Since the flooding caused by Hurricane Debby in August, weeds and invasive plants started growing through the mulch surface of the trails outside the Sarasota Audubon Nature Center at Celery Fields. However, a dedicated group of volunteers has been turning out each week to keep the trail maintained with methods such as plucking, cutting and raking,. “I’m weird. I like pulling weeds, and there’s plenty of them here,” said volunteer Marti Ramos on Sept. 21. The cleanups have included two hosted after Hurricane Debby, as well as the regular Sunday cleanups preceding the season.
Helene blankets Siesta Key with feet of storm surge and sand, leaving businesses and residents with a long cleanup ahead. SEE PAGE
Despite the high speed at which it is growing, the Rosemary District had been without a neighborhood park, although a “civic square” was envisioned in the city’s master plan. However, the neighborhood’s community came together to create the space, as speakers attested during the ribbon cutting for Overtown Square on Oct. 2. The pocket park pays homage to the city’s past as well, being named after Overtown, Sarasota’s original Black community, which once occupied the area.
$1.00 A new park and a proud heritage
Ian Swaby Wyatt Preissler, 8, helps with weed removal on Sept. 21.
Ian Swaby
A group including Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch, Mayor Liz Alpert, and commissioners Debbie Trice and Kyle Battie cut the ribbon.
WEEK OF OCT. 3, 2024
BY THE NUMBERS
$29M
Estimated
539,432
Projected
3.30
“Since we last talked, there’s been some discussion and willingness for an internal director who would be willing to take an interim role for the city manager.”
Sarasota HR Director Stacie Mason. Read more on page 12A
n Sarasota City Commission regular meeting — 9 a.m., Monday, Oct. 7, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St.
n
Seven new officers have been sworn in by the Sarasota Police Department. On Sept. 19, the department welcomed the new officers during a ceremony held at SPD headquarters at 2099 Adams Lane.
Delivering the keynote address was Ed Brodsky, state attorney for the 12th Circuit Judicial Court.
“You should be very proud of your accomplishments, but much will be expected of you,” he said. “You’re going to be required to wear many hats. You’re going
to be a social worker. You’re going to be a conflict mediator. You’re going to be a traffic director. You’re going to be a mental health counselor. You’re going to be a detailed report writer, a neighborhood patroller, a medic, a fireman; and you’ll be a crime fighter.”
Those who have joined the department as second class probation officers are Macy Clontz, Matthew Friedrich, Kaitlyn Marston, Tim Malak, Michal Banasiak, Maria Quinones and Brian Slaughter Jr.
Police Chief Rex Troche reminded the new officers of why they were selected for the job, their emotional IQ and ability to apply it to all the roles they will play while working in the community.
“When you’re going out to those calls for service, remember your purpose,” Troche said. “Remember that this is probably the first time they’ve contacted a police officer. This may be your 30th contact of the day with someone, but this is their first, so make it meaningful for them.”
Vacation rental deadline approaching
Owners of vacation rentals within the Sarasota city limits are reminded to register their properties by Oct. 31 to avoid late fees. The registration period began on July 1.
The final registration deadline is Dec. 31. As of Jan. 1, 2025, operating a vacation rental without a certificate will violate city code. It is estimated that more than 600 vacation rentals on the mainland have not yet been registered.
Owner-occupied vacation rentals, condominiums, cooperatives or properties rented for 30 days or more are exempt.
Applications may be submitted online via the city’s website or in-person at 1575 Second St., Third Floor. Questions about whether registration is required should be directed to VacationRentals@SarasotaFL.gov or by calling 941-263-6623.
Master Gardener plant sale Oct. 5
The 17th annual Master Gardener Volunteer Plant Sale and Extension EdFest by UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County services is set for 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at Twin Lakes Park, 6700 Clark Road. Shoppers can choose from among hundreds of shrubs, trees, palms, annuals, herbs and other plant varieties identified as Florida-friendly by the University of Florida. As a bonus, they can receive gardening and landscaping advice from master gardener volunteers.
Admission is free and proceeds from sales support Sarasota County Master Gardener Volunteer program efforts by funding demonstration gardens, school garden projects and other community initiatives. The Florida Master Gardener Volunteer program is led by the University of Florida and operated through county-level UF/IFAS Extension offices. In Sarasota County, the program supports demonstration landscapes and educational outreach projects. For more information visit Sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/plantsale.
Courtesy photo
City Manager Marlon Brown (left) and police chief Rex Troche (right) flank the seven new officers sworn in on Sept. 19.
Counting their losses
Helene’s historic storm surge covered nearly all of Siesta Key and damaged much of the island’s businesses. Owners began the hard work of restoring their spaces and replacing ruined equipment.
IAN SWABY | STAFF WRITER
Storms have often just been part of a year’s work for businesses in Siesta Key Village.
“I feel like we’re pros at this now,” Jacque Slayton, manager of The Hub Baja Grill, said Sept. 25, as she put out sandbags and performed the needed precautions the day before the storm.
Yet the scene the day after the storm was far more severe than business owners and residents had anticipated.
The storm surge, which was described by County Commissioner Mark Smith as 3 feet in height in the area, left many businesses working to clean up, with repairs and renovations ahead.
On Monday, many business owners and staff were still at work in the attempt to restore their spaces, as well as damaged equipment and materials.
Todd Morton, owner of Morton’s Siesta Market and its sister stores, summarized the situation.
“I’ve been here my entire life,” he said. “I’ve never seen the Key get flooded like this. You say storm surge; we know that’s going to happen, but covering the entire Key, never we would have thought, in a million years, that would happen.”
A HISTORIC STORM
Katie Spelman, a manager for Above the Bar Hospitality Group, which owns The Hub, described a scene of “devastating loss.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s pretty much as bad as it gets,” she said. The company also owns several other restaurants in Siesta Key, including The Cottage just next door, which shares a kitchen with The Hub, and The Beach Club across the street.
On Monday morning, The Hub and The Cottage were discarding what Spelman said probably totaled $50,000 in damaged kitchen equip-
ment.
She also said that with power now restored, new issues were arising, including an exploding AC unit on the site.
“There’s shorts all over the place, little electrical fires all over the place,” she said, noting an electrician had been present throughout the day.
Initially, the lack of power had posed a struggle for businesses.
Spelman, like Morton, said on Sept. 27 the situation had made it difficult to assess damages, for the team was not able to tell what equipment was operational.
Spelman said restaurant interiors had taken on as much as 5 feet of water, and equipment in kitchens was found to have tipped over.
“We’re missing five picnic tables still,” she said, stating she believed the tables, which belonged to The Hub, to be somewhere to the north, carried away by the waves.
However, there was some hopeful news in regards to some of the restaurants.
As of Oct. 1, Siesta Poke is open, Summer House is open for lunch and dinner and My Village Pub is open with a limited menu.
The company is now hosting a gift card drive for their staff to request supplies including gloves, cleaning solution and more from vendors such as Boar’s Head.
“We want to get (staff) back to the work, so that’s what we’re here for,” she said.
Among the locations impacted by the storm was Village Cafe, an establishment that has been in business for 29 years in Siesta Key Village.
“We’re trying to find a replacement now that everybody’s trying to find replacements or new machines,” said Tom Kouvatsos, who co-owns
“My husband and I are longtime residents of Sarasota, and we’ve never seen anything like this.”
SEE HURRICAN HELENE, PAGE 4A
Photos by Ian Swaby
Cara and Todd Carter clean up outside The Beach Club restaurant.
Village Cafe employees David Martinas and Felipe Carrera help fix the restaurant.
Beth Dilley, president of the Ascendia Group
Nick Esposito, Lillie Esposito, 15, Beth Dilley, Tristen Szalbirak and Lauren Werfalman clean up in the office of Ascendia Group.
A water line is visible on the wall at Mojo Risin’ Coffee in Siesta Key Village.
force of a storm surge, we got to witness it firsthand today,” she said.
the restaurant with his wife, Kay Kouvatsos. “For a restaurant that has nine or 10 refrigeration units, good luck. It’s really tough.”
He said friends, family and community members have expressed interest in seeing the restaurant operational again, although it is difficult to find ways they can help.
“There’s really nothing you can do unless you are a refrigeration guy, contractor, roofer, one of these things,” he said. “We appreciate the sentiment that everybody’s reaching out with.”
He noted that with his and Kay’s home surviving the storm, he was thankful they had fared better than many residents of the island. Ascendia Group, a rental home company, found damage to its properties across the island.
“My husband and I are longtime residents of Sarasota, and we’ve never seen anything like this,” said
SARASOTA
The cost of repairs is still being assessed, including new flooring, drywall, paint and furniture, and cleaning and mold remediation, with work starting tomorrow.
In one respect, Morton’s Siesta Market fared better than might have been expected.
When Hurricane Irma hit in 2017, it took down all three of the store’s locations, said Morton.
“Luckily, this time, our main store stayed operational,” Morton said on Sept. 27. “We didn’t lose power there, so we were able to save a lot of lot of perishables, but at the same time, there’s a lot of cleanup to do.”
However, business owners said the community has been pitching into help.
For instance, at The Hub, Russo’s Restaurant Equipment & Supply delivered supplies, while Gold Coast Eagle Distributing brought water and hydrating drinks for those helping clean up the site.
TRUST. KNOWLEDGE. SERVICE.
Beth Dilley, president of the company, who co-founded it with her husband Andy Olwert.
That day, she and the company’s staff traveled through Siesta Key to assess damage. They visited about 15-20 properties, she said, all of which had been
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flooded with at least 2 feet of water, and not all of which were located near the water.
“We saw washing machines and dryers turned upside down within the home, we saw furniture moved from one room to another, so when people are trying to understand the
“Seeing people helping each other has been pretty uplifting,” said Nick Eposito, maintenance manager at Ascendia Group. “You’re driving around and people are asking if you need help, or vice versa.”
To subscribe: Please call Donna Condon at 941-366-3468, Ext. 301, or email dcondon@yourobserver.com
PUBLIC NOTICES
The Sarasota/Siesta Key, East County and Longboat Observers meet the legal requirements to publish legal and public notices in Sarasota & Manatee counties, per F.S. 50.011. AUDITOR INFORMATION
Circulation Verified Council 12166 Old Big Bend Road, Suite 210 | St Louis, MO 63122 314-966-7111 | www.cvcaudit.com
color schemes including rich patinas of classic bronze, contemporary polished or matte nickel, and black.
Smitty’s Architectural Hardware, located The Plumbing Place, displays many lines of door hardware in beautiful styles for your home that are well suited for our demanding environment, and will create the first impression your front door deserves.
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Debris was placed into a pile outside The Hub Baja Grill.
Hurricane Helene
Todd Morton, Mike Shepler and Andy Bocchario at Morton’s Siesta Market.
Rhett Morton cleans up at Morton’s Siesta Market.
Photos by Ian Swaby
Helene reopened Midnight Pass, but for how long?
Volunteers with shovels are trying to reshape the inlet closed 40 years ago in an effort to continue the tidal exchange of water, which was restored by the hurricane.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
ometimes Mother Nature
Sstitches a silver lining in a blanket of devastation, and she eventually always takes back what belongs to her. And now a group of volunteers armed with shovels are trying to help her keep it.
Only weeks after the Sarasota County Commission instructed staff to investigate a legislative solution to permit the reopening of Midnight Pass, nature took care of the job. At least temporarily.
Raging storm surge whipped up by Hurricane Helene cut a swath through the former inlet between Siesta and Casey keys, closed under considerable controversy in 1983 when two property owners filled it in, cutting off the exchange of water between the Gulf of Mexico and the inland waterway resulting in decades of poor water quality in Little Sarasota Bay.
“Nature does whatever it wants, especially when a storm is that powerful,” said Siesta Key resident Mike Evanoff. “It pushed it back open, but for the pass to stay open will also be up to Mother Nature.”
Evanoff said although the pass was opened, it may need assistance to remain that way. To maintain the flow through the inlet, channels to the north and south of Little Sarasota Bay must flow freely and may need to be dredged as well.
Volunteers organically organized on social media and arrived at Midnight Pass with shovels to do just that, not so much dredging but working to gradually remove a mound that formed over the decades, sand deposited both by beach renourishment efforts and natural current, according to Midnight Pass advocate Diggy Breiling, who hosts a Facebook
page called “I Dig Midnight Pass.”
The diggers have also created a narrow channel in hopes of facilitating water exchange between the bay and the gulf.
