meet and greet and get a treat. 941-554-4620.

Professional Services ISLAND CONCIERGE your time is pleasurable mine is valuable. Help me help you. www.islandconcierge.us 941-778-3203

Tile

Free in-home consultation 941-320-9111 or 941-320-4886

STEVE ALLEN FLOOR COVERINGS PROFESSIONAL TILE & MARBLE INSTALLATION

CNA/PRIVATE DUTY: 6 to 24 hours, all personal care, shopping, cooking, cleaning, doctor appts.

Reasonable rates. Excellent references. Call Judy, 941-539-7779.

20 YRS. EXPERIENCE CALL FOR FREE ESTIMATE 726-1802 LIC/ INS

IN-HOME QUALITY care: doctor’s appts., errands, hair salon, etc. P/T or 24 hour care available. 941-371-1678, 941-724-4733.

Auto Service WE WANT TO BUY YOUR VEHICLE!!!

Any Make, Any Model, Any Condition.

No Title - No Problem! Bank Lien - No Problem!

Paying up to $30,000 for Vehicles. Call AJ now at 813-335-3794 for a Free Quote or 813-531-4298.

D L O S

$450/mo-1 bed/bath mobile homes.

55+ community. No Pets.

5811 14th St. W. Bradenton.

Sarasota Real Estate Assoc., Inc. Greg Nowak 941-809-6034

Child Care Services

This week’s Crossword answers

Cleaning BETTY’S HOUSECLEANING Service. High quality cleaning. Reasonable rates. Licensed.

References. Call 941-650-6180.

* Available through December 21, 2012. Holiday weekends excluded.

Based on double occupancy. Tax, tip & resort fees extra.

Type of accommodation subject to availability.

Bayside condominiums available at different rates. ** An 18% gratuity will be added by lunch and dinner vendors. ***Limited to one per customer.

O

CALL (800) 243-9076 or (239) 597-3144 9225 Gulfshore Drive North, Naples, Florida 34108

www.vanderbiltbeachresort.com

say you saw it in Reserved Space LP Reserved Space

HOUSE CLASSIFIEDS LP # 56733

can go online to ReservedYou Space placeSpace your classified LP Reserved

ad in your local paper.

82853

FOR RESERVATIONS,

955.4888

www.yourobserver.com

LOVING PROFESSIONAL CHILD CARE. For kids ages 3 and up. Creative arts specialist. Age 31.

Call Tia, 941-321-8334.

Homes For Rent LUXOR MHP

Out-Of-State Rentals CONNECTICUT HOME Furnished: 3BR/3BA, with option to buy. 90 mins to NYC. 941-383-0834 or 727-470-8618.

Adult Care Services

Affordable Senior Housing

General Merchandise

DEER CREEK Villa By Owner: 2BR/2BA. $202,500 or can be sold furnished. Open Sunday 1p.m.-4p.m. or by appointment. Motivated seller.

Priced lower per sq.ft. than villas SOLD prices.

941-925-7485.

Cleaning

2012

This week’s Cryptogram answers

www.yourobserver.com

Ready When You Are – Classified Ads … the Way to Sell

1. Two deer were considering food, habitats and the economy. One commented: “If we can’t get more to eat this year, I will blame it on stagflation.”

2. This is a balanced diet: a BLT, a cookie and a coke in each hand.

YourObserver.com

APPLIANCE REPAIR

CLEANING

CONCRETE

APPLIANCE SERVICE

ADDY’S CLEANING SERVICE

Michael Koch Concrete, Inc.

Call Liz for the Best Price

941-724-4278

s -OVE )NS -OVE /UTS (OUSE #ONDO /FlCE #LEANING #ARPET &LOOR #ARE

84064

922-3157

CUSTOM WOODWORKING

3204 Gulf Gate Dr., Sarasota (Across from the Library)

.com

BOAT SERVICES DOCKSIDE BOAT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

NEW TV - CALL ME

941.227.4867

Anytime, Anywhere Remote and On-Site Solutions for PC/MAC and Networks

83375

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CERTIFIED & INSURED

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INC.

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DOORS

PRO Sliding Glass Door Repair “FIX IT - DON’T REPLACE�

YOUR DOORS WILL SLIDE LIKE NEW

DRYWALL

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941-735-3362

All Types of Custom Cabinetry

Quality Furniture Made With Fine Wood #VJMU *OT t &OUFSUBJONFOU $FOUFST t "SNPJSFT $PNQVUFS %FTLT %JOJOH 3PPN 5BCMFT t )VUDIFT 'VSOJUVSF 3FQBJS 3FmOJTIJOH t $BCJOFU 3FGBDJOH

www.proslidingglassdoorrepair.com

It’s Easier Than You Think!

CHALMERS DRYWALL

s 2EPAIR s 2EMODEL s .EW #ONSTRUCTION ,ICENSED )NSURED s &REE %STIMATES

ĂŚsĂŚ

Peg’s Peg s EZ EZ Computer Computer Instruction Instruction

Like Us on Facebook

586-4791

Mottern :2 20 2':2 5.,1* &

Call Mark 941-928-2263

Learn Computer Basics

Work at Your Own Speed Affordably Priced New Computer Setups Software & Printer Install New Purchase Consults Working with Photos

CABINET MAKING

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SALES & SERVICE NEW & REFURBISHED NETWORKING DSL AND CABLE SETUPS TRAINING BACKUP & RECOVERY SETUP, INSTALL, UPGRADE AFFORDABLE RATES 82465

83310

On Site or In Shop

VIRUS & SPYWARE EXPERTS! LAPTOP REPAIR SPECIALISTS

Make Your Phone Ring

82911

ELECTRIC

83379

Kitchen/Bath Design & Remodeling

3675768-01

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REFACE OR NEW IN BAMBOO

Alarm Systems | Lighting Control | Multi Room Audio | iPad Integration Phone Systems | Audio/Video | Security Cameras | Access Control | Home Theater

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DECORATIVE SURFACES FOR: PATIOS, POOL DECKS, DRIVEWAYS, ENTRYWAYS

COMPUTER

AUDIO/VIDEO

State CertiďŹ ed Contractor | Veteran Owned

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Patios - Driveways - Sidewalks

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Lic. # 46264

Sharon M. Guy, P.A.

Also Polymer Outdoor Cabinetry

941-723-0278

Reasonable Prices ,IC

82478

Law OfďŹ ce of

Call for appt. www.themastercabinetmaker.com

3687954-01

82477

WILLS, TRUSTS, PROBATE, ELDER LAW

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Unique Cleaning Service

ATTORNEY

Sharon M. Guy

SINGLETURTLE

38314

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82908

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VALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S 83528

Classifieds 23B 23A

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THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

82479

THE SARASOTA OBSERVER/PE SARASOTA Thursday,Observer May 31, 2012

Palmetto

CARPENTRY

40 Years in Sarasota

NO Job Too Small

941-544-2058

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Fascia, SofďŹ t Siding, Hardi Board, Painting, Carpentry, Etc.

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YOUR LOCAL SOURCE!

Reach us online 24/7 www.PalmCoastObserver.com/classifieds PalmCoastObserver.com PalmCoastObserver.com

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Classified Ads

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LANDSCAPING & LAWN

Sola Irrigation

LIGHTHOUSE ELECTRIC of Sarasota

PAINT JOB BOYS LLC

â&#x2DC;&#x2026; Commercial & â&#x2DC;&#x2026; Faux Finish Service House Painting Services â&#x2DC;&#x2026; Licensed / Insured â&#x2DC;&#x2026; Power Washing

Pump and Irrigation Services

FURNITURE REPAIR

PATIO REPAIRS, INC PATIO REPAIRS

$

55 Irrigation System Checkup Includes:

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82459 38056

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Painting Inc. â&#x20AC;&#x153;where appearance is everythingâ&#x20AC;?

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82480

FREE

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82950

966-5094

82503

941-549-0586

STEVE PANEBIANCO

HUSBAND & WIFE PAINTING TEAM

INTERIOR/EXTERIOR/INSURED

Quality Work with a Womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Touch

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LAWN CARE

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941-705-5468

Commercial

82481

Watching your home when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re away

83817

A Private Company Serving the Palmer Ranch Area Since 2007

The Service DirecTory

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PRO-PLUMBING WORKS, LLC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where the Customer Comes Firstâ&#x20AC;?

Phone (941) 704-4278 Fax (941) 538-3781 dmccarthy114@hotmail.com

CFC1428540

ALL PLUMBING REPAIR & DRAIN CLEANING

941-894-1127

Chuck Burns Owner

27 Years Experience

www.TheSarasotaPlumber.com

941-755-6300

941.726.1560

Fully Licensed and Insured

PAINTING

Grab Bar Installations & Handyman Services Licensed & Insured GLENN KROECKER 84061

PROMPT

than Dewey RESPONSE NaPainting COMPANY

COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL Interior & Exterior Pressure Washing Pool Decks Drywall Repair Family Owned & Operated

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Quality Workmanship for Over 25 Yearsâ&#x20AC;?

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(cell) 780-3346

Sarasota.MrRooter.com

359-1904

KITCHEN/BATH REMODELING

954-1878

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Independently Owned and Operated Franchise

www.chiconthecheap.net chiconthecheap@gmail.com

3803243-01

Melanie

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In-Home Consultation & Do-It-Yourself Plan

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Beautiful Interior Design on a Budget

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INTERIOR DESIGN

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Dave McCarthy

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Hire â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your Very Own Assistantâ&#x20AC;?

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THE SARASOTA OBSERVER/ SARASOTA Observer THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012 Thursday, May 31, 2012

82905

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SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

Voted Sarasota Sarasota Magazine’s Magazine’s“Best “Best in in Client Client Satisfaction” Satisfaction” Voted SEVEN Consecutive Consecutive Years Years SEVEN

Family Home Home -Family West of of the the Trail Trail West

Hawks Harbor Harbor Hawks

Walk to Southside Village stores and restaurants.

Walk to Southside Village stores and restaurants.

4BR/2.5 bath home. Spacious backyard with 4BR/2.5 bath home. Spacious backyard with room for pool. Excellent schools, close to Siesta room for pool. Excellent schools, close to Siesta Key and Downtown.

Key and Downtown.

Now Priced at $499,000 MLS#A3945862 Now Priced at $499,000 MLS#A3945862

4/5 bedroom 3 bath, 4192 sq.ft. Key West style pool 4/5 bedroom 3 bath, 4192 sq.ft. Key West style pool home. Gated community, home has lake and partial home. Gated community, home has lake and partial bay views. Private dock with lift. All of the best bay views. Private dock with lift. All of the best interior features including: elevator, oak floors, interior features including: elevator, oak floors, Dacor range, granite and so much more!

