Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer 4.17.25

Walking for a cure

Christina Greenstein lost multiple family members to ALS, including her mother.

The Lakewood Ranch resident and her family were among the attendees at the Walk to Defeat ALS Sarasota on April 12 at Payne Park. Held across the country by The ALS Association, in Sarasota the event raised $85,878, exceeding its goal by 14.5%.

Greenstein said she was grateful for the community’s support.

“It really makes me want to cry,” she said. “People are so good, and some people who I know don’t make a lot of money contributed 100 bucks. That was a lot of money, and I’m just very grateful.”

A picture perfect place

Artist Cheryl LeClair Sommer was only in Sarasota for a short while, but she wanted to capture the area’s sights.

While staying with her sisterin-law, Paige Hartmann, who owns the Inn on Siesta Key, the Minnesota resident painted locations including Myakka River State Park and the north bridge of Casey Key.

A photo does not do it justice,” she said as she stood on Siesta Key Beach with an easel on April 11.

She said photographs couldn’t capture features including small shadows created by the contours of the sand.

She called the island a “wonderful place to visit,” noting its local shops and the “absolutely stunning” beach.

$0.10

WEEK OF APRIL 17, 2025

BY THE NUMBERS

“I feel like we’re floundering here. It’s a terrible look, and I don’t like it.”

Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert, on the search for a new city of Sarasota city manager. Read more on page

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SRQ has busiest month in airport history

If Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport seemed more crowded than usual this past month, that’s because it was.

In March 2025, the airport accommodated 597,796 passengers. Not only was that an 8% increase over the 553,521 travelers in March 2024, it marked the busiest month in the airport’s history.

During the first quarter of the 2025 calendar year, SRQ experienced a 1.1% growth in passenger traffic compared to the same period in 2024.

“It is exciting to see the airport break an all-time passenger record for the most passengers served in a month,” said SRQ President and CEO Rick Piccolo in a news release. “The recent opening of our new five-gate Concourse A in January, along with the introduction of nine new nonstop destinations this year, is contributing to a recovery in passenger growth following a minor setback due to Hurricane Milton.”

The airport was shut down for a week in October because of roof damage and subsequent

flooding of Concourse B.

The addition of Concourse A and its five ground boarding gates, all leased by Allegiant, has opened capacity in Concourse B, which is undergoing significant renovations to improve and expand its restaurant and bar offerings to serve continued growth in passengers.

With 11 airlines and 68 nonstop destinations, SRQ served approximately 4.3 million passengers in 2024. The airport is projected to have nearly 7 million passengers by 2040.

MPO hosts 2050 LRTP workshops

Phase 3 of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan is under development, focusing on identifying and prioritizing transportation projects for possible funding over the next 25 years.

The MPO is gathering public input to help guide decisions on which road, transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects should move forward. Your feedback will help inform regional priorities and investment strategies. To gather insight from local residents, the MPO is holding two workshops:

■ Monday, April 28, 4:30-6:30 p.m.; State College of FloridaBradenton Library Rooms 143-146, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton. Help guide which transportation projects move forward, learn about proposed improvements and share input on regional priorities.

■ Tuesday, May 6, 5-7 p.m.; Bishop Museum of Science and NatureWest Garden, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Meet with planners, explore transportation projects and give feedback on what matters most. Learn more about the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan and engage throughout the process at Transform-Tomorrow.com.

Leadership

Sarasota

applications accepted

The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce is now accepting applications for the Leadership Sarasota Class of 2026. The program is designed for professionals eager to deepen their understanding of Sarasota, expand their network and enhance their leadership skills while making a lasting impact on the community.

Through the immersive, 10-month experience, participants gain leadership and teamwork skills, broaden their perspectives and build relationships that extend far beyond the program.

Applications are available online at SarasotaChamber.com. The deadline to apply is May 2, 2025. For additional inquiries, contact Pete Bartosik at PBartosik@SarasotaChamber.com or call 941-556-4039.

MOVING FORWARD, AND

UP

CARTER WEINHOFER AND ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITERS

With thousands of residents impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton across the barrier islands and inland, the area is a flurry of construction activity.

For some residents, it means repairing roofs, windows and storm shutters. For others, it’s a total rebuild.

The increased activity shows up through the planning departments of Longboat Key, the city of Sarasota and Sarasota County. Longboat Key, for example, estimates permitting activity is double what it was this time last year, with 1,057 permit applications received in March.

Six months after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Sarasota and Longboat Key residents apply for permits and wait to rebuild their damaged properties.

On the island, homebuilding is changing in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which brought a devastating storm surge to areas like the Village, Sleepy Lagoon and Buttonwood Harbour.

Longboat Key resident Heather Rippy and her family are among those who experienced flooding during Helene and now need to make major repairs — the most substantial of which is raising the house 12 feet.

Rippy owns Driftwood Beach Home and Garden in Whitney Plaza, and the family lives in one of the original Whitney cottages built in 1937 in Longboat Key’s Village.

Although the storm didn’t destroy the house, it sustained about two-and-a-half feet of flooding.

Rippy said Helene was the first time they had water in the house. In previous storms, water collected in low parts of the yard, which is normal for living in one of the island’s lowest areas.

“We kind of expected that to happen again, but we really didn’t expect to get two-and-a-half feet inside the house,” Rippy said. “That was devastating.”

Flooding destroyed the family’s furniture, and the house needs a complete interior remodel. But when going into the repairs, the Rippys wanted to maintain the historic feel on the outside and preserve the house as much as possible.

“It’s an old house on the outside, and it will be a brand new house on the inside,” Rippy said.

The family planned on raising the house before the 2024 hurri-

cane season, but a delay with their contractor caused them to miss the May 2024 start goal.

That meant they had plans ready, though, so after Helene, they quickly started the process of raising their historic house in November 2024.

Rippy and her family aren’t yet able to live in their home.

The bulk of the raising work is complete, and the house now sits about 12 feet higher. The interior work remains, Rippy said, including new finishes and extending plumbing and electrical to the new height.

She said they’re hoping to move into the house in June.

Some residents are starting from scratch.

Down the road from Rippy, Village resident Eddie Abrams’ prop-

erty is an empty lot, as is his son’s next door.

During Helene, the homes took on 48 to 60 inches of water, depending on where they measured.

“We tore them down, and we’re going to try to rebuild. That’s the hope, anyway,” Abrams said. The homes sustained enough damage that repairs would tip well over 50% of the value of the home, Abrams said, which means the home has to be brought up to code per the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 50% rule.

Abrams has plans in hand to build a new house and will make sure the next house is well-elevated. His son, Grant, will do the same with his house.

“We want to build as high as we can by code,” Abrams said.

Last summer, the Longboat Key Town Commission adopted new ordinances to increase the freeboard allowance for homes. The ordinance progressed to allow homes in low-lying areas to add up to an extra four feet of freeboard on top of the one foot already required. Abrams’ previous home was about two-and-a-half to three feet above grade, he said, so adding the additional five feet of freeboard will bring the home around eight feet above grade.

Not only is Abrams building higher, he’s building a more forti-

WHAT IS ICF?

