Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

City Releases 1.2 Million Gallons of Sewage into Manatee River

For full article:

https://thebradentontimes.com/storie...ee-river,76627

BRADENTON — On Wednesday, approximately 1.2 million gallons of mostly raw sewage was bypassed and discharged into the Manatee River.

"At 12:10 pm the city water Reclamation Facility experienced an operational failure," read the FDEP pollution notice. "The filter system had a blockage of the media causing 1.2 million gallons of partially treated wastewater to be bypassed into the Manatee River. The bypass was closed at 5:10 pm and the river sampling was started. City staff cleaned the aeras affected and a normal operation resumed."

In 2022, the city settled a lawsuit regarding wastewater spilling into the Manatee River, agreeing to improve its wastewater infrastructure significantly.

Bradenton spilled 1.2 million gallons of sewage into Manatee River. What happens next?

For full article:

https://www.newsbreak.com/bradenton-...t-happens-next

Last week, over 1 million gallons of partially treated sewage from Bradenton were discharged into the Manatee River due to a blockage at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

It’s the first major wastewater spill reported since the city settled a lawsuit in 2022 with Suncoast Waterkeeper for releasing too much pollution into the river . The agreement required Bradenton to make major upgrades to its wastewater treatment facilities to prevent future spills.

Bradenton officials say those changes are underway and should be finished by 2032. They include $20 million in upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant and another $20 million to overhaul the city’s wastewater collection system, City Administrator Rob Perry said.

But in the meantime, the city’s aged infrastructure is still causing problems, Perry said.

“We are trying to fix legacy problems that have plagued the city for quite some time,” Perry said. “ The goal is to have no spills at all.”

But the local environmental protection group is holding the city accountable for the sewage release and urging government leaders to share water quality testing results for the spill area.

“We’ve been working with the city to improve its infrastructure and the way it reports these spills,” said Abbey Tyrna, executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper.

[wondermint2]

Manatee County performer reflects on her family's history in the circus (Video)

For full article & video:

https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2...-inspire-women

Germana Meluzzi is an eighth-generation circus performer who says performing runs in her blood.

Her mother, Silvana "Cha Cha" Meluzzi, was also a circus performer and made history.

Both she and her family have always felt that the circus is their home and they have always felt included in a diverse group of people.

[wondermint2]

SUV crashes into two Port Charlotte houses, leaving heavy damage


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0bztRrVoQ

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

HCA Hospital nurses across the Gulf Coast rally for better work conditions

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/oth...8cb9f9c7&ei=68

Nurses from eight HCA hospitals on the Gulf Coast rallied on Monday across the Suncoast.

Over a dozen gathered outside of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte. They held up signs that read things like “HCA You Can’t Hide” and “Put Patients Over Profit.”

They are calling for better work conditions ahead of their contracts expiring on May 31. They made demands regarding critical issues with staffing, safety, and services.

“I would like to see one of them be in one of our assignments when we’re nine to one and expect us to wait on them and take good care of them, and send them home with a good outcome, when we don’t have enough staff to give them the proper care,” said Carolyn Wright, an RN at HCA Doctors Hospital in Sarasota, who was also a part of the rally.

HCA is the largest hospital chain in the country, with over 180 hospitals in their network. The company self-reported $5.2 billion in profits for the 2023 year. The nurses say this is about greed.

“It’s about money, it’s about giving what their shareholders want but at the end of the day they’re making money off of our skills,” said Valerie Jean, an RN at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital, who was chanting at the rally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt5RW3Dm3ak

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Lakewood Ranch will expand in 2024 and beyond. Here's what to expect.

For full article & photos:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...4953e9be&ei=31

Lakewood Ranch, the largest multi-generational master-planned community in the U.S., has spent its 30 years in the Manatee-Sarasota region tailoring its development to what home-buyers want.

Proximity to nature has been a constant, senior Vice President Laura Cole said, but trends have come and gone since the master-planned community first broke ground. Wide open space, proximity to neighbors, bigger houses, smaller ones — every layout has had its moment in the sun.

But these days, Cole said buyers don’t just want one thing: They want everything. Catering to the modern consumer is as much about shopping centers and office space as it is about the area’s beloved nature trails and green space.

“When I want the activity, I want to have it, but I also need to decompress in this world,” Cole said. “We don’t shortchange that.”

That’s where development is headed in 2024 and beyond, Cole said. As Lakewood Ranch looks to expand into the new year, it's keeping lifestyle at the forefront, building all-encompassing communities that service all its residents’ needs.

Current development trends point to a preference for new urbanism, an approach that promotes walkability and accessibility by placing a variety of lifestyle components close together. Put simply, people want to work, shop, eat, exercise and socialize where they live, and a recent uptick in mixed-use development proposals reflect that desire.

Mixed-use developments like Waterside Park — an 8-acre community on Kingfisher Lake — emphasize this access, with restaurants, office buildings, nature trails and stores adjacent to townhomes. Master-planned communities like Lakewood Ranch saw this trend coming, Cole said, and prepared accordingly.

“You have a plan and a vision and principles, but you also have to be adaptable to market changes,” Cole said. “This is a perfect example of the flavor that we’re offering.”

Lakewood Ranch has nine new neighborhoods and villages in progress — including the multigenerational Saddlestone, the age-restricted Del Webb and the Calusa National Golf development. Erickson Senior Living, a national retirement community developer, will also break ground on the 1,200-unit Emerson Lakes development.

