Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer 1.5.23

YOUR TOWN

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

One day, two records

It took awhile to confirm, but Sarasota’s Matthew Marovich is a two-time record-breaking fisherman.

And he did it in a single summer day.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the red porgy and blueline tile fish he caught on Aug. 26 are both state records, at 5.56 pounds and 10.55 pounds, respectively.

He said fish were biting on that calm day in the Gulf of Mexico, but a pair of records, well, “Both fish were unexpected catches,” he said.

In case you’re wondering what took four months, the FWC said there are stringent requirements for record submissions.

Among them: certified scales, photos, a notary public and more.

First baby of 2023

The first baby of 2023 in Sarasota was delivered less than a half-hour into the new year.

Kaiden was delivered at 12:29 a.m. Jan. 1, Sarasota Memorial Hospital said. The boy was 20 inches long and 6.5 pounds.

The hospital did not release last names, but said Kaiden and his mom, Julie, were doing fine and preparing to come home for a birthday celebration with family and big sister, 4-year-old Aiyanna.

“It’s great to start the New Year this way,” Julie said. “It’s going to be different and fun celebrating his birthday every year.”

The mother-baby nursing team at SMH-Sarasota presented Julie with a special New Year’s baby basket filled with gifts for Kaiden and the family.

Courtesy photo

Matthew Marovich and his record-setting porgy.

Courtesy photo

Kaiden and his mom, Julie, pose with nurse midwife Sarah Nicola.

Harry Sayer

Traffic circulates around the new roundabout at U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue on its first day of operation.

Dariela Delgado

Haiven and Harper Moulds wear their Pikachu hats for the new year.

Sarasota still has a ways to go to be a ‘roundabout city’

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

While Sarasota is among the leading cities in Florida in incorporating roundabouts into its traffic management strategy, it has a long way to go to mirror a city in Indiana, when it comes to sending drivers around in circles.

With the completion of the U.S. 41-Gulfstream Avenue roundabout, Sarasota will have a total of 13 combined on city streets and the state highway. Carmel, Indiana, meanwhile, has 142 roundabouts, the most of any city in the country. By 2025, the city of more than 100,000 people will have one signalized intersection.

Compared to other Indiana cities with populations of at least 33,000, in 2020, Carmel had the fewest personal injury accidents in the state at 0.15% vs. the population.

By contrast, Valparaiso and Evansville lead Indiana with 0.84% personal injury accidents vs. their population. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Carmel has reduced by about 80% the number of injury accidents and overall accidents by about 40%.

Injury accidents in roundabouts are lower than traditional signalized intersections because they all but eliminate high-speed crashes by reducing conflict points with pedestrians and other vehicles.

Every driver in the roundabout is traveling in the same direction, limiting crashes to the slower speed rear-end or sideswipe varieties. And although they keep vehicles flowing through the circle with fewer stops and less idling, drivers must slow down to navigate the tight-circle movement.

“At its core, the foundation of a roundabout is that it slows traffic down,” said Nina Venter, multimodal planner with the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization. “When you see a roundabout, it’s sort of a cue that you need to slow your speed down to 15 to 20 miles an hour. When you get to modern

roundabout, the first thing you encounter is a set of signs you need to follow to make sure you’re in the right lane.

“Altogether, the geometry of the roundabout and the fact that it’s a circle, the fact that it slows traffic down and the fact that you have all of these cues that you need to be sensitized to improves the overall safety of the intersection.”

According to the Institute for Highway Safety: n Roundabouts are a safer alternative to traffic signals and stop signs. The tight circle of a roundabout forces drivers to slow down, and the most severe types of intersection crashes — right-angle, left-turn and head-

on collisions — are unlikely. Roundabouts improve traffic flow and are better for the environment. Research shows that traffic flow improves after traditional intersections are converted to roundabouts. Less idling reduces vehicle emissions and fuel consumption.

n Roundabouts generally are safer for pedestrians who walk on sidewalks around the perimeter and cross only one direction of traffic at a time. Crossing distances are relatively short, and traffic speeds are slower than at traditional intersections.

Commonplace in Europe and Australia, the first modern roundabouts in the United States were built in

Nevada in 1990. They have been gaining in popularity here ever since, with some states such as New York and Virginia adopting “roundabout first” policies that require they be considered as a preferred alternative for new and upgraded intersections.

The IIHS research further found:

n Studies of intersections in the United States converted from traffic signals or stop signs to roundabouts reduced injury crashes of 72-80% and reductions in all crashes of 35-47%.

n A study of 19 higher-speed rural intersections with speed limits of 40 mph or higher that originally had stop signs on the minor approaches and were converted to roundabouts

found a 62% percent reduction in all crashes and an 85% percent reduction in injury crashes.

n Studies of intersections in Europe and Australia that were converted to roundabouts have reported 25-87% percent reductions in injury crashes and 36-61% percent reductions in all crashes.

n It’s estimated that converting 10% of the signalized intersections in the U.S. to roundabouts would have prevented approximately 51,000 crashes in 2018, including 231 fatal crashes and about 34,000 injury crashes.

“Roundabouts at former signalized intersections change crash types from being head-on or T-bone collisions that are often are fatal in nature,” said Sarasota Chief Transportation Planner Alvimarie Corales. “We’re changing those to be angled and sideswiped, which reduces the crash severity and reduces he fatalities and serious injuries. I would say the average reduction in fatalities and serious injuries is 80%. By changing those crash heights we are improving safety at these intersections.”

Andrew Warfield

The roundabout at 14th Street and U.S. 41 is among the network of roundabouts along Tamiami Trail planned by the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization through Sarasota.

“Altogether, the geometry of the roundabout and the fact that it’s a circle, the fact that it slows traffic down and the fact that you have all of these cues that you need to be sensitized to improves the overall safety of the intersection.”

— Nina Venter, multimodal planner with the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization

THE LEARNING CURVE

While the Federal Highway Administration reports a 75% reduction in intersection-related injuries and 35% fewer crashes in roundabouts nationwide, they’re not a silver bullet. Vigilance is still required as driving remains a human activity. While crashes in roundabouts tend to be less severe, they can occur anytime vehicles merge from different directions.

WHY ROUNDABOUTS?

According to the Federal Highway Administration: Roundabouts feature channelized, curved approaches that reduce vehicle speed and entry yield control that gives right of way to circulating traffic, and counterclockwise flow around a central island that minimizes conflict points. The net result of lower speeds and reduced conflicts at roundabouts is an environment where crashes that cause injury or fatality are substantially reduced.

Roundabouts are not only a safer type of intersection, they are also efficient. Even while calming traffic, they can reduce delay and queuing when compared to other intersection alternatives. Furthermore, the lower vehicular speeds and reduced conflict environment can create a more suitable environment for walking and bicycling. Roundabouts can be implemented in both urban and rural areas under a wide range of traffic conditions. They can replace signals, two-way stop controls and all-way stop controls.

Roundabouts are an effective option for managing speed and transitioning traffic from high-speed to low-speed environments, such as freeway interchange ramp terminals, as well as rural intersections along highspeed roads.

Bolstered by a 2008-10 Bayfront Connectivity Study that recommended roundabouts on U.S. 41 at Gulfstream Avenue and at Fruitville Road, the concept has evolved into a string of roundabouts built or planned on Sarasota’s bayfront.

With the opening of the latest and the scheduled spring completion of the entire intersection project, Sarasota now has four roundabouts on U.S. 41 — from north to south — at 14th Street, 10th Street, Fruitville Road and Gulfstream, the latter being the vital connector between the mainland and St. Armands, Lido and Longboat keys. Two more at U.S. 41 at Myrtle Road and MLK Jr. Way are in the Florida Department of Transportation design process, and studies and planning for roundabouts at U.S. 41 at Ringling Boulevard and at Main Street are underway.

“The design on those two has been put on hold until funding becomes available,” said Sarasota Chief Transportation Planner Alvimarie Corales of the Ringling and Main roundabouts. “All these have been identified as a transportation priority. It’s just going to take a couple of years for them to become implemented.”

According to the Florida Department of Transportation, there are some 20 roundabouts operating on the state highway system — including the four on U.S. 41 in Sarasota — and more than 300 on local roads throughout the state. Growing in popularity, they are not unique to the state, but a network of roundabouts on a short stretch of state highway, Corales said, might be.

“As for a chain of roundabouts, this is the first area that has continuous roundabouts,” Corales said. “At the state level, they have seen the benefit of having multiple roundabouts as a chain.”

A chain of roundabouts, rather than a standalone facility amid signalized intersections through an urban corridor, provides for more efficient movement, according to Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization Planning Manager Ryan Brown, who points out that yet another at U.S. 41 and University Parkway is under consideration.

