Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

Hit-and-run driver sought after killing bicyclist in Sarasota County

https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-c...rasota-county/

The Florida Highway Patrol said a bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run crash early Friday.

According to troopers, the crash happened just before 12:30 a.m. on Beneva Road and Wilkinson Road in Sarasota County.

Troopers said the driver fled the scene after hitting the bicyclist. The bicyclist, who was not identified, died at the scene.

Investigators are searching for a 2006 to 2010 silver Ford Fusion. They said the car has front-end damage and is missing its passenger-side mirror.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Florida Highway Patrol or Crimestoppers.

No other details were immediately available.

[wondermint2]

Person shot, killed at Sarasota intersection

https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-c...ersection/amp/

Sarasota police said a person was shot and killed at an intersection late Thursday.

According to police, the shooting happened shortly after 10 p.m. near the intersection of 31st Street and Osprey Avenue. One person, who was not identified, was shot and later died from their injuries.


Police said the shooting was an isolated incident and the public is not believed to be in danger.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the non-emergency line at 941-316-1199. You can also submit an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS or online:

Sarasota County Crime Stoppers

No other details were immediately available.

[wondermint2]

Hundreds Gather on AMI for Save Home Rule Rally

For full article & photos:

https://thebradentontimes.com/storie...le-rally,88376

Last Saturday, May 4, Holmes Beach City Field was hot, and it wasn’t just the sun! A Save Florida Home Rule rally ignited the enthusiasm of over 300 citizens who came out to learn the facts about the move to consolidate or dissolve the Anna Maria Island cities and actions to take to make their voices heard.

Organizers planned this rally as a follow-up to the April 13 Hands Across the Sand demonstration, which also drew over 300 people from on and off AMI. Florida voters and visitors alike do not want to see the charming, unique coastal communities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, and Bradenton Beach lose their identities and become prey to developers.

Rally-goers heard from city officials, residents, and Diana Shoemaker, a strong home rule candidate for the District 3 county commission seat. They were reminded that current Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge got this ball rolling by instigating the Florida statute overruling Holmes Beach ordinances to build a parking garage on Manatee Beach.

They were informed that the garage, which nobody wants, is no longer the major issue. The threat to the existence of the island cities is. If they are consolidated or dissolved and brought under the control of Bradenton or Manatee County, as has been suggested, all bets are off regarding building height and density restrictions. Current ordinances have kept the old Florida feel that residents and visitors prize. Nobody wants to see what happened in St. Petersburg Beach happen here.

Rally-goers echoed the message of the Hands demonstration to county commissioners and state legislators “Keep your hands off our Island cities.”

[wondermint2]

Bradenton martial arts instructor sexually abused student he met at studio, police say

For full article:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bradenton...095000213.html

A Bradenton martial arts instructor is facing criminal charges after detectives say he sexually abused a 14-year-old student he met at the facility.

Brennon Cooper Brown, 24, is charged with three felony counts of lewd or lascivious battery on a minor. He was an instructor at Ancient Ways Martial Arts Academy, 4774 Cortez Road, according to an arrest warrant.

Brown and the girl messaged each other on social media and began to spend time together outside of the martial arts school, investigators say. According to an arrest report, Brown sexually abused the girl between February 2023 and May 2023.

[wondermint2]

I'm not getting a paywall with this link. If any of you experience a paywall please let me know and I'll see if I can post a different link. I think the photos are better quality from the original source (the link I posted here).

Lakewood Ranch High School class of 2024 graduation (Photo Gallery)

For photo gallery:

https://www.heraldtribune.com/pictur...y/73727436007/

Lakewood Ranch High School graduates at their commencement ceremony at LECOM Park in Bradenton on Thursday. About 590 students graduated from the school.

[wondermint2]

Swim school helps adults overcome fear in the water

For full article:

https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...overcome-fear/

People travel from all over the country to attend classes with Miracle Swimming School for Adults, a company headquartered in Sarasota.

