Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer 6.13.24

SARASOTA/SIESTA KEY

Pride at all ages

Jenn Windhausen had a succinct appreciation for Silver Pride at Senior Friendship Centers on June 8.

“I’m just glad to be here,” she said.

Windhausen wasn’t the only one; numerous members of the public turned out for the event’s second year at Senior Friendship Centers.

They came to celebrate Pride with live music, vendors, food and fun activities, along with the chance to connect with resources for Sarasota’s elder LGBTQ+ community.

Jason Champion, president of Project Pride, said the event speaks to a demand from those in Sarasota’s LGBTQ+ community who belong to the area’s major demographic, the elderly.

Dynamic urban planning duo

Ian Swaby

Cristiane “Kiki” Da Silva trains with Krysta Fineburg at Capoeira Volta Ao Mundo.

Ian Swaby

Jenn Windhausen and Linda Pupke

Petra Rivera

Dalton Jordan

WEEK OF JUNE 13, 2024

BY THE NUMBERS

“I want to be able to leave this commission knowing I did everything in my power to stop this tax.”

County Commission Chairman Mike Moran. Read more on Page 5

Neal donates award to conservation group

In honor of his decades of contributions to the preservation of environmentally sensitive lands in Southwest Florida, Neal Communities Chairman Pat Neal was presented with the 2024 Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award in May. He then combined the $150,000 honorarium that accompanies the award with an additional $200,000 raised by the company to donate a total of $350,000 to the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. The award is given in partnership with residential develop-

ment investor Hearthstone and the national publication BUILDER magazine. The money will be used by the foundation to acquire land in Sarasota and Manatee counties and to fund development of its Strategic Conservation Plan.

Now in its 20th year, the foundation has sponsored or managed the acquisition of nearly 20,000 acres across 58 properties in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties.

“The work being done by organizations like Conservation Foun-

So how much rain did Sarasota get?

Rain gauges throughout the Sarasota area produced some mindboggling numbers Tuesday as the Sarasota County Automated Rainfall Monitoring System recorded rainfall of up to 8.58 inches.

Those numbers promise to rise even further as the unpredictable Invest 90L storm system parked off the Gulf Coast is expected to continue to throw rain bands across the area throughout the weekend.

The highest reported rainfall in Sarasota County was 8.58 inches in the past 24 hours at a monitoring station at South Shade Avenue and Bahia Vista Street in the Arlington Park neighborhood.

That was the only station within the city limits that measured more than eight inches. A nearby station in the Pinecraft area reported 7.83 inches of rain.

Other points of interest in and near the city include Bobby Jones Golf Club at 6.38 inches, Newtown near the intersection of Myrtle Street and U.S. 301 at 5.93 inches, 6.01 inches in Gulf Gate, and 7.25 inches in the Desoto Lakes area north of the

Lido Shores home sells for $12.5 million

A listing in Lido Shores closed on June 7 for $12.5 million. That’s a new record for the 34236 zip code, according to Coldwell Banker Realty. The 6,590-square-foot

dation of the Gulf Coast related to land preservation is vital for our future generations to ensure that the public can enjoy everything that this beautiful state has to offer for years to come,” said Neal in a news release.

Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast protects land and water in Southwest Florida through strategic collaborations with individuals, groups, organizations and government. More information about the organization is available at ConservationFoundation.com.

STREET SMARTS

City’s dynamic duo of transportation planning take diverse approaches to improving mobility.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

One is a native of Puerto Rico, the other is from New Jersey. Neither had any intention of pursuing a career in transportation planning.

Both arrived at the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization in 2017, then came to the city of Sarasota Planning Department in 2021, and today they are the city’s transportation planning pair, responsible for executing the master transportation plan. Sarasota In Motion was crafted by their predecessors and codified by the Sarasota City Commission.

Together, they combine their diverse approaches to mobility planning to execute projects identified as priorities by the commissioners. This includes initial public engagement through implementation — and everything in between, such as site visits of businesses, neighborhood workshops, state and federal project grant applications, serving as design liaisons and public presentations.

And more than colleagues, by all indications they are close friends.

“She was a bridesmaid in my wedding,” said Senior Transportation Planner Corinne Arriaga of Chief Transportation Planner Alvimarie Corales, who is also her supervisor.

“I got married before I moved here, but she would have been in mine,” Corales added.

Now sharing a common goal, both took circuitous routes to arrive here from their origins separated by 22

degrees of latitude. Arriaga earned a bachelor’s in psychology at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and a master’s in public health from USF in Tampa. Corales earned a bachelor’s in sociology from University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and a master’s in urban planning at the University of Florida.

As an undergraduate, Arriaga worked as a research assistant for Age Friendly Sarasota, an eightyear Patterson Foundation initiative to promote active, engaged and healthy living for people of all ages. That connection led her to the MPO where, as an intern, she took her first steps into transportation planning.

“If you had asked me what transportation planning was, I don’t think I could have even guessed,” Arriaga said. “When my internship came to a close, I applied for one of the MPO’s multimodal planner positions, which I did not get, but they created a public involvement coordinator position for me.”

She didn’t get the multimodal planning job, but Corales did.

Arriaga earned her master’s while working with the MPO, where she approached transportation planning from a different perspective.

“I was really able to focus on the intersection of public health and transportation,” she said. “I found that very valuable for what I was doing.”

By contrast, Corales’ approach to transportation planning is datadriven, applying her interest in sociology to analyze how people interact with the built environment.

“After graduation, I knew I needed to follow another path, and a professor at the university was an urban planner, and I had never heard about that before,” Corales said. “I took every class that I could with him to learn more about what this was. And that’s how I got my foot in the door for urban planning.”

That interest led Corales to the University of Florida, where her master’s focused on geographic information systems and urban design.

“I had always said that I did not want to do transportation planning,” she said. “I focused on trying to find alternatives to planning that were innovative. I held three jobs while I was in school with my research professors, and come to find out, I was doing transportation planning for two out of the three jobs so I thought, ‘OK, I think I have a knack for this.’”

VISION TO CONSTRUCTION

Their winding paths intersected at the MPO in 2017. Arriaga was later promoted to multimodal planner after Corales was promoted to principal planner, eventually rising to planning manager in 2021.

In November 2021, Arriaga was the first of the two to leave the MPO and join the city. Corales followed her one month later.

“I basically dragged her here,” Arriaga said.

Together again following their brief separation, they were tasked with taking Sarasota In Motion from paper to concrete and asphalt.

Design work for the master plan’s Ringling Trail complete streets project was already underway to convert the four-lane roadway into a multimodal connector from the current termination of Legacy Trail near Lime Avenue to the bayfront, connecting to points beyond.

“Our predecessors were focused on the transportation master plan, so their emphasis was on citywide planning,” Arriaga said. “Because this plan was adopted, the city needed people who could focus on project planning. How do we take these excellent projects that the community has told us that they want and that they need? How do get them from the vision of the master plan to being built?”

Next on pace to be built are the dual complete street projects on Boulevard of the Arts and 10th Street, the former from Orange Avenue to the bayfront and the latter from Orange Avenue to U.S. 41.

On May 23, the pair hosted a neighborhood workshop on the projects, one that was so well attended it required an unplanned second formal presentation. Both are at the 60% design phase but not yet scheduled for construction as they await federal funding decisions.

Meanwhile, Corales and Arriaga have embarked on the visioning for a reimagined Main Street, the first step in what is typically a decadelong process, if not longer, from idea to completion, all while balancing conflicting public perception along the way.

“We do get that constant messaging of why something is not going to work. You are not putting a lot of thought into it. You’re going too fast or you’re not going fast enough,” Corales said. “These projects have been going through all this public involvement and all this public outreach for years, and we have been very transparent. We have project websites. There is plenty of information out there, but sometimes we get these messages that we’re going too fast on this project even though it’s been going on for a couple of years.

“If you look at how transportation projects get built from the moment they are budgeted to construction, they can take 10 to 15 years. Either way, for some people we’re either going too fast or we’re going too slow.”

FUTURE VISION

Corales and Arriaga say they don’t find fault in the general public’s perceptions — or misperceptions — of the transportation improvement process.

Residents view needs as they exist today, while planners must consider what travel may be like decades into the future.

Will there be a greater emphasis on more advanced modes of mobility such as bus rapid transit? If so, what are the likely corridors and how should parallel streets be designed to complement? Will there be a need for more parking or less as mobility trends evolve?

“It just tells me that we need to provide more education,” Arriaga

Together, they combine their diverse approaches to mobility planning to execute projects identified as priorities by the commissioners.

said. “What happens a lot of the time is people don’t understand the benefit, or maybe they see something and they feel like it’s not going to work. They don’t realize we analyze all this based on data. Alvie can tell you she’s data-oriented. Her whole background is in data and data analysis.”

“These projects don’t just come out of thin air,” Corales added.

As the faces of city transportation planning, the duo also take the brunt of criticism about projects.

Although they provide project guidance and are guided themselves by transportation engineers who apply practicality to imaginative concepts, they receive their directives from the City Commission passed down through the city manager’s office. And in the end, it is the commission that approves or rejects plans.

The 60% completed plans for 10th Street and Boulevard of the Arts were achieved starting with public visioning sessions, a two-day tour to solicit feedback from businesses in the Rosemary District and passersby on the street, combining that input with results of workshops and surveys, and providing all of that data to transportation and land planning engineers.

As design-build projects, the final design threshold will come as construction begins, whenever it begins, and only after funding is secured. Meanwhile, it’s on to Main Street and any of the six remaining top 10 Sarasota In Motion priorities.

“We have general ideas of what the future looks like, but it’s not set in stone and anything can change, especially when it comes to transportation,” Arriaga said. “We have really big brains out there thinking up great ideas, and it’s just a matter of who can implement it and when, and how we can be prepared for that.”

Andrew Warfield Sarasota Senior Transportation Planner Corinne Arriaga discusses complete street plans with a resident during the public workshop.

Top: Corinne Arriaga (left) and Alvimarie Corales approach multimodal transportation from different perspectives.

Above: Chief Transportation Planner Alvimarie Corales (left) and Senior Transportation Planner Corinne Arriaga both joined the city staff in late 2021.

Courtesy image

Andrew Warfield

AIR SUPPORT

Meet the crew at SRQ that services private aircraft and commercial jets so they can stay up in the air.

JIM DELA

DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Aviotec, an aircraft maintenance company based at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, has served the general aviation community since 2008.

And now, a new owner is expanding the business, with contracts with nearly every airline operating at SRQ to perform maintenance when issues arise with their aircraft.

Victor Mena, who bought Aviotec two years ago, said it was simply a case of recognizing the opportunity during meetings of SRQ’s tenant managers. “It started as a series of conversations,” that led to the agreements.

Since most airlines don’t have their own maintenance teams at smaller airports like SRQ, it’s an arrangement that minimizes the amount of time airliners are stuck on the ground when problems arise.

Aviotec provides services for every airline at SRQ except Allegiant Air, which has its own crew in the area, and Air Canada, which operates under Canadian rules, which are different from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Aviotec’s five aircraft technicians work closely with the staff of each airline, to do the work according to each company’s procedures.

“We’re the eyes, ears and hands of the airlines,” said Frank Albritton, Aviotec’s director of maintenance. Work performed by Aviotec can

include diagnosing issues with cockpit systems, hydraulics, fuel systems, lights and tires. Even things like a broken seat or malfunctioning toilet can be handled quickly, so the aircraft can return to service.

“If a plane is sitting on the ground, it’s not making money,” Mena observed.

Mena said Aviotec was built on servicing general aviation aircraft. Its technicians are certified to work on a wide variety of airframes, including Beechcraft, Cessna, Hawker, Learjet, Piper and TBM.