Dacor range, granite and so much more! $849,000 A395380 $849,000 A395380

Realtor® Realtor®

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, 5145 Ocean Blvd., Sarasota, FL Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, 5145 Ocean Blvd., Sarasota, FL

office:941-349-2922 941-349-2922 office:

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Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Owned and Operated by NRT,LLC Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Owned and Operated by NRT,LLC

WE WILL SELL YOUR HOUSE OR ERA WILL BUY IT® 941-346-7454 941-346-7454

Waterside Waterside REALTY REALTY

SIESTA KEY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES SOLD FAMILY HOMES AvenidaSIESTA Leona KEY SINGLE Siesta Manor #3 SOLD Avenida Leona Siesta #3Unit1 Tropical Circle Siesta Manor Bayside Tropical Circle Siesta Unit1 Higel Ave. Siesta Bayside Key Higel Ave. SIESTA KEY CONDOMINIUMS Siesta Key SOLD SIESTA KEY CONDOMINIUMS Midnight Pass Rd. #302 El Presidente SOLD Midnight Pass Rd. #302 El Presidente Whispering Sands Dr#805 Whispering Sands Sec. 7 Whispering Sands Dr#805 Whispering Sands Sec. 7 Midnight Pass Rd #102S Crescent Arms Midnight Midnight Pass Pass Rd Rd #102S #T-702 Crescent SarasotaArms Surf & Racquet Midnight Surf & Racquet Midnight Pass Pass Rd Rd #T-702 #17S Sarasota Island House Midnight Pass #17S FAMILY Island HOMES House PENDING SALES SIESTA KEYRdSINGLE SIESTA HOMES PENDING SALES Canal Rd KEY SINGLE FAMILY Sarasota Beach Canal Sarasota Beach SiestaRd Woods Dr Siesta Woods Siesta Woods Dr Siesta Woods Avenida Del Mare Sarasota Beach Avenida DelRd Mare Sarasota BeachWaterside Wood Woodside Siesta Bayside Woodside Rd Siesta Bayside Waterside Commonwealth Pl Siesta Waterside East Wood Commonwealth Siesta East Shadowlawn DrPl Siesta Waterside Isles Shadowlawn Siesta IslesPENDING SALES SIESTADrKEY CONDOMINIUMS SIESTA CONDOMINIUMS Midnight PassKEY Rd #101 Sea WindsPENDING SALES Midnight Sea WindsRoyale Unit I Midnight Pass Pass Rd Rd #101 #48 Jamaica Midnight Royale Unit I Midnight Pass Pass Rd Rd #48 #520 Jamaica Harbor Towers Midnight Pass Rd #520 Harbor Towers

iESTA kEY And SARASoTA AREA HomE & Condo SALES LAST WEEk* SSiESTA kEY And SARASoTA AREA HomE & Condo SALES LAST WEEk* $540,000 $540,000 $730,000 $730,000 $840,000 $840,000 $419,950 $419,950 $550,000 $550,000 $565,000 $565,000 $595,000 $595,000 $790,000 $790,000 $338,500 $338,500 $489,000 $489,000 $579,900 $579,900 $675,000 $675,000 $749,000 $749,000 $895,900 $895,900 $159,600 $159,600 $246,000 $246,000 $299,000 $299,000

5830 5830 6267 6267 3947 3947 5920 5920 1355 1355 5917 5917 2215 2215 3338 3338 2416 2416 2149 2149 5116 5116 7596 7596 404 404 1729 1729 565 565 1636 1636 1406 1406 302 302 3920 3920 574 574

Midnight Pass Rd #17 Jamaica Royale Unit I Midnight I 2 Midnight Pass Pass Rd Rd #17 #205 Jamaica ExcelsiorRoyale BeachUnit to Bay Midnight Pass Rd #205 Excelsior Somerset Dr #6 SomersetBeach Woodsto Bay 2 Somerset Dr #6Rd #204 Somerset Woods Midnight Pass Sarasota Surf & Racquet Midnight PassDrRd #204 Sarasota Surf & Racquet S. Portofino #PH-C Siesta Harbor S. Portofino Dr #PH-C Siesta Harbor SARASOTA AREA SINGLE FAMILY HOMES SOLD AREA SINGLE OliveSARASOTA Ave GoldenFAMILY Acres HOMES SOLD Olive Golden Acres Alice Ave Rd Crecelius Alice Rd St Crecelius Rowena Shadow Oaks Rowena St Circle Shadow Oaks Breakwater Gulf Gate Unit 8 Breakwater Circle Gulf Unit 8 Pine Gardens Trail PineGate Gardens Pine Gardens Trail Pine Gardens Ashton Pines Lane Ashton Pines Ashton Ashton Pines BiltmorePines Dr. Lane Gulf Gate Woods Unit 4 Biltmore Dr. Gulf E. Flamingo Dr Bird Gate Key Woods Unit 4 E. Flamingo Dr Bird Key Landings Way The Landings Landings WayDr The S. Spoonbill BirdLandings Key S. Spoonbill Dr Bird Baywood Way Bay Key View Acres Baywood Way Bay View Ridgewood Lane Aqualine Acres Sstates Unit 3 Ridgewood Lane Aqualine Bird Key Drive Bird Key Sstates Unit 3 Bird Key Drive Bird Key Red Rock Way Hansens Red Rock Way Hansens S. Spoonbill Dr Bird Key S. Spoonbill Dr Bird Key

$330,000 $330,000 $399,900 $399,900 $489,000 $489,000 $600,000 $600,000 $799,900 $799,900 $66,000 $66,000 $79,000 $79,000 $88,000 $88,000 $115,000 $115,000 $130,000 $130,000 $150,500 $150,500 $268,500 $268,500 $680,000 $680,000 $737,000 $737,000 $930,000 $930,000 $950,000 $950,000 $1,075,000 $1,075,000 $1,800,000 $1,800,000 $2,200,000 $2,200,000 $2,960,000 $2,960,000

2220 2220 1647 1647 1759 1759 1608 1608 1419 1419 2733 2733 1831 1831 375 375 485 485 175 175 647 647 2324 2324 800 800 1921 1921 888 888 988 988 235 235 50 50

Scan this QR Code Scan thisall QR Code to view listings to view all listings SARASOTA AREA CONDOMINIUMS SOLD AREATregate CONDOMINIUMS SOLD StickneySARASOTA Point Rd #512 Manor $42,500 Stickney Point Rd #512 Tregate $42,500 Brookhouse Ct.#BR245 Pelican Manor Cove XVI $100,000 Brookhouse Ct.#BR245 Pelican Cove XVI $100,000 Dawn St. #308 Pine Ridge $129,000 Dawn St. #308 Pine Ridge $129,000 Bayhouse Point Dr Pelican Cove XIV $174,500 Bayhouse Point Dr Pelican Cove XIV $174,500 Landingd Pl #60 Landings Treehouse $355,000 Landingd Pl #60 Landings Treehouse $355,000 SARASOTA AREA SINGLE FAMILY HOMES PENDING SALES SARASOTA AREA SINGLE FAMILY HOMES PENDING SALES Ashton Rd Nashs $174,000 Ashton Nashs $174,000 TowheeRd Ln $374,900 Towhee Ln $374,900 N Washington Dr John Ringling Estates $699,000 NE.Washington Dr John Ringling Estates $699,000 Royal Flamingo Dr Bird Key $1,095,000 E. Royal Flamingo Dr Bird Key $1,095,000 Morningside Dr Lido Shores $1,575,000 Morningside Lido $1,575,000 N. Owl Dr Dr Bird Shores Key $1,895,000 N. Owl Dr Bird Key $1,895,000 SARASOTA AREA CONDOMINIUMS PENDING SALES SARASOTA AREA CONDOMINIUMS PENDING SALES Aquabluff Place Strathmore RiversideIII $159,900 Aquabluff Place Strathmore RiversideIII $159,900 N. Tamiami Trail Alinari $339,900 N. Tamiami Trail Alinari $339,900 Monte Carlo Dr #201 Phillippi Landings $418,900 Monte Carlo Dr #201 Phillippi Landings $418,900 Blvd of the Arts #302 Condo on the Bay Tower I $420,000 Blvd Condo $420,000 Blvd ofof the theArts Arts #302 #816 Condo on on the the Bay BayTower Tower III $450,000 Blvd of the Arts #816 Condo on the Bay Tower II $450,000 Cocoanut Ave #107B Marquee EnVille $519,000 Cocoanut Ave #107B Marquee EnVille $519,000 Central Ave#12F Plaza at Five Points Residence $1,195,000 Central Ave#12F Plaza at Five Points Residence $1,195,000

Basedon oninformation informationcompiled compiledfrom fromthe theMid-Florida Mid-FloridaRegional RegionalMultiple MultipleListing ListingService, Service,Inc. Inc.for forthe theperiod periodofof5/21/2012 5/21/2012thru thru5/28/2012.

5/28/2012.

Based This information may or may not include all listed, expired, withdrawn, pending or sold properties of one or more members of the Mid Florida Regional MultipleListing ListingService.

Service.

