The Bay recently marked three years since opening Phase 1.
BY THE NUMBERS
1.4 MILES
Length of the first phase of widening Legacy Trail near downtown Sarasota PAGE 4A
144,000 Square footage of new performance space in Florida Studio Theatre’s under construction McGillicuddy Arts Plaza PAGE 14A
$200,000 Money gone missing from Sarasota Little League’s bank account PAGE 18A CALENDAR
n Sarasota Planning Board regular meeting — 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 12, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St. n Sarasota County School Board ReOrg and Board meeting — 10 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, Board Chambers, Landings Administration Complex, 1960 Landings Blvd. (black awning entrance)
“I just feel like I seconded Pythagorean’s theorem or something.”
City Commissioner Kyle Battie on a meandering motion on scheduling action in the search for a new city manager.
Read more on page 10A
Adecrease in travel to Sarasota County by those within driving distance who are opting for more distant travel destinations continues to contribute to a reduction in tourism here, according to September data released by Visit Sarasota County. The county’s official tourism bureau reported a continuing trend of declining numbers in visitors, direct spending and overall economic impact, even though hotel room rates tracked slightly upward at $156.34, an increase of 4.4%. Meanwhile, re-
ported vacation rental rates were at $262 per night, a decrease of 1.5%.
“We continue to see our room rate rise slightly, but visitation remains down,” said VSC President and CEO Erin Duggan in a news release. “Though the year-to-date number of visitors is down, the number of visitors from Central Europe and other international regions is up. This tracks alongside the fact that we’re seeing fewer visitors from in-state and the drive market as they look to explore other areas
of the world.”
In September, total visitors were 79,500 compared to September 2024, a decrease of 14,200 or 15.2%. Direct spending was $67.1 million, down from $76.7 million in September 2024, a decrease of $9.6 million or 12.5%.
Year to date, a total of 1.32 million visited Sarasota County compared to 1.42 million in 2024, down 100,000 or 7.5%. Direct spending is at $1.65 billion, down from $1.74 billon for a decrease of $91.6 million or 7.5%.
Track Phillippi dredging on website
Sarasota County government has created a web page to provide residents updated information on the Phillippi Creek dredging project. The page includes video updates, answers to frequently asked questions and a map of the project area. The page is at SCGov.net/PhillippiCreek.
Through this page, the public may also find links to the water atlas, a fact sheet and two maps, one of the dredging areas east and west of U.S. 41
All permits have been received by the West Coast Inland Navigation District, which is managing the current project portion from the mouth of Phillippi Creek to Tuttle Avenue to ensure a 30-foot-wide, 4-footdeep mean low water area along the center line.
Once dredging contracts have been awarded an estimated operational time line will be developed. A minimum 10-foot buffer will be maintained from docks and other structures, meaning in some areas where the creek narrows the intended width may not be achievable. Phillippi Creek is a 7.2-mile stream located in the Little Sarasota Bay Watershed, flowing from the Celery Fields east of I-75 to Roberts Bay. The county’s stormwater infrastructure drains into the creek and ultimately into Little Sarasota Bay.
SRQ to Miami flight begins at SRQ
American Airlines is now offering daily nonstop flights between Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and Miami International Airport. The service between SRQ and MIA began Nov. 3, with the trip lasting a little more than an hour.
Each day, the flights will leave SRQ around 6 a.m. Return flights will leave MIA after 10:30 p.m.
The Miami flight marks the sixth nonstop destination from SRQ for American Airlines, which also offers service to Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT); Washington, D.C. (DCA); Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW); Chicago (ORD); and Philadelphia (PHL).
Watershed moment along the water
Restoration of the Chidsey Library marks another Phase 2 park milestone as the Bay Park Conservancy turns its attention to Phase 3.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
While hearing progress reports, current and funding requests for future work at The Bay as a member of the Bay Park Improvement Board and the Sarasota County Commission, Mark Smith asked if the Chidsey Library building still had that distinctive aroma he recalled as a child.
As the second of five historic structures that stand in the Cultural District being restored and repurposed at The Bay park, the ribboncutting for the 6,000-square-foot Chidsey took place Oct. 24.
That smell is gone, Bay Park Conservancy Founding CEO AG Lafley assured Smith, but what remains is the original terrazzo flooring, nearly all the glass block, the exposed brick and some of the book stacks that have stood since 1941.
With two historic buildings now restored, the BPC turns its attention to finishing Phase 2 and planning for Phase 3. Already completed is the renovation of the Sarasota Garden Club building. Work has begun on the Bayfront Community Center, and renovations to the Municipal Auditorium will begin next summer.
“As part of Phase 2, next summer we will build the Town Square, which will be between (ArtCenter Sarasota) and the Municipal Auditorium,” said BPC Chief Operating Officer Diana Shaheen at the Chidsey ceremony.
“We will open up our Canal District in the next few weeks that will offer day docks for the community to access the park and the city by water. We will start the resilient shoreline, which is in the procurement process with the city as we speak.”
So far, The Bay has surpassed 930,000 visits since opening Phase 1 along the north side of Boulevard of the Arts in November 2022, which Shaheen reminded revelers was previously pavement. Vice Mayor Debbie Trice likened progress of The Bay to the Joni Mitchell song “Big Yellow Taxi” and the lyric “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
“Fortunately, we had a cohort of resourceful, imaginative people who said, ‘We’re going to bring back paradise,’” Trice said. “Each year, a little bit more becomes reality.”
Plenty of parking lot remains to be transformed into a park — the 850-space Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall parking lot.
As Phase 2 work continues, Phase 3 planning has already begun, which includes an overhaul of the Centennial Park boat launch area at the northern end of The Bay park at the 10th Street canal basin.
That project will expand parking, add a fourth boat ramp and more day docks.
The highlight of the third phase is a plan to transform the Van Wezel parking lot — the single largest producer of polluted stormwater over the entire 53-acre site — into green space gradually rising from the bayfront toward the east to conceal three levels of parking.
“We’re going to build resilience from the shoreline all the way to the center of the park,” Lafley said.
“We’re going to install a stormwater treatment train underground, on the ground and above ground to treat the biggest volume of stormwater from the site. We’re going to provide green space with playgrounds, with more food and beverage, with water features, with all that we know park guests want to experience.”
On Oct. 21, the Sarasota City Commission approved the future transfer of funds from the tax increment financing district revenue for construction of Phase 3A — largely the Centennial Park work — and preliminary planning for Phase 3B. The next day, the Sarasota County Commission took a more cautious approach before making an identical commitment, opting to await next year’s legislative session when the matter of a possible statewide referendum to eliminate future property taxes will be discussed.
Per the BPC’s request,for Phase 3 the city and county would each chip in one-third of the cost and the conservancy the remainder. The entire estimated $200 million project is based on half of funding from the city and county TIF revenue and half from private contributions.
“It’s going to be the most important development that we do,” Lafley said of Phase 3. “It’s going to be the most complex development that we do. The planning will get done next year, and I sincerely hope we’ll be moving to construction year after that.”
Work on Municipal
Blue Pagoda
Architect Victor Lundy designed the Blue Pagoda in 1956 for the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. Known for its distinctive sweeping roof covered in blue celadon ceramic tiles, it is a prime example of midcentury modern architecture and the Sarasota School of Architecture. Used for three years as the offices of the Bay Park Conservancy, renovations will make it into a visitor center for The Bay park.
Renovation cost: $300,000
Status: Pre-concept
Sarasota Garden Club
Designed by architect John Crowell, the dedication for the Sarasota Garden Club building was in 1960. It features a Japanese-inspired design with the addition of a Japanese garden house designed by Bert Brosmith in 1962.
Renovation cost: $700,000
Status: Complete
Bayfront Community Center
Originally conceived as part of an 11-acre bay front recreational complex, the 1937 completion of a Community Center became part of a complex that included and recreational facilities. In 1940, they added a second floor to the Municipal Auditorium.
Renovation cost: $3 million
Status: Under construction
Chidsey Library
Built in 1941, thanks in large part to a donation from John and Ida Chidsey, the Chidsey Library was Sarasota’s first public library. Designed by Thomas Reed Martin, it served as the city’s library until 1976, when the Selby Library opened. The building served as the Sarasota County History Center and the Visitors and Convention Bureau, and is now home to the Bay Park Conservancy.
Renovation cost: $700,000
Status: Complete
Municipal Auditorium
Completed in 1938 as a Works Progress Administration project, Municipal Auditorium features the art deco/modern style by architects Thomas Reed Martin and Clarence A. Martin. It served as a hub for recreation and community events, including dances, graduations, performances and more. Now operated by the Bay Park Conservancy, it will undergo renovation in summer 2026.
Renovation cost: $3 million
Status: Pre-concept
HISTORIC BUILDINGS (PART OF PHASE 2)
Andrew Warfield
Image Courtesy of Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association
The Promenade along Tamiami Trail at The Bay is complete.
Image Courtesy of Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association
Auditorium in The Bay park will begin mid-2026.
The master plan for Phase 3 of The Bay park shows an expansion of Centennial Park and converting the Van Wezel parking lot into green space and elevated parking.
Wider Legacy Trail under construction
Sarasota County is adding a lane along 1.4 miles between Shade Avenue and Beneva Road.
Construction is underway on a 6-foot-wide second lane of the Legacy Trail near downtown, adding capacity and safety to the popular rails-to-trails byway.
The initial phase of the 1.4-mile project runs from Shade Avenue to Beneva Road and will run past the Pompano Trailhead, adjacent to Robarts Arena and the Babe Ruth baseball complex.
Though probably not rigidly enforced as a bikes on one side, pedestrians on the other arrangement, the expansion will give users options based on comfort levels, Friends of the Legacy Trail President Rita Miotti said.
“We’ve got bikes, people pushing strollers, dogs on leashes, people walking or jogging out there,” she said. “It does get pretty busy, especially during the season. We’re hoping people will settle into their own vibes.”
There is no need for additional space to finish the project, which is expected to be complete in spring 2026, Sarasota County said. When designers initially lengthened the Legacy Trail between downtown Sarasota and the Palmer Ranch area, they left expansion space in the busiest sections, such as the segments north of Clark Road traversing densely populated neighborhoods and urban settings. One of the selling points of that section was the potential as a commuting alternative.
In 2023, Sarasota County commissioners approved the widening plan, funding it with a combination of state grants, impact fee revenue and private
donations from the Friends of the Legacy Trail.
Construction of the first phase is part of an overall 4.18-mile widening plan. Design of the project was completed last year by Kimley-Horn and Associates for $59,950, county documents show.
Finance for the construction comes a combination of $400,000 in grants, $497,000 in grant-matching money, $117,000 in impact fee revenue and $320,000 in private donations.
The voter-approved 2018 referendum that paved the way for the trail’s expansion to the north also set in motion expansions on the south end of the trail, which had previously ended in Venice.
Last summer, work was completed on a pair of overpasses spanning Clark Road and Bee Ridge Road.
Miotti said she expects work to begin in December on the conversion of a sidewalk along Beneva Road from the Legacy Trail crossing to Fruitville Road, which may someday get an overpass as well.
There were about 644,400 trail users in 2024, though the peak year was 2023, with more than 676,000 riders. Through September, just more than 451,000 riders had used the trail, according to Friends of the Legacy Trail.
