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Over 140,000 people in Sarasota are over the age of 65. That means we need to pay even more attention when we’re on the roadways.
Although I think most of us would agree that speeding is the problem, sometimes these folks drive a bit slower but that doesn’t mean they should lose their driving privileges.
As long as the elderly person has no mobility issues that interfere with driving, can see, and hear well, they are free to sit behind the wheel.
Nancy Goff does mobility exercises at the Senior Friendship Center in Sarasota, she’s 87, and she doesn’t plan on giving up driving anytime soon.
“I don’t want to give up driving, my family would like me to, they think it’s time,” Nancy said. “But I have too many places to go,” she added.
The Florida Highway Patrol encourages everyone to practice safe driving practices, be patient, and be aware. Florida is a retirement state and now it’s the holiday season, making it even more dangerous.
“I understand that it can be frustrating when someone is going really slow,” said Florida Highway Patrol Senior Trooper Kenneth Watson. “But we want to remind everyone that when you’re behind the wheel you cannot lose your patience,” he added.
Last edited by wondermint2; 12-07-2023 at 05:51 AM..
Access to almost 100,000 acres of preserves, reserves, state parks and other natural areas could give Sarasota County an additional draw for tourism, Sarasota County Parks and Recreation Director Nicole Rissler told county commissioners at a recent presentation on opportunities to increase public access to preserved and protected lands.
She characterized access to those lands – marketed as ecotourism – as the “fourth leg” of a stool for Sarasota County’s tourism efforts, along with beaches, arts and culture and sports.
That’s all part of the 2023 strategic plan, approved by the commission last January.
Sarasota County Commission Chairman Ron Cutsinger, who put the increased access goal in the board’s 2023 strategic plan, took a moment to marvel at that amount, which represents almost 34% of the land in Sarasota county.
Florida Power and Light partnered with Wishes for Heroes and surprised Sarasota Veteran Rob Kehs on Monday night. Dozens of elves, according to FPL, decorated the front of Kehs home with thousands of LED lights and solar-powered decorations.
Kehs is a U.S. Naval Veteran and President of SRQ Vets. Jennifer Huber, the Senior Communication Specialist for West FPL, said its not an easy task and required coordination with Kehs’ wife and work, to ensure no visits home until 5 p.m.
The giving wasn’t over with the decorations. Bob Morrison, one of the founding members of Wishes for Heroes, said the non-profit gifted Kehs with a $3,500 check to pay the electric bill for the next year.
“Its what he deserves and it’s just a small token of gratitude for what he’s done. What all the veterans have done and it’s just so satisfying to see the smiles on their faces,” said Morrison.
This is the 16th consecutive year for FPL’s holiday program that gives back to local heroes.
A second redevelopment of dilapidated commercial property near Payne Park will have its initial submittal to the Development Review Committee at the DRC's Wednesday meeting.
Payne Park Townhomes is proposed for the site just two blocks south of the planned Artists Court Residences apartments along South Washington Boulevard, which had its first session before the city's Development Review Committee on Wednesday.
Located on 2 acres owned by CPP OPA-LOCKA LLC of Fort Lauderdale, the site is bounded by Laurel Street to the north, Oak Street to the south and Payne Parkway to the east. The site is zoned Downtown Edge with a future land use designation of Urban Edge.
Laurel Park resident and activist Kelly Franklin has objected to the absence of community engagement during the run-up to submission to the DRC.
“Now I get why this plan was not shared with Laurel Park and the developer failed to fulfill his promise to meet with the community,” Franklin wrote in an email to city officials.“This project appears to be rolling up an entire block and clearcutting it. That block is the entrance to Payne Park as well as Oak Street. Most of the trees on the site at the periphery are in fine shape and essential to the character and health of the neighborhood and the park."
Hmm in excange for an increased density allowance that goes from 70 units (50 per acre) to 242 units in exchange for 15% of the units (26 units) to be affordable. Seems like a boon to the developer in exchange for throwing in a small bone to affordable housing. And then there are the problems that the increased density brings to the neighborhood.
A New Apartment Development Is Headed to Downtown Sarasota
Artist Court Residences—named for the nearby Towles Court Artist Colony—will bring 242 units, and some will be affordable.
New downtown Sarasota developments and sales continue to change the landscape, and with a rental market that’s made headlines for being sky-high, it’s no wonder.
Currently, the land on the corner of Adams Lane and U.S. 301 is being prepped for a 10-story, 242-unit apartment building called Artist Court Residences. This is a different iteration than the original plan for the parcel, which included hotel units and retail space. Now, the plan is to remain residential only.