Breiling isn’t the organizer of the shovel brigade, but the diggers have communicated their efforts on his social media page (and yes, Diggy is his real name).
“I’ve been advocating that we lower that mound of sand to more natural levels where it should be brought much closer to the high tide line as opposed to having it 20 feet above the high tide line, which is, I believe, about how high it was before the storm,” Breiling said.
That may be enough, he said, to help restore the natural hydraulic exchange of water between the Gulf of Mexico and Little Sarasota Bay, at least during high tides and other tidal events to achieve the objective of improving the water quality in the
bay. What Breiling does not support is deeply and widely dredging the inlet for recreational purposes.
“All the shovels that we can muster are not going to open Midnight Pass,” Breiling said. “That’s reality. I love that people are out there. I think it’s an improvement because when we do have storm events it will facilitate some of the transfer of water into and out of the bay. That mound being lowered in will facilitate some transfer.”
In an email sent to city and county officials, environmental organizations and others, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Executive Director Dave Tomasko offered a “very rough and preliminary” calculation of what is required to effectively open Midnight Pass — perhaps permanently — based on the status of the inlet on Friday.
As a former Southwest Florida Water Management District
Dr. Keyur Kurani brings to Intercoastal Medical Group at the Cattleridge office a wealth of
and experience in Internal Medicine.
employee, Tomasko wrote that he has experience in such analyses.
“With a 60-foot cross-section (20 feet wide by 3 feet deep) and a current of 1 foot per second, this comes out to an estimated flow rate of 60 cubic feet per second,” Tomasko wrote. “Upon conversion, this translates to about 32 million gallons per day. This does not mean that 32 million gallons of water leaves and/or enters Little Sarasota Bay via this new channel each day because this very rough estimate was made at only one point in time. But it does suggest that the inlet is large enough to move water at a rate that approximated 30 million gallons per day, at least during an outgoing tide.”
That kind of dredging can’t be done by hand, and it is unknown if Sarasota County has an argument that the state’s moratorium against creating new inlets is invalid as Midnight Pass was reopened by a natu-
ral event, if only temporarily, literally holds water.
“So now, the big question is how long will this stay open? And the answer is, we’ll find out,” Tomasko wrote. “Maybe this will stay open for several days, weeks, or months. Or maybe it’s already closed as I write this email. … But it’s also true that it’s not necessarily true that such inlets are doomed to close.”
Evanoff had an up close and personal view of the Midnight Pass both before and after Helene. Just north of the inlet, his beachfront home was in the water on Friday, and he calls it a total loss. He had moved out of the house to another home on Siesta Key and planned to make the beachfront house a rental.
“But hey, we got good fresh water in there, so that’s a good thing,” Evanoff said on Friday. “We lost everything there, but at least the pass is open.”
Photo courtesy of Bonnie Hammer Courtesy image
Midnight Pass before it closed in 1983.
By Monday morning, Midnight Pass had mostly closed again.
The plan to save Mira Mar
Developer reveals proposal to combine $29 million restoration with twin condo towers.
ANDREW WARFIELD
STAFF WRITER
Historic preservation isn’t for the feint of heart, especially for those paying for it.
Having been denied permission to demolish the Mira Mar building at 49 S. Palm Ave. in 2022, Seaward Development still purchased the centuryold building in 2023 as it set about an 18-month effort to determine how it could save the Mira Mar and still redevelop the property.
That endeavor led to partnering with East Coast architects Rick Gonzalez and Igor Reyes to devise a plan to restore the Mira Mar to its 1923 origins and pay the bill by building two 18-story residential towers behind it. Gonzalez, of REG Architects of West Palm Beach, has 40 years of expertise in historic building restoration. Reyes, of Nichols Architects of Coral Gables, specializes in designing projects that help monetize such efforts.
The cost to restore the Mira Mar is estimated at $29 million. The money to cover that would come from a portion of the proceeds of sales from 70 condominiums to be built between the rear of the historic building and Mira Mar Court.
It’s a proposal for a mixed-use development that will require a rezoning from Downtown Bayfront to Downtown Core, effectively returning the site to its pre-2005 zoning, preceded by a Comprehensive Plan change of the site’s future land use category.
That would permit Seaward to build the variable-height towers rather than the 10 stories the current zoning allows, but with 1 million fewer cubic feet than is currently
permitted there by right.
A Sept. 17 community workshop hosted by Seaward Development introduced the concept to the public in preparation for a forthcoming rezoning application for the site.
Rather than an 18-story flat wall, the design of the towers peaks at 18 stories in the center, terracing down to 17 then 15 stories toward the edges.
Seaward Development owner
Patrick DiPinto told the community workshop audience the demolition denial by the city’s Historic Preservation Board was the start of an education in preservation.
“Looking back, I think we made a mistake,” DiPinto said of Seaward’s original plan. “We probably moved a little too quick. We made some quick decisions, and after the education that we received over the last year and a half, I think at this point that’s a good thing.”
Mira Mar presents the rare restoration challenge. It’s long, 400-foot span along Palm Avenue was built of wood on a non-compressed beach. What opened as an apartment building after two months of construction floats on the ground, neither stabilized on concrete piers nor strapped from the roof to the ground. A significant part of the restoration cost lies in that work alone.
The building has shown signs of structural weakness. Although maintained by Seaward, which has office space in Mira Mar, portions of the building are not safely accessible.
Additions and modifications over the decades are planned to be removed and the original appearance restored. The second-floor, glass-enclosed pedestrian connector between the buildings will be removed and the open vista restored toward a center courtyard between
CURRENT MIRA MAR CONDITIONS
Multiple tenant spaces cannot be occupied because of required structural steel shoring posts to support building from further settlement.
Existing structure is comprised of wood joist roof and floor systems that are supported by load-bearing, wood-framed walls. Deteriorated wood from water and insect damage has been identified throughout structure.
Water intrusion issues persist from the glass roof domes added in the 1980s.
Existing exterior wall studs
the residential towers.
“The building has had significant changes, and we’re like surgeons,” Gonzalez said. “First, we’re detectives. We come in, we measure everything, we look at the (historical) photographs and then we’re going to work like surgeons. We’re going to remove portions that are not appropriate, that are not original, and then we’re going to reconstruct it to match the historic 1923 look. That’s what the $29 million budget gives us, and that’s what we’re going to do as we move forward with the project.”
INTRODUCING Emerson Lakes
must be exposed and evaluated to determine deterioration for potential replacement. A significant amount of the exterior wall framing will need to be replaced.
No foundations exist. Retrofitting is proposed using micropile underpinning.
Foundation improvements are required at north side of the building where signs of settlement are evident.
The building has crack monitors throughout that are required to be monitored monthly by a structural engineer.
THE FINANCIAL ENGINE
None of that happens without the revenue generated by the new residential construction and the comparatively minimal design of separate, tiered condominium towers. Otherwise, without the rezoning, the next best option to foot the bill is a 10-story lot line to lot line concrete and glass rectangle with 270 rental apartments.
The residential buildings plan includes: Two 18-story towers with setbacks far greater than zoning requires to maximize light and air for
neighboring properties and preservation of view corridors.
Volume of proposed buildings is less than a single, zero-lot line, 10-story building with 1 million fewer cubic feet than currently zoned.
Complementary architecture to the Mira Mar building.
Central access at Palm Avenue and a large central courtyard providing quasi-public open space.
Additional commercial space on the rear of the property along Mira Mar Court, filling a current gap in the pedestrian experience.
No additional density.
“The towers are what is going to help pay for the $29 million it’s going to take to restore this project,” Gonzalez said.
“If you can’t get the towers built, then there’s not an economic engine to save the structures.
“The structures are in very, very, very bad shape. The Mira Mar is under threat.”
That threat will not end soon. Seaward now must pursue a Comprehensive Plan amendment to change the future land use classification of the property, followed by a rezoning. A Comprehensive Plan amendment must be approved by a supermajority of the City Commission and endorsed by the state before rezoning can occur.
A restored Mira Mar would remove the overhead glass enclosed walkway between the two buildings fronting South Palm Avenue. Courtesy image
Nov. 5: Road to Serfdom or the Road to Liberty?
Democracy leads to the lousy getting on top; subsidizing and producing more bad behavior; and economic fascism. The November election won’t stop all that, but the right choice can be a start.
Editor’s note: In case you missed the Election 2024 installment last week — “The republic that’s failing” — here is a summary:
We recounted how American culture from 1776 to the mid-1960s, was rooted in the early Roman culture. Both shared the virtuous traits of a nuclear family that was self-sufficient, hardworking, honest, courageous, friendly, patriotic and pious.
And when our Founding Fathers began forming the Constitution, the Roman traits and the failure of the Greeks’ democracy led the Founders to reject a democracy. They knew it would lead to tyranny. Instead, they chose a democratic republic and a government whose powers were limited and whose foremost purpose was to protect individual rights.
But over 248 years, in spite of warnings, democratic, majority rule has replaced the Founders’ vision of a limited government. Here are the consequences:
Tyranny is upon us. Just as the Founders feared. That is not an exaggeration.
The long, creeping shift to majority-rule democracy and the unabated expansion of our federal government has rendered devastating consequences to your individual liberty and to the United States. Take this one example: how the value and purchasing power of your dollar has declined. Take a look at the graphic above. You should be outraged.
Unfortunately, while most Americans feel the shrunken value of their dollars, they do not realize this decline is taxation at its worst and that they do it to themselves. They elect people to Congress who have no moral qualms about taking and spending other people’s money.
In this week’s installment, we will show how American democracy predictably and inevitably has led to, in the words of the late F.A. Hayek, “how the worst get on top” in public office; how governmentsanctioned redistribution of wealth increases and speeds up economic and social destruction; how democratic rule has brought on economic fascism; and how the choices voters make in this year’s presidential and congressional candidates can take us further and faster down Hayek’s
ELECTION ’24
“Road to Serfdom.”
Oy. What a downer. Who wants to read about all that negativity?
But as the first step of Alcoholics Anonymous states, if you want to fix the problem, you must first see and admit it. Americans must see how and admit that the evils of democracy have taken over.
You are not in control of your life the way our Founders envisioned. Americans are slaves — slaves to their government.
WHY THE WORST GET ON TOP
In Hayek’s 1944 classic, “The Road to Serfdom,” he devoted Chapter 11 to “Why the Worst Get on Top.”
While his focus was on totalitarian states in the 1940s, Hayek’s analysis is just as applicable today in the United States — particularly in relation to our presidential elections.
Hayek provided three main reasons why the best elements of society are not elected. And he wrote that the principles on which the worst and “least worst” are often selected “will be almost entirely negative.”
It starts with “the lowest common denominator which unites the largest number of people.”
“In general,” Hayek said, “the higher the education and intelligence of individuals become, the more their views and tastes are differentiated and the less likely they are to agree on a particular hierarchy. It is a corollary of this that to find a high degree of uniformity and similarity of outlook, we have to descend to the regions of lower moral and intellectual standards. This does not mean that the majority of people have low moral standards; it merely means that the largest group of people whose values are very similar are the people with low standards.”
Hayek’s second negative principle is the candidate’s skill of demagoguery. “He will be able to obtain the support of all the docile and gullible, who have no strong convictions … those whose vague and imperfectly formed ideas are easily swayed and whose passions and emotions are readily aroused.”
Rush Limbaugh called these groups “low-information voters” — sheep led to the cliff.
Hayek called his third reason for why the lesser elements of society are often elected the most important. “It is almost a law of human nature that it is easier for people to agree on a negative program — on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off — than on any positive task.
“The contrast between the ‘we’ and the ‘they,’ the common fight against those outside the group, seems to be an essential ingredient in any creed which will solidly knit together a group for common action. It is consequently always
HOW INFLATION TAX HAS DESTROYED AMERICANS’ WEALTH
$100 today was …
n $54.70 in 2000 (-45.3% loss of value)
n $15.66 in 1974 (-84.3%)
n $7.66 in 1950 (-92.3%)
n $5.43 in 1924 (-94.67%)
employed by those who seek, not merely support of a policy, but the unreserved allegiance of huge masses,” Hayek wrote.
IS THE GOAL
POWER
Surely this sounds familiar. It’s the playbook of all Republican and Democrat candidates for the presidency, governorships and Congress — the hatred of an enemy.
The late H.L. Mencken was much more succinct on why we get what we get. As he put it: “Votes are collared under democracy, not by talking sense, but by talking nonsense … The winner will be whoever promises the most…” Or, also, the one who promises not to take away people’s free stuff (welfare, subsidies and redistribution).