Eric Garwood
The Legacy Trail’s east-west segment runs past the Pompano Trailhead, just south of Robarts Arena.
Schools’ plan reimagines campuses
The ‘future-focused’ plan would repurpose space and keep charter schools at a distance.
broad-stroke sketch unveiled weeks ago to counter Schools of Hope takeovers in Sarasota County is now a detailed portrait of proposals to repurpose, relocate and demolish in the pursuit of reduced campus capacity and new programming to attract students lost to alternative education options.
Among the biggest changes up for approval at a special meeting of the Sarasota County School Board on Friday: the establishment of leased child-care facilities on two campuses; a pair of Junior Achievement learning centers for elementary and middle school students and the conversion of four elementary schools into K-8 variations. One of those four elementary schools, Wilkinson, was penciled in to close under Superintendent Terry Connor’s original proposal.
In a presentation to school board members Tuesday, Connor said not only is the “future-focused” strategic plan a way to eliminate about 3,400 of 5,600-plus excess capacity-seats that might be available for occupation by Schools of Hopeconnected charter operators, but also a means to create programming to compete with private, charter and home schools.
“We’ve got to get these families back from the charters and some of the private schools, and this is such a golden opportunity for our district to really shine,” said School Board Chair Robyn Marinelli.
Connor rolled out an initial glimpse of the plan in September that focused at first on closing Wilkinson and moving the school district’s central offices to its repurposed campus. That drew imme -
SPECIAL MEETING
The Sarasota County School Board will meet for a special session at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7 to consider the proposal.
diate fire from Wilkinson parents, who packed a follow-up community meeting to suggest alternatives, including K-8 conversion. The option to disperse district operations remains an option.
Sarasota County Schools faces several threats, mainly but not only from the state’s Schools of Hope program, which allows a selection of certified for-profit charter-school operators to move into unused areas of undercapacity schools without cost.
Also, demographics of the city of Sarasota and its surroundings are getting older, according to U.S. Census figures, with the largest slowdown coming in the 35-49 age group.
The state’s private-school voucher program has also siphoned off public school students statewide, as have homeschool options and more conventional charter options.
Connor made clear that though the timeline of his proposals was compressed by Schools of Hope urgency, the recommendations would make sense regardless of the circumstances. “That’s why I refer to them as ‘future-focused,’’’ he said.
By hearing the recommendations Tuesday, voting on them Friday and then immediately submitting them to state education regulators in Tallahassee, the school district aims to beat by four days a window that opens Nov. 11, after which Schools of Hope operators could legally begin to submit space requests.
Mater Academy of Hialeah Gardens, a $314.38 million company in fiscal year 2024, had already sought space at three Sarasota County campuses, requests that the school district said arrived before the application window legally opened.
School board members agreed broadly with the superintendent’s
proposals but urged caution across the rapid timeline and asked to hear “ballpark” financials on staffing and building reconfigurations. Connor promised he would comply, adding a lot of the changes would not require significant spending.
“A lot of people work best under pressure; I’m one of those people, as well,” School board member Bridget Ziegler said. “And sometimes that outcome, because procrastination is a reality ... when you give them a long runway, they all end up waiting until the last minute anyway. I don’t diminish the intensity of what has taken place.”
Conversion of four elementary schools to K-8 not only solves a capacity issue, but Connor said is often a preferred means of making the move from a smaller early years school to larger middle-school experience. It’s also a point at which families often consider private or charter options, he said.
“Middle school can be scary, and so keeping them at the elementary campuses where they start at pre-K or kindergarten and having the duration of them to be there maybe nine years really is a great opportunity to keep that close-knit experience,” Connor said.
Physical conversions of elementary schools to accommodate older students, he added, generally cost less than adding younger children to middle school campuses. The new grades would phase in with sixth grade next school year, concluding in 2028-29 with the addition of eighth grade. Brentwood Elementary could add a classical-arts emphasis along the way to becoming a K-8.
At Emma Booker Elementary and Booker Middle, Connor envisions the creation with Junior Achievement of two sites that students from around the region could visit, providing simulated towns and workplaces to learn real-world skills.
Funded by philanthropy, these “JA Discovery Centers” would be named Biz Town for younger students on the elementary campus and JA Finance Park on the middle school campus.
CAMPUS BY CAMPUS
More than 5,600 “under-utilized seats” exist across five middle schools and six elementary schools and Oak Park School, which serves K-12. Here’s the plan for those schools:
BROOKSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL
The plan: Create the Gulf Coast Academy of Innovation and Technology for grades 6-8, focusing on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, gaming design and similar pursuits. On the ground: Convert three buildings into administrative uses, perhaps shifting district IT operations to campus to complement the curriculum.
The effect: At current attendance, 73% capacity.
FRUITVILLE ELEMENTARY
The plan: Gifted magnet program, reduce capacity. On the ground: Demolish Building 5.
The effect: At current attendance, 103% capacity.
HERON CREEK MIDDLE (NORTH PORT)
The plan: Convert Building 10 to a child-care facility and lease to a child-care operator. On the ground: Center would operate independently with its own parcel and entrance, removing 257 seats.
The effect: At current enrollment, 73% capacity.
MCINTOSH MIDDLE SCHOOL
The plan: House district support services. On the ground: Repurpose building.
The effect: At current enrollment, 83% capacity.
VENICE MIDDLE SCHOOL
The plan: Convert one building for early learning and Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System offices. Maintain Young Marines program. On the ground: Repurpose Building 1 to reduce capacity by 88 seats.
The effect: At current enrollment, 81% capacity.
EMMA BOOKER ELEMENTARY AND BOOKER MIDDLE
The plan: Create space for Junior Achievement Biz Town for younger students and Finance Park for older students. Potentially establish Teacher Excellence Center on Booker Middle campus. Create north-county child-care facility and lease to a child-care operator. On the ground: Repurpose Buildings 4 and 8 at Emma Booker and Building 10 and 14 at Booker Middle, along with Building 1 for office space. JA conversions would be privately financed. The effects: At current enrollments, Emma Booker Elementary: 82% capacity; Booker Middle: 81% capacity.
ALTA VISTA, BRENTWOOD, GULF GATE AND WILKINSON ELEMENTARIES
The plan: Convert to from K-6 to K-8 over the next three school years. On the ground: reconfigure school buildings to accommodate older students. Demolish Building 2 at Alta Vista. The effect: At full K-8 implementation in 2028-29, Alta Vista at 104% capacity, Brentwood at 82%, Gulf Gate at 99% and Wilkinson at 78%.
Ian Swaby
Superintendent of Schools Terry Connor speaks on the district’s plans to maximize utilization.
Orchestra releases schematics of its planned Music Center
As it aims toward a 2027 groundbreaking, the Sarasota Orchestra has released schematic designs of its 32-acre campus.
ANDREW
WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
Advancing the concept of blending the natural environment with performance, education and public open spaces, the Sarasota Orchestra has released the first schematic renderings of its planned Music Center, offering a preliminary glimpse of the 32-acre campus at 5701 Fruitville Road.
Led by the design architects at William Rawn Associates of Boston in collaboration with executive architects at HKS Architects of Orlando, release of the schematics marks a key milestone toward a 2027 groundbreaking.
The schematic drawings offer the first look inside the concert hall and the education center, plus an enhanced exterior view. Approximately 12 acres of the property will be for wetlands, water features, natural parks and walking trails intended to soften exterior sound and create shaded outdoor gathering spaces, according to a news release.
“This is a special moment when Sarasota can imagine the next 75 years of Sarasota Orchestra and how this iconic musical destination will serve a growing community,” said William Rawn Associates Principal Cliff Gayley in the release. Added fellow Rawn Associates Principal Doug Johnston, “From arrival to exit, the Music Center will create a welcoming, comfortable and uniquely memorable experience whether you’re taking a stroll through the parks, dropping your child off at a youth orchestra or sitting in the new hall.”
The Music Center will bring to the Gulf Coast its first concert hall designed specifically for acoustic performances, joining only three
others in Florida, including New World Center in Miami Beach, Knight Concert Hall in Miami and Orlando’s Steinmetz Hall. Designed in collaboration with acousticians and theater planners at Stages Consultants of Highland Park, New Jersey, the concert hall’s shoebox shape and curved balcony “will ensure every seat enjoys clear, balanced sound and an unobstructed view of the musicians,” according to the release.
The concert hall will have 1,800 seats, and a third structure is a
planned 700-seat recital hall between the main hall and Education Center. Capping the seating at 1,800, Sarasota Orchestra President and CEO Joe McKenna said, preserves the “sweet spot” between design, audience experience and acoustics.
“With the schematic design, you see some of the personality and it takes you inside the concert hall in particular,” McKenna said. “You start to see some of the characteristics and quality of how the experience will be, and those are powerful images to
help prospective donors and funders to become a little bit more engaged in the discussion.”
A formal capital campaign for the Music Center, estimated to cost between $375 million and $425 million, has yet to begin, but the orchestra has, in the past, reported an anonymous $60 million gift and a $10 million donation by Jack and Priscilla Schlegel.
With the release of the schematics, McKenna said he anticipates more gifts to seed the campaign once it is underway. Further generating momentum is when schematic drawings transcend into detailed renderings that are more detailed in terms of colors, finishes and other details.
“The schematic design process really starts to give you something to share with the donors and community that embody a little bit more of not just the mass of the building on the site, but what the essence of what the experience is going to be like,” McKenna said, adding the concert hall is “really thought about for the patron experience that we want
2014: Needs assessment and market analysis projects commenced
2017: Space needs determined 2018: Site search begins 2021: Due diligence completed for the 5701 Fruitville Road site 2022: Intent to purchase announced, rezoning approval process began 2023: The land purchase for the 32-acre site at 5701 Fruitville Road was completed after county approval
2024: Key firms were selected for the design team
2025: Conceptual and schematic designs revealed, and a major $60 million in gifts announced
Early 2027: Groundbreaking is planned
2029-30: Music Center is projected to open in time for the season
everyone to have.”
The experience begins outside with an open courtyard connecting the concert hall to the education wing, the latter supporting Sarasota Orchestra’s youth ensembles. It will feature more than a dozen teaching studios for individual and smallgroup lessons and music libraries to archive and celebrate music collections of Sarasota Youth Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra and the Sarasota Music Festival.
“The Music Center is a quantum leap forward for Sarasota Orchestra,” said Sarasota Orchestra Board of Directors and Building Committee member Michael Esposito in the news release. “What’s really terrific is the opportunity it creates to welcome more students into Sarasota Orchestra’s education programs, with a better experience made possible by new facilities and a concert hall with excellent acoustics.”
The orchestra acquired the 32-acre site in early 2023 from Walmart Stores East LP for $14 million. That amount is not in the overall cost estimate of the project.
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The Sarasota Orchestra Music Center concert hall is planned as a shoebox design.
Images courtesy of William Rawn Associates
HALLOWEEN’S HAVEN OF TREATS
Families head to Cherokee Park for trick-or-treating.
It was the first Halloween in Cherokee Park for Tara Edling’s family, who moved there from Harbor Acres after they lost their home, including their Halloween decor, last hurricane season.
Nonetheless, the new home at 1752 North Drive still had thorough decorations for Halloween.
