PelicanPRESS SIESTA KEY
YOU. YOU. YOUR YOUR NEIGHBORS. NEIGHBORS. YOUR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. NEIGHBORHOOD.
SCHOOLS
NEUTRAL ZONE
Courtesy
Phil Mancini and Michael Klauber
DIVERSIONS
Students celebrate the first day of classes. PAGE 19A
Get a 20/20 view of proposed Sarasota 2050 changes. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
• THURSDAY, JUNE21, 5, 2014 FREEFREE • THURSDAY, AUGUST 2014
Watercolorist Rita Rust strives for simplicity in her strokes. INSIDE
MARINE LIFE
by David Conway | News Editor
THINK
TANK
Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium is intent on expanding its research capability on its City Island campus — and hopes to build a new bayfront aquarium on the mainland.
The West Coast Florida Region of American Jewish Committee (AJC) will honor Michael Klauber and Phil Mancini of Michael’s On East in November. Klauber and Mancini will receive the celebrated Civic Achievement Award for years of supporting the community. Through donations, contributions and partnerships, Klauber and Mancini have given back more than $1 million to Sarasota and Manatee nonprofits.
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+ Klauber, Mancini to receive AJC award
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Michael Uribe and Steve Beauregard drench Assistant General Manager Russ Swan while Chrissy Vale watches.
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Annual attendance CITY ISLAND
419,000 BAYFRONT
+ Tw-Ice as Nice Bob’s Boathouse hosted an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and fundraiser event Tuesday. All proceeds from the threehour-long happy hour event benefited the Tampa chapter of the ALS Association. Office Manager Chrissy Vale and Russ Swan were the lucky recipients of ice-cold buckets of water to raise money and awareness for ALS. Bob’s Boathouse challenges The Hub and Cottage restaurants on Siesta Key to join the cause by either donating to the ALS Association or taking the ice-cold plunge. For more information on the ALS Association and to donate, go to alsa.org.
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A 2013 feasibility study projected that a downtown bayfront Mote aquarium would fare better than a new City Island facility.
555,000
or Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium to achieve the level of growth prescribed by the organization’s strategic plan, its leaders have come to a realization: They’re going need a bigger facility. In 2010, then-Senior Vice President for Research Michael Crosby helped craft a series of priorities and strategies centered on one goal: making Mote a nationally and internationally recognized marine research organization. The Mote Board of Directors approved the 2020 Vision and Strategic Plan in 2011, and officials began working to implement its ambitious blueprint for growth. Three years later, Crosby — now the president and CEO of Mote — said little has changed regarding the organization’s goals since then. One significant path toward achieving those goals has crystallized, however. Rumors have swirled about a potential downtown aquarium, and Crosby confirms Mote intends to pursue such a facility on city-owned bayfront property near the Van Wezel. “As we evolve this campus here (on City Island) into becoming this international science technology and innovation park, it’s become clear we need to move the more public face of Mote off of this campus,” Crosby said. The conversation began internally as soon as the 2020 vision plan was penned, according to
SEE MOTE / 2A
TIMELINE
1960 — The laboratory moved to Siesta Key.
1955 — Dr. Eugenie Clark established Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in Placida with support from the Vanderbilt family.
1967 — The laboratory was renamed in honor of the Mote family.
1965-1966 — Dr. Perry Gilbert and William Mote stepped in to lead the laboratory after Clark accepted a professorship and the Vanderbilts moved north.
1976 — The city of Sarasota and Arvida Corp. reached an agreement to provide Mote 6.7 acres of land on a 50-year lease.
1978 — Mote moved to City Island after raising $1.2 million.
Continued on 2A ...
1980 — Mote’s Marine Science Center opened to the public.
INDEX Opinion.................8A Classifieds ........ 27A
Cops Corner....... 10A Crossword.......... 26A
Permits.............. 25A Real Estate........ 24A
Sports................ 14A Weather............. 26A
Vol. 45, No. 4 | Two sections YourObserver.com