This information may or may not include all listed, expired, withdrawn, pending or sold properties of one or more members of the Mid Florida Regional Multiple

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SARASOTA Observer

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

Judie Berger

Trust

THE REALTOR WITH PROVEN RESULTS

SOLD

1229 Point Crisp Road - $2,850,000

Brand New Siesta Key bay front home on magical 1 acre lot with dock, lift and infinity pool

UNDER CONTRACT

145 Beach Road - $1,900,000 146 Avenida Veneccia - $1,000,000

y voted SARASOTA MAGAZINE’S FIVE STAR

701 Treasure Boat Way - $1,500,000

Elegant Siesta Key Mediterranean home on the Grand Canal, built in 2004 with over 3300 sf

Rare opportunity for Siesta Key gulf views - call for details

4568 Woodside Road - $1,100,000

1529 Eastbrook Drive - $999,950

y

941.479.3880

550 Commonwealth Place - $749,000

Equisite Spanish-style lake front home in sought after West of the Trail location - richly appointed 3 bed/2.5 bath pool home

200’ on Siesta Key’s Grand Canal. Charming 3 bed/2 bath home with beautiful long, wrap around panoramic views

ALSO UNDER CONTRACT

“BEST IN CLIENT SATISFACTION” 7 YEARS IN A ROW TOP PRODUCER premier SOTHEBY’S A LEADER IN SIESTA KEY AND SIESTA ISLES HOME SALES SPECIALIZING IN LUXURY MARKETING AND NEGOTIATION

y y

UNDER CONTRACT

140’ Siesta waterfront, 4 minutes to open bay, 4 bed/4 bath, high ceilings, 3 car garage

27A

Judie Berger, PA, ABR, GRI

Judie.Berger@sothebysrealty.com

7220 Proctor Road - $1,199,000 5900 Ocean Boulevard #903 - $699,000 1771 Ringling Boulevard #1001 - $500,000

ALSO sold in 2012

5128 Windward Avenue - $549,000

1245 Sea Plume Way - $1,150,000 1240 Northport Drive - $935,000 618 Owl Way - $800,000 1919 Grove Street - $745,000 757 Tropical Circle - $730,000 5044 Faberge Place - $315,000 9393 Midnight Pass Road #401 - $300,000

5153 Sandy Cove Avenue - $749,000

Rare Siesta mid-century modern, boating water, walls of glass, 4 bed/3 bath, pool, boat dock & lift

5911 Midnight Pass Road #201 - $369,000

w w w . H O M E S O F S A R A S O T A . c o m

Your Expert Siesta Key

Meet Your Local Realtors Iva Fadley Dane PA,TRC Cell: 941.350.8001 Office: 941.955.1500 Wagner Realty

Patricia Clouser Realtor 941.232.8579

Irene Jurnack, PA, Realtor® Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, LLC

patclouser@yahoo.com

REAL ESTATE GROUP

6021 Midnight Pass Rd.

Wellman/Moffatt Team Now In Our New Location...

Full-time Realtor specializing in waterfront, mainland, condos, homes, short sales and foreclosures irenejurnack@floridamoves.com

8660 S. Tamiami Tr. 941.966.8000 Peggy A. Wellman, PA 941.374.0811 Bob Moffatt 941.232.3370 Linda Page 941.302.1955

Susan Matteoli, GRI, ABR 941.356.1335

“Your Everything Real Estate Source”

“Service Without Limits, Standards Without Compromise” SusanMatteoli@michaelsaunders.com

www.sarasota4you.com

941.544.6103

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KEY SOLUTIONS

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28A

SARASOTA Observer

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14

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW JUNE 1 – JUNE 7, 2012

www.review.net

ANOTHER PONZI? by the Business Review Staff

Lori Sax

Sarasota real estate investor Marvin Kaplan says in a countersuit that Regions Bank’s allegations that he was orchestrating a check kiting scheme were a systematic campaign by the bank to defame his character to mask lax banking procedures at Regions Bank.

Kaplan alleges how he was scammed Sarasota real estate investor Marvin Kaplan has lost about $22 million in what his attorney alleges to be a Ponzi scheme involving Sarasota entrepreneur Larry Starr.

After being criminally accused in late January by Regions Bank of orchestrating a $10 million check kiting scheme, prominent Sarasota real estate investor, developer and entrepreneur Marvin Kaplan is speaking out.

Kaplan says in a 46-page counterclaim filed Wednesday in the 12th Circuit Court in Sarasota he orchestrated nothing.

Kaplan alleges, with specific chronological details, that Larry Starr, a longtime Sarasota and Longboat Key tourism entrepreneur and one-time Business Review entrepreneur of the year, along with the owners of Fayettville, N.C.based Smith Advertising & Associates conspired in a Ponzi scheme that duped Kaplan.

And that scheme unraveled in January, Kaplan’s counterclaim alleges, when Regions Bank mishandled Kaplan’s checks, ultimately costing Kaplan a loss of about $22 million in four days.

What’s more, Kaplan’s counterclaim says the Starr-Smith Advertising scheme is likely to have fleeced investors in multiple states out of as much as $400 million.

Kaplan’s counterclaim also takes aim at Regions Bank, accusing the bank of systematically defaming Kaplan, of invasion of privacy and negligent misrepresentation when the bank publicly accused Kaplan of check kiting. This was done, Kaplan alleges, to divert attention away from the bank’s faulty check-handling

procedures, procedures that ultimately led Kaplan’s lawyer to uncovering the alleged Ponzi scheme.

The three counts leveled against Regions in Kaplan’s counterclaim were among 22 counts total he filed against Starr; Smith Advertising; its owners, Gary, Todd and Lucy Smith; Wells Fargo Bank; Bridgeview Bank in Illinois; the Florida Bankers Association; and Regions Bank security official Robert Nicholas Shaw. The counts ranged from fraud, racketeering, improper handling of checks, mail fraud and misappropriation of funds.

Editor’s Note …

On the following pages, the Business Review presents Kaplan’s counterclaim in its entirety. Kaplan’s attorney, Jon Parrish, a partner in the Naples law firm of Parrish, Lawhon and Yarnell, prepared the counterclaim after more than 80 hours of piecing together the chronology and events of Kaplan’s involvement with Starr, Smith Advertising and its owners.

The narrative that follows is Parrish’s version of what occurred, based on discussions with his client, Kaplan, and Parrish’s research of bank records and other information. Kaplan declined to speak to the Business Review on advice of his lawyer.

All accusations and statements in the narrative are those made by Kaplan and his attorney in Kaplan’s counterclaim.

Neither Gary, Todd nor Lucy B. Smith could be reached for comment. See the accompanying box on page 15 for Starr’s response.

Linda Carlson and Robert Nicholas Shaw of Regions Bank could not be reached for comment.

Mel Campbell, a spokesman for Regions Bank, said the bank does not comment on pending litigation.

Kathy Harrison, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, said the bank would be unable to respond until after its attorneys review Kaplan’s claims.

Bridgeview Bank did not return the Business Review’s call for comment. The Florida Bankers Association did not respond before press time.

The Facts, as alleged in the counterclaim The Pitch

In or around August, 2009, Kaplan relocated his business operations to an executive office suite in downtown Sarasota, owned and managed by longtime Sarasota entrepreneur and real estate investor Larry Starr.

Prior to that August, Kaplan did not otherwise know Starr and had only met him on one other occasion.

Shortly after Kaplan had moved into the office suites, Starr approached him and began to pitch an investment oppor-

tunity. As Starr explained, the opportunity involved the Smiths and their company, Smith Advertising & Associates.

Starr represented that he knew it was safe to invest with SAA and the Smiths because he was a long-term friend of the Smiths, had a 20-year history with them and was also a successful investor with them.

Starr explained that the Smiths and SAA wanted Kaplan or his companies to provide financing to them to allow them to take advantage of certain early payment discounts on private printing contracts.

According to Starr, the Smiths and SAA needed the financing because SAA was a successful and expanding company that needed capital to take advantage of discounts that it was offered on such contracts.

Starr explained that SAA’s business was to act as a kind of middleman or broker between printers and entities that sought printing services for their advertising needs. He explained that customers would order print material from SAA and that SAA would then, in turn, enter into contracts with printing vendors to produce the materials, with a profit to SAA on the transaction.

Once the materials were printed, SAA would obtain them from the printer, deliver them to the customer and, in 30 days, receive payment, which it would use to pay the vendors, keeping a percentage for itself.

Gulf coast Business Review JUNE 1 – JUNE 7, 2012

Starr explained that because the print vendors preferred to receive payment for their services up front, they routinely offered SAA early payment discounts of about 10% of the total cost of the contract if SAA would pay for the printing work in advance.

Starr explained that, while the Smiths and SAA could not afford to fund all of these large pre-payments alone, they were able to do so in partnership with investors.

Starr explained that the Smiths and SAA were requesting that investors advance half of the required early payment amount for any given print contract and that the Smiths and/or SAA would advance the other half.

According to Starr, this money would be paid immediately to the vendor to obtain the 10% discount.

The investor would immediately receive his share of the 10% discount via a check from SAA. The investor would also receive a promissory note or notes guaranteed by G. Smith and T. Smith and one or more checks representing the return of the principal. These checks were to be cashed after the 30-day period had expired and SAA had received payment from the customer.

The investor would then wait the 30 days until SAA received the payment back from the customer and then the investor would deposit the checks (with the 10% return) into his accounts.

Starr said that this investment offered no real risk because the customers were all governmental or quasi-governmental agencies and always paid their bills. He also represented that the Smiths and SAA had been in the publishing business for more that 30 years, had a distinguished list of clientele that included a large number of governmental tourist agencies and quasi-governmental agencies, that he had invested a large sum of money with the Smiths and SAA himself and had always received the promised returns.

Starr then offered to introduce Kaplan to the Smiths and SAA.

The unknown reality

Kaplan’s counterclaim further states: Although Kaplan and his investment companies were not aware of it at the time, Kaplan’s counterclaim alleges that Starr, the Smiths and SAA, along with the conscious and knowing support of Bridgeview — all referred to in the counterclaim as “the conspirators” — orchestrated and developed a Ponzi-type scheme designed to defraud Kaplan, his investment companies and others.

The investment that was pitched was a fiction. It did not really exist and was designed to fraudulently induce Kaplan, the investment companies and many others to give money to the conspirators.

The conspirators would then take some or all of the money or compensation for themselves, constantly cycling and floating what remained among many victims to maintain the illusion that the fictional investments were paying off and to induce still more investment into the scheme.

Bridgeview, an Illinois bank, was directly complicit in this scheme, allowing the other conspirators to utilize it as a repository and accounting system for the fraud for what is believed to be many years in exchange for compensation.

Bridgeview and its employees were direct and knowing participants in the scheme with knowledge of the activities and directly participating in the fraud by actively transferring money between accounts, floating checks to facilitate the fraud and by inducing investors to wire funds by manipulating and false statements.

Says Kaplan’s counterclaim: All of Starr’s, the Smiths’ and SAA’s statements to Kaplan and the investment companies were false, and they knew them to be false, as all were direct participants in the fraud and received undisclosed compensation and kickbacks for bringing money into the scheme.

Unbeknown to Kaplan and the investment companies, the counterclaim says, Starr was an experienced con art-

www.review.net

15

companies in play and keeping the principal in their own hands, by causing the marks to believe that their money was constantly growing.

At the same time, the conspirators would also pitch new contracts, constantly inducing investors like Kaplan and the investment companies to invest more “new” money as the paper profits on the old money seemed to grow.

Investors who would leave or briefly stop would be paid, using the money supplied by the constant influx of new money and new marks. This increased the credibility of the scheme and induced more re-investment.