Edling created a “Dead & Breakfast Sleep Hollow” setup that included a gate, a graveyard with fog and a figure of the Headless Horseman, among other elements.
She said after talking with the neighbors, the family had an idea of what to expect from Halloween in one of Sarasota’s most popular neighborhoods for trick-or-treating.
“We thought it was big, but then the neighbors basically told us, think three times what you’re thinking. So then we went bigger,” she said.
She said the display is ultimately for the kids, although all ages enjoy the block party-type experience in the neighborhood.
— IAN SWABY
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Andre Herke, Thomas Herke, 3, and Jennifer Herke dress up as pumpkins.
Lilia Treidder, 2, greets Thomas Herke, 3.
The Delgado family, including Remy, 9, Milana, 10, Andres, 14, Danielle, Hector, 5 months, and Paul, dress as pirates.
Dunja Wilson and Andrew Wilson walk through the neighborhood as an Oompa Loompa and Willy Wonka.
Tara Edling’s home had a “Sleepy Hollow” theme.
Karen and Paul Chapman, who recently visited Africa, greet trickor-treaters as zebras.
Betty, Mark Ramos’ English Bulldog, greets trickor-treaters.
Photos by Ian Swaby
Kiana Nahale, 2, grabs some candy.
Sarasota Memorial celebrates a century of
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
President and CEO David Verinder shares his thoughts about the complex’s 100 years.
Our story began 100 years ago, in a time before penicillin, when people still relied on “cure-all” elixirs to treat many common ailments, and the only facility for emergency care on the Suncoast was a fiveroom, converted bungalow and tent for tuberculosis patients.
Sarasota was a small but inspired town poised for growth as flocks of Northerners fled the snow, slush and sleet to establish seasonal homes on the Suncoast.
It was in this diverging state of affairs that Sarasota’s early leaders found purpose. Rallying residents and businesses alike — through sheer grit and a whole lot of fundraising — they raised the $40,000 needed to build the community’s first modern hospital.
The 32-bed Sarasota Hospital opened its doors to patients on Nov. 2, 1925, with a dozen physicians and 10 nurses and caregivers. At the dedication ceremony, the newspapers called the communityowned hospital a “model of medical institutions” and “greatest philanthropic undertaking which this county has ever known.”
That pioneering spirit and com-
munity-wide act of philanthropy laid the foundation for everything Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is today. As president and CEO of this enduring public institution, it is with humble pride that I reflect on such a momentous milestone — Sarasota Memorial’s centennial anniversary.
SMH has been taking care of this community for 100 years, through astonishing medical advances and decades of change. From humble beginnings, the 32-bed hospital has evolved into one of the nation’s best health systems, and one of the most respected. A pioneer of new treatments and technologies, a life-saving trauma center, an award-winning teaching hospital, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is one of the largest and most highly rated health systems in the U.S., with clinical outcomes and a reputation for quality care unmatched in our region.
It also is the Suncoast’s largest employer, with nearly 11,000 employees and 2,500 physicians and advanced care providers, overseeing roughly 2 million patient visits annually.
Today, the community-owned health system includes two fullservice hospitals in Sarasota and Venice (and another on the way in North Port), freestanding ERs in North Port and Lakewood Ranch, a comprehensive cancer institute, a rehabilitation hospital, a behavioral health hospital, skilled nursing facility and a comprehensive network of outpatient centers, urgent care clinics and physician practices. Though much has changed in the past 100 years, one thing remains constant — our deep commitment to the health of this community.
SMH has stayed true to its public mission — providing the highest quality care to our patients, while delivering essential, safety-net services other hospitals in Sarasota do not, including vital maternity care, newborn intensive care, pediatric care, trauma services and behavior-
al health care for people of all ages. All of this has been made possible by you, the people of Sarasota County, and the outstanding doctors, nurses, staff, volunteers, donors and publicly elected Hospital Board, whose strong convictions guide our care. It is with that same resolution
and resolve that we step bravely into the future, knowing the best is yet to come. We look forward to the next 100 years of caring, together.
David Verinder is president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.
DAVID VERINDER
Courtesy images
A look at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in 1925 when it opened, compared to how it looks today on its 100th anniversary.
City manager may be named by March 2026
Search firm hired by the city lays out a schedule of next steps.
He doesn’t have any hair on his head, but if he did, Sarasota City Commissioner Kyle Battie would have been pulling it out by the root near the end of a more than 70-minute discussion about the draft recruitment brochure for the next city manager.
During their Nov. 3 meeting, commissioners scrutinized the brochure prepared by Sumter Local Government Consulting.
They also deliberated the proposed time frame, at what point thorough background investigations would occur on a narrowed pool of candidates, whether and in what form housing assistance might take if offered, and more.
As the verbiage nitpicking dragged on with Sumter owner Warren Hutmacher, who joined the meeting remotely, a resemblance to the commission’s failed relationship with its prior executive search firm, Colin Baenziger and Associates, began to emerge.
The city and Baenziger parted ways in May 2025 over irreconcilable differences, namely the commission’s apparent uniquely deep level of desired involvement in the early stage of candidate gathering.
Now, more than a year after the retirement of Marlon Brown, City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs, who, along with City Attorney Joe Polzak, is facilitating the search process, was ready to get on with advertising the position and finalizing the brochure.
“I just want us to be careful about
JOB DESCRIPTION
The recruitment brochure prepared by Sumter Local Government Consulting describes the Sarasota city manager position as, “a visible, approachable, and relationshipdriven leader who thrives on connection with residents, business leaders, civic organizations, and regional partners. This is not a role for an introvert or someone who views community engagement as a box to check. Success in Sarasota requires genuine enthusiasm for public interaction and a strong presence at community events. The City Commission is looking for a city manager who truly values civic involvement and sees it as a core leadership responsibility, not an obligation.”
wordsmithing this. We will never get this out if we’re going to do it like this,” Griggs implored. “Talk about the important things you really need to see in this because if we keep doing what we’re doing right now ... I’m going to have to bring this back again.”
For his part, Battie just wanted to move on.
“I’m about to jump out of my seat. Good God almighty, can we get on with this?” Battie said.
After Vice Mayor Debbie Trice made the motion to approve the draft with several changes — including narrowing the starting salary of between $225,000 and $305,000, depending on qualifications and experience, to an as-yet specified range — Battie added, “I just feel like I seconded Pythagoreans theorem or something.”
Hutmacher recommended a threeweek deadline from the posting of the job to accept applications, all of which will go to commissioners.
He plans to attend the Jan. 5, 2026, commission meeting to help narrow the field to a nonspecified number of semifinalists.
The lone sticking point among commissioners, namely Jen AhearnKoch, was the depth of background checks prior to the pool of finalists. Hutmacher recommends to subject semifinalists to a “soft” background check and finalists a more thorough investigation into criminal history, social media activity and other relevant areas.
“I’m just going to say I’m not OK with that, but if the rest of the commission feels comfortable with that, that’s obviously fine,” Ahearn-Koch said.
For now, interviews of semifinalists will occur through mid-January, and finalists perhaps selected at the first meeting in February, if not during a special meeting.
If that time frame holds up, Sarasota will name its first permanent city manager in 17 months, the job filled in the interim first by nowretired Public Works Director Doug Jeffcoat and currently by former Longboat Key Town Manager Dave Bullock.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The draft recruitment brochure prepared by Sumter Local Government Consulting lists the following qualities sought in the next Sarasota city manager.
n A competitive individual who knows, understands and values the importance of being part of a team
n A leader who possesses the ability to relate to a diverse workforce
n An individual who can work with a shared community vision to see the big picture and execute the City Commission’s direction to achieve that vision
n A supportive leader with the will and ability to collaborate with the staff
n A confident leader, willing and able to delegate tasks that allow seasoned staff to work autonomously
n Exceptional communication skills
n A person of high integrity, always working to do what is in the longterm best interest of the city
n Someone who can think both locally and regionally
n An individual who can respectfully and effectively help resolve problems between opposing viewpoints
n Resourceful problem solver who works to progress, not impede the process
n Actively involved with local, state, and federal officials in a continuing effort to secure the resources necessary to continue moving the city forward
QUALIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED EXPERIENCE
n At least 10 years of senior management experience as a city manager, assistant city manager or department head
n A bachelor’s degree in business, public administration, public policy or a related field; a master’s degree is highly desirable
n Knowledge and experience in developing and maintaining complex municipal infrastructure
n A proven track record of open and productive community dialogue with community groups, business organizations, residents, visitors and regional and state leaders who may have at any time similar or conflicting views on community issues
n Knowledge of issues commonly associated with coastal communities, including infrastructure, emergency preparedness, crisis management and intergovernmental cooperation
n Familiarity and comfort with promoting and managing the impacts of tourism, seasonal resident populations and active and vibrant downtowns
Andrew Warfield
City Attorney Joe Polzak and City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs are facilitating the search for the next Sarasota city manager.
From blight to bright future
City gives amendment approval to Newtown site for future medical and industrial site.
n investor group working to transform the blighted cityowned Marian Anderson property in Newtown into a jobcreating commercial site has won unanimous future land use approval by the Sarasota City Commission, paving the way for an eventual purchase of the property.
At its Nov. 3 meeting, the City Commission approved an amendment to the city’s Comprehensive Plan to change the future land use classification of 9.2 acres of the total 13.9-acre parcel from Community Commercial to Production Intensive Commercial. That will allow Newtown Gateway LLC to market the brownfield site for a health care clinic and medical office complex to the north. It will also allow light industrial with a leaning toward logistics for a packing and shipping type of operation to the south. A brownfield site is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may contain the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.
Formerly used as a nonlicensed landfill, the site is along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way to the north and borders commercial uses along U.S. Highway 301 to the west and south. To the east are tracks owned by Seminole Gulf Railway.
The partnership of Newtown Gateway includes Miami-based Woodwater Investments CEO Barron Channer and Newtown residents Keith DuBose, Ernie DuBose and Al Davis. The group intends to purchase the site, which requires significant environmental remediation prior to being developed, from the city for $50,000. The comprehensive plan amendment has received the unanimous backing of the Sarasota Planning Board.
Several procedural steps remain before the plan is finalized. The commission must first approve a rezoning of the site, at which time it may seek additional development restrictions. Not the least among them is a proffer to preclude certain uses, namely, to address Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch’s concerns, pulverizing concrete.
Her trepidation comes from the long-running dispute over U.S. Recycling, a construction and demolition recycling operation in the Cen-
tral Cocoanut neighborhood long accused of fouling the air with concrete dust, and now facing potential litigation brought by Suncoast Waterkeeper for violating the Clean Water Act by not abiding by requirements of a Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit.
“I have no concerns about what you’re planning to do with this site,” said Vice Mayor Debbie Trice. “I’m concerned 30, 40, 50 years from now if and when you sell the land, whoever comes in afterward says, “Oh we’ve got an industrial zone. We can do whatever we want,’ ... so I’m going to hope that when the commission meets on the rezone that they take that into consideration. But I’m wholeheartedly in support of what you’re proposing today.”
Representing the Newtown Gateway partnership, Channer said they have no plans to deviate from the uses of the site they devised in 2021 at the onset of their pursuit of the property. He said the partners are willing to proffer that intent, which will be in the second reading to codify the future land use amendment.
