Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

C’est La Vie’s Second Location Opened May 7th in Lakewood Ranch

Owners Christophe and Géraldine Coutelle opened their first location in 1997 in downtown Sarasota.

For full article:

https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/eat...lakewood-ranch

For almost two decades, C’est La Vie has delivered a cup of joie de vivre to Main Street diners in the mood for crêpes, quiches, croissants, sandwiches and salads. On Tuesday a second location opened in Lakewood Ranch.

For those keeping track: yes, C’est La Vie franchised a second location that opened out east back in 2016. However, that location’s owners, Myriam and Jean Dandonneau, ultimately rebranded the restaurant as Mademoiselle Paris in 2021. (Like C’est La Vie, Mademoiselle Paris also has a downtown Sarasota location.)

The new Lakewood Ranch C’est La Vie, however, will be run by Christophe and Géraldine Coutelle, the owners of the original downtown Sarasota location, which opened in 1997.

“We are so excited to finally open our own second location in Lakewood Ranch,” says Christophe Coutelle. “We have had customers asking for this for years—it is wonderful to see it finally launch.”

Coutelle and his wife, Géraldine, opened the downtown Sarasota C’est La Vie in 1997.

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*C’est La Vie Lakewood Ranch will be open Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 9118 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch. For more information call (941) 916-0111 or click here:

https://www.cestlaviesarasota.com/contact/

[wondermint2]

Top residential real estate sales for April 22-26 in Lakewood Ranch

For full article:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...akewood-ranch/

A home in Lakehouse Cove at Waterside tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Richard and Mary Ann Betz sold their home at 720 Crosswind Ave. to Linda Snow and Dwaine Snow, trustees, of Sarasota, for $2.75 million. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,508 square feet of living area.

[wondermint2]

Opinion - Destined for dissolution?

The Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation should pull out The Bay Park Conservancy playbook. The foundation, city and county are not in alignment.

For full article:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...r-dissolution/

The good news is the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation, formerly the Van Wezel Foundation, Monday pulled itself and the Sarasota City Commission and administration out of a big, troublesome, nasty jam. The foundation announced it would cover the $8.8 million cost of the architectural design concept for a new performing arts center.

Had it not done so, you pretty much could have concluded the reality of a new performing arts hall in The Bay Park was dead.

It still could be. The foundation’s commitment is keeping the project alive — but only for a short time. Unless …

It’s not exaggerating to say there is a chasm as wide as Sarasota Bay separating two parties from the third — city officials and Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation on one side and the Sarasota County Commission far out to sea on the other.

The obvious observation from watching how this whole process is unfolding is this: The parties are not in alignment. At all. They’re not in alignment on the tax increment financing, to begin with; on the wording in the interlocal agreement between the city and county; on how the TIF money is to be spent; on the process under way; or, and this is the most crucial part, on the overall vision, objectives, ambition and the why of the project.

Unless the parties are brought into alignment, the results are predictable: intractable disagreement, dissension and distrust; lack of will; and, inevitably, dissolution. The bad feelings and scars last for years, often decades.

This pronounced dis-alignment was on full display April 24, when the five members of the Bay Park Improvement Board met to consider a request from the city administration for approval of $44 million to fund the architectural portion of the project.

[wondermint2]

I hate bitcoin. It's like a 'pet rock' pyramid scheme. There's barely any businesses that accept it. It's not an excange mechanism useful in society. The only reason it has value is because of 'the greater fool theory' that someone will be willing to pay more for it. That and the fact that criminals like it.

Bradenton woman loses $6,200 in Bitcoin scheme


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz9ABOWf-7g

A Bradenton woman is sharing her story about a new scheme she fell for that left her out $6,200.

It’s a scheme law enforcement said is hitting the Tampa Bay area hard. It involves a Bitcoin machine, “government lockers” and thieves impersonating law enforcement.