Insulated Concrete Forms utilize foam blocks of Styrofoamlike material to create a mold of a home. Rebar stabilizes the blocks and fortified by pouring concrete into them. This method of construction results in a strong structure but also has benefits like energy efficiency and noise reduction. With concrete, the buildings are also less susceptible to things like mold and insects.

REBUILDING, FROM PAGE 3A

fied house, he hopes.

He’s opting to use a technique called Insulated Concrete Forms. He explained it simply as “a Styrofoam form you put together like Lego blocks.”

Rebar reinforces the blocks and they’re filled with concrete. Exterior finishes apply directly to the Styrofoam-type forms.

Abrams said his family heard about ICF online and had seen it on television programs. When they purchased their home, they were aware of its low elevation and kept ICF in mind as a method of creating a more resilient house.

“It’ll be a concrete bunker,” Abrams said.

Abrams is also a do-it-yourself resident and decided to go with an owner-build construction. He will bring on licensed contractors, such as a general contractor, to oversee the project, but Abrams plans to be as hands-on as the state building code permits.

By overseeing the project, Abrams said there may be some cost savings in terms of choosing certain materials or methods.

Abrams and his family are still piecing together pricing for the rebuild and looking into how to fund it through methods like grants.

“The insurance was disappointing, to say the least,” Abrams said.

Progress has been slower for others, like Adam Gersh in Sarasota. Gersh, like Abrams, is dissatisfied with insurance responses.

Although across the street from bay front homes, the bulk of the damage to Gersh’s elevated home in Sarasota’s Harbor Acres was wind, not flooding, from Hurricane Milton.

Ever since, he and his wife, Wende, have been attempting to secure an insurance settlement for a roof replacement. Contractors have said because of the location of the damaged tiles, the entire roof needs replacing. Gersh has singled out insurance carrier Monarch as the obstacle to his repairs six months after Hurricane Milton.

“We had to go to what we call appraisal, so they denied the claim,” Gersh said. “It’s really, I think, a bigger issue because everybody I’ve talked to, nine out of 10 times, this is the issue. Monarch Insurance is the company that I’m dealing with, but other companies have the same MO, and this is how they operate. That’s really the main struggle. It’s not finding qualified individuals to do the job, which I thought would be very difficult.”

Abrams is still uncertain exactly how much his rebuild will cost, but said the majority of the costs would be in the concrete used to fill in the ICF blocks.

Going with owner-build also helps Abrams slightly evade the challenge of finding subcontractors, which he’s heard is difficult for some people.

“We’re hearing from our general contractor that it’s been challenging ... especially locally, the subcontractors are very busy right now,” Abrams said.

Longboat Key commissioners passed new freeboard allowances in June 2024 that allow homeowners to add optional freeboard, up to two feet for the entire island and an additional two feet for homes in low-lying areas.

The Florida Building Code requires one foot of freeboard, a design element that enhances flooding safety and is adding onto the house’s base flood elevation. The design flood elevation is comprised of the design flood elevation plus any additional freeboard.

The new freeboard allowance was in response to last year’s FEMA maps, which suggested a decrease in base flood elevation by about two feet islandwide. In response, town staff and commissioners wanted to give homeowners the opportunity to increase freeboard to make up for the FEMA reduction. Now, homeowners can opt for an additional two feet — three feet of freeboard total — islandwide or four feet in lowlying areas, which makes five total feet of freeboard. 2024 FREEBOARD REVIEW

OVERLOAD OF PERMITS

The town of Longboat Key’s Planning, Zoning and Building Department received its own surge — a surge of building permits.

“I would say we’re probably at double the amount of permitting we would normally see. And we also have certain new responsibilities post-hurricane,” said Allen Parsons, the department’s director. Those additional responsibilities include conducting a substantial damage determination for properties that request it, adding extra work for town staff. Homeowners

With plans in hand, Abrams and his son will head toward the permitting process in the coming weeks — a process that is crowded with hundreds of other residents trying to do the same.

may request the determination for grants or other applications.

The overload of work led to the need for extra hands around the department.

Parsons said the department received extra staff through the Florida Department of Emergency Management immediately after the storms, as well as more contracted help along the way.

The 12 new staff range from plans examiners to inspectors to help the department deal with the influx of permits for storm-related repairs.

Longboat Key received 1,057 permit applications in March compared to 289 in September 2024, prior to Helene’s arrival on Sept.

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alleviated some burden on property owners through fee waivers and construction hour extensions.

Sarasota County is experiencing similar needs for supplemental staff, as well as the complexity of certain storm-related permits.

Michael Deming, a plans examiner with the county, explained the unique scenarios posed by the damage done to condominiums.

“What we were seeing were people or groups coming to us who were being hired by the condominium associations to do work of a limited scope that was being paid for directly by the condominium associations and not by the individual unit owners,” Deming said. “We shifted in those instances to develop a process to allow them to apply for multiple units that were having identical work done by the same contractor, to include those multiple units under one permit. That way, it didn’t require each of the individual unit owners to have to pull permits when they weren’t the ones actually having the work being performed.”

The complication, and the need for a secondary permit, arose because, in some instances, the first permit was not for work that returned the individual units to a habitable state. The permits went as far as tearing out and replacing drywall, but did not include any interior finishing work.

“We had to follow up with contractors, with condominium associations and with the individual unit owners that, in those instances there would be a requirement for a secondary permit so that we could verify the unit was returned to its full habitable condition,” Deming said.

Since Hurricane Debby wreaked much of its damage inland in August, the county has received just more than 6,000 permits countywide that were specifically notated as storm-related damage. Of that number, Deming said 82% of them are approved. That doesn’t include the permit applications received for new construction and nonstorm-related renovation projects.

The county typically has two floodplain reviewers on staff. To help serve the hurricane-related permit application volume, the building department mobilized the eight

building review staff members to assist with flood reviews, working overtime, plus state-funded contract personnel.

According to Parsons, the Longboat Key department has a three- to seven-day turnaround for simple permits for various repairs, but larger permits, such as a single-family home reconstruction, may take up to three weeks.

A meticulous review of permits is essential, especially when dealing with properties that were substantially damaged.

“We’re audited by FEMA to ensure that we’re not issuing permits for work that would exceed that 50% value,” Parsons said.

Because of that audit, staff members need to review permit applications closely. Any discrepancies could cause permit delays.

Regarding other delays, Parsons said he has heard of some cases of miscommunication between contractors and property owners.

“In some cases, permits haven’t

been submitted, and in other cases, they’ve been submitted recently and issued,” Parsons said. “So there may be some misunderstandings out there of when a permit has actually been submitted to the town.”

However, the Longboat Key department recently announced a new online permitting software, which will activate on April 22.

The software is designed to create a deeper connection to the public, including a GIS map interface, and will allow property owners to conduct permit applications online.

“The move will provide a standardized, cloud-based solution that will provide better service to customers, the public and staff,” the town said in a statement.

MIXED RESIDENT REVIEWS

On St. Armands Circle and the mainland, residents are feeling the pressure of permits.