Last year also saw more than 2,000 home sales: a figure that’s held steady, Cole said, for the past five years or so. More than 26,000 single-family homes, townhomes, apartments and other living spaces are either built or under construction in Lakewood Ranch to keep up with demand.

Schools, retail centers with local vendors, healthcare facilities, entertainment centers and other amenities are also in the pipeline as Lakewood Ranch looks to expand to eastern parts of Sarasota and Manatee counties. The plans are alarming to some (a group of residents in the Bern Creek Ranches filed a lawsuit challenging the proposed Lakewood Ranch Southeast expansion last November), but Cole anticipates they will ultimately aid the Sarasota-Manatee area as it continues to grow.

Shop and socialize where you live: More mixed-use housing coming to Lakewood Ranch

Lakewood Ranch has nine new neighborhoods and villages in progress.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpFbsCtgw-M

[wondermint2]

Students in Sarasota help with forensic reconstruction

Students at Ringling College of Art and Design are using 3-D printed skulls of real victims to recreate faces. They hope the project will bring new leads to unsolved cases.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6JAFiHby1I

[wondermint2]

Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’ commits a ‘First Amendment sin,’ appeals court says in ruling that blocks a portion of the bill

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...ll/ar-BB1jmBf4

A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling that part of Florida’s anti-“woke” law infringes on the free speech rights of employers.

“The government cannot favor some viewpoints over others without inviting First Amendment scrutiny,” the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said in its ruling Monday.

The Individual Freedom Act, better known as the “Stop WOKE Act,” was one of several bills Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in 2022 as part of his war on “woke ideology.” It was intended to prevent teachings or mandatory workplace activities that suggest a person is privileged or oppressed based necessarily on their race, color, sex or national origin.

“The ideas targeted in Florida’s Individual Freedom Act are embraced in some communities, and despised in others,” the ruling said. “By limiting its restrictions to a list of ideas designated as offensive, the Act targets speech based on its content. And by barring only speech that endorses any of those ideas, it penalizes certain viewpoints – the greatest First Amendment sin.”

CNN has reached out to DeSantis’ office for comment.

[wondermint2]

Groups to demand resignation of Bridgett Ziegler at school board meeting

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/gr...7abc9274&ei=28

Organizations will be making their voices heard again, calling for Bridget Ziegler to resign at a Sarasota County School Board meeting Tuesday evening.

The rally will be held by See Alliance, ahead of tonight’s meeting.

The newly-founded group “School Sanity Project” is also set to launch their own campaign tonight. The organization’s mission statement says they aim to “protect the educational environment from divisive and dangerous right-wing ideologies.”

The group recently unveiled a new truck with Ziegler’s face on it back in February. This is all amid the state attorney’s investigation of video voyeurism charges against her husband, Christian, after SPD detectives found a sex tape between Ziegler and the woman who would later accuse him of rape.
He has since been cleared of sexual battery charges.

The rally will be at the school board chambers starting at 5 p.m.

[wondermint2]

U.S. Rep. Steube criticizes Mayorkas on illegal immigration following Englewood, FL rape case

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...7abc9274&ei=37

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube is criticizing U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over an alleged sex crime in Englewood, joining the ranks of Republicans trumpeting calls for action on illegal immigration by tethering the issue to serious crimes.

Steube is a cosponsor of H.R. 863 to impeach Mayorkas, and on Feb. 13, he was among House of Representatives members who narrowly voted 214 to 213 in favor of impeaching Mayorkas.

He sent a letter to Mayorkas on Friday demanding the case history, border crossing documentation, and other detailed information on Santo Felix Cruz-Ramos, an undocumented immigrant arrested for rape on Feb. 26 in Englewood. He also referenced other cases.

According to the letter, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office obtained video of Cruz-Ramos entering the hotel room of a woman who claims he raped her. Surveillance video also shows Cruz-Ramos running out of the room.

"I sent a letter to Mayorkas demanding information about when Cruz-Ramos was released into our country and what was known about him at the time," Steube said. "Every state is a border state under Biden-Mayorkas policies. Without a new president who will shut down the border, every state will soon experience what Texas and Arizona have been dealing with for years.”

[wondermint2]

Another 'much-needed' affordable housing apartment complex is coming to Manatee County

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...66fdad5a&ei=25

A new plan to bring 312 units of multi-family housing, with more than 25% designated as affordable, is being fast-tracked by Manatee County Government.

The planned development on 18 acres at 6350 Prospect Road is on land zoned for agricultural uses. The project would require the Manatee County Commission to approve a rezoning request to allow for residential construction.

"The project would provide much-needed affordable housing in an area that is close to employment opportunities and public transportation," according to the filing with Manatee County Development Services.

The cost of monthly rent for this new affordable housing complex has not been determined yet. As a general rule of thumb, affordable housing should cost no more than 30% of a resident's income for rent or mortgage payments.

Due to the shortage of affordable housing in the Bradenton area, Manatee County Government prioritizes the processing of affordable housing developments.

The developer of the project has not been identified.

"The staff has only completed one round of review for this project and comments were returned to the applicant less than a week ago, so it's too early to tell when the hearings will be," Bill Logan, the county's information outreach director, said in an email.

"The applicant is the engineering firm, so a known developer is not known," Logan said.

A Michael Saunders & Company for sale sign on the property shows that it is under contract. A representative with the real estate company declined to identify the buyer.

The heavily wooded property is south of Saunders Road and is bounded by the Pearce Canal on the west.

Improvements to Saunders Road are currently being designed and permitted by Manatee County Government. Saunders Road is also known as 63rd Avenue East.