Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

North Port wants improvement suggestions

Do you live in North Port? If so, the city is asking for help deciding what improvements to prioritize.

Click here to take the survey:

https://polco.us/n/res/vote/north-po...ce=govdelivery

[wondermint2]

World-class fish? Gulf of Mexico African pompano may be record catch, local angler says

For full article:

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/33380...al-angler-says

In the offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico, resides one of the coolest, most prehistoric-looking fish.

It happens to be one of the best to eat but also one of the most elusive. Found around the world in tropical climates, big African pompano catches have surged in recent years in the Gulf and angler Dave Miller might have led one of his friends to a recent world record.

While good weather has been rare this winter, Miller and crew took advantage of the small window Friday, Feb. 9, aboard his 31-foot Contender. They started around the 45-mile mark fishing big bottom for African pompano, or APs as many anglers call them.

“I look for lots of bait on a spot,” said Miller, a law enforcement officer who resides in Sarasota County. “We started around 45 miles that day and didn’t quite see the fish we wanted, so pushed out further.”

[wondermint2]

Beach University in Siesta Key is a shore thing for environmental learning

For full article:

https://www.wusf.org/environment/202...rning-sarasota

Environmental awareness is a subject of constant interest in coastal communities, and next month, Sarasota County and the Beach Ambassadors continue the conversation by hosting the 18th annual Beach University event, a monthlong program that focuses on “the coastal environment and how to best care for the ecology.”

This year’s free hourlong classes, which begin at 9:30 a.m. each Thursday morning in March, cover a range of topics, including human and wildlife contact, the reef ball and its contribution to the marine environment, manatee rehabilitation, and the trickle-down effect, related to how stormwater affects bay life.

The first class will be held on March 7 at the Siesta Beach Main Pavilion, with Dr. Maria Passarelli, Veterinarian at Save our Seabirds, speaking on human and wildlife contact. No registration is necessary.

Beach University has been a staple event for Siesta Key since 2006, when the program was devised by local volunteer and Beach Ambassador, Dr. Bruce Broadbent.

[wondermint2]

This is an opinion piece by Dennis "Mitch" Maley - an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of their weekly podcast.

OPINION - Our Fiscal Conservatives are at it Again

For full article:

https://thebradentontimes.com/storie...it-again,74645

This week, Manatee County Commissioners moved forward with a painfully vague plan to spend tens of millions of dollars developing a “Veterans Memorial Park” in a remote area of north county. So far, the project looks like little more than another way for this board of so-called fiscal conservatives to waste taxpayer money.

The park seems to be the brainchild of Commissioner Jason Bearden. If you’re familiar with Bearden, you’ll know that any proverbial child birthed by his brain is unlikely to be robust. This does not seem to be an exception.

Bearden previously attempted to lobby for a tiny house village on the parcel, which was county-owned parkland that had been designated surplus property. This was back when the marine vet was doing his best to aggressively undermine a project that would see the Tunnels 2 Towers Foundation build permanent housing for homeless and at-risk homeless veterans on county-owned property that was a little too close to a certain builder’s most favored development.

[wondermint2]

LWV School Board Notes: 2/13/24

For full article:

https://thebradentontimes.com/storie...es-21324,74781

The League of Women Voters of Manatee County Education Issues Committee observes the Manatee County School Board meetings for items of interest to citizens and to the League and notes adherence, or lack of adherence, to good governance procedures and the sunshine laws. The following are the major points from the school board meeting on 2/13/2024.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

I have my doubts that this plan will ever come to fruition. IMO it would be akin to making wind insurance a totally socialist endeavor for Florida.

Florida lawmaker promises new bill would drop insurance rates like a rock

Bill proposal for Citizens Insurance to take over wind coverage in Florida dies


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYGlmJEIH_4

[wondermint2]

Preliminary survey shows impact of summer heatwave on coral in the Florida Keys

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/new...437519e8&ei=24

A preliminary assessment of the impact of an underwater summer heatwave on seven iconic sites on the Florida Reef Tract Feb. 14 initially paints a bleak picture of damage.

