A group of Sarasota County residents is preparing a petition to seek state Legislature approval to place a referendum on the November 2026 general election ballot to unify all jurisdictions in the county under one government.
Dubbed Sarasota Citizens Advocating for Merger (SCAM), the group said its efforts are in response to what it says are the inequities between North County and South County, citing the Northeast Florida example of Jacksonville/Duval County.
“The county government is too North County-centric,” said SCAM spokesperson Bob Lee. “Between all the county government offices located in the north and an obvious bias toward the city of Sarasota, we just want our fair share in the south.”
Purple power to the people
It started with a grassroots effort, but the grass that sprouted was not green, but purple. The Purple Palace Forever outdoor concert will host some legendary, albeit recently rebranded, musical groups in support of retaining the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on April 1. Taking to the streets of downtown will be headliners Purple Man Group and Purple Floyd. The event’s selections will include familiar-sounding song titles spanning centuries and genres, from “The Purple Danube,” to “Rhapsody in Purple,” to “Let it Be (Purple).” Other offerings will include an eggplant market, local chefs cooking up their purplest delicacies, and purple washable Puppy Pastels for your pet’s fur.
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Logo courtesy Venisota County
VENISOTA COUNTY
WEEK OF APRIL 1, 2025
BY THE NUMBERS
1,025
The
n
“St. Armands Circle is protected, and we will have the opportunity to research the habits of people inside the dome and learn how to make it sustainable over extended periods.”
— Scientist Nikola Edison. Read more on page 3A
New option for city logo emerges
The Sarasota City Commission will soon take up another attempt at redesigning the city’s longtime logo.
With the City Commission’s unanimous decision in 2024 to not make changes at this time, and with its the prevailing philosophy of keeping the statue of David central to any logo change in the future, a group has approached the city with another idea.
Citizens In Reverence of Circus Underpinning Sarasota has submitted an application to the city for a new logo design that blends two iconic images of John Ringling’s contributions to the city — the statue of David at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the circus history here.
The design concept is to dress David in a circus ringmaster’s top hat and jacket, knee-high boots and, of course, no pants.
“When people think of Sarasota, they think of two things,” said CIRCUS spokesman Joe King. “They think of David and the former winter home of the circus. Our cultural history is represented by David and the circus is
City to require Lido Beach passes
In an effort to ease traffic on Lido Key, the city has so far implemented paid parking along Benjamin Franklin Drive and extended the Bay Runner Trolley all the way to South Lido Beach. Now with vehicles crowding neighborhood streets all the way to Boulevard of the Presidents, city officials are considering another strategy — beach passes.
rendering
also culture in its own way, if you think about it, and John Ringling’s influences are what made Sarasota what it is today.”
In addition to bringing the circus to town, Ringling, an avid collector of fine art, also brought David.
The statue of David is famously — and somewhat controversially, nude, but King said putting the sculpture in
pants would violate the spirit and intent of Michelangelo’s creativity.
“We think the design pays proper homage to Michelangelo’s work, John Ringling’s influence and the city’s vibrant cultural history,” King said.
Although there will be no fee for the passes, they will limit the pass holders to four hours per day on weekends, six hours weekdays. Lido Key residents, vacation rental occupants, resort guests and Bay Runner passengers will be exempt.
“Vehicle parking is becoming a nuisance on Lido because there just isn’t the capacity to handle the demand,” said city beach parking czar Cara Van. Beach passes will be issued on a per-vehicle basis. They must be reserved on the city’s website, QR codes downloaded and printed, and then adhered to a window on the passenger side of the vehicle. The QR codes will be scanned at all access points to Lido Key upon entry and exit. Although the passes will be free, a $50 fine will be assessed to those who overstay their time.
Tolls proposed for Siesta bridges
To help cover the costs of hurricane recovery on Siesta Key, Sarasota County has instructed staff to study imposing tolls to cross the bridges onto the barrier island at Siesta Drive to the north and Stickney Point Road to the south.
The proposed fee structure being is $2 per trip across the drawbridges for non-residents, $1 for residents. Rather than staffed toll booths, installed gantries will digitally capture license plates for billing and to scan SunPass transponders.
To include everyone who accesses Siesta Key, a system is being planned for boaters as well. Scanners are planned at all points of entry into Little Sarasota Bay, including Midnight Pass.
Planning underway to protect St. Armands Circle with a dome
The geodesic dome will protect the vital business district from future storm damage and create an ideal habitat inside.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
After successive years of flooding from both sky and sea of the economic engine that is St. Armands Circle, and the apparent inability to prevent it via traditional means, a group of scientists led by billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson is proposing construction of a geodesic dome over the entire business district.
The concept is to cover the circle plus one block in all four directions along John Ringling Boulevard and Boulevard of the Presidents with a transparent dome. Devoid of flat surfaces and corners, the curvature of the structure will allow the harmless deflection of high winds and rainwater to cascade down to the base where it will divert into underground vaults for irrigation and other non-potable water uses. The dome would also withstand the impact of storm surge.
Inside is the ability to keep the temperature at a comfortable 78 degrees with low humidity, providing ideal weather conditions for strolling along the sidewalks, visiting boutiques in open-air comfort and dining alfresco.
“Just think about the flexibility for our customers,” said one St. Armands restaurant owner who did not want to be identified. “We won’t have to ask if they want to be seated
TRIANGLES FOR A CIRCLE
“The network of interconnecting triangles create lightweight, but extremely strong tiles that will withstand winds of 175 mph.”
outside or inside. It will all be outside. Or inside.”
The dome will come at no cost to the city, county or state taxpayers courtesy of Branson’s Virgin Group, which will study its use to assist in the design of similar structures to facilitate human habitation of Mars.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” said lead scientist Nikola Edison. “St. Armands Circle is protected and we will have the opportunity to research the habits of people inside the dome and learn how to make it sustainable over extended periods. And just imagine how awe-inspiring it will be to see the dome rising above the landscape when coming across the Ringling Bridge.”
At night, customized lighting projections onto the dome are to be visible both inside and out. “The state won’t let us light the Ringling Bridge anymore in recognition of certain groups, months or holidays, so this is the next best thing,” said city official Rob Patrick.
To be functional and to maintain interior climate conditions, however, the dome will be closed to all vehicle traffic, which will change at the intersec -
tions of:
■ John Ringling Boulevard at Adams Drive to the west.
■ John Ringling Boulevard at Washington Drive to the east.
■ Boulevard of the Presidents at Madison Drive to the north.
■ Boulevard of the Presidents at Monroe Drive to the south.
Access into the sealed semi-sphere will be available only via automatic sliding glass doors, which must open and close quickly.
“Think about the bridge on Star Trek,” Edison said. “We can even make them make that sound, which is totally unnecessary but pretty cool.”
With no more vehicle traffic, the streets inside the dome will convert into a pedestrian mall, eliminating all conflicts between vehicles and people. However, that will force all vehicles passing through St. Armands to and from Longboat Key to navigate neighborhood streets in the short term. To mitigate the inevitable congestion, the Florida Department of Transportation is exploring the prospects of building a causeway from City Island to Bird Key, connecting at the Ringling Bridge — with a roundabout of
course. That causeway will take several years to complete.
In the interim, a high-speed ferry is being considered providing transportation between the barrier islands and the mainland. Tesla is experimenting with a solar-powered hydrofoil to cross Sarasota Bay in less than four minutes. The company plans base a fleet of selfdriving shuttles at the 10th Street boat launch — Centennial Park — to deliver passengers to the airport or anywhere in the downtown district.
“Branson’s companies are pulling out all the stops for this experiment, all of which will have a positive impact on our community,” said Patrick. “This will give us a reason to activate City Island, maybe with some attractions to give ferry passengers something to do while they’re waiting.”
Inside the dome, specific weather conditions may be manipulated to mimic seasonal changes and even create holiday spirit. Snow, for example, can fall onto Circle Park during the Christmas season. “Now that’s what you call a real winter spectacular,” Patrick said.
SEE GEODOME, PAGE 4A
DeSantis to recast Unconditional Surrender as the Trumps
The governor has included an amendment in an existing bill to fund the project that will replace the sailor and nurse in the iconic Sarasota statue.
LOUIS LLOVIO CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Gov. Ron DeSantis is quietly pushing an initiative through the Florida Legislature to recast the Unconditional Surrender statute in Sarasota.
The governor’s plan calls for the replacement of the iconic soldier and the nurse featured in the statue, with Donald and Melania Trump assuming the traditional pose. Unconditional Surrender, sometimes called the kissing statue, is based on a photograph taken in Times Square on V-J Day in 1945, capturing the moment when a sailor dipped a nurse and kissed her during a celebration marking the end of World War II.
A design of what the recast statue would look like included in state paperwork shows Melania Trump in a black Chanel evening dress with a slit halfway up her knee. She is bent backward as the president, in a blue suit and red tie, also down to his knees, holds her with his left arm as he leans down to kiss her.
In a memorandum attached to the
design, an unidentified staffer raises the question about whether the kiss depicted in the original photograph was consensual and “in what light will that cast the president” if it wasn’t.
A handwritten notation next the comment, which appears to be in DeSantis’ handwriting, dismisses the concern saying, “Won’t be the first time he’s accused of that! LOL.” LOL is internet slang to denote laughing.
Another concern in the memorandum is from the designer, Russian artist Alexei Polyakov. He worries about the president’s left hand, which will be exposed behind Melania’s head as it is cradled for the kiss. The designer asks if it would be offensive if a separate hired hand model would “not distort perspective.”
DeSantis’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
The plan for the recasting the of the iconic statue on Sarasota’s waterfront part of a bill calling for the creation of the Elon Musk Natural Preserve in Immokalee on land that is currently part of the Florida
Wildlife Corridor.
Republican leaders in the House have backed the Musk bill, but were surprised to learn an amendment dealing with Unconditional Surrender had made its way into the legislation.
Several legislators expressed anger, saying they felt blindsided by including the funding for the project in another, unrelated bill.
Democrats expressed dismay the legislative session had begun, and no one had told them.
A big reason for the Republican backlash is that legislators are already pushing for a statue to honor Trump.
That plan, which has nearly universal support in the party, calls for a statue modeled on the William Penn sculpture that sits atop Philadelphia’s City Hall. That one is bronze, 37 feet tall and weighs 53,000 pounds. What Republicans are proposing in Florida is one of Trump atop the Capitol building that is 38 feet tall and weighs 53,100 pounds.
Like the one in Sarasota, it too would be gold.
If DeSantis cannot sway Republi cans to fund the project and get the proposal through the Legislature, there are alternatives.
DeSantis could use eminent domain to take over Bayfront Park and then pay for the new statute on his own.
“That is the end around and, honestly, the easiest way to go about it,” said James McGill, a local attorney recently par doned by Trump and now running for a seat on the Manatee County Commis sion. “He can just get it done and nobody can get in his way.”
McGill said while DeSan tis could not use state money without the Legislature’s per mission, there is nothing preventing from dipping into his Fealty Fund.
The Fealty Fund is the political action committee DeSantis cre ated using campaign funds from his failed presidential campaign. A FEC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The depart ment is only open between 10 a.m. and noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
STATUE, PAGE 4A
Courtesy rendering
The St. Armands Dome will allow visitors to stroll the Circle in 78-degree temperatures and prevent it from flooding during storms.
GOTCHA!
Happy April Fools’ Day from the Sarasota Observer! The stories on pages 1A through 4A are not real news. Hope you’re as relieved as we are!
Sarasota to give street racers a course of action
During weekend evenings, organized drag racing on Fruitville will become an avenue racers will enjoy.
MICHAEL HARRIS MANAGING EDITOR
Bobby Simpkins sits behind the steering wheel in his beautiful red 2018 Dodge Challenger Demon in his Laurel Park neighborhood, just staring at the emptiness in front of him.
In 2018, when he bought the roaring 6.2 liter, Hemi V8, 1,025 horsepower machine, he paid just a touch over $96,000. Like a caged lion, he can only sit and dream of what the open land could be.
“I bought it, but I can’t do anything with it,” he says. “This monster has so much horsepower that if I take it out on Fruitville, I tap the gas pedal and I’m doing 60. So here it sits.”
In six years of owning the potent leviathan, he only has 28 miles on it.
He would love to challenge and race next to other street powerful vehicles like a Chevrolet Corvette or a BMW 335i E90 but alas, there’s no opportunity to do so.
But in a latest city of Sarasota development, Simpkins will get his chance to flex his muscle car.
After trying unsuccessfully to rein in illegal drag racing through the city, Sarasota has decided, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
The city will begin, and allow, organized street drag racing, which will take place on Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 10 p.m. through midnight. Practice for the
races will start at 9:30 p.m..
A special introductory race night will be this Tuesday, April 1, at 6 p.m.
The course has to be a straight shot, and the straightest path is Fruitville Road, starting just east of the Tamiami Trail roundabout and travelling to Goodrich Ave, which is approximately a half-mile.
Fruitville will close to all traffic, beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and for this Tuesday, April 1, the road will shut down at 4 p.m.
Right now, the starting line, located in front of 1225 Fruitville Road, will feature a hand-held starter with a white flag. However, a specially designed electronic starting device, better known as a “Christmas tree” will hang over Fruitville from the turn markers.
The lights go in a series of stages to ensure a competitive start, starting with blue, then a series of amber lights, followed by green and red, which indicate a start penalty.
Officials have indicated they would like to put their own spin on the Christmas tree with purple lights, a nod to the Van Wezel, as opposed to the standard white or blue ones. The light system will come at a cost of no more than $2.6 million to taxpayers.