Aviotec also specializes in servicing the Beechcraft Bonanza, a singleengine aircraft first designed in the late 1940s and that has an enthusiastic following. Aviotec is a member of the American Bonanza Society, which claims more than 10,000 members.

Mena credits the employees who have built a solid reputation in the

aviation community. The five maintenance technicians have more than 150 years of experience between them, Mena said.

“No one has less than 20 years’ experience,” Mena said. “There are no rookies on this team at all.”

Since the first contract was signed a year ago, Mena said work with the airlines now accounts for about half of Aviotec’s business.

And Mena is not stopping there. He’s branching out into other areas, including terminal and passenger services and ground handling.

“It opens new doors,” he said. “We can offer more than just maintenance.”

It’s something Mena knows about. Before moving to Florida, he owned a company at Los Angeles International Airport, providing similar services to several foreign airlines. He sold his interest in that company during the pandemic and moved to Florida.

But even as the work with airlines expands, Mena said he’s not abandoning the general aviation community.

“The airlines will sometimes pull us away, but we always try to make time,” for general aviation. “Our goal is to keep the community flying.”

“If a plane is sitting on the ground, it’s not making money.”

all on 5 acres in beautiful Waynesville, NC west of Asheville. Easy flight from Sarasota to Asheville Regional airport, then a 35 minute drive to the cabin. Book through Airbnb or Vrbo. 3 night minimum stay, now through December 31st.

Aircraft maintenance technician Jason Dolan examines the wing of a Piper Saratoga during the plane’s annual inspection inside the Aviotec hangar at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

Photos by Jim DeLa Victor Mena, owner of Aviotec at SarasotaBradenton International Airport

— Victor Mena, owner of Aviotec

Mission accomplished

Sarasota County Chairman Mike Moran completes his ‘journey’ to end business tax that directly supports the EDC.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

Mike Moran describes his term-long effort to eliminate Sarasota County’s business tax and remove it as a direct funding source for the Economic Development Corp. as an “eight-year journey.”

Calling such a move “misguided,” Ron Cutsinger countered that the reconstituted leadership of the EDC of Sarasota County has remedied the organization’s sins of the past and has met or exceeded expectations of the County Commission to retain the funding that comprises 25% — $472,421 — of its annual budget of

approximately $1.8 million.

No matter. Joined by fellow commissioners Neil Rainford and Joe Neunder, on June 4 the board voted 3-2 to repeal the business tax, instructing staff to prepare documents to be considered at their June 19 meeting to authorize a public hearing on such an ordinance.

Cutsinger was joined by Mark Smith as dissenting votes.

That means the tax and funding have yet to be terminated officially, but for Moran, citing his adverse history with EDC board members and executive leadership prior to a wholesale turnover two years ago, it marks a legacy accomplishment as his second and final County Commission term concludes this fall.

Moran has filed as a candidate for Sarasota County Tax Collector.

“I want to be able to leave this commission knowing I did everything in my power to stop this tax,” Moran said. “If this board or any future board wants to fund the EDC, general funds, not a tax, should be

used and should compete every year against the other competing priorities we have in Sarasota County.”

Both Cutsinger and Smith countered that neither have heard from any business that opposes the nominal tax — which averages $22.46 per year — and organizations that represent the business community unanimously support keeping the tax in place.

“As a good Republican, I’m against all taxes, but when I see folks being taxed are the ones fighting to be taxed, which is a very unusual situation, and we’re going to take the tax away from the folks who want to pay it and we’re going to put it in the general fund to the general public that knows nothing about it, I just think we’re misguided here,” Smith said.

The county will still be contributing to the EDC’s budget via capital funding — codified by an interlocal agreement with the county’s municipalities — and tourist development tax revenue, “for a total of $577,378 in taxpayer money,” Moran said,

adding that Manatee County funds the Bradenton Area EDC to the tune of $337,000 via its general fund.

“I’m not sure what Manatee County is doing or how they’re doing it, and frankly, that’s not my focus,” Cutsinger said. “My focus is Sarasota County and what we’re doing, and what I see us doing is moving in the right direction.”

Moran said that in 2016, the EDC board pledged to bring private contributions to its annual budget to 50%. At the June 4 meeting, EDC President and CEO Erin Silk, who is completing her first year in that role, reported a 15% increase over fiscal year 2024 for a total of 41% in private funding.

“I think it’s going to be a heavy blanket over the momentum that they’ve been building,” said Cutsinger, who is the commission’s representative to the EDC board. “What we’ve heard clearly, unambiguously and in my personal experience, the business community wholeheartedly supports this and the tax is not something they feel is a burden at all.”

As Moran’s journey ends, another begins for Silk and the EDC. Silk ascended to president and CEO in June 2023, succeeding Lisa Krouse, who filled the role on an interim basis since August 2021 as the organizational transition began.

Rainford proposed the county consider a match from the general fund of 50 cents per dollar of private investment in the EDC, capping it at $500,000 for fiscal year 2025. If that were implemented, to be made whole the EDC would have to increase its private funding from $753,000 to just more than $1 million.

In the wake of the commission decision, Silk said it’s too soon to predict the ramifications as its service agreement with the county is restructured. The EDC also serves as the business liaison and industry recruiting arm of the county.

“At this time, there is still a lot to be understood about the various implications and potential other funding opportunities,” Silk told sister publication the Business Observer “We will know more in the coming months as we continue to work with the county on a potential revised service agreement.”

SILK AMONG NATION’S TOP 50

With just one year on the job, EDC of Sarasota County President and CEO Erin Silk has been named one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers of 2024 by Consultant Connect, a national consulting firm focusing on strengthening partnerships between economic developers and site selectors.

Silk joined the EDC in 2019 as director of business development services and was named president and CEO by the board of directors in June 2023. According to a news release, in her first year, she managed a pipeline of 75 company expansions and relocations, attracting $13.4 million in new capital investment. Additional committed projects are projected to exceed $50 million in investment in the coming years.

“We know that the 39 projects that the EDC has assisted over the past few years have already generated over $28 million in local tax revenue to date, and they will continue to generate more than $5.5 million in taxes every year,” Silk told county commissioners during their June 4 meeting.

“It’s going to get very real for you all very quickly,” Neunder said, “in that you need to be out there in the private sector, with the chambers, with the who’s who, with the leaders of our community asking for more privatized buy-in to your organization, which is not a bad thing.”

With 120 contributors to the EDC’s private funding, Neunder said he’d like to see greater participation from the business community.

THE TRUSTED CHOICE

nation’s largest system of rehabilitation hospitals. There, they created

a rehabilitation program specifically designed for his needs using advanced technology and innovative treatments. And he was cared for by a highly trained, experienced staff that showed professionalism and compassion throughout his recovery. Now I know why they are the trusted choice of medical professionals.

File image

Mike Moran has led the effort to end the countywide business tax that directly supports the EDC of Sarasota County.

Change in course

‘Adjustable’ Gillespie Par-3 course opens for play at Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Six months after the grand opening of the restored Donald Ross course at Bobby Jones Golf Club, what could be called the Richard Mandell par-3 course has opened across Circus Boulevard.

Mandell’s seven-year odyssey culminated in the completed restoration of the city-owned original 1926 18-hole Donald Ross layout and the creation of an adjoining wetlands and nature preserve in late 2023. All that remained was finishing the Gillespie Course, a companion “adjustable” par-3 course that replaced the prior short course on that site.

Adjustable in that it can be played in a variety of configurations — Mandell has come up with six so far — but in reality may only be set up in two routes, perhaps a third, that will provide golfers a variety.

For the Pinehurst, North Carolinabased golf course architect who also specializes in Donald Ross restorations, the opportunity to create the

adjustable Gillespie Course was a unique experience.

“I’ve done short courses before, but never did the adjustable idea before,” said Mandell, who played the first round on the par-27 course the Wednesday before it opened to the public on June 1.

“I shot a 31, so I had the course record until Saturday,” he said.

That score included a double bogey, demonstrating a challenge even for low-handicappers.

With all grass other than the greens maintained at the same height throughout the property, anywhere can be a teeing area,

accommodating the adjustable routing concept. Mandell said the nine holes can effectively be 33 different holes depending on the routing.

The course is easily walkable, but carts are allowed. There are also complimentary push carts available, and among the merchandise for sale in the Gillespie starter building are “Sunday bags” that can hold six clubs, all that is needed for the course that ranges in hole lengths from about 70 yards to 180 yards.

“Just on length alone, it brings older golfers who don’t want to play a full golf course and it brings golfers who don’t have the time for a full 18-hole course,” Mandell said. “But what’s important is that it’s fun and enjoyable for all, and I think the expert golfer will find it very compelling and visually stimulating.

“A lot of short courses lack the detail work that’s in the Gillespie course. I don’t care if it’s a short course or a championship course, the details need to be on there.”

The grow-in period for the Gillespie Course was nearly devoid

of the typical local rainfall, and although not as lush and green as the Troon Golf management team would like, the decision was made to open for play.

So far, so good, said Bobby Jones Golf Club General Manager John Sparrow.

“We’re seeing a little bit of everything out there,” Sparrow said after opening weekend. “There are a lot of juniors playing with parents, seniors looking for just a quick round of golf. We had the night golf event that had a lot of couples out there. It was a good time.”

Like the Ross Course, the Gillespie Course can be booked by phone or online under the dynamic pricing model, which sets the fee based on demand at the time of booking. But that’s not the only way to get out there.

“We’re trying to have golfers book tee times online or over the phone, but we’re noticing that it’s going to be more of a walk up and play situation,” Sparrow said. The fee model, which rises and

falls from a median figure based on demand, is performing as anticipated, according to Sparrow. That means on average, rates are neither significantly higher than the target range nor significantly lower.

From December through May, he said the course has hosted approximately 29,000 rounds.

That’s on pace to exceed the goal of 56,000 first-year rounds, depending on how summer heat and rains impact volume.

“We’ll see how the summer goes,” Sparrow said. “We don’t know what we don’t know. There’s no historical data of how the golf course is going to do, but it’s exceeding I think everyone’s expectations.”

As for fees on the Gillespie Course, a random sampling of available tee times on June 7 was $30 per player. City residents receive a 40% discount on posted rates. Complete details, including registering with the facility as a city resident, are available at BobbyJonesGolfClub. com.

A view toward the starter house at the Gillespie Course. When it opened, the course had received little rain during the grow-in period.

Photos by Andrew Warfield

John Sparrow is general manager of the Bobby Jones Golf Club, which includes the Gillespie adjustable par-3 course.

Richard Mandell

The oblivious politicians

Mike Moran, Neil Rainford and Joe Neunder are on track to punish the EDC’s success. For what?

Are they really that knuckleheaded? Are they really that oblivious? Are they really that absorbed in their perceived self-righteousness and superiority, their pomposity and drunkenness for power? It must be so.

Otherwise, Sarasota County Commissioners Mike Moran, Neil Rainford and Joe Neunder wouldn’t have done what they did and the way they did it June 4. Apparently seeing themselves as the vaunted, gallant, conservative protectors of taxpayers, they voted to repeal Sarasota County’s 30-year-old business tax.

This is a tax on every business that generates $472,421 a year, 28% of the annual $1.82 million budget of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County. The EDC, of course, is the not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to help expand and diversify Sarasota County’s economy by attracting new businesses and helping new and existing businesses slosh through the county’s and cities’ regulatory quagmires.

Moran, chair of the commission, has been on a different economic undevelopment mission. Even though he said last week he’s not against having an EDC, he has chafed over the EDC’s operations since his first election in 2016 — never satisfied that EDC leaders could justify their results on a spreadsheet.