For full article:

https://www.wfla.com/8-on-your-side/...in-scheme/amp/

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Sarasota School Board rejects Title IX protections against gender identity discrimination

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sa...2baf6ebf&ei=24

Following a five-hour meeting Tuesday evening, the Sarasota County School Board approved a resolution to reject new federal protections against gender identity discrimination in a divisive 4-1 vote.

The vote came as board member Bridget Ziegler brought forward the resolution to reject the new Title IX regulations days ahead of the meeting. Not following federal regulations could put the district's federal funding at risk — about $50 million annually that goes toward schools with a high number of students from lower income families who benefit from free and reduced lunch programs, among others. Board member Tom Edwards cast the dissenting vote.

The resolution states that sex is "defined as biological male or biological female (only two sexes); is an immutable characteristic that cannot be changed, fluid, or altered" and that the district supports Gov. Ron DeSantis' legal challenge to the U.S. Secretary of Education and Department of Education rule changes to Title IX. It recommends that the district make no changes to its compliance amid changes from the federal Education Department's changes to Title IX.

Sarasota school board passes resolution rejecting new Title IX guidelines


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

[wondermint2]

European model hurricane season forecast: Berardelli Bonus


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnQ62QDdXYs

[wondermint2]

Cops Corner - Evicted couple fills the dumpster on the way out

Large furniture and other items placed in and around an apartment complex's trash left it inaccessible. This and other Sarasota Police Department reports in this week's Cops Corner.

For the full column:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...ills-dumpster/

[wondermint2]

Top residential real estate sales for April 22-26 in Longboat, Lido, St. Armands, Bird Key

For full article:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...tate-longboat/

A home in Sleepy Lagoon tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Randall Welch and Cynthia Heit-Welch, trustees, of Longboat Key, sold the home at 6111 Gulf of Mexico Drive to SYM USA Real Estate LP for $8.5 million. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,320 square feet of living area. It sold for $6.1 million in 2021.

[wondermint2]

Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation Welcomes M/I Homes of Sarasota to its Builders Give Back Program

https://www.srqmagazine.com/srq-dail...e-Back-Program

The Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation (LWRCF) is pleased to welcome M/I Homes of Sarasota’s Village Nautique to its Builders Give Back program.

Through this program, which launched in May 2023, builders make a $100 donation per closing to the LWRCF in the name of the new homeowner. M/I Homes of Sarasota joins the other builders currently participating in the program: Anchor Builders, AR Homes, Homes By Towne, John Cannon Homes, Lee Wetherington Homes, Neal Communities, Neal Signature Homes, Pulte Homes, and Stock Luxury Homes.

The program is further supported by Lakewood Ranch Communities, which donates a matching $100 per closing to the LWRCF. The Builders Give Back program benefits the LWRCF by developing engagement with homeowners in their community and introducing them to local philanthropy, which in turn will help create support for the LWRCF into the future.

The mission of the LWRCF, which is financed fully by residents and businesses, is to enhance the quality of life in and near the Lakewood Ranch community by responding to local needs, granting funds, and building lasting relationships. As Lakewood Ranch continues to grow, the needs of the community – including human services, education, animal services, and arts and culture – will also grow. For more information, visit https://lwrcf.org or call (941) 208-6799.

[wondermint2]

Another Sarasota mall owner seeks to build residences on the property

For full article:

https://archive.is/QJEdH

Mall redevelopment is sweeping the country as people shop online, and the trend is catching on in Sarasota. One of the trends within the trends is to reimagine the properties as work-live-play lifestyle centers.

Sarasota Square Mall, in south Sarasota, to cite one example, is at the start of a redevelopment process that will involve demolition of the mall building, with the exception of J.C. Penney, to allow for mixed-use development including both commercial and residential buildings.

Now east Manatee County-based Benderson Development, owners of the Crossings at Siesta Key Mall, about 5 miles north of Sarasota Square off of Tamiami Trail, are taking an initial, procedural step toward making its property something more than just a shopping center. (Crossings at Siesta Key used to be named the Southgate Mall, and for several years mall giant Westfield owned both Southgate and Sarasota Square.)