Despite the wide interest, the lessons aren't typically a topic discussed openly.

In fact, said the school’s founder Melon Dash, some adults don’t even want to talk to their spouses about taking swimming lessons.

They’ll simply tell them they’re leaving for a conference.

Despite the apprehensions of those adults regarding the topic, they are far from alone.

Dash said it is important to remember, especially during May, National Water Safety Month, that 80% of drownings are by adults, not children.

Most, she said, are because people are afraid to swim and haven't had the chance to learn how.

Polls also repeatedly find that sizable numbers of adults are unable to swim. For instance, a Lloyd's Register Foundation World Risk Poll found that 55% of people 15 and older worldwide said they cannot swim unassisted, including 24% of people within that age range in high-income economies.

According to Dash, the solution isn't just to teach adults, but to bring a different ethos entirely — an approach that isn't about constant movement, but about calm.

[wondermint2]

Top residential real estate sales for April 29 to May 3 in Lakewood Ranch

For full article:

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

A home in The Lake Club topped all transactions in this week’s real estate. Robert Shemonski and Jennifer Edmonson, of Bradenton, sold their home at 16730 Verona Place to Jeffrey and Michelle Brezek, of Bradenton, for $2,272,500. Built in 2021, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,023 square feet of living area. It sold for $986,600 in 2021.

[wondermint2]

This Bradenton bistro vanished a few years ago. Now it’s back, and customers respond

For full article & photos:

https://archive.is/hbReq#selection-835.19-835.103

Diners really missed EnRich Bistro the past four years.

So much so that when chef and owner Rich Knowles opened the reborn, reimagined restaurant at 5239 Manatee Ave. W., on Friday, May 10, he had a full house.

Then on Sunday, he served more than 400 guests for Mother’s Day.

Although it was the culmination of a two-year building project in a new location, “it was a mad dash to the finish,” Knowles said.

Fortunately, even with so many diners on Sunday, everything went smoothly, he said.

Knowles closed an earlier, smaller incarnation of EnRich Bistro in July 2020 after a six-year run with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and difficulty in coming to terms during lease negotiations.

With Knowles’ track record of dishes — tuna poke appetizer, calamari salad with wasabi dressing, buttermilk chicken with honey truffle butter — fans eagerly anticipated the return of EnRich Bistro.

[wondermint2]

How well does a diverging diamond really work?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZUKTOWF73M

It’s the latest traffic craze: the diverging diamond interchange.

Plans for two diverging diamonds are underway in Southwest Florida, and it poses the question: is it worth the hassle?

WINK News Reporter Amy Galo made the trip up to the Sarasota-Manatee County line, where the first-ever diverging diamond in Florida has been in place since 2017 and asked that question.

Intersections like these temporarily allow for two directions of traffic to cross to the left side of the road.

“You feel like you’re in Britain or something like that,” said a driver in Sarasota.

The Sarasota diverging diamond is located at Interstate 75 and University Parkway. It was put in to alleviate heavy traffic.

For full article:

https://winknews.com/2024/05/16/how-...-diamond-work/

[wondermint2]

Sarasota judge to decide about releasing Christian Ziegler's records

For full article:

https://www.newsbreak.com/sarasota-f...gler-s-records

A Sarasota judge heard arguments Thursday regarding an injunction filed by former Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler to stop the release of records obtained during a criminal investigation into sexual battery and video voyeurism .

Christian Ziegler and his wife and Sarasota County school board member Bridget Zielger appeared in court for the hearing, with Christian Ziegler taking the stand.

The Zieglers filed an injunction to protect records seized during an October investigation after Christian Ziegler was accused of rape by a woman he’d known for years.

The lawsuit seeks to have all communications in the possession of authorities destroyed. Matthew Sarelson, attorney for the Zieglers, argued the release of the information would cause great humiliation and harm to his clients’ reputations and violate their privacy.