Austrian economist HansHermann Hoppe has a much more harsh, cynical view of why we get who we get: “Popular elections make it practically impossible that any good or harmless person could ever rise to the top. Prime ministers and presidents are selected for their proven efficiency as morally uninhibited demagogues.”
You have to admit, Hayek, Mencken and Hoppe have it right.
Of course, there are exceptions. There are some good, moral politicians. But they are a small minority. Otherwise, the national debt — a moral tragedy and just one example — would not be what it is.
There is one more factor Hayek cited that leads to the wrong people being on top. No one ever confesses to it, but it’s the one that often becomes an addiction: Power.
“It is a goal in itself,” Hayek wrote. “The desire to organize social life according to a unitary plan springs largely from a desire for power. … In order to achieve their ends, collectivists must create power — power over men wielded by other men — of a magnitude never before known …”
As noted before, Hayek was speaking of totalitarians. But as all Americans have seen, the lust to hold onto power has consumed the Democratic Party elites ever since Donald Trump came down the
The following excerpt on politicians is from “A Mencken Chrestomathy — His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing,” 1982: Politicians seldom if ever get there [into public office] by merit alone, at least in democratic states. Sometimes, to be sure, it happens, but only by a kind of miracle. They are chosen normally for quite different reasons, the chief of which is simply their power to impress and enchant the intellectually underprivileged.…
Will any of them venture to tell
the plain truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the situation of the country, foreign or domestic?
Will any of them refrain from promises that he knows he can’t fulfill — that no human being could fulfill?
Will any of them utter a word, however obvious, that will alarm and alienate any of the huge pack of morons who cluster at the public trough, wallowing in the pap that grows thinner and thinner, hoping against hope?
Answer: Maybe for a few weeks at the start … But not after the issue is fairly joined, and the struggle is on in earnest. …
They will all promise every man, woman and child in the country whatever he, she or it wants. They’ll all be roving the land look-
ing for chances to make the rich poor, to remedy the irremediable, to succor the unsuccorable, to unscramble the unscrambleable … They will all be paying off the national debt with money that no one will have to earn. In brief, they will divest themselves from their character as sensible, candid and truthful men, and become simply candidates for office, bent only on collecting votes. … They will all know by then … that votes are collared under democracy, not by talking sense but by talking nonsense, and they will apply themselves to the job with a hearty yo-heave-ho. … The winner will be whoever promises the most with the least probability of delivering anything.”
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TAX PLANS & PLATFORMS
See what Kamala Harris and Donald Trump say they will do if elected.
Also: The Tax Foundation’s analysis of whose tax plans would be better. Go to: YourObserver.com/ Opinion
Trump Tower escalator in 2015.
REDISTRIBUTION DESTROYS
Once the wrong people get into power — and you can say this goes for the right people, too — rather than performing their chief constitutional duty of protecting individual rights, they immediately succumb to the mobs.
In Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose,” he noted that when it comes seeking favors from the government, business is always first in line. We constantly see industries seeking a subsidy or protection at someone else’s expense. And this leads to Friedman’s Law of Laws.
An aggrieved group goes to the Capitol and pleads for relief.
Lawmakers write a law with the good intention of correcting the aggravation, only to come back the next year to address the unintended consequences. That goes on and on.
This is how our democracy has come to be a machinery for the redistribution of wealth — and ultimately the deterioration of society.
As economist Hoppe notes, it’s a fundamental principle of economics that you will get more of whatever you subsidize.
Subsidizing and redistribution are the taking, or confiscation, from the producers and the “haves” and giving an unearned benefit to the “have-nots.” This lowers the incentive to be a producer, and raises the incentive to be a non-producer.
“Accordingly,” Hoppe writes, “as a result of subsidizing individuals because they are poor, there will be more poverty. By subsidizing people because they are unemployed, more unemployment will result.”
With Social Security, “in subsidizing retirees out of taxes imposed on current income earners, the institution of the family — the intergenerational bond between parents, grandparents and children — is systematically weakened.”
Hoppe concludes: As a result of “subsidizing the malingerers, the careless, the alcoholics, the drug addicts, there will be more illness, malingering, alcoholism, drug addiction.” And this: “By forcing non-criminals, including the victims of crime, to pay for the imprisonment of criminals (rather than making criminals compensate their victims and pay the full cost of their apprehension and incarceration) crime will increase.”
All of that has occurred and continues. Consider this data point: From 2020 to 2025, the mandatory spending for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rose 41% to $1.7 trillion, while HHS’ discretionary spending rose
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MATT WALSH
H.L. Mencken
‘I believe in the collective’; ‘My values have not changed’
To the Independent and Never Trump Voters who are contemplating voting for Kamala Harris: Do not fall for the classic bait and switch.
And that is exactly what Vice President Harris is doing. The same thing Joe Biden did in 2020: Lie through his teeth that he was a unifier and a moderate.
The two Harris quotes printed above say it all. She made the first this summer in front union workers in Detroit. In that moment, by those words, essentially she explicitly declared she believes in communism. That is the “collective.”
She went public with this belief in communism previously in a November 2020 video. Here is the text of that video:
“Equality suggests everyone should get the same amount.
“The problem with that is not everybody is starting out from the same place.
“So if we’re all getting the same amount, but you started out back there, and I started out over here — you could get the same amount, but you’re still going to be that far back behind me.
“It’s about giving people the resources and support they need so that everyone can be on equal footing and then compete on equal footing.
“Equitable treatment means we all end up at the same place.” That is communism.
When she said and says “My values have not changed,” presumably, then, all of her flip-flops are
50%, to $130.7 billion. Meanwhile, the combined rates of inflation and population growth in that same period was 22.7% — half the growth of welfare spending.
ECONOMIC FASCISM As redistribution and subsidizing are destructive socially, so they are economically. These policies and practices have turned our so-called capitalist economy into economic fascism. That is, lawmakers leave ownership in the hands of private individuals, but the leviathan laws and regulations coerce private individuals to cede control of their property to the government.
The United States has never been a pure laissez-faire capitalist economy. It was much closer in the beginning, but now it is a mixed mongrel of part free-market capitalism and a much larger part
not true. When she says she no longer favors socialized medicine — 100% Medicare for all, she’s lying. When she says she is not opposed to fracking, she is lying.
Note how she has not explained her sudden conversions. But Bernie Sanders explained them on a recent episode of “Meet the Press.”
He said Harris has toned down her progressivism because she is “doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election.”
Bait and switch.
What are other values that haven’t changed? She told some of them to Oprah: abortion; gun control; “access to the ballot box” (presumably no voter ID); and “to be who you are and love who you love openly and with pride.”
But if indeed her values have not changed, then her positions she embraced in 2019 and 2020 have not changed. Here are some of them:
n She said the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds for abortions, must be repealed. In other words, pay for abortions with federal tax dollars.
n Require states to obtain permission from the Department of Justice before implementing new abortion laws.
n Require insurance companies provide “full reproductive healthcare services.”
n “[P]olicies ensuring that federal prisoners and detainees are able to obtain medically necessary care for gender transition, including surgical care, while incarcerated or detained. … I will direct all
controlled by government fiat.
The employer is forced to collect and pay his employees’ income tax and a portion of their Social Security and Medicare. An employer is forced to pay a prescribed wage. Farmers are ordered how to grow their crops. Importers pay tariffs and must acquiesce to quotas. Landlords’ rental rates are capped. And now, one presidential candidate wants to mandate the end of gas-powered cars. And on and on.
No one describes the consequences of our mongrel mixed economy better than Ayn Rand did in 1965: “A mixed economy has no principles … to limit the power of government. The only principle of a mixed economy is that no one’s interests are safe, everyone’s interests are on a public auction block, and anything goes for anyone who can get away with it.
federal agencies responsible for providing essential medical care to deliver transition treatment.”
n Give middle-class households “basic income” — a monthly cash payment as much as $3,000 per year for single people and $6,000 per year for married couples; and unemployed and underemployed workers up to $8,000 for job training programs. Her proposal was estimated to cost taxpayers about $200 billion in the first year or $2 trillion over 10 years.
Harris recently proposed giving first-time homebuyers up to $25,000, with more going to firstgeneration homeowners.
n Reduce funding for the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ICE detention centers.
n Gun buybacks.
Finally, when Harris says her values have not changed, that should give you great concern. Stated another way, she has not embraced the value of telling the truth. For three years, she told the American people Joe Biden was better than fine.
“Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong. That cannot be debated,” she told TV anchor Anderson Cooper after the June debate. That, too, was a lie.
— Matt Walsh
“Such a system — or, more precisely, anti-system — breaks up a country into an ever-growing number of enemy camps, into economic groups fighting one another for self-preservation in an indeterminate mixture of defense and offense, as the nature of such a jungle demands. “A mixed economy is rule by pressure groups. It is an amoral, institutionalized civil war of special interests and lobbies, all fighting to seize a momentary control of the legislative machinery, to extort some special privilege at one another’s expense by an act of government — i.e. by force.”
This is economic fascism.
LESSER OF TWO EVILS
So let’s put all this together: The U.S. — with its cultural roots in early Roman virtues, and once the
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On the basis of performance and competence in office, this goes to the litmus test we apply in all elections. It’s simple: If the candidate did a good job as incumbent, reelect him or her. If he or she did a lousy job, no.
envy of the world as a limitedgovernment, democratic republic — has transmogrified over the past 248 years into a mob-ruled democracy that no longer places individual rights before the collective.
As shown, the destructive effects of this are pervasive, spreading and relegating Americans to being slaves of their government.
This is the Road to Serfdom, or the Fall of the American Empire.
But it can be stopped and reversed. And that is clearly the choice for Americans with the November elections.
To be sure, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are flawed in so many ways — proof of Hayek, Mencken and Hoppe’s explanations of why we get who we get. We’ll add one more: “When the worst get on top, it is because there are enough of the worst among us to put them there” — from the late Leonard Read, founder of the Foundation for Economic Education.
Yes, we put them there. And once again, as it so often is said, voters in the 2024 presidential election are faced with making a choice of the lesser of two evils.
However, if American voters actually assessed these two choices, they might go through this checklist of questions:
n Which of the two is more likely to be honest and truthful to you, and trustworthy to do the right thing the right way for the right reasons?
n Which of the two is more likely to be the more competent leader and executive carrying out the duties of the presidency?
n Which one is likely to be better
for the protection of your personal liberty and property?
n Which one is most likely to lead to improvements in your standard of living?
n Which one is less likely to confiscate more of your property and redistribute it in ways that lead to further cultural and economic destruction?
n Which one is less likely to use the force of government to interfere in your daily life choices?
n Which one is less likely to keep you enslaved?
Two ways to reach a conclusion on these questions would be to assess their platforms — what they say they will do — and assess their performance in office.
A comparison of the Harris and Trump platforms are posted online (YourObserver.com/Opinion). The differences are vivid.
Harris’ platform is all about the usual Democrat Party approach — government force and spending. She would punish success with higher taxes on individuals (the standard “fair share” drivel); establish a police state that punishes businesses; and create laws forcing all taxpayers to foot the cost of higher minimum wages and giving more unearned benefits to millions of Americans by forgiving loans and downpayments on homes. In other words, expand the Welfare State.
She says nothing about immigration, foreign policy, the wars, military or energy.
Trump’s platform isn’t exactly a conservative manifesto. He proposes to use the government to address the issues that have occupied the public square the past three years: to bring down inflation; stop the immigration; ensure freedom of speech and religion; stop the wars in Ukraine and Israel; stop the destructiveness of gender ideology; and address two issues he harps on: pump more energy and retool the military.
Of course, neither platform says one word about reducing the national debt; nor does either provide the “how” to their litany of promises. But we know how: More government intervention.
Nevertheless, the question for voters is, if adopted, which approach would cost you less and improve your life more?
To that: Past is prelude.
On the basis of performance and competence in office, this goes to the litmus test we apply in all elections. It’s simple: If the candidate did a good job as incumbent, re-elect him or her. If he or she did a lousy job, no.
Which of the two did better?
This is the heart of the election. The answer on this and the other questions in the checklist is unequivocal: Donald Trump.
SPAC talk
Following a rousing concept reveal last week, city commissioners dig into the details for the proposed Sarasota Performing Arts Center.
Two hours wasn’t enough time for the Sarasota City Commission to pose all their questions about the proposed Sarasota Performing Arts Center during Monday’s workshop.