Also on Tuesday, April 1, live music featuring the GatorNationalities rock band from Gainesville will perform cover songs like “Drive My Car” from The Beatles, “The Passenger”
from Iggy Pop and “1000hp” from Godsmack.
Food and drink vendors will line up along Fruitville as well.
According to several city officials, street racing is a problem all over Sarasota, so the effort to contain and organize allows racers an opportunity to challenge one another without harm to the general public.
There have been prior efforts for organized street racing in South Florida and Tampa, but Sarasota may be the only city in the state to allow it.
Now, there is organized golf cart racing in The Villages, but speeds rarely exceed 30 mph. Fort Meade also has Nasgrass, a lawnmower speedway.
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The Sarasota/Siesta Key, East County and Longboat Observers meet the
Verified Council
Old Big Bend Road, Suite 210 | St Louis, MO 63122 314-966-7111 | www.cvcaudit.com
gal in Florida, with 12,979 citations issued from 2018 to present according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Police and EMTs will be on hand in case any crashes occur. Fans of racing can watch any time along Fruitville and see the cars on display, before racing, in the parking lot at Sprouts Market on Fruitville and Links.
However, fans will have to watch at their own risk.
Needless to say, Simpkins is elated with the news.
“This is phenomenal,” he said.
“Now I get an opportunity to show what this puppy can do. With this much horsepower, there isn’t a car that can beat it, unless, of course, there’s another Demon owner out there. I can’t wait.”
Courtesy rendering A rendering of the starting line at the proposed Fruitville Drag Strip.
Cheers to Boo’s
Boo’s Ice House & Dog Bar
closed Jan. 12 with National Dress Up Your Dog Day. Yet dogs had a chance to sport costumes once more, in honor of Boo’s, when The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime held the Small Dog Meetup and Costume Contest on March 22.
Kim Livengood, co-owner of the Bazaar, which is a dogfriendly space, said as a dog parent, she had been a “huge fan” of Boo’s and hopes to see the space revived.
“It was just a wonderful environment and a great place to go and hang out, and I know dog parents like to hang out with other dog parents,” Livengood said.
She said the event had a “great turnout,” at one point, hosting 15 small dogs at the same time, in its off-leash area.
Cruising the streets
MaryAnne Chancet Hecht and her husband, Chip Miller, were involved in a crash in 2006 that totaled their beloved 1976 Volkswagen bus and left Hecht with shoulder fractures and multiple lacerations.
Things took a fortunate turn when their friend Brian George gifted them a 1976 bus in 2008. Miller used spray paint to re-create the stripes. He also painted a teardrop on the front in honor of Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead.
The couple say they have many memories around the bus, their go-to vehicle, and you may spot them in it as they drive around Sarasota.
“It’s just cool, it’s fun,” Miller said. “We wave, they shoot your peace signs. They love it. Nobody’s ever told me they don’t like it.”
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Ian Swaby
Louise Carlin, 4, plays a ribbon-waving game initiated by David Muirhead, the garden gnome at the Enchanted Garden Family Festival.
Courtesy image
Ocean Wolf, Madi Sparks and their three dogs took first place.
Ian Swaby
WEEK OF MARCH 27, 2025
BY THE NUMBERS
“I can tell you that most chiefs would hope for the 3% to 5% decline, and
we’ve had double digits numbers back to back.”
Sarasota
New Lido hotel evokes local circus legacy
new circus-themed hotel has opened on Lido Key. Cirque St. Armands Beachside, a 135-room luxury property on Benjamin Franklin Drive, pays tribute to Sarasota’s history as a circus town with its design and name. The hotel replaces the former Holiday Inn on Lido.
“Cirque St. Armands Beachside is where Sarasota’s rich circus legacy meets modern luxury,” said General Manager Melissa Kaplan in a news release. Each room features floor-toceiling windows, a balcony and
an “art deco-meets-Big-Top aesthetic,” according to a statement. Ostrich-feather chandeliers, pinstriped columns, golden wall sconces, antique photos and posters, billowing draperies and geometric patterns are among the hotel’s design elements, according to Opal Collection, which manages the property.
The hotel’s restaurant, Ringside, also incorporates the circus theme. Billboard-sized murals display trapeze artists, and five private booths are set off by velvet drapery.
Drinks and small plates are also on tap at the lobby bar and lounge, dubbed Midway. After March, a pool bar called the Ringmaster will also open. Shaped like three rings and designed to bring to mind the “three-ring circus,” the pool will be completed this spring, featuring striped loungers and tent-like cabanas. Cirque guests can access a 300-foot stretch of private beach at nearby sister Opal property, Lido Beach Resort, accessible by shuttle.
Sarasota County trash pickup changes
As part of its switch to a new waste collection company, Sarasota County is moving some trash pickup days and rolling out its garbage collection using distributed carts next week.
The last day of the current garbage collection system is March 28. For those residents who received a cart from the county, all garbage must fit inside the cart.
Residents may still request up to four bulk pickups per year, and they must be scheduled in advance.
To view their new garbage day, residents can visit Sarasota County’s Solid Waste page at scgov.net.
New TSA PreCheck option comes to SRQ
Travelers who wish enroll in TSA PreCheck may now enter the program at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The program allows
This
NOT JUST SAILING ALONG
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
Looking north while crossing the Ringling Bridge toward St. Armands is often a familiar sight: dozens of tiny sailing dinghies just off the shore of City Island.
They are the training boats Sarasota Youth Sailing uses to teach young captains how to tack, jibe and safely navigate open waters in the protected environment of Sarasota Bay, just as the youth program of the Sarasota Sailing Squadron has done since the late 1970s, when it was founded by the Luffing Lassies, the squadron’s women’s sailing group.
The organizations separate yet intertwined, Sarasota Youth Sailing has embarked on the city approval process to build a new education building to replace its non-climatecontrolled, warehouse-style building with a two-story structure of approximately 3,000 square feet on the open-air ground level for storage beneath 1,895 square feet of meeting space, offices and restrooms. It appeared before the city’s Development Review Committee as a new submittal on March 19.
The office space is currently an RV, according to project architect Derek Pirozzi, and among the notable aspects of the building design are dual “double butterfly” roof structures directing rainwater into a cistern, which will be used to wash boats.
The SYS program occupies 1.39 acres of the overall 6.2-acre Sarasota Sailing Squadron site.
But first, to justify the expense of the $3 million project, plus another million dollars that needs to be invested in storm damage repairs to the city-owned property, the organization recently sought a lease extension of 30 to 50 years from the city.
Unanimous approval of the Sarasota City Commission extended the lease for 30 years, through November 2055, on March 3.
Sarasota Sailing Squadron sought the extension before allocating more than $350,000 for repairs and upgrades over the next six months and anticipates a total investment of $4.1 million over the next two to five years, including the SYS center and replacement of the wave fence along the shoreline destroyed during the 2024 hurricane season.
“We bring in people from all over the world to come and see Sarasota,” Squadron Commodore Bob Twinem told commissioners of the organization. “We did suffer quite a bit of damage to the buildings, the grounds, the docks, and we need to invest quite a bit of money into that.”
The Squadron is up and running, Twinem said, but to justify the capital outlay the lease extension is necessary. “Also, in our lease, it says if you spend over a certain amount of money, there might be an opportunity to extend the lease,” he added.
With an extended lease agreement, the Sarasota Sailing Squadron is making big plans for growth.
manager, did confirm it.
SARASOTA SAILING SQUADRON ACTIVITIES
■ Monthly regattas
■ Invitational regattas (Labor Day Regatta, Sarasota Bay Multi Hull)
■ Sailfest annual regatta
■ Luffing Lassies women’s sailing
■ Summer sailing camp
■ Lean to sail programs
■ Private coaching
■ Year-round racing
Vice Mayor Debbie Trice wanted assurances that, because of the length of the extension, the lease was non-transferrable. Wayne Appleby, the city’s economic development
In motioning to approve the lease for 30 years during the March 3 meeting, Commissioner Kathy Kelley Ohlrich said she was comfortable with the terms, and the longevity of the Sailing Squadron, which was founded in the 1930s at the city pier, the current site of Marina Jack.
“Sarasota Sailing Squadron is not going anywhere. They’re not going to pick up all those boats and those buildings and move,” Ohlrich said.
“Everybody who sees the joy in the work that’s being done appreciates it. The regatta, the youth programs, visitors see those little boats floating around in the water and even if they don’t sail, they like it. Our responsibility is to do what’s right for the city as well as do what’s right for the Sailing Squadron, and I think this does it.”
The rental amount is based on membership, most recently ranging from $59,091 per year in fiscal year 2022 to $68,218 in fiscal year 2024.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES
Funding construction of a new education center and repairs not insured — the wave fence, for example — requires funding. Currently, a 501(c)7 organization, Sarasota Sailing Squadron, can operate a capital campaign, but donations are not tax deductible.
“Some of the things we need to repair we can’t pay for out of our dues,” Twinem told the Observer. “We need to raise money to do that.”
Although Sarasota is well known for its philanthropic largesse, tax deductibility is essential to giving. As a result, Sarasota Sailing Squadron is exploring how to best convert the organization to 501(c) 3 status. Currently, making tax-deductible donations to another sailing-centric organization, Sail Sarasota, can then transfer the gifts to the Squadron.
Twinem said discussions are underway to potentially merge the two organizations or to convert the Squadron to a 501(c) 3.
“Our mission stays the same, but right now we can’t raise taxdeductible donations for building the wave fence and for the Sarasota Youth Sailing building,” said
EXPENDITURES AFTER HURRICANE MILTON
Costs incurred by Sarasota Sailing Squadron from hurricane damage and new capital projects:
■ Clubhouse reconstruction: $126,000
■ Bar and kitchen: $25,000
■ Docks A,B,C and D: $85,000
■ Wave fence: $800,000
■ Roads: $30,000
■ Education building: $40,000
■ Tractor purchase (2): $39,000
■ Lift station repairs: $10,000
■ Workshop: $7,000
■ Education building: $3 million
Total: $4,162,000
Twinem, who sits on the boards of both the Squadron and SYS. “We’re going to raise millions of dollars for that. We just have to weigh out how that all ties in together. When we first went through the hurricanes, we reached out to people and said if you’re donating and you’re itemizing your deductions, send it to Sail Sarasota and specify it’s for dock repair, and then they give money to us.”
Much of the damage was noninsurable, specifically anything in the water such as the docks and wave fence, a structure located beneath a pier critical to protecting infrastructure as well as sailers by breaking wakes from powerboats traversing the channel between St. Armands and Longboat keys. With all the challenges, Twinem said he signed up to be commodore “probably at the wrong year, but it’s a great, resilient group of people. We really are focused on growing what we have now as opposed to just coasting along.”
LEARN MORE
For more information about the Sarasota Sailing Squadron and Sarasota Youth Sailing, visit the organization’s website at SarasotaSailingSquadron.org.
A rendering by PSDW Architecture of the proposed new Sarasota Youth Sailing facility at City Island.
Courtesy images
An example of hurricane damage sustained along the water at Sarasota Sailing Squadron.
Sarasota Sailing Squadron Commodore Bob Twinem and wife, Brenda, aboard their sailboat “Eightball”.
Participants in the annual Sailfest Youth Regatta receive instructions prior to taking to the water on Sarasota Bay.
Photo courtesy Jennifer Joy Walker Photography
Kolter declines Quay’s compromise
The developer of One Park extended an offer to give Block 9 in The Quay to the city if Kolter Urban would donate a portion of the Hyatt site.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
Amid his company’s appeal of the Planning Board approval of an adjustment for the redevelopment plan of the Hyatt Regency site next to The Quay, Kevin Maloney hatched an idea to reduce the density and traffic pressure along Boulevard of the Arts.
Why not, he posited, donate Block 9, which is about 30,000 square feet, to the city for a park within The Quay, providing Kolter Urban kick in about 12,000 square feet at the eastern edge of the Hyatt property for city park space just across the street from The Bay park?
Maloney, President and CEO of Property Markets Group of Miami, has partnered with Kim Githler of Sarasota-based MoneyShow as Quay 1 and 9 LLC, developer of One Park on Block One with approval to build One Park West on Block 9.
He made the overture to Kolter Urban within 24 hours of losing his appeal of the adjustment that allows Kolter to relocate the driveway eastward along Boulevard of the Arts. Not officially appealed, the developer also objected to an administrative adjustment to widen the driveway from the permitted maximum of 24 feet off a primary street to 33 feet.
There was much more to Quay 1 and 9’s objection to the planned 1000 Boulevard of the Arts project, including building over a vacated alley of which both entities own sections and an access configuration it claims will require service vehicles to encroach on One Park West. That
and the fact the conceptual site plan of Kolter’s project virtually surrounds Block 9 to the lot line on two sides, eliminating any light, air and views from its planned One Park West condominium tower.
More than the One Park West impact, though, Maloney said the park plan would maintain view corridors for other buildings within The Quay, and provide public space from the perception as an exclusive enclave of high-priced condominiums and lower congestion pressure from Boulevard of the Arts by reducing density.
His plan was to sell Block 9, for which Quay 1 and 9 paid $15 million, to the city for $1 if Kolter would do the same.
“There are so many good things that would do for everybody,” Maloney told the Observer shortly after extending the olive branch to Kolter Urban. “The public would get a park. The Quay would get a view corridor. Many of the buildings would have a great unobstructed view right to the park, and some of them to the water. It’s just a real win-win for everybody.”
Right up until Kolter Urban determined it wasn’t.
