Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

Historic Bradenton home coming back to life with complete renovation

Home belonged to one of original settlers of Forgartyville -- in present day west Bradenton

For full article and video:

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/r...ete-renovation

A piece of history in Bradenton has slowly been coming back to life.

The home of Bartholomew “Tole” Fogarty and his wife was saved from demolition a couple years ago, when retired veterinarian Dr. Hall Ott purchased it.

The Fogarty Brothers, John, William, and Bartholomew, founded the town of Fogartyville—in what today is part of the westside of Bradenton.

The 152-year-old home will soon grace Riverview Boulevard with its elegant grace and modern upgrades – such as hurricane impact windows and a master suite.

It’s not your average remodel. The biggest challenge mixing modern technology into a primitive house.

[wondermint2]

Lawmakers vow to consider bills to improve HOA transparency, accountability

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...dd1fb4fc&ei=73

State lawmakers told a group of frustrated Suncoast residents recently they will consider legislation this session that could rein in abusive homeowner associations.

At a town hall meeting in Osprey, two of Sarasota County’s representatives, Republicans Fiona McFarland and James Buchanan, listened to about 50 residents share experiences they characterized as HOAs running amok -- assessing arbitrary fines, trespassing, hiding financial data and embezzling funds.

“I can’t find a single person who’s happy with their HOA,” McFarland said at the meeting at Pine View School. She promised to consider any proposed legislation to regulate HOAs and their officers. “This has been illuminating for me,” she said.

[wondermint2]

The ‘Lilly Glaubach Act’ aims to track down hit-and-run drivers

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/th...950be267&ei=29

Florida lawmakers will consider a bill next year designed to help police track down hit-and-run drivers by requiring auto repair shops to collect and submit crash reports before repairs can begin.

Senate Bill 194 is named The Lilly Glaubach Act, after the 13-year-old Osprey girl who was killed while riding her bike home from school in 2022.

The bill, filed by Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota, would require repair shops to ask the owner of a vehicle damaged in a collision to provide a written crash report from police before a written estimate is prepared.

If the owner does not provide a crash report, the repair shop would be required to complete its own report that would be sent to local law enforcement within 24 hours.

[wondermint2]

Downtown Sarasota project of townhomes and commercial space a step closer to construction

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...on/ar-AA1jlc4L

A new mixed-use development is one step closer to construction in downtown Sarasota.

Premier at Main, a project consisting of 20 townhomes and commercial space, has received partial signoff from the Development Review Committee. The project, located at 1625 Fourth St., will be built on one and a half acres just off Orange Avenue in Sarasota’s downtown edge and downtown neighborhood districts.

[wondermint2]

Piney Point update: Retention pond at former phosphate plant drained of water

For full article & video:

https://www.fox13news.com/news/piney...nted-water.amp

Crews are making progress at Piney Point. The first of four gypsum stacks at the former phosphate plant have been drained of water.

This comes more than two years after the retention pond at Piney Point began to leak, causing officials to send millions of gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay. Crews have been working to safely close the site ever since.

[wondermint2]

North Port Police searching for boat scammer

For full article & photos:

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/11/0...outputType=amp

North Port Police believe the person in these pictures is committing fraud through a fake name, Julia Amber, associated with a fake shipping company named “Aplus Excellio Group” on boattrader.com.

The victim wired the funds to buy a boat, and the company became unreachable immediately afterward. Online reviews make the company seem reputable, but NPPD believes the company is an elaborate scam.

Anybody with information should call NPPD. To help in the quick arrest of this individual, the case number is 23-063373.

[wondermint2]

Venice City Council seeks to streamline court-like public hearings

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...45eef839&ei=60

After more than 24-hours of public testimony during a recent hearing on a change that would allow for the construction of a Publix-anchored shopping center at Laurel Road and Jacaranda Boulevard, the Venice City Council plans to change rules for such “quasi-judicial,” or court-like proceedings.

City Attorney Kelly Fernandez proposed the changes to the council in an Oct. 16 memo and on Oct. 24, the board gave the go-ahead to draft an ordinance to make those changes.

The council must ultimately review and approve the ordinance before any changes take effect.

“This was so exacerbated by the quasi-judicial procedure gone wild that we just recently went through," said Council Member Helen Moore, who added that at times she felt that the board was hostage to the proceedings.

[wondermint2]

Venice election: Voters to decide on two open city council seats Tuesday

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...8abe0ab6&ei=26

Venice voters will pick between incumbent Mitzie Fiedler and challenger Joan Farrell for Venice City Council Seat 1 and Dusty Feller and Ron Smith for Seat 2 when they go to the polls Tuesday, starting at 7 a.m.

As of late Friday afternoon, a total of 5,232 votes had been cast – including 569 via in-person early voting at the Supervisor of Elections Office satellite location at the Robert L. Anderson Administration Center, and 4,663 through vote-by-mail ballots.

That represents 22.92% of the city’s 2,823 registered voters.

The two Venice City Council seats are the only races on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Early voting continued through Nov. 4, while mail ballots can be dropped off from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Nov. 6 at the Supervisor of Elections located at the Robert L. Anderson Administration Center, 4000 S Tamiami Trail, Room 114, Venice, as well as from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Precinct 431 has been temporarily moved to the Venetian River Club, 502 Veneto Boulevard, Venice; and Precinct 437 has been temporarily moved to Waterford Sports Club, 1460 Gleneagles Drive, Venice.

For more information, visit https://www.sarasotavotes.gov/Electi...ion-Day-Voting.

Candidates feature varied backgrounds:

[wondermint2]

Bradenton Police Department’s “Don’t Block the Box” stops 13 drivers

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/11/0...outputType=amp

Bradenton Police Department conducted their “Don’t Block the Box” enforcement on 9th Street W. on Friday afternoon. A visible police presence stopped 13 drivers who were blocking an intersection.

According to a BPD social media post. when a driver enters an intersection without enough space to clear the other side, they prohibit cross traffic from moving, cause gridlock, and are endangering pedestrians, other drivers, and first responders.

Blocking the intersection is a violation of Florida Law, and if found guilty you could face a fine of $166.

[wondermint2]

There's a paywall for this article. However this is the only source for this information - so rather than not post anything about it I'm going with the only source. (Whenever there is an alternative without a paywall I always post that).

Venice pool business seeks land-rule change

https://www.yoursun.com/venice/news/...0Laurel%20Road.

The Planning Commission will consider four applications related to a single project in North Venice Tuesday, though one of them would have a citywide impact. Pool Corp wants to build a regional wholesale sales and distribution center on property at 3484 and 3490 East Laurel Road.