Located at 200 S. Washington Blvd., the name is a nod to the Towles Court artist colony directly west of it.
This new version of Artist Court Residences comes on the heels of a recent zoning text amendment the City of Sarasota passed that incentivizes developers to build affordable housing, according to Andy Patras, director of development management with Artist Court Residences’ developer, GK Real Estate, which also handles real estate investing.
GK Real Estate bought the 1.39-acre parcel in 2021 for $4 million, and it was originally zoned for a maximum of 70 units (50 per acre). With the new incentive, more density is allowed if 15 percent of the bonus units are affordable. In this case, that will amount to 26 units. One-third of the units will be priced at 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), another third at 100 percent of the AMI, and the other third at 120 percent of the AMI. Currently, 80 percent of the AMI for the Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port MSA is $58,000 a year for two people and 120 percent AMI is $87,840 for two people. The remaining units will be market rate.
In September, the Sarasota City Commission agreed to quadruple the allowable density in downtown zoning districts if private developers set aside 15 percent of the bonus units for affordable housing. The units have to be affordable for a minimum of 30 years.
More details here:
Towles Court neighborhood braces for coming apartment complex
With 242-unit development Artists Court Residences proposed across the street, property owners in Towles Court ponder whether to cash in or stay put.
When the Artists Court development at the edge of the historically artsy Towles Court neighborhood comes back before city staff for site plan approval, it will be bigger than the project that received Development Review Committee sign-off in October.
With the adoption of density bonuses for developments that include affordable housing units in the downtown zoning districts, the project has grown from a nine-story, 139-unit project to 242 rental units that include 15% of the bonus density dedicated to attainably priced units.
That comes to 25 attainable units, of which one-third each must be priced as affordable at 80% or below, 81% to 100% and 101% to 120% of area median income.
The nearly 16,000 square feet of derelict buildings formerly occupying the 1.39-acre site at the northwest corner of South Washington Boulevard and Adams Lane have been demolished and fencing has been erected around the lot. Developer GK Real Estate acquired residential density from abutting parcels.
Andy Patras, the company’s director of development, said it will be at least a year before construction begins.
Here’s What’s Happening at the Corner of Boulevard of the Arts and Central Avenue
The Longboat Group, which also owns neighboring CitySide Apartments, has been building a food-and-beverage-based property called Parkside in the Rosemary District.
Curious about what’s going on at the corner of Boulevard of the Arts and Central Avenue in the Rosemary District? We’ve got the answer. A new food-and-beverage-based compound is nearing completion. The project, called Parkside, will be anchored by a 6,200-square-foot American contemporary restaurant called Arts & Central that will feature a large indoor and outdoor bar, as well as ample outdoor patio seating.
“When we were able to acquire this property, we immediately knew we wanted to do something to bring vibrancy back to this corner; something that was community-oriented,” says Josh Weiner, principal at The Longboat Group, which owns Parkside and the neighboring CitySide Apartments. “The goal is for this to be a community that encapsulates the energy and synergy that Overtown [Sarasota’s first Black community and the predecessor to the Rosemary District] was known for.”
Two more buildings complete the property to the west on Boulevard of the Arts. One is an 8,200-square-foot shopping plaza. It will house four food-and-beverage tenants, including Toasted Mango Café and Great Heights Creamery, as well as a community rental space that can accommodate 40 to 50 people. Its plaza also features an expansive outdoor courtyard.
YouTube star Cleetus McFarland is raising awareness about the amount of development creeping closer to his East Manatee County racetrack, the Freedom Factory.
McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, is a popular YouTube influencer known for videos about his automotive endeavors. Most of them take place at the Freedom Factory, which McFarland purchased in 2020. Last year, he used the platform to rally his followers against the expansion of Lakewood Ranch near the track. On Tuesday, he again took to YouTube to air out his concerns.
His plight garnered so much response last year that hundreds of fans from across the country have tuned into Manatee County meeting in person and virtually to help advocate against the proposal. The video posted on Tuesday had more than 400,000 views within just five hours.
"I think old Betsy, on a Sunday morning, when the damn top fuel cars are running out here, she's not going to be real pleased when her windows are shaking," McFarland said on YouTube. "We're just that close. There is no way you can stop the noise of a top fuel dragster or a pro mod that has a screw blower on it from reaching houses that are a mile from here."
Manatee County commissioners have approved a series of comprehensive plan changes to allow certain developers to build east of the county's Future Development Area Boundary line. The line marks the furthest east the county provides water and sewer services, and restricts the density of any development on land.