St. Armands Residents Association President Chris Goglia said homeowners who are restoring or

rebuilding have reported frustrations in the amount of time the city of Sarasota is taking to process building permits.

“It sounds to me that people are saying it’s taking a long time. They’ve been waiting for months to get permits,” Goglia said. “People have expressed disappointment that the permitting process is taking so long. They don’t understand why it’s taking so long.”

According to the city, hurricanerelated permits were to be noted as such to receive expedited review. To date, the city has received 743 stormrelated building permit applications and, of those, 106 remain under review. The remainder are either issued or inspections are complete and closed. Applications are still being expedited for review, a spokesperson told the Observer. Fees are waived for those received before April 1. On Siesta Key, resident and community activist Lourdes Ramirez

said it took six weeks for a county staff person to be assigned to review her permit application. Her home was flooded by Helene and suffered further damage from Milton.

“In my case, they said the permit was not labeled as hurricanerelated, so it was not on the expedited track,” Ramirez said, adding that once remedied, the application was fast-tracked. “I found it hard to believe that any permit request for Siesta at that time was not hurricane-related.”

Owners of condominiums, she added, were told they needed two permits, and in some cases were told that until all the units were ready, there would be no issuing of further permits.

Harbor Acres resident Gersh doesn’t know about any delays in permitting, primarily because he hasn’t gotten to that point yet.

The next step for Gersh is to retain a public adjuster to present the case to the insurance company, which Gersh said draws out the process even longer and, eventually, homeowners give up.

“I think it’s intentional through attrition,” Gersh said. “When I talked to the public adjuster, he said people just give up. I’m not somebody who gets worn down when I feel like I’m owed. You are going to hear from me until the cows come home, until I feel like it’s resolved. I’m not giving up on it.”

With hurricane season approaching, Gersh said one way or another, his roof will be replaced.

Back on Longboat, Abrams said the town’s staff has been helpful.

“I will commend the town of Longboat Key and the staff. They have really been remarkable,” Abrams said. “I just can’t praise them enough.”

As a former engineer himself, Abrams understands the packed schedules of building department staff.

That understanding led to a deeper appreciation for how the staff took time to meet with him regarding his plans.

“I know it’s hard to make time for somebody that wants to walk in and look at your plans when you know you have 100 things on your plate to do that day. But they took the time,” Abrams said.

June

1 is coming. What have we learned?

After facing widespread infrastructure damage, local business owners and residents are finishing the last of their rebuilding and looking ahead to next season.

DANA KAMPA AND IAN SWABY STAFF WRITERS

Prior to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Kay Kouvatsos thinks Siesta Key had a false sense of security.

“They’ve been telling us for 28 years, high water, flood risk, surge. It never happened,” she said. “I think a lot of the residents took that as a huge wake-up call.”

As co-owner of the staple restaurant Village Café with her husband, Tom Kouvatsos, she’s looking ahead with concern this year.

“We’re praying for the best,” she said. “None of us are confident this isn’t going to happen again, but we’re hoping that it’s once in 100 years not going to happen again.”

Six months after the storms, businesses and residents in Sarasota and beyond are reflecting on what went right amid the devastation and what they might do differently even if mitigation will only go so far in staving off ever more damaging storms in a coastal area.

FINDING A WAY FORWARD

Siesta Key resident Dino Speranza calls himself “definitely a little more apprehensive” than in the past.

Never before, he said, did he spend four to five days without power or running water, also noting during Hurricane Milton, he lost part of the roof of his home.

“I don’t know what I can do differently than what I did, but it makes me a lot more anxious ... ” he said. “I definitely will be extra diligent about being prepared.”

Resident Carlos Peralta said if his family faces a similar situation in the future, the one thing they would do differently is avoid the hardship of staying at home during repairs.

“When we talk about dealing

with flooding, especially at the scale of five feet of water, there is little that you can do to prepare,” he said. “Nothing can stop too much water from entering your house, but we are taking everything that we have and using it to make it a smarter decision moving forward.”

Amid their apprehension, owners of Siesta Key businesses have found some strategies for the future.

Kristin Hale, operations director at Siesta Key Oyster Bar, said over the last couple of years, the restaurant had “pretty much perfected” its process of securing the building.

She said last year it added new improvements, including foam caulk in the door frames and selfinflating sandbags.

“I feel like you can only do what you can do, and then just pray that the building is there and standing when it’s all over, so it’s definitely an emotional time for us,” she said.

“It’s scary.”

Kay Kouvatsos said after Helene’s storm surge, they were determined water would not enter the restaurant again.

She said they succeeded with Milton in preventing any floodwater from entering, sealing off all doors inside and out with silicone tape.

“We now know to do that again,” she said.

Nara Horn, of Siesta Key Fudge Factory, said as the store lost a lot of its inventory previously, it will be placing more in storage and bringing in signs from outside.

“(We’ll) probably pick up a couple things that are valuable, but at the end, if the storm takes it, then it takes it, and there’s nothing we can do; we just have to come back and re-build again,” she said. However, preserving the beauty of the outdoors is also a consideration.

Lynn Christensen says she’s grateful her family and staff have been able to rebuild from the storms as well as they have.

Helene Hyland, a board member of the Siesta Key Chamber, is undertaking a private study with another resident to explore which plants are the most floodwaterresistant.

“If you ride down Midnight Pass Road and down Ocean Boulevard and Beach Road, you can see where the plants are dead,” she said. “You don’t want to replant with those.”

She said it surprised her that a highly resilient plant was hibiscus bushes.

“If you look anywhere, you’ll see hibiscus now,” she said.

Residents agreed that whatever actions they take, it will be necessary to hope for the best.

“It feels like there’s been (a hurricane) every single year for the past couple of years, so hopefully, fingers crossed, we can avoid that this year,” said Hale.

The community of Longboat Key is also taking its own lessons away from the storms.

Harry’s Continental Kitchens celebrated 45 years of serving the Longboat community early last year. Though the prospect of repairing the three-prong family business ravaged by Hurricanes

Helene and Milton was imposing, co-owner Lynn Christensen said they didn’t even question whether it was something they would tackle.

“We got out here as fast as we could and took care of what we could to get open as soon as we could,” she said.

Christensen explained a few factors went in the business’ favor in the lead up to the storms. She, along with Harry and Hal Christensen, moved the main office to a building at a higher elevation.

“We did that because the only building that would flood when we had past hurricanes was our office,” she said.

That proved fortuitous, as Helene sent floodwaters rushing throughout the area where their restaurant and deli also are located. They made the switch to underground fiber service the summer before the storms.

However, the foot-high storm surge still damaged essential electronics, causing systemic POS “quirks” they are still navigating.

Reflecting on their reaction to the damage, Christensen said her family is grateful to the core 25 to 30 staff members who went above and

beyond to clean, repaint and repair all the buildings as quickly as possible, officially opening doors Nov. 8.

“I think the season may slow down quicker than we wanted it to, but we’ll make it work,” she said. “We’re looking forward to Easter.” She said this helped not only for the business to salvage as much of the peak tourism season as possible, but also put them in a position to meet the needs of the many repair crews and residents sifting through the aftermath.