He, like many others, saw the EDC in the mid- and late 2000s grant subsidies to businesses that shortly after went out of business. Sarasota County, mind you, while guilty, wasn’t the only place where those incentives backfired. Cities, counties and states all over the U.S. were engaged in the incentive giveaways. But Moran noted with derision at last week’s meeting the county dished out $37 million in incentives since 2009.

In 2021, when Moran previously attempted to end the business tax, he said his opposition to the tax “didn’t just spring up … From the very beginning, all I’ve ever asked for is clear, measurable goals. I made it very clear that I wanted less words on paper and more numbers on an Excel spreadsheet.”

Last week, he said: “I want to be able to leave this commission knowing that I did everything in my power to stop this tax.” Big talker.

Is the business tax really that nefarious?

In conversations with executives who served previously on the EDC board with Moran, the picture they painted was he didn’t understand — or care — that economic development is not measuring how many new barbershops opened in a month or producing a monthly spreadsheet. It’s multifaceted, complicated and time consuming. That didn’t matter. Observers of Moran have seen the same traits they’re seeing now: obstinate and a bully. Just ask members of the task force appointed by the commission to help devise a new method to distribute county funds to nonprofits. They labored for months to create a detailed plan, only to have Moran abruptly ignore it and then shove his plan through the commission. He made no apparent effort to work for any kind of mutual buy-in. My way or the highway.

With the EDC, it is more of the same: obstinance, bullying and no conciliation.

He is hell-bent on repealing the business tax. He insists the EDC

BUSINESS TAX CHRONOLOGY

As in most cases, it took a crisis to bring about the business tax.

From 1972 until 1991, Sarasota County had abandoned what was formerly known as the occupational license tax.

But in 1991, well into a recession that began in the summer of 1990, Sarasota County was experiencing pain in its two main economic sectors — tourism and construction.

Mortgage rates were 9.25%.

Talk intensified in Sarasota’s business circles that the local economy needed to diversify to soften the shocks of Florida’s boom and bust cycles.

The Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s Council of 100 persuaded the County Commission to adopt a new occupational license tax with the funds dedicated specifically to economic development. The commission also created the Sarasota County Economic Development Board.

The tax went into effect in October 1992, with a provision to expire in 1998.

But in 1998, the commission voted to keep the tax and board going.

In 2004-2005, as the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County formally became a not-for-profit corporation, the county’s municipalities also signed agreements in which they would contribute annually $1 per capita for the EDC’s services.

In 2007, the Legislature changed the name of the occupational license tax to the business tax.

should go through the county’s general fund budget process to vie annually for funding like every other recipient of the commission’s beneficence. It’s not right, Moran argues, that the EDC has a dedicated funding source — even though that is what county commissioners have agreed to do for 30 years.

But put Moran’s tirading crusade in perspective. Consider how little tax money is at stake; the remarkable recent turnaround at the EDC; and the greater picture of Sarasota County’s opportunities for economic development — none of which had any effect on Moran or registered with Rainford and Neunder.

In the scheme of county government, the business tax — all $472,721 of it — is a teensy pittance of 0.08% of the $561 million the county collects in taxes and fees and 0.03% of the $1.445 bil-

Big Top Timeline “If

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

Diversifying Our Economy

FY2019-FY2023 the EDC supported 39 successful diverse business expansions.

• $69,100,000 in New Taxable Capital Investment 1,306 Projected New Jobs

• $67,580,000 New Yearly Payroll

• 500,000+ Square Footage Built or Leased

lion county operating budget. It’s rounding money.

What’s more, it’s not a tax that has any outspoken opposition, other than the three picayune commissioners. To the contrary, every business organization in the county endorses it, including the chambers of commerce of Sarasota, North Port, Venice, Siesta Key, Council of Business Associations, Argus Foundation, Gulf Coast Builders Exchange and Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, which together represent thousands of businesses.

It’s a tax for which nine speakers at the June 4 commission meeting pleaded with commissioners not to repeal because of its importance to their municipalities’ economy.

It’s a tax whose average cost on a business is a week of Starbucks coffee: $22.46 a year — even less for 13,209 businesses, each of which is paying only $14.43 this year.

It’s a tax that prompted Commissioner Mark Smith to make the paradoxical remark: “As a good Republican, we’re against all taxes. But the folks being taxed are the ones fighting to be taxed.”

How can it be that businesses want this tax to stay in place?

Because it actually is providing more value for businesses than it is costing them. It actually is providing economic growth and value to the citizens of Sarasota.

Consider the Big Top Brewing Co. slides that EDC President Erin Silk showed commissioners last week in her presentation (see below). It has taken four years to bring Big Top’s expansion to fruition. And look at the financial results.

Or how about this: Silk told commissioners the EDC has 14 clients in various phases of site selection, due diligence, permitting or construction, all projected to be completed between now and 2027. If all come to fruition: $49 million in new taxable capital improvements and 295 new jobs.

Or look at the “Diversifying Our Economy” slide above.

Would all of that have occurred without the EDC? No.

But it didn’t matter how much evidence Moran, Rainford or Neunder saw or heard about how the EDC has made a remarkable turnaround in the past three years. Moran, in particular, focused his remarks intensely on the past, telling commissioners and the audi-

■ Nov. 2020: Big Top Brewing Co. connects with EDC on expansion needs and information.

■ Feb. 2021: Rapid SMART Permit approved.

■ April 2021: EDC provides site selection and zoning research. EDC approves Rapid Permit assistance and coordinates with county staff.

■ Jan. 2022: Technical assistance provided by EDC.

■ April 2022: EDC issues new

Rapid Permit for project changes.

■ June-Sept. 2023: EDC provides permitting/planning assistance.

■ Sept. 2023: EDC visits company and provides support in coordination with FPL and other resources.

■ Oct. 2023: EDC team works with FPL to troubleshoot power access.

■ Feb. 2024: EDC launches video campaign to promote project completion.

■ May 2024: Open for business.

Source: Sarasota County

President and Publisher / Emily Walsh, EWalsh@YourObserver.com

Executive Editor and COO / Kat Wingert, KWingert@YourObserver.com

Managing Editor / James Peter, JPeter@YourObserver.com

Sports Editor / Ryan Kohn, RKohn@YourObserver.com

Staff Writers / Ian Swaby, ISwaby@ YourObserver.com; Andrew Warfield, AWarfield@YourObserver.com

Digital & Engagement Editor / Kaelyn Adix, KAdix@YourObserver.com

Digital Content Producer / Jim DeLa, JDeLa@YourObserver.com

ence that he has “endless stories” of how things went wrong.

It didn’t matter, either, how Silk and Vice President Joshua Ewen showed presentations that would have convinced any board of directors the EDC is the best it has ever been and moving forward still.

It didn’t matter what Commissioner Ron Cutsinger, a current EDC board member, said: “Frankly, I am thrilled at what I see happening. This is an entirely different organization.

“I appreciate the work that was done in past years, identifying the problems of the EDC,” he said. “One of the phrases that I heard several times, even this morning, is that no longer exists.

“Those things (in the past) were mistaken. They were wrong. They were a failure,” Cutsinger said. “What you do when you recognize that is you change course. You correct the failure … And frankly, that has happened here. There has been a huge course correction.

“We’ve turned it around … Everything we’ve asked the EDC to do, they’ve done and not only done, they’ve done an excellent job.”

Nor did it matter what Rod Hershberger, former CEO of PGT Industries, told commissioners. He cited PGT having operations in five states and communities, each of which has an EDC. “What I can tell you about seeing Sarasota’s Economic Development Corp. is it is definitely in the top tier. I could not have said that five years ago.”

Like Cutsinger, Hershberger said the EDC has fixed its problems. “But if you’re looking backward and driving forward, you’re going to run aground … or you’re going to destroy your business.

“… Look at the trajectory we are on,” Hershberger said. “Look how it’s performing now and think about where it will be in the future. Once you crash your business, it costs a lot more money to fix that than it does to steer it correctly as we go forward. Continue the trajectory, and let them do their work.”

No matter what case anyone made or makes, Moran, Rainford and Neunder are stuck on getting their way — without a thought to some questions you would hope would come to their brilliant minds:

■ What is broken and not working? Whose lives are being hurt?

From all we’ve heard and seen, Silk and her colleagues are receiving rave reviews and producing economic growth.

■ What is the problem to be solved?

If we understand this, you three commissioners don’t like that a business tax, which businesses are OK with paying, goes directly to a business organization that uses the funds to grow the local economy and tax base and to help job creators navigate the costly regulations you create. You think it would be better if the EDC had to go on bended knee and beg for that piddling amount of money each year. All that sounds like is you three just want more power over the EDC.

■ What will be the consequences of repealing the business tax?

You don’t know, nor seem to care. Every government action creates unintended, negative consequences and disruptions. A rock in a pond creates wide ripples — that will go beyond Sarasota.

Commissioner Cutsinger has it right: “What this will do is be a momentum killer in a lot of ways … You are punishing success.”

Just three more myopic, powerdriven politicians who have the brass to believe they know better than their constituents.

Copy Editor / Gina Reynolds Haskins, GRHaskins@YourObserver.com

Senior Editorial Designer / Melissa Leduc, MLeduc@YourObserver.com

Editorial Designer / Luke Reasoner, LReasoner@YourObserver.com

A+E Editor / Monica Roman Gagnier, MGagnier@YourObserver.com

Director of Advertising / Jill Raleigh, JRaleigh@YourObserver.com

Regional Sales Director / Penny Nowicki, PNowicki@YourObserver.com

Regional Digital Director / Kathleen O’Hara, KOHara@YourObserver.com

Senior Advertising Executive / Laura Ritter, LRitter@YourObserver.com

Advertising Executives / Richeal McGuinness, RMcGuinness@ YourObserver.com; Lexi Huelsman, Lexi@ YourObserver.com; Jennifer Kane, JKane@ YourObserver.com; Honesty Mantkowski, HMantkowski@YourObserver.com; Toni Perren, TPerren@YourObserver.com; Brenda White, BWhite@YourObserver.com

Classified Advertising Sales Executive / Anna Reich, AReich@YourObserver.com

Sales Operations Manager / Susan Leedom, SLeedom@YourObserver.com

Sales Coordinator/Account Manager Lori Downey, LDowney@YourObserver.com

Advertising/Marketing Coordinator / Caitlin Ellis, CEllis@YourObserver.com

Digital Fulfillment Specialist / Emma B. Jolly, EJolly@YourObserver.com

Director of Marketing / Robin Lankton, RLankton@YourObserver.com

Marketing Specialist / Melanie Melone, MMelone@YourObserver.com

Director of Creative Services / Caleb Stanton, CStanton@YourObserver.com

Creative Services Administrator / Marjorie Holloway, MHolloway@ YourObserver.com

Advertising Graphic Designers / Luis Trujillo, Taylor Poe, Louise Martin, Shawna Polana

Digital Developer / Jason Camillo, JCamillo@YourObserver.com

Information Technology Manager / Homer Gallego, HGallego@YourObserver. com

Chief Financial Officer / Laura Strickland, LStrickland@YourObserver.com

Controller / Rafael Labrin, RLabrin@ YourObserver.com

Office and Accounting Coordinator / Donna Condon, DCondon @YourObserver.com

Observer Media Group Inc. is locally owned. Publisher of the Longboat Observer, East County Observer, Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer, West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer, Business Observer, Jacksonville Daily Record, Key Life Magazine, LWR Life Magazine, Baldwin Park Living Magazine and Season Magazine

CEO / Matt Walsh

MWalsh@YourObserver.com

President / Emily Walsh

Chairman Emeritus / David Beliles

Vice President / Lisa Walsh (1995-2023)

1970 Main St. Sarasota, FL 34236 941-366-3468

MATT WALSH

Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County

St. Armands cleans up after heavy rainfall

JIM DELA

DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

hop and restaurant workers were up early Wednesday, cleaning up after torrential overnight rains that stranded cars, seeped into stores and forced the closure of St. Armands Circle for several hours.

