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It's a sigh of relief for some North Port property owners on the eastern end of the city after a decision by local leaders.
"It's a happy ending for us, and of course, I'm very excited and very thankful to the city staff, but the bigger picture is this is happening all over the city," said North Port property owner Ariana Campbell.
Commissioners held a meeting Monday to discuss the future of single-family developments in parts of the city including Hampshire Circle. That's where Campbell bought land to build her dream home nearly two years ago.
However, she told North Port Community Correspondent Victoria Scott her permit was put on hold because of changes being made to the city's comprehensive plan.
Campbell said it was a constant struggle to get the city to listen, until recently.
"Overall, since the beginning of this situation, it's been several months to kind of get them to hear us at all," she told Scott.
Monday's meeting gave her hope. Commissioners are now allowing single-family homes in the Hampshire, Barcelona, and Dalewood neighborhoods.
Campbell said she can't wait to put her ideas into action on her property.
That was the message Friday at the latest meeting of United Way South Sarasota County's Long-Term Recovery Group.
"We still have people in need," UWSSC President/CEO Barbara Cruz said. "We're just going to keep going."
So far, 30 houses have been rebuilt and the families re-homed, UWSSC Chief Operations Officer Chris Johnson said. Four are in progress.
"We're seeing the fruits of our labor," Cruz said. "People are getting back in homes."
But there are still 53 open cases between the two UWSSC case managers, Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Director Hilda Dutton said.
St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Charities have 94 more.
A new case manager at The Salvation Army is starting to take cases, but there are 50 unassigned and more coming in from people reaching out for the first time months after suffering hurricane damage, she said.
It can be difficult to connect with new clients, she said because they're used to people trying to take advantage of them.
The reward, she said, is seeing people moving back into their homes.
That happened twice last week, Dutton said.
One family was a single mother with two teenagers whose mold-ridden house needed a new roof and new floors, and a new water system it was scheduled to get Friday, she said.
The other house is owned by an elderly couple with disabilities, she said. The husband has been hospitalized 29 times since Hurricane Ian, possibly due to mold in the dwelling, she said, and the couple had been close to moving into assisted living.
Move-backs are commemorated with a "last nail" ceremony that "just about makes you cry every time," Dutton said.
Case managers are "fierce advocators" for their clients, filling needs of "heart, mind, body and soul," Cruz said.
Johnson alerted the group to the pending availability of Resilient SRQ money for home reconstruction and rehabilitation.
The county will start accepting applications for $40 million allocated for that purpose — and $15 million in reimbursement funds for work already performed — next month.
Owners of manufactured homes are eligible for funding, he said. They haven't expressly been part of most discussions of the program.
The county will have case managers in the UWSSC office part time when the housing program opens, he said.
"It's wonderful that we can offer people help with opportunity," Johnson said.
A public outdoor mass baptism will be held Saturday, May 4, at Maxine Barritt Park on Venice Island.
One Christ Won City, a Florida-based nonprofit organization dedicated to “honoring Jesus with word and deed,” will host the second annual Baptism In The Gulf.
This year, it will be held simultaneously at Maxine Barritt, Manasota Beach in Englewood and Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island.
Each venue has pavilions, picnic tables and electricity.
This is a free event and all are welcomed to attend. Music will begin at 9:30 a.m.
More than 1,000 people witnessed 91 baptisms last year at Brohard Beach Park in Venice. Maxine Barritt is further south than Brohard.
“Along with a purposeful message, introduction and procession to water’s edge, we will have prayer ushers,” said Jim Foubister, founder and president of One Christ Won City and lead organizer of the baptism event.
Volunteers from Venice and surrounding areas are welcome to participate, Foubister said. Radio station The Joy FM embarked on a campaign to promote the event “as we glorify and honor Jesus with word and deed,” Foubister said.
Pastors from 12 area churches are expected to attend, including New Life Church, Center Pointe, Lift, Harvest Chapel, South Venice Christian, Greater Holy Temple, New Life Christian, Coastal Community, Auburn Presbyterian, Center of Hope, Cornerstone Baptist and Calvary Chapel Sonlife.
“Our tradition is that our lead pastors baptize with a pastor from another church, so the experience of unity is seen and felt,” Foubister said.
Last year 45 people who had no church affiliations came to the event wishing to be baptized.
Prayer will be offered as baptism candidates and pastors enter the Gulf of Mexico. Each of the newly baptized will receive a certificate.
For more information, call Foubister at 941-223-1771.
We wonder how many people think they elected the Sarasota County commissioners to be the guardians of the morality of their constituents.
It’s a legitimate question in view of their adoption Tuesday of resolutions to cut off funding for United Way Suncoast and to make it harder for county employees to donate to it or any other agency by doing away with charitable payroll deductions.
What was UWS’ mortal sin? Among other programs, it supports the 211 social service helpline, which makes referrals to Planned Parenthood, among other organizations, and one of the many services Planned Parenthood provides is abortions.
Abortions are a legal medical procedure, though some people would like to change that. And they’re performed for a variety of reasons, including to save the life of the mother.
But abortions have been determined by the five men sitting on the County Commission to be “incompatible with the values of Sarasota County,” according to the resolution they adopted Tuesday.
We suspect that’s news to many county residents, and not just those who are pro-United Way or pro-Planned Parenthood.