Representatives of the project were joined on Zoom by two architects from Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s Genoa, Italy offices as they briefed commissioners on the project’s four-building design concept and business plan.
With a noon hard stop looming, City Manager Marlon Brown proposed that commissioners continue discussions individually to help craft the implementation agreement between the city and the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation, the next key step in continuing to develop a plan for the new facility. A discussion about that agreement will come up on the commission’s Oct. 21 meeting agenda.
The deadline to sign the agreement, which will include cost estimates, is Nov. 30.
The implementation agreement is a required step for the design process to continue. It lays out the details for the buildings to be owned by the city but operated by the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation.
PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
The numbers of performances and events anticipated by the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation bringing an estimated 511,870 paid attendees and ticket buyers.
Large theater: 179
Medium theater: 87
Multipurpose room: 69
Event lawn: 27
Education lab: 48
Rooftop terrace: 6
Total: 416
Last week the design team of Renzo Piano and Sarasota-based SweetSparkman Architects revealed a preliminary concept for the SPAC to a largely receptive audience. On Monday, things got real as promoters of the project were pressed on hard details such as parking availability, whether the up to 800-seat medium-size theater is even needed in addition to a 2,500- to 2,700-seat main theater, profit-and-loss pro-
jections, and more.
The workshop provided commissioners their first opportunity to discuss the public-private project proposed to be funded up to 50% by tax increment financing revenues generated by improvement of properties around The Bay park, the other 50% from philanthropy.
Among the concerns is a projection the SPAC would operate at a deficit of about $4 million per year, a point pressed by Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch.
Sarasota Performing Arts Founda-
tion CEO Tania Castroverde Moskalenko said she felt the gap can be made up via philanthropy.
“I do feel confident,” Castroverde Moskalenko said. “We have been ranging between $1 million and $2 million a year, so while I understand that this is double that, I think that the vision is so compelling that our patron base and our prospects would be inspired to contribute to this vision.”
According to its financial projections, the Sarasota Performing Arts Center is expected to generate $38.5
million in revenue in its opening year, and $39.8 million as operations stabilize in year three. This compares to an operating budget of $44.7 million in year one and $44.1 million in year three, leaving a need for $4.3 million in annual operating support.
Accordiing to the SPAF, that fiscal gap is similar in scale to many performing arts centers in similar markets in Florida and across the country, and making up the difference is anticipated as a combination of annual fundraising and earnings from an endowment.
The model projects program numbers over the first three years of operation and growth in both the artistic and corporate rental programs. As operations stabilize by year three, performances and events are projected to grow to 455, bringing in an estimated 539,432 people.
Performance and event types at the new SPAC include:
■ Broadway and special presentations.
■ Touring concerts, comedy, variety and family shows.
■ Presentations of national and
ESTIMATED PROJECT SCHEDULE
Schematic design: May 2025
Design development: February 2026
Construction documents: May 2027
Public procurement/ negotiation: August 2027
Construction: August 2029
Move-in: October 2029
international music, theater, dance and speakers
■ Regional and local presentations an co-presentations.
■ Festivals and outdoor events.
■ Educational performances.
■ Artist residencies and events that engage community in the process and creation of art.
■ Corporate, private and artistic or nonprofit rentals.
This workshop included a presentation of the project concept design and implementation plan, which will be incorporated into the implementation agreement.
On April 18, 2022, the city and the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation entered into a partnership agreement outlining the process to plan, co-fund, design and construct the Sarasota Performing Arts Center.
That pact requires the SPAF to develop and submit to the City Commission for approval an implementation agreement to address:
■ Project concept and preliminary site plan.
■ Any required approvals from city and other governmental agencies and preferred means to secure such approvals.
■ A preliminary permitting and construction schedule.
■ Intended design and construction experts needed to facilitate the development.
■ A proposed project scope and total budget, recognizing that changes in the development timeline may affect ultimate costs.
■ An outline of the plan for cofunding for the total project cost.
Liz Alpert understands that
Courtesy image
A massing model presented by Renzo Piano Building Workshop shows the four Sarasota Performing Arts Center buildings along North Tamiami Trail.
All The Support You’ll Ever Need
This is why Sarasota Memorial designed a state-of-the-art Breast Health Services Program combining accessible screening with the very latest in treatment options, for a groundbreaking approach to cancer care as comprehensive as it is personalized.
With eight locations for 3D mammography, yearly screening is easier and more accessible than ever before, while advanced diagnostics at our breast health centers ensure accuracy is second to none. And for those in our care, dedicated nurse navigators explain and coordinate treatment plans, while an award-winning team of oncologists, radiologists, surgeons and pathologists equipped with the latest in medical technology, leading-edge treatments and clinical trials, ensures they have more options than ever before.
Top temporary job
City commissioners will vet an unidentified senior staff member to serve as interim city manager.
By mid-October, Sarasota will have an interim city manager, and by all indications it will be a senior member of the city staff.
During Monday’s workshop, city commissioners heard options presented by Deputy City Manager Patrick Robinson and Human Resources Director Stacie Mason to fill the position on a temporary basis following the scheduled Oct. 15 retirement of Marlon Brown.
Robinson removed himself from consideration shortly after Brown announced his retirement.
Although naming a “member in transition” of the Florida League of Cities remains a possibility, Mason and Robinson said a senior member of the staff has stepped forward to fill the role as part of a two-step process first to name a temporary city manager and then embark on a national search, which could take from four to six months.
The staff member was not named — references to the individual were limited to “he” and “him” — and Robinson said meetings with individual commissioners can be scheduled to discuss the city government’s top temp job.
“Since we last talked, there’s been some discussion and willingness for an internal director who would be willing to take an interim role for the city manager,” Mason said. “We do have a senior level director that would be willing to take an interim position. I have reached out to a number of (members in transition). Some have been placed in positions, and others are willing to engage in the process with us.”
Robinson said Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch asked him to add a
discussion on the interim manager to the Oct. 7 commission meeting agenda, leaving time for individual meetings in the interim.
“I look at this as sort of an A-B conversation,” Robinson said. “We need to get that A decision made, and then we can move on to the B decision, which gives us some time, so we will be bringing back on (Oct. 7) the internal candidate as well as other options for you.”
Robinson said he has discussed with the candidate the need to schedule meetings with commissioners prior to the Oct. 7 meeting, and that he will be reaching out to them directly.
Once the decision about the interim is made, Mason said she is working on a parallel track to present options for a search firm to start the the search for a new city manger by the end of October or early November. How long the search takes will depend on parameters set by the commission, ideally no longer than six months. Robinson reminded commissioners they are in charge.
“You’ll give us the framework and then we will tell them what we want out of that process. You will be in the driver’s seat from step one through the final selection process,” he said. “They’ll facilitate everything. I just want to make sure that you understand that there will be no directing the commission on how it goes. You will be in the driver’s seat.”
Andrew Warfield Marlon Brown (left) will retire as Sarasota city manager on Oct. 15.
Deputy City Manager Patrick Robinson (right) has expressed no interest in replacing him.
County approves $2 billion budget
Sarasota County commissioners officially set the fiscal year 2025 budget at a reduced countywide millage rate of 3.30%.
Having been delayed by several days because of Hurricane Helene, the Sarasota County Commission officially adopted the county’s fiscal year 2025 budget during its final budget public hearing Monday evening.
Originally scheduled for Sept. 26, the commission approved the $2.07 billion spending plan in usual fashion at this stage in the process, with only a formal reading of the ordinances and no discussion. County resident and frequent city and county commission public speaker Martin Hyde provided the lone public comment, admonishing the commissioners for continually growing the budget rather than ordering departments to tighten their belts.
The budget lowers the countywide ad valorem tax rate from 3.35 mils to a nearly four-decade low of 3.30 mils. That doesn’t mean property owners will pay lower taxes. The millage rate still projects $25.1 million more in property tax revenue for the coming fiscal year.
Beginning in March, the budget process included introduction of the strategic plan, followed by five workshops and two public hearings.
“In addition to meeting all your contractual obligations in the forthcoming year, the board was able to do a reduction in the countywide millage rate, about a $3.6 million reduction from what we had presented in the early budgets on the county side,” said County Administrator Jonathan Lewis.
The “county side” is spending under control of the commission.
During the early budget workshop sessions, commissioners instructed Lewis to trim that spending plan by
$4.4 million, about $800,000 more than the final budget indicates. Funding for the state-mandated constitutional officers’ departments — Sheriff’s Office, Tax Collector, Clerk of Circuit Court, Supervisor of Elections and more — remain unchanged despite being asked nicely.
“It wouldn’t disappoint me if any of the constitutionals decided to help a little bit in this process and join us in our efforts,” Commissioner Ron Cutsinger said at the time.
It all adds up to a $2 billion budget including operations, personnel, capital improvement and acquisitions, special taxing districts, fees and other taxes.
General fund spending for fiscal year 2025 is set at $462.3 million, nearly $32 million, or about 7.5%, more than the current fiscal year. That includes $265.3 million for constitutional offices and other agencies outside the commission’s spending control.
As is typically the case, the budget increase year-over-year is rooted in personnel expenses and new hires to keep pace with service demands of a growing population.
At 43.03 new full-time equivalents, employment for constitutional offices will increase 3.1% over this year, led by the Sheriff’s Office with 39, for a total of 1,447.5 employees. Meanwhile, BCC-controlled department full-time equivalents will grow by 59.90, or 2.4%, for a total of 2,541.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 22
AIRING HIS GRIEVANCE
3:23 p.m., 300 block of St. Armands Circle
Dispute: A frustrated visitor to St. Armands Circle let the air out of a tire on a vehicle whose driver he claimed stole his coveted parking spot. The subject admitted deflating the tire after the driver of another vehicle snuck into a parking spot that he was waiting to back into in order to properly parallel park. After the two engaged in a brief argument, the subject was off to find another space.
Officers located an air compressor and inflated the tire and the car owner
from a nearby business
to a residence whose occupant complained about ongoing late-night noise levels that were disruptive to the neighborhood.
Officers approached the nearby restaurant’s property line with a sound level meter.
There, they were met by the irate business owner who insisted officers step off of his property. He then proceed to yell at officers while shining his cell phone flashlight in their faces. He eventually agreed to turn down the music volume and requested to speak with a supervisor. A sergeant responded and, while the man received his reality check, the sound check continued and decibel readings exceeded noise ordinance limits.
An investigation into the business license indicated the establishment was a permanent food service takeout with no liquor license, although numerous alcoholic beverages were observed. Police said it is reasonable to believe the
business is serving and/or allowing alcohol on site. The music was emanating from a karaoke machine in the rear of the business where officers observed multiple subjects singing into microphones. This was the 22nd call for service to the business since June. The business consistently has large gatherings on Thursday evenings for karaoke night, and it is not uncommon for there to be a large gathering of people and vehicles spilling into neighboring business parking lots. The report made no mention regarding any continuing investigation.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 21
DOCK DISPUTE
6:26 p.m., 3100 block of Bay Shore Road
Disturbance: Upon returning home from a boating trip on the bay, a complainant said he was on his dock with his family when a neighbor began yelling and cursing at them.
The complainant produced a video confirming his claim and requested the officer speak with the neighbor.
The officer contacted the subject who stated he was yelling because he was upset at the complainant because he built a dock that partially blocked his view. The officer explained that the behavior was inappropriate and was told to cease any contact with the family.
MONDAY, SEPT. 23
DOMINO EFFECT
7:05 a.m., unknown block of 29th Street
Disturbance: Following a late-night game of dominos, one guest refused to leave the host’s house and is suspected of eventually causing damage on his front porch.
The complainant advised that all parties had left his home but one woman, whom he was eventually able to get out of the house, continued to attempt to re-enter, knocking on windows and pulling on doors. Finally, he heard a loud crash and breaking glass, which turned out to be a glass-topped table and vase, both shattered and lying on the porch. He added he observed a cinderblock amid the broken glass.
The man said the did not witness the woman cause the damage and did not wish to press charges.
COPS CORNER
Annual Leather Sale
One Park marks the start of construction
In addition to a ceremonial groundbreaking, the developer of the final Quay project throws a party to mark the start of construction.
ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER
With little fanfare, no sweaty hardhats, no golden shovels and no conspicuously located pile of dirt, the developer of One Park held a party to celebrate the start of construction across the street from its site at the Sarasota Garden Club.
Instead there were mimosas, strolling hors d’oeuvre servers, a jazz combo and brief comments by leaders of the project’s development team.
