Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

New College of Florida launches online degree program in collaboration with billionaire

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/care...32f1558b&ei=72

New College of Florida is launching an online liberal arts degree featuring courses with material provided in collaboration with Ricketts Great Books College, a program created by billionaire Joe Ricketts, a Gov. Ron DeSantis mega-donor.

New College President Richard Corcoran announced the program during a press conference on the college's campus Thursday with Ricketts in attendance. The courses, available worldwide, launch at the beginning of the 2024 spring semester with New College's classes starting on the same day, Jan. 29, according to the release.

New College of Florida faculty vote against college's online program with billionaire

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ne...re/ar-AA1n8U1l

New College of Florida faculty approved a resolution Wednesday afternoon expressing their disapproval of the recently announced online degree program in collaboration with billionaire GOP megadonor Joe Ricketts.

The faculty approved the resolution in an overwhelming 25-1 vote, sources told the Herald-Tribune, citing a lack of consultation from the administration on its decision to launch the program. The vote appears to hold no impact on whether the college launches the program, but formally shows the group's position on the issue.

"The proposed online program at New College did not arise from any vision or strategy to make the College thrive but from a process that lacked transparency, excluded the faculty, and acceded to the conditions of a donation from a self-interested outside party," the resolution read. "And the donated money could be better spent to improve New College's in-person experience."

[wondermint2]

New water filtration system will soon service more than 300K homes in Manatee County


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKnlj4zBtHw

Water supply to more than 300,000 homes and businesses in Manatee County is now coming through a new water filtration system.

The county has replaced existing surface water media filters installed in the 1960s and 1970s with 12 new submerged ultrafiltration membranes.

The new filtration system has smaller pore sizes to prevent particles like the ones that form during algal blooms from getting through.

Manatee County leaders say this would help with improving the quality of water from Lake Manatee, which supplies two-thirds of the county's water.

Last summer, an algal bloom caused odor and taste to the water which many residents complained about.

https://www.wtsp.com/amp/article/new...f-5f9d096a9933

[wondermint2]

Planners, citizens drive transportation safety issues on AMI

For full article:

https://www.islander.org/2024/01/pla...issues-on-ami/

“Lookout!”

“Stop!”

People, among them Nancy Deal of Holmes Beach, sometimes shout such warnings to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians from the sidewalk seating outside Ginny’s and Jane E’s Coastal Store and Cafe, 9807 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria.

Many mornings, Deal and husband Mike take an outside seat at the cafe to savor morning coffee and connect with other islanders.

Sometimes — often, according to Deal — they witness mishaps, moving violations and near calamities at the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Gulf Drive.

Motorists don’t always brake for the four-way stop, Deal told the Island Transportation Planning Organization, which met Jan. 8 at Anna Maria City Hall.

They don’t even always stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks, she added.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, who chairs the advisory committee to the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, was about to gavel the meeting closed after 14 minutes when he recognized Deal, who spoke during public comment about stop signs, golf carts and “guardian angels.”

Deal said guardian angels must be at work on AMI because “close calls are just too numerous to document.”

She said motorists cruise through the Anna Maria intersection without stopping, sometimes looking at their smartphones, sometimes looking for parking and sometimes talking with passengers.

She’s also seen people on the backend of low-speed vehicles pulling kids in strollers, unbelted passengers tumbling from LSVs, double the riders on an LSV built for six and more.

“It occurs all over the island,” Deal told the ITPO, asking what solutions law enforcement agencies, the MPO, the DOT or the tourist development council might propose.

[wondermint2]

Top nature photos from around Sarasota, Longboat Key, East County in 2023-24 (Photo Gallery)

Readers from across the region submit their photos to the Observer's 2023-24 Weather and Nature Photo Contest.

For photo gallery:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...ty-in-2023-24/

[wondermint2]

Controversial Sarasota bar, restaurant, nightclub amendment passes on first reading

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/new...ng/ar-AA1navFg

The Sarasota City Commission narrowly voted to advance a controversial zoning text amendment for downtown bars and nightclubs following more than three hours of debate.

According to supporters, the amendment could yield smoother working relations between local businesses and city staff. Opponents fear it could instead usher in urban growth that knocks off the already-delicate balance between downtown nightlife and residents.

The commission passed a pair of ordinances attached to the amendment on first reading at Monday’s meeting. The first, which updates the definitions of bars, restaurants and nightclubs, passed 3-2 with Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch and Commissioner Debbie Trice in dissent. The second, which clarifies the permissible uses and standards for each establishment, passed 4-1 with Ahearn-Koch in dissent.

The final motions included several alterations. A proposed expansion of downtown’s exemption district — which requires “alcoholic beverage establishments” across the city be at least 500 feet from the nearest bar, nightclub or liquor store unless it lies in the downtown exemption area — was scrapped, and the definition of a restaurant was changed to include establishments that prepare meals off site.

