Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

New proposal to redevelop Sarasota Square Mall

A proposal to replace and expand the once-popular mall will now go before the Sarasota County Planning Commission in two weeks.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm9FFoiCSE8

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Governor DeSantis Signs Legislation preventing minors under 14 from opening social media accounts

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...58460e37&ei=18

Governor Ron DeSantis signed bill HB 3, Monday, which prohibits children under the age of 14 from becoming social media account holders and allows 14- and 15-year-olds to become account holders with parental consent.

Florida wants to lead the way in protecting children online as states across the country fight to address these dangers.

- Prevents a minor who is younger than 14 years of age from becoming a social media account holder.
- Empowers parents to decide whether 14- and 15-year-olds can have a social media account.
- Protects the ability of Floridians to remain anonymous online.

In addition to protecting children from the dangers of social media, HB 3 requires pornographic or sexually explicit websites to use age verification to prevent minors from accessing sites that are inappropriate for children.

Critics say Florida's new social media bill is too restrictive

Florida will have one of the country's most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges — under a bill signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14M5K24O0yo

[wondermint2]

Keel Farms hosting annual Blueberry Festival beginning Saturday

The 16th annual Keel Farms Blueberry Festival takes place over the next four weekends.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ4cZ-1pjHU

Maybe, like Richie Cunningham in “Happy Days,” you can find your thrill on Blueberry Hill, or at least at the annual Blueberry Festival.

Keel Farms will host its 16th annual Blueberry Festival over four consecutive weekends starting this Saturday, March 30, followed every Saturday and Sunday on April 6-7, 13-14, and 20-21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each of the seven days.

This family and pet-friendly festival will feature over 100 food and craft vendors, bounce houses, live music, u-pick blueberries, and a wide selection of wines, beers, and ciders.

Keel Farms is located at 5210 W. Thonotosassa Road in Plant City, with a backdrop of the Keel and Curley winery and farm.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Hundreds gather for Walk to Defeat ALS (Video)

For full article & video:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...f7af0bcb&ei=44

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - It’s a walk for a cause that his close to home for so many.

“It was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to go through,” says Christine Reagan, who lost her father to ALS back in 2009.

“It was a really, really hard road. It came with every single challenge you could possibly think of,” she adds.

ALS is a deadly disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

“They lose the ability to walk, talk, and eventually breathe,” describes Ray Carson, an executive at the ALS Association, which hosted Saturday’s walk.

He says there has not been progress for a cure like they have been hoping for.

“When Lou Gehrig was diagnosed 90 years ago, he was given a prognosis of three to five years. Unfortunately, people diagnosed with ALS today still have that same prognosis,” Carson says.

This is why Reagan now helps organize this walk at Payne Park, which helps raise money and awareness to fight the disease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMsYADGCU78

[wondermint2]

Inspections: Live roaches, rodent droppings temporarily close Sarasota area restaurants

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/oth...ts/ar-BB1kxQ6U

Sarasota/Manatee restaurant inspections for March 17-23.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Waste water spill at Piney Point

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wa...0f8f345e&ei=71

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection was made aware of a waste water spill at Piney Point in Manatee County.

According to the public report, on Thursday March 21, at approximately 11:30 AM, operations staff at the Manatee County Piney Point injection well pretreatment facility became aware of a release of untreated industrial wastewater on the plant site located at 3105 Buckeye Road in Palmetto.

The release occurred due to a power loss from a tripped breaker which resulted in a loss of communications and control at the plant.

When the plant lost power, the offsite transfer pump which sends the industrial wastewater from the Piney Point site to the pretreatment plant, continued to pump resulting in an overflow of approximately 6,000 gallons from the influent tanks.

Staff manually shut off the transfer pump to stop the overflow within 40 minutes of the spill.

The discharged wastewater soaked into the ground and did not leave the plant site.

Troubleshooting is currently ongoing to determine why the backup power source and fail safe controls did not engage.

The plant says it will be staffed during operating hours until this issue is corrected.

In April 2021, a leak was detected in a reservoir holding about 460 million gallons of contaminated water. Fearing a catastrophic breach, officials ordered the evacuation of more than 300 homes. Engineers eventually released 215 million gallons of wastewater directly into Tampa Bay to relieve pressure on the walls of the reservoir.

The state declared a state of emergency and earmarked $100 million to help resolve the problems at the site.

It was decided the water would be pretreated and pumped into injection wells to prevent the water from spilling into waterways around the area.

Manatee County's Piney Point injection well spills thousands of gallons of wastewater

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ma...e2d54329&ei=23

Local environmental advocacy group Manasota-88 said the spill is a cautionary tale and continues to urge state officials to prohibit deep-well injection of phosphate-related wastewater.

"This latest spill clearly demonstrates that Manatee County and the Florida DEP cannot safeguard against the pollution caused by the phosphate industry," Manasota-88 Chairman Glenn Compton said in a statement.

"While the models upon which decisions to inject wastes are based look good on paper, changing conditions at the well site and in the aquifers can allow wastewater to seep into the ground-water supply, and it would be too late then, to correct the problem," he said. "If a failure occurs, very little can be done to correct it. If an aquifer is contaminated, it's too late."