The National Weather Service recorded 5.35 inches of rain in a sixhour period at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

A station in Siesta Key has reported nearly a foot of rain with many locations more than five inches, the weather service said.

The St. Armands Residents Association reported flooding in residential areas overnight, causing anxious homeowners to report in.

“I sat on my front porch and watched car after car create gigantic waves,” said one homeowner quoted by the association. “People seem to think this is fun and games and enjoy creating these waves. It’s not fun and games for the business and property owners.”

The sun began peeking through clouds at daybreak Wednesday. By 8 a.m., Sarasota Police were reporting only a handful of side streets were still closed in the St. Armands area. Abandoned and disabled vehicles were being removed from the road near North Boulevard of the Presidents and North Washington Drive.

By 9:30 a.m., employees of Alvin’s Island on St. Armands Circle were almost finished cleaning up the sidewalk outside the store. Edwardo Diaz and Yenifer Aries were shoveling up debris and pebbles that were washed from planters on the sidewalk.

“We fought the water,” Diaz said, adding standing water rose to the bottom of the display windows.

“Every car that went past, the water went onto the glass,” he said. Water did seep inside the store, but no damage was done, he said. Across the circle at the Columbia

Restaurant, tables and chairs normally on the sidewalk were stacked inside. Workers were pressure washing the sidewalk. Owner Casey Gonzmart Jr. was using a squeegee to push water into the gutter.

He said as the water reached the building Tuesday afternoon, the decision was made to shut down.

“The water started creeping in and we said ‘No more service.’” Water rarely gets this high, he said. “Other than last year’s hurricane, I can’t remember it getting this bad.”

Jeff Houck, vice president of marketing for Columbia Restaurant Group, which owns the Columbia Restaurant and Cha Cha Coconuts next door, said both restaurants will be closed today to finish cleanup.

“It was a lot of rain,” he said, adding customers shouldn’t have to dine with mud and debris underfoot.

“We want to do it the right way,” Gonzmart said. “We’ll be open for lunch 11 a.m. tomorrow.”

Jim DeLa Edwardo Diaz and Yenifer Aries clean up the sidewalk outside Alvin’s Island on June 12 after heavy rains caused flooding on St. Armands Circle.

Sarasota County’s property estimates climb nearly 10%

Preliminary assessments released June 1 show the city of Sarasota’s residential and commercial property values increased by 9.53%.

rush, if not declining, much of the increased values may be attributed to new construction.

The estimated numbers are in, and unsurprisingly, the value of residential and commercial property in Sarasota County, and all of its municipalities, is up — and not insignificantly — over the current fiscal year.

City of Sarasota and county management use these figures to develop their preliminary fiscal year income and spending plans as budget season goes into full swing.

Figures released by the county on June 1 estimate that the value of all property across Sarasota County is up 9.86% over fiscal year 2024 at $103.4 billion.

Those numbers are reflected by the municipalities, percentage-wise, with North Port leading the way with an increase of 15.78% over last year.

Closer to home, the city of Sarasota’s overall property increased by an estimated 9.53% in assessed value.

The official assessed values will be released by the Sarasota County Property Assessor’s Office on July 1. The taxable value of properties is a key factor in determining millage rates for the upcoming fiscal year.

With real estate prices stabilizing over the mid- to post-COVID Florida

The market value of new construction countywide is $3.46 billion, with a taxable value of $3.15 billion, according to the Tax Assessor’s Office.

Within the Sarasota city limits, the market value of new construction is $437.34 million, with a taxable value on new properties of $371 million.

Even if the city and county’s millage rates remain the same, the extra taxable value will come in handy as the budget season progresses.

With the city’s budget workshops starting in July, Financial Administration Director Kelly Strickland told commissioners that a 3.8% increase in the consumer price index alone will increase expenditures by about $1 million.

Underway union negotiations and pay increases for nonbargaining personnel, plus a $3.4 million increase in the pension contribution, will also impact the fiscal 2025 budget.

Meanwhile, the County Commission will enter the heart of budget season June 19-21 with fiscal 2025 budget proposals and constitutional officer requests plus department spending request presentations.

2024 PRELIMINARY PROPERTY VALUES

Gainesville State College, Athens, GA

Sarasota Memorial Hospital; Doctors Hospital Undergraduate:

Universidad Internacional del Ecuador (UIDE), Quito, ECU

Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ

Board Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine Hospital Affiliations: Sarasota Memorial Hospital; Doctors Hospital

Beyond First Class™

ISPR GOVERNING BOARD MEETING EETING

SATURDAY, JUNE 1

BREAKING AND BEDDING

1:20 a.m., North Tuttle Avenue

Criminal mischief: Finding an unknown man sleeping in his bed, a man told officers he made the discovery after returning from work. The victim advised that, when confronted, the subject immediately began to apologize. The victim further stated he retrieved the suspect’s identification and ordered him out of his home, after which the suspect gathered his belongings and left the residence in an unknown direction. The victim said the subject appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

It appeared to the victim and officers the suspect entered through the front door, damage estimated at about $500. Officers determined the suspect intentionally damaged the front door to gain access to the residence and probable cause exists for a charge of misdemeanor criminal mischief. With the suspect’s ID in hand, an arrest had not been made at the time of the report.

MONDAY, JUNE 3 ROCK TOSSING RUCKUS

4:50 p.m., 400 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive

Disturbance: Perhaps seeking a moment of solace from dealing with his intoxicated girlfriend, a man said he was skipping stones at Lido Beach when he was approached by a woman yelling at him.

An anonymous caller reported an argument and, upon arrival of officers, lifeguards identified the man involved as he was in a parking lot tending to his girlfriend.

The man explained he was on the beach skipping rocks when a woman approached and “scolded” him for throwing rocks at birds. The man said the verbal altercation ended with him walking away. An officer made contact with a woman who confirmed she approached the man and yelled at him because she believed he was endangering the seabirds by throwing rocks into the water.

With the woman confirming the dispute was strictly verbal in nature, no further action was taken.

TUESDAY, JUNE 4

‘HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL’

2:27 p.m., 0 block of Boulevard of

THURSDAY, MAY 30

SELF-SERVICE

12:59 a.m., 1200 block of North Palm Avenue

Disturbance: Reporting that three people went behind a closed hotel bar and served themselves, the complainant pointed two of them out to officers as they sat in a lobby area sipping beers. The complainant told officers the pair became belligerent when confronted and did not wish to press charges for the pilfered pilsners, but did want them trespassed from the property.

The two subjects said they didn’t enter the bar area and that an unknown third person served them.

Officers advised the two not to cause any more disturbance and recommended they return to their rooms, to which they both agreed. Whether they were served by the unknown third party wasn’t specified.

the Presidents

Suspicious person: Reciting the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1962, a man described as approximately 20 years old entered the complainant’s office and, for some reason, said, “Have gun, will travel,” and then left the premises. The complainant provided a description of the man, adding he was carrying a black garbage bag.

Canvassing the area, an employee at a nearby restaurant advised that a man of similar description was seen walking north along Boulevard of the Presidents. An employee of another business made contact with an officer and reported that a man who fit the description entered the premises and “flicked” her in the abdomen while talking to her.

Finally, contact was made with the alleged gun-toting, finger-flicking traveler, the man apologized for his behavior, but offered no explanation. The subject was cooperative and allowed an officer to search his bag for weapons, finding none. Neither complainant wished to press charges.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

A PLACE IN THE SUN

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

It’s been a crazy couple of years for Sarasota author Robert Plunket, whom many know as a longtime local writer, including his tenure writing home stories for The Observer and as “Mr. Chatterbox,” gossip columnist of Sarasota Magazine. In 2022, Hurricane Ian forced Plunket to evacuate his Englewood home, which was subsequently destroyed. Last year, his first novel, “My Search for Warren Harding,” was reissued after 40 years, turning his world upside down. Suddenly, the Sarasota septuagenarian was featured in profiles in The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Paris Review and being celebrated at bookstore readings in New York, Sarasota and elsewhere.

We’ll take a victory lap here since The Observer was the first to notice that “My Search for Warren Harding” was about to get a second life. It’s been a year since we did our first Q&A with Plunket.

We decided to check in with Plunket again after his second novel, “Love Junkie,” was republished on May 14. In “Love Junkie,” a housewife-turned-arts-volunteer finds herself slipping into a demimonde of porn stars and gay tastemakers.

Unlike “My Search for Warren Harding,” which was funny all the way through, “Love Junkie” is a mixture of humor and pathos.

Although the book includes scenes of gleeful abandon, it ends on a somber note as AIDS is cutting down towering figures in New York’s fashion, design and arts scenes in their prime.

Before heading off to New York to promote “Love Junkie,” Plunket talked about how his life has changed in the last year and his plans for the future.

Given that Plunket has a gift for satire, some answers should be taken with a grain of salt (or two).

Congrats on the reissue of your second novel, “Love Junkie.” But before we get to that, remind me how “My Search for Warren Harding” was reissued in 2023.  I have a small army of fans, and both of them got together and pestered this fancy publisher to reissue it. The publisher was appalled. The book is politically incorrect to an incredible degree. But they decided to take a chance. And guess what? There was an audience for this sort of thing!

How has your life changed since the reissue of “My Search for Warren Harding”?

Well, the biggest change is that I got enough money to paint my trailer, which badly needed it. I was getting warnings from the management. Of course, I could only paint the exte-

rior; the inside will have to wait.

Yes, I went to New York and I’m going again. One of the bookstores up there has made special “Love Junkie” hard candies, and they promised I could have a whole bag full.

Tell us about “Love Junkie.” It was published in 1992, nearly a decade after “Warren Harding.” It’s the tale of a woman named Mimi Smithers, a lonely, naive housewife from an NYC suburb. While doing some volunteer work for the local arts council, she meets the charismatic Tom Potts, who runs an arts marketing agency. She is soon working for him — for free — and finds herself falling down the rabbit hole into the glamorous fast lane of gay life in New York circa 1980.

Soon she meets a famous porn star named Joe and falls madly in love. She becomes his administrative assistant and is put in charge of selling his “merch” — photo sets, used underwear, etc.

When her clueless husband goes off to India on an extended business trip, she sells her jewelry to finance Joe’s new movie. Then on the day when they are shooting the lesbian scene, the actress they hired fails to show up. What are they going to do? All eyes turn toward Mimi …

What inspired you to write “Love Junkie”? I was a part of that world during my thirties. I myself was no way cool enough, but I “married” into it. My lover (that’s what we called them) was a charter member of the cool set, and what a set. Gay men were running New York — fashion, the arts, design. I got to watch it all —

Sarasota author Robert Plunket is basking in the glow of late-in-life fame.

and take notes. What I didn’t realize (or maybe I did) was that the book is really about a civilization ending.

Can you tell us about the character Joe, the porn star in “Love Junkie”? He seems to inspire admiration among both women and men. Porn stars were major celebrities of the gay world at that time, and I got to know my share. Joe is an amalgamation of several but by far the most important was Al Parker. He was a legend. He’s even had a book written about him. (Two books if you count “Love Junkie.”) We worked on several projects together

Monica Roman Gagnier

Robert Plunket relaxes poolside in the Glen Oaks neighborhood of Sarasota, perusing what he hopes will be a summer best-seller.

Courtesy photo

After the success of last year’s “My Search for Warren Harding,” Sarasota author Robert Plunket’s second book, “Love Junkie,” has been reissued.

— some audio tapes, the soundtrack for one of his movies. Google him — if you dare.

Could “Love Junkie” be published today?

Sure. It’s not politically incorrect like “My Search for Warren Harding.” True, it is tasteless and has far too much sex, but so does the evening news. So I’d say it’s amazingly contemporary. Stormy Daniels could be a character right out of the book.

