Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

Manatee County Sheriff's Office Marine Deputies Save Two People Pulled By A Rip Current (Video)

For video:

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/33455...-a-rip-current

[wondermint2]

Opinion - Developers and their puppets have ensured that growth will not pay for itself

For full article:

https://www.thebradentontimes.com/st...r-itself,75703

This week, Manatee County’s propaganda department lauded its developer-funded lackeys for “proposing an impact fee increase.” Let’s take a closer look at what actually happened.

There has long existed a myth that communities can grow themselves to prosperity, that even rampant development merely grows the tax base. Although developer lackeys still peddle this myth, we have known for the better part of half a century that growth does not even pay for itself, let alone add revenue to the tax base.

After years and years of impact fees being kept artificially low in order to fatten developers' bottom lines, they will slowly increase to an amount that remains far less than currently required. Anyone who tells you that is a victory does not represent your best interests.

[wondermint2]

Project Prosper non-profit expanding its services into Manatee County (Video)

For full article & video:

https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2...per-expansion#

Project Prosper is a non-profit based out of Clearwater helping asylum seekers and immigrants adjust to the U.S. financial system

The non-profit has focused its services in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties, but it is now expanding into Manatee County

Maria Luciana Jones is a past participant in the program and now volunteers to help people on their financial literacy journey

[wondermint2]

Road Construction Updates for Manatee and Sarasota Residents - Week of February 25, 2024

For the full list:

https://www.mympo.org/blog/traffic-w...bruary-25-2024

Motorists are reminded to wear safety belts and drive with caution, courtesy, common sense, and patience as they travel through work zones. Remember, speeding fines are doubled in work zones.

As a reminder, travelers can visit www.FL511.com or dial “511” from their phone to learn about traffic conditions on major roadways across the state. If you know before you go, you can plan accordingly and save time and money.

[wondermint2]

Downtown Venice Art Classic March 2-3


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

[wondermint2]

East Gate Park upgrades completed in Venice


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_CD7Bc68XU

[wondermint2]

Ride for Israel goes through Sarasota


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6CrteMR20E

[wondermint2]

1950s Florida murder case inspires world premiere musical at Westcoast Black Theatre

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news...754e5ba1&ei=22

The COVID pandemic forced a four-year delay for Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe to present the world premiere of its first original musical, created by founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs and several collaborators.

On Feb. 28, after two previous efforts were canceled because of COVID, audiences will finally get to see “Ruby,” a musical based on a true story from 1952 in Live Oak, Florida. It gives voice to Ruby McCollum, whom Jacobs describes as “a strong Black Florida woman” who stood up for herself in 1952 when she shot and killed a white doctor and rising politician who had forced her into a sexual relationship and fathered two of her children.

What is most surprising to Jacobs and several cast members is that Ruby wasn’t sentenced to life or death as might have been expected of a Black woman at the time. Ruby was a businesswoman herself, who helped her husband run a gambling operation, and the knowledge she had about those placing bets along with law enforcement friends she paid off for protection, helped her survive.

The musical that begins performances next week is vastly different than the one that was two weeks into rehearsals in 2020 when it was shut down. It was revised even further after a 2022 attempt that was undone by a COVID outbreak among cast members.

“It’s extraordinarily different,” said Larry Alexander, who has watched the show develop through workshops and rehearsals over the last few years. He plays Dr. C. Leroy Adams. “I’m guessing about 75 percent of the score is new and the book has been rewritten. It keeps evolving.”

--------------------------------------------

‘Ruby’

Book by Nate Jacobs and Michael Jacobs, lyrics by Michael Jacobs, music by Nate Jacobs, Nehemiah Luckett, Brennan Stylez and Antonio Wimberly. Directed by Nate Jacobs. Feb. 28-April 7, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $50, $20 for students and active military and $40 for previews. 941-366-1505; https://www.westcoastblacktheatre.org/

[wondermint2]

Record-shattering? Will uncharted ocean warmth point to active hurricane season?

For full article & graphs:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/to...54e5ba1&ei=100

Meteorologists were astonished by last year’s unprecedented sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic. And yet, they are even more deviant right now, especially in the main hurricane development region of the Tropical Atlantic.

As of mid-February, average sea surface temperatures in the vast North Atlantic Basin are running about 2 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1990-2020 normal and almost 3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1980s.

That may not sound like a lot, but consider this is averaged over the majority of the basin shown in the red outline in the image above. A deviation like that is unheard of — until now.

To put it into more relatable terms, considering what’s been normal for the most recent 30 years, the statistical chance that any February day would be as warm as it is right now is 1-in-280,000. That’s not a typo. This is according to University of Miami Researcher Brian McNoldy. You can see what statisticians call the standard deviation in his graph below.

That 1-in-280,000 is compared to a recent climate, which had already been warmed substantially by climate change. If you tried to compare it to a climate considered normal around the year 1900, the math would become nonsensical — meaning an occurrence like this simply would not be possible.

But the warming of the Atlantic Ocean is not just symbolic, it has real-world consequences, and we have been seeing that over the past couple of decades with juiced-up hurricane seasons. Warm water provides more fuel for developing tropical storms and more intense hurricanes.

So it is instructive to compare water temperatures in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean with previous years that ended up having active hurricane seasons.

In the image below, we compare February sea surface temperatures with 2005, 2010, 2020, and 2024. The number of named storms each year is on the right side of the maps. This vividly illustrates not just that February 2024 is warmer than in other years, but it’s in a league of its own.

So what does this mean for hurricane season? Well, it is too early to know with great certainty, partially because the water temperatures may moderate before the season, but warm February sea surface temperatures do often correlate with active hurricane seasons.

With that in mind and given we are expecting a transition to La Niña in the Pacific, all signs are pointing to a busy hurricane season in the Atlantic — perhaps even a hyperactive one. Only time will tell, but we do have some guidance to help us.

Thanks to Tropical Tidbits, you can see the long-range forecast for July, August, and September from the North American Multi-Model Ensemble, which is a seasonal forecasting system that consists of multiple forecast models from North American modeling centers.

The first image shows forecast water temperatures. What jumps out is the below-normal water (blue strip) in the tropical Pacific Ocean. That is the signal for a robust La Niña, which correlates to active Atlantic Hurricane seasons because it reduces wind shear. Also, notice tropical Atlantic Ocean stays very warm (orange) on the model, providing high-octane fuel for storms.

Taking it one step further, we can look at rainfall anomalies in the Atlantic, which show the forecast departure from normal for rainfall in July, August, and September. You can see a wide strip of green emanating from Africa and the deep tropical Atlantic, pointed west-northwest into the Caribbean.

While this does not show tropical storms and hurricanes directly, if the models are right, it shows us that there will be an excess of thunderstorms across that swath. With warm water and low wind shear in the Atlantic, it’s reasonable to assume there will be a better chance for storms to organize and intensify.

And unlike last year, the storm track portrayed by the models — visualized by the green swath — is towards the Caribbean. Last year, it showed a clear signal for storms to recurve out into the open Atlantic. So that’s an ominous sign for 2024.

To summarize, all signs point to an active hurricane season. In fact, it’s hard to get away from the conclusion that it may very well be a hyperactive season.

What we have working in our favor is that there is a lot of time for things to change — perhaps La Niña won’t form or the Atlantic will cool. Those are not out of the realm of possibilities, but at least we have plenty of time to prepare.

[wondermint2]

Highest-earning zip codes in North Port/Sarasota/Bradenton metro area

https://stacker.com/florida/north-po...ort-metro-area

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-earning zip codes in North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Zip codes were mapped to city using Simple Maps. Counties are ranked by 2019 5-year estimate median household income.