Christensen learned the importance of having such dedicated staff members who helped with the speedy rebuild, even going out to get replacement kitchen equipment from off-island when needed.

Looking ahead, she said her family has learned to tackle what it can control and have patience with what it can’t.

“I taught me to not think it won’t ever happen,” she said of the atypically strong storms. “We’ve lived on the island for more than 50 years. ... It’s easy to think of the ‘would have, could have and should have’ in being prepared. If I’ve learned anything, it’s to really be prepared.”

NOW OPEN

Let kids be independent

Florida lawmakers are on the verge of giving parents more leeway in deciding how much independence to give to their children and not be charged with neglect.

Multiple unpleasant encounters with concerned law enforcement officials over children walking to schools or parks alone or playing in yards unsupervised have some Florida parents calling for improved laws around child neglect.

A proposed state law in this year’s legislative session in Tallahassee would do just that. It would allow parents to promote independence in their children without the fear of hysterical helicopter parents or government intervention.

Take this Florida mom and dad, reported on by the Reason Foundation in 2015:

One day, they were held late at an appointment and then stuck in traffic, so their 11-year-old son got home from school and played in his own yard for 90 minutes until his family arrived.

Meanwhile, a neighbor called the police, and the parents arrived to be put under arrest for negligence and had their son and his 4-year-old brother, who had been with the parents, taken away by child protective services. It was a month before the kids were allowed back with their parents.

We don’t know about you, but we both grew up with being home or in the yard while our parents were away as a frequent occurrence. And that was back when crime was more prevalent than it is today.

It seems like parents ought to be able to decide if a child is mature enough to be home, or in the yard, or walk to school or the park alone. It should only be considered neg-

ligence if there are circumstances when a reasonable person would say a kid should not be alone.

During this legislative session, House Bill 1191 would eliminate subjective language and refine the definition of neglect and abuse in Florida’s existing laws.

The bill sponsor, Monique Miller, R-Palm Bay, told the Legislature that her bill “decriminalizes parents allowing their children to travel to and from school, playing outdoors and remaining at home for reasonable amounts of time.”

The bill will establish clear allowances for such specific unsupervised activities while still prohibiting clearly harmful neglect or endangerment. It would allow Florida parents to make the right decisions for their children without worrying about widely varying interpretations of what is and isn’t appropriate. It would give them the space to cultivate independence confidently during a crucial developmental period.

The bill has passed two committees in the House with unanimous votes and was to be heard April 15 before going to the House floor. A similar bill, SB 1286, already has passed the Senate.

Rep. Miller has frequently pointed to the book “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt to explain why childhood independence is so important and why the law needs to allow it.

As Haidt put it in the book, “Children need to swing and then jump off the swing. They need to explore forests and junkyards in search of novelty and adventure. They need to shriek with their friends while watching a horror movie or riding a roller coaster. In the process, they develop a broad set of competences, including the ability to judge risk for themselves, take appropriate action when faced with risks, and learn that when things go wrong, even if they get hurt, they can usually handle it without calling in an adult.”

A culture of overprotection hurts kids and families alike, as research has continued to show since Haidt’s book came out. A 2023 study in The Journal of Pediatrics found that as children’s independence has been going down over the decades, their anxiety and depression have been going up — and that this is a causal relationship, not just a mere correlation.

Run-ins between parents and government agencies over grant-

CRIMINAL LAW SURVEY

Law is open-ended and confers discretion to restrict independence

Law protects children’s independence

Law is punitive toward children’s independence

ing this independence are not an anomaly. Another notorious case was the Lott family, which, while vacationing in Florida, posted many pictures on social media of the family with eight kids. Online trolls, critical of their choice to be overtly Christian homeschoolers, reported the family to the Florida Department of Children and Families, claiming the photos showed one of the children was sick and not being treated.

The first the Lotts knew about this was when DCF texted them warning their children would be taken away unless they could prove they were safe. Within hours, cops met them at a hospital for a statemandated inspection of their children. Doctors determined none of the children was sick or neglected. They had to prove they were innocent against accusations made with no evidence, a complete reversal of how our justice system is supposed to work.

You can imagine the nightmares this caused for the Lotts and other families, if any anonymous report can lead to a serious investigation with massive, potentially life-altering consequences.

The problem at the core is that the laws defining child neglect are vague and subjective, leaving much of the interpretation up to the judgment of police and social workers. It’s an arbitrary and capricious system.

While generally the DCF has reasonable policies about neglect, the state’s laws provide subjective criteria, so sometimes wild and unfair interpretations happen. (See accompanying map.) Similar stories arise every year all over the country,

Which is greater: Christ’s birth, resurrection?

Which is the greater: Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, or Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

For Christians in the United States, the likely answer in Manon-the-Street interviews with the secular press would be Christmas. Not because of Christ’s birth, mind you, but because of how we have morphed the gift-giving story of St. Nicholas in 280 A.D. into Santa Claus and ultimately into the biggest, commercial retail extravaganza of the year for the American economy.

Like Christmas, American capitalism has made the most of Easter, though it is far less of the economic boom than in Christmas. Sadly, and more and more over time, lost in both remarkable “holy days,” now “holidays,” are the extraordinary, world changing events — the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Which of the two is greater? A simple, logical answer is the second could not have occurred without the first. But taken separately, each is a profound, almost incomprehensible occurrence for us mere mortals.

The first is the incarnation. As is said in the Christian Nicene Creed: “For us men and for our salvation,”

God sent his son “from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” The atheist would scoff cynically at this human impossibility of divine incarnation. And yet for 2,000 years, this historically documented, extraordinary, miraculous life of Jesus remains and is accepted among the 2.2 billion Christians in the world. Then there is Christ’s resurrec-

tion — equally inconceivable from a human perspective. No man, no woman rises from the dead and appears among his friends in human form.

In his 1996 Easter message, Pope John Paul II explained: “Whoever had condemned Jesus, deceived himself that he had buried His cause under an ice-cold tombstone. The disciples themselves gave in to the feeling of irreparable failure. We understand their sur-

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STATES WITH REASONABLE CHILDREN’S LAWS

Colorado Connecticut

Georgia Illinois

Montana Oklahoma

Texas Utah Virginia

and concerned parents notice. While there is no doubt government safety workers are likely operating with what they perceive to be the best interests of children, in most cases, there is no better judge than a child’s own parent. However, parents who want to give their kids more independence struggle when it is unclear if a call from a concerned neighbor could lead to a years-long clash with government agencies. If Florida adopts HB 1191 into law, it will be the 10th state to implement such protections. (See table.) Georgia was the ninth earlier this month.

Florida policymakers must promote an environment where parents are free to grant children the independence they need to develop their resilience and sense of individualism. This is a noble cause that both parents and Florida lawmakers should embrace.

Adrian Moore is vice president at Reason Foundation and lives in Sarasota. Zachary Christensen leads Reason Foundation’s work on childhood independence and lives in Utah.

prise, then, and even their distrust in the news of the empty tomb.

“But the Risen One did not delay in making himself seen and they yielded to reality. They saw and believed! Two thousand years later, we still sense the unspeakable emotion that overcame them when they heard the Master’s greeting: ‘Peace be with you.’”