“Traffic studies indicate that a network would improve traffic conditions much more significantly than a standalone roundabout due to the limitations from choke points at signalized intersections,” Brown said. “Signalized intersections are confining, and when you look at implementing a roundabout in the middle of regular intersections with red lights on each side, it’s going to choke.”

Since 2002 the Sarasota/Manatee

MPO has had a policy requiring consideration of roundabouts for intersection improvements.

“That doesn’t mean that they always got full consideration or that they would work in every situation,” said MPO Executive Director David Hutchinson. “Engineers have questioned whether or not they can actually work in rural areas, but in rural areas they actually have proven effective as a safety measure.”

COMPLEX AND CHALLENGING

The newest link in the roundabout chain along U.S. 41 is perhaps the city’s most visible. Framed by gleaming towers and Sarasota Bay, it could also be considered among the city’s most scenic — and most complex. It carries U.S. 41 traffic at a 45-degree angle, Gulfstream Avenue to and from the keys and into downtown, a driveway into the busy marina and Bayfront Park, plus nearby entrances into The Quay Sarasota off U.S. 41, as well as Golden Gate Point at the approach to Ringling Bridge.

Maintaining vital traffic through all that during the nearly two years of the project — more than 40,000 vehicles flow through the intersection a day — in addition to installing flood management systems; water, sewer and other utilities infrastructure; and widening the roads approaching and leaving the roundabout was no mean engineering feat.

Further complicating the project were delays caused by supply chain and materials shortages in the wake of COVID-19 and FDOT’s reallocation of resources toward recovery efforts after Hurricane Ian. Heavy rains caused further delay of the scheduled Dec. 17 opening.

Even with the circle open to vehicles, the overall project, which was scheduled for a fall 2022 completion, won’t be done until spring 2023. Remaining is work on lanes approaching and leaving the roundabout, which until now were used as detours around the primary construc -

There are total of 13 roundabouts within the city limits of Sarasota, four of them at former signalized intersections along U.S. 41.

n U.S. 41 and 14th Street

n U.S. 41 and 10th Street

n U.S. 41 and Fruitville Road

n U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue

City street roundabouts include: n Old Bradenton Road and Myrtle Road n Old Bradenton Road and 47th

Street n Five Points n Ringling Boulevard and Palm Avenue n Ringling Boulevard and Orange Avenue n Ringling Boulevard and Pineapple Avenue n Orange Avenue and Main Street n Cocoanut Avenue and Palm Avenue n Hillview Street and Laurent Place

A roundabout is scheduled to be built at Ringling Boulevard and Pine Place in 2023.

There are traffic-calming circles (not roundabouts) at Shade Avenue and Novus Street and at School Avenue and Temple Street.

tion site. The true performance of the roundabout won’t be experienced until then.

“Anecdotally, from what we’ve heard from other MPOs across the country, our initial data is promising from the ones that we’ve built in terms of  resiliency as well as maintaining throughput, which of course is a huge priority for everyone,” Brown said. “Having such large roundabouts in such a dense urban area is something that I think others will look to do.”

That resiliency comes in the form of functionality during power outages.

“You’re eliminating the need for vigilance over the signaled systems,” said Nina Venter, multimodal planner of the MPO. “If there’s one thing we learned with Hurricane Ian, roundabouts that were otherwise unobstructed continued to function, whereas many signalized intersections either lost power or the signals were destroyed. As a resiliency tool, roundabouts are really effective, and at those on 41, which are evacuation routes, are really necessary.”

SLOWER BUT FASTER

The essence of the roundabout is to slow down vehicles moving through an intersection while simultaneously speeding up the commute by limiting stops and idling, and increasing capacity. Removing left-turn movements in the face of oncoming vehicles eliminates the need for stacking and prevents head-on and T-bone type collisions, when most injuries and fatalities occur. The most common crashes are sideswipes.

“One of the reasons why roundabouts are so highly advocated for is you don’t have to spend the energy of the car to slow down and then speed up and then also just idle,” Corales said.

What makes roundabouts, efficient, especially those with multiple lanes, can also make them confusing to some drivers, particularly those who are unfamiliar with them.

Arrows, stripes and flashing crosswalk beacons can be a lot to navigate for a driving culture accustomed to left- and right-turn lanes, through lanes and signals. The Gulfstream roundabout may be the busiest in the city with vehicles bound to and from the barrier islands mixing with through traffic at a multilane, uniquely shaped circle.

Corales said there will be a learning curve. “But drivers will see the benefits of it. Gulfstream is large, but as long as you already know roundabouts and how they operate, I think it will be a seamless operation,” Corales said. “Some sections of Gulfstream have been open for a while now, so they are experiencing parts of it. Once it’s open, they will experience the whole circle there.”

The crash rate at 10th Street and U.S. 41 roundabout, for example, was higher than the previous intersection configuration during its first full year of operation. According to Sarasota Police Department records, in 2017, there were 17 crashes reported at that intersection. In 2021, there were 31.

The learning curve appears to have flattened this year, though, as through Dec. 20 there are a reported 20 crashes in the 10th Street roundabout.

That data, however, is not conclusive.

Accidents are logged by where the vehicles are located when law enforcement arrives, not necessarily where the accident occurred. Minor crashes that occur in intersections, for example, may be moved out of an intersection to a side street.

Typical causes of crashes in roundabouts include:

n Driver uncertainty about yielding and right of way n Multiple merger points n Speeding n Not using the proper lane n Changing lanes

Eric Garwood

Vehicles flow through the traffic circle at U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue.

FROM PAGE 1

SARASOTA ROUNDABOUTS

Harry Sayer

Traffic circulates around the new roundabout at U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue on its first day of operation.

Opening of Gulfstream roundabout greets business with new challenge

Swim City anxiously awaited the opening of the Gulfstream Avenue roundabout. Late-stage construction on U.S. 41 brought a new challenge: a flooded parking lot with nowhere for the water to go.

WRITER

f all the businesses at ground zero of the 18-month construction of the U.S. 41-Gulfstream Avenue roundabout, none was likely more affected as the  Swim City store at 50 N. Tamiami Trail.

For the most part, the construction zone along U.S. 41 stretching between Ringling Boulevard and Fruitville Road is fronted by hotels, condominium towers and office

buildings. While somewhat inconvenient, access to Marina Jack was maintained. Conversely, Italian eatery Joey D’s simply closed its location at 211 N. Tamiami Trail.

Swim City, though,  persevered, albeit not easily, despite its frontage between Palm Avenue and First Street serving as a staging area for equipment and materials, access to the parking lot randomly alternating between driveways on U.S. 41 and First Street, and its previous foot traffic access from hotels across U.S. 41 was all but eliminated.

WATER WOES

Limited customer access to Swim City was just one of many challenges facing Judy and Nick Johnson coming out of the pandemic. Just as the business might otherwise return to pre-COVID normal, the impactful phase on their store of the roundabout construction began.

And in addition to the new parking lot flooding problem, It’s been a tough, wet fall for the company.

Hurricane Ian caused severe flooding damage to their store in Fort Myers and destroyed their store on Sanibel Island, resulting in significant water damage to inventory there. As they are calculating their losses from those two stores comes the bitter icing on the stale cake: a $4,800 water bill from the city of Sarasota.

As it turns out, Judy Johnson said, construction crews broke irrigation lines and valves between the meter and the store, leaks that went undetected. Now they’re caught between the city and FDOT bureaucracies to resolve the issue.

In addition to irrigation, “We have two bathrooms and that’s it,” said Judy Johnson. “Our average water bill is $88 to $100.”

The only street-level retailer in the construction zone, its rotating access was exacerbated by navigation apps that provided inaccurate directions for a large portion of the project’s duration.

Owners and Judy and Nick Johnson requested FDOT put directional signs on Cocoanut Avenue to the First Street entrance, which it did, only for customers to find the driveway off First Street sometimes closed.

Access was especially challenging for southbound traffic, which had three choices: be forced across the Ringling Bridge and double back at Bird Key or loop under the bridge at Harts Landing and double back, or approach from the east, which wasn’t always feasible.

It all meant for a slow June in 2022 — historically a big month for the store — with sales down 25% from the year before. The Johnsons were looking forward to a big two weeks to close out the year, another peak sales

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF

Photos by Andrew Warfield

Deep water remained at the entrance to Swim City off U.S. 41 just as the roundabout opened and the driveway became accessible to traffic.

time, but the planned Dec. 17 opening of the roundabout was delayed nearly a week because of weather. Their optimism turned into concern, though, as they discovered the rebuilt driveway from Tamiami Trail slopes slightly downward into the parking lot, trapping a large, deep puddle of standing water at the entrance.