ASSESSING THE SITE
Andrew Warfield From left, Newtown Gateway partner Barron Channer, Sarasota Economic Developer Wayne Appleby and Sarasota Manager of Long Range Planning David Smith address the City Commission regarding the Marian Anderson site.
Prior to purchasing the Marian Anderson property from the city, Newtown Gateway LLC must complete its environmental assessment of the brownfield site in coordination with city staff and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
“You’re taking soil samples, testing chemical composition, testing the water (in) multiple wells observed over a period of time, testing for specific chemicals,” said partner Barron Channer. “Then you have to notify the community members who are part of a committee as compelled by the state. You then have to notify the state on what you found, and then you have to provide a remediation plan for how you’re going to clean it up. Those steps are necessary in order for you to get the indemnification, the legal protection, to go forward and develop.”
Family Passion Fuels Culinary Legacy
BY GANGES RESTAURANT & BAR
The Sureddy family opened their first Tikka Indian Cuisine in Venice in 2018, when Radha Krishna Sureddy decided to follow his lifelong passion for food and hospitality. After years in convenience and liquor stores, he wanted something that reflected culture, warmth, and community.
His wife, Crystal, supported that dream, shaping Tikka’s
inviting ambiance and polished service style. The standards she created became the foundation of every future location—earning the restaurant glowing, lasting reviews.
Just before Tikka opened, Pallavi moved to the United States to join what she calls her “American family.” Though she knew nothing about restaurants or cooking, her education and technology background quickly proved essential. She built Tikka’s early digital systems—from its website to online ordering and point-ofsale—and learned the business beside Radha Krishna and Crystal. Today, Pallavi oversees all four locations, keeping their operations consistent and guest-focused. Radha Krishna, who had prior kitchen experience, kept learning long after opening day—studying cookbooks, taking classes, and
refining recipes through pure passion and care for people. His creativity, paired with Pallavi’s systems mindset, transformed Tikka into a restaurant that’s both authentic and modern.
By 2023, the Yelp award naming Tikka the second-best restaurant in Florida confirmed their growing impact. Expansion soon followed: Spice Indian Cuisine on Clark Road in Sarasota, led by longtime Tikka chef Shaju and his wife Josheela, who left nursing to manage the front of house; and Tikka Indian Cuisine on Fruitville Road, extending their signature flavors to more diners.
Their latest venture, Ganges Restaurant & Bar in The Meadows, reimagines Indian cuisine through a fine-dining lens. Partnering with Michelin-trained chefs, the team now aims even higher.
“They want a Michelin star and nothing less,” Pallavi said. “Every guest who dines with us becomes part of that journey.”
For menus and reservations, visit gangessarasota.com.
Spice Indian Cuisine 3550 Clark Road, Sarasota, FL 34231 spicesarasota.com 941.924.7222
Tikka Indian Cuisine
525A US Highway 41 Bypass, Venice, FL 34285 tikkaindian.com 941.303.5073
SMH celebrates 100 years
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System recalls its humble beginnings and looks to the future.
OBSERVER STAFF
At a celebration of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s 100 years of service on Friday, the future mixed with the past in a gathering attended by about 200 guests at the system’s centerpiece hospital on Tamiami Trail.
Hosted by Sarasota Memorial CEO David Verinder, the event harkened back to Nov. 2, 1925, when the then32-bed hospital opened with about 10 physicians and 12 nurses serving a population of around 12,000.
“From Day 1, the dedication of the people who work here have set this organization apart,” he said. “Our outstanding physicians, employees, volunteers and leaders, and our philanthropic and community partners have built the health system into the nationally recognized institution it is today.”
Today, SMH is the region’s largest employer, with more than 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers, nearly 11,000 staff and about 2 million patient visits a year.
Medical leaders, board members past and present, community stakeholders and elected officials took part in the ceremonies.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Fiorica noted in 1925, penicillin had yet to be discovered and insulin was emerging as a new treatment for diabetes. “Today, we have state-ofthe-art treatments ranging from advanced genetic therapies to robotic surgical procedures,” he said. “We have a robust research institute that ensures our community has access to the latest treatments.”
SMH honored Clara Rock as the longest-serving employee. Rock started her career at SMH in 1976, first as a high school nursing assistant and later becoming an RN. She joined the Labor and Delivery team
in 1986 and has helped deliver more than 5,000 babies. Described as the “rock” of her nursing unit, she has mentored generations of nurses. She and her husband, Carlos, another longtime SMH hospitality employee (now retired) were named Employees of the Year in 2012.
Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert presented a proclamation from the city. The city annexed the original Sarasota Hospital, renamed it Sarasota Municipal Hospital shortly after opening. In the 1950s, another renaming took place to Sarasota Memorial Hospital to honor veterans of both world wars. SMH expanded its name to Sarasota Memorial Health Care System during the 2000s.
Verinder wrapped up the event by sharing upcoming milestones, including the groundbreaking of SMH-North Port on Nov. 7.
“Throughout the decades, the hospital has grown with our community,” Verinder said. “But as we’ve grown, some things haven’t changed. At the heart of our mission is a commitment to educating and empowering the next generation of healthcare professionals ... expanding access to life-saving care ... and ensuring that everyone who needs us, across the entire region, receives the world-class, compassionate care they deserve.”
Courtesy image
Surgeon Dr. Harold Kulhman was honored as one of the longestserving physicians at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.
Bold design. Breathtaking views. Boundless possibilities. This is 1000 Boulevard of the Arts, Kolter Urban’s newest luxury development at the Quay waterfront district. Here, striking condominium residences will mingle effortlessly with a hospitality-inspired lifestyle, overlooking The Bay Park, Sarasota Bay and the Quay Harbor. We invite you to be among the first to discover this curated collection of premium amenities and coastal urban indulgences. Come live the art of having it all. 1- to 3-Bedroom Bayfront Residences priced from $1.5 Million.
FST spreads its wings
Goundbreaking marks the start of construction of the Florida Studio Theatre’s newest wing, the McGillicuddy Arts Plaza.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
Prior to the ceremonial groundbreaking for Florida Studio Theatre’s McGillicuddy Arts Plaza, organizers literally set the stage with all the theatrical production value one might expect.
Following a reception in the Green Room Cafe, which included continental breakfast and mimosas in the The Hegner Theatre Wing, FST patrons gathered in the Gompertz Theatre where, beneath the bright lights of the stage, FST leaders delivered comments in front of a projected rendering of the eight-story, $57 million mixed-use project.
“This has been a decade in the making, if you talk about the first time we ever mentioned it to the board when we started discussing it, to where we are today,” said FST Managing Director Rebecca Hopkins. “Together, we have worked to overcome pandemics and inflation, and we’re signing a contract so it will stop the inflation.”
The preliminary event presented an opportunity for the organization to thank patrons and donors to the project, which will expand FST’s facilities to add a second mainstage theater, two more cabaret venues and a 125-space parking deck beneath affordable apartments to house touring performers and performing arts organization employees.
Florida Studio Theatre began as a touring company that found a permanent home in downtown, taking over the former Woman’s Club on
FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE VENUES
Performance venues and other facilities owned and operated by Florida Studio Theatre.
Gompertz Theatre: The largest mainstage venue with a capacity of 237
Keating Theatre: Traditional theater space that seats 173
Goldstein Cabaret: 100-seat dinner theater
Court Cabaret: 100-seat dinner theater
Bowne’s Lab: 100-seat dinner theater
Green Room Cafe: A dining and event space that includes a bar and full kitchen
Bea Friedman Room: Connected to the Keating Theatre, it can seat up to 30 for mixers and events
Studio spaces: Three studios above the Goldstein Cabaret for rehearsals, meetings and conferences
First Street in 1983 and converting it into a 72-seat theater on a $100,000 budget.
“We wanted to make great contemporary theater that our friends could afford,” Producing Artistic
Director Richard Hopkins told the audience. “We built a six-show subscription and sold it for $18. For my mathematically challenged artist friends, that’s $3 a ticket.”
With decades of following that high-quality, high-volume, lowprice model, Hopkins said FST has built the third-largest subscriptionbased theater company in the coun-
try, following only the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and the Lincoln Center in New York City.
To provide opportunities for more patrons and support continued growth, FST is adding 144,000 square feet of performance space, structured parking and on-site residential units for actors and arts workers. The Arts Plaza will be next to the Hegner Theatre Wing on First Street over what was previously unpaved parking.
The McGillicuddy Arts Plaza is named in honor of Dennis and Graci McGillicuddy, who for four decades have been involved in guiding FST’s growth. Dennis McGillicuddy is president of the FST Board of Trustees. Graci McGillicuddy, a child welfare advocate, was recently honored by the Republican Party of Sarasota County with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Florida Studio Theatre is a thriving and vibrant organization dedicated to serving our audiences and our community at large by continuing our tradition of being inclusive and authentic,” Dennis McGillicuddy told the audience, adding he and Graci were moved to tears when the learned of their namesake. “Graci and I believe in the transformative power of theater, and we’ve been so blessed to experience that first-hand time and again.”
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FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE HISTORY
1973: FST is founded by Jon Spelman as a touring company for isolated audiences.
1980: Richard Hopkins is named artistic director and establishes a resident theater.
1982: FST premieres its Education Wing for children.
1983: Purchase and renovation of the 1914 Sarasota Woman’s Club building and founding of its new play development program.
1991: FST launches its Write A Play tour in Sarasota County Schools.
1993: Young Playwrights Festival premiers.
1995: FST completes the construction of a new threestory support facility to house a 100-seat cabaret theatre, scene shop, rehearsal spaces and production offices.
1996: Cabaret Series is launched with a subscriber base of more than 3,000.
1997: Sudakoff Administration Building is purchased to house FST’s administrative offices, costume shop and three commercial rental spaces.
2003: FST purchases the newly named Gompertz Theatre and five parcels of land to accommodate future expansions.
2004: Gompertz Theatre opens.
2011: A $6.8 million New Gompertz Theatre campaign begins, the theatre’s largest capital campaign to date.
2012: FST reaches its $6.8 million goal for the new Gompertz campaign and celebrates the grand opening in November.
2017: FST purchases the Arnold Simonsen and Ronda Montminy Theatre Wing to expand the costume shop and producing artistic offices. FST celebrates the official opening of Kretzmer Artist Housing, providing 20 bedrooms for visiting artists, apprentices and interns.
2025: Ground broken for the new McGillicuddy Arts Plaza.
Graci McGillicuddy speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for FST’s new Arts Plaza while her husband, Dennis, looks on.
Photos by Andrew Warfield
A large crowd of Florida Studio Theatre supporters participate in the ceremonial groundbreaking for the McGillicuddy Arts Plaza.
It’s Time to Give Your MEDICARE COVERAGE
A CHECKUP
To help people with Medicare make informed decisions for the coming year, Sarasota Memorial offers this information about Medicare Open Enrollment, now taking place through December 7.
This year, Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7. During this time, Medicare recipients can make changes to their health and prescription drug coverage, including:
returning to Original Medicare (also known as Traditional Medicare)
joining a Medicare Advantage Plan or switching from one plan to another
joining or changing prescription drug plans
Health and prescription drug plans can change from year to year, so it’s important to review your coverage during Open Enrollment to ensure it meets your needs. Any changes made during Open Enrollment will go into effect on January 1, 2026.