Kolter Urban President-West
Florida Brian Van Slyke told the Observer on Monday that the piece of land previously used for Hyatt Regency employee parking is a key contributor to the company’s financial ability to its plans for 1000 Boulevard of the Arts. It’s one of a twotower project that will include 117 luxury condos and a 174-room Hyatt Centric Harborside hotel.
There has not been a disclosure of second tower specifics.
“We applaud the PMG Group’s willingness to donate Block 9 Quay for use as a public park. However, we have a different set of circumstances regarding our parcel directly north of Block 9,” Van Slyke said. “Due to high acquisition and construction costs regarding the replacement hotel, our residential offering is heavily subsidizing the hotel redevelopment. This subsidy requirement will not allow us to remove residential uses as PMG has suggested.”
Exactly what Quay 1 and 9 may do with Block 9 remains up for consideration. Approved to build the 18-story, 69-unit One Park West, the developer had previously announced plans to offer residences starting in the low $1 millions to $3.3 million, a relative bargain price point in The Quay.
That plan remains on the table, but Maloney said, absent the park idea, there are options.
“People have come to me and offered me a very nice profit to just
build a parking structure there,” Maloney said. “We can do that, too. A lot of things can happen on that site. We’re essentially almost physically touching their building.”
As for the park idea, Kolter Urban’s Van Slyke said the company is willing to participate in the project, short of donating land, should Quay 1 and 9 choose to proceed.
“In the spirit of cooperation and to serve the public’s interest, we would agree to fund the park improvements on Block 9 should PMG choose to go forward with their very generous offer,” Van Slyke said.
For his part, Maloney said he still believes donating both parcels to the city for park space is a mutually beneficial idea.
“I would take a $15 million haircut, but it would be worth it to reduce the density in that area,” he said. “This would have been a great solution to build that park, and I think it’s in our interest to build that park, but it doesn’t work unless we go in on it with both properties.”
Andrew Warfield
Kevin Maloney of Property Markets Group and Kim Githler of MoneyShow address the audience at the construction underway reception in 2024 for One Park in The Quay.
Crime droppers
Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche reports nearly 40% drop in crime rates over the last two years.
ANDREW
WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
hen Sarasota Police Chief
WRex Troche last briefed the City Commission on his department’s annual crime statistics, the highlight was that, for the first time since 1967, there were zero homicides committed within the city limit.
The message was being delivered to would-be murderers and perpetrators of other serious crimes where he said, “People know that they cannot come to Sarasota and commit a crime without being caught.”
Although there were seven murders in the city in 2024, Sarasota Police caught all the perpetrators.
Last year, Troche reported, the clearance rate of SPD’s crimes against persons was 41.1% compared to the
STATISTICS
national clearance rate of 36.7%
The clearance rate of SPD’s property crimes was 28.6% compared to the national clearance rate of 13.9%.
Overall, the statistics presented to the commission during its March 17 meeting showed a continued downward trend in overall crime — a reduction of 22.2% in 2024, not including the homicides — results Troche and his command staff attributed to continued advancements in using technology.
Combined with old-fashioned community policing techniques, the decline in offenses from 2023 — which was down 16.2% from 2022
— was the largest in SPD recorded history, according to Troche.
“That’s a 38% crime drop in two years,” he told commissioners before a meeting chamber filled with sworn and civilian SPD personnel. “That’s
an amazing stat. I can tell you that most chiefs would hope for the 3% to 5% decline, and we’ve had double digits numbers back to back.”
Commander of the Criminal Investigations Division Captain Jonathan Todd said although there were seven homicides, the department’s 100% clearance rate far exceeds the national average of 57.8%.
“Even more remarkable is the fact that we were able to clear those cases in an average of about 1.7 days, which is a remarkable feat. Our last unsolved homicide case was in September of 2017.”
Todd also highlighted the SPD’s Operation Safe Summer, a datadriven enforcement effort targeting the uptick in using guns in committing crimes in the Newtown area. That operation netted 95 felony charges, 41 misdemeanor charges and 44 firearms seized.
For Troche, gun-related crime hits home. The product of a Chicago law enforcement family, the shooting murder of his brother when Troche was 11 years old ignited his interest in police work. He told Commissioner Kyle Battie, whose district includes Newtown, that one key to prevention is to reach the youth of the community early.
“Throughout our operations, we always maintain data, and what the
data has been telling us is the perpetrators, generally with guns, are young black males, 15 to 16 years of age,” he said. “We have to reach out to the kids 10, 11, 12 and 13 (years old) and get them before they turn 15 and 16 because not everybody has been given a perfect life here. Not everybody has parents at home, not everybody has a perfect home, so we try to supplement that.”
The goal, he said, is not to arrest juveniles, but partner with the State Attorney’s Office and Department of Juvenile Justice for intervention programs through the department’s Community Relations Unit.
“CRU been going above and beyond,” Troche said of the unit. “They’ve been tutoring. They make sure the kids have done their homework. They’re signing off on things for the kids. We’re finding out kids need to go to summer camps. We’re making sure that we find the funding so that they have something to do through the summer.”
The department has also partnered with former college national championship football coach Urban Meyer’s “Urban’s Edge” program, Troche said, which brings speakers from across the state and the country speak to the youth about public speaking, financing, de-escalation, preparing for their future and more.
SPD 2024 AWARDS
Just prior to Police Chief Rex Troche’s presentation of the 2024 crime data, the Sarasota Police Department presented its annual awards to select personnel for their performance and contributions to the agency during the prior year.
Honored were:
■ Civilian of the Year: Finance Manager Ben Billingsley.
■ Co-Officers of the Year: Officer Steven Mayforth and Officer A.J. Varlaro.
■ Detective of the Year: Det. Angela Cox.
■ Supervisor of the Year: Sgt. Pat Comac.
Each year, the Sarasota Police Department recognizes outstanding personnel who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, leadership and service to our department,” said Chief Rex Troche. “These awards honor individuals who have gone above and beyond their duties, and made a lasting impact through their hard work, professionalism and commitment to public safety.”
Beyond crime prevention measures, the SPD is employing advancements in technology and equipment to solve crimes quickly. The department recently took delivery of a new Mobile Command Center and its Real-Time Operations Center, which uses cameras, license plate readers, drones and other technologies to solve crimes efficiently almost as they are being committed.
“Not too long ago, we had a homicide at an apartment complex near the Police Department,” Troche said. “We were able to put the tag and make that vehicle into the system, and then once we did that, we were able to actually see it traveling throughout the state.”
The suspect vehicle was quicky tracked to Louisiana , where the suspect was apprehended in West Baton Rouge and taken into custody.
Sarasota EDC adapts to county funding cut
The Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County is responding to the business tax elimination by employing greater efficiencies.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
With the start of Sarasota County’s fiscal year 2026 budget cycle beginning with its initial workshop this week, it marks the approximate midway point of one its highest profile budget moves for the current fiscal year: the elimination of the countywide business tax.
Those revenues for decades had helped support the operations of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, leaving the organization under the new leadership of President and CEO Erin Silk in an approximately $200,000 budgetary hole at the beginning of its fiscal year.
The EDC isn’t completely in a lurch. Instead of the business tax, the County Commission is offering an incentive of a 50% match for all private contributions made to the organization by businesses, capped at $500,000. Although the EDC fought for years to keep the business tax revenue — which amounted to a nominal amount each year paid by business owners — it has so far proven to be the elixir needed to achieve greater efficiencies and to generate more largesse from the business community.
“The EDC was already in the process of implementing better efficiencies,” said Silk. “We were looking at different kinds of data tools, AI tools, and evaluating the way it’s always been done. Although nobody ever wants to face a budget cut, we were already in process of building our efficiencies.”
With the fresh eyes of a new leadership team and reconstituted board of directors, the EDC, Silk said, embarked on developing a streamlined strategic plan followed by a rebranding featuring a new logo
improved communication processes.
“The rebrand was an opportunity to update the look. We’d had the same branding for some 15 years,” Silk said. “Following the strategic plan, we worked to identify what we wanted to focus on and portray as an organization, so we immediately went into that rebrand and have not slowed down at all.”
Although it lost the business tax and gained the 50% match incentive, the EDC still receives local government funding on a per capita basis, the equivalent of $1 per person.
Out of $464,223 per capita revenue included in its 2025 budget, Sarasota County’s share is $288,097 for the unincorporated population, the city of Sarasota’s contribution $57,005. In fiscal year 2024, the EDC received $475,369 in business tax revenues but projects $287,500 in the county’s 50% match incentive, making up 60% of the difference.
To reach that county match total, the EDC must raise $575,000 in private contributions, which Silk described mid-fiscal year as a work in progress.
That puts the EDC’s 2025 budget at just less than $1.7 million, $15,000 less than its 2024 budget actuals.
Among the efficiencies the EDC leadership and staff of seven had embarked upon before last year’s decision to eliminate the countywide business tax is the deployment of artificial intelligence tools that help it target growth mode companies that may be looking to relocate or expand.
Rather than blanket marketing at trade shows where potential connections may yield a couple of dozen companies, Silk said, the AI tools can hyper-target hundreds.
“You have to think entrepreneurially. You have to be ready for change. That’s the reality of business, and we have an incredibly innovative team,” Silk said. “It’s good for any organi-
zation to really look hard at the way they’ve always done something and challenge that notion. We are spending less money while we’re going to have a bigger impact on our mission, and that’s always a good thing.”
To create a capacity for industrial growth, the EDC is also working with Sarasota County to identify and rezone properties as Business Park.
These include the Innovation Corridor in North Port with a potential of up to 3 million square feet of business park supporting some 2,000 jobs, of which Benderson Development has developed approximately 700,000 square feet.
Another targeted area is Lorraine Commerce Park at Palmer Ranch at the interchange of Highway 681 and I-75, adding up to 1.5 million square feet of business park space.
“We are supporting 675,000 square feet of new Business Park over the next three years and projecting another 6 to 8 million square feet over the next decade,” Silk said.
HOW
AI WORKS FOR THE EDC
According to EDC Vice President of Economic Development Josh Ewen, the organization is using data and AI tools to enhance its marketing and tradeshow program. By the end of the fiscal year, it will have attended at least five in-person shows that are in alignment with its targeted industries recruitment strategy.
“In addition to meeting in-person at these type of trade shows, we use our AI tools to find companies nationally and internationally that are looking to expand, have received recent venture funding or new investments, or even have received regulatory approvals for a manufactured product,” Ewen said.
Once targeted, the companies are targeted via marketing campaigns and direct touch points to facilitate future discussions about expanding into Sarasota County. The results this year alone include securing meetings and onboarding future projects with companies from regions such as Silicon Valley, Vancouver, New Jersey and the greater Midwest.
Courtesy image
From left, Sarasota County EDC’s Josh Ewen, Erin Silk and board member and County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger.
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Time for a SPAC reboot
The most recent citySPAC meeting showed a lot of misalignment among the players. Here are four key issues to be resolved to keep it going.
Yogi Berra was such a smart guy: “Déjà vu all over again.”
The March 17 City Commission meeting on whether to adopt an “implementation agreement” for a new performing arts center was indeed déjà vu all over again. Many of us have seen that movie many times in Sarasota … Just propose a large-scale development in the city, and then imagine a giant, complicated spaghetti ball that takes months for city commissioners to try to unravel. Indeed, in this instance, if you pushed through the City Commission’s five-hour discussion, it’s likely you could have reached this conclusion: Timeout. This isn’t working.
Or, as they say when you get that “spinning wheel of death” on your MacBook: Just turn it off, let it sit, take a pause and then reboot. Here’s reality: City commissioners as a group are not developers. They’re policymakers watching out for taxpayers, a board of directors overseeing and advising on strategy and operations.
At the same time, the interactions at the meeting between the commissioners and Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, CEO of the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation, clearly sent the message there are communication and responsibility gaps that need restructuring.
A major reboot is needed.
The tenor and content of the conversation needs to change to avoid a total motherboard meltdown. Take a breath. Table the implementation agreement for now. Go back and watch the video of the commission meeting to assess what needs to be addressed to change the conversation from what looks like a losing proposition to getting the process on a track to succeed.
During the five-hour slog, several crucial concerns emerged. We’re certainly not development experts, but if this venture is to continue and succeed, those concerns warrant changes in the way this process is being led and managed.
To begin, one of the foremost necessities for the success of any project involving multiple partners and players is this: alignment. Everyone must be in alignment every step of the way — who does what, who is or not responsible for what. The City Commission, city staff and Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation tried spelling that out in previous agreements, but it was palpable March 17 that adjustments are needed.
To be sure, there will be disagreements, and circumstances will call for flexibility. But ultimately, the partners must operate with mutual respect and trust.
Lacking that, misalignment will bring inevitable failure. More on that later. Back to the crucial concerns to be resolved. At the top of the list:
■ 1) Do commissioners believe and agree: 1) a new performing arts hall — an arts hall for the future, for the next 50 years — should be developed; and 2) the process should continue now?
That commitment from commissioners is essential and must come before alignment on the details. It’s the first thing that should be addressed and addressed in a vote at the commission’s next meeting.
People want to know.
Not to do that will signal uncertainty, a sign that would reverberate widely, deflate enthusiasm and make it far more difficult — perhaps impossible — for SPAF to raise its share of the funding.
It’s understandable if Commissioner Kathy Kelley Ohlrich and Vice Mayor Debbie Trice are ambivalent about making such a commitment. The cost scares them — for good reason. The Bay Park and performing arts center are the largest city projects since Sarasota city voters approved a bond issue in the early 1960s to construct the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and build Mound Street and Bayfront Park simultaneously.