The formerly controversial condominium tower was first proposed on blocks 1 and 9 in The Quay, spanning Quay Commons in the process. A robust legal challenge over the air rights above Quay Commons mounted by residents of The RitzCarlton Residences, which stands on Block 6, prompted developer Property Markets Group of Miami and its local partner, MoneyShow, to go back to the drawing board and separate One Park into two.
Now, One Park will stand on Block 1 at the corner of Boulevard of the Arts and Quay Commons. Still in planning is One Park West, which will occupy Block 9 on the west side of Quay Commons.
Despite the prior complications, Tuesday was a day of celebration for the 18-story, 86-unit tower ranging in prices from $3.5 million to penthouses at $12.5 million.
Property Markets Group CEO and Founder Kevin Maloney told the gathering of unit buyers and local dignitaries that the project had no problem finding interested lenders.
“We had a great deal of interest, unlike Miami or in other locations
that we’re building where we typically have one lender,” Maloney said.
“We had four lenders bidding on this project. There is a lot of interest in the West Coast, specifically in Sarasota, so we’re very excited and we’re off to the races.”
Designed by Hoyt Architects of Sarasota, One Park will feature three-bedroom residences equipped with 12-foot ceilings, and floor-toceiling windows with views of Sarasota Bay, the downtown skyline, and of The Bay Park. Highlights include outdoor terraces with glass railing and summer kitchens, a midnight bar in primary bedrooms and smart home technology.
“Developing a luxury condominium is a true art form,” said MoneyShow CEO Kim Githler. “PMG is known for their passion to deliver the most exclusive residents in the United States, and we are grateful they are now here in Sarasota.”
One Park will soon be joined in construction by its sister tower, One Park West, whose 69 condominiums will be offered at a lower price point starting in the low $1 million to $3 million range.
Property Markets Group’s current multibillion dollar portfolio includes assets across pre-development, construction, lease-up and sell-out, totaling more than 8,500 residential units and more than 16 million square feet of development.
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
From dramas to comedies, don’t miss these extraordinary plays and musicals about ordinary lives. They’re coming soon to a theater near you.
MARTY FUGATE CONTRIBUTOR
The pandemic often felt like the end of the world. Contemporary playwrights noticed — and caught the apocalyptic vibe. Theaters had gone dark, but they didn’t stop writing. Their unproduced scripts often felt like “Twilight Zone” episodes. Or fever dreams. When live theater turned the lights back on, hungry ghosts, plagues and devil dogs filled the stage. But reports of impending apocalypse proved greatly exaggerated. The world didn’t end. Life still goes on.
Contemporary playwrights noticed that, too. You can see it in many of their recent plays. The focus has shifted away from dangerous visions of life’s end. Life itself is the new focus — as it unfolds in the daily lives of everyday people, particularly women.
The five plays I’ve selected for fall 2024 share that quotidian focus. Their characters all seem ordinary. A few hit the big time; most don’t. After you get to know them, you’ll see how extraordinary they really are.
‘The Curious Savage’
When: Oct. 29-Nov. 4
Where: FSU/Asolo Conservatory, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
Info: Visit AsoloRep.org/conservatory.
Mrs. Ethel Savage, a recent widow, is the “savage” in question. Mr. Savage, her late husband, has just received his heavenly reward. As a result, Mrs. Savage just inherited her earthly reward — her late husband’s vast fortune. (She can’t recall the exact figure, but it’s in the ballpark of $10 million.)
This noble Savage plans to use it for good causes. To her greedy stepchildren, such charity is proof of insanity. They plan to grab their stepmom’s wealth.
To get her out of the way, these rotters commit the kindly old widow to a secluded sanitorium called “The Cloisters.” Scary name, but it’s not such a bad place.
Once inside, Mrs. Savage makes friends with a few quirky and kindhearted inmates. Unlike the smiling villains in her family, their loyalty isn’t an act. These so-called “loonies” really are on the widow’s side.
And they’re not as dumb as they look. It may sound crazy, but they
‘Waitress: The Musical’
When: Nov. 8-Dec. 29
Where: FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St.
Info: Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
This Broadway hit is adapted from Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film. It adds new lyrics and compositions by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles, and a script by Jessie Nelson.
But it tells the same tale — the story of Jenna, a waitress trapped in a loveless marriage. In the game of love, she fumbles and gets bruised and penalized.
When it comes to the art of pie making, Jenna is an Einstein with an oven. A baking contest
hatch a clever scheme to set things right. John Patrick’s lighthearted comedy, directed by Marcus Johnson, mocks the cut-throat logic of hypocrisy, greed and social climbing. The Cloisters’ logic is far gentler. This nuthouse is more like a sane asylum. It’s the world outside it that’s mad.
(with a big cash prize) gives her a chance to reinvent her life. Spoiler alert: Jenna wins the prize — and finds friendship, romance and the courage to pursue her dreams.
Sound a bit too sugary? The taste of this musical, directed by Kate Alexander, is often sweet. But it’s not all sweetness and light. The show balances humor and engaging relationships with darker notes of domestic abuse and infidelity. But relax. There’s a happy ending. That’s baked into Shelly’s original rom-com. Bareilles and Nelson don’t mess with her warmhearted recipe.
Courtesy images
5 FOR FALL
FROM PAGE 17A
SAT exam tomorrow morning. If Lili’s test score is high, she might escape her dead-end life. But Lili’s father spits on her college dreams — and forces her go to work on the night before the test.
Playwrights find humor in unlikely places. In “Jennifer, Who is Leaving,” Morgan Gould found comedy in a shabby Massachusetts donut shop. His peculiar play is a character study of three overworked women who’d rather be someplace else.
But they’re all in the wrong place — and at the wrong time, too. Here and now. At the donut shop. During the graveyard shift. Behind the counter, Nan is slinging donuts and dealing with incessant cell phone calls from her high-maintenance, retired husband.
Lili’s cramming for her high-stakes
On the customer side, Jennifer’s having an unhappy meal with Joey, her impatient elderly patient. She’s a stressed-out caregiver, and he’s working her last nerve.
Nan, Lili and Jennifer have one thing in common: Taking care of other people is their job — even when they don’t get paid.
These caregivers are all women — and second-class citizens, too. That’s the way it is in the USA. Why?
Gould’s play considers the physical, mental and emotional weight such nurturing women carry. Who cares for these caregivers? After seeing Gould’s poignant comedy directed by Celine Rosenthal, you will.
‘Little Women: The Musical’
When: Dec. 5-15
Where: The Sarasota Players, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130
Info: Visit The Players.org.
Amanda Heisey makes her directorial debut with this 2005 song-and-dance adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1868 novel — a coming-of-age story set during America’s Civil War.
Brooding male teenage geniuses were the standard protagonists of such tales back then. Young men came of age; young ladies (or their maids) did the dishes.
Alcott’s story had a rare female focus. She put the magnifying glass on the creative growth of four gifted young women — namely the March sisters (Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy) guided by their mother and aunt while their doctor father is at war.
“Little Women” isn’t just a complicated story — it’s more than one story. Composer Jason Howland and lyricist Mindi Dickstein wisely narrow it down to Jo’s story. She’s the second-oldest sister and an aspiring writer and Alcott’s alter ego. Back in 1868, it was damned hard to become a writer if you were a member of the gentler sex. Jo is surrounded by hostility and indifference and filled with self-doubt. Must she renounce love to pursue her dreams?
Howland’s powerful score and Dickstein’s soaring lyrics put you inside her frustrated, ambitious skin. You feel what Jo feels and see through her eyes. It’s a joyful, triumphant experience. Try not to miss it.
‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’
When: Nov. 13-Jan. 5
Where: Asolo Repertory Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail
Info: Visit AsoloRep.org
Douglas McGrath’s Broadway blockbuster sings bring the story of the legendary Carole King to the Asolo Rep stage, where she will be played by Julia Knitel, reprising her Broadway role. Calling King a “legend” isn’t hype. The singer/songwriter’s hits include “You’ve Got a Friend,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Jazzman” and many more. If James Brown was the hardest working man in show biz, Carole King was (and is) the hardest working woman.
McGrath’s high-energy, jukebox musical delivers King’s chart-topping anthems — along with some cool biographical liner notes. Turns out King married her songwriter partner, Gerry Goffin, had her first child at 18 and moved to the New Jersey burbs.
When did King first decide to create beautiful music? Turns out, she’d wanted to be a songwriter since high school. Her mother told her, “It’s not practical! Girls don’t write music.”
While King loved her mom, she didn’t take her advice. Before her 18th birthday, she’d written hits for Aretha Franklin and The Drifters. After a few more birthdays, King started singing her own songs.
She always sang from the heart — and became the voice of the 1960s generation by her 30th birthday. King’s voice still speaks to the generations that followed. In this musical love letter directed by Rob Melrose, it rings out loud and clear. And beautifully.
Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine
Trezure B. Coles, Ned Averill-Snell, Summer Dawn Wallace and Suzanne Grodner star in Urbanite Theatre’s “Jennifer, Who Is Leaving.”
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
‘AGNES OF GOD’
7:30 p.m. at Venice Theatre’s Pinkerton Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave. W., Venice
$15-$35
Visit VeniceTheatre.org.
When a nun is accused of murdering her newborn, the mother superior of the convent tries to prevent the novice from meeting with a court-appointed psychiatrist. The production is one of Venice Theatre’s revivals during its 75th anniversary season. Runs through Oct. 20.
‘THE TORCH BEARERS’
7:30 p.m. at Venice Theatre’s Raymond Center, 140 Tampa Ave. W., Venice
$15-$35
Visit VeniceTheatre.org.
The Venice Theatre celebrates its 75th anniversary by reviving its first show. Written by George Kelly in 1922, “The Torch Bearers” is a play within a play about a community theater. The Venice Theatre’s “origin story” features an ensemble cast including Kevin Fewell, Paul Hutchison, Tan Selby, Nancy Denton, Colette Wheeler and other local thespians. Runs through Oct. 13.
‘THE FOUR C NOTES’
8 p.m. at FST’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 N. Palm Ave.
$18-$42
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
For fans of Frank Valli and the Four Seasons, the doo-wop sound never
goes out of style. With “The Four C Notes,” Florida Studio Theatre continues its tradition of presenting Four Seasons tribute shows inspired by “Jersey Boys” and starring performers from the Broadway smash hit’s touring production. Runs through Oct. 13.
RINGLING UNDERGROUND
8 p.m. at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road $15; Students free Visit Ringling.org.
Enjoy live music, art and ambiance in the Museum of Art Courtyard during Ringling Underground, which features an eclectic mix of local and regional music. The headliner is Pinc Louds, the musical project of Puerto Rican artist Claudi. Also on the bill are Tampa pop-rock group Peace Cult, and Now in Color, a rock band from Sarasota.
FRIDAY
‘MUSIC BEHIND BARS’ Noon at Selby Library’s Geldbart Auditorium, 1331 First St. Free with registration Visit SarasotaMusicArchive.org.
Sarasota Music Archive hosts a program highlighting a century of struggle to achieve recognition for Catalan symphonic music. A recital features Myroslav Skoryk’s “Melody in A minor for Violin and Piano” with Gabrielle Chou on piano and Max Tan on violin. Tian Yi Li will play piano and Lukas Stepp violin on” Three Romances for Violin and Piano” by Marc Migó Cortes, who will also deliver a lecture.
‘OFF THE CHARTS’
7:30 p.m. at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $18-$42 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
The creative team behind Florida Studio Theatre’s popular cabaret series is at again with “Off the Charts.” Richard and Rebecca Hopkins and Sarah Durham take the audience on a tour of 20th-century pop music with arrangements by Jim Prosser. Take a stroll (or a cruise) down Memory Lane with hits that ruled the Billboard Top 100 rankings, which debuted in 1958. Runs through Feb. 9.
DON’T MISS DISCOVERIES 1 — GERSHWIN’S AMERICAN DREAM
Sarasota Orchestra guest
SATURDAY
WSLR 20TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY
5 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court Free Visit WSLR.org.
“Many Voices, One Community,” is the theme of WSLR’s 20th anniversary party and Fogartyville’s annual fall open house. The free evening includes performances by Los Rumberos, flamenco dancer Cristina Gutierrez and The Barker Project. Manning the turntable will be DJ Milo, DJ Nomad and DJ Mondaze. The open house will also include tours of the radio station, food trucks, CD sales and celebration cake.