The conspirators continuously stole a large portion of the invested money, leaving only enough to fund fluctuations in investment and cloak the fraud.

The object of the scheme was to increase the amount of new money invested as that increased the amount the conspirators could steal or siphon off without revealing the scheme.

It is believed that this scheme was widespread, operating over many states and with many investors like Kaplan and the investment companies. It was a massive Ponzi scheme involving perhaps $400 million or more.

LARRY STARR’S RESPONSE: ‘I’M A VICTIM TOO’

Kaplan’s Initial ‘Investment’

File

According to Marvin Kaplan’s counterclaim, longtime Sarasota businessman Larry Starr approached Kaplan in 2009 about participating in an investment opportunity that generated 10% returns each month.

Informed of the allegations and counts against him in Marvin Kaplan’s countersuit, Sarasota entrepreneur Larry Starr issued the following statement Wednesday afternoon prior to press time: “I am reluctant to talk about a lawsuit I haven’t seen.

“Marvin dealt with the Smiths directly over a period of years, and whatever decisions he made to invest, he made on his own after talking with the Smiths.

“If the lawsuit is trying to say I’m responsible for his losses with the Smiths, that is simply not true.

“I am a victim of the Smiths just as Marvin is.

“In fact, Marvin just called me and told me the suit was coming. He told me

ist who had previously been convicted in Vermont for engaging in a mail fraud scheme with his father.

That conviction was overturned, but Kaplan’s counterclaim says the factual findings of the court at the time demonstrate that Starr attempted to and succeeded in defrauding the U.S. Post Office of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Later, Starr moved to Florida and obtained a position on the Sarasota Tourism Convention and Visitors Bureau (STCVB). While there, he had contact with the Smiths and SAA and served on the board of STCVB at a time when it dismissed and terminated further business dealings with the Smiths and SAA. Contrary to Starr’s misrepresentations to Kaplan and the investment companies, Starr, in collusion with the Smiths and SAA, would target individuals like him and his companies and offer them the bogus investment outlined above in to steal money.

Starr knew that the printing contracts and the customers that the conspirators said that they had did not actually exist.

he didn’t want to name me in it and was very uncomfortable having done so, as he didn’t think I had done anything wrong.

“He explained that he is involved in a complicated lawsuit, and only did so on the advice of his lawyers.”

Kaplan’s version

Asked to verify Starr’s comments, Kaplan said: “I did not say that I didn’t think he was involved. I said I hope everything comes out OK for him, and I hope it’s not as it appears.

“I said, ‘Larry, I don’t know, and I’m taking the advice of counsel.

“I feel bad about suing him.”

It is believed, the counterclaim says, that Starr either participated in developing or developed the fraudulent scheme himself, using his knowledge of the industry as a base and then creating exaggerated contracts to take in money for the scheme.

SAA may have had some much smaller real business, however the conspirators used this small base to fabricate contracts with customers and vendors that looked real but were actually forgeries and which often were many times larger than any real contract could or would be.

The conspirators lured Kaplan, the investment companies and many others to invest money under the scheme and then to increase their investments more and more, using the aforementioned misrepresentations, all the while siphoning off large amounts for their own use and benefit.

As each subsequent bogus contract would come due to be paid, the conspirators would present new contracts to their “marks” to replace the old ones, keeping investors like Kaplan and the investment

The counterclaim goes on to say: Unaware of the fact that he would be caught in a Ponzi scheme, Kaplan agreed to and did discuss investing with the Smiths and SAA. In those discussions, the Smiths and SAA reiterated all that Starr had told Kaplan and confirmed the arrangement was as Starr had explained it.

In reliance upon all of these false and fraudulent representations by the conspirators, Kaplan agreed to invest personally an initial sum of $50,000 in or about August 2009.

Of course, this initial investment appeared to go as planned and as promised by the conspirators, who sought to get more money from Kaplan.

As a result of the apparent success, Kaplan caused his investment companies to begin investing with the Smiths and SAA. Over a period of several months, the investment companies participated in more and more contracts with the Smiths and SAA, all the time believing they were receiving the promised returns and that things were going as the conspirators had promised.

Over this time, the Smiths and SAA continued to offer more and more investments and to renew the old ones, urging Kaplan through the investment companies to take new contracts upon the expiration of each prior contract, leaving the principal sum to “ride” from contract to contract.

Because of this, instead of depositing the checks when they were due at the end of the 30 days, the investment companies would hold them (if they had not expired) or discard them, and Smith and SAA would issue new ones (if they had expired) on new contracts.

Over time, as the investment companies began to realize more and more paper returns, the Smiths and SAA would consistently urge Kaplan to reinvest both the returns that the investment companies had made as well as new money into the deals.

By November 2011, the investment companies had more than $7 million collectively invested and/or re-invested with the Smiths and SAA.

Upping the Ante

Kaplan’s counterclaim goes on to state: For several months leading to November, the investment companies had not added any “new” money to their deals, preferring to let the “investments” grow without putting in new capital.

Because the Ponzi scheme relied upon the influx of new money and growth to survive, T. Smith contacted Kaplan and presented a “new” idea to try to get Kaplan and the investment companies to make additional infusions.

See KAPLAN on page 16

16

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW JUNE 1 – JUNE 7, 2012

www.review.net

KAPLAN from page 16 T. Smith explained to Kaplan and the investment companies that he had developed a new and better method to earn even larger returns, stating that he had found a way to bunch printers together in multiple contract deals and to time the payments that were to be received from customers in such a way that he could obtain discounts in shorter time frames, some in as little as 24 hours, thus substantially increasing the rate of return.

However, T. Smith and SAA added that, because they were multiple contract deals, the investment would have to be larger.

To participate in these larger contracts, the investment companies would therefore have to invest more new money.

This new scheme was also complete fiction. However, unaware of this fact and based upon all the perceived prior successes, Kaplan and the investment companies agreed to the new arrangement and infused substantial additional capital into the Ponzi scheme.

The new or “Second” scheme differed somewhat from the first.

Under it, the investment companies would agree to a smaller number of larger, consolidated deals for the same type of pre-payment discounts.

However, according to T. Smith and SAA, SAA would obtain the same 10% discounts from the vendors immediately before it expected the customer to pay and only needed “bridge” funds for a short time.

As a result, the investment companies were to wire funds from their bank accounts to SAA’s account at Bridgeview.

The Smiths and SAA would Fedex down the contracts and checks for these new transactions, to be received by the investment companies on the day they sent the wire(s) to the Bridgeview account. The contracts would provide for the deposit of the checks shortly thereafter, supposedly after SAA had received the customer payment.

Because these new transactions were so large, involving wires of more than $250,000, the investment companies were forced to establish a new banking relationship with Regions Bank because the previous lender would not do wires greater than that.

As a result, each of the investment companies opened an account with Regions Bank in November 2011.

As of that time, the investment companies had no prior banking or credit relationship with Regions, and Kaplan only had a small personal checking account at the bank with his wife.

Under the second arrangement, the contracts with SAA and the Smiths were grouped into two to three main groupings, and the investment companies would make new investments every few days.

The timing of the deals was such that the investment companies would wire up funds for each successive deal as Regions would advise Kaplan’s investment companies that the checks from the prior deal had cleared, and the money was in the bank to wire.

From November 2011 through Jan. 20, the investment companies continued to invest and re-invest in these contracts and, through the infusion of new capital and the returns, their total investment grew to approximately $22 million.

The Final Days The First Deal

Kaplan’s counterclaim further states: On Jan. 19, the investment companies agreed to invest funds in one of these bridge deals with T. Smith and SAA, with each of the four investment companies investing separate funds in separate contracts.

On the morning of Jan. 20, four of Kaplan’s investment companies wired $9.7 million from accounts at Regions to SAA’s account at Bridgeview.

In particular: • R1A invested $6.6 million in 13 contracts.

• TNE invested $1,6 millioin in three contracts .

• MKI invested $1.1 million in three contracts.

• BNK invested $400,000 in one contract.

THE PLAYERS • Marvin Kaplan — An entrepreneur involved in a wide range of businesses, Kaplan has owned car dealerships and invested in commercial real estate in Florida and New York. He previously owned nearly 20 Dunkin’ Donuts stores on the Gulf Coast. He is a close, longtime business associate of Florida Sen. Mike Bennett.

• Larry Starr — Starr acquired a resort property rental firm, Longboat Accommodations, in the late 1980s.

He later sold that business to ResortQuest International and headed up that company’s operations along the West Coast of Florida. Starr also has run several commercial real estate businesses, most recently becoming the franchise owner of the Sarasota-Manatee office of Sperry Van Ness.

Smith Advertising & Associates Inc. (SAA) — Founded in 1974 in Fayetteville, N.C., by three partners as Cain, Allen, Smith, it went on to become Smith Advertising & Associates. In 2002, the company opened its Raleigh office, and eventually did business in Hilton Head, S.C., and Sarasota. The agency closed its headquarters March 6, according to reports in the Fayetteville Observer, in According to the contracts, the money was to be repaid later that day, and the investment companies received checks for repayment by Federal Express that morning, as well as checks for the payment of interest and certain incentive checks.

In particular: • R1A received $7,395,125.

• TNE received $1,760,000.

• MKI received $1,124,000.

• BNK received $443,375.

The investment companies deposited the checks on Jan. 20.

The Second Deal

According to the counterclaim: After the checks from the first deal were deposited in Kaplan’s companies’ accounts, T. Smith and SAA immediately requested that the investment companies invest in another “bridge” deal to occur on Jan. 23, and the investment companies agreed to do so. Again, each of the four investment companies agreed to invest separate funds in separate contracts, providing that the funds from the previous deal had cleared.

On the morning of Jan. 23, Kaplan, on behalf of the investment companies, reviewed the accounts with Regions and found that Regions had cleared all of the previously deposited checks.

Believing that the investment companies had been repaid for the prior transaction because Regions had so represented, the investment companies wired $10.45 million to SAA’s account at Bridgeview.

In particular: • R1A invested $7 million in 14 contracts.

• TNE invested $1.8 million in three contracts.

• MKI invested $1.25 million in three contracts.

• BNK invested $500,000 in one contract.

According to the contracts, the money was to be repaid later that day, and the investment companies received checks for repayment by Federal Express that morning, as well as checks for the payment of interest and certain incentive checks.

In particular: • R1A received $8,044,660.

• TNE received $2,009,700.

• MKI received $1,395,000.

• BNK received $556,675.