But surely Ohlrich and Trice realize their commitments in particular will determine success or failure.
As Castroverde Moskalenko told commissioners: Private donors are holding off from writing checks until they see whether city commissioners make a definitive commitment to go forward.
This is akin to city critic Martin Hyde’s chicken-or-egg analogy. What comes first?
Like the private donors, Ohlrich and Trice are hesitant to make a commitment — especially when they do not like the cost or don’t know what donors will contribute.
That bring us to concern #2.
■ 2) The total cost must be decided and locked.
That is not up to the architects. City commissioners and the SPAF must be determine the total amount the city is willing and able to spend. What can the city comfortably afford to meet its debt obligations; be in line with the growth in the tax increment financing funds; and not create undue default risk?
We’ve seen the number grow — from $185 million to $250 million to more than $400 million.
Perhaps the total cost is not a set number; perhaps it is a range; or cast as no more than a percentage of the TIF.
Commissioners need to see real-world comparables and best practices from other cities that have gone through this. The discussion should also include some examination of what it would cost to design a performing arts center for the future — a center that is outfitted for mega-screen digital sets of the future and not for the old-school truckloads of traveling theater sets.
They need a definitive list of the three to five other major public infrastructure projects that will need financing in the coming years.
With all that, they each should write down their numbers — what they’re willing to spend. Then make a decision and stick to it.
■
3) Show the city the money. The performing arts foundation in its earlier agreement with the city is obligated to provide the city with its funding commitments at least quarterly. If city commissioners commit to the project and if a cost is determined, spirits and confidence would rise if the foundation shortly thereafter produced its first catalytic contributions totaling in the high five or six figures.
This is a crucial step.
The argument that donors are waiting for the city to commit is a chicken-or-the-egg; but it seems more like SPAF is being chicken.
The city and Sarasota County have done their parts with the TIF.
The SPAF should be a leading public promoter and catalyst. And the best way to create confidence would be for the SPAF to come forward with signature pledges and contributions.
That is standard procedure in major fundraising. Look at the $50 million contribution last month to the Sarasota Orchestra’s efforts. When Miami began efforts to develop a performing arts center, philanthropist Adrienne Arsht contributed $30 million. David Straz Jr. donated an estimated $25 million to the Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa. The Dr. Phillips Foundation contributed $25 million when Orlando began its development of the Dr. Phillips Center.
■ 4) Who is in charge?
This goes back to alignment. You could see throughout the commission meeting the gaps that existed among commissioners, city staff and the SPAF staff and board.
Commissioner Trice appeared visibly exasperated by not having information she requested from the foundation. The foundation relied repeatedly on consultants. Some might say the architects have been guiding the process — or had blank-check influence. Jennifer Jorgensen, the city’s capable director of governmental affairs, has been a ping-pong ball (with little to no authority) bouncing in between the commissioners and SPAF.
All of this is a symptom of a leader-less operation. There is no general in charge.
Indeed, try crafting an organizational chart.
Likewise, imagine this process as a multi-faceted business enterprise, much like the Walt Disney Co. — with its theme parks, film and live theater productions and film and theater productions within its parks.
At the top of this organizational chart is a board of directors in charge of company policy and endorsing (or refining) the CEO’s strategy for growth and the CEO’s efficient and ethical leadership and management of operations.
The CEO reports to the board, and the board lets the CEO execute the strategy — all along the way keeping the directors informed of progress.
Key point: There is more to “this” than a new performing arts center.
“This” is all 53 bayfront acres — The Bay Park, Van Wezel Perform-
President and Publisher / Emily Walsh, EWalsh@YourObserver.com
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ing Arts Hall, the Sarasota Performing Arts Center, parking, boat ramp, utilities an on and on.
There should be a CEO-like leader overseeing the entire 53 acres, a person who is adept at creating coalitions among public and private groups and also a leader adept at executing the mission. A leader with a proven record.
The leader of this enterprise would create an organization with manager/leaders of the requisite departments. Likewise, there would be an executive leadership team that connects the partners — e.g. Jorgensen, Castroverde Moskalenko, Van Wezel Director Mary Bensel, Lynn Singleton, the founder of Professional Facilities Management and one of the most respected arts facilities operators in the U.S.
Another key point: The Bay ParkSPAC leader should not be the new city manager. While that person is the city’s CEO, it would be a recipe for failure to expect a new city manager to learn, lead and manage every aspect of the city while at the same time oversee everything occurring on those priceless 53 acres.
It makes sense that the point person for the Bay Park/SPAC would report to the city manager, who in turn is the conduit to city commissioners. There is an immutable maxim in business: Every project, every venture, every business needs a champion. Up to now, the performing arts center has had no singular champion in charge, no one person creating coalitiona and alignment and pushing everyone and the process forward in the same direction. It needs that champion — now.
Obvious choice: AG Lafley, CEO of the Bay Park Conservancy.
For the past six years, Lafley has been leading successfully and within budget the development of the Bay Park and Bay Park Conservancy, all the while keeping city commissioners and city staff informed and aligned. He is intimately familiar with every aspect of those 53 bayfront acres. And he is intimately familiar with this type of project. Lafley served as chairman of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) in the early 2000s, a private nonprofit that has invested more than $2.5 billion to transform that city’s Fountain Square and riverfront into a park and entertainment hub that now attracts more than two million visitors a year.
And, by the way, Lafley also knows a little something about business, budgets, accountability and leadership. In his previous life, he gained some experience (11 years) as chairman and CEO (twice) of a tiny $70 billion (annual revenues), 127,000-employee worldwide company you may have heard of — Proctor & Gamble.
Altogether, if this lifetime legacy project is to continue moving forward — and it should — this reboot is paramount. It is urgent. It’s buying time to organize; set priorities and cost limits; examine what has worked and what hasn’t; recast the design for the future, as well as its location in the park; set a defined structure and course; and have a champion leading the mission.
All of that would create confidence and enthusiasm for a successful civic undertaking that will stand as a regional treasure and an iconic emblem of who and what Sarasota is for the next 50 years.
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MATT WALSH
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
A rendering of the space underneath an elevated performing arts center. As one Sarasota police officer quipped: “The homeless will love that.” Below: At the March 17 City Commission meeting, Tanya Castroverde Moskalenko presented a rendering showing the performing arts center moved away from the boat launch.
Boat ramp parking
SPAC
‘Quite appalling’ to call Dr. Fauci
‘dishonest’
I read with interest but also curiosity your convictions that the RJK Jr. book should be regarded as the gospel on these subjects.
He titles it as well to garner interest in his agenda of retrospectively breaking down a fast-moving, complicated time to fit criticisms based on things/ publications/opinions he brings together as “facts.”
Just amassing a like-minded group of followers do not authenticate information into the factual category of truth; studies with culled information from many individuals with like-agendas are not necessarily all reputable or with scientific merit.
This book was written years ago, and the reviews that really break it down are not very favorable.
Please have some open-mindedness.
The scientific community at large regards COVID vaccines as not perfect, but certainly contributing to saved lives.
Furthermore, I find it quite appalling to take in this trove of information hook, line and sinker and summarily label Fauci as irrefutably “dishonest.” That certainly tries to negate a long career in public service for world good regarded by most of his peers as outstanding and without reproach.
LARRY MENDELOW M.D.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Editor response: RFK Jr.’s book can be taken as fact or full of inaccuracies and false statements, depending most likely on where you lined up during the pandemic.
Our questions essentially are asking Dr. Fauci to reply to or refute the evidence, facts, information and accusations that RFK presents.
As for Dr. Fauci’s dishonesty, there was ample evidence reported from all over the world of the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin on COVID during the pandemic.
The mainstream media over-
whelmingly ignored it, but there were plenty of physicians and other non-mainstream media outlets reporting on successful outcomes from the use of those two drugs. Based on his recorded comments, Dr. Fauci was aware of this; and yet he consistently, dogmatically and persistently discredited them and said there was no evidence they worked. It wasn’t stupidity that made him say that.
What is the truth? If RFK is wrong, if the FLCCC doctors were wrong, show us, convince us. That’s what Americans want to know.
—MW
Don’t saddle ‘Doubters’ with ‘Doers’ debt
Matt Walsh’s Feb. 20 editorial troubled me because of his reliance on the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation’s consultants to justify some of the reasons for his opinion.
SPAF consultants are on record saying the total tax increment financing receipts will exceed $775 million compared to the published current city estimates of just more than $145 million.
Keep in mind that every billion dollars of new development in the TIF district yields about $2.5 million to $3 million per year in TIF-based contributions. Currently, the annual TIF contribution is less than $2 million per year, and the annual payment on a $225 million-plus bond issue will require annualpayments of about $15 million a year.
So we need another $13 million in TIF receipts from new development to close the gap.
If you do the math, that means about $4 billion in new development will have to occur in the Quay and the Rosemary District. That is on top of the 10 to 15 condo and apartment projects that are already underway in the Quay and the Rosemary District that will add to the tax payrolls between now and 2030.
Walsh knows the SPAF has no financial liability should these numbers fail to materialize. The bond issuance will be undertaken
by the city, and city residents will be on the hook for the debt.
Unless numbers are sourced from the city, SPAF estimates are soft at best and highly suspect at worst.
If the sin of Doubters is that they are weak-kneed and lack the aspirational courage of Walsh, the sin of Doers is that they sometimes have a cavalier attitude about passing on debt to our children who will have to live with it long after the Doers pass away.
I want a new performing arts center, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to give the SPAF a blank check and pray.
MIKE HASSETT SARASOTA
RFK Jr. is ‘a garbage human’
I’ve never ever had cause to use the term “garbage human.” Until your most recent editorial.
RFK Jr. is a garbage human. Dozens of extramarital affairs, his conquests carefully documented, to such an extent that it drove his wife to suicide. His own family, those who know him best, completely disavowed him. He was described as a predator, and given that history, who could disagree?
Not to mention his disturbing habit of using a blender to puree small chicks and mice for the birds of prey that he keeps putting on quite the show, it seems, for his younger cousins.
No wonder his family came to distance themselves.
But not you, Mr. Walsh. You’ve elevated this garbage human to the level of our esteemed Dr. Fauci, who was the trusted face of the U.S. response to COVID.
I remember COVID. Hundreds of thousands dying without any effective treatments or vaccines. Dr. Fauci almost single-handedly saw us through that darkness. Meanwhile, the garbage human, no doubt, was notching another tryst.
ERIC CAPELLARI SARASOTA
Just say ‘sorry’ for the poster
Sarasota Film Festival President Mark Famiglio’s latest defense of the 2025 Sarasota Film Festival poster — “I guess sarcasm has been canceled” — smacks of the doubling down we often hear from the White House.
Let me be clear: Canadians relish sarcasm. What we don’t relish are the president’s recurring threats to annex the sovereign nation of Canada.
When Mr. Famiglio tells the media, “There are people who would think that calling Canada the 51st state is a compliment,” he demonstrates his inability to read the room (e.g., his film festival audience includes many Canadians, who are rightfully anxious and angry right now).
Famiglio’s insensitivity to the existential threat to Canada is astounding. Like a Canadian, he should learn to say “sorry.”
JULIA DRAKE
SARASOTA/TORONTO
CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE
BOB BUNTING
Developer announces new name on Hyatt Regency site
The new hotel at the 1000 Boulevard of the Arts site will be branded Hyatt Centric Harborside.
The Hyatt Regency hotel is going away, but in its place as part of Kolter Urban’s 1000 Boulevard of the Arts development will be the Hyatt Centric Harborside fullservice hotel, offering “an immersive boutique experience,” according to a news release.
The Hyatt Centric Harborside will bring a modern boutique hospitality experience to Sarasota, the release reads.
Besides 174 guest rooms, the hotel will offer more than 7,000 square feet of event space, including a grand ballroom, flexible meeting rooms, pre-function areas and a support kitchen. Guests may also enjoy a resort-style pool and a pool bar along the marina.
“The redevelopment of the Hyatt Regency was necessary, and we’re positive that the Harborside will not only serve as a vibrant destination for visitors and locals but will also revitalize modern meeting and event spaces, fostering business growth and connectivity,” said Kolter Hospitality President Scott Webb in the release. “This development will create long-term employment opportunities for Sarasota residents, further contributing to the city’s economic vitality.”
Kolter Hospitality and Kolter Urban are divisions of Kolter Group.
The hotel will share the 1000 Boulevard of the Arts building with 117 luxury condominiums as part of a two-tower redevelopment of the 50-year-old Hyatt Regency. The building will also include ground-
floor retail space with a dedicated area for an independent restaurant at the building’s northeast corner.
The announcement of Hyatt Centric Harborside comes as the company prepares for the transition of the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, which opened in 1975. With the existing facility closing over the summer, Kolter Hospitality and the hotel management firm will host a job fair to assist any displaced employees.
Located adjacent to The Quay, the redevelopment project has faced some headwinds from Quay 1 and 9, the development team of Property Markets Group of Miami and MoneyShow of Sarasota. The City Commission last week rejected an appeal by Quay 1 and 9 to overturn a Planning Board adjustment allowing the project provide a 33-foot-wide driveway into its motor court, nine feet wider than permitted by code.
Courtesy image
1000 Boulevard of the Arts will include the
Hyatt Centric Harborside hotel and 117 condomiums on the current site of the Hyatt Regency.
of Surgery
Hospital Affiliations: Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Doctors Hospital; Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
I 11505 Rangeland Parkway Bradenton, FL 34211
New apartments planned near downtown
Fruitville Gateway will have 274 apartments, 30 of which will be priced affordably.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
edevelopment of downtown properties for new multifamily residential continues to migrate eastward with the initial submittal of Fruitville Gateway, a 274-unit lowrise apartment project, to the city’s Development Review Committee.