“Our parking lot looked like a retention pond,” said Judy Johnson. “We’re very concerned because of the grade. It looks like they’ve got the road higher than our parking lot and looks like the water is going to be draining into our parking lot.”

The Johnsons have been in contact with the contractor, Bostonbased CDM Smith, and were told survey work will need to be done at the driveway to determine how to best alleviate the flooding. How long that will take is uncertain. As for when First Street will be paved and opened, that remains unknown as well.

To build the roundabout at an intersection that accommodates more than 40,000 vehicles daily, one tightly bordered by buildings on two corners and a marina on the other two, FDOT and CDM Smith are working in tight quarters with little room for staging. As part of the project water, sewer, storm drainage and other underground utilities also had to be relocated including along U.S. 41 in front of Swim City.

In the latter half of construction,

all of that required Palm Avenue, First Street and Second Street intersections at U.S. 41 to be closed and northbound travel lanes shifted to the east to build that infrastructure and for staging.

“Going back to our original conversations around Memorial Day with contractors working on this project, they said it’s going be two, maybe three months at max,” Nick Johnson said of the blocked access. “Now we’re looking at double and triple that.”

“We felt like the staging was done in front of our property,” added Judy Johnson, “and we were the were the only retailer out there that depends on foot traffic and vehicle traffic.”

Now that that roundabout is open, months of work remain on U.S. 41 both north and south of the circle before the facility is fully operational. For Swim City, that means disruptions may continue until spring, but the Johnsons say they believe, in the end, access to the store will be easier than ever.

Southbound drivers won’t be able to turn left into the parking lot, but they can circle the roundabout and then turn right a short distance later into the lot.

Northbound drivers and those coming from the keys will drive around a portion of the roundabout to head north on U.S. 41. And eventually, the paving on First Street will be completed and that driveway permanently reopened.

When work is completed on U.S. 41 near the Gulfstream roundabout, Swim City will have its access from Tamiami Trail restored.

TABS

OF JAN. 5, 2023

BY THE NUMBERS

City Manager Marlon Brown, Read more on page 13

The year Debbie Trice won her first election: to the Sarasota County Charter Review Board.

Miles of sidewalk that could be constructed with the concrete poured so far at the St. Regis resort construction site on Longboat Key.

CALENDAR

n Sarasota City Commission workshop — 11 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 12, SRQ Media Studio, City Hall annex, 1565 First St.

n Sarasota County Commission regular meeting — 9 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 18, Commission Chambers, County Administration Building, 1660 Ringling Blvd.

n Sarasota County School Board work session — 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17, Board Chambers, Landings Administration Complex, 1980 Landings Blvd.

Sales open for new tower in Quay district

Construction of a new residential tower under the Ritz-Carlton banner could begin by the end of 2023 in the Quay Sarasota district, with condominium units selling for between $3.5 million and $11.5 million.

The 20-story, 74-unit RitzCarlton Residences, Sarasota Bay would be built alongside the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota tower that opened in 2021 and within the boundaries of the masterplanned, multiuse district between U.S. 41 and the bayfront.

A spokesperson for developer

Sarasota Memorial Presents

Winter 2023

Kolter Urban said completion of Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sarasota Bay is envisioned by early 2026. The developer paid $19.3 million in 2018 for the 1-acre piece of land.

Condominium units will range from 3,500 square feet to just under 6,000 square feet, and the building will feature a host of amenities. Promotional material from the developer indicates the units will feature 12- to 13-foot ceilings, large terraces and expansive views. Elevators will open directly into each residence.

In 2021, Kolter Urban completed the construction of The RitzCarlton Residences, Sarasota, a 73-unit, 18-story condominium located to the north of the RitzCarlton hotel and residential complex.

Kolter Hospitality in May reached an agreement to buy the Hyatt Regency and plans to build an exclusive Thompson-branded hotel on the site at 1000 Boulevard of the Arts.

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty is handling the sales for the new building.

Fab Lab opens sign up for RC car program

On your mark, get your remote control cars ready, get set, and go register for the Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab’s eighth annual remote control car competition, the RC Custom Car Open.

The RC Car competition is an engineering and design competition for students in grades K-8, organized and led by a high school student committee. Students are invited to register in teams of two to four students. Beginning in late January, teams can sign up for weekend workshops that will teach them how to use the Fab Lab’s machinery to customize their RC car. With support from staff and mentors, the student committee selects the theme, designs the logo, medals and trophies, leads workshops, envisions and builds two racetracks and runs race-day logistics.

The program culminates with a design competition on March 31 and a two-track, race-day competition on April 1. Winners receive cash prizes, scholarships and custom awards made at the Fab Lab.

A $150 registration fee per team includes the car and accessories, eight weeks of hands-on workshops and two months of membership to the Fab Lab for each team member.

For information on registration, visit SuncoastScience.org/rc-car.

Red tide advisory posted for beaches

Sarasota County beaches from Nokomis north were placed under a red tide advisory this past week after higher-than-acceptable levels of the algae were detected in routine testing.

Signs were to be posted at the beach in Nokomis, Turtle Beach, Siesta Key Beach, South Lido, North Lido, Longboat Key and the Sarasota Bay beaches along Bird Key and Ringling Causeway.

According to the Florida Department of Health’s Sarasota office, symptoms such as irritated eyes, nose and throat are typical. Some people may experience more serious symptoms.

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Sarasota Memorial Hospital Auditorium - First Floor 1700 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34239 SMH-SARASOTA

“Unless you’re going to stop the process for the architect selection, I need an owner’s rep to be part of that.”

Courtesy rendering

The 74-unit building would stand 20 stories tall.

Wake up. Have hope.

Our word for 2023 is ‘hope.’

OUR CHILDREN’S INHERITANCE: MASSIVE DEBT 2 008 2 023 % Chg./Avg. per Yr.

U.S. National Debt $9,609,950,454,664 $ 31,462,067,045,334 +227%/15%

Debt per citizen $ 31,699 $94,133 +197%/+13%

Annual Federal Spending $2,794,765,974,448 $ 5,987,535,389,346 +114%

Annual Federal Deficit $238,158,505,455 $1,313,303,082,937 + 451%

Source: U.S. Debt Clock

MATT WALSH

Afive-day belated Happy New Year to all.

You remember Jan. 1, this past Sunday. On that one day, you felt optimistic, happy. You thought of and felt new beginnings, a determination to stop bad habits and make your life better.

Certainly, we’re guessing you also felt hope. Hope that whatever pulled you down personally in 2022, whatever pulled down our community, our state, our nation in 2022 will disappear.

We all hope for the better. We need hope.

That is our word.

Followers of this page at this time of year know that one of our traditions in the first edition of the year is to devote this space to a word … a word to live by through the year. And in light of the events ravaging this great nation for the second consecutive year, one word kept surfacing: We need hope.

We hope for the better, because we know deep down there is so much more good around us than there is bad. We have hope because deep in our psyches we believe good eventually will overtake the bad.

In our home turf of Longboat Key and Sarasota and Manatee counties, we are fortunate because good indeed far outweighs bad.

Thanks to the basic decency and goodness of the people who live along the west coast of Florida, and thanks to the law enforcement officers who serve us, we don’t have the runaway crime that afflicts so many communities across America.

And like him or not, you can credit Gov. Ron DeSantis, his leadership and the Legislature for not letting wokeism become a social cancer here the way it has been eating away the nation’s historical moral culture in so many other states. Florida clearly stands out now as the best, freest state in America in which to live and work. Talk about good fortune. Miraculously, the Tampa Bay region down to northern Sarasota County escaped the wrath of Hurricane Ian. Our hearts, prayers and best wishes continue to go out to the Floridians from Venice to Naples still trying to recover and rebuild. They need hope. Perhaps the inspiring words of the late Pope John Paul II below can help them through.

And perhaps those inspiring words can be infused in all of us — and especially all across America. We need to be filled with hope in 2023. Even though we all felt buoyant and optimistic Jan. 1, on that one day, five days into the New Year and beyond many of the dark realities of 2022 will continue to drape our backs.

Hope? We in Florida should hope our fellow Americans — the 80 million who voted in 2020 for Joe Biden

and the millions upon millions more who live obliviously — wake up. We should hope they wake up and see how their standards of living and quality of life are deteriorating day by day. We should hope in 2023 it dawns on them what the people they elected to Congress are doing to them — and especially to their children and grandchildren.

Surely, they see. Surely, they care.

We hope.

Of course, they know their paychecks don’t buy as much as they did in 2020. They know it’s inflation. But we hope they would understand that the cause of inflation comes not from “Putin,” but from only one source: The federal government — the printing of too much money, brought on by Congress’ spending of money it doesn’t have.

Because of the legalized theft in Congress, the declining value of our dollars has been a forever trend. But let’s go back only 15 years for an eye-opening snapshot of what they are doing to us and our heirs.