Not that they were asked.
It’s unlikely you could find unanimity among county residents on any issue. We’ll guarantee it’s impossible on abortion. Yet the commissioners took it on themselves to pretend they were speaking for everyone on an issue of values on which there has been a Grand Canyon-size divide for decades.
But that’s actually not our biggest problem with their hubris.
Justifying his motion to adopt the abortion-related resolution, Commissioner Neil Rainford said, “I think our job is to protect people.”
For the most part, we agree. We just don’t see how his words square with the impact of his vote.
By “people,” we’re guessing Rainford is referring to embryos. He can’t be talking about people who may be at risk of losing needed services, and not just those supported by UWS, including early childhood education, eviction mitigation, income tax assistance and hurricane recovery. Or about the people — men and women — served by Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.
The organization is widely perceived only as an abortion provider, but that’s merely part of the picture.
Yes, 37.1% of visits in the agency’s last fiscal year were about abortion, according to its annual report. But that means nearly two-thirds weren’t.
Instead, they were by people seeking testing for cancer. Or testing and treatment for an STD. Or family-planning advice and birth control. Or education about any of those subjects.
In our opinion, those services protect people, too. And, like it or not, so do abortions.
We’d be as happy as anyone if every conception were to people trying to have a baby, and every pregnancy were problem-free and ended with the birth of a healthy baby. But that’s not reality.
The County Commission certainly has the authority to decide how county funds are spent, and the responsibility to spend them wisely.
Wading into the abortion issue — unnecessarily and unwisely, in our opinion — wasn’t a matter of financial stewardship, however. It was politics, tinged by religion.
No doubt penalizing UWS for making referrals to Planned Parenthood will make a lot of county residents happy.
We can only hope that commissioners don’t look for similar opportunities to score political points at the expense of some of their constituents in the guise of “protecting” them.
Firefighters from the Florida Forestry Service and other agencies battled a brush fire in the sprawling T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve for most of Tuesday.
The fire was started by a lightning strike, said Patrick Mahoney, spokesperson for the Florida Forest Service's Myakka River District.
It started near Sarasota County's water treatment plant on the property at 1255 Mabry Carlton Parkway. The area is east of Venice and north of the city of North Port.
The fire burned about 100 acres, and by 6 p.m. Tuesday it was 99% contained, Mahoney said.
"Our firefighters will be back out there tomorrow to make sure it's all mopped up," Mahoney said.
While low winds and moderate humidity aided the firefighters in Tuesday's effort, Florida is entering brush fire season, and officials use caution with any type of fire around wooded and grassy areas.
The Carlton Reserve is a 24,565-acre tract of public land with 100 miles of hiking, equestrian and biking trails.
Firefighters urge caution as dry and windy conditions heighten brush fire risk in Southwest Florida
Greater Naples Fire Rescue crews, along with Florida Forest Service, North Collier Fire Rescue District and Collier County Sheriff's Office helicopter were working a 25-acre beush fire that erupted Thursday in the Picayune Strand State Forest, near mile marker 96 on I-75.
Seventy years after the death of Olympic legend Jim Thorpe, his family and legacy will be honored next week with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
“I can’t tell you how happy this makes us. I’m sorry it took us this long to get it,” said Thorpe’s granddaughter, Gail Lynn Hannon.
Thorpe was one of America’s greatest athletes. Not only did he win two gold medals in track and field, he also played baseball, football, and basketball at the highest level. According to the Olympics’ website, King Gustav V of Sweden told Thorpe, “You sir, are the greatest athlete in the world,” when awarding him his medals in the 1912 Olympic games.
In honor of Arbor Day, Manatee County planted three slash pines in Ron DeSantis Park on Friday.
The park started out with just a few trees, and now that number has grown to around 400.
“Trees are the best, and one of the best sustainable resources that we have. They do so much for us, from regulating our temperature, migrating storm water, providing 02, filtrating air, water and providing habitat,” Richard Larsen, a Myakka River District County forester said.
The county said their goal is to add 40 more trees at the park.
The American Legion Riders have been traveling around Florida and stopping at posts and monuments while raising money for suicide prevention among veterans. On Friday morning, they cruised to the Vietnam Memorial Wall at Gaines Park in Punta Gorda.
An overwhelming amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. Nearly half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society were surrendered.
WINK News visited the humane society, which said they have no room for more pets.
According to the Gulf Coast Humane Society, this time last year, 219 owner surrender applications were received. This year, there are 115 more, sitting at 334.
“We are averaging, this is on the low end, probably five to seven a day,” Brian Wierima said from the Gulf Coast Humane Society.
“Treat them like family. If you treat them and you feel they are family, you will do everything in your power to keep them and not come here,” said Wierima. “Use us as the last option.”
Banned from sleeping in public, now being purged from the woods, where will the homeless population go now?
Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
Neighbors here don’t want to go on camera, and we knocked on several doors this morning to no answer, but some have what they won’t say written clearly on their front lawn—no trespassing.
We spoke with a man who volunteers as the neighborhood watch on Third Street in Fort Myers. He didn’t want to be on camera, and neither did any of his neighbors.
Why?
Because of a home going up in flames.
He said he’s afraid that this will happen to him because there is a problem with homelessness right in his backyard.
The man who lit this house on fire was arrested for arson, and the property owner at the time said that the man was homeless.
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