The site, which currently consists of 22 parcels and 3.14 acres, stands between Washington Boulevard and East Boulevard, fronting Fruitville Road and Fourth Street. It is taking advantage of the city’s downtown affordable housing bonus density program and will include 30 units priced as attainable and affordable for households at or below 80%, 100% and 120% area median income.
The project, which will be located on the edge of the Park East neighborhood, will be developed by American Land Ventures, a limited liability corporation based in Miami.
In introducing the project to the DRC at its March 19 meeting, Philip DiMaria of consultant Kimley-Horn said it will be an apartment building varying in height up to five stories. It will feature a five-story, off-street parking garage for residents.
Besides administrative approval, Fruitville Gateway will require two Planning Board adjustments to permit access to off-street parking and a loading area along a primary street. In addition, an administrative adjustment is requested to increase the maximum building setback along East Avenue to preserve a grand tree. With a significant amount of staff comments remaining to be addressed, the project will require a resubmittal to the DRC.
FST ARTS PLAZA ADVANCES
Winning partial DRC sign-off on its third submittal was the Arts Plaza expansion of Florida Studio Theatre. Now named McGillicuddy Arts Plaza in honor of long-time benefactors Dennis and Graci McGillicuddy, the expansion construction will cover current surface parking next to FST along First Street. The nine-story building will include 24 residential units, 33 hotel rooms and 24,152 square feet of non-residential space. The apartments and hotel will provide short-term and long-term housing for visiting performers and employees of the arts community.
To pay for the estimated $57 million project, FST has raised more than $45 million in philanthropic contributions plus a $1 million appropriation from the state to support its plan to provide workforce housing.
A rendering by Humphrey & Partners
Courtesy image
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12 WHEN YA
3:56 p.m., 900 block of
sor Drive Lewd and lascivious conduct: A woman told an officer that while she was gardening in her front yard, a white, four-door sedan parked across the street from her residence. She advised that a male she could describe in detail, including “puffy facial cheeks” and wearing a construction safety vest, exited the car, walked past her house and urinated by a palm bush next to a fire hydrant.
Whether he lifted one leg was not disclosed in the incident report.
FRIDAY, MARCH 14
A HAIRY SITUATION
12:25 a.m., intersection of Man Street and North Pineapple Avenue
The woman said she thought she captured the incident on her home surveillance system, but none of her three cameras recorded the offense.
THURSDAY, MARCH 13 A STICKY SITUATION
6:39 p.m., 200 block of North Orange Avenue
Disturbance: Officers responded to a report of a man and woman involved in a physical altercation. The male said he and the woman, whom he said is a platonic friend, had spent the evening at a popular downtown lounge and that they were on their way to his hotel nearby. Multiple witnesses had observed an interaction between the pair that caused them to be fearful for her safety and prompting them to call law enforcement.
Criminal mischief: An unknown suspect doused a woman’s green Land Rover with a powder-like substance in a church parking lot. The complainant showed an officer the white substance on the windshield, some of it feeling wet “as if it was a goo-like substance,” according to the incident report.
The woman said the incident occurred while she was in the church during the prior 35 to 45 minutes. Prior to entering, she said when exiting her vehicle she was approached by a male who asked if she had yelled at or called out to him, to which she said no. She described him as being somewhat agitated as he walked away.
Although there are cameras at the church that presumably would have captured the incident, the woman said the office was closed but a member said the footage could be retrieved the following morning. The woman said she took the vehicle to a car wash, but the substance had solidified like a glue and could not be removed. Further investigation was pending review of surveillance video.
The two were separated and their statements taken, each indicating the two were in close contact with each other and he pulled her hair because, “She likes it,” he said. The woman, who was described in the incident report as wearing a “very short skirt,” gave a matching statement. At that, no further action was taken and the pair were sent on their way to further foray in their follicle folly.
SATURDAY, MARCH 15 TEENS DAMAGE GARAGE SPRINKLER
9:21 a.m., 1800 block of Main Street
Property damage: Building security advised at 1:03 a.m. two juvenile males entered the parking garage and, for unexplained reasons, picked up brooms leaning against a wall. One of the delinquents then tossed the broom handle toward the ceiling, striking a sprinkler head and breaking it off. At that, the other juvenile dropped the broom he was holding, and both ran toward their bicycles and immediately exited the garage. The entire incident was captured by security video and the property manager told officers the businesses wishes to prosecute the offenders. The property engineer replaced the sprinkler head and advised the cost could be as much as $2,000.
SPORTS
FAST BREAK
“I don’t really listen to music before a game. I like to have a calm mind. That’s helped me out a lot.”
catcher/designated
is one of several
The area’s two best prep baseball teams kept up their hot streaks during spring break. Cardinal Mooney (14-3) won games against Southern Prep Academy National of Camp Hill, Ala. and South Fort Myers. Sarasota (14-3-1) defeated Tampa Middleton and Don Bosco Prep out of Ramsey, N.J. and Lakewood Ranch to win the Prospect Wire Spring Break Classic in Auburndale.
... The FHSAA ranks the Cardinal Mooney beach volleyball team (4-1) as the No. 7 overall team in Florida and third in Class 1A according to the latest state rankings.
... The Riverview High beach volleyball team also ranks No. 21 in the state and sixth in Class 3A. The Rams (5-0) have won 22 of their 25 matches this season among their five pairings.
... Booker High played its first flag football game, losing 22-0 to Riverview Winthrop College Prep Academy on March 13.
... The Booker softball team played its first game in 20 days when it defeated Dunba r 24-12 on March 24. The Tornadoes (3-2) stole 53 bases against the Tigers and have now stolen 244 bases in five games.
... The Riverview girls lacrosse team has lost six straight matches to drop its record to 6-9. Despite that the Rams rank as the No. 38 team in the state and are 2-0 in district play.
... The Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open, part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour, will take place from April 6 to 13. The tournament has previously been held at Payne Park, but will now be at Sarasota Sports Club this year.
Cardinal Mooney’s Colton Hyde shares a bond (and dugout) with his dad — Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
VINNIE PORTELL STAFF WRITER
Cardinal Mooney sophomore
Colton Hyde is in the midst of a breakout season with the Cougars baseball team, but he’s still going to carve out time to watch the Baltimore Orioles each night.
For Colton, it’s the best way to stay connected to his father, Brandon Hyde, who manages the Orioles.
The Hydes moved from Evanston, Illinois to Venice in 2019 so that Colton and his 15-year-old sister, Addison, can stay close to their dad while he works at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota during spring training.
When the regular season begins March 27, however, that connection will be reliant on phone calls and text messages and the Major League Baseball app.
The grind of a 162-game MLB season makes it challenging for Brandon and Colton to keep in touch at times, but it’s also given them unforgettable memories together.
GROWING UP IN THE CLUBHOUSE
Brandon was a catcher for California State University Long Beach and then a minor-leaguer for the Chicago White Sox from 1997-2000.
Following his playing days, Brandon briefly coached with his alma mater before the Florida Marlins hired him as a minor league manager in 2005, where he remained until 2011.
Colton received his introduction to baseball around that time, but the fun truly started when the Chicago Cubs promoted Brandon to first base coach under manager Joe Maddon for the 2015 season.
Despite being tied to a team that had to travel for 81 games each season, Brandon found ways to keep
Colton close.
During spring training, that meant pulling Colton out of school to come to Mesa, Arizona with him. When the season started, that meant hanging out in the clubhouse and celebrating wins with the Cubs.
“After every win at Wrigley Field there would be a celebration, and Colton would be in the middle of that every single time,” Brandon said. “The group would get together and Colton would be in the middle. That was ’15, ’16 and ’17, so he was probably eight, nine and 10 years old. He was pretty much a part of the team at that point.”
Several of the Cubs’ star players were just getting started with their MLB careers. Brandon said players like Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler saw Colton so much they couldn’t help but like him.
“All of the Cubs guys, I’m still friends with,” said Colton, who added that his relationship with Rizzo was the most memorable. “I was friends with (Rizzo) with the Cubs, and I’d see him when he was with the Yankees and we’d talk every time we played them.”
Colton is about to enter his second season as a batboy for the Orioles, and he also travels aboard the team airplane for road trips.
Now that he’s in high school and working on his own baseball career, Colton isn’t able to spend as much time in MLB clubhouses, but he still makes time to be in the dugout for roughly 40 games a year.
In the meantime, he said he steps up as “the man of the house,” which entails walking the family’s two dogs and taking the trash out.
A CAREER OF HIS OWN
The start of Colton’s high school baseball career wasn’t nearly as fun tagging along with MLB teams.
He said he “barely played” on Cardinal Mooney’s junior varsity team last year as a freshman and experienced frustration.
It was just as hard for Brandon to watch from afar.
“It was frustrating for me, too,” Brandon said. “I know what kind of player he is, and what kind of player he’s got a chance to be. I just want him to have an opportunity because when I look at him, I see myself a lot and how I grew later, got stronger later, but had the right fundamentals and good coaching.”
This season has been a different story for Colton.
A recent growth spurt has given Colton a 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame
that he’s used to add some velocity to his fastball, which he said is now up to 89 miles per hour. He pairs that speed with a change-up and a curveball.
“I wasn’t sure, but I thought I had a chance to be a starter,” Colton said of this season. “It’s been fun pitching in most of the games and doing well every time.”
Despite being surprised he made the varsity team after tryouts, Hyde has turned into the ace of a Cougars team that is 14-3 twothirds of the way through its season.
He’s pitched a team-high 34 innings — 20 innings more than any other Cougars pitch er — with a 1.22 ERA, 36 strikeouts and just three walks.
Cardinal Mooney is ranked as the No. 92 team in Florida and has a chance to play deep into the post season as the top team in its district.
Colton said he hopes to win a state championship with the Cougars, and with the way he’s pitching, that could lead to scholarship offers to play at the next level.
At some point, there will come a day when Colton no longer has the time to hang out with his dad during the MLB season, but they’ve already made enough memo ries to last a lifetime.
“It’s been hard for me a little bit that he hasn’t been around as much,” Brandon said. “I love having him with me. It’s been a fun father-son special time for us throughout the years, but I’m really enjoying watch ing this success he’s having.”
COLTON HYDE’S BEST STARTS THIS SEASON
n 11-0
— Braedon Mackay, sophomore, Sarasota High baseball SEE PAGE 23A
Vinnie Portell
Sarasota senior
hitter Jorge Rodriguez (.293 batting average)
Sailors players who have hit well this season.
Photos by Vinnie Portell
Brandon and Colton Hyde have spent spring training together every year that Brandon has been on an MLB coaching staff.
Image courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles Colton and Brandon Hyde, manager of the Baltimore Orioles, stay close despite the grind of a 162-game MLB season.
Image courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles Colton Hyde is about to begin his second season as a batboy for the Baltimore Orioles this summer.
has gone from junior varsity to
Mooney in the past year.
DISTRICT 7A-8 STANDINGS
n Riverview (10-0, 3-0)
n Venice (8-1, 1-1)
n Sarasota (7-4, 0-1)
n North Port (3-4, 0-2)
Winning is no sweat for Riverview softball
Wins have been secondary for a Rams team focused on fun.
The Riverview High softball team prides itself on having fun above all else, and that’s come easy this season.
The Rams (11-0) are ranked as the No. 13 team in the state per the Florida High School Athletic Association and have beaten all the area’s top teams, including Venice,
Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Braden River.
Four seniors are powering that success, producing eye-popping stats and pivotal qualities that don’t show up in the box score.
If not for the fun the Rams have been having, senior Allison Cole — Riverview’s ace and one of its
top hitters — likely wouldn’t be playing.
Cole didn’t play varsity softball for her first two years at Riverview because she was uneasy about making new friends and playing for new coaches.
She finally gave it a shot last season as a junior to play with longtime friend Isabella Thompson during her senior season, but Cole’s adjustment wasn’t immediate.
“Neil (Bain), one of my assistants, and I said whatever happens, we have a good bunch of girls as it is,” Riverview head coach Tom Forkan said. “We just want to produce an environment where (Cole) feels comfortable and having fun so she can enjoy the game again.”
Forkan said some of his visits to Cole in the pitcher’s circle last year met with frustration and doubt, but that changed about midway through the season.
One of the best moves Forkan made was empowering Trandem, the team’s catcher, to call pitches. That forced Cole and Ella Trandem to trust each other, and a friendship has blossomed.
It didn’t take long for Cole to make friends with several of her other teammates as well. Forkan said the players now make a habit of going to Starbucks together and going over to each other’s houses after practice.
Those friendships have turned Cole into a more confident and comfortable player, and the stats speak for themselves.
The senior right-handed pitcher/ first baseman has pitched 67 1/3 of Riverview’s 71 innings this season.
She owns a 10-0 record with a 0.42 ERA, 143 strikeouts and has permitted just 41 baserunners, including a 19-strikeout, no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Palmetto on March 25.
She has performed at the plate, too, with a .444 batting average, five runs, 10 RBIs, four doubles and a home run.
Cole’s newfound confidence came in handy in one of Riverview’s tightest games of the season, a 7-6 win over Sarasota in eight innings on March 13.
The Rams were leading the Sailors 6-0 through five innings, but allowed Sarasota to tie the game with six runs over the next two innings.
“For a while there, we didn’t think we were going to make it,” Forkan said. “I went out to the mound to visit Allie and I said, ‘How are you doing?’ She goes, ‘I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.’ Anxiety? If she has anxiety, I don’t know about it.”