SUNDAY
‘JUNIE B. JONES: THE MUSICAL’
10 a.m. at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave. $12 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org
Who says musical theater is just for old folks? There’s plenty of song and dance on stage for kids at Florida Studio Theatre. FST’s new production, “Junie B. Jones: The Musical,” features book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler and music by Zina Goldrich. Follow the heroine as she embarks upon a new school year, recording all her adventures in her Top-Secret Personal Beeswax Journal. Runs weekends through Oct. 26.
MONDAY
SCF COMMUNITY
PIANO RECITAL
TUESDAY
THE CARIBBEAN CHILLERS: JIMMY BUFFETT TRIBUTE
2 and 7 p.m. at Stone Hall, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton $40 Visit FloridaCulturalGroup.org.
It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere — sorry, that’s Alan Jackson, not Jimmy Buffett. Still, that ethos rings true for the Parrothead faithful who flock to Jimmy Buffett tributes. Don’t cruise on back home from your stay in Margaritaville without getting a taste of the Caribbean Chillers.
FRENCH CONNECTION
7:30 p.m. at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road
$43-$63 Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.
Artist Series Concerts presents French-born violinist Arnaud Sussmann and pianist Michael Stephen Brown, playing a program of French music that includes sonatas by Debussy and SaintSaens. Sussmann and Brown have performed in recitals and with major orchestras across Europe, Israel and the U.S., and have been featured on PBS Live broadcasts as Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
OUR PICK ‘SOUL CROONERS: SOLID GOLD
EDITION’ Created and directed by Nate Jacobs, “The Soul Crooners” returns to Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s main stage for the first time since its 2009 premiere. The opening show of WBTT’s 25th anniversary season celebrates the soul music of the 1970s. The “Solid Gold Edition” was a hit at this summer’s International Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Runs through Nov. 17.
Conductor David Alan Miller leads the celebration of George Gershwin’s impact on many genres of American music, including jazz, blues and dance songs. The program features pianist Kevin Cole, considered by many to be one of the greatest interpreters of Gershwin.
7 p.m. at 5840 26th St. W., Building 11A, Bradenton Free Visit SCF.edu.
IF YOU GO When: 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 Where: Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Tickets: $35-$79 Info: Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.
This popular event provides students of all experience levels and ages with a chance to perform. Come see what the community’s future musicians are working on.
“Agnes of God” at the Venice Theatre
Temple Beth Sholom
Sarasota’s
, this includes High Holiday tickets. Call or email for details 40 OR this
October 17
Luncheon with guest speaker
Hear
Soundbox Ventures gives musicians a new place to play
Violinist Max Tan’s music think tank launches the first Suncoast Composer Festival Oct. 4-7.
ho is Max Tan? If you don’t know already, you will by the time the first Suncoast Composer Festival wraps on Oct. 7.
Tan wears many musical hats. He’s an alum of the Perlman Music Program and has been coming to Sarasota to study and perform since 2007. He’s a violinist with Sarasota Orchestra who is the founder and artistic director of Soundbox Ventures, a music “think tank.”
In 2022, Soundbox founded the Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program to partner emerging composers with mentors and performers.
This year, Soundbox is taking Suncoast public by launching the inaugural Suncoast Composer Festival. With a lineup of ticketed and free lectures and performances, the festival promises to be a worthy addition to Sarasota’s vibrant classical music scene.
Tan and his associates at Suncoast have given a lot of
IF YOU GO SUNCOAST COMPOSER FESTIVAL
When: Oct. 4-7
Where: Various locations in Sarasota Tickets: Free to $85
Info: Visit SoundboxVentures.org.
how to attract a new generation of fans who may have a more casual or even interactive approach to enjoying music.
“I’m interested in people’s relationship to music and in other existential questions,” Tan says. “How do we attract an audience, especially after Covid?”
In putting together the first Suncoast Composer Festival, Tan has relied on such partners as Sarasota Music Archive, housed in Selby Library, contemporary classical music group ensembleNewSRQ and classical music radio station WSMR.
Suncoast fellows will take part in free public seminars hosted by the Sarasota Music Archive. Their compositions will be featured on Tyler Kline’s “Modern Notebook,” airing in November on WSMR.
Tan will speak on Friday, Oct. 4, at Selby Library in a presentation entitled “How Recordings Redefined Music: From Brahms to Today.” That program will include a performance of “Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op.
But that’s just part one of the double header. The second is focused on the 100-year struggle to achieve recognition for Catalan classical music. That program will be led by Suncoast composer faculty member
The festival will culminate in the “Composer Fellows Concert,” presented in collaboration with ensembleNewSRQ on Monday, Oct. 7, at First Congregational Church.
Courtesy image Sarasota Orchestra
violinist Max Tan
Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Sarasota Opera House Benefiting Sarasota
Youth Opera
The historic Sarasota Opera House provided the backdrop for its annual Food & Wine Festival on Sept. 21, where Sarasota and Manatee restaurants served up their finest fare. Supporting the Sarasota Youth Opera, the proceeds are used for education and programming for one of the nation’s top youth opera programs.
About 450 tickets were purchased for an afternoon of sampling delicious food, wine, coffee and libations. Socializing was the main activity, and the youth opera delighted guests with two performances.
“This event is a signature kickoff to our season and introduces people to the opera who might not otherwise know about our youth program,” said longtime supporter Peter Kretzmer.
Under the direction of General Manager Richard Russell, the Sarasota Opera aims to produce impassioned opera performances true to the vision of the composer, to entertain, enrich, educate and inspire a lifelong love of opera in our diverse and growing communities.
— JANET COMBS
Photos by Lori Sax
Martha Collins and Richard Russell, general director of the Sarasota Opera
Barbara and Joe Justiz with Pam Biladeau
Eric Schnittker, Casey Meaux and Jessica Rubin
LUXURY REAL ESTATE DEFINED
YOUR NEIGHBORS
Historic accomplishments
The annual Sarasota High School Hall of Fame ceremony honored the school’s past and celebrated its present.
IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER
Sherri Tierney Reynolds may have lectured nationally, but there was one experience for which she was nervous.
At the Sarasota High School Hall of Fame awards on Sept. 29, her speech wasn’t about health and wellness.
“Coming here, it’s talking about yourself and what you did, so it was very humbling,” she said.
During the ceremony, Sarasota High School honored Tierney Reynolds as well as five other graduates — Hugh Yancy, David Daniels, Paul Piuorowski, Adrian Garrett and Dr. Bob Windom — as well as the 1973 State Champion Baseball Team.
ACCOMPLISHED ALUMNI
The event marked the first time the ceremony was held at Circus Arts Conservatory, which offered current Sarasota High School students a chance to showcase their skills.
“The mission of the Sarasota High School Hall of Fame is to preserve and promote the history of what it means to be a Sailor,” said Jeana Schmidt, who organizes the event alongside fellow graduate Matt Drews, who led its creation.
“Matt and I wanted to find a way
to bridge the gap between the stories of the past and the stories of the students today, and this event does that,” she said. “It is also a place that allows for forgiveness and a renewal of friendship.”
Inductees included a mix of athletes and nonathletes:
n Hugh Yancy , a 1968 graduate, was a standout infielder for the school’s baseball team. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1968, appearing in seven games across three Major League Baseball seasons between 1972 and 1976, and also played for the Cincinnati Reds and then-Cleveland Indians minor league teams.
n Dr. Bob Windom, who graduated in 1948, honored in-memoriam, was U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health, nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke University and served Sarasota’s community in roles that included chief of staff at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Sarasota Doctors Hospital and president of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.
n David Daniels (1988) was an all-state wide receiver and defensive back for Sarasota High School in 1987, who played for Penn State
University and the Seattle Seahawks. Later, in Sarasota, he founded Devine Designs Landscape & Lawn Maintenance and served as area manager for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County from 1994 to 2004.
n Sherri Tierney Reynolds , 1971 graduate, worked for more than 45 years in health education across Manatee and Sarasota counties, as well as at the state and national levels. She served as supervisor of pupil support services for Sarasota County Schools.
n Adrian Garrett, who graduated in 1961, honored in-memoriam, served as homecoming king and was voted “most athletic.” He was an amateur free agent for the Milwaukee Braves and played in 163 games in Major League Baseball between 1966 and 1976 for the Atlanta Braves,
Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and California Angels. While he was playing for Hiroshima Toyo Carp, the team won the Japan Series in 1979. n Paul Piuorowski, a member of the class of 1976, was one of the most highly regarded linebackers at Florida State University, the fourth leading tackler on the team in 1978. He also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets of the NFL and the Tampa Bay Bandits and Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL. n The 1973 State Champion Baseball Team was the first team to be inducted. While approaching the playoffs, the team lost four of six games, but during the playoffs, won 4-2 against North Miami Senior High School in the semifinal game and 1-0 against Pensacola High School in the State Championships.
Photos by Ian Swaby
Hugh Yancy accepts his award from Sarasota High School students and presenters Parker Mayforth and Harley Renner.
Sarasota High School students, fifth grader
Jasmine Wizenberg, seniors Charity and Caleb Overholt and freshman Illiana Tice, who are all students in the Circus Magnet Program, complete a student performance as the event begins.
Keith Ebersole, Brad Clark, Carmen Sloan, Phil Ebersole, Chip Bifano and AJ Schulz represent the 1973 State Championship Baseball Team. They are flanked by Sarasota High students and presenters Harley Renner and Parker Mayforth.
Harley Renner and Parker Mayforth look at an image of the 1973 State Champion Baseball Team.
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University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Take steps to enjoy nature
Author Lucy Tobias describes the joys of slowing down and appreciating one’s surroundings.
IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER
From the moment Lucy Tobias first drove over the John Ringling Causeway while visiting Sarasota for a travel writers’ meeting, she knew it was the place she wanted to call home.
“The windows were down, and the salt air was coming in, and I said out loud, ‘This is where I’m supposed to be,’” she recalled. Tobias decided to speak with her pastor, who told her she was being called.
“Called to do what?” she asked.
“You’ll figure it out when you get there,” he said.
Within three months, she had relocated from Ocala, and for the past 13 years, from her home in Sarasota, has been continuing her mission to encourage people to “walk slow and meander.”
The author of books including “50 Great Walks in Florida” and “The Zen of Florida Gardening,” along with the blog “Wednesday Notes,” Tobias released a new book, “Floating in Florida: Discover 21 Amazing Adventures on Florida’s Hidden Waters” on Sept. 4. There were many steps that led her to those waters.
SLOWING DOWN IN SARASOTA
Tobias always has enjoyed the natural world, having long practiced watercolor and acrylic art, and later, photography.
She began walking in Ocala, but Suzi, her dog at the time, wasn’t as enthused about it.
When the newspaper where she worked as a reporter, the Ocala StarBanner, began reporting on “a year of fitness activities,” she began sharing her knowledge of walking.
“I’m really not all that bright — like if you were to ask me every single tree
BOOKS BY LUCY TOBIAS
■ “Floating in Florida: Discover 21 Amazing Adventures on Florida’s Hidden Waters” (2024)
■ “The Zen of Florida Gardening” (2020)
■ “Circle the Center: Labyrinths in Florida” (2018)
■ “Mary Margaret la Manati” (“Mary Margaret Manatee,” Spanish Edition) (2016)
■ “Florida Gardens Gone Wild(er)” (2015)
■ “Mary Margaret Manatee: The Adventures of a Young Florida Manatee” (2013)
■ “10 Florida Great Walks Around Gainesville and Ocala” (Amazon Kindle, 2012)
■ “50 Great Walks in Florida” (2008) For more information, visit LucyTobias. com. To read “Wednesday Notes,” visit LucyTobias.Substack.com.
and flower — I don’t know that. So
I quickly started getting people to come along (on her walks), and they would talk about all this stuff, and I would just be the celebrity walker who would show up,” she said.
In 2008, she published “50 Great Walks in Florida,” a book based on her research walking throughout the state.
Eventually, her publisher asked her, to define a “Great Walk.” She took a week and settled on “a short but significant jaunt where you get some exercise and you’re done in time for lunch.”
As far as she has traveled, she said there is plenty to enjoy close to home in Sarasota, if people take the time to slow down. She noted that Sarasota has changed during her time here, with what appears to be the doubling of traffic.
“What’s the antidote (for traffic and stress)? The antidote is to go walk along the bay, go to Oscar Scherer State Park, just to go walk a lot. But we’re going to have to intentionally put it on the calendar, put
on the walking shoes and make ourselves do it, because our stress levels are going up even without us noticing,” she said.