When I was reading “Love Junkie,” I mused that many people today don’t understand the toll that AIDS took. Have people have forgotten?

Yes. But many of them weren’t even born, so I cut them some slack. That particular generation of gay men has vanished from the world’s history. They were pre-internet; they had no children; they all died except for a few old geezers like me. So they’re mostly forgotten. It’s sad.

Is there any interest today in making a film adaptation of “Love Junkie” or “My Search for Warren Harding”?

The film rights to the Warren Harding book have been optioned and a screenplay is being written. Not by me. I’m no good at such things. “Love Junkie” is still available.

Are you working on any new projects?

Yes! I’m working on a novel about Sarasota. It sounds very farfetched, but here’s the plot: A young couple — charming, good looking and very well connected in the world of far-right politics — decide to spice up their marriage by having threesomes with attractive young women.

The wife sends the husband to local bars, where he scouts possibilities and surreptitiously takes pictures with his phone for the approval of his wife. They set up a hot date, but the wife has to work late at the school board, so the husband goes alone. I’m not sure what happens next. My big problem: Is anybody going to actually believe this?

I recently saw your performance in Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” on the Criterion Channel. Have you watched the film lately? How do you think it holds up?

I saw it recently on TCM for the first time in years, and I was surprised at how well it holds up. In the past year or so, it’s been getting a lot of recognition, with special showings at the Film Forum in New York. There was also a screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Somehow my invitation got lost in the mail, but I hear it went very well.

Sarasota author Robert Plunket’s second novel, “Love Junkie,” was reissued in May.

THIS WEEK

THURSDAY

JAZZ THURSDAY AT SAM

5:30 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum,

1001 S. Tamiami Trail

Free to $20

Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.

Jazz Club of Sarasota presents the Tampa-based trio La Lucha, made up of three friends from different parts of the world: Alejandro Arenas (Colombia), John O’Leary (Mexico) and Mark Feinman (United States). Their versatility and varied influences result in engaging performances with lots of audience interaction.

‘THE WORLD GOES ’ROUND’

8 p.m. at FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St. $39-$59

Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Florida Studio Theatre kicks off its Summer Mainstage Series with “The World Goes ’Round,” a musical revue celebrating the works of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The show features memorable songs from hit Broadway

OUR PICK

‘HAPPY DALE’: A COMEDY BY DAN LANDON

If you Google directions to The Sarasota Players production “Happy Dale,” make sure you’re paying attention. You might end up in Estero, Florida, where there’s a Happy Dale Lane. In Dan Landon’s “Happy Dale,” a retired English teacher (Lee Gundersheimer) is sent to an assisted living facility after he begins acting strangely following his wife’s death. Happy Dale’s newest resident quickly turns the facility’s routines upside down. Runs through June 23.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13

shows such as “Chicago,” “Cabaret” and more. Runs through June 30.

FRIDAY

SIGHTS & SOUNDS AT WATER-

SIDE PLACE: RING SARASOTA

6 p.m. at Waterside Place, Lakewood Ranch, 7500 Island Cove Terrace

Free Visit RingSarasota.org.

No matter which Sirius XM or radio station you listen to, the Ring Sarasota handbell ensemble will play something you enjoy. Under the direction of Rick Holdsworth, Ring Sarasota’s repertoire crosses genres, including country, Latin and ’80s pop. Seating is limited, so feel free to bring a chair. No outside food or drinks permitted.

IN THE ROUND PERFORMANCE

7 p.m. at Sarasota Contemporary Dance, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 300 $22

Visit SarasotaContemporaryDance. org.

Where: The Players Centre, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130

Tickets: $30; student $13 Info: Visit ThePlayers.org.

Sarasota Contemporary Dance Artistic Director Leymis Bolaños Wilmott leads an interactive session that allows rising choreographers to receive audience feedback.

SATURDAY

SUMMER CIRCUS SPECTACULAR

2 p.m. at Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road $20 adults; $15 kids Visit Ringling.org.

Presided over by Ringmaster Jared Walker, the Summer Circus Spectacular includes contortionist Uranbileg Angarag, acrobatic hand balancers The Bello Sisters, hair hang artist Camille Langlois, slack wire performer Antino Pansa and clown Renaldo, a veteran of the Big Apple Circus. Runs through Aug. 17.

AMERICAN SOUNDSCAPES’

7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. $30-$70 Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

If you can only attend one of the more than a dozen concerts at the Sarasota Music Festival, this is the one. Fiddler/violinist Tessa Lark,

DON’T MISS JUNETEENTH ARTS FESTIVAL

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe hosts its second annual Juneteeth Arts Festival on Father’s Day with food vendors, live music and dance on an outdoor stage and indoor film screenings in the Donelly Theatre. The festival, which lasts until 6 p.m., includes Monessa Salley from Sarasota Contemporary Dance and musical numbers by WBTT’s Stage of Discovery students. There will be free seats to a 7:30 performance of WBTT’s summer production, “Coconut Cake.” The feature film is “Into The Storm,” a documentary about Booker High School’s 1966-67 state championship basketball team. There will be free haircuts for dads and a children’s show, Toni Kennedy’s “What’s Poppin’ Penny.”

IF YOU GO

When: Noon, Sunday, June 16

Where: at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012. N. Orange Ave. Tickets: Free Info: Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.

cellist Mike Block and SMF Director Jeffrey Kahane improvise on beloved American songs. And that’s only part of the bill, which will include Block leading festival fellows in a rousing jam. Leave all your preconceptions about classical music at the door.

Courtesy photo

Image courtesy of John Jones

Matthew Peterson wins Ringling College Carl Foreman Award

Matthew Peterson’s “Swan Song,” about a film student and a father living with Alzheimer’s, won the first Ringling College Film Carl Foreman Award.

“Swan Song” was selected from among 30 entries by a panel of seven jurors.

The Carl Foreman Award, to be given annually, recognizes a graduating Ringling College of Art and Design senior majoring in film or creative writing for outstanding achievement in screenwriting, directing or producing.

The winner receives $5,000 as well as a Will Kane bronze statuette, inspired by the lead character in “High Noon,” Foreman’s classic 1952 western.

Foreman’s widow, Evelyn “Eve” Williams-Jones, originally created the Carl Foreman Award in 1983 in memory of her late husband, a screenwriter, director and producer who was blacklisted by Hollywood during the communist witch hunts of the McCarthy era.

He left the United States in 1951 for the United Kingdom. The original Carl Foreman Award was created in conjunction with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, known as BAFTA for short.

When Eve and her husband, Michael Williams-Jones, decided to bring the Carl Foreman Award back to the United States, they considered several film schools before bringing it to Sarasota.

“Initially, we considered the fabulous film schools of Los Angeles, a natural choice,” said Michael Williams-Jones. “But as great and as legendary as they are, none of them felt quite right because Hollywood had once turned its back on Carl. Then, we met the truly remarkable and inspirational Dr. Larry R. Thompson and discovered Ringling College with its world-class film program.”

The Sarasota Ballet names Charmaine Hunter community engagement director

The Sarasota Ballet has named former Dance Theatre of Harlem principal dancer Charmaine Hunter as its new community engagement director.

In her new role, Hunter will oversee “Dance – The Next Generation,” Joyful Movement through Parkinson’s, Silver Swans and other community engagement programs.

Before joining The Sarasota Ballet, Hunter served as director of community enrichment for Orlando Ballet, where she developed arts education programming for seven counties in central Florida.

As principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Hunter was known for roles such as “The Firebird” and “Medea.” While Hunter was still performing, she began working to improve access to the arts for

Sunday, June 16th, 2024 12:00 - 6:30 PM

Join WBTT to celebrate Juneteenth! Enjoy live performances from local artists, a free art exhibit, and short films from Ringling College students. Local black-owned vendors will also be present and we will have a FREE performance of our summer production Coconut Cake A special screening of the Booker High School documentary Into the Storm will also be featured.

We have a special gift for dads including free haircuts and a special performance of What’s Poppin’ Penny, a perfect bonding experience for parents and their kids!

SPONSORS

DONA & SAM SCOTT PENELOPE KINGMAN

the WBTT website for a schedule of events - WestcoastBlackTheatre.org

young people.

Toward that end, Hunter helped to launch Dancing Through Barriers, Dance Theatre of Harlem’s flagship outreach program in South Africa, before developing it for communities across the United States.

Hunter’s rich dance and arts career includes director of Disney’s “The Lion King” in Toronto, talent scout for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, co-founder of Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater and Upper School Principal with Texas Ballet Theater.

“Charmaine has an incredible background in both professional ballet and community engagement,” said Christopher Hird, education director of The Sarasota Ballet in a statement. “She has a passionate commitment to bringing dance to everyone, and we are extremely lucky to have her choose Sarasota as her new home.”

Image courtesy of Harry Sayer

Ringling College of Art and Design student Matthew Peterson, winner of the first Ringling College Film Carl Foreman award, and Foreman’s widow, Eve Williams-Jones.

Courtesy image Charmaine Hunter

Once upon a time in Georgia

ever since; and her unquiet spirit resides within. Year after year, Odella drags unwary Black teens and children into her watery realm as substitutes for her own lost child. (Once kids see her red eyes, they’re goners.) So the story goes.

MARTY FUGATE

THEATER CRITIC

Terry Guest’s “Oak” has just premiered at Urbanite Theatre. His new play is philosophical, political, historical, metaphorical, hilarious and allegorical. Above all, it’s a scary ghost story. That story transpires with the double vision of magical realism.

On the realistic level, the setting is a mythical backwoods town named Oak in contemporary Georgia. The tale revolves around an African American family. Peaches (DeAnna Wright) is the matriarch. Although she’s still a young woman, motherhood defines (and confines) her. It’s been that way since she had her first child at age 16.

Instead of following her Hollywood dreams, Peaches got a backbreaking job at a burger joint — and still works there. Her daughter Pickle (Trezure B. Coles) is now 16 years old. The kid’s tough but not rebellious. Big Man (William Rose II) is Peaches’ 9-year-old son. He’s still a kid, but he acts big. Suga (Jaeda LaVonne) is their first cousin — not so tough, but imaginative.

“Oak” dives into magical depths at the start — with Pickle and Big Man telling competing versions of the same ghost story. “Odella” is the ghost in question. Urban legend has it that — back in the bad old days of slavery — Odella had a chance to escape but left her baby girl behind. She ran for her life — and fell to her death in a creek. It’s been called “Odella Creek”

Coincidentally, the town has a yearly “Snatching Season” when young African Americans go missing. It’s that time of year when Pickle and Big Man relate their ghost story. When their cousin Suga vanishes, the kids decide it isn’t fiction.

Pickle has seen the specter’s crimson eyes and figures she’s next. She seeks out a crazy old woman who somehow resisted Odella’s hypnotic spell. Pickle learns her spell-breaking secret. Does it save her? Don’t ask me.

The playwright keeps that card close to his chest right up the end. That’s the hand he wants to play; I won’t spoil it.

Guest’s dialogue sizzles, but “Oak” isn’t all talk. There’s lots of action, and clever bits of business, including a seriously creepy shadow-puppet show. Director Mikael Burke latches on to the play’s relentless forward momentum. The result is a pure adrenaline rush.

The shape-shifting actors do an excellent job with the main characters and also morph into ghosts and social outcasts as the play requires. Wright’s Peaches has an exhausted, flat affect — as if her dead-end job squeezed her like a damp rag until her life force was drained. But there’s no poorme attitude. Her character never complains. She does what she has to do right now. And then does the next thing.

Coles’ portrayal of Pickle is beautifully expressive. Her character can shout. But there are times (especially around her mother) when she keeps

make-believe with a forest of cutout oak trees (which the actors move around).