Pope John XXIII, 35 years earlier, summed up Christ’s resurrection this way:

“In reality, Easter … is all in this: the celebration, perennial and ever renewed, of the mystery of Christ; of Christ, the glorious and immortal King of the nations and of the ages; the comfort and encouragement of all humanity redeemed by him and preserved for the triumph of its eternal destiny, and also for the peaceful success of human livingtogether and of ordered prosperity on Earth.”

Which of the two is greater?

The late Calvin Burrell, a teacher of theology and editor of the Bible Advocate, answered that question before he died in 2022:

“Rather than deciding which is more important, we recognize them as the first and second great scenes in the divine drama of redemption … God ordained both birth and resurrection … as equal halves of the complete divine-human experience … the twin miracles of Christ’s birth and resurrection are of equal importance in the divine drama of redemption.” —MW

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Post-hurricane real estate market hard to pin down

exactly why. Nationally, in 2024, prices rose and continue to do so in the early part of 2025.

So, what’s happening here? The answers aren’t necessarily comprehensive and connected.

It’s a fact the real estate market for homes and condominiums in Sarasota and Manatee counties has slowed from this time in 2024.

Have a look at the key benchmarks for early 2025, which largely are continuations of trends beginning in 2024 and earlier:

■ Median prices, the point at which half sell for more and half sell for less, are down across the board.

■ Inventory supplies are higher across the board, indicating more properties on the active market than a year ago — even accounting for the region’s typical winterspring seasonal upswing in real estate activity.

■ Across the metro area, the time it takes to sign a sales contract is roughly equal to 2024.

The region’s torrid real estate market of even two or three years ago is over, experts say, and property owners likely no longer hold the upper hand. Gone are median prices higher than a half-million dollars. Gone, too, are properties that sell in days, or even hours, and for more than asking price.

Instead, the area has evolved into something of a balance, says Debi Reynolds, the president of the Realtors Association of Sarasota and Manatee and the managing broker at SaraBay Real Estate.

“After years of a strong sellers’ market, the increase in inventory and more stable pricing indicate that the market is shifting toward a more level playing field for buyers and sellers alike,” she said in a recent statement.

What’s harder to pin down is

Portions of Lakewood Ranch in 2024 defied much of the region’s trends toward balance — even after the trio of named tropical systems delivered millions of dollars of damage to not only coastal properties but also to plenty of homes and businesses inland.

Mortgage interest rates, Florida’s homeowners insurance rates, new and potentially more costly rules for condominium associations and storm fatigue could play a role.

But Tyler Shanahan, a Lakewood Ranch Realtor with the Shanahan Luxury Group, Coldwell Banker Realty, says he’s seeing portions of the inland luxury market flourish these days.

While it’s not all being driven by folks heading east from the beach, he said the inland $2.5 million to $3 million segment is still moving well. He said he is seeing evidence of people exploring options away from the sea.

“That’s a segment of the market that we’re seeing doing very well, compared to other homes at different price points,” he said.

“There are a lot of buyers at that price point, particularly people who are coming in from the water and people that would otherwise have been looking at the water from other states that are coming down here during season. They’re instead looking more inland.”

He said that the corridor along Interstate 75 in northern Sarasota and southern Manatee counties offers a lot more than it once did — which means options for buyers who, perhaps 10 years ago, went straight to the waterfront.

“One thing that we hear, and this helps with that transition from the

waterfront, a lot people on the water, they have friends who have made it here one way or the other, and now they have friends they come out here to see, and they’re starting to say “Oh, wow, there is in fact a lot to do,”’ Shanahan said. “It’s nice, it’s new and the traffic isn’t as bad as it is in the city or on the islands.”

Even so, the area’s most expensive property to sell thus far in 2025 is just steps away from Sarasota Bay and eight minutes by car from downtown, in Sarasota’s Harbor Acres. The under-construction home sold for nearly $15 million. The most expensive home ever to sell in Lakewood Ranch, likewise, closed recently.

Beachfront condos in Siesta Key, Lido Key and Longboat Key still routinely sell for asking price, listings show. The ultra-luxurious Residences at The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort was the site of the highest-priced condo sale in Sarasota County history. The nearly 11,000-square-foot unit (two units combined into one, actually) closed for $21.24 million just days after Hurricane Milton’s October landfall.

Anecdotally, there also are plenty of stories of beachside residents who remain connected to the seaside life. Still others are rebuilding or repairing. Some are moving inland. But not always far.

A heart-breaking tale of resignation to reality came from Hugh and Ann Fiore of St. Armands Circle featured in the Observer this past week. Working feverishly to repair water damage from Hurricane Helene, along came Hurricane Milton and flooded the home again. It sold for $4.75 million in January, essentially the county’s assessed value of the waterfront land. They moved into an elevated new home, across the street from neighbors whose property backs up to Sarasota Bay.

Still others are selling as is — such as the case of several properties advertised as land only.

Among them:

■ A lot of about 1/8

on Siesta Key that sold for $1.65 million in 2021 with a three-bedroom, two-

Again, it’s hard to connect the hyperlocal dots in a real estate economy that is best expressed in a macro way. But even county leaders are concerned that lower values — for whatever reason — could affect revenue in coming years.

Speaking to Sarasota County commissioners in early April, County Administrator Jonathan Lewis raised a flag early in the county’s budgeting process for 2025-26 that the region’s once dependable property value increases are slowing. Not stopping. But slowing. “Don’t misunderstand, it’s not a decrease from the assumption, not a decrease in property values,” he told commissioners. “I can just see somebody hearing this and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re saying property values are in a decrease.’ We’re saying that it’s not going to be as much of an increase as we projected last year.”

■ A property selling for $2.4 million in Longboat Key’s Country Club Estates, advertised by the sellers’ real estate company with the description: “Following a complete remediation from storm Helene this could be an easy renovation to garner a nice seasonal rental while you plan your Water-

Fortify First

Architects, engineers and builders agree the construction of new structures needs to focus heavily on materials and techniques steeped in resiliency.

LOUIS LLOVIO BUSINESS OBSERVER

In the aftermath of two serious hurricanes last year and Hurricane Ian in 2022, renewed attention is being paid to how buildings are built and how to best protect your property against the worst that storms can bring.

It’s a natural — and necessary — reaction to scenes of destructions after the recent storms.

But the subject of resilience is a constant one for many in government, construction, architecture and engineering charged with making sure buildings in Florida are prepared to deal with the worst that hurricanes can bring.

“After each one of these storms

you learn more — more policies are put in place, more stringent standards are put in place,” says Tom Rees, a partner at Halfacre Construction in Lakewood Ranch.

The jobs of those tasked with making the state’s buildings as safe as possible is to look at the materials and technologies available and figure out how to use them to build, or often rebuild, properties.