ORIGINAL MEDICARE (“Traditional”)
Sarasota Memorial and First Physicians Group (FPG) always accept all Original Medicare and Medicare/Medigap Traditional supplemental plans.
Advantage Plans (Part C Plans) IN-NETWORK with Sarasota Memorial and FPG as of January 1, 2026.
Aetna
Florida Blue*
Florida Blue HMO*
Florida Complete Care
Freedom Health*
Optimum Healthcare*
Wellcare
Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C Plans) OUT-OF-NETWORK with Sarasota Memorial and FPG as of January 1, 2026.
American Health Advantage
Devoted Health
Gold Kidney Health
Healthspring
Humana
Longevity Health Plan
Ultimate Health
If you have already made your Medicare selections for the coming year, you can make additional changes through December 7, 2025.
TUESDAY, OCT. 14
EVICTION
VISITING
3:35 p.m., 2900 block of Bay Street
Civil dispute: A property owner met with an officer at her rental home and advised a woman whom she had evicted was inside and refused to leave. The complainant said her mother, though, does legally reside in the home and the evicted woman was there to visit her father. Whether her father also lives there is not in the incident report.
The father informed the officer that, although his daughter is no longer permitted to live there, he does have the right to allow her to visit.
The officer informed the evictee and the landlord that while she is permitted to visit, she could not stay at the residence and should she violate that order, police will enforce the eviction.
FRIDAY, OCT. 17
GLASS ACTION SUIT
2:08 p.m., 2000 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive
Property damage: Suspecting a shattered sliding glass door on her condo was out of retribution for a legal dispute, a woman advised she suspected someone from the homeowners’ association intentionally caused the damage. She said she does not currently reside there because of hurricane damage, but is party to a class action lawsuit against the HOA. The complainant said she had left a meeting with the HOA the afternoon of Oct. 16 and, at that time, the door was intact. The discovered damage, though, was after 1 p.m. on Oct. 17 by the property manager, who advised the lawn maintenance company had been mowing that morning. He advanced the theory that the broken glass was a result of mower-borne flying debris.
The officer sent the manager an invitation to submit any available video evidence of the incident and, in the interim, the cause of the damage will be reported as unknown. The victim stated that if it is determined the damage was a result of criminal mischief that she would prosecute.
FRIDAY, OCT. 17
BIGGER CRIME ON THE OTHER LINE 11:04 p.m., Lemon Avenue at Main Street
Disturbance: A manager at a downtown restaurant called for law enforcement to report a male was causing a disturbance and had shoved one of his employees. The victim said he did not wish to press charges, but wanted the man to leave the premises.
The subject told a different story, saying he was with friends, having fun and denied attempting to inflict physical harm on anyone. While interviewing the subject, the officer noticed a bottle of vodka near him. He explained he had been drinking it and mentioned he would throw it out, apparently under the belief discarding evidence would get him off the hook for open container consumption.
As it turned out, the officer discarded the liquor but, while writing a court summons for open container, dispatch advised a shooting had occurred at North Washington Boulevard and Fruitville Road, prompting the officer and partner to respond to the scene. Before leaving, the officers told the man to leave the restaurant staff and customers alone.
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SPORTS
BATTERED, BUT NEVER BROKEN
JACK NELSON SPORTS REPORTER
The floodgates opened as anesthesia wore off. When Joel Morris returned home from surgery last October, the tears began to flow. A cast encased his right leg. His junior season was over. Initially poised to play a major role in the offense, he wouldn’t be playing any role at all.
“I’m going to bring a state championship to Booker.”
— Joel Morris
Morris cried once more when Booker football — the team he was supposed to help lead — reached the 2024 FHSAA Class 3A state semifinals.
“Once I (saw) these guys go out to the Final Four and I (saw) the atmosphere they were playing in, I’m not going to lie, I shed a couple tears then,” Morris said. “I knew that was something I always wanted to do.” The road to recovery had its lows. It demanded month after month of work just to play football again. If he wanted to come back better than before, even more work was required.
Just more than a year later, there are no more tears for Morris.
“I had to just keep my head down and grind every day, and by the end of the (2024) season, I was starting the last game and didn’t look back ...”
A LATE CHANGE
Morris excelled at safety and defensive end when he was younger. For a while, his parents expected he would play defensively at the high school level.
But after some time in Pop Warner at backup quarterback, Morris wanted to be a signal-caller most of all before enrolling at Lake Gibson.
Willie and Sheritta Morris promptly hired private coach B.J. Hall of The Quarterback House in April 2020. Joel Morris has worked with him ever since.
good he was,” said Sheritta Morris.
“(That was) when I realized, and I took a moment to watch, I was like, ‘Wow, he really is good.’”
Following his sophomore season as Lake Gibson’s starting signal-caller, Morris transferred to Booker. Injury troubles, though, mounted before he could ever get comfortable in his new home.
He suffered a left high ankle sprain in the team’s season opener on Aug. 23, 2024, and was put in a boot for three weeks. Two attempts at a return on Sept. 13 and 20 were both unsuccessful as he played only a few series behind senior quarterback Ryan Downes.
October 4 became a nightmare. Morris earned the starting nod against Sebring, but while still moving gingerly on his left leg, he took a fateful tackle.
“When it happened, it felt super weird. I thought my ankle was going to be facing me,” Morris said. “Luckily, my linemen came and got me up and I limped off the field.”
FAST BREAK
Resurgent Joel Morris guides Booker football to dominance.
Only triumph.
Booker concluded its 2025 regular season at 9-1 behind his brilliance. In his only full season as the program’s starting signal-caller, the senior has played a consistent, error-free brand of football, offering a steady hand since the start of the team’s campaign in late August.
Starting all 10 games under center, Morris has tossed 23 touchdowns against zero interceptions — 191 consecutive pass attempts without a pick. He’s thrown for 1,803 yards on a completion rate of 63.9%.
“You can see how much (Morris) appreciates this opportunity that he has right now. He has full control of the offense,” said coach Carlos Woods. “He has full confidence in his offensive line with the protection, and with the elite receivers that he has.”
Willie and Sheritta Morris, though, had such insights several years before.
Growing up in Lakeland, Joel Morris’ first coach was his father, Willie, in flag football. He played safety/ linebacker for Lakeland back in his own high school days and first put a football in his son’s hands at 2 years old.
“He knew my plays better than I did,” said Willie Morris. “He’s a very cerebral player, so his football IQ probably was a little bit more advanced for his age ... I knew he had a chance at being a special player at some point.”
Joel Morris started playing the game as a 4-year-old, and by the time he was old enough for Pop Warner, it was his mother, Sheritta Morris, who stepped up as the team mom. Always busy with that role, she never had much time to sit back and watch her son in action.
Then, in eighth grade, she began to truly understand something big was in his future.
“It was when I started hearing other people, like the opponents, complimenting him and saying how
He had fractured his fibula and tore ligaments in his right leg. That required two months in a cast and two weeks in a boot afterward. From January through April 2025, he would attend physical therapy.
Morris remained present for the rest of the season, offering a morale boost at Booker’s games when he could — not that he enjoyed being a spectator.
No ability to tangibly impact the team’s success ate at him.
“Watching him cry, that was hard,” said Sheritta Morris. “He was on his way to having a special season in his junior year, and then for that to happen, to be sidelined ... it just broke your heart.”
Coaches, private trainers, physical therapists and family made up his support system. All of them pushed him to come back stronger, and at his lowest moments, they lifted him up. Their collective message was to trust the process. Results will come of it.
“He was still hungry on the field and off the field. With his trainer (private coach B.J. Hall), he worked his tail off, getting back healthy and getting ready to play for this season as well,” Willie said. “His drive never wavered. He was still the same Joel.”
Results have been decidedly positive. The Tornadoes are champions of Class 3A District 11, and at No. 3 in Class 3A as of the Oct. 28 FHSAA rankings, are well-positioned for a deep postseason run.
Booker has averaged 33.5 points per game against the sixth-toughest schedule in 3A. And the squad will ride a nine-game winning streak into the Nov. 14 regional quarterfinals.
“I’ve thrown for more yards than I have my whole career in football, just this season,” said Joel. “It’s really made me fall in love with the game again because when you stop doing something that you love so much for such a long time, you miss it.”
On the Tornadoes’ senior night Oct. 31, Morris sent a message to his family group chat. He thanked everyone for coming out to support him in his final regular-season game.
He also added another text.
“I’m going to bring a state championship to Booker.”
If Morris indeed delivers on his promise, no sorrow will accompany such an accomplishment. He can cry tears of joy as confetti rains down.
Riverview swimming & diving dominated the podium at the FHSAA Class 4A-District 9 championship on Nov. 1, earning 19 gold medals in all. The Rams also raked in 13 silvers and seven bronzes as both programs finished first. Freshman Sydney Hardy was the only swimmer on the girls’ side to earn three golds, winning the 100-meter breaststroke (1:07.82), 200-meter individual medley (2:06.39) and 200-meter medley relay (1:50.69). Six Rams on the girls’ team brought home multiple golds. Among the boys, senior Vito Sgroi placed first in the 200-meter medley relay (21.36), 400-meter freestyle relay (47.48) and 500-meter freestyle (4:36.04). Joining him in the three-golds club was junior Maddax Harlan, who won the 50-meter freestyle (21.88), 200-meter medley relay (25.07) and 100-meter backstroke (53.28). The Riverview boys laid claim to five other multi-gold medalists. ... At the same meet, Sarasota senior Bogdan Zverev placed first in two of his races, winning the 100-meter butterfly (50.81) and 200-meter individual medley (1:53.24). Andrew Malaj — a junior — earned the team’s only other gold by clocking a 48:04 in the 100-meter freestyle. The Sailors got two silvers apiece from juniors Jackson Irwin and John Sallee. In the girls’ competition, freshman Timerie Corn won her squad’s only medal via bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:10.50).
... The season for Sarasota Christian football (5-6) came to a close with a double-overtime loss, 23-17, to Master’s Academy (3-8) on Oct. 31 in the first round of the SSAA 3A state tournament. Junior guard/ defensive tackle Jacob Murray had himself a day by blocking two punts and a field goal attempt, in addition to recovering a fumble. Senior wide receiver Colton Loftus wrapped his Blazers career with 200 total catches — tallying four for 34 yards — along with 12 tackles as a linebacker in his final outing.
... Sarasota football (4-6) fell to Parrish Community (9-1) at home 35-28 on Oct. 31 to end its own season. The Sailors lost four in a row after a 4-2 start as star sophomore quarterback Hudson West finished with 21 touchdowns, four interceptions and 2,193 passing yards.
— Parker Nippert, Riverview football SEE PAGE 19A
File image
Vito Sgroi, a senior
Riverview boys’ swimming,
Photos by Jack Nelson
Joel Morris, right, prepares to receive the snap alongside senior running back/safety Jacobey Mobley. The senior quarterback threw for 23 touchdowns and 1,803 yards with no interceptions during the 2025 regular season.