Cole isn’t the only Riverview senior who has helped the Rams win games.
Senior shortstop Sierra Lipton leads the team with a .588 batting average, 20 runs and nine stolen bases.
Trandem (.382 batting average) has been a key factor too, while senior Isabella Bain (.353) has provided some pop with two home runs. The difference these seniors have made — especially Cole — is easy to see.
Riverview went 11-35 in the two seasons before Cole arrived and its current crop of seniors were underclassmen.
Those past struggles make this season even more special, and the Rams acknowledge this is their year to make some noise in the postseason.
After losing to Lakewood Ranch in the district tournament last season, Riverview has set its sights on a district championship, and a run at the regional tournament.
But that still comes secondary to smiling along the way.
“I’m just happy that the girls are having fun,” Lipton said. “Like, I know winning is a lot, but everyone’s having fun while we win, so that’s what’s most important.”
Vinnie Portell is the sports reporter for the Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer. Contact him at VPortell@ YourObserver.com.
Photos by Vinnie Portell
Senior catcher Ella Trandem smiles as she helps her teammates practice their hitting with some soft toss.
Riverview seniors Sierra Lipton, Allison Cole, Isabella Bain and Ella Trandem have led the team to a 10-0 start.
Braedon Mackay
The Sarasota High baseball team
(14-3-1) is once again one of the top teams in the area following a 9-17 finish last season.
Sophomore Braedon Mackay has played a big part in that turnaround. Mackay, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-handed pitcher and third baseman, is batting .339 with 13 runs, a team-high 22 RBIs, eight extra-base hits and three stolen bases in 18 games.
He’s been effective on the mound, too, with a 2-2 record, a 1.84 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched. Mackay was also named the MVP of the Prospect Wire Spring Break Classic, a tournament the Sailors won this past week.
When and why did you start playing baseball?
I was 3, and I’ve loved it ever since I started playing.
What’s been the most memorable part of this season?
That’s tough. We’ve had a lot of good parts. Probably beating Riverview though. That felt good after they beat us. We didn’t really hit very good the first time, and we put up like five runs in the second inning the second time. It was a good bounce-back game.
How has Sarasota bounced back from last year?
Our pitching staff has always been good, but this year we’ve definitely hit a lot better than last year.
What’s your favorite all-time baseball memory?
Probably going to a Red Sox game with my dad. I’ve always wanted to go there, and the Red Sox are my favorite team, especially with my dad. He’s always loved the Red Sox. It was pretty cool.
What’s gone right for you personally this year?
I’ve been more focused. Last year wasn’t very good. We all weren’t playing very together, so we came together to be better as a team. Last
If you would like to make a recommendation for the Sarasota Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Vinnie Portell at VPortell@ YourObserver.com.
year was tough, especially with the legacy here. I’m hitting a lot better than last year, and I’ve definitely stepped up in pitching.
What’s your favorite meal?
Anything with chicken. I love chicken. I’ll eat it anywhere.
What’s your favorite TV show or movie?
I really love watching Star Wars. The third one is probably my favorite. There’s a lot of emotions in it and the story is really good.
Do you have a go-to warm-up song?
I don’t really listen to music before a game. I like to have a calm mind.
That’s helped me out a lot.
If you’re not playing baseball what are you doing?
I’m either playing video games, working out or doing something with my little brother. I play a lot of MLB The Show, Call of Duty and Fortnite.
What does your ideal weekend look like?
Probably a baseball tournament, honestly. I just love playing the game and spending time with my friends.
What are your dreams when it comes to baseball? I want to make it to the Hall of Fame.
ATHLETE
THE ART OF HELPING
Ringling College student helps resolve cold case through facial reconstruction bust.
or Noah Shadowens, there was never any question he would pursue a career in the arts.
Although he said his family has a history of law enforcement and government positions extending across generations, his parents were supportive of him attending Ringling College of Art and Design.
He admits, before college, although he might have received a “D” on a quiz, he would literally cover it in drawings.
Yet for Shadowens, one workshop related to law enforcement opened up a path he hadn’t anticipated — the chance to help others through his art, to answer questions he says they should never have had to ask.
Shadowens signed up for the Forensic Art of Facial Reconstruction Workshop, held March 10-14 at Ringling College and hosted by instructor Joe Mullins, a renowned forensic imaging specialist.
As a result of the class, the facial reconstruction Shadowens sculpted helped identify the remains of a victim, found in 2024, from the Lee County Medical Examiner’s Office in Fort Myers, confirming the missing person’s identity as Shane Michael Williams.
Fox4 in Fort Myers reported Fort Myers Police Department Cold Case Detective Richard Harasym, who attended the workshop as a spectator, tracked down the victim’s brother through a journal found at the crime scene.
Harasym sent Shadowens’ facial approximation and a piece of the journal’s handwriting to Wiliams’ brother, who confirmed the hand-
writing sample and recognized the facial approximation.
He said he had had not heard from Williams in about a year, and that he had been battling drug issues.
X-ray comparisons provided by Lee Health in Fort Myers confirmed the victim’s identity.
“It’s a testament to the whole process and everything going on behind the scenes to pull these classes off, but really to Noah, who deserves all the credit,” Mullins said. “Ringling College, it’s a testament to their education. These offices, trusting us with these cases, the investigators.”
A NEEDED RESOURCE
Mullins, a forensic artist in 1999 with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, began teaching the courses at the New York Academy of Art in 2015.
The workshops have since expanded to other schools, and this recent workshop was the second he has held at Ringling.
“These are the coldest of the cold cases, and every other investigative tool has been unsuccessful in identifying these,” said Mullins. “These skeletons have been sitting on a shelf in an evidence room for a decade sometimes, or longer, so doing these workshops puts the spotlight back on these cases, and it’s a free resource
Busts created by students are displayed in the Alfred R. Goldstein Library.
for law enforcement, and gets these cases a little extra attention.”
Mullins said these workshops are important for the chance to provide this free resource to law enforcement, however.
“It’s safe to say there are thousands of skulls right now today that are sitting on the shelf in need of this type of opportunity, and these workshops,” he said.
He said Shadowens’ success with the project “really hit home.” It’s the reason why he is working to pass on his skills to the next generation.
“Noah in particular came preloaded with the talents and abilities,” he said. “I like to say it’s a superpower that’s just laying dormant, and can kind of wake it up and show what he could do with it.”
When he signed up for the workshop, Shadowens had thought it was a class in composite sketching, but it surprised the illustration senior when instead, he found blocks of clay and 3D-printed skulls.
“Joe’s instruction was so easy to follow, and he walked us through everything, and he made it really understandable,” Shadowens said. “I don’t want to say easy, but he made it approachable.”
Although he initially attended the college with an interest in creating concept art for movies, then children’s book and editorial illustration, he said he has now found a new career direction.
RECONSTRUCTING A FACE
Shadowens said creating a facial reconstruction bust isn’t as complicated as he thinks people would expect. He brings some experience drawing anatomy from his past courses, as well as even drawing busts in the past, and he said the idea of adding muscles to a face wasn’t entirely new to him.
He said although there are many muscles in the face, the reconstructions focus on the main 11 that make up the structure, using tissue depth
markers that correspond to the average depth of different muscle tissue.
“Once you do that, you just fill everything in, and then you polish it,” he said.
He said it helped that the person whose face he was reconstructing had a broken jaw and was somewhat asymmetrical.
Adding hair was one area where his artistic skills came into play.
“You want to draw it in the volumes that it comes in, and then add the details on to it later, so that’s another artistic transfer from illustration that I kind of tried to bring over,” he said.
Mullins said these courses involve considerable restraint for the students involved.
“I think it’s the biggest hurdle, especially dealing with speaking from myself included. We are artists,” he said. “We like to have free will and create whatever we want to, basically ... At the beginning of day one, I hold the hand out and I collect everybody’s artistic license. That’s is the hardest thing, I think, hardest pill to swallow. As people go through this, it’s hard for them not to go off the rails and just make a pretty face.”
However, he said he likes how emotionally invested students become in their work. He said on Wednesdays, his favorite day of the class, students fall into silence as they find the face of a person looking back at them.
Although Shadowens is grateful for the role he played, he said the feeling is not one of success, as the success of the project means the confirmation a missing person has died.
“This isn’t an art project. This is people’s lives,” he said. “It’s not a feeling of success that I’m chasing. It’s a feeling of just wanting to continue to help people, which isn’t something I ever thought that I would be doing, but it’s something that I kind of have to do now, I think, knowing that I can do it.”
IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER
Noah Shadowens with his facial reconstruction of Shane Michael Williams.
Photos by Ian Swaby
Kindness on the cards
Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s ‘You Matter’ cards are intended to inspire kindness in the community.
IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER
At 6 years old, Kelly Borgia’s daughter has already embraced the “You Matter” campaign by Gulf Coast Community Foundation, where Borgia serves as director of brand engagement.
She recently left Borgia, one of the foundation’s “You Matter” cards, writing onto it the message “Number one mom.”
The small cards feature the words “You Matter” on one side, with a message including the words “Pass it on,” and a QR code linking to a Facebook group about the cards, on the other.
Borgia says the usage of the cards range from showing appreciation for a colleague who helps with a project or grabs a cup of coffee, to thanking your barista, to offering them to friends, neighbors and family or whatever possibilities people can find.
“You Matter,” which the foundation calls a “kindness campaign,” officially runs March 24-30.
It replaces the Better Together Block Party held on State Street for the past three years, which itself grew from a Better Together luncheon event inviting speakers to share ideas impacting the region.
“In thinking about Better Together this year and the block party, the real root, the soul of both of those events has always been about providing a collective experience to the community, something to bring people together around an idea or concept,” Borgia said.
She said the foundation wanted to offer something positive that is a
(1549
counterpoint to all the divisiveness in the world today.
“We landed on ‘You Matter’ because it is a really easily and universally understood message,” she said. “Old, young, doesn’t matter your religion or your race, everyone understands this really powerful message that ‘you matter’ in the world, and it doesn’t have to be given with any grandiose monologue or expectation of anything in return, just being intentional with people, to say, ‘You matter. I appreciate you.’” She said after the foundation sent out a teaser email on the campaign last week, six people reached out to request cards within a few hours.
“Many people’s responses so far have been, this is so needed, and this is so wonderful, and I’m so excited to participate. When are you doing the block party?” she said.
She said although people have expressed sadness around the block party not being held this year, the foundation will be involved with the Celebration of Kindness by Embracing Our Differences, held March 30 at Bayfront Park from noon to 3 p.m. For more information, visit EmbracingOurDifferences.org.
Ian Swaby
Director of Brand Engagement Kelly Borgia
SARASOTA’S MOST Extraordinary NEW ADDRESS
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.
Residences are priced from $1.4 Million.
A fairy tale blooms
t
Taking
Visitors
“It’s
Rosaire said. “It’s so charming, seeing all the kids in their little outfits, the fairy princesses, and there was even a little king with a sword.”
She said it was a chance for the whole family to have a good time.
“We love these kinds of family oriented events,” she said. “People need to get out and do more things with their children, so this is a perfect opportunity.”
Photos by Ian Swaby
Shelley Johnson and her daughter, Nora Johnson, 2, come away from Twisted Sugar ConfectionAIRy with cotton candy.
Zuri Wilkins, 4, Harris King as Mother Nature, and Adara Goita, 4
Hannah Bagnall leads story time.
Caleb Obregon, 3, reaches for bubbles.
Rachelle Lambert, Solan Jones, 4, and Solan’s mother, Maia Jaroszewski
April 27, 2025, at
MUSIC IN THE AIR
Apprentice artists have joined the lineup in the Sarasota Opera’s weekly public performances each Saturday on the balcony.
Opera doesn’t just reverberate through halls in Sarasota. Sometimes, it’s also heard in the streets, as it is each Saturday at the Sarasota Opera House, when opera singers take to the balcony of the historic building.
“As singers, it’s kind of an honor to get chosen, so it’s just an exciting moment,” said Alexandra Kzeski.
As a singer in the Sarasota Opera Apprentice Artists Program, Kzeski is participating this year in the balcony performances, which in the past had usually featured artists from the Sarasota Opera Studio Artists, the more advanced of the Sarasota Opera’s two training programs.
“This year, we decided to recruit the apprentices as well, because we’ve had so many talented singers in our group that we decided we want to show them off as well,” said Chorus Master Arthur Bosarge, who is also program and music director of the apprentice artists.
The aim of the program is to help trained singers transition from student to professional life, and it focuses on the Sarasota Opera’s standard repertoire, including composers such as Mozart and Puccini.
Bosarge said for the balcony performances, they traditionally feature a certain type of selection. The final balcony performane until October will be between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. this Saturday.
“We like to feature a repertoire that’s very exciting, that’s very loud, that’s going to get people grab people’s attention, and get them to say, ‘Oh, hey, what’s what’s going on over there? There’s opera happening, and to really bring them in to see what we’re doing here in Sarasota,” he said.
Bosarge said the opera house is part of the fabric of downtown and the arts scene, noting the Sarasota Opera has a presence in the opera world as well.
However, as singers take to the open air, they leave behind the echo of an auditorium, which is useful for helping them to assess and adjust their own performance.
Kzeski said the building’s roof, which juts out somewhat from the side, slightly compensates for this issue.
IF YOU GO
When: Balcony performance this Saturday between 10:30 and 11 a.m. at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. More info: Visit SarasotaOpera.org.
“It does provide a little bit of echo, similar to the stage, but it’s much, much less feedback, for sure,” she said. “You just kind of have to trust what you’re doing and just hope it goes along as planned.”