The Third Deal

According to the counterclaim: On Jan 23, T. Smith and SAA again requested that the investment companies invest in a third bridge deal to occur on Jan. 24, and the investment companies

the wake of widespread allegations of fraud in Florida, North Carolina and other states.

• Gary T. Smith — In 1974, Gary Smith was one of the three founders of Cain, Allen, Smith, which would go on to become Smith Advertising & Associates. He was the CEO of the firm.

• G. Todd Smith — Son of Gary Smith, Todd Smith was vice president and chief operating officer of Smith Advertising & Associates in Fayetteville, N.C. • Lucy B. Smith — Wife of Gary T. Smith and an officer in Smith Advertising & Associates Inc. • Linda Carlson — former manager of Sarasota Regions Bank branch where Kaplan made his deposits.

• Robert Nicholas Shaw — Regions Bank vice president of security, according to his business card. He sent an alert to the Florida Bankers Association alleging Kaplan engaged in check kiting.

• Bridgeview Bancorp — An Illinois bank holding company. It was the bank from which SAA sent checks back to Kaplan after the investment/printing deals were completed.

agreed to do so.

The investment companies deposited the checks from the second deal into their Regions accounts. However, Regions placed a hold on the checks and declined to credit them that day.

As a result, the investment companies advised T. Smith and SAA that they did not have sufficient funds to invest in the third deal.

At this point, T. Smith and SAA suggested that because the third deal was so time sensitive, rather than wait for the second set of checks to clear, they could simply stop payment on those checks relating to the return of principal from the second deal and use those funds, supposedly still in the Bridgeview account, to do the third deal.

Because the total investment amount for the third deal was $500,000 less than the total amount of the principal returned with the second set of checks, R1A’s contribution was $500,000 less.

T. Smith and SAA agreed to wire back $500,000 to the R1A account at Regions to account for the difference.

Because the investment companies still believed that they had funds in their own accounts, they agreed to this procedure, and T. Smith wired $500,000 to R1A and, presumably, stopped payment on the principal checks from the second deal on Jan. 24.

On Jan. 24, the investment companies invested in the third deal in the aforementioned manner, the total sum of $9.95 million left at Bridgeview to invest.

In particular: • R1A invested $6.5 million in 12 contracts.

• TNE invested $2 million in four contracts.

• MKI invested $1.45 million in four contracts.

According to the contracts, the money was to be repaid later that day, and the investment companies received checks for repayment, as well as checks for the payment of interest and certain incentive checks. However, the checks for the third deal were not deposited Jan. 24 as planned because Kaplan was unable to get to the bank.

The Fourth Deal

Kaplan’s counterclaim further states: On Jan. 24, still believing that the investment companies had been repaid for the first transaction because Regions had so represented, R1A wired an additional $2 million to SAA’s account at Bridgeview for a smaller fourth deal that had been discussed with T. Smith and SAA..

The parties agreed that under this smaller fourth deal, R1A would send $2 million for contracts valued at $2.25

million, and that the $225,000 plus a $25,000 incentive bonus would just be deducted from the money sent up rather than checks be sent down for that from SAA. R1A invested the $2 million in five contracts.

According to the contracts for the smaller fourth deal, the money was to be repaid on Jan. 25.

A hole in the dike

According to the counterclaim: Late in the day Jan. 24, T. Smith and SAA called Kaplan. T. Smith advised Kaplan that Bridgeview had frozen all of SAA’s accounts after T. Smith had issued the stop payment on the checks from the second deal.

He told Kaplan that neither he nor SAA could move any money in or out of the Bridgeview accounts.

He advised Kaplan to wait while he took action to correct the problem.

Kaplan agreed.

The next morning, Jan. 25, Kaplan and the investment companies received a call from Linda Carlson, manager of the Regions Bank branch where Kaplan had deposited the funds from the first deal.

Carlson advised Kaplan and the investment companies that the funds that had been deposited Jan. 20 had not cleared and that the checks were being returned.

Kaplan and the investment companies were shocked to learn this, because Regions previously had represented that the funds from these checks had cleared.

Kaplan and the investment companies immediately inquired of Carlson why the checks had been returned and were told that the checks were returned “Refer to Maker,” not “Insufficient Funds” or some reason that would indicate that there was a problem with funds availability.

Kaplan immediately contacted T. Smith and SAA, the maker, and was advised that the problem was the same as the one he had informed Kaplan of the night before — that Bridgeview had wrongfully placed a hold on all of the SAA accounts. He advised that he was working on the problem and asked Kaplan and the investment companies to be patient.

At this point, T. Smith began to express concern to Kaplan about his fears of what would happen if this problem became public knowledge to his customers or his vendors.

T. Smith advised that he could not tell whether he was getting payments from customers because he could not see his account and that, if they discovered he was having a problem, they would hold payments still longer, destroying his business and reputation. In addition, his vendors would cease production and cease to work with him.

He stressed that Kaplan should keep this quiet, or SAA would be unable to repay Kaplan, the investment companies or anyone else.

What Kaplan and the investment companies were unaware of was that the Smiths and SAA were buying time to try to correct what was, basically, a hole in the dike that could lead to the collapse of the entire criminal enterprise and the greater Ponzi scheme.

They were buying time in an effort to keep the greater Ponzi scheme alive by correcting whatever problem existed and perpetuating the scheme.

The Smiths and SAA thought that they could get sufficient money from other investors to pay the investment companies off and allow the Ponzi scheme to continue.

What they told Kaplan and the investment companies was they just needed to straighten out their customer payment situation and get Kaplan’s companies their money.

Moreover, Kaplan believing that funds were available to the Smiths and SAA and just on hold, took no action because the “Refer to Maker” designation led him to believe that funds were available and would be released at some point.

Regions jumps in

According to the counterclaim: Later that day, Kaplan received a call

Gulf coast Business Review JUNE 1 – JUNE 7, 2012

www.review.net

CHARGES ALLEGED IN KAPLAN LAWSUIT Naples attorney Jon Parrish filed the following charges on behalf of Sarasota real estate investor Marvin Kaplan and four of his companies in a 46-page countersuit.

Whom Kaplan is suing:

• Regions Bank • Robert Nicholas Shaw (of Regions Bank); • The Florida Bankers Association, Inc. • Bridgeview Bancorp, Inc., Bridgeview, Ill. • Wells Fargo, N.A. • Charles “Larry” Starr III • Smith Advertising & Associates, Inc. (SAA) • Gary T. Smith • G. Todd Smith

The charges:

• Count I: Fraud — The Investment Companies v. Starr, T. Smith and SAA • Count II: Conspiracy to defraud — The Investment Companies v. Starr, T. Smith, G. Smith, L. Smith, Bridgeview and SAA • Count III: Negligent Misrepresentation — The Investment Companies v.

Starr, T. Smith and SAA • Count IV: Racketeering (Violation of 18 U.S.C. 1962 and 1964) — The Investment Companies v. Starr, T. Smith, G. Smith, L. Smith, Bridgeview and SAA • Count V: Mail and wire fraud (Florida Statutes 772.103 and 772.104) — The Investment Companies v. Starr, T. Smith, G. Smith, L. Smith, Bridgeview and SAA • Count VI: Depriving the right to money and misappropriation of funds (Florida Statute 772.11) — The Investment Companies v. T. Smith, G. Smith, L. Smith and SAA • Count VII: Improper use of funds — The Investment Companies v. T. Smith,

from Robert Nicholas Shaw, who professed to be the head of security at Regions Bank. Shaw wanted to know what was happening.

Kaplan told him what he knew, and Shaw asked to speak with T. Smith and SAA. Kaplan arranged a telephone conference with himself, Shaw and T. Smith.

Kaplan said Shaw became very belligerent with T. Smith and threatened him, telling him that he needed to straighten out the situation right away. Shaw claimed that he was an ex-FBI agent and that he would report the matter to the Secret Service if the money was not returned immediately.

T. Smith and SAA advised that they were not sure what was going on and were working on it.

After the call with Shaw, Smith and SAA contacted Kaplan and the investment companies, asking for time to straighten out the banking problems.

Still unaware of the Ponzi scheme, believing that Smith and SAA had real customers and vendors when they did not and believing that the checks had not been returned due to insufficient funds because they said “refer to maker,” Kaplan advised that he was willing to work with the Smiths and SAA and be patient but that the Regions Bank problem needed to be resolved.

New checks from a new bank

Kaplan’s counterclaim further states: In response to the concern about Regions, T. Smith and SAA advised Kaplan and the investment companies that they would issue a new set of checks for the first and second deals drawn on a bank account at Wells Fargo and have those checks sent down by a special air flight that day.

T. Smith and SAA did, indeed, send a special courier flight with a replacement set of checks, which arrived late in the day on Jan. 25.

The replacement set of checks was only for the contracts entered into in the second deal and not the first deal.

G. Smith, L. Smith, Bridgeview and SAA • Count VIII: Deceptive and unfair trade practices — The Investment Companies v. T. Smith, G. Smith, L. Smith, Bridgeview and SAA • Count IX: Action to collect payment (Florida Statute 68.065) — The Investment Companies v. SAA • Count X: Breach of Contract — The Investment Companies v. SAA, T. Smith and G. Smith • Count XI: Breach of U.C.C. 4-302(a) — The Investment Companies v.

Bridgeview • Count XII: Breach of U.C.C. 4-302(a) —The Investment Companies v. Wells Fargo • Count XIII: Improper handling of checks; breach of 12 C.F.R. Part 229 —The Investment Companies v.

Bridgeview • Count XIV: Improper handling of checks; breach of 12 C.F.R. Part 229 —The Investment Companies v. Wells Fargo • Count XV: Negligence — The Investment Companies v. Bridgeview • Count XVI: Negligence — The Investment Companies v. Wells Fargo • Count XVII: Fraud — The Investment Companies v. Bridgeview • Count XVIII: Negligent Misrepresentation — The Investment Companies v.

Bridgeview • Count XIX: Defamation Per Se — Kaplan and the investment companies v. Regions, FBA and Shaw Count XX: Invasion of Privacy — Kaplan and the Investment Companies v.

Regions, FBA and Shaw • Count XXI: Negligence/Negligent Misrepresentation — The Investment Companies v. Regions

Kaplan and the investment companies deposited the replacement checks that same evening on Jan. 25. Regions extended its operating hours to allow the checks to be deposited late.

The returned checks

According to the counterclaim: On or about Jan. 26, the investment companies received formal written notice from Regions of the return of 28 checks that had been returned by Bridgeview with the designation “Refer to Maker” as Carlson had previously reported.