The agenda item was the focal point of a particularly tense meeting, which saw commissioners also discuss civility and respectful engagement after a print of a racist Facebook post aimed at Commissioner Kyle Battie was found in an envelope outside Corona Cigar Co. The user credited with making the post, as well as several meeting attendees and residents, contended that it was photoshopped, and her name was falsely attached.

[wondermint2]

Top residential real estate sales for Jan. 1-5 in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Palmer Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis

For full article:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...-1-5-sarasota/

A home on Siesta Key tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. David Zaccardelli, trustee, of Sarasota, sold two properties at 100 Ogden St. to William Crouse, trustee, of Sarasota, for $6.1 million. The first property was built in 2007 and has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 4,712 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1947 and has two bedrooms, one bath and 1,027 square feet of living area. They sold for $2.5 million in 2017.

[wondermint2]

Sarasota County community leaders discuss development

For full article:

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2024/01/1...s-development/

Community leaders from Siesta Key, Old Miakka, and the Celery Fields community gathered at Gulf Gate Library to discuss concerns over development in the county. The meeting started at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and brought out around 50 people.

“Little by little, in fact, I would probably so more than little by little at this point, our open areas are being created as new developments. So, that recreational benefits, the wildlife benefits, all of that goes away,” said Robert Wright, the Conservation Chairman for the Sarasota Audubon Society.

The Audubon’s nature center is located inside the Celery Fields and Wright said its an area facing more possible development on an old farm boarding the fields. Wright said the Celery Fields are home to an abundance of wildlife and were originally created to treat storm water. He said developing on the farm doesn’t make sense.

“It should be preserved in some fashion so that it is going to be compatible with maintaining an area with, so you have more area where all these people can recreate because that area is actually going to look like the central park of Sarasota County,” said Wright.

Just under a half an hour from the Celery Fields, a mega hotel could be making its way to Siesta Key. Lourdes Ramirez, the President of the Siesta Key Community, said the proposed hotel is nine stories tall, around 147 units and spreading almost out to the sidewalk. The hotel would take over Flavio’s and the surrounding shops.

“This is just going to make it look like Fort Lauderdale or Daytona. It’s going to change the whole atmosphere of Siesta Key Village. And the whole belief that Siesta Key is a laid-back community. It’s just going to be overly developed,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez said the Key is already over developed and has the highest density in all of Sarasota County.

“We are a barrier island with a two-lane road that connects two bridges. You can’t add more people to a hurricane prone island,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez hoped the other neighborhoods understood that what happens on Siesta Key with the hotel being approved and built, could happened anywhere county wide. Ramirez said the developer is expected to submit a formal application next month.

[wondermint2]

Long-running Sarasota deli restaurant, market permanently closes

For full article:

https://www.newsbreak.com/sarasota-f...anently-closes

The list of recent local restaurant closures now includes the longtime home for a Sarasota deli and market.

Nellie's Deli, Market and Catering has shut the doors at its 15 S. Beneva Road location, said proprietor Fredda Pohl. While the restaurant and market are now closed, Pohl said she plans to continue Nellie's catering operation.

Pohl and her husband Craig bought Nellie's about three decades ago when it was at the intersection of Webber Street and Beneva Road, later moving to the 15 S. Beneva Road location off of Fruitville Road. After Craig died in 2022, Pohl said it was difficult for her to handle the restaurant, market and catering all together, and when the lease ended early, she decided to focus on catering.

[wondermint2]

Siesta Key residents strongly oppose new hotels for low-key Sarasota Co. barrier island

For full article:

https://www.newsbreak.com/siesta-key...barrier-island

The hundreds of Siesta Key residents who had a chance recently to let developers know just what they thought of the latest proposals for two new hotels on the low-key barrier island didn't pull any punches.

"You are ruining Siesta Key," one person said.

Another asked how the developer's agents sleep at night knowing the strong opposition to the project on Siesta Key.

"Almost universally people are opposed to these hotel developments for a variety of reasons and one has to ask the question why would you be moving against the interests of almost everybody on the key," John Doherty said. "If you think that we are maybe somewhat irritable, it is because the people are being trampled on based on interest of just a few."

Hundreds of people tuned in to two Siesta Key virtual community workshops hosted by developers of two midrise hotel towers proposed for Siesta Key Village.

Residents participating in the workshops overwhelmingly rejected the proposals, often in contentious hypotheticals directed toward the agents for the two development groups.

Engineering and planning firm Kimley-Horn and influential real estate attorney Bill Merrill represented both development groups during the two sperate meetings.

Benderson Development has proposed the 147-room hotel on Calle Menorca and SKH 1 LLC has proposed the 163-room hotel on Calle Miramar.

While the majority of the residents kept a civil tone, the deep-seated opposition sometimes boiled over because the hotels would be a sharp departure from the development approach for the island that has been in place for decades.

[wondermint2]

Is it safe to swim? What water quality results mean for recreation

Suncoast Waterkeeper's executive director explains how weekly monitoring helps inform swimmers about potential health hazards.

For full article:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...ts-recreation/