However, they do have one form of feedback: the public’s response.
“They are so excited, and it’s so new to a lot of people that are just maybe out here for the farmers market, and it’s really wonderful to maybe introduce someone to their first brush with opera, in general,” said Lindsey Polcyn, who is also part of the apprentice program.
Polcyn also said she’s been involved in opera for a long time, and has never seen a community turn out the way it does for productions in Sarasota.
“This is my first season here, but the community is super receptive and really excited about opera, which is really exciting,” she said. “It’s nice to be in an artistic community already, so great reception and response.”
Kzeski said if people aren’t ready to get tickets to an opera, the Saturday performances are still a chance for them to get introduced to the music form.
“This is such a such a great way to kind of get started in opera, just dipping your toe in the water because it’s a couple of arias, and that gives you a look into what an overall opera would be like,” she said.
Junior Camps: Piano, Guitar, Drum Circle, Musical Theatre & Kidz Rock Senior Camps: Bands, Songwriting, Music Production, Piano & Guitar
IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER
Ian Swaby
Lindsey Polcyn sings on the balcony of the Sarasota Opera House during one of its Saturday performances.
On the ground
Instead of highlighting only the war, she chose to focus on the resilience of the country’s people.
The trip covered the IvanoFrankivsk, Kyiv, and Lviv regions in western and central Ukraine on August and September 2024.
IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER
Since 1990, Tania Vitvitsky, who has deep ties to Ukraine, has returned to the country nearly every year.
On March 20, the Sudbury, Massachussetts, resident took the opportunity to share her recent observations with about 15 people in the Jack J. Geldbart Auditorium at Selby Library.
Anisa Mycak of Longboat Key, who organized the event, said she hoped it would serve as a forum for activists and volunteers to meet Sarasota residents who share their desire to help Ukraine, stating this is something needed “more than ever right now.”
Mycak, who has been involved in Ukrainian American organizations for decades, said she has known Vitvitsky, who is founder of Ukrainian Charitable Platform, for about half a century.
“I wanted to support her work because it’s so important, because we say every drop in the ocean helps, and so she’s doing a wonderful job supporting grassroots Ukrainian organizations,” she said.
Vitvitsky was born to Ukrainian parents, who were post World War II refugees, in a displaced persons camp in Austria. She arrived in the U.S. with her family at the age of 3.
In her speech, she recounted her latest trip to Ukraine, the country she considers her native home, presenting a slideshow of photographs taken during her trip.
“What’s remarkable about Ukraine at this point is despite the missiles, despite the drones, the rail service works beautifully, as does the overnight delivery service,” she said.
She said life goes on even amid the constant interruption of air raids, marked by sirens, with concerts that are full and children at play.
“It’s a very kind of ... strange situation because you know a drone can fall right nearby, or a missile, but people have to live,” she said. “They have to go to work, they have to go to restaurants, they have to have a good time because life cannot just stop, with people sitting in their homes and crying. Of course, you don’t see what’s happening inside.”
She said the country has an enormous need for mental health services.
She recounted visiting a group that holds concerts in Lviv, a beauty and photography session for mothers with disabled children held underground, and the Ukrainian House National Centre’s exhibition “Material Matters: Ukrainian Art Textiles,” as well as other sites.
She said the current feeling amongst Ukrainians regarding the United States’ role is one of disillusionment.
“I can tell you that they’re not going to stop fighting,” she said. “What are they going to do? Where are they going to go? It’s their country. And when people start talking about territory, there are people on the territory… I’m not a political scientist, but my sense is the war will continue.”
Humanitarian Tania Vitvitsky recounted a late 2024 trip to Ukraine at Selby Library.
Anisa Mycak, Tania Vitvitsky and Christine Mariconda at Vivitsky’s talk at the Selby Library March 20.
Ian Swaby
A sweet spot
The reservation-only, pink-colored, Sugar Champagne Bar will hold its grand opening Friday, March 28.
Ronnie Shugar says five years ago, he doesn’t think Sarasota could have sustained an establishment like Sugar Champagne Bar.
Yet, he says the increasing numbers of residents, and residential buildings on the rise downtown, has changed the restaurant landscape.
It’s not just the pink design that makes Sugar Champagne Bar different from other Sarasota dining establishments.
The interior space has a minimum spend requirement of $150 after 5:45 p.m. (No minimum tab is required for the patio, which offers walk-in hours.)
Shugar says an elevated experience will accompany the hefty price tag.
2025
IF YOU GO
Sugar Champagne Bar, 127 S. Pineapple Ave.
“It’s nothing like in Sarasota,” Shugar said. “This is something similar to when you’re going to go to Chicago, to New York, so we’re having old school captains that really take care of you.”
The public will have a chance to experience the service for themselves when Sugar Champagne Bar opens March 28.
Shugar says he hopes the restaurant will show the potential of the city and inspire others to invest in the city.
Shugar is chair of the Downtown Improvement District, and his contributions to Sarasota include the recent donation of $4 million to The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee for the creation of the Shugar Pool Club aquatic center. He is co-founder of the Raw Sugar Living brand that includes hand soap, shampoo, body butter and other skin care products. However, he calls the restaurant his “legacy to Sarasota.”
At the establishment, an upscale atmosphere requires guests to wear
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Why Rotating Your Dog’s Food is a Game-Changer
By Caine Cullens, DOGPerfect Nutrition Specialist
“Variety is the spice of life!”
We’ve all heard the quote, but did you know it’s also one of the easiest ways to improve your pet’s health and wellness? The advantages of a varied diet include nutrient diversity and a more complete and balanced diet, a reduced risk of developing allergies, improved digestion and even improved appetite. Incorporating variety into your pet’s diet is easy. Rotate protein sources, as each meat offers different levels of protein, fat, and fiber. Try switching between cooked, raw, freeze-dried, and air-dried foods for added nutritional benefits. Don’t forget extras like fruits, veggies, broths, milks, mushrooms, and recreational bones! Quality matters more than quantity. Focus on high-
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Visit DOGPerfect.com to learn more and book a FREE Nutrition Consult!
Photos by Ian Swaby
Ronnie Shugar is opening a new high-end Champagne bar March 28 downtown.
attire including collared shirts, pants, and elegant dresses.
Severs, known as “captains,” bring years of experience, often at the management level and an understanding of the bar’s wines. To start at the restaurant, they must attend a two-week course called Sugar College. Shugar says these sessions are being videotaped as training materials for future expansions in other cities.
“The guest, first and foremost, needs to be at ease, and then we just kind of do our thing,” said Chris Cobb, a service consultant from New York. “It doesn’t have to be highspoken. It doesn’t have to be all of these things that I think most people get stuck on. What it does have to be is polite, efficient and firm when it needs to be as well, so we want guests to have a good time and feel at ease.”
The food menu, which Shugar said features about seven items, is based around caviar and finger foods.
Options include the Scottish smoked salmon cornets, which include crème fraîche dip, everything bagel seasoning and trout roe.
The A5 Wagyu tartar is based around Wagyu, beef imported from Japan, which is one of the most expensive meats in the world and known for its tenderness and buttery taste.
The attention to composition is also evident in the cocktails.
These include the Raw Sugar cocktail, which is based off the popular Mango and Raw Coconut fragrance of the Raw Sugar Living products.
The mixture of about 10 ingredients includes coconut cream, mango liqueur, mango puree and aged coconut rum, although the resulting beverage, which is mixed with rosé wine, is clear in appearance.
It’s served with gold leaf and a diamond-shaped ice cube.
“I really wanted to play off of those flavors and aromas and make a cocktail that has some really fun depth and complexity but looks super simple when we serve it,” said beverage manager Jacob Lesitsky.
The Cigar Box Old Fashioned cocktail is said to be inspired by the flavors and aromas in pipe tobacco and high-quality cigars.
Rather than utilizing a conventional smoking method, however, the drink is smoked inside a cigar box
with Spanish cedar wood. Lesitsky said when restaurants smoke the glass itself, it creates an overpowering smoky taste.
“We’re going with a much more subtle approach,” he said.
Other ingredients include cognac, bourbon, sherry, vanilla and housemade bitters.
The Signature Martini Service, Lesitsky says, ties in with the caviar focus. It involves a house-made crème fraiche-washed gin or vodka combined with two vermouths, a house brine blend and an aquavit, diluted with Seedlip Garden.
“It’s really an elevated service that we’re doing here,” Shugar said.
“The whole idea of the concept is the experiential feel that our guests will take home with them, so we want them to capsulize here and be taken away to somewhere else.”
Courtesy image
A5 Wagyu tartare
Jacob Lesitsky pours a cocktail.
March is an important month to eat, sleep and be healthy
All three subjects are a part of national awareness celebrations and aid in disease prevention.
and right in the middle, we’ve got National Sleep Awareness Week. Lots of awareness this month. And in case you weren’t aware of it, sleep and nutrition closely intertwine. The right combination plays a crucial role in disease prevention, weight management and overall health and
QUALITY SLEEP
It’s important to try for about seven hours of restful sleep a night. Studies show sleep deprivation sets in for those who regularly get fewer than seven.
Being sleep deprived contributes to major health issues such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. It’s a major factor in obesity and depression.
Chronic sleep deprivation can affect your brain function and can contribute to an increased risk of dementia.
But getting too much sleep can
be as bad as not enough. More than nine hours of sleep a night is associated with many of the same chronic illnesses that come with too little sleep.
Just like everything else in life, balance is the key.
NUTRITION AND SLEEP
What you eat and when you eat it can have a profound impact on your quality of sleep, on maintaining a healthy weight and ultimately your health and longevity. Quality sleep helps regulate your blood pressure. It promotes heart and brain health, helps stabilize your mood, your metabolism and your energy level.
A healthy diet of real food that avoids junk can be a major factor in how well you sleep.
Nutrients like tryptophan in foods like poultry, eggs and dairy and magnesium from leafy green vegetables and nuts, and melatonin found in cherries and berries eaten during the day a few hours before bedtime, promote quality uninterrupted sleep.
Timing your meals on as regular a schedule as possible and eating smaller lighter meals at dinnertime can help you form consistent sleep patterns.
Plant-based foods like whole grains, fruits and veggies are full
Forward With A New Smile
of antioxidants, and healthier monounsaturated fats can help give you a peaceful sleep. Avoid stimulants like caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime. They can wreak havoc with your sleep pattern. Stay away from saturated fats, refined carbs like white bread and pasta at dinner. These will have you waking up in the middle of the night. And eating too many calories can lead to sleep apnea. Alcohol, within a couple hours of bedtime, will get you up in the middle of the night.
Clearly, nutrition can have a tremendous impact on how much sleep and the quality of the sleep you get. But it also works the other way around.
Sleep deprivation can lead to increased production of stress hormones, like cortisol, that make you crave stuff that’s bad for you, like too much fat, sugar and salt.
Sleep deprivation can disrupt the balance of ghrelin, the “I’m hungry hormone” and leptin, the “I’m full” hormone. When your ghrelin is up, you’ll feel hungry and stressed. You crave junk and you’ll eat more of the wrong things and probably gain weight.
Poor eating habits caused by poor quality of sleep lead to deficiencies in vitamins and other micronutrients, like iron, that are essential for bodily functions. It can impair your body’s metabolism and lead to metabolic issues like diabetes.
MOVE
Regular exercise can help with both sleep and nutrition. It promotes quality sleep and healthy eating habits.
Exercising during the day, but not within three hours of bedtime, helps reduce the time it takes you to get to sleep and helps you stay asleep.
It helps regulate your circadian rhythm, your natural nightly sleep cycle. It reduces stress that causes sleeplessness.
Getting on a regular exercise program that includes 30-plus minutes of cardio, at least 20 minutes strength training and stretching the muscles you worked three to five days per week will get you fit, give you more energy for life, keep stress at bay, help you sleep like a baby and promote overall health and longevity.
Investing your time and energy in regular workouts gives you an incentive to eat better and eat less. Your body naturally craves more nutritious foods after exercise, and junk is less appealing. Exercise improves your digestion and nutrient absorption.
You can see how interconnected this all is. It’s not just this or that. It’s about building a healthy lifestyle one small change at a time and balancing. I hope I haven’t put you to sleep but rather given you a head start on a healthier approach to eating, sleeping and moving.
NOW AND NEVER AGAIN.
Step inside to bayfront residences unequaled in Sarasota, perhaps because they open to a panorama of the city’s entire skyline. Here is a stage for expansive living — a breathtaking esplanade, pool terrace, and perhaps, a berth for your boat. This is that once-and-forever moment. Now accepting reservations.
Visit Sarasota launches campaign marketing keys
The ‘Keys are Calling’ marketing campaign will be seen around the region and United States.
KING BUSINESS OBSERVER
Visit Sarasota has launched a multipronged marketing campaign to promote the keys in Sarasota County as a destination. The campaign will run on social media and through digital ads from mid-March through early summer.
“March is traditionally the busiest month of ‘tourism season’ — and our aim with this campaign is to keep our region’s elevated sense of hospitality top-of-mind and our businesses first-in-line to welcome the tens of thousands of visitors who choose our community as their home away from home,” Erin Duggan, president and CEO of Visit Sarasota County, says in a statement.
Sarasota County welcomed almost 160,000 visitors who stayed in paid accommodations in March 2024, tourism officials say. About 80% of tourists visited the beach during their stay.
Part of the goal of the campaign is to provide a boost for the barrier islands following the hurricanes.