Little League’s moment of need is bigger than baseball
Signs bearing the number “200” hang on chain-link fences encircling the baseball diamonds at Twin Lakes Park. Foul lines along first and third base lead to them. Each represents the total in feet from home plate to the outfield fence, serving as visual reminders for hitters on how far they’ll have to hit the ball for a home run.
In Sarasota Little League, though, that number — multiplied by a thousand — carries a darker meaning. It’s an omen that without the community’s help, the landscape of local youth baseball could change dramatically.
On Oct. 29, the league reported a disappearance of over $200,000 from its treasury, leaving only a few hundred dollars to work with. President Alexis Meininghaus notified league families via email, calling the loss both “shocking” and “devastating.”
A police investigation is still active as of Nov. 4, led by the Criminal Investigation Section of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. The league has also launched an emergency fundraiser on Zeffy.com with a goal of $100,000 and has raised over $17,000.
There will be a community fundraiser Nov. 15 at Twin Lakes Park, from noon to 4 p.m., in hopes of keeping the league running for the spring season. The league needs volunteers, auction items and sponsorships.
In her email to league families, Meininghaus also said the board is reviewing and revising its financial safeguards.
“There were never really any red flags to make us question what was going on, so there was no reason for our board to be concerned,” said Meininghaus, a 41-year-old Sarasota resident. “It’s safe to say that we were given information each month, at each board meeting, that
we believed to be true.”
With a few weeks remaining in its fall season, SSL has immediate payments it needs to make.
Most pressing of all are expenses for the use of county fields and lights, as well as for the paying of umpires.
Then there’s the operation of its building — which Sarasota County is not responsible for — and that entails a gas bill, electric bill and concessions.
SSL, formerly known as the Central Sarasota County Little League, also needs funds to prepare for its spring season. It needs to order equipment and uniforms.
Meininghaus wanted to offer more transparency to families about the lost funds in her email. But to
do so, she and the board would’ve had to wait until the Sheriff’s Office completes its investigation.
They couldn’t afford to play the waiting game. They reached out purely because of dire financial need.
“We just had to do it. We had to rip the Band-Aid off,” said Meininghaus, who has served as league president since July. “We had to go to them, and they’ve been fantastic. Our community has really, really rallied, and they know how important this organization is.”
Stealing from a little league is a strange sort of evil. Whatever motivations there was, whatever parties were involved, this theft is nefarious to its core.
The culprit(s) didn’t just hinder league operations. They stole an
opportunity for kids to do what they love.
Baseball can be synonymous with a formative time in life. Children come to understand the thrill of winning, sorrow of losing and, most importantly, how to take both outcomes in stride.
Friendships may fluctuate as they move through Little League, but memories often outlast playing days. The excitement of hitting a walk-off single could be equally as memorable as watching it from the dugout while chomping on Big League Chew gum.
Tyler McCallister, a 36-year-old Sarasota resident, has coached in the league before. Two of his sons have played. As executive vice president at Brown & Brown Insur-
ance, he made a $5,000 donation to the league’s online fundraiser while calling on the local business community to pitch in.
“You learn about losing, not giving up, teamwork, hard work, commitment, dedication,” McCallister said. “There’s a lot of lessons that these children can learn, including socialization, of course, through these avenues that aren’t always provided elsewhere ... That’s why I deeply feel like I want to support it.”
One day after Brown & Brown Insurance’s major donation, the Plattner Automotive Group at Arcadia Chevrolet matched it.
Marci Plattner, a 56-year-old Sarasota resident, has seen six kids in her family participate in SSL. News of the lost funds hit her hard.
“We have been a great supporter of Sarasota Little League for years and years with all of our children,” Plattner said. “It was just really disheartening to hear.”
For some kids, Little League is an all-important entry point en route to the bigs. For others, it’s no more than a way to be active outside of school. Both are worthy paths.
That’s the beauty of baseball. It often serves as an avenue to a winning future — regardless of whether or not that happens in the higher echelons of the sport.
Now it’s time for the Sarasota community to affirm its belief in that power. A considerable good is necessary to battle a considerable evil, but it’s possible.
Gloves cannot be forgotten in closets. Bats cannot sit in garages collecting dust. Help the kids play ball.
Jack Nelson is the sports reporter for the East County and Sarasota/Siesta Key Observers. Contact him at JNelson@ YourObserver.com.
Jack Nelson
A 200-foot marker and scoreboard are pictured at one of the fields in Twin Lakes Park, the home of Sarasota Little League. The league was left with only a few hundred dollars, as of Oct. 29, and needs help from the community to continue operations.
Parker Nippert
Parker Nippert now stands alone in program history. The senior quarterback passed for 279 yards and three touchdowns Oct. 31 as Riverview football (8-1-1) outgunned Manatee (4-6) in a 63-42 shootout. With that Week 11 performance, he broke the program’s singleseason passing record, capping the regular season with 1,760 in all. He also enters the postseason with 15 passing touchdowns against three interceptions in 2025. Nippert is the Sarasota Athlete of the Week.
When and why did you start playing football?
I started playing football when I was about 3 or 4 years old — just flag football. And then I never stopped playing from then on. I got into tackle in middle school with sixth grade, and I’ve loved it every day I’ve been playing.
How did you gravitate to quarterback as your position of choice? The day I started playing football, I wanted to play quarterback. I wasn’t starting because I was only 4 years old, playing up. But then I practiced it, and I’ve been playing quarterback ever since.
What were your goals with Riverview entering this season?
I just wanted to have a good season with the team and everything. That was a big part of it. But I wanted to break records this year — that’s what my plan was. And I really want to beat Venice this year. That’s one of my big goals. And just go as far as we can.
When you’re not practicing or competing, how do you spend your free time?
I spearfish a lot, though I don’t know if that’s a great thing to say midseason. I do a lot of fishing and spearfishing.
What’s one quote that you live your life by?
Just one by Tom Brady, “Make the most of every snap you take.” He started off the same way as I did,
If you would like to make a recommendation for the Sarasota Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Jack Nelson at JNelson@ YourObserver.com.
barely getting any reps. You’ve got to take every rep and make it count. That’s what I did from the start, and now getting the majority of the reps, I still make every single one count as much as I can.
If you could meet any professional athlete, who would it be and why?
Drew Brees, because I just love his playing style. He can really do it all. If he needs to go and get it on his feet, he’ll do it. I think he’s the most accurate passer, and I try to resemble my game around him a little bit.
If you could have any superpower, which would you choose and why? To breathe underwater. Free diving is difficult when you have limitations.
If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
The small islands in the Bahamas to go spearfishing.
What’s your favorite meal? I love a good ribeye steak, mediumrare.
What’s your favorite TV show? “Dexter.”
What’s your go-to, hype music?
Either Kodak (Black) or YoungBoy (Never Broke Again), I don’t know right now.
Finish this sentence.
Parker Nippert is ... Respectful.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
YOUR NEIGHBORS
The next chapter
Group of seniors becomes first-time authors with memoir writing program.
Valerie diLorenzo says people have always told her that her writing isn’t the greatest.
An actress and singer by trade, diLorenzo said she tends write the way she speaks, not necessarily paying attention to the grammatical aspects.
However, that was not an obstacle to her being able to share a story honoring her brother, John, who died of cancer 20 years ago, in the hopes of being a guide for other families facing similar situations.
diLorenzo was thrilled to be one of seven contributing first-time authors to “Joyful Journeys, Vol. 1,” published by Ibis Books for Senior Friendship Centers.
“It’s amazing, like I’m a published author, like it’s the coolest thing in the world, and what a gift,” she said, noting the generosity of Bob and Pat Gussin, who funded the organization’s new Gussin Center for Creative Writing.
THE GIFT OF WRITING
The Gussins, of Siesta Key, found their way into the world of publishing later in life.
After the couple retired from careers at Johnson & Johnson, where he was chief scientific officer and she was a physician, they moved to Sarasota and began volunteering at Senior Friendship Centers, which then ran its own medical clinic.
Pat also sought to publish her first book, “Shadow of Death,” and as Bob Gussin learned more about the publishing process, he decided to start his own company. In 2005, the Gus-
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To purchase “Joyful Journeys, Vol. 1, visit JasonCannon.Art/ IbisBookshop or Amazon. com. For more information on programs at Senior Friendship Centers, visit FriendshipCenters.org.
sins founded Oceanview Publishing, which specialized in mysteries, thrillers and suspense novels.
“We started getting better and better stuff to publish, and eventually, I would say, we became one of the premier independent publishers,” said Bob Gussin.
About two years ago, they turned over the company to their managers, but their latest endeavor has been to support the Gussin Center for Creative Writing, for which they have provided the endowment, with $300,000 currently committed.
As a result, seven first-time authors, who are all older individuals, undertook their own forays into the world of writing and publishing through the Gussin Memoir Writing Program, with a second series of classes now underway.
A JOYFUL WRITING JOURNEY
In the 20-week program, participants meet biweekly with author and instructor Jason Cannon, and each participant provides a piece or short stories that Cannon publishes through his company, Ibis Books.
“It’s a collection of all these stories from these fascinating, amazing people who have lived just hugely varied lives, and I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world, just to meet all these people and hear their stories and help them get the stories out into the hands of readers,” Cannon said.
The 180-page volume features stories by diLorenzo, Janice Boring, Silvia Flores, Maria Corazon Gaffar, Carol Hochberg, Art Mahoney and Debby Vento Russek.
Primarily a theater teacher for 25 years, Cannon pivoted in 2022 to the writing field, which included establishing the small company Ibis Books and working with Senior Friendship Centers on its “Joyful Journeys” author series.
He says most of his teaching work involves people who aren’t creatives, and assuring them they have stories that need to be told.
He says at Senior Friendship Centers, the bar to entry is low; participants can record spoken stories
using transcription software and receive help editing the material.
“They kind of rediscover that they’re important, that they matter, that they’re seen, that society is not done with them, and I just can’t think of anything more important to do for people who are maybe past their career and working years, but still have so much to offer, and their stories are one of the richest repositories of wisdom and truth and love and honesty that I think we could ever tap into,” he said.
He says there’s no expectation of hitting bestseller lists, but the benefit will be the chance for families to read the book, and the encouragement and agency the authors receive.
The group’s oldest author is 92 years of age, and Cannon says the desire motivates many participants for their children and grandchildren to know about their experiences.
diLorenzo says her piece honoring her brother John, titled “7,300 Days,” is more than the sad story that one might expect, but even works in humor.
For instance, she wrote about how family and friends would gather in the oncology ward throughout the night, in what became a communitybuilding space.
“I talk about this in the story, that other people, and our family and friends, were hearing from my brother, ‘Oh, they all came down last night. We had such a great time. We played Monopoly, we watched this,’ and they were like, ‘How can you be having a good time?’ And he’s like, ‘Well, we had a good time.’ And so then, more and more people wanted to come down at night to go and hang out in the oncology ward,” she said.
She says those small silver linings helped the family to navigate what was an awful experience, and she hopes the story will help others dealing with a cancer diagnosis or with grief.
“You just don’t know what to do or how to act and there’s no rule book for it, so I really wanted to talk about grief and navigating grief, and that it’s very different for the sibling, the parent, the child, the spouse, but it’s all about loss, and how you navigate the loss, and trying to find something that you can hang on to that would be memorable or uplifting,” she said.