Alex Pinchin’s lighting is a cinematic horror show. It’s moody and murky, until strange (or stranger) things emerge. The actors aren’t lost. Pinchin keeps their expressions illuminated despite the gloom.

her thoughts to herself. With eye-rollings, shrugs and body language, Coles deftly conveys Pickle’s inner life.

Rose’s Big Man is another sharp portrayal. He’s an adult actor, not nine years old. But he moves, reacts and talks like a kid — convincingly. LaVonne’s Suga gets only a few scenes, but she makes the most of them. She’s the first to see Odella’s red eyes. With very few words, she portrays her haunted, hunted inner life. She knows she’s prey, and it’s driving her nuts.

Urbanite’s backstage talent does a killer job bringing Guest’s creep-show to life. Frank Chavez’ proscenium-arch set is a first for this black-box theater. You know there’s nothing behind that arch. This is the theater of the mind; the imaginary world-building is up to you. Chavez underscores this

Brian Grimm delivers the scary sounds behind this sight. These include sound trucks warning of “Snatching Season,” the ghost’s repetitious lullaby and suitable jump scares.

Adrienne Pitts’ costumes evoke the working-class vibe of a hardluck Georgia town. It’s never seen any better days; it’s always been a trap for folks who don’t get out.

Along with directing, Burke also designed, created and filmed the entire puppet-show-fromhell scene. His child-like designs evoke a horrific sense of innocence lost. Graffiti by Kaitlin Kelly adds to the lurking fear. It adds up to one wild ride. You’ll alternate between “Ha-ha” and “Ahhhh.” That horror-humor duality is baked into the playwright’s script. Guest’s magicalrealist mystery trip works on both levels.

On the human plane, the play’s characters are sympathetic and three-dimensional. On the ethereal realm, Guest’s ghost story kept me on the edge of my seat. The playwright takes a scary note from “Jaws” and takes his sweet time putting the Big Bad on stage. (What you don’t see can scare you.)  “Oak” tells a great story, both magically and realistically. Until the final scenes, the play’s natural and supernatural elements all weave together. But they come apart at the ending. Without giving it away, the climax is an allegorical response to tragic Black experience. (Survivors should soldier on and not look back.) Fair enough. But that tough-minded ending undercuts the war between good and evil the ghost story’s led you to expect. I could say more. For now, let’s just say I didn’t like it. But I don’t like a few of Stephen King’s endings, so take that as you will.

Ending aside, Guest’s philosophical, political, historical, metaphorical, allegorical, hilarious, horrifying ghost story is one of the best plays I’ve seen this season. I’m haunted by it still. But don’t be afraid. See it anyway.

Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine

Trezure B. Coles stars as Pickle in Urbanite Theatre’s world premiere of Terry Guest’s “Oak.”

THE RHYTHM OF RESISTANCE

Afro-Brazilian martial art and dance scene thrives in Sarasota.

Alanna Swor was deeply moved by the sound of Capoeira.

As she watched the circle at Capoeira Volta Ao Mundo, with children singing in unison and the action of the martial art and dance combination unfolding between them, she knew she wanted to be a part of the roda.

“It was so beautiful ... It was so powerful,” said Swor, 40. “I was like, ‘I need to do this. I don’t know what they do. But I want to do it.’”

A year-and-a-half ago, she decided to join her children as a student at the academy.

Capoeira was once practically nonexistent in Sarasota, said Mestre Rony Costa, the area resident who founded the school in 1996.

Yet as Sarasota’s largest Capoeira practice, Capoeira Volta Ao Mundo has created visibility for the AfroBrazilian martial art in the community while achieving international prominence within the Capoeira world.  (Full disclosure: The writer is a Capoeira practitioner and student of the school.)

In addition to its two locations in Sarasota and one in Lakewood Ranch, it has grown to include loca-

tions in Tallahassee and Miami, as well as in four other U.S. states and in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

SPREADING THE TRADITION

Growing up in Brazil, the country where Capoeira originated, Costa was surrounded by the martial art, becoming a teacher at age 18 and a mestre (master) at age 26.

Yet when he came to the U.S. in 1992, he found that Capoeira had few practitioners.

There were only about 10 in the whole state of California, where he then resided, and the public was unfamiliar with it.

“They didn’t even know how to say the word,” he said.

After opening an academy in California, which ultimately did not grow beyond a small size, he decided to try again after moving to Sarasota in about 1996.

Employed as a woodworker at the time, he began to realize Capoeira was his true calling.

“Capoeira is a great instrument for improvement — self-improvement,” he said. “It has all the things, the troubles that you have, how hard it is to go to class, how hard it is to get in shape, how hard it is to be flexible, how hard it is to get taken down and deal with your ego.”

RESISTANCE MOVEMENT

The martial art dates back centuries in Brazil to its early colonial period, which began in the 16th century, and was developed by enslaved Africans as a means of defiance, both physical

SUMMER CAMP SESSIONS

Session 1: Tuesday, May 28 to Friday, June 7

Session 2: Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 21

Session 3: Monday, June 24 to Friday, July 5

Session 4: Monday, July 8 to Friday, July 19

Session 5: Monday, July 22 to Friday, August 2

For more information on summer camps visit CapoKids.com. For more information on Capoeira Volta Ao Mundo visit CapoVAM.com.

and mental, against their Portuguese oppressors.

It’s a form of combat camouflaged as a dance.

“The spirit of Capoeira is resistance against oppression, just in its nature,” said Jacob Sturm, an instructor at the academy known as Professor Fogo. “That’s what it was created to do. That’s what it has done all through history.”

Even after the abolishment of slavery in Brazil in 1888, those who practiced Capoeira were still among the oppressed, and in fact, Capoeira was criminalized in Brazil during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Many features distinguish Capoeira from other martial arts.

One is the emphasis on dodging the movements of one’s opponent, rather than on contact, which creates the appearance of choreography.

Participants also maintain unique footwork, building the often acrobatic movements on a continuous rocking step known as the ginga.

“In Capoeira, it’s so different, because you need to be an artist,” Costa said. “You need to know music. You need to know how to flip, you need to do tricks. That is not martial arts at all; you’re never going to do that to defend yourself — but still you can defend yourself with that.”

Costa also calls Capoeira a “pretty complex martial art.”

Ty Rodkui, 27, started practicing Capoeira at age 8, and enjoys the versatility of the experience.

“I did other martial arts, and they were just too rigid for me,” he said. “This is a little more free; you get to do more stuff. It made me better at a whole lot of things, even in my regular everyday life. I felt less clumsy, more taking care of myself. ... I played a lot of sports; it helped with my sports.”

Teachers at Capoeira Volta Ao Mundo hope to show that despite the challenges inherent in Capoeira — and perhaps, because of them — it can give its gifts to those willing to put in the effort.

In fact, it was the introduction of the school’s preschool and afterschool programs that truly caused the academy’s success to skyrocket.

With the service CapoKids, the academy offers a state-sanctioned and funded Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Education program whose curriculum incorporates Capoeira, as well as an after-school program and summer camps.

Staffed with 15 full-time employees, the academy also teaches at 13 elementary schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Instrumental in the school’s establishment and operations has been Mestra Cheri Costa, wife of Rony Costa, who has been practic-

ing Capoeira since 1982.

“She is the one that really makes the business grow for sure,” Rony Costa said. “She is the one that takes care of everything is in order, everything works great. I come with the ideas for the classes … but she is basically the one that makes everything grow, and everybody being paid.”

Few Capoeira groups have their own dedicated space. Still fewer have multiple locations in the same city, Sturm said.

EMBRACING THE CHALLENGE

What makes a multifaceted practice like Capoeira achievable for many?

“You change your body to do Capoeira, but you can also change Capoeira to fit your body,” Sturm said. “Every move that we do that you can’t perform, we have a substitution for … I’ve taught 3-year-olds, I’ve taught 83-year-olds, there’s really not anybody that Capoeira’s not for.”

Cheri Costa said a key part of the experience can be accepting failure along the road.

“I love Capoeira for what it does for people,” she said. “If you fail so many times, then you realize it’s OK to fail, especially kids. They start with, ‘I can’t do it,’ and then all of a sudden, they’re doing it, and then they realize, ‘Oh, I can do things that are hard, and it’s OK to not be able to do it at first.’”

Instructors say the key to achieving results is for students to feel supported every step of the way.

“Being in shape is hard. Trying new things is hard,” Rony Costa said. “So if you have a system, a people, a community that helps you with that, it’s so much easier. People that make you feel like you belong there, that you’re welcome, that you’re part of a team.”

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

Photos by Ian Swaby

Heidi Ayala and Nina Costa enter the circle of the roda.

Adam Voight trains with Beau Bratton.

Pop culture fills library

Ayear ago, Cathy English discovered some exciting news in an email from the local library.

“We were like, ‘Oh, a comic con. We don’t have to go to Tampa,’” she said.

On June 8, for the second year in a row, she was present with her grandson Damon Garcia, 9, at SRQCon, Selby Library’s annual pop culture event.

Last year, Garcia dressed as Harry Potter, and this year, he came as a Slytherin Quidditch player, a broomstick in hand.

The event saw many cosplayers and included vendors, authors, local organizations and presenters as well as activities like crafts, an escape room and a costume contest. The experience gave fellow pop culture fans of the area an opportunity to connect.

“I love it; it’s right in our backyard,” said Heidi Vavrik. “It’s fun to socialize with the other cosplayers, and we get to meet a bunch of new people too.” — IAN SWABY

Damon Garcia, 9, won first place in the children’s costume contest for his costume of a Slytherin.

Robert Winkle, Lori Goldmeier and Geoff Martz

Photos by Ian Swaby

Zarhya Jurado, 14, a self-taught crochet artist, sold her crafts at the event.

Botanical rarity

As they relaxed in lawn chairs, hundreds of attendees had their eyes on the center of the arrival courtyard on June 6 at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. It was a once-a-year event, but you had to look close to see the action.

As the sun set, the hundreds of buds of the Queen of the Night plant slowly expanded to reveal the large white flowers inside. It isn’t known quite why the plant, a cactus of the genus Selenicereus, evolved to open just once a year at night, said Mike McLaughlin, Selby Gardens’ senior vice president of horticulture.

Nonetheless, the event has become an annual tradition for Selby Gardens, one which resumed this year after a two-year hiatus for the construction of Phase 1 of the organization’s master plan.

Found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, Selenicereus grows on the surface of other plants and on rocks. When it blooms each year, the buds begin to open as the sun sets, and close as it rises.

Jennifer Rominiecki, president and CEO of Selby Gardens, called the plant “a really spectacular, mature specimen.”

Formerly located on historic

Palm Avenue at Selby Gardens, the cactus was relocated to the Hobart K. Swan and Janis F. Swan Live Oak Arrival Court about two-and-a-half years ago after its original tree began to deteriorate. McLaughlin said the relocation involved a painstaking process of several days to remove the plant from the tree, followed by a trip to the courtyard that was “like carrying an anaconda.”

“It’s transplanted beautifully, and it’s certainly grown beyond where it was when we brought it, so it’s a good success story,” he said.

— IAN SWABY

Photos by Ian Swaby

Elaina Bishop, 8, came from Venice to see the Queen of the Night.

One of the flowers nears full bloom.

The flowers begin to open.

Austin Scherer and his son Charles Scherer, 6, watch the flowers bloom.

provide a physical

clothing.

nderstanding school uniforms can be complicated, said Cynthia and Tim Holliday. There are differing requirements for the various schools, changing colors based on grades and specific outfits for boys and girls.

When shopping online, it becomes even more confusing, because finding the correct sizes often comes down to guesswork.

That is why the retail business they own, Children’s World Uniform Supply, has increasingly partnered with area schools to offer a physical shopping location for uniforms.