“After months of resilience and rallying, Sarasota County’s barrier islands are in a strong place and ready to welcome visitors,” Duggan says, introducing the “Keys are Calling” campaign.
From March through early summer, Visit Sarasota County plans to run social media storytelling campaigns and digital ads that feature “hidden gems and longtime favorites,” from Lido and Longboat to Siesta, Casey and Manasota keys as well as the island of Venice.
The intent is to “promote countywide exploration for tourists and residents alike,” according to Visit Sarasota.
Digital ads will run in a variety of “drive markets” (Atlanta, Tampa/
St. Pete, Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne, Miami/Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers/Naples) in addition to “fly markets” (Boston; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Columbus; Baltimore; Indianapolis; Pittsburgh; Cleveland; Detroit; Washington, D.C.), according to Hunter Carpenter, spokesperson for Visit Sarasota. Visit Sarasota is working with local influencers and content creators as well as businesses to fuel its campaigns, according to Carpenter. The spotlight is on beaches, shops, restaurants and surrounding experiences.
Tourism officials also say they are looking to build on the recent momentum around Siesta and Longboat keys, both of which received media accolades in recent months; Siesta Beach was named the No. 4 beach in the world by TripAdvisor, Longboat Key was No. 1 on Travel + Leisure’s 10 best islands to visit in the South list, and Forbes also recognized Longboat Key on its Top 12 Destinations for 2025 list.
Courtesy image
Blind Pass on Manasota Key offers almost 3,000 feet of beach frontage.
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A Siesta Key home tops sales at $8.5 million
ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR
Rupam and Rachel Sharan, of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, sold their home at 7832 Sanderling Road to Richard Noll and Natalie Jensen-Noll, of Sanford, North Carolina, for $8.5 million. Built in 1952, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,457 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.55 million in 2018.
SARASOTA
ALTA MER
Stephanie Safford-Fleming, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Lisa Fleming, of Estero, Trevor Turner, Tyler Turner, of Lakewood Ranch, and Kristen Turner, of Fort Myers, trustees, sold the Unit 2 condominium at 306 Golden Gate Point to Michele Vandendooren, of Sarasota, for $2.4 million. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 3,436 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.75 million in 2015.
THE TOWER RESIDENCES
Ernest Werlin, of Sarasota, sold his Unit 804 condominium at 35 Watergate Drive to Michelle-Marie Heinemann, of Wappingers Falls, New York, for $2,385,000. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,985 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,325,000 in 2011.
LAUREL ON THE WATER
Laurel 5 Homes LLC sold the Unit G condominium at 1730 Alderman St. to Parra FL Ventures LLC for $1.9 million. Built in 2024, it has two bedrooms, four baths and 2,398 square feet of living area.
VUE Sean Sanford, trustee, and Tracey Stetler, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 207 condominium at 1155 N. Gulfstream Ave. to Ronald and Tanci Monfils, of Sarasota, for $1.78 million. Built in 2017, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,563 square feet of living area. It sold for $885,200 in 2017.
BUNGALOW HILL
James Kosub and Ellen Wherrett Miller, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the home at 930 Pomelo Ave. to SFC Pomello LLC for $1,705,000. Built in 1966, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,361 square feet of living area. It sold for $303,000 in 2001.
DESOTO TERRACE
Moonshadows FL LLC sold the home at 3500 Bay Shore Road to Adnan Dedic, of Sarasota, for $1,665,000. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,003 square feet of living area. It sold for $1 million in 2024.
AVONDALE
Robert and Susan Hoff, trustees, sold the home at 1930 Alta Vista St. to Paul Orth and Jeanette Nolan,
of Sarasota, for $1,475,000. Built in 1941, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,840 square feet of living area. It sold for $525,000 in 2011.
SAPPHIRE SHORES
William Fuller III and Martha Nikla, of Sarasota, sold their home at 470 Acacia Drive to Gordon Little and Kathy Vandezande Little, of Sarasota, for $1 million. Built in 1956, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,188 square feet of living area. It sold for $575,000 in 2015.
DIXIE LEE LANE
Carolyn Maynard sold her home at 1413 Dixie Lee Lane to Wencat LLC for $950,000. Built in 1964, it has two bedrooms, one bath, a pool and 1,131 square feet of living area.
LONG MEADOW
LVI Custom Construction LLC sold the home at 2218 Webber St. to Irine Mumladze and Duru Gabedava, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, for $925,000. Built in 2024, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 1,854 square feet of living area.
ONE WATERGATE
Meredith Kwartin Rusoff, trustee, of Ardsley, New York, sold the Unit 8D condominium at 1111 N. Gulfstream Ave. to Mary Michel, of Boston, for $900,000. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,736 square feet of living area. It sold for $73,500 in 1978.
GOLFVIEW
M. Lynne Rivet, trustee, of Sun City Center, sold the home at 2645 Belvoir Blvd. to Salvatore William Ponzo, of Sarasota, for $515,000. Built in 1981, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 1,861 square feet of living area. It sold for $165,000 in 2014.
GULF GATE
John Morris Griffith II, trustee, and Alana Griffith, of Sarasota, sold the home at 2424 Post Road to Guy Bernheim and Mary Ellen Clark, trustees, of Sarasota, for $500,000. Built in 1966, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,262 square feet of living area. It sold for $181,100 in 2014.
TOP BUILDING PERMITS
GULF GATE EAST
Linda Schroer, trustee, of Robert Arthur Schroer, of Hamilton, Ohio, sold the home at 3787 Kingston Blvd. to Richard Drew Kessler and Anna Kessler, of Sarasota, for $500,000. Built in 1985, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,698 square feet of living area. It sold for $310,000 in 2014.
Other top sales by area
SARASOTA: $3.05 MILLION
Desota Park
John and Lauren Wohlwend, of Sarasota, sold their home at 1810 Wisteria St. to Alan Kesten, trustee, of Sarasota, for $3.05 million. Built in 2014, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,582 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.62 million in 2018.
William O’Shea, of Sarasota, sold the home at 1964 Datura St. to Terrie-Anne Bajorek, trustee, of Sarasota, for $1.9 million. Built in 2006, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,272 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,755,000 in 2021.
PALMER
RANCH
Palacio
Michael and Patricia Gowan, of Sarasota, sold their home at 4201 Palacio Drive to Bryan and Renee Schroll, trustees, of Sarasota, for $1,587,500. Built in 1993, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,708 square feet of living area. It sold for $870,000 in 2016.
OSPREY Willowbend
Patrick and Kristin O’Malley, of Sarasota, sold their home at 593 Crane Prairie Way to Thomas Yanicko and Karen Yanicko, trustees, of Denver, North Carolina, for $615,000. Built in 2005, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,340 square feet of living area. It sold for $603,500 in 2021.
NOKOMIS
Casey Key
Caroline Elizabeth Quinlan, trustee, of Dallas, sold the home at 4029 Casey Key Road to David and Risa Katz and Carlos Katz, of Sanford, for $2.7 million. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 2,293 square feet of living area. It sold for $590,000 in 1998.
Source: Sarasota County, city of Sarasota
Courtesy of realtor Tracy Srodes
The home at 4201 Palacio Drive sold for $3.05 million. It has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,708 square feet of living area.
St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church
Would
FRIDAY, MARCH 28
SEAFOOD 101 WITH CHEF WARREN
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library, 2801 Newtown Blvd. Free. Those frustrated with cooking seafood are invited to learn tips, hints and recipes from Chef Warren Caterson. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.
of Divine Mercy daily following Mass.
4280 Gulf of Mexico Drive Longboat Key, FL 34228 941-383-1255 • www.stmarylbk.org Rev. Robert Dziedziak, Pastor
IS CONCIERGE MEDICINE RIGHT FOR YOU?
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At Gulfshore Personalized Care, it’s possible to meet your medical needs anywhere at any time. Thomas Arne Jr., DO, FACC, proudly offers patient-centered care through concierge services, such as 24/7 access and same-day visits.
Call us to schedule your no-obligation meet & greet with Dr. Arne today.
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YOUR CALENDAR
SATURDAY, MARCH 29
BOOTCAMP
8-8:45 a.m. at The Oval, The Bay, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. This 45-minute workout uses body-weight exercises and intervals to improve strength and conditioning. Modifications are available for all fitness levels. Bring your own mat or towel and a water bottle for hydration. Michelle Cook, a certified personal trainer, health coach, nutrition expert and Reiki II practitioner, leads the session. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.
SUNDAY, MARCH 30
JOSHUA TREE LIVE BY MUSIC COMPOUND
6-8 p.m. at The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave. Tickets are $10 in advance and available through Music Compound. Following their Nirvana MTV Unplugged concert, Music Compound’s Album Ensemble returns with this performance of U2’s The Joshua Tree, including instructors and students of all ages. Food and drink will be available from Hamlet’s Eatery, although The Bazaar shops will not be open. Visit HamletsEatery.com.
TUESDAY, APRIL 1
LECTURE | AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF FISHING IN FLORIDA
2-3 p.m. at Gulf Gate Library, 7112 Curtiss Ave. Free. Learn about fishing, from the methods of precontact coastal tribes to those of the modern fisherman. County Archaeologist Clay Bush leads this discussion of the history of fishing, as seen in the archaeological record of the southeastern United States. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.
INTO THE WOODS: FRACTURED FAIRY TALES AND THE MAGIC OF STORYTELLING
2-4 p.m. at Selby Library, 1331 First St. Free. Through the lens of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods, The Sarasota Players
BEST BET
FRIDAY, MARCH 28
TO SUNDAY, MARCH 30
SARASOTA REGGAE AND FOOD FESTIVAL
4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Sarasota Fairgrounds, 3000 Ringling Blvd. Free. Enjoy barbecue meat dishes, as well as vegetarian and seafood options, cooked on-site by local restaurants and food purveyors, along with musical entertainment that includes local and regional musicians. Last year’s performers included Johnny Long, Doug Deming & The Jewel Tones, Memphis Lightning, JP Soars & The Red Hots and others. Also, browse a marketplace of arts, crafts and select fine products. Visit ParagonFestivals. com and SarasotaWineFestival.com.
explores how traditional fairy tales can be transformed with modern themes, as students demonstrate their own original fairy tales with a twist. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2
DANCE AT THE BAY: SALSA & SUNSETS
6:30-8 p.m. at The Nest, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Learn Latin dance moves and then put them to practice at a Latino-inspired dance party at sunset. The event begins with a free dance lesson from a Fred Astaire Dance Studios instructor, before moving on to the dinner party hosted by DJ Benny. Suitable for beginners and advanced dancers, singles and couples. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.
The Titans of Wealth: From 19th Century Moguls to Today’s Tech Billionaires
Though many of us don’t want to acknowledge it, the pursuit of wealth is an important part of what defines the American experience. The last 150 years have generated the greatest production of wealth in the United States, unparalleled anywhere else in the world.
On Thursday, April 10th University of Texas History Professor Jeremi Suri will present Wealth in America, as he examines the lives and careers of some of the most important men who launched the American economy. A small group of individuals drove this wealth-creation, who went on to benefit in remarkable ways that are hard for the rest of us to even imagine.
The presentation will trace the careers of some of the most celebrated (and sometimes despised) men who expanded the American economy and became super-rich. In fact, the individuals Professor Suri will discuss created sums of money that even the phrase superrich do not do justice! The focus will be primarily on Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and John Rockefeller, comparing their remarkable drive and ingenuity as well as their often-questionable behavior. Participants come to understand their actions, their risk-taking, and even their values. Professor Suri will assess both their contributions and their crimes.
Cornelius Vanderbilt was a self-made multi-millionaire who became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century. After working on various steamships, Vanderbilt went into business for himself in the late 1820s, and eventually became one of the country’s largest steamship operators. In the 1860s, he shifted his focus to the railroad industry, where he built a far larger intercontinental empire and helped make railroad transportation more efficient, often to the detriment of other operators. He was the richest man in America when he died, but his wealth was soon eclipsed by someone else.
Andrew Carnegie made his fortune in the steel industry and controlled the most extensive integrated iron and steel operations ever owned by a single individual in the United States. He perfected the cheap and efficient mass production of steel by adopting and adapting the Bessemer process, which allowed the high carbon content of iron to be burnt away in a controlled and rapid way during steel production. Steel prices dropped as a result, and his steel was rapidly adopted for railways. In addition, Carnegie vertically integrated the entire industry. He came to own nearly a dozen different large steel companies, and then combined his assets and those of his associates in 1892 with the launching of the Carnegie Steel Company.
Carnegie spent his last years as a philanthropist and is often credited with developing the very concept of philanthropy to levels never even considered previously. He had written about his views on social subjects and the responsibilities of great wealth in an 1889 book titled The Gospel of Wealth, devoted the rest of his life to providing capital for purposes of public interest and social and educational advancement. He is best known for building Carnegie Hall in New York as well as the establishment of nearly 3,000 public libraries throughout the United States, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, Professor Suri will then turn to the life of John D. Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest Americans of all time in fact one of the richest people in modern history. Beginning at age 20, he concentrates his business on oil refining. and eventually founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. He ran it until 1897 and in retirement focused his energy and wealth on philanthropy as Carnegie had, but focusing instead on higher education and medicine.
The final section on of the presentation will focus on three modern ultra wealthy individuals: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. We will also see how earlier generations influenced these recent moguls. The presentation will conclude with some reflections on the historical role of wealth in our democracy.
This is your last chance to experience insights from one of the nation’s leading historians. Dive deep into American history as our expert speaker brings the past to life with captivating stories and fresh perspectives. Don’t miss out!
THURSDAY | APR. 10
JEREMI SURI University of Texas
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