Sarasota & Manatee Counties news thread

[wondermint2]

First Documented Leatherback Sea Turtle Nest Found on Manasota Key

For full article & photo:

https://englewoodreview.com/news/202...-manasota-key/

Visitors from all over the world come to Englewood, and now a never-documented sea turtle species has nested on Manasota Key. The Coastal Wildlife Club sea turtle patrol is ecstatic to announce that the first recorded leatherback sea turtle nest has been documented on Manasota Key.

They shared some facts about this species on their Facebook page (Coastal Wildlife Club). Leatherbacks are the largest of the seven sea turtle species. They do not have a bony shell like other species of sea turtles. Unlike other sea turtle species, they have scaleless (rubbery) skin

[wondermint2]

Police Beat for June 8, 2024

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office reported the following arrests:

For the full list:

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/34851...or-june-8-2024

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Mainly dry Sunday, then lots of rain likely next week!

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2024/06/0...outputType=amp

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Again on Sunday, a few thunderstorms are likely near and east of I-75. Beaches and coastal cities stay mainly dry except for a morning shower at our southern beaches. We’re still tracking some tropical moisture starting Tuesday. Afternoon and evening storms will be scattered Tuesday, then Wednesday and Thursday could bring more widespread rain and thunderstorms, then back to scattered hit-and-miss storms into next weekend. Average rain for June is 7.05″ for the entire month – We could see that much and possibly more in the next 7 days.

Week #2 of Hurricane Season and still no tropical storms popping up. There are areas of heavy rain in the Caribbean, but no organized storms at this time. La Nina conditions don’t kick in until late July or August. La Nina creates more favorable conditions for tropical storms, but it is not here yet.

Tropical systems in June: Berardelli Bonus


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqqjQHL39Fs

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Fire Charity Fishing Tournament & Festival kicks off in Bradenton this weekend

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fi...fc7e0e11&ei=51

If you are looking for weekend plans, the Fire Charity Fishing Tournament & Festival will be held at Rossi Park in Bradenton.

The annual event was founded in 2006 and raises awareness for the Children’s Burn Camp of Florida.

“If you have facial burns or something like that, this world is a different place. You put those kids together and they feel normal,” Fire Charity Fishing Foundation Founder Erik Nicholson said.

FCFF also raises funds for firefighter and EMT scholarships.

Festivities kick off on Saturday with the kids’ tournament at 8:45 a.m., followed by the festival at 11 am.

“Paul Hebert from Wicked Tuna is actually going to come and present the prizes to the kids,” Nicholson said.

Dozens of food and drink vendors will be on-site during the event, as well as live music and raffles.

The festival will also be open to the public on Sunday which will be when several teams check in for the live weigh-in.

“To be able to get together for a really great cause with good people is awesome,” Nicholson said.

Since 2006, FCFF has raised more than $250,000 for local charities.

For more info:

https://firecharityfishing.com/event-info/

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

[wondermint2]

Newtown resident to challenge Battie for Sarasota City Commission District 1 seat

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ne...c7e9323b&ei=14

Newtown resident Sequoia Felton announced she will challenge Kyle Battie to represent District 1 in the Sarasota City Commission.

“The economic outlook for Sarasota’s working residents remains bleak as rents and homeowner insurance rates have increased at a far faster clip than the salaries of the service workers required to support a prospering and livable Sarasota for all,” Felton said in a campaign press release.

District 1 encompasses the Newtown neighborhood and contains Sarasota’s only historically Black voting bloc. The district also includes the Gillespie Park and Bayou Oaks neighborhoods.

Felton told the Herald-Tribune she feels that green spaces in her district are disappearing and that overdevelopment in Sarasota needs to be more environmentally sustainable.

[wondermint2]

Arts Editor: Music Festival shakes up traditions as Summer Circus expands

For full column:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news...c7e9323b&ei=22

Local arts news column from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

[wondermint2]

Affordable housing crisis impacts Manatee’s school employees. District has a new idea

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...c7e9323b&ei=31

The Manatee County School Board is in talks with a developer to provide affordable housing for teachers and other school district staff who struggle to afford a place to live.