From the end of the George W. Bush era in 2008 and the election of Barack Obama, the purchasing power of your dollars has declined 30%. That $100 you spend at the grocery store today bought $141 worth of groceries in 2008.

That $50,000 annual salary in 2008? Today, it’s the equivalent of earning $35,460 — a loss of $14,540 in purchasing power. And that’s before taxes.

Just since Joe Biden’s election, the value of your dollar has declined 12.5%. That $100 you spend today, it bought you $114 in goods at the end of Donald Trump’s term.

That $50,000 annual salary at the end of 2020? Today, it’s the equivalent of $43,859 — a loss of $6,141 in purchasing power in two years.

Just in the past two years alone, the middle class has lost 40% of the purchasing power it has lost since 2008. Or turn that around: That loss is essentially a 40% increase in taxation.

That devastation is what Americans are feeling today. And it’s going to get worse in 2023, thanks to the $1.7 trillion “omnibus” spending bomb Congress passed at the close of 2022. That bill has 7,200 earmarks, including nearly $1 billion to provide food and shelter in sanctuary cities for illegal migrants pouring into the U.S.

That $1 billion is on top of the approximate $300 billion overall annual cost to taxpayers at the federal, state and local levels for illegal immigration. Whatever governments spend on illegal immigrants is money the government is not saving or spending on its legal citizens.

Think also of the effects on all the local property owners and citizens along the borders of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. Illegal immigration is destroying their communities’ ways of life. While this goes unabated and is filtering

Wise words of hope

“When I look back on the perils that have been overcome, upon the great mountain waves in which the gallant ship has driven, when I remember all that has gone wrong, and remember also all that has gone right, I feel sure we have no need to fear the tempest. Let it roar, and let it rage. We shall come through.”

— WINSTON CHURCHILL Speech to Parliament, May 7, 1941

“I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well.

Nor am I a pessimist, because I am not sure that everything ends badly.

I just carry hope in my heart. Hope is the feeling that life and work have a meaning. You either have it or you don’t, regardless of the state of the world that surrounds you. Life without hope is an empty, boring and useless life. I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me. I am thankful to God for this gift. It is as big as life itself.”

— VACLAV HAVEL

Late president of Czech Republic

SHRINKING PURCHASING POWER

The table shows how the purchasing power of $100 has shrunk over the past 15 years.

$100 today was worth … Annual decline

2008 $141.61 2016 $123.31 -12.9% 2020 $114.30 -7.3% 2021 $106.78 -6.5% 2022 $100 -6.3% Total -$41.61 -29.4%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

into all of the United States, Joe Biden has yet to communicate to the American people the objective he is trying to achieve and how this invasion of illegal immigrants is a benefit to American citizens.

All of the above is what Americans see and feel now. But what Congress and the White House are doing to our children and grandchildren is an even worse lockthem-up crime.

Look at the accompanying U.S. debt table. In the past 15 years, Congress has increased the national debt 227% — an average of 15% a year. What middle-class family do you know that can increase its annual income 15% a year?

And that total national debt doesn’t count the unfunded liabilities U.S. taxpayers will have to pay in the future to cover the debt on Social Security and Medicare — a staggering $173 trillion, or $518,625 per citizen.

This relentless looting of middleclass Americans’ income will continue to eat away and destroy future generations’ standard of living. The more money the federal government consumes to fund itself and pay the interest on its growing debt, the more punishment is inflicted on Americans.

In the words of the late economist Ludwig von Mises, “Depriving the individual of the freedom of the choice of consumption logically leads to the abolition of all freedom.”

Wow. What a downer of a way to start the New Year.

So much appears hopeless.

But that is exactly why we must start 2023 with hope. Indeed, history — from the Old Testament on — has shown us the power of hope.

To buttress any waning hope you might have, we turned to Rabbi Noam Marans, director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations at the American Jewish Committee, one of the world’s leading human rights organizations. Rabbi Marans is an internationally recognized leader of Catholic and Jewish dialogue and an expert biblical scholar.

Asked what good does it do to have hope, Marans’ first words

were: “Let me first state unequivocally, hope is a Jewish value.”

Or, put another way, the Israelites were the first to make hope an embedded value in their culture. Even though the word “hope” does not appear in the first five books of the Old Testament, the concept came about via the early Jews’ exiles to Egypt and Babylon.

Marans cites the prophet Jeremiah, who lived around 585 B.C. Jeremiah sent a letter from God to the Jews exiled in Babylon. Among its words:

“Only after 70 years have elapsed for Babylon will I deal with you and fulfill for you my promise to bring you back to this place.

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.

“When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.”

Later in the letter:

“Thus says the Lord: Cease your cries of weeping, hold back your tears! There is compensation for your labor, they shall return from the enemy’s land. There is hope for your future; your children shall return to their own territory.”

Have hope, says God.

And then there is the prophet Zechariah. In Chapter 9:12, Zecheriah refers to the Jews as the “prisoners of hope.” The people of hope.

Throughout the Old Testament, Marans notes, “Hope is what kept the Jewish people alive who were disconnected from their homeland.”

And there is no better story of hope, Marans adds, than that of the Jewish people from the late 1800s through the 1940s. During this period, world Jewry was nearly destroyed. Ninety-percent of the Polish Jews were murdered.

“But somehow these ‘prisoners of hope’ were able to rise up and change the course of history,” Marans says. “They went from the nadir of powerlessness to selfempowerment. It was the activist hope making the possible happen.”

To be sure, Marans reminds us of the frequent truism: Hope is not a strategy. But it’s a necessary ingredient to a better life.

“An individual without hope,” he says, “is a person with no mechanism for dealing the challenges of human beings. Life without hope is a life governed by inevitable tragedy and despondency.”

But hope “is the antidote to loneliness and despair,” Marans says. “It’s the power of community. When one belongs to a community, one inevitably embraces hope. Community in this sense implies friendships, relationships, family, neighborhood, shared humanity.

“Shared humanity gives us hope,” Marans says. “Hope is the power that propels us to take action.”

In 2023, fill your heart and mind with hope. Have hope that all Americans will do the same.

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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“Although I have lived through much darkness … I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal … Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it!”

— POPE JOHN PAUL II, 2002 World Youth Day

“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.”

— HELEN KELLER

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Hope is the antidote to loneliness and despair … Hope is the power that propels us to action.”

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

— RABBI NOAM MARANS American Jewish Committee

We all must have hope — hope that our fellow Americans wake up to what is being done to them. History shows us the power of hope. It propels us to take action.

Freshman Sarasota City Commissioner Debbie Trice is no newcomer to some of the key issues facing the city. The New York City native who first traveled here on business in the 1980s campaigned largely on the issues of affordable and attainable housing, advancing from a six-candidate field in the primary and winning one of two at-large seats along with incumbent Jen Ahearn-Koch in the general election.

Her feet now wet one month after wading into city government, she spoke with the Observer about her experience as a campaigner and what she hopes to accomplish in her first year as a commissioner.

Was this your first foray into elections?

I ran for Sarasota County Charter Review Board in 2006. I wanted to move to the city, but because I was elected, I had to stay in the county while holding that district seat.

What prompted you to take the next step to City Commission?

As I said throughout my campaign, there’s such a need for housing for low- and moderate-income families and longtime retirees. I had been making suggestions to city government for a couple of years, and the solutions they were coming up with weren’t working, and I ended up meeting a few people in the process.

Were those few people recruiting you to run?

I was approached, thought about it and decided not to run. Then a month or so later, I went to an event with a really inspirational speaker and a lot of my friends swarmed me and said, “Debbie, you really ought to run.”

Has anything surprised you about the job?

The thing that struck me the most, and I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me, is there are lots of holes in the information that people have

and they use their imaginations to fill in those holes. I  found myself having done the same thing and I said, “Oh, that was not done for any nefarious reasons.”

The public thinks that commissioners have a whole lot more to say in many matters than they do. We have been getting emails from people concerned about county issues, and although it was decided at a County Commission meeting they are emailing the city commissioners to complain about it. Fortunately, City Manager Marlon Brown emails them back saying no, this was not a City Commission decision.

How do you propose to further educate the public on matters pertaining to the city?

One of the inroads I hope to make while I’m in office is to get more information out to the public. At this point, there are things that I knew from my participation with CCNA that several of the other commissioners are not aware of, so I’m urging CCNA leadership to come during the 9 a.m. portion of public comment at commission meetings to let all of the commissioners know what some of the issues are.

You can’t force citizens to inform themselves, so do you have any thoughts on how the city might be able to provide new opportunities for public information?  I’m looking into how we can do community workshops. I want to sit down with (Senior Communications Manager) Jan Thornburg and see what she has in mind and what we can do. I’m aware that Hagen Brody used to do a video I believe was called Commissioner’s Corner, and I’m looking at what the possibilities are.