Most of the rules dictating how buildings need to be built along the coastal areas of Florida are dictated by the ever-evolving Florida Building Code and rules coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It’s common practice, though, for those in the industry to go beyond what’s regulated as they

PLAN AHEAD

Some ideas for your home or property in advance of hurricane seasons include:

n Replace gravel or rock landscaping materials with a fire-resistant material

n Cut weak branches and trees

n Install storm shutters

n Make sure exterior doors are hurricane-proof

n Sliding glass doors should be made of tempered glass

n Replace old garage doors and tracks

n Seal outside wall openings

n If you live in a mobile home, make sure you know how to secure it against high winds

n If you have a boat on a trailer, know how to anchor the trailer to the ground or house — and review your boat insurance policy

— Source: FEMA

work on projects designed to last long after storms pass.

Halfacre’s current projects include the construction of the new Sarasota County Administration Center and the redevelopment of the Sarasota County Terrace Building.

Both projects are being worked

on with a focus on resiliency.

With the Terrace Building, a historic 10-story downtown Sarasota property, the project includes installing impact windows and waterproofing and painting the entire exterior.

Painting and waterproofing helps keep water out of buildings and improve the structural integrity by keeping water damage to a minimum.

The center, meanwhile, is being constructed using advanced building materials to make it is hurricane resistant.

THE CODE

While damage from recent storms brought renewed attention to resilience, it is by no means a new subject.

Florida has been focused on upgrading its building codes since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Today’s Florida Building Code is a stringent set of rules designed to make sure properties are built to withstand storms.

One expert after another talks about how important the code is when it comes to protecting people and property in the state. And they universally point to Fort Myers Beach as an example of why it is needed.

After Hurricane Ian in 2022, there was a clear delineation between Fort Myers Beach homes built before 1992 and those after.

Through the air or driving along the barrier island six months after the storm, one could see the newer buildings were damaged but had withstood much of the storm.

Empty lots, on the other hand, stood where the older structures once stood.

“The code is pretty strict around the hardening of the buildings, so if you’re near the coast, you’ve got impact glass. And you’ve got a structure and roofing built to withstand a significant uplift from wind,” says Joshua Bomstein, president and CEO of Creative Contractors in Clearwater.

“Those new buildings really are designed and built to withstand major weather events.”

One resiliency example is in Sarasota County, where the 67-year-old Bird Key Yacht Club decided late

last year to build its new clubhouse 15 feet further inland and three feet higher than the current building.

LIVE AND LEARN

There are other ways people in the region are attempting to bring more resiliency to construction after the storms.

Consider Dean Ruark, vice president of engineering and innovation at PGT Windows and Doors in Venice, a unit of Miter Brands. He is also a structural engineer.

“One of the things that I do, along with several other engineering teams, is go out after each storm ... and see what actually happened to structures,” he says. “We do that with some of the FEMA groups.”

The idea is for the teams to get to the hardest hit areas immediately after a storm — before people are back in their homes and beginning to clean and patch up damage — so they can “actually see what happened.”

Once there, the work turns to making damage assessments of homes to get a sense of how the current building code performed and or didn’t. It also leads to improvements in the code.

The program is called StEER — the Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance Network — and its goal is to gather information on “the performance of the built environment through impactful postdisaster reconnaissance disseminated to affected communities.”

What the engineers are looking at and inputting into the system are details such as what year the home was built, what type of structure it was, what types of windows, doors and roof did it have and what were they rated.

“The key to what you’re looking for is, as we build each new home, are we are we investing the stringency in the right places to mitigate against risk?” Ruark says. And are we?

Ruark, like most who are asked if the state’s rules are doing enough, says the “Florida code is exceptional” and in his experience structures built to new codes, with high elevation finished floor height and breakaway wall systems, fare well in storms.

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City retreats to full city manager slate

STAFF WRITER

n the interest of transparency and being more directly involved in the process of selecting a new city manager, the Sarasota City Commission needed a morning workshop and an afternoon-long special meeting to essentially go back to the beginning of the process.

Starting with a field of 51 applicants either recruited or received by the search firm of Colin Benzinger Associates, city commissioners agreed to review all the applicants — now 47 due to four withdrawals — rather than what the firm considered the top eight candidates.

In what was intended on Friday, April 11, to be a morning workshop that would yield a nonspecified field of semifinalists during an afternoon special meeting, resistance to the process laid out by the search firm and Human Relations Director Stacie Mason was led by Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch, who advocated starting from scratch — including perhaps selecting a new search firm. Commissioners eventually agreed to publishing the remaining 47 applicants for public consumption followed by at least one more meeting at a date uncertain to cull a list of semifinalists to undergo further scrutiny.

It was the second meeting in which commissioners were unable to come to terms with the list of semifinalists provided by the firm, opting instead to scrutinize the entire talent pool themselves rather than accept the recommendations.

Prior to the April 11 meetings, Colin Benzinger Associates had provided background checks only for its culled list of candidates, following the protocols it had been retained to pursue.

Ahearn-Koch was adamant in her objection to those processes, careful to blame the commission, rather than the firm or staff, for it not interjecting deeper involvement at the outset.

At the start of the Friday afternoon special meeting, City Attorney

Joe Polzak suggested a “reset” in the wake of the sentiments expressed during the morning workshop.

“What I would recommend is, for this meeting, you start fresh with all of the 51 applicants that we’ve received on the table, and then move from there and decide how you want to do winnowing from that list,” Polzak said.

When pressed by Mayor Liz Alpert for further clarification of his legal opinion, Polzak said, “I think just to avoid any issues in transparency or sunshine — that no legal issues are raised as part of this process — it’s best that we just start fresh with that total pool of applicants and you decide publicly today how you want to winnow down from there.”

Following a brief discussion, the commission unanimously approved a motion reflecting Polzak’s suggestion, leaving the commission with 47, rather than the recommended list of eight, candidates to consider.

Ahearn-Koch put forth her proposal in the form of the motion which, while seconded, failed by a 4-1 vote.

In the end, commissioners unanimously agreed at a future meeting to be held by May 22, they would reduce the current field of 47 applicants, providing more don’t rescind their applications, to create a provisional semi-finalists list for further consideration and request background checks from the search firm in addition to those already conducted.

Mira Mar preservation plan passes first test

In a split decision, the Sarasota Planning Board recommended Comprehensive Plan and rezoning approval for a plan to build condo towers and preserve the Mira Mar building.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

The advent of higher-intensity zoning into downtown, setting a precedent and concerns about a possible change in plans, were the primary objections of some members of the Sarasota Planning Board as it narrowly recommended approval of two zoning matters to make way for the restoration of the Mira Mar building on South Palm Avenue.

Against staff recommendations, the Planning Board, by identical 3-2 margins, with Terrill Salem and Dan DeLeo opposed, recommended approval of an amendment to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and a zoning change from Downtown Core to Downtown Bayfront for the 1.4acre parcel bounded by Palm Avenue, Mira Mar Court and McAnsh Square.

The matter now rests with the Sarasota City Commission.

Sarasota-based Seaward Development made the case that the code changes were necessary to provide the capital for the estimated $30 million restoration of the 100-year-old Mira Mar — built in 60 days as a twostory apartment building of wood frame construction atop a foundation of beach sand. The code changes will allow it to build two 18-story condominium towers behind the unofficially historic structure.