“Everybody ordering online is ordering more than what they want,” Cynthia Holliday said. “We can even see that when they’re placing the orders online, they order a couple of sizes.”

Over its long history, the business has evolved, and it held its 60th anniversary party on June 8.

SARASOTA INSTITUTION

The store, founded by Mollie and Ronald Cardamone, has long been a part of Sarasota’s small business scene. When it opened in 1964, it was focused on cribs and cradles, but it expanded to other areas, including suits for Sunday school.

When the Hollidays took over the business in 2001, it was offering a handful of local school uniforms and

Cynthia and Tim Holliday have owned Children’s World since 2001.

Photos by Ian Swaby

“We liked the

Cynthia said. “They were very involved in the community, which is what we have always done ourselves, because we give back to the community that gives to us.”

Tim brought experience serving small businesses in the banking field, while Cynthia had worked in the salon business in a customer service role.

Today, the store serves close to 30 schools, from southern Hillsborough County to Charlotte County, with a majority being in Sarasota and Bradenton.

They said the partnership takes the burden away from schools of having to work with parents on uniforms, while their staff fill that role by becoming well versed in the requirements for different school uniforms in the local area.

ONE-STOP SHOP

In addition to uniforms, visitors will find school supplies, educational products, toys and games.

“We have a place they can come in, they can try it on and they get to leave with everything. So it’s a one-stop. They get to do it all,” Cynthia said.

When the couple began running the store, it was located in Saba Plaza in downtown Sarasota, a location that now houses a Jersey Mike’s.

They moved to their current location on Bee Ridge Road about 10 years ago, and said the expansion from 2,400 to 7,000 square feet has been a great benefit when it comes to stocking items.

They’ve also continued to innovate with the business. One way they did so was by incorporating in-house embroidery into the offerings.

“It became evident that our attention to detail and quality was better than any of the places we were outsourcing to, so we eventually bought more and more equipment and took all that over,” Tim said.

This meant that if they were out of a particular shirt, they could now sew one.

“I think that’s kind of a natural for us, and for the previous owners,”

Tim said. “You have to morph with the times and change in retail to be relevant.”

Another expansion includes the addition of Business World Promo Supply in the same location, which specializes in branded items for businesses.

Also important for the store is the contract post office operated by the U.S. Postal Service inside the facility, which allows online orders to be mailed into the community.

COMMUNITY CULTURE

Children’s World has also taken its success into the broader community, working with other businesses and nonprofits, which the Hollidays said includes nationwide franchises.

Annually, they host a match for Toys for Tots to raise awareness for the organization, which they said repeatedly results in Children’s World being the No. 1 or No. 2 toy donation site in Sarasota County for the nonprofit.

After a partnership with Girl Scouts during the Giving Challenge in 2024, they received the award for Best Business Partnership.

The couple described the business as “Christian-owned.”

“We pray in our meetings, we play Christian music, and that is a way that you can spread things to the community easily, and it changes the environment a little bit, and I think it makes people feel good,” Cynthia said.

Tim added, “The culture, I think, makes a difference, and people seek us out and want to come here and, once they’re here, they’re like ‘This is a good place,’ and that’s kind of what we’re all about.”

Smitty’s

crafted

from leading

and style showcased in an

and

that are well suited for our demanding environment, and will create the first impression your front door deserves.

M. Michelle Robles,

School uniforms are displayed on the store’s shelves.

Tower Residences condo tops sales at $7 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Acondominium in The Tower Residences tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. David A. White and Patricia R. Sistrunk Investments LLC sold the Unit 1801 condominium at 35 Watergate Drive to Tonya Savage, of Sarasota, for $7 million. Built in 2003, it has three bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths and 5,251 square feet of living area. It sold for $5 million in 2005.

SARASOTA

624 PALM CONDOMINIUM

Irving and Marjorie Lee Weiser, trustees, sold the Unit 16 condominium at 624 S. Palm Ave. to Mercedes Johnson, trustee, of Sarasota, for $6.5 million. Built in 2018, it has three bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths and 3,784 square feet of living area. It sold for $3.64 million in 2018.

PRIME Siesta Key Holdings LLC sold the home at 1717 Alta Vista St. to Nicholas and Jennifer Esposito, of Sarasota, for $2.9 million. Built in 2023, it has five bedrooms, fourand-a-half baths, a pool and 3,267 square feet of living area.

VUE Apostolos and Sharon Saatsoglou, of New York City, sold their Unit 1607 condominium at 1155 N. Gulfstream Ave. to Jeff Wagner and Shannon McAllister, of Sarasota, for $2.15 million. Built in 2017, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,580 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,272,800 in 2018.

PLAZA AT FIVE POINTS

RESIDENCES

Marisa Crew, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 15F condominium at 50 Central Ave. to Ted and Sandra Stuckey, of Cadwell, Georgia, for $1.7 million. Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,356 square feet of living area.

AVONDALE

John and Holly Logan sold their home at 1107 Osprey Ave. to Kerry Prado, trustee, of Sarasota, for $1,585,000. Built in 1925, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 1,832 square feet of living area. It sold for $400,000 in 2016.

RINGLING PARK

Kevin Lyons, of Sarasota, sold his home at 2506 Ringling Blvd. to David Murack and Michele Marie Davolos, of Sarasota, for $1.29 million. Built in 1954, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,195 square feet of living area. It sold for $520,000 in 2021.

JOHNSON ESTATES

MAG Properties Inc. sold the home at 1401 Crocker St. to HB Land

Holdings LLC for $1.15 million. Built in 1945, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,310 square feet of living area.

BAYWINDS ESTATES Castleco LLC sold the home at 1617 Baywinds Lane to Robert Sabre, of Fairfield, Connecticut, for $1.13 million. Built in 1995, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,469 square feet of living area. It sold for $636,000 in 2021.

HUDSON BAYOU ADDITION

William Falcone, of Newport, Rhode Island, sold the home at 1713 Bay St. to Dennis Scott Montgomery and Katelyn Mary Montgomery, of Reston, Virginia, for $1.1 million. Built in 1940, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,170 square feet of living area. It sold for $222,000 in 1997.

FLORENCE

Cynthia Hanssen, of Sarasota, sold her home at 5876 Wildwood Ave. to James DeMatteis, trustee, of Sarasota, for $1.05 million. Built in 1951, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,509 square feet of living area. It sold for $420,000 in 2016.

MARQUEE EN VILLE

James Wallach, of Bradenton, sold his Unit 125-D condominium at 235 Cocoanut Ave. to Jason and Lorie Parrott, of Pasadena, Maryland, for $850,000. Built in 2006, it has two bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,108 square feet of living area. It sold for $899,100 in 2006.

SOUTH GATE

Susana Tapia, of Leander, Texas, sold her home at 3107 Pinecrest St. to Gregory and Hilary Broadway, of Sarasota, for $850,000. Built in 1963, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,137 square feet of living area. It sold for $625,000 in 2023.

Suzanne Stolzberg, of Miami, sold her home at 2619 Bigelow Drive to Ronald Dale Johnson, of Naples, for $650,000. Built in 1963, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,565 square feet of living area. It sold for $540,000 in 2021.

THE CONDOMINIUM IN THE BAY Francis Rooney III, trustee, sold the Unit 1202 condominium at 888 Boulevard of the Arts to Malcolm

Garry Baker and Lori Ann Walker, of Sarasota, for $845,000. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,288 square feet of living area. It sold for $115,000 in 1988.

BUCCANEER BAY

Mamie Elaine Katsarelas, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 1859 Buccaneer Court to Richard Hunter Lokey, of Sarasota, for $835,000. Built in 1984, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,617 square feet of living area. It sold for $199,000 in 1998.

See more transactions at YourObserver.com

SIESTA KEY: $2,625,000

Mira Mar Beach

Rhonda Raden, of Ocean City, New Jersey, sold her home at 113 Beach Road to Peacock Siesta LLC for $2,625,000. Built in 1940, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,116 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.6 million in 2020.

PALMER RANCH:

$1,275,000

Silver Oak

Christopher and Courtney Campbell, of Sarasota, sold their home at 8970 Wildlife Loop to PEG 280 LLC for $1,275,000. Built in 2005, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 4,074 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,091,300 in 2007.

OSPREY: $1,162,000

Southbay Yacht and Racquet Club

Daniel and Beverly McKee, of Sanibel, sold their home at 1277 Rudder Lane to Paul Cieslik, of Osprey, for $1,162,000. Built in 1980, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,719 square feet of living area. It sold for $560,000 in 2017.

NOKOMIS: $1,545,000

Casey Cove Joann Oakes, trustee, sold the home at 922 Casey Cove Drive to Maurice and Jane Syrquin, of Dallas, for $1,545,000. Built in 1971, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,380 square feet of living area. It sold for $195,000 in 1988.

YOUR CALENDAR

FRIDAY, JUNE 14

MOVIE: ‘BARBIE’

2-4 p.m. at Fruitville Library Meeting Room, Fruitville Library, 100 Apex Road. Free. Enjoy a free screening of “Barbie” (PG-13) at Fruitville Library. Registration required. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.

SUNDAY, JUNE 16

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

10-11:30 a.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road. Free. Temple Emanu-El celebrates animal companionship and the love of pets. All pets in attendance will receive a special blessing from the temple’s rabbis, a family pet portrait by Alice Cotman and a free veterinary consultation. Snacks for pets and people will be provided. Registration required. Visit SarasotaTemple.org.

SUNDAYS AT THE BAY FEATURING

J.P. SOARS & THE RED HOTS

6-7:30 p.m. at The Oval, The Bay Park, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Guitarist and vocalist J.P. Soars, a first-place winner of the Blues Foundation 2009 International Blues Challenge and Albert King Best Guitarist Award, and a Blues Music Award nominee, hosts this edition of The Bay’s weekly concert series. Soars plays with Chris Peet on drums and Cleveland Frederick on bass. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

TUESDAY, JUNE 18

PLAYING THE UKULELE FOR FUN IN THE SUN!

1-2 p.m. at Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library, 2801 Newtown Blvd. Free. All skill levels are invited to this class for adults and seniors. Learn chord progressions, practice moving between chords and learn about different approaches to rhythmic strumming. Registration required. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.

CREATION STATION:

TWEEN/TEEN GLOWFORGE LAB

3:30-5 p.m. Free. Draw, or find images to engrave into wooden coasters and pendants using the Glowforge in the Creation Station. Registration required. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.

BEST BET

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

REPTIDAY

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sahib Shrine Center, 600 N. Beneva Road. Adults, $10; children ages 5-12, $5. Ages 4 and under free. Discover the world of reptiles, including those rarely seen in local pet stores, at this event that packs everything from Repticon’s two-day events into one day. Shop for a family pet, find products for owners and get advice from experts. Visit Repticon.com.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19

READ WITH THE DOGS

4-5 p.m. at Gulf Gate Library, 7112

Curtiss Ave. Children are invited to read with certified pet therapy dogs to develop reading and communication skills. This program is for young children who can read independently. Visit SCGovLibrary. LibraryMarket.com.

THURSDAY, JUNE 20

CINEMA AT THE BAY:

‘DIRTY DANCING ‘

7-8:40 p.m. at The Oval, The Bay Park, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Enjoy a screening of the classic film “Dirty Dancing” (PG-13). Come early to learn dance moves from Fred Astaire Dance instructors. The Nest Café will be serving concessions. Bring your own chairs. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

Ian Swaby

Jes Grynevich

SPORTS

Fast Break

Special Olympics Florida hosted its first Camp Shriver in Sarasota County at Cardinal Mooney High June 10-14. The camp, which was created by Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the 1960s, offers a week of inclusive sports, recreational activities and camaraderie. More information on the camp can be found at SOFL.org.