How did you come to be in Sarasota?

I had a business trip here in the early 1980s, and that was my first exposure to Sarasota. My parents had just moved to St. Pete as snowbirds, and as soon as I got home I called them and told them I think you’d like Sarasota better. In 1997 I moved them full time and that was my opportunity to experience it personally.

You’ve seen a lot of changes here since that first visit. What

are your thoughts about how Sarasota has grown?

I grew up in New York City, and one thing that you can say about New York City is it’s constantly changing. That’s what excites me most about Sarasota. What I said during my campaign is it has a small-town feel with big-city amenities, and as long as we continue to have that small town-feel, I don’t think that the growth here is a negative.

What are hoping to accomplish by the end of your first year on the City Commission?

I’m hoping to see some low- and moderate-income housing at least approved and moving forward. I recognize it’s going to take awhile to get these things approved and built, but we’ve got to start moving forward. While I was campaigning there were several developers who have track records of building lowand moderate-income housing saying they want to move forward.

— ANDREW WARFIELD

File photo

Debbie Trice (center) and Jen AhearnKoch being sworn in as city commissioners by City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs.

2:40 a.m., 1500 block of Fourth Street

Dispute: A man was denied entry into a downtown bar by a bouncer because the would-be patron was accompanied by his service dog. An officer met with the bouncer before meeting with the caller because, when he responded to the dispatch, the caller was no longer at the scene. The bouncer told the officer he would not allow the dog into the bar and the caller just stood in the doorway saying he would not leave. The bouncer confirmed the man’s complaint that he shoved him away from the doorway. The officer advised the caller that the incident would be documented and no further action was taken.

TUESDAY, DEC. 13

A RUDE AWAKENING

11:04 p.m., 1900 block of 29th Street

Dispute: A man told police responding to a dispute call that his ex-girlfriend was “going crazy” and woke him up “for no reason at all” and began to yell at him. The two had been in a relationship “off and on” for more than three years. The man said the woman receives mail at the address and she stays there intermittently. He added their argument was verbal and he wanted her to leave. The woman was uncooperative with police, continued to speak loudly for no apparent reason and reused to provide a statement. Both parties separated, and no further action was taken.

SUNDAY, DEC. 11

ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY FINGER 3:07 a.m., 3200 block of Goodrich Avenue Dispute: A woman who said she felt threatened by her boyfriend pointing his finger at her requested law enforcement ask him to leave the residence. The complainant told police the two had been “fussing” and that the boyfriend, who also resides in the home, had been using drugs.

The officer contacted the man, who was lying down in a bedroom of the residence. He stated that only a verbal dispute occurred and that he was asleep when the woman entered the room and started an argument. He advised that his girlfriend often starts verbal altercations and that SPD has responded to the residence in the past. The man was calm and did not appear to be under the influence of any narcotics.

The officer advised the woman that her boyfriend had established residency and that she would need to seek court action to have him removed from the property. He further advised her to sleep in another room and try to avoid the him for the rest of the evening “which she agreed would be a good idea.”

DEC. 14

WEDNESDAY.

OPEN-DOOR POLICY

6:35 a.m., 1300 block of Main Street

Suspicious incident: A restaurant with a patio door ajar captured the attention of a person who called to dispatch police to investigate. As the building was searched, an officer contacted the owner, who was out of town, He informed the officer that he was having issues with the patio door latches and was preparing to have them repaired. In the interim, the night manager responded to the scene and confirmed no items were missing.

FRIDAY, DEC. 23

JUST VISITING THE ISLANDS 1:12 p.m., Bay Isles Parkway, Longboat Key

Animal call: called Longboat Police while shopping on the island to report finding a lost dog on the mainland. The woman told a police officer she had brought the dog with her to the barrier island and was preparing to return home when she made the call. Town police arranged for Sarasota County Animal Control to meet her at her Sarasota residence.

TUESDAY, DEC. 27 HELPING OUT

Annually, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office partners with the Marine Corps Toys for Tots and Truly Valued to collect and distribute gifts for those who need assistance with Christmas toys for children. Dozens of bikes were assembled, hundreds

were made to deserving families. Sheriff’s Office members, along with their families, delivered toys and bikes to the annual Christmas Eve in the Park, hosted by Truly Valued at Whitaker Gateway Park. This event assists families and individuals struggling with homelessness by providing food, clothing, bikes, toys, and other outreach services.

Music Mondays

Monday, January 9 Sarasota,10:30 am - Venice, 3:00 pm

Dover Quartet Chamber Ensemble Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the GRAMMY® nominated Dover Quartet has followed a “practically meteoric” (Strings) trajectory to become one of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world.

Tuesday, January 10 Sarasota,10:30 am - Venice, 2:30 pm

Strengthening America’s Voice in a Changing World Amb. Barbara Stephenson will tackle how America can retain an agenda-setting role in world a airs.

Wednesday, January 11 Sarasota,10:30 am The Case for Following Rules Amb. Barbara Stephenson shows us how America benefits from leading in international rule setting and compliance.

Thursday, January 12 Sarasota,10:30 am - Lakewood Ranch, 5:00 Friday, January 13 Venice,10:00 am

Diplomacy in an Age of Uncertainty: How the U.S. Can Defend Its Interests, Promote Its Values, and Keep the Peace in the 21st Century Amb. Thomas Shannon will address the challenges posed to the liberal international order.

Total Renovation! Custom Home Overlooking the Oaks Club

Van Wezel heirs demand name be removed from SPAC materials

Total renovation overlooking the Oaks Club

Total renovation overlooking the Oaks Club

Descendants send a cease and desist demand to the city and Sarasota Performing Arts Center Foundation to stop using the family name in promoting and fundraising for a new performing arts center.

CITY OKS OWNER’S REP

Total renovation overlooking the Oaks Club

City commissioners this week approved a request by City Manager Marlon Brown to hire an owner’s rep to advise in choosing an architect and forming a committee to discuss Van Wezel repurposing.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

As if the pursuit of a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center and its possible coexistence with the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall weren’t generating enough controversy, attorneys representing heirs to the benefactors’ family and the SPAC Foundation are exchanging letters over the use of the Van Wezel name.

In a letter dated Dec. 29, 2022, attorney Morgan Bentley, representing Tony and Katherine Stone, to Sarasota City Attorney Robert Fournier and Michael Wilson, who represents the SPAC Foundation, demanded the SPAC cease and desist any and all use of the Van Wezel name in its promotional and fundraising efforts for the new performing arts center.

That agreement would be between the city and the Sarasota Performing Arts Center Foundation in a joint public-private venture. A task force is undergoing an architect selection process with 18 candidates under consideration. Its work is expected to be concluded in April.

Brown explained that bringing an owner’s rep onboard will help provide guidance to help determine the scope, scale and viability of a new arts center.

Without that expertise watching out for the city’s best interests, he said, the entire process should stop.

“Unless you’re going to stop the process for the architect selection, I need an owner’s rep to be part of that,” Brown said. “So if you want to make a decision today to stop the architectural process, go ahead and do that, and we’d have no need for an owner’s rep. But I need someone to be the city’s rep watching what’s going on in that particular selection.”

foyer,

long

PAUL STERN 941.330.3051 paul@sarasotabrokers.com

of

Extensive custom home renovation just completed! As soon as you cross the threshold, you’re greeted by a grand 2-story tall foyer, and long golf course views of the Oaks Club main clubhouse. Trees, ponds, and fairways are your rear sightlines – not homes. The first floor features a master suite on the main level, formal living and dining at the front of the home, separate family room at the rear facing the golf course, a breakfast room with 2 walls of windows, kitchen with both a large eat-in kitchen island and additional serving counter for the family room, a 22’ long butler’s pantry hallway with both upper and lower cabinets, and an immense laundry/craft room/ home office that’s 11’ x 19’ in itself. The second floor features a sizable loft/sitting room at the top of the stairs and two large guestrooms (with ensuite full baths). Call Paul Stern at 941.330.3051 for further details.

JAMIE STERN 210.612.6654M jamie@sarasotabrokers.com

fairways are your rear sightlines – not homes. The first floor features a master suite on the main level, formal living and dining at the front of the home, separate family room at the rear facing the golf course, a breakfast room with 2 walls of windows, kitchen with both a large eat-in kitchen island and additional serving counter for the family room, a 22’ long butler’s pantry hallwaywith both upper and lower cabinets, and an immense laundry/craft room/home office that’s 11’ x 19’ in itself. The second floor features a sizable loft/sitting room at the top of the stairs and two large guestrooms (with ensuite full baths). Call Paul Stern at 941.330.3051 for further details.

clubhouse. Trees, ponds,

The Van Wezel was named for Lewis and Eugenia Van Wezel, who established a charitable foundation that helped fund the building’s construction.