The current DTC zoning of the parcel, which is immediately next to developed DTB sites, permits a 10-story, lot line-to-lot line apartment building, which Seaward said is the alternative, or worse, should the rezoning effort fail. In that scenario, maintaining the Mira Mar would be an issue and, perhaps, it would eventually be demolished as it continues

NEXT STEPS

The Planning Board action on the Mira Mar was the first step in what remains a lengthy process. A Comprehensive Plan amendment requires first a supermajority vote among the City Commission to transit the change to Tallahassee for review and comment, and again for approval. If approved, the rezoning from Downtown Bayfront to Downtown Core requires a simple majority vote by the commission.

to show signs of rapid deterioration.

Shoring currently holds some portions of the building up. Seaward executives say engineers have advised the building will not support contemporary repair measures — particularly to the roof — required by code. They want to do more than just fix the building or preserve a one-foot depth of the façade similar to the neighboring Demarcay condo tower. They want to preserve the entire 170-foot deep structure, reconstructing it from the ground up and from the inside out.

During the city’s presentation of the hearing, Long Range Planning Director David Smith cited points of opposition mostly related to the zoning creep precedent, a gradual movement of the permitted Downtown Bayfront into Downtown Core, which limits height to 10 stories and density to 50 units per acre.

At 70 condos, though, Seaward countered the density will be no greater than what the DTC permits, and that its tapered towers in both height and width will allow for greater light and air than will a by-

right 10-story box, perhaps taller if a developer utilizes the city’s affordable housing incentive, even worse the state’s Live Local Act that permits 18 stories and upward of 280 units if a project there met affordable housing criteria.

In addition, Downtown Improvement District board member Eileen Hampshire pointed out that, per FEMA flood rules, new construction fronting Palm Avenue would require street-level to be elevated by four feet, effectively eliminating firstfloor retail and restaurant use.

During rebuttal, attorney Brenda Patten characterized staff objections as head scratchers, particularly regarding zoning creep away from the bay. The Mira Mar site, she said, is 877 feet from the bay, closer than the adjoining Demarcay at 887 feet, as well as 1350 Main St., which also is zoned DTB, at 893 feet away.

Statistical data notwithstanding, Planning Board questioning focused on whether the historic preservation architecture expert Rick Gonzalez can pull off restoring the Mira Mar to its 1920s origins at the estimated cost and, if not, whether Seaward — or another developer — could take advantage of the rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment if they abandon the preservation effort.

They also cited concerns over the precedent of amending the Com -

prehensive Plan at the micro, rather than macro, level.

Seaward representatives countered that should another project come along that proposes to restore downtown historic district street frontage of some 400 feet, then maybe that concern is legitimate.

DeLeo cited complaints of residents of The Mark, a 10-story condo tower just east of the Mira Mar site, who testified in the hearing that their views and sunlight — especially from their fifth-floor amenity, would be adversely impacted by 18-story towers. Salem, a building contractor, was doubtful that Gonzalez, who has led significant restorations across the state — most recently the DeSoto County Courthouse — could successfully execute saving the wooden frame and foundation structure.

And, if not, what might happen next?

“I think there’s the potential for really screwing up that great street if we don’t do this,” said board member Daniel Clermont, asking what would most disturb someone familiar with that block of Palm Avenue.

“Would they be more disturbed by the Mira Mar being an homage building or rehabilitated building with two 18-story towers set back, or would they be more disturbed by that building, having atrophied, been removed?”

Free FamilY Festival

CHILDREN + ADULTS LEARNING TOGETHER

Saturday, April 19 through Saturday, May 3 2025

JOURNEY

Siesta Key Public Beach near historic pavilion ~ Bring a Beach Chair or Blanket ~ Palm Sunday April 13th at 9:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary Maundy Thursday Service April 17th at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center Easter Worship Service (April 20th) 9:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary with Full Choir & Brass Nursery Provided • Hearing Loop System Available Easter Egg Hunt

Sunday, April 20th at 11:00 a.m. - Community Center Free and open to the public

St. Michael The Archangel Holy Week Schedule

PALM SUNDAY | April 13th, 2025

Saturday, April 12th Palm Sunday Vigil 4:00pm Sunday, April 13th 8:00am and 10:00am* (Church)

HOLY THURSDAY | April 17th 2025

No 9:00am Mass Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7:00pm Adoration following the Mass concluding with Night Prayer 9:45pm

GOOD FRIDAY | April 18th, 2025

No 9:00am Mass Passion of the Lord 3:00pm

HOLY SATURDAY | April 19th, 2025

Easter Egg Hunt 9:30am Blessing of the Easter Food/Baskets - 12 Noon Easter Vigil Mass 8:30pm

EASTER SUNDAY | April 20th, 2025

Sunrise Mass 6:00am (Outdoor under Portico) Masses (Church) 7:15am, 9:00am and 10:45am*

Through Holy Week With Us

SUNDAY, APRIL 6

BAR WARFARE

2:10 a.m., 1400 block of Main

Street

Fight: For the third straight week in Cops Corner, police were involved in investigating altercations at Main Street drinking establishments, one resulting in a woman being arrested on a charge of “throwing a deadly missile into a building,” according to the incident report. The “missile” came in the form of an ashtray from an outdoor table thrown at a window, shattering the glass. That action followed her tossing a few grenades inside the establishment, those in the form of four glasses she broke while at the bar.

All the warfare followed the woman being refused service as a result of intoxication, at which time a bouncer attempted to escort her out before she wrestled him to the floor. There, the bouncer said, he was struck in the face by the woman’s husband.

The woman told the officer after she was denied service, the bartender did not return her money, setting off the skirmish. In addition to the crime of launching the “deadly missile,” the woman was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.

ONE MINUTE LATER ...

2:11 a.m., 1500 block of Main Street Fight: Just one block removed from the previously reported incident, officers were flagged down to respond to a brawl outside another late night bar. That’s where a man told an officer he was attacked by a female hitting him, prompting him to react in self-defense. That was followed by a man, who accompanied the woman, also punching him in the face and, in a move that escalated the incident, removing his hat.

One witness advised an officer he saw the two men passing each other on the sidewalk and exchanged words before the fisticuffs ensued. The subject said when the encounter occurred, he was walking with his twin sister and girlfriend. The sister advised the man attempted to “catcall” her and her friend, at which time her

SATURDAY, APRIL 5

HEAD BUTTED

6:33 p.m., 3000 block of Eighth Street Dispute: After having had her own trash thrown in her face, a woman called for law enforcement to report that her neighbor become extremely verbally aggressive toward her over debris that had entered his property.

The woman said she and her friends often throw backyard parties and smoke cigarettes. Because the yard is entirely covered with brick pavers, they attempt to discard all the butts in a bucket, but sometimes, some would land on the ground and, absent ground cover to impede, wind would carry them through the chain link fence that separates the yards.

She advised her neighbor was outside with his kids, making them pick up the butts and, finding that to be unfair, offered to come and retrieve them herself. That’s when, she said, the man became irate and threw some of the wayward filters, striking her in the center of her forehead. The neighbor then proceeded, she said, to take the collected rubbish and dump it over the fence back onto her property.