The next day, Friday, Jan. 27, the investment companies received written notice from Regions of the return of a second set of 32 checks from the second deal that had been returned by Bridgeview, also with the designation “Refer to Maker.”

Some of the checks in the second set were checks that Kaplan and the investment companies believed had been stopped by Smith to invest in the third deal.

However, none of the returned checks bore any indication that funds were not available to SAA. Nor did they provide any basis to cause Kaplan and the investment companies to take any action or disregard what they were being told by T. Smith and SAA. On Jan. 30, the following Monday, Kaplan received another call from Shaw at Regions.

Shaw advised Kaplan and the investment companies that the third set of checks, drawn on Wells Fargo, had not cleared.

Unbeknown to Kaplan and the investment companies at the time, on that same day, Regions had already filed a lawsuit against Kaplan and was seeking ex-parte relief that included Wells Fargo, the new bank, as a party.

Nor were Kaplan and the investment companies aware that Shaw and Regions had begun what the counterclaim alleges to be “a campaign of systematic defamation against them.”

On or about Jan. 31, the investment

companies received written notice from Regions Bank of the return of 21 checks that had been returned by Wells Fargo and which Shaw had reported, all but one also with the designation “Refer to Maker.”

Only one check was returned with the designation “NSF” for insufficient funds.

Kaplan contacted T. Smith and SAA because the designation “Refer to Maker” directed him to do so and was advised that Wells Fargo had frozen SAA’s accounts there as a result of the interference by Regions and that was the reason the latest set of checks had bounced.

This interference was confirmed when Kaplan sought to use money he had transferred to Wells Fargo for an unrelated business transaction and was advised that all of the accounts of his or his businesses had been frozen, including the Lighthouse Point account from which the transaction was to occur.

Regions’ attacks on Kaplan

According to the counterclaim: On or around Jan. 30, the same day the third set of checks was returned by Wells Fargo, Shaw and Regions began to engage in a campaign of defamation, lies and deceit against Kaplan, designed to discredit him, destroy his reputation and distract attention from Regions’ own failure to follow correct banking procedure, which caused the investment companies to lose millions of dollars.

Despite no evidence or backing, Shaw and other representatives of Regions Bank began to tell other third parties, including Wells Fargo, the Florida Bankers Association and the public that Kaplan and his wife had engaged in criminal conduct, illegal activities and were “check kiters.”

This accusation was blatantly false and was made with absolutely no knowledge or support by Shaw, acting in his capacity as an employee of Regions, according to the counterclaim.

Shaw falsely accused Kaplan and his wife of a criminal act in an alert bulletin sent to the Florida Banker’s Association, including in that alert Kaplan and his wife’s social security numbers, accusing them of fraud, check kiting and criminal conduct and falsely warranting the information to be true and correct when it was absolutely false, the counterclaim states.

Shaw, Regions and their attorneys also sued Kaplan individually without actually bringing a claim against him and repeated the false accusations of check kiting and fraud.

The Kaplan counterclaim states Shaw and Regions were perfectly well aware that there was no basis to suggest that Kaplan and SAA or T. Smith were coordinating a kite or that either Mr. or Mrs. Kaplan was engaged in any fraud.

Shaw and Regions sought only to discredit Kaplan in an effort to distract attention from the fact that, had they followed their own procedures or proper banking practice, the investment companies owned by Kaplan would not have lost millions of dollars to the conspirators because they would have known that the first checks had not cleared Bridgeview and would not have invested, and potentially lost, the additional funds, according to Kaplan’s counterclaim.

It also appears that Shaw and Regions reported Kaplan to the Secret Service and law enforcement for a crime that did not occur, says Kaplan’s counterclaim.

As a result of Shaw and Regions Bank’s conduct, all of Kaplan’s banking accounts, as well as those of any business he was associated with, were frozen at Wells Fargo and Regions, and he has been unable to maintain a banking relationship anywhere for himself or any of his companies.

The Dike Bursts

According to Kaplan’s counterclaim: In the weeks following the filing of Regions’ lawsuit against Kaplan, Kaplan and the investment companies sought to obtain the return of their money from the conspirators, still not knowing of the Ponzi scheme.

The Smiths and SAA continually reassured Kaplan and the investment com-

17

panies that they and Regions would be repaid as money came in from the customers.

The Smiths and SAA also continued to stress the need to keep silent to preserve the customer and vendor relationships that would allow the money to be returned. Kaplan and the investment companies tried to comply.

But as the story that had begun with Regions and Shaw’s claims against Kaplan started to reach the public through press accounts, the Smiths and SAA began to make inconsistent comments to the press, indicating that the entire matter was somehow Kaplan’s fault when it clearly was not.

As a result of this and that time was going by with no repayment and repayment dates were consistently missed, Kaplan began to investigate by contacting SAA’s claimed vendors to verify contracts.

Kaplan discovered that the contracts offered by the conspirators were completely fictional and that neither the vendor nor the customer contracts actually existed and that the entire investment was a scam.

It also became apparent to him that the conspirators were trying to cover up the Ponzi scheme by attempting to pay back the investment companies with money raised from other victims.

This was not acceptable to Kaplan, and he and the investment companies immediately asked to meet with the Secret Service and the Tampa district attorney to report all that they knew.

Editor’s Postscript

In an interview Tuesday with the Business Review, Kaplan’s attorney, Jon Parrish, said Kaplan has recovered only about $800,000 since the investment scheme collapsed in late January and early February.

Parrish, who has represented Kaplan on many of his prior real estate investments, said he had been aware of Kaplan’s involvement in the Starr-Smith Advertising scheme prior to Kaplan’s difficulties. But he said he started growing increasingly suspicious of its legitimacy in late January when instead of sending millions of dollars back to Kaplan’s companies, the Smiths sent only $800,000. “(Todd) Smith began to never fulfill his promises on time,” Parrish says.

Then in late January, after the accusations of check kiting started and payments from the Smiths stopped, everything came to a head. Kaplan was in Parrish’ office.

“Marvin is a very loyal person,” Parrish said. “He was even going back and forth then” on whether he was being duped.

Parrish said he then picked up a copy of an invoice from one of the alleged vendors with which the Smiths were doing business.

“The graphics on the invoice looked kind of weird and hokey,” Parrish recalls.

“So I looked up the firm online. The invoice logo was different from the company logo online. So I called the customer.

“He laughed at me when I told him the amount on the invoice,” Parrish said.

“When I asked why he laughed, he said, ‘I would remember an invoice that big. It exceeds my whole revenues we have in a year.’”

Parrish said he called a second vendor.

“The guy starts laughing,” Parrish said.

“He gave me the same exact answer as the first one. I turned to Marvin and said they are all bogus.”

Asked how Kaplan, a sophisticated investor and businessman, did not have suspicions early on that the investment scheme was the proverbial “too good to be true,” Parrish, who has handled similar fraud litigation before, said: “That’s not how it works in the real world. People don’t (question that) when they are getting paid. You get blinded. And the people who do these crimes are some of the most likable people you meet in your life.

“Marvin is a very gentle, loyal kind of person,” Parrish said. “He’s not a suspicious person.” Parrish said that as the scheme began to unravel after two years, Kaplan “sat in front of me, shaking his head, saying, ‘I just can’t see it.’”

A RT S | E N T E RTA I N M E N T | S O C I E T Y | F O O D | FA S H I O N | D É C O R

Diversions YourObserver.com

ORGANIZED MESH

THURSDAY, May 31, 2012

by Mallory Gnaegy | Community Editor

Mallory Gnaegy

“It’s not just about the figure,” Ofra Friedman explains about her work. “It communicates the essence — the core of us.”

On the Wire

Ofra Friedman is not only good with her hands; she’s good at hands — and feet, for that matter. The Israeli-born sculptor turns sheets of steel-wire mesh into full-fledged, human-like works of art.

Two transparent, faceless bodies perch on all fours. The larger female body cradles the smaller under her life-like muscular

body. One leg is extended, slightly reaching behind. The figures are three-dimensional and so lifelike, it would not be surprising to

learn models posed while the artist delicately molded every part of them, including fingers and toes, with a sheet of wire mesh.

COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

INSIDE

KITCHEN CLASSICS

Black Tie

Elizabeth Goldstein adds flavor to everything she does. / 6

THE SOCIAL OBSERVER

Guest Fashion Editor Renee Phinney SEE PAGE 8

BACKSTAGE PASS Victor Meyrich celebrates 43 years with Asolo Rep. / PAGE 5

2 ■ Diversions

COVER

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THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

(Continued from page 1)

Bradenton resident Ofra Freidman’s sculpture is stationary but exudes movement. It is abstract, but, in a way, based on reality. Her other sculptures follow suit; each shape carrying a particular flow, each of her works evoking a particular feeling. And, as with most art, the emotion conjured is dependent on the viewer’s take.

The piece described is called “Time Fraction,” and it is currently featured in Ringling College of Art and Design’s Selby Gallery, as part of the Florida Artist Group juried exhibition that runs through June 1.

And although “Time Fraction” could be representative of Freidman’s daughter, Noa, recently married and moving away from home. But Friedman says the context isn’t important.

“I usually don’t like to feed the viewer with what a piece means,” says Friedman. “What led me to create is not as important to me as the feeling that the piece gives you.”

Friedman has been dabbling in mixed-media and making wire-mesh sculptures for the past 10 years. She made her first sculpture at age 18. It was a self-portrait of clay that led her to take her first art class during which she made her second sculpture. The second sculpture depicted a pair of detailed hands — her career epiphany.

“I felt that (art) was something that I’ve always done. It was almost like discovering an ability that I had (all along),” she says.

In response to that sculpture, her teacher invited her to study in Paris. Freidman decided not

to, and it turned out to be a wise decision.

“If I took that step, it would have changed my life … I wouldn’t have met my husband,” says Friedman. She met her husband, Aharon, while performing Israeli folk dances.

After the completion of his graduate studies, her physicist husband moved them to Canada, and, then, to the U.S., where they have lived for the past 27 years. Freidman continued her studies all over the country, in everything from interior design to Afro-American dance. But she was always the most attracted to 3-D art.

Friedman’s real love was sculpture, and she found herself working with stone, casting and mixed-media. It was on a trip to Israel that she met a wire-mesh artist named Shulamit Hartal.

Friedman took a few workshops from the artist and discovered her passion for wire-mesh.

“She developed her own technique that is different from any artist I have seen in the U.S., and I was inspired by her,” says Friedman of Hartal.