As it began to prepare to plan for a new facility, in 2019 the Van Wezel Foundation changed its identity to the Sarasota Performing Arts Center Foundation but has continued to work on behalf of both the SPAC and the Van Wezel. A city-appointed committee has launched a search for an architecture firm to design the SPAC.

Brown told commissioners the owners’ rep will not be asked to provide input in the pursuit of a possible repurposing of the 55-year-old Van Wezel, which was also a topic of discussion during Tuesday’s session.

City commissioners approved the request 5-0.

Wezel Foundation A Vision for Sarasota Performing Arts Center.” In his letter, Bentley calls that use “wholly inappropriate.”

PAUL STERN 941.330.3051 paul@sarasotabrokers.com

JAMIE STERN 210.612.6654M jamie@sarasotabrokers.com

The foundation’s website at VWFoundation.org is titled “Van

“My request is that you direct your colleagues and constituents to cease using the Van Wezel name in relation to the construction of the new

110 North CreekLane OakCreek

4071 SF MLS # A4549599

Extensive custom home renovation just completed! As soon as you cross the threshold, you’re greeted by a grand 2-story tall foyer, and long golf course views of the Oaks Club main clubhouse. Trees, ponds, and fairways are your rear sightlines – not homes. The first floor features a master suite on the main level, formal living and dining at the front of the home, separate family room at the rear facing the golf course, a breakfast room with 2 walls of windows, kitchen with both a large eat-in kitchen island and additional serving counter for the family room, a 22’ long butler’s

Performing Arts Center,” the letter reads. “More specifically, please remind your respective boards that the new facility will not be called the Van Wezel and is not a ‘new Van Wezel’ in any way shape or form. Lastly, cease using the Van Wezel name in any materials or public statements by the foundation that disparage, denigrates, or questions the viability of the current Van Wezel auditorium.”

In his response dated Jan. 3, 2023, Wilson stipulated that the Van Wezel name will not be attached to the new facility and that the organization has not been officially registered as the Van Wezel Foundation for three years, although it does continue to raise funds for the existing facility.

“I do not detect, however, that your clients object to the continued use of the Van Wezel name to the extent it is used to raise funds for the existing Van Wezel Hall,” Wilson wrote. “In 2022 alone, the foundation raised and contributed a philanthropic

grant of $600,000 to the hall. This is an ongoing obligation of the foundation pursuant to a 2021 memorandum of understanding between the foundation and the city.”

The city partnered with the foundation in 2019 as a public-private venture to begin the process of building a new performing arts center in The Bay, the 53-acre, city-owned bayfront park under redevelopment by the Bay Park Conservancy. The Van Wezel stands at the southwest corner of the parking lot and the new SPAC is planned for the northeast corner of the site.

The city is  exploring how to preserve and repurpose the Van Wezel, which is not to compete with the new facility. The foundation is responsible for raising private funds to build the 165,000-square-foot SPAC, to be matched with city funding from the tax increment financing district surrounding the property and other public funding sources.

File photo

The city of Sarasota is exploring future uses or repurposing of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall once a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center is built.

THE WATCH LIST SPORTS

1. CHARLES LESTER III, RIVERVIEW HIGH FOOTBALL

The Rams cornerback/wide receiver wrapped up his junior season in November and put together another elite campaign. Lester, who is 6-foot-1, did a bit of everything on offense for Riverview, catching 34 passes for 354 yards and four touchdowns and taking 20 carries for 87 yards according to MaxPreps— plus, Lester completed both of his passing attempts for 46 yards and one touchdown.

But as much as Lester contributes on offense, his defense is where the five-star player stands out the most. It is more difficult to paint a picture of a defensive player’s success with statistics, especially in the secondary, but Lester did record 18 tackles and snag an interception. Teams didn’t challenge him all that much and for good reason. The cornerback is a tough assignment for any receiver.

Lester, the No. 22 junior in the country according to the 247Sports Composite, announced Jan. 1 that the final five college teams involved in his recruitment will be Florida State, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida and Georgia, in no particular order. Lester has not announced a date for his final decision, but it is common for elite players to announce their choice before their senior seasons begin. It’s another reason to keep an eye on Lester as 2023 progresses.

3. HELENA HEBDA, CARDINAL MOONEY HIGH VOLLEYBALL

A member of both Cardinal Mooney’s indoor and beach volleyball teams, Hebda has become a leader on both.

Hebda, a junior, helped the school’s beach team secure a state championship this past spring and served as the indoor team’s setter last fall, recording 920 assists (10 assists per set), 245 digs and 41 kills. With Hebda setting up her teammates, the Cougars indoor team went 18-10 and reached the Class 3A regional finals (Elite Eight).

With former Gatorade Florida Player of the Year Jordyn Byrd graduating in the spring, the Cougars will need to rely on Hebda’s leadership and experience more than ever in 2023.

RYAN KOHN SPORTS EDITOR

As our attention turns to 2023, the sports calendar is both full and exciting in the Sarasota area.

Winter sports such as basketball and soccer head into their respective postseasons. Spring sports such as baseball and softball will start stretching for a February return. And football? Well, it might be the offseason, but if those players expect to be competitive, they have to condition year-round.

It feels appropriate, in the new year, to look at our athletes collectively and determine a handful of the top ones to watch over the next 12 months. Though many teams and athletes have special talents in Sarasota — one of the reasons the area continues to thrive — a few individuals have a chance to stand out through talent and hard work.

Here are 10 athletes who have positioned themselves for those results in 2023:

2. GRACIE WEYANT, RIVERVIEW HIGH GIRLS SWIMMING

Weyant, who also swims with the Sarasota Sharks, is one of a handful of Sarasotaarea swimmers with designs on national and international success, but she makes the list because of her overall body of work.

Weyant won three gold medals as a junior at the 2022 Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A state championships, two individual and one relay. She’s also a member of the U.S. National Junior Team for the 200 individual medley, the event in which Weyant received a bronze medal at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships (2:14.36).

On Oct. 23, Weyant announced her verbal commitment to the University of Florida, where in 2024 she expects to join her sister and Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant. Despite the strong familial connection to success, Gracie Weyant’s accomplishments mean she deserves name recognition all on her own.

4. JOSIAH BOOKER, BOOKER HIGH FOOTBALL

The junior wide receiver had a breakout season in 2022 in the Tornadoes’ first year under coach Scottie Littles. Booker, who is 5-foot-10, caught 58 passes (52.7% of the team’s completions) for 957 yards and nine touchdowns, using his speed and shiftiness to get open for long completions. Booker went over 100 receiving yards in six of the team’s 11 games. He also had 14 carries for 56 yards. Littles consistently praised Booker as an athlete before the season and said he would do big things; he was correct.

Booker also showed up in the biggest moments.

Though the Tornadoes lost their first-round playoff game against Frostproof High 34-31, Booker caught seven passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

Colleges were impressed. Booker has received NCAA Division I scholarship offers from Duke and Marshall with more likely on the way as camp season gets closer. Now that Booker has had his breakout season, he — and the team, which went 6-5 in 2022 — could make a leap into another tier entirely in 2023.

The Sailors used a three-pronged rushing attack to lead its offense in 2022, and Judge was the prong that did the most damage.

Judge, a junior, had 132 carries for 727 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and five touchdowns for Sarasota while catching 14 passes for 268 yards, which led the team, and two touchdowns. Judge’s 995 all-purpose yards also led the team.

Though Judge stands 5-foot-7, he runs with a physical style and does not shy away from contact, often going through the teeth of a defense instead of bouncing to the outside. He’s also consistent; despite sharing carries, Judge never had less than 62 rushing yards in a game in 2022.

Sarasota let go of coach Brody Wiseman in December and is still looking for his replacement as of Jan. 3, so the future of the Sailors offense is uncertain, but Judge and the other running backs should be useful weapons for whoever takes over the program.

6. KALI BARRETT, CARDINAL MOONEY HIGH GIRLS BASKETBALL

After a stellar freshman season in which Barrett averaged 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, she’s started her sophomore season with the Cougars playing even better.

Through 12 games, the 6-foot1 Barrett leads Mooney with 16.1 points per game (14th in Class 3A) and is second with 7.1 rebounds per game. Her play has helped the Cougars, who are playing under a new coach in Marlon Williams, to a 9-3 record on their search for a thirdstraight Final Four appearance.

Barrett’s strong play is one reason that goal is achievable.

7. CHARIOT JOHNSON, BOOKER HIGH GIRLS BASKETBALL

After making a leap and going on a run to the Final Four in 2021-2022, the Booker girls basketball team is trying to repeat its effort. Chariot Johnson could help the program get there.