For example, five of the seven sites targeted for restoration by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-led Mission: Iconic Reefs were surveyed and only 22% of 1,500 specimens of staghorn coral previously planted by scientists remained alive – all in the Upper Keys.

Still, data from the mission will help NOAA and its research partners understand the extent of the impact of record-high marine temperatures from the summer of 2023 on those restored corals – which are nursery-raised and planted on the reef.

It will also help form future restoration strategies to increase coral resilience.

[wondermint2]

After banner years post pandemic, Sarasota hotel sees return to seasonality

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/new...437519e8&ei=27

When Shannon May returned to Sarasota in 2020 as the general manager for a local hotel in the Rosemary District, the hospitality industry was in rough shape.

Early in the pandemic, tourism disappeared about as quickly as toilet paper at the super market. Downtown areas across the country became ghost towns almost overnight after COVID-19 infected the first people in the U.S. in early 2020.

For the Sarasota hotel industry, it was a short slowdown, as conditions flipped by 2021 with Florida's tourism-based economy revving up. Pent-up demand for leisure and hospitality saw boom times in Sarasota's hotel business for the next two years, May said.

"We did gangbusters," May said of voco Sarasota, which was rebranded from Hotel Indigo in late 2023.

Business was so strong in 2021 and 2022, May said it felt like Sarasota did not have a slow season. She had previously worked in hotel management in Sarasota from 2014 to 2016.

Historically, Sarasota has a slow and a busy season, often identified by the sudden appearance of license plates from northern locations like Michigan, Illinois and Canada.

Snowbirds typically flock to Sarasota starting in late fall and can stay into spring.

But there wasn't a slow season in 2021 or 2022. May said she noticed the return to normal activity in the second half of 2023 about the same time the property she manages at 1223 Boulevard of the Arts decided to rebrand from Hotel Indigo to voco Sarasota.

[wondermint2]

Sarasota business task force tackles childcare crisis, as state bill offers hope

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smal...437519e8&ei=30

Amid an escalating crisis in childcare, local leaders are looking for novel solutions within the business community as they keep a close eye on a proposed state bill that could help thousands of families and employers impacted by the problem.

“That is going to be a big game changer for us, if we can get that passed,” said Brittany Lamont – who heads the new Childcare Business Task Force launched late last year by the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County – of House Bill 635.

Sponsored by Representative Fiona McFarland (R-Sarasota), the bill would provide tax credits to businesses that either operate childcare facilities or contribute payments to childcare for employees.

Still under consideration in two committees, the bill has already cleared the House Ways and Means Committee by a unanimous vote.

While hopeful for what its passage could mean to a booming region hit by a growing number of “childcare deserts,” local leaders are busy searching for additional ways to address the issue.

The ELC task force – which was created late November at the agency’s first community business breakfast held since the pandemic – seeks to bring employers, nonprofits, parents and local government leaders to the table to help find solutions.

[wondermint2]

HospitaBull student dinner to benefit USF’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/new...437519e8&ei=45

The 12th annual HospitaBull dining event – a fundraiser that supports scholarships and other programs at the University of South Florida’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management on the Sarasota-Manatee campus – is scheduled fon March 26 from 6-9 p.m. at Michael’s on East.

Tickets are available at the USF Foundation website (eventful.usf.edu/rsvp/hospitabull).

Students will work closely with the Michael’s on East restaurant’s staff to organize, prepare and serve the dinner, allowing them to connect traditional classroom theory with real-life food and beverage operations, said Cihan Cobanoglu, dean of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

“Moreover, it plays a crucial role in empowering students by providing financial resources, ensuring they are equipped with the tools needed to excel in their careers,” Cobanoglu said. “HospitaBull epitomizes the fusion of education, professionalism and generosity, making it an indispensable cornerstone in the journey of budding hospitality professionals."