Upon returning to the U.S., Friedman formed her own style.

Since then, she has received all types of honors for her artistic method; most recently, she won first place at the Winthrop Arts Festival in Riverview.

Friedman still has creative ties to her home country — she buys large rolls of inexpensive, flexible wire mesh from Israel because she cannot find it in the U.S. “I always get questions at the airport and always have some

Mallory Gnaegy

Ofra Friedman’s “Time Fraction,” a steel-and-copper wire mesh sculpture, is on display at Selby Gallery. problems,” she laughs.

Her creations start as a 3-by3-foot piece of mesh on which she sketches. She pulls it into

different shapes and directions using ceramic tools and her imagination. Surprisingly, she has never used a human model,

but, occasionally, she studies human anatomy to ensure the hands and feet are just right. It makes sense, because it was a sculpture of hands that made her realize art was inside her — part of her core.

Freidman creates the majority of her work indoors, at her home in Bradenton. Her mornings are spent doing administration: planning for exhibitions, contests and even the curation of shows. She sculpts in the evening.

“I usually work until about 2 a.m. I’m very much a night owl,” she says.

Because her work is big, 10 feet tall in one case (ironic, considering Friedman’s petite frame), some of it is fragmented in separate mesh pieces stemming from plexiglass. Some pieces are mixed-media and involve welding. Others are collaborations with other artists.

But, for the most part, the subjects of her work remain consistent: large-scale metal trees and human figures. They have a natural feel reminiscent of their creator.

Her works are featured in Sarasota and beyond; at a chiropractor’s home in Clearwater and as far north as North Carolina, where she has three pieces on display at Polk State College.

The piece featured in Selby Gallery is unique in that she typically prefers to exhibit her work outdoors.

“I’m very attracted to outdoor sculpture because I want to improve (and enhance) the environment through my art,” she says.

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THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

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Diversions

YourObserver.com

COLUMN

3

DISCOVER

art scene

+ Key Chorale announces 2012-13 season

HEARD

by Heidi Kurpiela and Mallory Gnaegy | Observer Staff

+Woman’s Exchange gives grants Woman’s Exchange is a win-win type of place. Although one might pick up a quirky lamp, unique side table or collectible glassware, others might be granted funding or a scholarship to fuel their arts-related project. It is that time of year, when Woman’s Exchange hosts its awards event honoring its 250 volunteers and awards candidates with the money raised through the non-profit organization’s operation. In total, $330,000 in grants and scholarships will be awarded Thursday, June 7.

Mallory Gnaegy

Student winners of the “Write a Play” program celebrate.

+ Students awarded for being dramatic Saturday, May 12, Florida Studio Theatre actors performed award-winning plays to an audience full of playwrights. But these weren’t your average coffee-sipping, pen-wielding, experienced adults, they were all students from first to 12th grade — the future pros of the industry. These students wrote plays as part of the “Write a Play” program at Florida

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Studio Theatre. It is an inschool arts program to inspire students to tap into their creativity. The playwrights were present to see their plays performed by professional actors, and they took home awards at the end. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky emceed the award ceremony; students received medals in addition to a three-show subscription series to FST.

Stunning views, gourmet food and a secure, choice-filled retirement lifestyle...

The Key Chorale wrapped up its season Sunday, May 27, with the Jacobites Pipe Band. The group dedicated its performance of Ola Gjeilo’s “The Ground” to the memory of Conductor Emeritus Dr. Daniel Moe, who died Thursday, May 24.

It seems appropriate that the group also announced its 2012-13 season, “Vast Voyages,” before Key Chorale takes off on its own adventure — a tour of Ireland and Scotland. “Vast Voyages” comes with the tagline: “Boldly going where we have not gone before.”

During next season, the group will perform five works from 1791, the last year of Mozart’s life, in collaboration with the Sarasota Orchestra.

“Cirque des Voix”will again feature the collaboration between Circus Sarasota and Sarasota Young Voices.

A performance titled, “The Vast Eternal Sky,” will combine work from modern composers Maurice Duruflé and Ola Gjeilo. And a final performance of James Whitbourn’s “Annelies” will be recorded for a public TV.

+ Musical comedy centers on the other side of the hill The musical “Assisted Living” is coming to Sarasota, and it seems like it could be a hit for those who like to laugh in the face of aging. Southwest Florida songwriters Rick Compton and Betsy Bennett joined forces to create a comedic musical about growing old.

They’ve been taking this musical up and down Florida and, starting July 10, they will begin a weekly, open-ended run of performances at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre.

“It does not have Depends jokes,”

THEATER >> ‘Fanny Brice: America’s Funny Girl’ Marya Grandy is thrilling as Fanny Brice in the musical biography that just opened at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Written and directed by David H. Bell, the show is loaded with optical goodies. The set design

by Brian Sidney Bainbridge replicates the backstage space of a theater in 1936. It also employs a screen on which black- andwhite film reels from different periods in Brice’s life accompany flashbacks, as well as, varying sumptuous curtains that swoosh down to frame highlights of famous shows she performed.

The costume design by Virgil C. Johnson is colorfully stunning, ranging from tailored suits and coats to spangly flapper dresses to the outrageous costumes Brice wore for performances. The production is fast-paced and peppered with songs from Brice’s repertoire.

Grandy is fabulous in the part, loaded with chutzpah and looking like she was born for it, with her lithe, reed-like body, expressive face reminiscent of Brice and her incredible pair of lungs. Her comic timing is perfect as she barks out lines such as, “At least when Nicky had his hand in my

Compton assures. “It’s the view of the aging process from inside of it.”

The musical centers on a sales tour of a fictional community called Pelican Roost and features two actors portraying 18 characters.

With song titles such as, “Help I’ve Fallen For You (and I Can’t Get Up),” the performance embraces the humor of aging in a light-hearted manner.

For more information visit assistedlivingthemusical.com.

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“Fanny Brice: America’s Funny Girl’ runs through June 17 at the Asolo Repertory Theatre’s Mertz Theatre.

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pocket, it felt good,” to Billy Rose, her third husband.

Besides her most famous songs, “Second Hand Rose,” “My Man, I Love Him So” and “Rose of Washington Square,” there were several I’d never heard and was pleased to do so: “Lovey Joe” and “Aggravatin’ Man” included.

Unlike the well-known movie starring Barbra Streisand, “Funny Girl,” which centered on her con-man husband — Nicky Arnstein — this play focuses more on Brice’s marriage to “I’m a producer, not a crook — there’s a subtle difference” Rose.

The story follows her from her Vaudeville beginning, to Tin Pan Alley and on to Broadway, the Ziegfeld Follies, a fling with Hollywood, and, finally, to her long-running radio broadcast, “The Baby Snooks Show.”

The men in Brice’s life are marvelously represented by Stef Tovar as Rose, Irving Berlin and others; Lance Baker as Harold Underhill, Nick Arnstein and others; and Norm Boucher as Florenz Ziegfeld and others.

— Paula Atwell

To receive your FREE Retirement Information Kit, and to learn about upcoming Plymouth Harbor events, call 941-328-8411.

700 John Ringling Blvd. • Sarasota, Florida 34236 • www.PlymouthHarbor.org A not-for-profit retirement community OIR#88039 82953

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4 ■ Diversions >>

REVIEWS

YourObserver.com

■

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

By Pam Nadon | Film Critic

Summer movie preview ‘YOUR SISTER’S SISTER’

‘COMPLIANCE’

In this offbeat comedy starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass, tequila plays a pivotal role in bringing two people up-close-and-personal. When a third party arrives, things get complicated and seriously funny.

Directed by “Humpday’s” Lynn Shelton. (JUNE 15)

‘SAVAGES’

Three-time Oscar winner Oliver Stone is back in action directing a ferocious thriller about “greed, violence, the border, drugs, relationships and the values of people” (in his own words). After having seen the trailer — that about nails it. Super-cool cast including John Travolta, Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro, for starters. (JULY 6)

‘THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES’

What started out as a documentary about billionaire David Siegel and his wife building the largest private house in America (90,000 square feet) ends up being a commentary on the state of the union.

This riches-to-rags piece directed

by Lauren Greenfield garnered her a Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. (JULY 6)

A “re-coming of age” story about a washed up, alcoholic Western

“Starring Meryl Streep” is all the information one really needs to catch this film. Tommy Lee Jones plays Streep’s husband, who reluctantly agrees to a weekend of therapy in an attempt to save their not-so-perfect marriage. Steve Carell plays their therapist. This senior

‘360’

Sometimes, a killer cast can cramp a film’s style; but who cares when it includes Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz, Jude Law and Ben

Daniel Auteuil stars in, and directs, a story about the strengths and weaknesses of human nature set in pre-World War II France.

When the well digger’s 18-year-old daughter becomes pregnant by a fighter pilot, his parents refuse to acknowledge the illegitimate child. The dynamics change drastically when the pilot goes missing in action. (JULY 20)

“Hope Springs” rom-com looks like a must-see given the cast of characters. Directed by David Frankel who “had a ball” working with Streep on “The Devil Wears Prada.” (AUG. 10)

‘LITTLE WHITE LIES’

This year’s Oscar winner for Best Actor, Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”), teams up with Best Actress winner, Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), in this French slice-of-life picture being compared to “The Big Chill.” An annual vacation for a group of friends is overshadowed by one’s involvement in a serious accident. Previous pretenses become null and void as the group faces reality.

Directed by French heartthrob actor, Guillaume Canet. (AUG. 24)

Beware of the upcoming tsunami! The tsunami of superheroes, sequels, sci-fis and remakes is forecasted to come crashing into movie theaters this summer. My advice is to steer clear and, instead, navigate your way into a cool, dark theater and soak up some of these hot indie flicks. You’ll come away unscathed and free from having been bombarded by pretentious nonsense.

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novelist (Morgan Freeman) whose inspiration is reignited when he befriends a single mom (Virginia Madsen). At age 75, Freeman’s already getting Oscar buzz for his performance in this heartwarming film. Directed by the —always wonderful —Rob Reiner. (JULY 6)

‘HOPE SPRINGS’

‘THE WELL DIGGER’S DAUGHTER’

‘THE MAGIC OF BELLE ISLE’

See Popcorn Bob picks online.

Courtesy photos

“The Well Digger’s Daughter”

Foster? An ensemble piece set in exotic locations; stories of love and infidelities are intertwined by way of split-screen format. Directed by Fernando Meirelles, who worked with Weisz on “The Constant Gardener,” for which she won an Oscar. (AUG. 3)

Based on a true event, this psychological thriller explores how people respond to authority.