She’s even created a small walk in her own backyard, a place which was featured in a 2022 tour of private gardens by the Sarasota County Butterfly Club.
Thirteen years ago, she planted firebrush, and the garden took off from there.
It currently includes two goldfish ponds. There were once four, although nature ended up gaining the upper hand. A heron tore up the lining of one pond that she dug herself on a whim.
One of Tobias’ favorite local walks is the loop at Bayfront Park.
She said walkers should be sure to go to the “wonderful” dolphin fountain, where they will often find plein air sketchers and can see “incredible views” of the Ringling Causeway.
“The thing about walking is it changes your horizon, and that walk will do it for you,” she said. “You might feel all confined if you’re in the house all day, and you go out there and you go, ‘There’s the bay, and beyond this, the Intracoastal.’ It’s just a whole different view.”
Over the years, she’s taken to new terrain, which has included labyrinths, or spiral paths in the ground.
“They’re for healing and destressing and banishing chaos, because it’s only one path in, one
path out; you can’t get lost, and so that’s what makes it a sacred space,” she said.
They are the subject of her 2018 book “Circle the Center: Labyrinths in Florida,” which features 95 of the 130 labyrinths she walked.
However, the number of labyrinths has grown so much since the book’s publication, she decided to stop printing the book.
TAKING TO THE WATERS
To write her latest book, “Floating in Florida,” Tobias spent 10 months wandering the state and taking tours on pontoon boats.
She enjoyed experiences from a captain singing original songs on the Rainbow River in Dunnellon, to glass bottom boats and a houseboat in the Florida Keys.
“I was so surprised at how different all the environments were, and the captains were a real joy, because most of the captains are locals; they’ve grown up there and they tell you stories that you would never hear otherwise,” Tobias said.
Her favorite experience was the “wonderful” De León Springs State Park near DeLand, including its old sugar mill with griddles in the tables for making pancakes, and its eco boat tour.
One experience in Sarasota she also found not-to-miss was the Ecotours at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.
Ian Swaby
Lucy Tobias just published “Floating in Florida: Discover 21 Amazing Adventures on Florida’s Hidden Waters.”
Sarasota woman surprised her boat survived the storm
At least two sailboats suffered major damage when they were ripped from their moorings overnight.
hortly after daylight Friday, dog walkers and joggers around Bayfront Park got their first look at exactly what Hurricane Helene had left in its path.
Susan Garrett was there, celebrating the fact her sailboat, the Adamerica, had survived Helene’s huge storm surge and was still safely tied up in its slip.
“I can’t believe my boat’s safe,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s still there, as high as this water got. She is strong,” she said, punching her fist in the air. Not everything survived, she said, as she walked around the area. “My dock box is gone.” So to were the steps she uses to get onto her boat. From the outside, things looked
good. “It looks fine. It’s floating at the right waterline. Bilges must be working fine,” she said. She noticed her winch cover had blown away.
“There may be a ding or two in the hull,” where the boat hit a piling overnight.
Other boat owners were not as fortunate.
One unlucky sailboat had been pushed against the dock at O’Leary’s Tiki Bar & Grill, heavily damaging the dock and leaving the vessel at a precarious angle.
Another large sailboat was washed up onto the island, near the jogging track on the back side of the park.
Debris was scattered throughout. A single ice skate. Shoes, cushions, chairs and trash; and a mariachi garden gnome, seemingly guarding metal barricades that had been tossed about by winds and high water.
Garrett said she was relieved the Adamerica didn’t break loose and cause other damage. “A boat’s a boat. I worried about damage to other people’ boats,” she said.
Jim DeLa
Susan Garrett is all smiles at Marina Jack’s in Sarasota after seeing her sailboat, the Adamerica, survived Hurricane Helene.
BEST BET
SUNDAY, OCT. 6
SARASOTA BENEVOLENT
FIREFIGHTERS FUND
24TH ANNUAL MORTON’S
FIREHOUSE CHILI COOK-OFF
1:45 to 5 p.m. at Morton’s Gourmet Market, 1924 S. Osprey Ave. Free admission. $15 to sample all chili. Benefiting the Sarasota Firefighters Benevolent Fund, Sarasota Firehouses compete for the title of “Best Firehouse Chili.” This event will have celebrity judges, live entertainment, and lots of chili and cold beer. Email Ryeman71@ verizon.net for any questions.
FRIDAY, OCT. 4
A SUNCOAST COMPOSER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM / SARASOTA MUSIC ARCHIVE SPECIAL EVENT
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Selby Library, 1331 First St. Free. This music and lecture event will feature two talks by the Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program: “How Recordings Redefined Music: From Brahms to Today” by artistic director Max Tan, and “Music Behind Bars: 100 Years of Struggle for the Validation of the Catalan Symphonic Repertoire” by composer mentor-in-residence Marc Migó, with related performances that include “Clarinet Quintet in B minor” by Johannes Brahms, and “Melody in A minor for violin and piano” by Myroslav Skoryk. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5
REPTICON
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sahib Shrine Center, 600 N. Beneva Road. Adults, $10; ages 5-12, $5; ages 4 and younger, free. See live reptiles up close, learn about their lifestyles, browse reptile care products and possibly bring home a new pet. Visit Repticon.com.
28TH ANNUAL DOWNTOWN SARASOTA CRAFT FESTIVAL
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1 Central Ave. Free admission. A variety of jewelry, pottery, ceramics, photography, painting, clothing and much more will be on display, ranging from $15
YOUR CALENDAR
to $3,000. Along with the handmade crafts all made in America, there will be an expansive green market with plants, orchids, exotic flora, handmade soaps, gourmet spices and freshly popped kettle corn. Visit ArtFestival.com.
SATURDAY, OCT. 5 TO SUNDAY, OCT. 6
36TH ANNUAL FRUITVILLE GROVE PUMPKIN FESTIVAL
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Fruitville Grove Farmer’s Market, 7410 Fruitville Road. Free admission. Parking $5. Celebrate the Halloween season each weekend in October with the annual Pumpkin Festival featuring experiences including a haunted house and a farmers market, and daily activities such as a food truck rally, craft show, live music, mini train ride, hay ride and butterfly garden. Visit FruitvilleGroveFarm.com.
BIERGARTEN | LIVE MUSIC AUTHENTIC FOOD | REGATTA
Kick off the Fall Season with the whole family at the First Annual Oktoberfest, presented by Nathan Benderson Park and Sarasota Crew! Catch the action of the Benderson Chase, a rowing extravaganza, while enjoying cold beer, authentic food, and live German music by Polka Cola all afternoon long.
SUNDAY, OCT. 6
PARK-TOBERFEST AT THE BAY
5-7 p.m. at the Oval, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Celebrate Oktoberfest at The Bay. The DeLeon Family Band returns to perform traditional “oompah” style music, with events that include the “Chicken Dance” tradition and a stein-hoisting contest. The Nest Café will be offering German-inspired and locally crafted brews, and brats and soft pretzel sticks with beer cheese, with Oktoberfest beer on tap by Sun King Brewery. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.
Come one, come all for a brew-tiful fall day at Nathan Benderson Park. Catch the action of the Benderson Chase, a rowing extravaganza, around Regatta Island while enjoying cold beer, authentic food, and live German music by Polka Cola all afternoon long. With Biergartens and a kinder-zone, there is something for everyone! Bring family and friends out to kick off the fall season at the first annual Sarasota
O presented by Nathan Benderson Park & Sarasota Crew.
Come one, come all for a brew-tiful fall day at Nathan Benderson Park. Catch the action of the Benderson Chase, a rowing extravaganza, around Regatta Island while enjoying cold beer, authentic food, and live German music by Polka Cola all afternoon long. With Biergartens and a kinder-zone, there is something for everyone! Bring family and friends out to kick off the fall season at the first annual Sarasota Oktoberfest, presented by Nathan Benderson Park & Sarasota Crew.
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
SATURDAYOCTOBER12TH
Parking $20 | Noon to Five
File image
Blaze Belligan, with Sarasota County Fire Station 11, prepped sample cups of their sweet chili.
Cool vibes and calm spaces
The Ridge Teen Center, a repurposed Bee Ridge Park building, offers a relaxing after-school spot.
WRITER
Tucked away in an unassuming white building in Bee Ridge Park is a homier environment than one might expect.
Program specialist Dana Zolla said some visitors from earlier times have taken to the newer setup of the facility, which, as of September 2023, has been The Ridge Teen Center.
The former multiuse recreation center had previously been used to host summer camps, and also served as a dance studio.
“There’s some people that we’ve had that came in from when they were here in the ’90s, and they were a camper then, and they were like, ‘What is this place now?’” she said. “It’s a complete shock, and then some of them are actually bringing their kids here to experience what they had.”
The building’s entirely white interior was painted calming colors including grey and dark blue, with decorations added, and with a variety of fun activities for teens placed throughout its interior.
The center, which serves kids ages 11 to 17, is the first teen center Sarasota County has officially owned and operated.
Zolla said the county established
The Ridge because it saw a lack of opportunities for teenagers in the immediate area.
For instance, while there are Little League opportunities for younger kids, she said, there are few activities for middle school kids and teens.
“There’s this big gap of fun, free opportunities for kids in a safe environment,” she said.
The center is not just for kids, but also allows parents to ensure their kids are safe while they complete activities such as grocery shopping.
However, Zolla said, after a year, the major focus of staff right now is still helping the public to find the location.
A major improvement has still taken place, she said, as the center went from almost no registrants on its first day a year ago, and has now reached about five kids a day.
She said kids will find a “multitude” of entertainment activities that include video game tournaments, pool tournaments and movies, and sometimes food opportunities including pizza and snacks.
The facility is lined with features that include arcade games, including classic titles such as Ms. Pac Man and others; board games; a foosball table; a pool table; a basketball toss game and an arts and crafts center.
She said inside the teen center, a
IF YOU GO
What: The Ridge Teen Center. 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday at Bee Ridge Park, 4430 S. Lockwood Ridge Road.
Ages: 11-17
Visit: SarasotaCountyParks. com.
community is growing, with many kids forming friend groups.
“We see them continuously coming in, and when one of them doesn’t show up for a while, the others ask, ‘Have you seen so and so?’ I think that’s great there. They care about each other, even if they met just a couple of months ago.”
Since the county recently lowered the minimum age to 11, The Ridge saw a significant rise in the number of kids in attendance due to the nearby Wilkinson Elementary.
“We have kids that ride their bikes here, that do scooters here, skateboard here, just from that one school, because we lowered our age range to 11,” she said.
Although she hopes that teens have fun in the facility, she also hopes that the color scheme and atmosphere emphasizes calm.
“Teenagers prefer that calmness; they want an escape from school and the chores and all the other responsibilities that they are having, getting older,” she said. “Here, they can just be a kid again.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, our thoughts are with everyone affected. Sarasota is our home, and we have witnessed the resilience and unity of our community in challenging times. As we transition into recovery, we are here to support you in any way we can, and we are confident that Sarasota will emerge stronger than ever from this.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need assistance, advice on rebuilding, or help navigating any property-related challenges. We are committed to being a resource for you during this recovery time. Stay safe and take care of one another.
With heartfelt support,
Photos by Ian Swaby
Visitors to The Ridge play Mortal Kombat II.
Visitors to
The Ridge can play several arcade games.
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Hidden Harbor tops sales at $7.25 million
ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR
Ahome in Hidden Harbor tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. James and Lori Gabbert, of Mancos, Colorado, sold their home at 1250 Hidden Harbor Way to James and Heather Riley, of Sarasota, for $7.25 million. Built in 2002, it has five bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, a pool and 7,134 square feet of living area. It sold for $5.6 million in 2005.
SARASOTA
NICHOLS
Lido Acquisitions LLC sold the home at 1701 Hillview St. to Kimberly and Nathaniel Ide, of Sarasota, for $1.7 million. Built in 2001, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,545 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,325,000 in 2021.
SARASOTA BAY CLUB
Sarasota Bay Club LLC sold the Unit 107 condominium at 1301 Tamiami Trail to George and Charlotte Hawley, of Sarasota, for $1.2 million. Built in 2000, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,546 square feet of living area. It sold for $769,000 in 2018.
ESPLANADE BY SIESTA KEY
Mark and Lynne Powell, of Sarasota, sold their home at 8125 Gabanna Drive to Robert McElroy and Elizabeth McElroy, trustees, of Sarasota, for $1.15 million. Built in 2015, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,300 square feet of living area. It sold for $673,400 in 2015.