Johnson, a 5-foot-9 senior, leads the Tornadoes with 11.6 points per game and 3.5 steals per game and is tied for the team lead with 5.9 rebounds per game as of Jan. 3. Her 2.6 assists per game is 0.1 less than team leader Jakai Peterson, a junior guard.

If that wasn’t enough, she proved her athleticism by playing for the school’s volleyball team. Johnson led the Tornadoes in kills (89) and digs (118) during the 2022 season, according to MaxPreps.

Johnson’s ability to do a little bit of everything for the Booker girls basketball team has helped the Tornadoes secure a 10-5 record through 15 games. As the playoffs approach, Booker will need Johnson to keep up her strong play.

8. OLIVER BOYLE, SARASOTA HIGH BOYS BASKETBALL

Sarasota first-year coach BJ Ivey has initiated a large-scale turnaround of the Sailors boys basketball program, taking a team that went 5-20 a season ago and leading them to an 11-3 record as of Jan. 3.

Oliver Boyle, a sophomore guard, has been a key part of the turnaround. Boyle leads the team with 13.2 points per game and is efficient in his scoring; he’s made 58% of his field goal attempts this season, including 38% of his three-point attempts.

Boyle is third on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game. He also leads the Sailors with 2.4 steals per game, providing value on both ends of the floor.

10. SAM KLANOT, RIVERVIEW HIGH BASEBALL

Klanot turned in a junior season that was the model of consistency.

He pitched in nine of the team’s 27 games, which was just the third-most on the team, but led the Rams with six wins and was not charged with a single loss. The righthander’s 1.58 ERA was the lowest among the team’s pitchers with at least five appearances.

Even in the team’s 4-3 playoff loss to East Lake High, Klanot pitched five innings of shutout baseball.

Klanot committed to the University of Chicago on Nov. 6. Having him back in the rotation in 2023 should give the Rams a good building block for another playoff run.

FROM PAGE 15

9. ALEC MILLER, SARASOTA HIGH BOYS TRACK AND FIELD

Miller, the Sailors senior distance runner, has had quite the 12 months.

He finished second (4:13.50) in the Class 4A boys 1,600-meter run at the 2022 FHSAA state championship meet in May as a junior, approximately two seconds behind Hagerty High junior Braden Seymour. Then he finished second at the Class 4A cross-country state championships (15:40.3) in November as a senior, approximately five seconds behind Nease High junior Matt Ryan.

With one track and field season left before he graduates, Miller has a chance to build off of those silver medals and finally earn a gold. His experience at state running events could give him a leg up in 2023.

File photos

Save the dates

Sarasota is a city filled with life and events to satisfy your curiosity and hobbies. From art exhibits and concerts to fireworks and pumpkin carving, there is something for everyone in every stage and phase of their lives. Mark your calendars because here are 10 Sarasota events you simply can’t miss this 2023.

‘EMBRACING OUR DIFFERENCES’

n The exhibit opens Jan. 18 in Bayfront Park and runs through March 12, but you can still catch it through mid-April in North Port and through late May at State College of Florida. For information, visit EmbracingOurDifferences.org.

“This universal message is a message of action,” says “Embracing Our Differences” Executive Director Sarah Wertheimer.

“Embracing Our Differences” is an annual outdoor exhibit featuring 50 billboard-sized images created by local, national and international artists, writers and students reflecting their interpretations of the theme “enriching lives through diversity and inclusion.”

Designed to use art as a catalyst

to promote diversity and create awareness, this exhibit more than most challenges viewers with calls to action.

THE PINK FLOYD LASER SPECTACULAR n Feb. 17 at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail. For information, visit VanWezel.org.

Van Wezel will bring the music of Pink Floyd with a colorful laser show. Your senses will be confronted with an array of visual displays during this one-of-a-kind presentation. This is the full Pink Floyd experience.

SARASOTA JAZZ FESTIVAL n March 13-14 at Regatta Island or Burns Court. For information, visit JazzClubSarasota.org/SarasotaJazz-Festival.

Come out to this music event and savor the sound of improvisation. Presented by The Jazz Club of Sarasota, it will delight Sarasota music lovers. This two-day event is full of performances from national and international jazz musicians. Terell Stafford will be the music director for this year’s festival.

SARASOTA COUNTY FAIR n March 17-26 at Sarasota Fairgrounds, 3000 Ringling Blvd. For information, visit SarasotaFair.com.

We thought about our Sarasota teens, too! This event defines the teen years, but adults can have fun as well. This event is full of rides,

elephant ears, baby goats and so much more.

NOCHEUNIDOS n April 28 at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For information, visit UnidosNow.org.

Want to shimmy your hips to traditional mariachi music with an orchestral accompaniment? You don’t want to miss this night filled with rhythmic music presented by UnidosNow and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. An Orlando mariachi group will play with the Venice Symphony at the Van Wezel. All funds raised will benefit UnidosNow to further empower the growing Hispanic/Latinx community members through their education, integration and civic engagement. Tickets will go on sale in January.

NEWTOWN JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION n June 18 at Newtown, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way. For information, visit NewtownAlive.org.

Join the Newtown community for this free, outdoor celebration and to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Support local vendors and businesses.

FIREWORKS ON BAYFRONT PARK n July 4 at Bayfront Park, 5 Bayfront Drive. For information, visit SarasotaFL.gov.

Celebrate Independence Day by the bay. After a day full of barbecues, beers and parades, there’s no better way to end Independence Day than with a firework display right on the water. Make sure you have lawn chairs ready.

This fireworks display over Sarasota Bay is organized by Suncoast Charities for Children in partnership with Marina Jack and produced by Pyrotecnico.

LASER ENGRAVE A PUMPKIN

n Late September through early October at Suncoast Science Center’s Faulhaber Fab Lab, 4452 S. Beneva Road. For information, visit SuncoastScience.org.

Why carve a pumpkin when you can use a laser? Convert ordinary pumpkins into spooky ones for Halloween. Learn how to create or find a custom design to be engraved onto a pumpkin using the Fab Lab’s hightech laser engraver.

VETERANS DAY PARADE n Nov. 11. at Sarasota Downtown Main Street. For information, visit SarasotaFL.gov.

The city of Sarasota, in conjunction with the Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee, will host its annual Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony. It’s a day to honor our veterans in Downtown Sarasota. Patriotic Observance Committee Chairman Dan Kennedy believes that this is an important event for students to understand the importance of Veterans Day. “This is the history of our country. We honor and recognize the veterans who contributed to our society.”

JENNIFER THOMPSON 941.928.0790 Jennifer@ThompsonGroupSarasota.com TAYLOR THOMPSON 941.928.2372 Taylor@ThompsonGroupSarasota.com ThompsonGroupSarasota.com

SARASOTA HOLIDAY PARADE n Dec. 2. on Sarasota Main Street. For information, visit SarasotaHolidayParade.com.

Enjoy a fun-filled event with dancing, singing and amazing floats with an appearance from Santa Claus. This holiday parade is a must if you call yourself a local to the Sarasota area. Children will dance to holiday music that will blast from speakers. This is a free event, so there’s no excuse not to gain your “Sarasota local” card.

DARIELA DELGADO | STAFF WRITER

File photos

Visitors marvele at the fireworks overhead during Fourth of July festivities at Bayfront Park.

Alejandro Arenas and Mark Feinman turn up the heat during La Lucha’s performance at the Sarasota Jazz Festival.

Grace Hullinger promotes peace on Earth from the float for the Sarasota Tabernacle Christian School in the Downtown Sarasota Holiday Parade.

Happy New Year

Alittle drizzle of rain didn’t stop Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association from hosting its traditional New Year’s Eve Block Party and Pineapple Drop on Main Street and Lemon Avenue on Dec. 31.

Event organizer Ron Soto starts working on the next pineapple drop in February. The stages, rides, generators and even the ice used for drinks has to be ordered well in advance. “It takes at least two days to set up the carnival up. This is a big production,” Soto said.

Thousands of people gathered as the night progressed closer to 2023. Carnival rides, games, food and festive knickknacks gave families an array of fun activities to choose from as they waited for the first hour of the new year.

“Even though it’s a lot of work and stress, at midnight when you see the thousands of people all out there enjoying themselves and having a good time, it’s worth it,” Soto said.

— DARIELA DELGADO

Photos by Dariela Delgado

Ron Soto preps Sarasota’s beloved pineapple for the New Year’s Eve Block Party and Pineapple Drop.

Barbara Young, Alexis Vasilos, Bob Gifford, Lucas and Brian Buta

Mirra Bodi showcases her backflips. Rebecca Zion and Christine Shields Gunner, Shara, Rudy and Randy Muth enjoy the Dreamland Amusement games.