Yet, she said the class also led to
“so much more than I ever could have expected or wanted,” as Cannon’s writing prompts would send her in directions she didn’t expect.
“You just go down these inroads, and I think it just it enriched me and enriched other people, and this whole idea of sharing memoir, it’s very encompassing and relatable,” she said.
Another contributor, Art Mahoney, says writing has always been important to him because of his career in advertising, although he was able to enjoy a new experience writing about himself, in what he calls “really a great program.”
He wrote three stories, one of which was about his mother and his experiences with her as she developed Alzheimer’s disease, and another which was about family gatherings.
He says during family celebrations, his grandfather on his mother’s side, who came from Italy, had an odd habit.
“He would take a bottle of Chianti, and he would put a stalk of celery, Italian celery, in the top of the wine, and he would kind of suck the wine through the stalk of celery, and basically, would do that almost the entire day, let’s say on a Christmas celebration … As kids, we just thought it was very, very strange and very funny and it made us laugh,” he said.
The third story dealt with a historical event he says left a profound impact on him, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, which took place while he was attending a graduate program in public communication at Boston University.
When he was in the graduate library, he saw a black and white television with Walter Cronkite announcing that the president had just been shot and killed in Dallas.
“Everybody looked at each other in shock, and it was just a giant shock,” he said, noting it was particularly impactful for younger people, with whom the president was popular.
The story covers how he drove home to be with his family, spending four days watching the state funeral and the aftermath of the assassination.
“I wrote about my emotional reaction to that on that day, when it happened, which has never left me,” he said. “I mean, it just was probably the most shocking thing that ever happened in my life.”
The seven authors have told a wide variety of stories, and Declan Sheehy, chief advancement officer at Senior Friendship Centers, says the work has the ability to motivate others as well.
“I think it encourages others to kind of to take a leap into the unknown,” he said. “That was one of the things that Jason really helped us with. ‘I’ve never I’ve never written anything before. I don’t know how I can do it.’ Don’t worry about that. ‘What do I write about?’ Write about your own experiences. ‘Well, I’m not sure what I should write about.’ But we’ll help you figure that out.”
“It’s a collection of all these stories from these fascinating, amazing people who have lived just hugely varied lives, and I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world, just to meet all these people and hear their stories and help them get the stories out into the hands of readers.”
Jason Cannon
Courtesy images
Valerie diLorenzo, Janice Boring and Silvia Flores perform a book signing.
Author and instructor Jason Cannon
IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER
Pat and Bob Gussin established the Gussin Center for Creative Writing at the Senior Friendship Centers with a $300,000 endowment.
Cross-cultural costumes
Edgar Villegas and his wife, Norma Perez, have been living in Sarasota for about 23 years.
While they celebrated Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) in their original home of Mexico City, they’ve also enjoyed celebrating the holiday on Main Street in Sarasota for about the past four years.
“It’s a good experience over here in Sarasota,” Villegas said. “We love Sarasota.”
The couple were both wearing traditional Day of the Dead makeup and attire.
Nonetheless, costumes of all sorts were found at the Day of the Dead and Halloween Block Party, hosted by the Italian restaurant Clasico on Nov. 1.
IAN SWABY
The event was hosted by Clasico.
Photos by Ian Swaby
Marco Madrid and Christa Pazienza
Stephanie and Jason Garnet
Damian Doss and Britnee Valles
Luke Moczydlowski and Ashley Archer
Lisa Grimes, Kim Pitts, Joan Kane, and Pitts’ husband, Rip Pitts
A Century Old Story
A story that began over 100 years ago and is still being written today. Once a beloved landmark, now an enduring icon reborn. Mira Mar is the future of luxury living in Sarasota, grounded in the grandeur of its past, and offering an unparalleled residential experience in the heart of downtown.
One of Sarasota’s few remaining flagships of the great Florida Land Boom of the 1920’s, it is with great pride that we restore the Mira Mar to its rightful place as a gleaming icon of Sarasota.
Rising elegantly above South Palm Avenue, the revived and resplendent Mira Mar presents a limited collection of 70 estate-style residences across two 18-story towers. Each home is designed to the highest standards, with sweeping views, refined interiors, and private access to best-in-class amenities.
Mira Mar is more than a residence — it’s a return to grace.
Downtown shopping
Sarasota’s John Hendershott is in a unique business: creating surfboard tables.
He says as a result, it’s easy for him to be compassionate toward other vendors.
“Our biggest passion is to try to help other vendors make money,” he said. “It’s been rough since Covid. A lot of vendors lost their business.”
He says that is why he likes to help manage events, including Eat, Drink, & Shop at The Bay, which was held Nov. 1-2, through his company MY Promotion.
At the same time, a Day of the Dead and Halloween block party was about to get underway nearby at Clasico restaurant, and some 40 merchants lined Gulfstream Avenue, alongside J.D. Hamel Park, to offer items including food, drinks and crafts.
“Anytime you can be on (U.S. 41), you’re going to do better, and then downtown Sarasota is a beautiful place,” Hendershott said.” It’s a great location. People are coming out. There’s always something going on downtown.”
The event will return in January, February and March.
— IAN SWABY
Alustra® Duette
Cindy Mastrin browses items on display.
Photos by Ian Swaby
Rose Le and her husband, Steve Taz, hold their mini doodles Sara and Soda.
Matt and Beth Procaccini browse artwork on display.
The Art of Waterfront Living at Wild Blue
Lakewood Ranch’s premier waterfront community offers exceptional resort-style living with stunning single-family homes by the region’s most sought-after builders. In response to phenomenal demand, Wild Blue at Waterside has released new premium homesites.
The spectacular 30,000-square-foot clubhouse, opening Fall 2026, will feature resort pools, dining, putting course, golf simulator, cinema, and fitness center. Residents are already enjoying Midway Sports Park, now open with tennis, pickleball, and basketball courts.
Secure your place in Sarasota’s most distinctive waterfront address.
Family Medicine
WELCOMES
Paula Forteza, MD
Dr. Paula Forteza brings to Intercoastal Medical Group at the Beneva Family Practice office a patient-centered approach and a strong clinical foundation in Family Medicine.
Undergraduate: Medical School: Residency:
University of Miami, Miami, FL
St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
HCA Oak Hill Hospital, Brooksville, FL
Sarasota Memorial Hospital; Sarasota Doctors Hospital
Hospital Affiliations: 941-365-7390
Beneva Family Practice 921 S. Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL 34232
Cattleridge Medical Building I 3333 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota, FL 34232 www.intercoastalmedical.com
Gallery of performance
School students showcase their arts abilities at Sarasota Art Museum.
abrielle Helmer’s ideal location for a dance performance was an art gallery.
“Art museums are one of my favorite things in the world because I’m also an artist,” said Helmer, a senior dance student in Booker High School’s Visual and Performing Arts program. “I also take a lot of art classes, and I was just so excited when I walked in and I realized we were actually going to be performing with the art pieces.”
Helmer was among the students who participated in the Arts in Education Celebration, held at Sarasota Arts Museum on Nov. 1, through a collaboration between the museum and the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County.
The alliance’s CEO Brian Hersh said the organization advocates for
many things, which includes the importance of arts education.
He said the art museum, the former building of Sarasota High School, was a fitting location for the event.
“The Sarasota Art Museum is an amazing space and institution itself, being a former school, and we can see how it’s transformed by art, so a perfect spot to celebrate and highlight arts in our schools, and what makes Sarasota County Schools such a highly rated and dynamic, special school district,” he said.
The event brought together students from Sarasota High, Sarasota Middle, Venice High, Booker High, Laurel Nokomis, Ashton Elementary and North Port High, to perform in locations throughout the museum from the Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza to the Thomas McGuire Hall. Helmer enjoyed showcasing improvisational dance in the museum’s Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration exhibition.
“I love theaters a lot, but it’s really special to perform when the people watching you are just right in front of you because you’re able to connect with them more as people than as like, ‘Oh, we’re an entity on stage,
Fifth grader Ellah Nasr, fourth grader Nathan Rockwell and fifth graders Peter Maslikhov, Evelyn Lambert and Hayden Oliva perform with the Ashton Elementary choir and soloists.
and you guys are just viewers,” she said.
She also calls improvisation, which she says is sometimes a component of her curriculum, her “favorite thing in the world.”
“Improv comes up in our curriculum through choreography because sometimes when you don’t know where to start, the best way to start is just to put on a song and try to move around,” she said.
In 2020, Helmer had quit a competitive dance program she was involved in, amid experiencing burnout, before joining Booker High’s artistic dance program in 2023.
She calls this “probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
“When I joined the VPA Booker dance program, it’s like a very special, unique atmosphere, and everyone’s actually a family and very welcoming, so it’s made me rekindle my relationship,” she said.
Although she is planning to major in science and social studies, and doesn’t plan for dancing to be her main job, she says she hopes to continue with it into the future.
“It’s an incredibly good form of exercise, because you exercise every single muscle, every single bone in your body, every single time you move, and also it’s just, like, very therapeutic,” she said.
Regardless of what direction she is taking, however, she says the pro-
gram has stood out among the many extracurricular activities with which she has been involved.
“It’s like one of the most enriching experiences I have ever had in my life, because it teaches us how to dance, and all about different kinds of arts,” she said. “We’ve learned about history, we’ve learned about connecting with each other, we’ve learned about leadership and every possible skill you can really think of, like these people are everything to me. I love them so much.”
and Walter
Seventh graders Janelly Mejia, Abigail Denize
Zacharko, of Sarasota Middle, perform with the Sarasota Middle Joyful Voices Choir.
Photos by Ian Swaby
Booker High School juniors Daisy Rosas-Rios and Isabella Piazza dance in the second-floor gallery.
A NEW CLASSIC SPACE
Three weeks may be a relatively short timeline for a construction project.
Yet, after the fine dining restaurant Michael’s On East reopened on Oct. 7, it allowed the public to experience its major renovations.
Sarasota’s only AAA Four Diamond award restaurant, the restaurant now features an updated design that it says captures the golden age of supper clubs, and features an Art Deco style.
Michael’s On East completes major renovation. IF
“There wasn’t anything that we didn’t touch, the floors, the walls, the ceiling, the chairs,” said Michael’s On East co-owner Michael Klauber.
The renovation comes as the restaurant prepares to celebrate 40 years in service in 2026, while its last major renovation, which lasted seven weeks, took place in 1997.
That update introduced a concept based on the cruise ships of the 1930s, but Klauber said the current one delves further into the time period, incorporating research on the supper clubs of the 1930s and 1940s in Chicago, New York and Paris.
“That era of dining and restaurants was really exciting; people’s dress, the restaurants were beautiful, the service was really impeccable, and there was a precision to a lot of those places that is inspirational,” he said.
Led by designer Kurt Lucas, the redesign elevates the restaurant’s bar and piano lounge, and features materials, colors and textures that Klauber says are true to the time period but are presented in a more contemporary style.
He says a major aspect of the update is the acoustic treatments, which, in response to comments from customers, introduce soundabsorbing materials throughout the restaurant.
“Now, it’s dramatically differ-
ent — we still have the piano player in the lounge — but you can hold a conversation, you can hear people talk, and in the dining rooms, you’re still hearing the background music, but it’s not as aggressive as it used to be,” Klauber said.