The injection well is owned by Manatee County, across the street from the former Piney Point fertilizer plant site.

[wondermint2]

Venice residents receive updates on Laurel Road widening and Knights Trail Road link

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ve...e2d54329&ei=41

The prospect of having three property owners willing to work with Sarasota County on extending Lorraine Road south to connect to Knights Trail Road makes that a transformational project for Sarasota County, according to a top county official.

“We have absolutely nothing to connect Venice to the Sarasota area on the east side of the interstate,” Public Works Director Spencer Anderson told a capacity crowd March 18 at the Venetian Golf and River Club Community Association annual meeting.

Anderson discussed the road project in response to a question posed by Venice City Council Member Joan Farrell about why both it and the widening of Laurel Road were being fast-tracked.

“The portion between Clark Road and Laurel Road, there is a significant amount of development that is going to happen there and honestly we’ve been very bad with planning our roads before development gets there,” he said, calling the chance to extend the road “an opportunity we shouldn’t miss out on.”

Construction of that extension could start as soon as mid-2025.

While Anderson was easily the most popular speaker, the four other – Community Association board member Tom Jones, Venice Mayor Nick Pachota, Venice Public Works Director Javier Vargas and Sarasota County School Superintendent Terrence Connor − offered key updates on future projects that will continue to push the urbanization of northeast Venice.

Jones, in an overview of future residential development, noted that while in 2023 they were looking at a potential of roughly 8,800 new homes coming to the area, the anticipated number of new homes now is more than 12,500.

Remaining speakers gave residents a sense of how local governments will address that growth.

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*Note: See the full article for other Venice projects mentioned to address future growth.

[wondermint2]

Hundreds of faithful in Sarasota region to observe Stations of the Cross on Good Friday

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hu...e2d54329&ei=55

Hundreds of faithful from multiple congregations across the Sarasota region, including 14 denominations and 27 ministers, will participate on Good Friday in the Stations of the Cross pilgrimage along Main Street in downtown Sarasota.

The Stations of the Cross began in mid-15th century Jerusalem and the tradition is now celebrated in over 200 countries on Good Friday. On March 29 in Sarasota and around the world, the pilgrimage marks 14 Biblically recorded events that happened to Jesus on his way to crucifixion.

This is the 23rd year that Sarasota has observed the tradition, and the free event has attracted residents from throughout the region as well as visitors.

The Stations of the Cross Walk is hosted by Church of the Redeemer in collaboration with the Sarasota Ministerial Association. The Redeemer’s Men’s Breakfast Prayer Group started the event in 1996. At that time, about 15 people participated. In 2023, the event had grown to nearly 1,000 people.

Parking is available at the last station (Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave.). Trolleys will offer free transportation from Redeemer to the first station (Regal Hollywood, 1993 Main St.) starting at 6 a.m. Pilgrims will begin to gather at 7 a.m. in front of Regal Hollywood.

Father Charleston Wilson, Rector of Church of the Redeemer, will welcome those gathered and the pilgrimage will begin at 7:20 a.m. City Commissioner Kyle Battie and Sarasota County Commissioner Mark Smith will preside over the first station, and other local leaders will participate throughout the event. Escorts from the Sarasota Police Department will facilitate the event, allowing pilgrims to safely walk down the center of Main Street.

Participants are expected to reach the final station at about 8:30 a.m. At that time, pilgrims will be invited to attend a brief prayer service inside Church of the Redeemer. The event will take place in (light) rain or shine.

For more information about the Stations of the Cross, call Church of the Redeemer at 941-955-4263. For more information about the Sarasota Ministerial Association, email the Rev. Tom Pfaff at ChaplainTomPfaff@Gmail.com.

[wondermint2]

Top April events around Bradenton include updated De Soto Parade and local festivals

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tri...e2d54329&ei=69

If you need help planning your weekends in April, we've got you covered.

From spring festivals and shows to free live concerts, baseball and the DeSoto Grand Parade, there are plenty of options for local fun around Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and Sarasota.

Here's a look at what's on tap.

[wondermint2]

New restaurant and new crafts store planned for Bradenton shopping center development

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...e2d54329&ei=70

Plans for what would be the third Bradenton-area Panda Express Chinese food restaurant and the second Hobby Lobby arts and crafts store are in the works.

Both are planned for the Marketplace at Heritage Harbour shopping center, anchored by Costco on the northeast corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 64.

TH Harbour LLLP, of Piscataway, New Jersey, filed paperwork with Manatee County Building Services this week for a Panda Express at 7105 State Road 64 E., and for a Hobby Lobby at 805 Lighthouse Drive, Bradenton.

Marketplace at Heritage Harbour is being developed by Edgewood Properties of Piscataway, New Jersey.
Panda Express opened its first Manatee County restaurant in February 2023 at 14525 State Road 70 E. in Lakewood Ranch's Braden River shopping center.

In 2023, the company also filed paperwork to open a second restaurant at 13028 State Road 64 E. in the White Eagle shopping center at Lakewood Ranch.