One Stop Housing wants to build 132 apartments on five acres of district-owned land at 2501 63rd Ave. E, Bradenton, next to the Professional Support Center. There are no plans to build a school there, district officials say.

The project would include two four-story buildings with a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. The amenities would include a clubhouse, a workspace, a laundry room and a washer and dryer in one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Superintendent Jason Wysong said the district plans to survey teachers and staff to get a clearer picture of the demand for workforce housing.

Kevin Chapman, the district’s executive director of administration, said the survey will ask whether employees rent or own, how many bedrooms they have, what they pay for rent and what they think they should pay.

Mark Vengroff, managing partner for One Stop Housing, said the survey could influence the final shape of the apartments, which are expected to cost no more than 30% of a teacher’s monthly salary.

One Stop Housing is the developer behind Robin’s Apartments, near U.S. 301 and First Street West, where rent is $825 a month. Vengroff’s company recently broke ground on a new affordable housing project, The Nest at Robin’s, which will add another 182 workforce housing units in that area.

[wondermint2]

BUSINESS PEOPLE: Empath Health expands leadership team (and other local business news)

For the full 'Business People' column from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/othe...c7e9323b&ei=33

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Photo Gallery: Sarasota's Palm Avenue Parking

For photo gallery:

https://www.heraldtribune.com/pictur...g/74014715007/

People are having some difficulty while navigating the pay station. They feel the parking should be free. Twenty downtown Sarasota businesses have petitioned the city to restore 2-hour street parking on Palm Avenue and threatened to sue.

Downtown Sarasota merchants push for return to free parking on Palm Avenue, consider suit

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...c7e9323b&ei=42

Representatives of more than 20 downtown Sarasota businesses have petitioned the city to restore two-hour street parking on Palm Avenue, and threatened a lawsuit to make it happen.

The “Palm Avenue Merchants Petition” says business owners have been severely impacted by what they refer to as an unfair city metered parking policy that was implemented in 2019.

“Our older clients want the ability to park their cars and run into our shops to pick something up or have a one-hour lunch without the hassle of trying to figure out the (parking payment) terminals or the complicated phone app” through which payments can be made, the petition said.

Jeremy Thayer owns Thayer Jewelers on Palm Avenue – a glitzy, upscale shop across the street from a condominium construction zone. Thayer presented the petition to the City Commission at a meeting last month, complaining that since the metered parking was implemented, parking spaces have been filled all day by construction crews.

“I’ve had people come in and tell me they’re never coming downtown again,” Thayer said.

Why do downtown Sarasota merchants oppose paid parking?

Thayer feels that the city parking policy has unfairly targeted Main Street and Palm Avenue businesses and is pushing business to the University Town Center. He also complained that Parking Division Manager Broxton Harvey has not been communicative.

Thayer said he and the business owners have discussed the logistics of a potential lawsuit against the city, but have not consulted formally with an attorney. He did not specify what legal arguments such a lawsuit might use.

[wondermint2]

Florida authorities warn of shark dangers along Gulf Coast beaches after 3 people are attacked

For full article:

https://www.fox13news.com/news/flori...e-attacked.amp

Authorities are using boats to patrol the ocean and warning swimmers about sharks this weekend along Florida’s Gulf Coast, where a woman and two teenage girls were hurt in two separate shark attacks on Friday.

The attacks off beaches in the Florida Panhandle led authorities to temporarily close several beaches to swimmers on Friday. Beaches were reopened Saturday, with flags warning of high hazards.

"All I can say is that these incidents are very rare," said Demian Chapman, a scientist and director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida.

"It’s even more rare to have two events in one day involving three people," he told The Associated Press on Saturday. "That’s astronomically low odds of that happening."

Small fish are traveling in schools near the shore this time of year, which might have been a contributing factor in the attacks, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

There’s no way of knowing whether it was one shark or two separate ones involved in Friday’s attacks, but there are more sharks in the Gulf of Mexico than in past years, Chapman said.

"There’s definitely been a recovery of sharks in the Gulf after many years of overfishing," he said. "They’re sort of out there again after being depleted quite a bit."