Klauber says the new menu retains the restaurant’s signature items while introducing new dishes that reinterpret classic dishes from the era.
Some new additions include the Filet Wellington Reimagined and the Lobster Thermidor, while featuring a new cocktail menu.
Klauber also notes a change in lighting, as well.
“We went to more table lamps, from spotlights on the tables, which allows the room to kind of glow and the tables to stand out,” he said. “It creates a more intimate environment.”
He says that when people visit, they will have the chance to experience an authentic supper club.
“I don’t want people to think they’re in Sarasota. We’re taking them away,” he said.
$18,500,000
Ferraris decorate St. Armands Circle
This year is the first time Jim Friedman has participated in Ferraris on the Circle, the St. Armands Key car show dedicated to celebrating the Italian luxury sports car brand.
“I like how elegant it looks without the scoots,” he said while discussing his 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia with visitors. “That naturally aspirated V8 on this car sounds so good.”
The show took place Nov. 1 on St. Armands Circle, and proceeds from registration, donations and ornament sales went to supporting Flight to the North Pole.
Sidney Ettedgui, who coordinates the holidaythemed charitable event with wife, Sylvia Gillotte, said the high turnout this weekend pleased them. While cooler temperatures certainly played a role in drawing out people to check out the variety of Ferraris on display this year, visitors also shared their support for Flight to the North Pole’s mission.
The organization brings holiday cheer to families with children facing terminal illnesses.
“We had 60-some cars this year,” Ettedgui said. The main Flight to the North Pole event takes place Dec. 12 at Feld Entertainment in Palmetto. Visit FlightToTheNorthPole.org for details as Christmas approaches.
— DANA KAMPA
Bill Columbo brought two vehicles, one from 2015 and one from 2023, to share with fellow car enthusiasts.
St. Armands Circle was abuzz this past weekend as residents and visitors took advantage of the cooler weather to walk among the many cars.
Photos by Dana Kampa Organizers said approximately 60 vehicles were on display.
Kathy Lozano and Reuben Rivera check out the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia that first-time registrant Jim Friedman brought.
Classic cherry red remains a favorite color among Ferrari owners.
Errika M.
Since joining Bank of America in 2006, I’ve embraced our culture of coaching. As a team lead, peer coach and new associate trainer, I’m always willing to meet our people where they are and help them rise through the ranks.
would you like the power to do?
Private Bank Market Leader 19 years with BofA
A home in Cocoanut Bayou sells
ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR
Philip and Rhonda Fioret, of Durham, North Carolina, sold their home at 244 Cedar Park Circle to Matthew Zimmerman, of Sarasota, for $4.3 million. Built in 2000, it has five bedrooms, four-and-two-half baths, a pool and 3,721 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.8 million in 2017.
SARASOTA
PHILLIPPI COVE
Bruce Brownson, of Mount Vernon, Virginia, sold his home at 2500 Jamaica St. to Benjamin and Jamie Capa, of Sarasota, for $1.84 million. Built in 2016, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,586 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.25 million in 2024.
RIVER FOREST
James Clifton Whatmore, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 5329 Palos Verdes Drive to Kathleen Daly, of Sarasota, for $1.2 million. Built in 1957, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,401 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,083,000 in 2021.
SARASOTA BAY CLUB
Sarasota Bay Club LLC sold the Unit 325 condominium at 1299 Tamiami Trail to Nancy Sirchis, of Sarasota, for $1.2 million. Built in 2003, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,524 square feet of living area. It sold for $630,000 in 2018.
LAWRENCE POINTE
Russell Jackson, trustee, of Ft. Lauderdale, sold the Unit 102 condominium at 101 Sunset Drive to UPJD LLC for $970,000. Built in 1978, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,474 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.2 million in 2022.
EMBASSY HOUSE
Allyson Mattanah, trustee, of Baltimore, sold the Unit 903 condominium at 770 S. Palm Ave. to John Cugasi, trustee, of Sarasota, for $765,000. Built in 1975, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,284 square feet of living area. It sold for $515,000 in 2004.
PINE SHORES ESTATES
Dellan Gavette and Linda Louise Gavette sold their home at 1722 Hazelwood St. to Susanne TheisenRodriguez, trustee, of Sarasota, for $744,000. Built in 1957, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 2,816 square feet of living area. It sold for $124,000 in 2012.
BAYWINDS ESTATES
RF Properties LLC sold the home at 1658 Ridgewood Lane to John and Diane Bishop, of Lakewood, Colorado, for $710,700. Built 1985, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,881 square feet of living area. It sold for $500,000 in May.
ONE WATERGATE
Patrick Dunigan and Lucyna
Dunigan, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 4-E condominium at 1111 N. Gulfstream Ave. to Paul Smith Jr. and Lorraine Smith, trustees, of Sarasota, for $675,000. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,575 square feet of living area. It sold for $475,000 in 2021.
SUNNYSIDE PARK
Kansas City Nevada LLC sold the home at 2242 Sunnyside Lane to Albert and Halli Jonsson, of Topanga, California, for $650,000. Built in 1959, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,598 square feet of living area. It sold for $485,000 in 2024.
CENTRAL PARK
Taylor Lee McFadden, of Sarasota, and Adam Kennedy, of Bradenton, sold their home at 515 N. Osprey Ave. to Jacy Karen Bloom, of Sarasota, for $635,000. Built in 1950, it has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,463 square feet of living area. It sold for $360,000 in 2023.
THE OSPREY AVENUE
Buffle Hutchinson and Cheri Carlson, of Sarasota, sold their home at 1739 Oak St. to Kelly Lynn Rubach, Sarasota, for $600,000. Built in 1925, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,320 square feet of living area. It sold for $229,000 in 2007.
TROPICAL SHORES
Joseph Eric Thomas and Emily Anna Thomas, of Flagstaff, Arizona, sold their home at 1705 Wharf Road to Garrett Blaine Reely and Dusti Amber Reely, of Sarasota, for $585,000. Built in 1994, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 3,382 square feet of living area. It sold for $745,000 in 2023.
Sky Gary Trammell II and Katarzyna, of West Linn, Oregon, sold their home at 1740 Bayonne St. to Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can’t Lose LLC for $535,000. Built in 1958, it has five bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 1,937 square feet of living area. It sold for $355,000 in 2020.
SIESTA KEY
SIESTA KEY
Deanna Fenech, trustee, sold the home at 4044 Roberts Point Road to James DiTaranto, trustee, of Sarasota, for $2,195,000. Built in
1951, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,560 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,825,000 in 2018.
HARMONY
Lendvest Capital Management LLC sold the home at 4915 Primrose Path to Pacut LLC for $1.15 million. Built in 1960, it has six bedrooms, five baths, a pool and 3,549 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.25 million in 2023.
Other top sales by area ONLINE
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SARASOTA: $2.46 MILLION
Sarasota Bay Club
Sarasota Bay Club LLC sold the Unit 128 condominium at 1299 Tamiami Trail to Rochelle Bernard, of Sarasota, for $2.46 million. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,206 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.15 million in 2014.
PALMER RANCH: $1.2 MILLION
Silver Oak
H. Lorenz Horn and Doris Horn, of Osprey, sold their home at 8986 Bloomfield Blvd. to Letitia Copeland Biddle and David Knox, of Sarasota, for $1.2 million. Built in 2003, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,830 square feet of living area.
OSPREY: $1.2 MILLION
Southbay Yacht and Racquet Club
Peter and Kelli Sanidas, of Sarasota, sold their home at 1484 Seafarer Drive to Camille Nancy Anise and Joseph Madden, of Osprey, for $1.2 million. Built in 1987, it has four bedrooms, three-and-ahalf baths, a pool and 3,479 square feet of living area. It sold for $750,000 in 2020.
NOKOMIS: $654,900
Sorrento Woods
John and Monika Salt, of Nokomis, sold their home at 1062 Derian Place to David Arthur Driggs and Marilyn Baldwin Driggs, of Nokomis, for $654,900. Built 2003, it has three bedrooms, two-anda-half baths, a pool and 2,429 square feet of living area.
Ian Swaby The Unit 128 condominium at Sarasota Bay Club was built in 2003 and has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,206
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YOUR CALENDAR
FRIDAY, NOV. 7
ARTS ON PALM
7-10 p.m. at North Palm Avenue. Free. Fresh Fridays celebrates the local art scene. The Alan Grant Band will provide a blend of rock, soul and funk music, while guests can explore the numerous art galleries along Palm Avenue and enjoy complimentary treats. Visit DowntownSarasotaDID. com.
SATURDAY, NOV. 8
GROOVY DAY AT THE BAY
9 a.m. to noon at The Bay, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Shred the boxes of papers that have been cluttering your home. While you wait, enjoy live music by The Garbage Men, a local band that plays on instruments they created from recycled materials. Accepted items are paper documents, file folders, staples and paper clips. Items that are not accepted are: CDs, DVDs, other electronic media, hard metals, other trash, batteries, binders and binder clips and plastic items. Proof of city residency required. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.
LOCAL AUTHOR BOOK FAIR
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 N. Pineapple Ave. Free. Meet 15 local authors; buy their books, which span a variety of genres; have them signed. Visit EventBrite.com.
SATURDAY, NOV. 8 TO SUNDAY, NOV. 9
19TH ANNUAL HUNGARIAN FESTIVAL
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday at Sarasota Fairgrounds, 3000 Ringling Blvd. Free. The event aims to connect the Hungarian diaspora and Americans of Hungarian descent with the local community and Hungary, while sharing Hungarian culture with the community through activities, games, music, shows and Hungarian food. Visit SarasotaMagyarFesztival.com.
SUNDAY, NOV. 9
SUNDAYS AT THE BAY
FEATURING THE COPPER PIANO
4:30-5:30 p.m. at The Oval, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. This concert series features a talented local performer every Sunday. This week’s artist is The Copper Piano, a dueling
BEST BET
TUESDAY, NOV. 11
VETERAN’S DAY PARADE
10 a.m. Free. The Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee and city of Sarasota host the annual Veterans Day parade, which begins at Main Street and Orange Avenue and concludes at J.D. Hamel Park, where it is followed by a ceremony. Visit Saraso taFL.gov.
pianos group based in Orlando that responds to requests. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.
MONDAY, NOV. 10
OFF THE PAGE: SAM KEAN
6-7:30 p.m. at Gulf Gate Library, 7112 Curtiss Ave. Free. Sam Kean, the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including “The Icepick Surgeon” and “The Disappearing Spoon,” will discuss his latest book, “Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Recreating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations.” Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.
TUESDAY, NOV. 11
HELPING FAMILIES
6-7:30 p.m. at Music Compound, 775 Bell Road. Free. Join Music Compound for an evening for parents who are “navigating school transitions, emotional overwhelm, and the art of nurturing children’s interests — all while balancing busy schedules.” The event features two speakers, author and advocate Leanndra Yates and licensed mental health counselor Allison Phinney. Visit MusicCompound.com.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12
THANKFUL THANKSGIVING WITH CHEF WARREN
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library, 2801 Newtown Blvd. Free. Chef Warren will offer kitchen tips and funny stories about Thanksgiving meal prep, answering questions and offering a healthy cooking demo to be followed in 15 minutes. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.
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