A prank phone caller, posing as a cop, accuses a clerk of stealing money from a customer. The incident spins out of control, resulting in the dehumanization and humiliation of the innocent victim.

Sounds pretty riveting. Directed by Craig Zobel and staring Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker and Pat Healy.

(AUGUST)

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

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Diversions

YourObserver.com

BACKSTAGE PASS

5

By Heidi Kurpiela | A&E Editor

A Major Production Here’s how Victor Meyrich came to the Asolo Repertory Theatre.

It was 1969. Meyrich, a graduate of Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University), was working backstage for a theater company in Memphis, Tenn., that was going bankrupt.

Actress Polly Holliday, who would later go on to play a tough-talking waitress on the 1970s sitcom, “Alice,” had just wrapped a show at the same Memphis theater.

Upon learning that his employer was going belly-up, Meyrich, then 26, planned to return to his native New York to work for legendary theater producer Joe Papp.

Holliday, however, suggested he go to Sarasota, where she had just landed a role in the musical, “Oh, What a Lovely War,” at the Asolo Rep. The timing was perfect.

The Asolo Rep needed a technical director, and Meyrich needed a job.

The theater company was still trying to find its identity, operating out of a building Meyrich now refers to as “the prehistoric Asolo.”

The scene shop was a fraction of the size it is today and located on a dirt road off 12th Street. Technology, by today’s standards, was primitive.

Meyrich remembers operating the theater’s dimmer lights with a broomstick and prop shopping with a Polaroid camera.

“By the time you took a picture of a prop, mailed it to the set designer and waited for him to call you back, the prop would be gone,” Meyrich says. “Today we take a picture with our iPhone, email it to the designer and buy it on the spot.”

Meyrich has four decades of stories

■

DID YOU KNOW Victor Meyrich wrote the original architectural program for the current FSU Center for the Performing Arts. He also oversaw the design of the new Koski Production Center. like this, most of which you’ll probably never hear because Meyrich, 69, is not the storyteller-type.

“I’ve done this kind of work for as long as I can remember,” Meyrich says. “In middle school I ran the A/V department. They gave me the keys to the building so I could move equipment in and out for shows. I was 11 years old with the keys to my school.”

Meyrich is still that dependable.

For 43 seasons he’s worked as the Asolo Rep’s stalwart production manager, an achievement that was recognized last weekend at the Florida Professional Theatres Association’s annual audition conference in Vero Beach.

On May 19, Meyrich received the Victor “Vic” Meyrich Award for Excellence in and Dedication to Professional Theatre in the Area of Technical and Production Work — a wordy title for a direct guy.

The statewide organization, which usually only honors artistic leadership, had not only selected Meyer as the recipient of its first technical theater award, it chose to name the honor after him.

The reticent 69-year-old was visibly touched by the gesture.

Asolo Rep production manager Victor Meyrich is sitting pretty these days, thanks to statewide recognition for his work and a new million-dollar production center.

“I’m not aware of anyone else honoring those of us in technical theater,” Meyrich says. “The guys who put the show together backstage are usually not even mentioned (in the playbill). It’s an honor, but for me, the real satisfaction comes from walking away with a production done on time and on budget.”

A carpenter by trade, Meyrich likens his job to the work of a general contractor. As production manager, he’s responsible for overseeing the technical operation of the entire theater, which in season can mean managing a crew of 20 to 40 people.

He divides his time between two offices: one at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts and the other at the new Koski Production Center on Tallevast Road, which, at a whopping 36,000 square feet, is a dream space for Meyrich, who once built the set for Universal Studios’ “Earthquake” in a cramped Sarasota warehouse with poor air conditioning.

“He’s amazingly capable and creative,” says managing director Linda DiGabriele, who has worked with Meyrich for 35 years. “He’s kept up with technology at every level and consistently made sure that the product on stage is what everybody has envisioned.”

Meyrich is decidedly less flowery when it comes to articulating his success.

“I don’t micro-manage,” he says.

“I’m a big believer in letting people do their job. I find people have a higher standard of quality when they take ownership over what they do. At the end of the day, it’s all about having faith in people. I’m just a resource.”

Heidi Kurpiela

“I’m in no hurry to retire,” says Asolo Rep production manager Victor Meyrich, who this year celebrated his 43rd season with the company. “I have a great stake in this whole operation.”

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THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

KITCHEN CLASSICS By June LeBell | Contributing columnist

ELIZABETH GOLDSTEIN

A BELLE CANTO SHRIMP AND PASTA PASSACAGLIA Yields: 2 large servings, 4 small servings Start to finish: 45 minutes

Ingredients: 8 ounces of penne (preferably organic whole wheat) 1 pound raw shrimp (peeled and deveined) 1/4 cup olive oil (just enough so the veggies don’t stick to the pan)

1 green pepper and 1 yellow pepper cut in strips 1 cup sliced mushrooms 3 cloves minced garlic 2 large, chopped tomatoes 1 cup picante sauce (you can substitute salsa spiced to your taste) 1 tablespoon dried basil

PREPARATION: • Cook the pasta al dente. Drain, then set aside.

• Lightly sauté the peppers, mushrooms and garlic.

• Add the chopped tomatoes, picante sauce and basil; and simmer until the tomatoes break down (about five minutes.)

• Add the shrimp to the sauce and cook until done.

• Add the pasta to the sauce.

• Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on each portion and serve with a green salad.

Loren Mayo

Elizabeth Goldstein prefers making simple, low-fat foods at home. has to be a multi-tasker.

“Actually, playing the organ is a bit more challenging than cooking,” she admits. “I usually get it all to the table at about the same time. With the organ, you are at the mercy of a mechanical device — like when I developed a cipher (i.e., an out of control note that gets stuck and plays continuously without the control of the organist) on Easter Sunday.

Fortunately, there are few ciphers in Goldstein’s kitchen. She not only multi-tasks for parties, she also delegates.

“I used to do the whole thing,” she says. “Then I got smart and let other good cooks share some of their favorite dishes. Belle Canto, the terrific women’s vocal ensemble I direct, recently completed our third season with some great

‘firsts.’ So, we toasted the success at a potluck dinner at my house.

I made my favorite shrimp, pasta and vegetable dish as my maincourse contribution (see recipe above). The other ‘Belles’ brought everything from homemade sausage and lentil soup to sushi. We ate fabulously.”

The truth is, Goldstein is such a good cook that she seeks the unusual when she goes out.

“I want to eat something out that I can’t or won’t make at home,” she says. “Therefore, I go for Moroccan, Greek or French cuisine. I cook at home very simply — fish,

roasted vegetables and tofu. My husband had high cholesterol and I had to learn to cook foods that tasted good but weren’t high in fat.

We ate lots of seafood and chicken and very little red meat. I still cook and eat that way.”

And her comfort food?

“That’s so easy,” she smiles and slavers. “Chocolate! Dark chocolate! I recently visited my son in New York and discovered Vosges Haut-Chocolat on Madison Avenue. Chocolate laced with wasabi. Chocolate truffles dusted with curry power. Hot, dark chocolate to drink.”

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How does she mix it up, musically, while she’s cooking? She doesn’t.

“The truth is, I don’t listen to music as I cook,” she says. “My days are full of music, for which I am very grateful. I usually try to listen to the news, read The New York Times and, of course, there’s the crossword puzzle to which I’m addicted. There’s always the list of emails that needs answering, too.

Multi-tasking? Yes. Burn the food?

Usually not.”

Then, again, with all the things that go on when you’re playing the organ — hands flying in different directions and feet scampering across the pedals — an organist

ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE

“GRANDY WILL HAVE YOU CHEERING” – JAY HANDELMAN

SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE 84288

Conductor, organist, choir director, dancer, singer and Broadway actress Elizabeth Goldstein loves eating and cooking, and it shows in every way from the parties she gives to the foods she craves — except one: her figure. The petite blue-eyed blonde zips around town like a speed-skater, leads her choral ensembles with the energy of a Jet Ski and attacks her new organ console at First United Methodist Church like an octopus after a triple espresso.

“My favorite word is ‘flavorful,’” she tells us. And that carries over to the music she programs for her Belle Canto concerts and church services, too. There is a variety in music — from a tittle of Tchaikovsky to an iota of gospel — “but no hot spice.” So, although she’s often pushing her choral groups beyond what they think they can do, she never goes beyond good taste.

“You want to be sure a meal has color and variety,” she says. “It’s the same for (music) programming.

I once went to an organ recital where every piece was loud and bombastic. I’m sure the organist had a great time playing that music, but the listening ears sure got weary of high pitches and loud sounds, well-played as they were.

I recently conducted the First Church Singers in a performance on the Music Fine Arts series at First United Methodist Church. I chose the title, ‘Great Beginnings … Sublime Endings,’ starting with Rutter’s fabulously exciting ‘Te Deum’ and ending with Whitbourn’s hauntingly beautiful ‘Son

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THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

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FASHION

Diversions

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7

by Loren Mayo | Black Tie Editor

guestfashioneditor RENEE PHINNEY “In a town of complete fashionistas, I find myself trying to stay current with a fun edge. I like options when it comes to style, and my style is chic, effortless, creative and fun.”

Swarovski

“The stitch heart is from my friend, Kurt Lucas. He gave it to me as a gift to remind me I’m always loved.”

Gucci heels

“I love the oversized bit against the traditional Gucci print. These are shoes you can wear everywhere.”

Alice and Olivia Akiko

“I saw a woman at L. Boutique with this on, and I had to have it. It’s comfortable, forgiving where it needs to be and goes with flats or heels.”

“Shopping is a sport, and it depends on my mood.”

“This is a splurge that I get compliments on every time I wear it.”

BCBG blouse

“Colorful, perfect cut and costly, but worth it.”

INC

“I pushed the envelope by wearing this to a congressman’s Christmas party. It’s flirty, but not too short.”

Hudson jeans

”I bought these at the original Stitch boutique. Vinnie said I had to have them, and he was right. It’s all about the bootie. You have to accentuate it in only the most positive way.”

LV envelope clutch

“It’s extra long, and I can wrap it several times.

It’s lightweight, and it’s a classic.”

BCBG Dress

“The plan was to throw in a colored shoe — to maybe rock some hotpink pumps.”

BCBG feather cocktail dress

“You always need one item with feathers. Most of my stuff is sporty spice, and this is more feminine.”

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This goes with me everywhere. It’s my go-to evening bag.”

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THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

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