RIVER FOREST
First Fiduciary Corp., trustee, sold the home at 5324 Carmilfra Way to Garrison Hoyt, of Sarasota, for $1.05 million. Built in 1973, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,953 square feet of living area. It sold for $455,000 in 2014.
Q
Guy and Cynthia Peterson, of Cashiers, North Carolina, sold their home at 251 Cosmopolitan Court to Michael Chokr, of Sarasota, for $880,000. Built in 2016, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,697 square feet of living area. It sold for $615,000 in 2020.
FOREST LAKES COUNTRY CLUB
ESTATES
Craig and Amanda Georgiades, of Sarasota, sold their home at 3173 Espanola Drive to Aaron Steven Parsons and Emily Vander Walde Parsons, of Sarasota, for $875,000. Built in 1969, it has five bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 2,452 square feet of living area. It sold for $394,900 in 2014.
SAN MARCO
Charles Bubeck, trustee, sold the Unit 505 condominium at 1188 N. Tamiami Trail to Eileen Halbrook, of Sarasota, for $805,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,411 square feet of living area. It sold for $619,900 in 2006.
ORANGE CREST PARK
Staff and Palm 2 LLC sold the home at 2141 Fiesta Drive to Rodolfo Juan Reyes Farran and Ibis Perez, of Sarasota, for $790,000. Built in 1977, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,304 square feet of living area. It sold for $500,000 in February.
1350 MAIN RESIDENTIAL
Richard Grimes, trustees, sold the Unit 708 condominium at 1350 Main St. to Kenneth Wayne Bauer and Patricia Ann Gonzalez, trustees, of Sarasota, for $789,900. Built in 2007, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,336 square feet of living area. It sold for $435,000 in 2011.
PALM PLACE
Elaine Cindy Valentine, of Westfield, Massachusetts, sold her Unit 503 condominium at 755 S. Palm Ave. to Jeffrey Alan Barker and John Victor Moore, of Sarasota, for $730,000. Built in 1983, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,421 square feet of living area. It sold for $355,000 in 2003.
ALHAMBRA COURT
Radian Investment Group LLC sold the home at 2781 Hatton St. to Jason Johnson, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, for $690,000. Built in 1962, it has two bedrooms, one bath, a pool and 1,818 square feet of living area. It sold for $335,000 in 2023.
PAYNE PARK VILLAGE
David Thomas Liebert and Tabatha Ann Liebert, of Lutz, sold their home at 2305 Lindstrom St. to Raymond David Mays and Debbie Beatrice Mays, of Sarasota, for $635,000. Built in 2020, it has two
TOP BUILDING PERMITS
bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,316 square feet of living area. It sold for $385,000 in 2020.
HUNTINGTON POINTE
Joanne Tichy, trustee, of Palmetto, sold the home at 9006 Ashbourne Court to Edwin Hoffman, trustee, of Sarasota, for $630,000. Built in 1994, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,350 square feet of living area. It sold for $45,000 in 1994.
Other top sales by area
SARASOTA: $1,895,000
Kanaya Robert and Laurel Dove, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 903 condominium at 505 S. Orange Ave. to Lowell Arthur Fulkerson and Sandra Fulkerson, of Sarasota, for $1,895,000. Built in 2007, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 3,003 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.2 million in 2015.
PALMER RANCH:
$899,000
Villagewalk
Isaac and Judith Koziol, trustees, of University Place, sold the home at 5808 Valente Place to Diane Fonte, trustee, of Naperville, Illinois, for $899,000. Built in 2005, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,521 square feet of living area. It sold for $545,900 in 2018.
NOKOMIS: $2.25 MILLION
Bayshore Road
HMT Nokomis Holdings LLC sold the two properties at 1573 Bayshore Road to John and Andrea Christy, of Winter Park, for $2.25 million. The first property was built in 1949 and has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,833 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1985 and has one bedroom, one bath and 672 square feet of living area. They sold for $1,145,000 in 2007.
Ian Swaby
The Unit 903 condominium at the Kanaya condominium in downtown Sarasota recently sold for $1,895,000.
GULF GATE WOODS
Janet Dean and William Dean, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the home at 2834 Hardee Drive to Joseph Penge, of Sarasota, for $559,000. Built in 1972, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,684 square feet of living area. It sold for $103,500 in 1984.
SAPPHIRE SHORES
Caroline Strickland, Kumar Mahadevan and Alice Bowman, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the home at 4700 Bay Shore Road to Nicholas Whitney and Robin Barber, of Sarasota, for $550,000. Built in 1942, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,807 square feet of living area.
SOUTH GATE
Christie and Christopher Outlaw, of Little Rock, Arkansas, sold their home at 3316 Key Ave. to Kendragon LLC for $540,000. Built in 1960, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,467 square feet of living area. It sold for $340,000 in 2020.
Catherine Burt, of Graham, Washington, sold her home at 2203 River Ridge Drive to Austin and Carolyn Massee, of Sarasota, for $507,000. Built in 1972, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,990 square feet of living area. It sold for $147,000 in 1997.
SIESTA KEY
TEN35
Glory Days-Siesta Key Edition LLC sold the Unit 308 condominium at 1035 Seaside Drive to Jonson Family Properties Florida1 LLC for $2.3 million. Built in 2023, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,646 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.29 million in 2023.
THE SHELLS ON SIESTA KEY
Mark Defreitas, of Ontario, Canada, sold his Unit 312 condominium at 312 Beach Road to 5319 Calle LLC for $1.36 million. Built in 1992, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-
half baths and 2,041 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,346,500 in 2021.
GULF AND BAY CLUB
Barbara Gloady, trustee, of Dayton, Ohio, sold the Unit 607 condominium at 5750 Midnight Pass Road to Jeffrey and Katherine Reid, of Vandalia, Ohio, for $1,275,000. Built in 1984, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,335 square feet of living area. It sold for $585,000 in 2013.
SARASOTA BEACH
Sergio and Christine Vazquez sold their home at 437 Island Circle to Jonathan and Laura Magri, of Wantagh, New York, for $780,000. Built in 1970, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,440 square feet of living area. It sold for $560,000 in 2019.
EBB TIDE
JZIII LLC sold the Unit 11 condominium at 6610 Midnight Pass Road to Ebb Tide 11 LLC for $569,000. Built in 1956, it has one bedroom, one bath and 600 square feet of living area. It sold for $310,000 in 2020.
PALMER RANCH
TURTLE ROCK
Dante and Patricia Rotondo, of Royal Oak, Michigan, sold their home at 5133 Treesdale Court to Alana Tsonas, of Sarasota, for $615,000. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,987 square feet of living area. It sold for $340,000 in 2015.
SANDHILL PRESERVE Maria Fiume, of Sarasota, sold her home at 5942 Caspian Tern Drive to Roger Becerra and Karen Maupins, of Sarasota, for $550,000. Built in 2016, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,675 square feet of living area. It sold for $399,400 in 2016.
SPORTS
Whistle work
the call. while you
The growth in school sports programs is outpacing the number of officials willing to answer
JIM DELA STAFF WRITER
It’s not a job that garners a lot of recognition.
In fact, it is said that if you do the job well, no one will remember you were there.
Dozens of high school sports officials are on fields and in gyms this school year alongside the players and coaches. They show up early and often stay late, not for the cheering crowds but simply for the love of the game.
“It’s the hobby of it,” said Dave Riedel, who is starting his 25th season as a football official. He was at Riverview High School before the season started with about 30 other officials, getting some preseason work during a scrimmage between the Rams and Manatee High.
Five- and seven-man crews shuffled in and out during the scrimmage, “to work on positioning and philosophy and whatnot,” said Dave Hall, vice president of the Gulf Coast Football Officials Association, which supplies officials for most of the high school and middle school games in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
On any given Friday night, there are anywhere between eight and 10 football games for Hall’s officials to cover. Many games work with fiveman crews, while some schools pay to have a seven-man crew on the field.
“This year, we actually have one week where we have 11 games,” Hall said.
Not only are officials on the field, Hall also must provide clock operators for both the game clock and play clock.
“So you know, if you have a 10-game night, you’ve got 70 guys who are out there,” Hall said.
Hall said so far, his association will have the area’s games covered. But he said the pool of officials might be thinning.
“We’ve got older guys who are getting up there in years,” he said. “I probably have another 10 years left before my body will not be able to take it.”
It’s a statewide problem in all sports, said Justin Harrison, the associate executive director of the Florida High School Athletic Association.
While there are enough registered officials to cover games, “when you factor potential injuries, family commitment conflicts, work conflicts … a shortage is created,” he said.
“We have seen fewer associations in baseball over the last few years in the Panhandle. This has led to the remaining associations attempting to cover more schools, which thins out their numbers.”
In sports like lacrosse, “both girls and boys, the growth and interest in the sport with the student-athletes in Florida is outgrowing the interest of those wishing to officiate,” Harrison said. “Both are growing but just not at the same pace.”
RECRUITMENT IS KEY
Both Hall and Harrison are working to recruit the next generation of officials.
After talking with coaches and athletic directors, Hall will be attending local schools’ end-of-year athletic banquets.
“We’d love to come in, spend five minutes just talking with players, talking with parents, players that are graduating,” he said. “They might not be playing (anymore), but they still want to be involved in it.”
“I mean, if you can get to five or six schools and get one person out of that, that’s a crew,” he said.
“We’re all there for the kids, and that’s what I try to preach to our officials and to the coaches.”
Dave Hall, the vice president of the Gulf Coast Football Officials Association
On a statewide level, the FHSAA has partnered with Ref Reps, an online training program that school districts can offer to their high school students, Harrison said.
“We also offer a registration discount for first-year officials to help encourage new people to try it out.”
PREPARATION AND TRAINING
Being an official for any sport means study and preparation. Officials must attend clinics and pass tests on rules. In football, Hall said officiating crews study weekly game film provided by the high schools to improve their performance.
Hall said most officials wishing
to do high school games and beyond start in youth leagues and work their way up.
“You can’t just go on a field on a Friday night and do it,” Hall said. “When I first started, I didn’t see a Friday night game for probably four years, and then I wasn’t on a regular crew.”
Hall said youth rec leagues are a great way for new officials to get experience.
“There’s plenty of youth ball leagues in this area,” Hall said. “We have guys in our association who have connections with groups like that, so they can get games.”
At the recent scrimmage at Riverview High, Ron Varsalone was standing in the middle of the group of officials, watching and listening. He recently relocated to Sarasota from New Jersey and wants to give it a shot.
“I love the game. My kids are grown, my oldest is going to college next week, and I want to give back and stay involved in the game.”
Varsalone said there’s a lot to absorb.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” he said. “It’s a big difference from being a player on the field, as opposed to looking at it from an official’s perspective.”
But he’s been made to feel welcome and is encouraged going forward. “These guys have been great. I think I’m going to start out doing the clock and continue training to work toward getting on the field.”
For veterans like Riedel, it’s a familiar story. He, too, got involved in the game when his sons played.
After they graduated, “it left a hole,” he recalled.
Riedel said officiating helps him deal with his full-time day job.
“It’s a good escape from work,” he said, because you have to focus.
“Your full focus is on the game.”
Hall said, fans, parents and coaches are pretty well behaved here, despite the occasional lapse in civility.
“You have to have thick skin,” Hall said. “You probably have to have a little bit of a sense of humor because of some of the things that are said, whether right in your face or from a distance. I hear it all the time. I deal with the coaches, and they get intense and you know, you let them bark for a bit. But then you say, ‘OK, coach, let’s focus and get back to the game.’”
At the end of the day, the goals are the same.
“We’re all there for the kids, and that’s what I try to preach to our officials and to the coaches,” Hall said.
“I’m officiating the game as best as I can. And you know, we can agree to disagree on certain plays and certain outcomes of things, but at the end of the day, I will shake your hand.”
Anyone interested in learning more about officiating football can visit the local officials’ association website.
To learn more about officiating other sports, visit the FHSAA website.
Photos by Jim Dela
A lineman watches at the line of scrimmage as a play begins during a preseason scrimmage Aug. 10 at Riverview High School in Sarasota.
Football official John Powers lines up behind the defensive line during a preseason scrimmage Aug. 10 at Riverview High School in Sarasota.
Football officials listen to Dave Hall, vice president of the Gulf Coast Football Officials Association, during a break in a preseason scrimmage Aug. 10.