… Sarasota Christian School named Kevin Corwin its girls basketball coach on June 8. Corwin was previously the girls basketball coach at Sarasota High from 2019 to 2022, compiling a 26-50 record. Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Orion Kerkering, the son of Sarasota Emergency Manager Todd Kerkering, holds a 1.19 ERA over 222/3 innings pitched as of June 11, the 15th-best ERA of all MLB relievers.

Former Sarasota High baseball stars Conner Whittaker, David Barrett and Lance Trippel are in the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s College World Series with Florida State University after the Seminoles defeated the University of Connecticut in a super regional three-game series. The Seminoles (47-15) will next play the University of Tennessee (55-12) at 6 p.m. June 14 on ESPN in Omaha, Nebraska. A full CWS schedule can be found at NCAA.com.

Sarasota Sharks Masters swimmers Rick Walker, Arnaldo Perez, Larry Day and Lee Childs broke the world master’s record in the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay 280+ (10:05.91) at the 2024 Bumpy Jones Classic Long Course Meet, held June 8-9 at the Selby Aquatic Center. The previous record was set by the Sharks in 2021. Perez also set a national record in the 60-64 200-meter butterfly (2:27.05) at the Bumpy Jones meet.

“It’s

just my passion. My dream is to be a professional golfer. It’s what I like the most.”

ONE LAST REGATTA

The Sarasota Crew races against the best at Youth National Championships.

RYAN KOHN SPORTS EDITOR

At the 2024 USRowing Youth National Championships, held June 6-9 at Nathan Benderson Park, the tension could be felt in the air.

Not only were the more than 4,000 athletes in attendance competing for national glory, but for many of them, the event was the last time they will ever wear their junior teams’ uniforms before heading into the next phase of their lives. Going out with a less-thanstellar effort is not acceptable.

Sarasota Crew senior captains Maeva Ginsberg-Klemmt and William Mathes were two such competitors, and after their races, they gave thanks not just for a great final event, but for their Crew careers as a whole.

Ginsberg-Klemmt, the girls captain and a member of the girls varsity 8+ boat, said her experience with the Crew showed her the importance of self-motivation. While the team’s coaches have a deep knowledge of the sport, she said, they put the preparation for big events on the rowers, teaching them how to be responsible and independent.

“You find out your own limits,”

Ginsberg-Klemmt said. “It has been nice. Everybody works so hard to achieve their goals, and everybody’s goals are different. But at the end of the day, you come together to compete and race. It’s a great environment.”

The girls varsity 8+ boat finished second in the C Final (6:55.38).

Mathes, the boys captain and a member of the boys varsity 8+, said that every boat’s goal at the start of Youth Nationals is to take gold, and they grade themselves by how close they get to that goal. The boat took

eighth place in the A Final (6:01.58). It is not the finish the boat wanted, Mathes said, but it was not for a lack of effort.

“We left everything we had on the water,” Mathes said.

Though Mathes is now leaving junior rowing behind, he will not soon forget the experience. In his opinion, he said, joining Sarasota Crew is the best decision he’s ever made and encourages others curious about rowing to do the same.

For other rowers, this year’s championships were another chance to gain experience for future seasons. Sophomore Gabi DeLeo, another member of the girls varsity 8+ boat, was at her second Youth Nationals, but her first in the varsity 8+ boat; last year, she rowed at the U17 level. DeLeo said the level of jump in competition was significant, and gave her excitement for the future.

“I know how much speed I can gain because of the great people I am racing with,” DeLeo said. “Our training is hard. At times it feels like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I can finish this piece,’ but you always get through it because the rewards are so great. Not just medals at Nationals, but new friends. I have learned so many lessons from (teammates). I could not ask for anything better.”

The best results of the weekend came from the Crew’s younger rowers. The men’s U17 8+ boat finished fourth in the A Final (6:28.25), the men’s U16 8+ boat finished fifth in the A Final (6:37.95) and the women’s U16 8+ boat finished seventh in the A Final (7:32.17).

Freshman Jenna Khalil, who sat in the stroke seat in the women’s U16 8+ boat, said reaching the A Final was a dream come true, as it was the boat’s goal prior to the event.

“We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we did it,’ ” Khalil said. “Being here, it’s a lot. It’s scary. You are around everyone who worked year-round to be here. There are so many teams, so many

“Everybody works so hard to achieve their goals, and everybody’s goals are different. But at the end of the day, you come together to compete and race. It’s a great environment.”

— Maeva Ginsberg-Klemmt

girls, who want it as bad as you do. It’s hard, but it feels good (to succeed).”

Full results from the event can be found at Time-Team.nl/En/Info.

SARASOTA CREW RESULTS FROM USROWING YOUTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Courtesy photo

Special Olympics Florida hosted its first Camp Shriver in Sarasota County at Cardinal Mooney High on June 10-14.

— Nicolas Bencomo, senior, Cardinal Mooney golf. SEE PAGE 31

Sarasota Crew senior captains William Mathes and Maeva Ginsberg-Klemmt rowed their final junior races at Youth Nationals.

Photos by Ryan Kohn

Sarasota Crew freshman Jenna Khalil (second from left)

in the stroke seat in the Sarasota Crew girls U16 8+ boat at the US Rowing Youth National Championships, between coxswain Sophia Karanjai and rowers Claire Xia and Annalise Naylor. The boat finished seventh in the A Final (7:32.17).

Second shot at Olympic glory

Clark Dean will represent the U.S. in the men’s 8+ boat next month.

Sarasota’s own Clark Dean technically participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but in his mind, he didn’t.  Sure, he competed. Dean, a rower, represented the U.S. in the men’s 4-boat, which finished fifth overall (5:48.85).

But he didn’t get the full experience. This was the Olympic games of the COVID-19 pandemic, after all. The event said 2020 in the name, but was delayed to 2021, and even with the wait, safety precautions made it an awkward experience for everyone involved.

“We didn’t talk to anyone outside of the four,” Dean said. “We didn’t eat with anyone outside of the four. The second we finished racing, we were on a plane home. It was a sterile environment.”

The 2024 Paris Olympics will not be like that. The games, which begin in July, have fully moved past the pandemic and will be back to being the extended competition and celebration of athletics that it is renowned to be.

This time, Dean will get to experience it all.

Dean will represent the U.S. in the men’s 8+ boat in Paris. The boat was once the crown jewel of American rowing; starting with the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, the U.S. won gold medals in the event eight Olympics in a row, ending the streak with the 1960 games in Rome — only to win gold again at the 1964 games in Tokyo. It continued to be a strong event for the Americans for a while, but in recent years, success has been hard to find. The U.S. has not won gold in the event since 2004 in Athens and has not medaled in the event since taking

bronze in 2008 in Beijing.

Dean and his crew mates are hoping to change those fortunes. They recently got a boost of confidence at the 2024 Rowing World Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland, where the boat finished second (5:25.95) — 0.20 seconds behind Great Britain — against some of the top teams on Earth.

“You can look at the stopwatch and the wind conditions and the temperature of the water and come up with an idea of what (time) you should be going for, but you never really know until you wind up side by side (with the other boats),” Dean said. “We had no clue what was going to happen, but we came out the other side of it excited.”

To get so fast, the rowers in the boat had to get in sync, and quickly. Though most of the rowers have known each other for a few years, Dean said, this specific combination of people in one boat is new, having been decided on March 25

after a rigorous selection camp process. Dean said that the camp featured “16 to 20” rowers vying for spots in the eight, with coaches cycling through different combinations to find the right one. It’s not simply about the strongest rowers or the ones with flawless technique, but about the right group of rowers who, working as one, get the boat going the fastest. Dean likened the boat to a machine, where literally every part of it has to be working exactly as intended, lest it messes up a different part of the machine.

The boat then officially qualified for the Olympics at a regatta in Lucerne just days prior to the World Cup.  Dean has received strong rowing education throughout his career, most recently at Harvard University, where he graduated in 2023, but it all began with Sarasota Crew. Looking back on it now, Dean said his rowing education with the Crew got him started on the Olympic

path, teaching him not only about what mattered in rowing but about the hard work that would eventually be required of him as an Olympian. That is no surprise: Crew head coach Casey Galvanek has made such a name for himself; he is serving as a coach on the U.S. Olympic team for the Paris games.

“Having an Olympic-level coach from middle school has been a huge advantage,” Dean said. “It’s funny that it has come full circle in that way.”

Dean said the instruction he received with the Crew is not all that different than the instruction he receives at the international level. Though the intensity of the training might be turned down a few notches, the fundamentals instilled in Crew rowers — the way you move your body and move the stroke through the water, for example — are the same.

Dean will soon get to use those fundamentals on the world’s

biggest stage. This time, he’ll experience it all. He will get to see Paris. He will get to talk with athletes from other countries. He will eat great food with great friends. It will be, in his words, “the biggest, most distracting festival” possible, and he will be in the middle of it.

He’s going to enjoy it, as he should. But make no mistake: Dean is going with the intent of making Sarasota proud and bringing back a medal around his neck.

“We have a real chance,” Dean said. “It’s a pinch-yourself moment.”

Ryan Kohn is the sports editor for the Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer. Contact him at RKohn@ YourObserver.com.

Sarasota’s Clark Dean (fourth from right) will represent the United States in the men’s eight at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Nicolas Bencomo is a rising senior on the Cardinal Mooney High boys golf team. Bencomo, who committed to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in February, finished tied for ninth (73-73-69-65—280) at the 2024 Florida State Golf Association Amateur Championship, held June 6-9 at Quail Valley Golf Club and Bent Pine Golf Club in Vero Beach.

Nicolas Bencomo ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

When did you start playing golf?

My dad (Ozzy Bencomo) got me into it at an early age. I started on the course when I was 4. I was born in Venezuela, and baseball is the biggest sport over there. I tried baseball and a few other sports, but golf was the one that stuck.

What is the appeal to you?

It’s just my passion. My dream is to be a professional golfer. It’s what I like the most.

What have you been working to improve?

It’s always the short game. You can get away with hitting the ball bad if your short game can save you. Like I said, I struggled putting in the first two rounds (of the Amateur Championship), so I spent two hours after the second round on the putting green and it helped.

What were your expectations heading into the Amateur Championship?

I didn’t have any. I just went out there and trusted my game. I felt good going into the week, and I knew I would get hot at some point. I just stayed patient.

What does the top-10 finish do for you? It proves to me that I can compete with guys who

If you would like to make a recommendation for the Sarasota Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Ryan Kohn at RKohn@ YourObserver.com.

are older than me and ranked pretty high, even guys who are already at NCAA Division I schools. Knowing that I can stack up against them is a huge confidence boost.

Why did you commit to UNLV?

The biggest things for me in recruitment were the coaches, the schedule and the practice facility. UNLV checked every single box. I’m looking forward to spending four years with them.

What is your favorite food? I have to go with sushi. It is a go-to whenever I am craving something good.

What is your favorite school subject?

Overall, I would say math. I like statistics and numbers.

Finish this sentence: “Nicolas Bencomo is … ” … A fighter. I’m never going to give up on a round.

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

SATURDAY, JUNE

SUNDAY, JUNE

BACKING MUSICIANS by Aaron Rosenberg, edited by Jeff Chen

By Luis Campos

INFORMATION & RATES: 941-955-4888 redpages@yourobserver.com •yourobserver.com/redpages

DEADLINES: Classifieds - Tuesday at Noon

Service Directory - Friday at 3PM • PAYMENT: Cash, Check or Credit Card

The Sarasota and Siesta Key Observer reserves the right to classify and edit copy, or to reject or cancel an advertisement at any time. Corrections after first insertion only.

*All ads are subject to the approval of the Publisher.

*It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in the Sarasota and Siesta Key Observer to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with towncodes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property.

Notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.