The votes by commissioners gave SMR Taylor Ranch and the Carlos Beruff-owned East River Ranch the green light to skip over the FDAB line and build thousands of new homes right up to and around the Freedom Factory property, with some stipulations for compromise with McFarland.
"Unfortunately, even though we showed up to the courthouse with thousands of people, sent what I would guess would be 50,000 to 100,000 emails… even though we showed up in full force, our county commissioners decided to approve the project," McFarland said.
Last edited by wondermint2; 12-07-2023 at 07:29 AM..
The Leonard Reid House in Newtown has a rich history.
The historic home formerly belonged to Leonard Reid, a Black pioneer in Sarasota, and was situated in Sarasota’s Rosemary District before its relocation to Newtown in 2022.
During a celebration this month, the house will be decked with holiday trimmings in anticipation of things to come, said Vickie Oldham, president of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition.
“That corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Orange Avenue is about to be lit,” said Oldham. “It’s going to be lit with music, with colorful lights and with high spirits.”
Oldham said the event is intended as a preview of what the public can expect in February 2024 when the house opens as the Sarasota African American cultural center.
The event, titled A Newtown Christmas and set for Dec. 15-16, is not the only way the coalition is intertwining the celebration of its history with the holiday season.
Another notable way the organization is celebrating is by presenting a Christmas tree in the Festival of Trees at Mall at University Town Center, sharing the stories of Newtown beyond the city limits.
Pressure is mounting for Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler to resign her position amid a growing sex scandal that also involves her husband, Florida Republican Party chairperson Christian Ziegler.
Sarasota School Board chairperson Karen Rose, a past ally of Ziegler and her conservative agenda, said late Wednesday that she was calling on Ziegler to step down “for the good of our students, teachers, staff and community.”
Rose said via text message that she planned to present a resolution to the board on Tuesday, seeking support from her colleagues in asking Ziegler to resign. Board member Tom Edwards, the sole moderate-liberal on the board, already has made a similar call.
At issue is Ziegler’s reported conduct in the three-way relationship, for which her husband faces accusations of sexual abuse. Neither has been charged with any crime as the Sarasota police investigate.
But Ziegler has been mocked as hypocritical for her participation in the relationship with another woman, while taking public stances on LGBTQ+ issues. In a recent Facebook post, she boasted that her successes during the past year as board chairperson included terminating gender diverse guidelines and eliminating the district’s equity policy.
More than 1,000 people commented on that post, with most criticizing her and making sarcastic remarks.
Sarasota County is now a “Bill of Rights Sanctuary County” that guarantees a patient's rights to choose medical care with informed consent, according to two related resolutions the County Commission approved on a 4-1 vote Tuesday.
Both the Bill of Rights and Medical Freedom resolutions were modeled after ones adopted in Collier County in April.
The Medical Freedoms Task Force of the Sarasota County Republican Assembly Chapter reworked those Collier County resolutions, which were later submitted to Sarasota County for consideration.
*I can't tell when a video is restricted to viewing on YouTube only. I think this is an interesting video - however if you want to watch it you'll have to click the link and watch it on YouTube.
Freedom-based' health care clinic in Venice, FL concerns mainstream medical community
A new "freedom-based" clinic opened in Venice, Florida, a few months ago. Investigative Reporter Kaite LaGrone takes you inside and introduces you to its doctors who have lost jobs.
Clinic touts ivermectin & hydroxychloroquine but says no to all vaccines.
In the quiet beachside city of Venice on Florida’s west coast, a new ‘freedom-based’ healthcare clinic is already making waves.
“I don't understand why people are so judgmental towards us,” said clinic co-owner Tanya Parus.
At the office, medical freedom is not just words on mobile billboard parked outside, it’s a guiding principle inside explained Parus, who opened the ‘We the People Health and Wellness Center’ back in September.
When Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone asked what medical freedom means, Parus responded, “The freedom to make your own healthcare decisions without being pushed or forced to do anything that you don't want to do.”
Parus, a mom of two and former EMT, said she was inspired to open the primary care clinic after what she witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People were not going to see their doctor because they were scared,” she said. “They didn't want to get vaccinated and felt pressured to do things that they didn't want to do.”
Parus, local chapter president of the conservative group Moms for America, is also part of a right-wing movement in Sarasota County that took off during the pandemic amid lockdowns and mask mandates. At one point, she helped hundreds of parents get signed waivers exempting their kids from having to wear masks to school.
“We had over 3000 people in line. It was insane,” she recalled about the anti-mask event.
Today, some of the same doctors and nurses who signed those mask exemption forms work at her clinic, and she said many of the families they helped are among their estimated 400 patients.
Last edited by wondermint2; 12-08-2023 at 06:49 AM..
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