Siesta Key property sells for $3.2 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome on Siesta Key tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Douglas Logan and Ann Ellen Logan, of Saratoga Springs, New York, sold their home at 4028 Roberts Point Road to Mark Stautberg and Stacy Medvetz, of Sarasota, for $3,225,000. Built in 1992, it has four bedrooms, five baths, a pool and 3,275 square feet of living area. It sold for $800,000 in 1994.

SARASOTA

BUCCANEER BAY

Guy and Nicole Jensen, of Royal Oak, Michigan, sold their home at 1815 Buccaneer Trail to Christopher and Eva Danielak, of Sarasota, for $2 million. Built in 1981, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 4,407 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,274,000 in 2017.

HARBOR VIEW ON GOLDEN GATE POINT

Alice Gingles Sample, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 503 condominium at 650 Golden Gate Point to David and Michelle Sylvester, of McCordsville, Indiana, for $2 million. Built in 1962, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,837 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,425,000 in 2021.

SARASOTA VENICE CO.

Lawrence Pomeroy III and Jeffrey Pomeroy, of Nashville, Tennessee, sold two properties at 4242 Windermere Place to Clarissa Engelhard, of Sarasota, for $1,221,500. The first property was built in 1962 and has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,066 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1988 and it has one bedroom and 926 square feet of living area. It sold for $227,000 in 1996.

ENCLAVE AT LAUREL PARK

Robert Mock, of Parrish, sold the home at to Carla Desjean Bastian, of Sarasota, for $900,000. Built in 2019, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,321 square feet of living area. It sold for $601,300 in 2019.

HARBOR HOUSE WEST Equity Trust Co. and Premier Capital Properties Inc. sold the Unit 43

The home at 4028 Roberts Point Road was built in 1992; it has four bedrooms, five baths, a pool and 3,275 square feet of living area.

condominium at 226 Golden Gate Point to Brian Harvey, of Sarasota, for $875,000. Built in 1968, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,454 square feet of living area. It sold for $87,500 in 1980.

PHILLIPPI LANDINGS

Eugene and Teryl Kaplan, Scott Kaplan and Julie Kaplan, of Boca Raton, sold their Unit 606 condominium at 5591 Cannes Circle to L. Norman Vaughan-Birch and Erin Tom Vaughn-Birch, of Sarasota, for $750,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,024 square feet of living area. It sold for $505,000 in 2020.

GRANADA

Josiah Walker Bancroft III, of Sarasota, sold his home at 3529 Jacinto Court to Mike and Shannon Backofen, of Sarasota, for $735,000. Built in 1926, it has three bedrooms, one bath and 1,062 square feet of living area. It sold for $440,000 in 2020.

PAYNE PARK VILLAGE

Weekley Homes LLC sold the home at 2509 Boone Court to John Benton Dygert and Alison Jane Dygert, trustees, of Sarasota, for $725,000. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,113 square feet of living area.

Weekley Homes LLC sold the home at 2458 Mangum Court to Donna Casey Wood, of Sarasota, for $690,000. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,108 square feet of living area.

Weekley Homes LLC sold the home at 2454 Mangum Court to Walter Zampella and Hildy Zampella,

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

trustees, of Sarasota, for $670,000. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 1,915 square feet of living area.

Weekley Homes LLC sold the home at 2450 Mangum Court to John Branin and Suzanne Bakewell, of Sarasota, for $655,000. Built in 2022, it has two bedrooms, threeand-a-half baths and 1,771 square feet of living area.

THE LANDINGS TREEHOUSE Hilda Ely, of Sarasota, sold her Unit 35 condominium at 1487 Landings Lake Drive to Gale Sisney, of Sarasota, for $712,500. Built in 1981, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-

SEE REAL ESTATE, PAGE 22

Other top sales by area

SARASOTA: $3.1 MILLION McClellan Park

Brenda DuCray, of Sarasota, sold her home at 2174 McClellan Parkway to Kris and Samantha Alden, of Sarasota, for $3.1 million. Built in 2022, it has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths and 3,512 square feet of living area. It sold for $2,836,000 in 2022.

PALMER RANCH: $1.3 MILLION

Arbor Lakes on Palmer Ranch

Corteney Callis and Tiffanie Nicole Callis, of Plant City, sold their home at 5705 Autumn Fern Circle to Vicki Lynn Stanley Farina, trustee, of Ovilla, Texas, for $1,275,000. Built in 2018, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 4,087 square feet of living area. It sold for $561,200 in 2018.

OSPREY:

Oaks II

$2.15 MILLION

Leonard Mackenzie, of Rockwell, Texas, sold his home at 896 Mac Ewen Drive to GSR Florida Property Holdings II LLC for $2.15 million. Built in 1998, it has four bedrooms, five-anda-half baths, a pool and 4,858 square feet of living area. It sold for $850,000 in 2020.

NOKOMIS:

$1.85 MILLION

Twin Laurel Estates Thomas and Deborah Truesdale sold their home at 1106 Twin Laurel Blvd. to 1114 TLB LLC for $1.85 million. Built in 1982, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,317 square feet of living area. It sold for $116,000 in 1993.

Courtesy photo

half baths and 2,040 square feet of

FORTMYERS 12135ClevelandAve. Ft.Myers,FL 239-939-4445 (Formerly Vac&Sew)

2238 Siesta Drive to Michael Daigle and Bradley Borowiec, of Chicago, for $555,000. Built in 1958, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,482 square feet of living area. It sold for $107,500 in 1999.

ONE HUNDRED CENTRAL Judith Ann King Peters, of Royal Oak, Michigan, sold her Unit B-405 condominium at 100 Central Ave. to David Aaron Hillegass, of Sarasota, for $685,000. Built in 2005, it has one bedroom, two baths and 1,180 square feet of living area. It sold for $468,000 in 2019.

GULF GATE EAST Ellen Trujillo, of Boulder, Colorado, sold her home at 4332 Kingston Loop to Karyn Jean Brodala and Richard Brodala and Joan Janis Galletta, of Sarasota, for $649,500. Built in 1982, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,047 square feet of living area. It sold for $486,000 in 2021.

GULF GATE James DaSilva and Jane Eyre-Kelly, trustee, sold the home at 2730 Regatta Drive to Emily Sheets, of Sarasota, for $520,000. Built in 1967, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,589 square feet of living area. It sold for $247,000 in 2015.

AVONDALE

Daisey RSA LLC sold the home at 1838 Irving St. to Richard and Stephanie Sibley, of Sarasota, for $518,600. Built in 1941, it has three

2011, it has four bedrooms, fourand-a-half baths, a pool and 3,796 square feet of living area. It sold for $9,728,800 in 2021.

CRYSTAL SANDS

Dawn Alice Basile, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 1211 condominium at 6300 Midnight Pass Road to David and Cathy Cocaine, of Millbury, Massachusetts, for $1.7 million. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,271 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.5 million in 2021.

Glacier Properties LLC sold the Unit 206 condominium at 6300 Midnight Pass Road to DCH Property Management LLC for $1,295,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,271 square feet of living area. It sold for $575,000 in 2010.

Glacier Properties LLC sold the Unit 406 condominium at 6300 Midnight Pass Road to Aryan Mooss and Cynthia Mooss, trustees, of Siesta Key, for $985,000. Built in 1970, it has one bedroom, one bath and 899 square feet of living area. It sold for $550,000 in 2014.

THURSDAY, JAN. 5

High: 74 Low: 55

Chance of rain: 65%

FRIDAY, JAN. 6 High: 69 Low: 49 Chance of rain: 4%

SATURDAY, JAN. 7 High: 74 Low: 54 Chance of rain: 4%

SUNDAY, JAN. 8 High: 76 Low: 59 Chance of rain: 7%

Sunrise Sunset

Thursday, Jan. 5 7:20a 5:50p

Friday, Jan. 6 7:20a 5:50p

Saturday, Jan. 7 7:21a 5:51p

Sunday, Jan. 8 7:21a 5:52p

Monday, Jan. 9 7:21a 5:53p

Tuesday, Jan. 10 7:21a 5:53p

Wednesday, Jan. 11 7:21a 5:54p

PHASES

Monday, Dec. 26 0

Tuesday, Dec. 27 0

Wednesday, Dec. 28 0

Thursday, Dec. 29 0

Friday, Dec. 30 0

Saturday, Dec. 31 0 Sunday, Jan. 1 0

YEAR TO DATE: 2023 0.00 in. 2022 0.03 in.

MONTH TO DATE: 2023 0.00 in. 2022 0.03 in.

THE STARS by Drew Schmenner, edited by David Steinberg By Luis Campos

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