While she capitulated to her role in the dispute, she found the neighbor’s response to be excessive but did not wish to pursue charges for battery.

The officer attempted to make contact with the neighbor, who did not appear to be home at the time.

brother told her to ignore the man and keep walking.

The entire incident was determined to be a case of mutual combat, and neither party wished to pursue charges.

County mulls stormwater turnover to the city

Sarasota County environmental staff recommends exiting interlocal agreement to oversee the city’s stormwater management system.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

Since 1998, Sarasota County has provided stormwater management services to the city of Sarasota via an interlocal agreement with level of service projects funded by stormwater improvement assessments on residential and commercial property tax bills.

By 2027, or perhaps a few years beyond, the city may have to take on that obligation on its own.

Citing a 40% expansion of the county’s service area in 2022, Sarasota County Public Works Director Spencer Anderson told the March 28 joint meeting of city and county commissioners that his staff is recommending an uncoupling of the joint agreement. Such a move would require the city to expand staff, purchase equipment and be responsible for flood mitigation on the mainland and barrier islands.

That pronouncement came as something of a surprise to city commissioners who, other than Jen Ahearn-Koch, had few questions about the proposal.

Stormwater management includes basin master planning in addition to addressing facilities, programs and management necessary for control, treatment and use of stormwater.

It also includes all nonroutine capital improvements necessary to enhance the operation of the stormwater system plus all repair services necessary to sustain the operation and treatment of all stormwater runoff.

Currently, the property assessments to accomplish all that within the city limits net approximately $4 million per year, leveraging that

amount across the entire budget for the county’s Stormwater Environmental Utility, which was established in 1989. Whether that amount is sufficient to sustain the program by the city alone is unknown. Because the entire matter remains speculative, city officials aren’t commenting on the prospects. Ahearn-Koch, though, had questions.

“I have many, many questions, as you can imagine. Do you all have any other details than what you’re providing us here today about your thoughts on all of this?” she asked Anderson. “When I think about the city taking on this responsibility, I imagine it’s a quite large in dollars and also staff and necessary facilities, so I’m not really sure what we are in for here.”

Other than the roughly $4 million in citywide assessments collected for the program, Anderson had no further details to provide, other than to speculate that amount of money may not be enough.

Among the challenges for the county’s SEU was the 2022 addition of 87 square miles of unincorporated county land, a 40% increase over the prior stormwater service area of 216 square miles.

“There wasn’t much to do in that 87 square miles, but as development has moved further east, there is now a higher level of expectation from our residents that we provide service to in those areas,” Anderson said. As a result, the County Commission directed staff to begin ramping up mitigation efforts in that area.

“That means we are now out in that 87 square miles performing regular maintenance on stormwater coverage, stormwater ditches,

STORMWATER ENVIRONMENTAL UTILITY CHANGES AND CHALLENGES

n In 2018, the County Commission directed focus on improving surface water quality within the county.

n Prior to 2022, the SEU service area was 216 square miles, including the city of Sarasota, which comprises 25.2 square miles, or 12%.

n The board added 87 square miles of unincorporated county area to the service area with the 2022 SEU assessment updates, increasing the area by 40%.

n Following the 2024 storm season, the County Commission directed staff to focus on storm resiliency and mitigation of future flood impacts.

n Due to limited SEU resources to provide necessary services within the unincorporated county, SEU staff recommend termination of the interlocal agreement and turning over responsibility of stormwater management within the city back to the city.

all the canals and areas that will require maintenance,” Anderson said. “Before we did not perform maintenance there because it was largely rural.”

The city covers 25.2 square miles of service area, including the recently problematic St. Armands Key, or 12% of the county’s service area.

50% OFF - GOING

SPORTS

“ ... Since freshman year, coach Thor has really inspired me. Now we’re about the same strength, so we compete against each other now.”

FAST BREAK

Riverview girls lacrosse (10-9) won the Class 2A-District 12 championship over Lakewood Ranch 15-6 on April 15. Senior Caroline Steinwachs led the Rams with seven goals, while sophomore Maria Berzins set up the scoring with seven assists. Riverview will next play in 2A-Region 3 quarterfinals on April 22 against an opponent to be determined.

... Sarasota baseball (20-51) defeated Riverview 8-1 in a 7A-District 8 semifinal game on April 15. Junior pitcher Cesar Garmendia pitched a complete game as he allowed one run on five hits and no walks with seven strikeouts over seven innings. The Sailors will play at Venice on April 17 at 7 p.m. for the district championship.

... Cardinal Mooney baseball (17-7) won a 2A-11 semifinal game 15-0 over Sarasota Military Academy in four innings. Senior Tanner Jackson led the Cougars with a 3-for-3 night at the plate with one run, three RBIs and a walk. The Cougars will host The Out-of-Door Academy on April 17 at 7 p.m. in the district final.

... Booker baseball (10-9) eliminated Southeast in the 4A-District 10 quarterfinals 13-3 in six innings to advance to the semifinal round at No. 1 Seminole (19-6).

... Sarasota softball (15-6) has been playing at its best as the season reaches the end. The Sailors beat North Port, 18-7, on April 10, and Riverview, 4-3, on April 11. Though they lost to Parrish Community, they took the Bulls to the brink in a 6-5 loss against the back-toback state champions.

... The Riverview boys and girls tennis teams both took second place in the 4A-District 10 tournament at Venice High to advance to the 4A-Region 5 tournament on April 22. Emilio Nava defeated Liam Draxl (6-2, 7-6) to win the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open on April 13 on the Nick Bollettieri Court. Nava is ranked as the No. 140 singles player on the ATP Tour.

THE CHALLENGE RISING TO

A new coach and a depleted roster hasn’t changed Cougars’ winning ways.

VINNIE PORTELL STAFF WRITER

The Cardinal Mooney beach volleyball program had every reason to take a step back this season.

The Cougars have been one of the better teams in the state since the program began in 2022, compiling a 64-7 record and making it to the state tournament each year.

Then, coach Chad Davis, who started the program, stepped down midway through last season, and several players didn’t return this year.

However, those losses haven’t stopped the Cougars from living up to their reputation.

Cardinal Mooney opened the year with a 3-2 loss to Charlotte, but has lost just one match since and is ranked as the No. 11 overall team in the state — third in Class 1A — by the Florida High School Athletic Association.

Some key figures have ensured Cardinal Mooney continues to excel.

LAST SENIOR STANDING

Izzy Russell stood alone at the sand volleyball courts at Cardinal Mooney day as her team celebrated her during senior day against Bradenton Christian on April 9. Russell is the lone senior for the Cougars and will head to Austin Peay to play the sport later this year.

She didn’t envision herself standing alone on senior day when she started playing the sport as a freshman in 2022.

Russell was one of seven juniors last season for a Cougars team that went 19-3 and made it to the first round of the state tournament.

Despite that success, she was the only returner of that group as her teammates opted not to play or to focus on indoor volleyball to prepare for college.

“I was really sad at first because there were nine of us before, and I’m the only one left now,” Russell said.

“I was sad to have senior night without all of my friends. I knew this was going to be a tough day, but coming in as a senior, I was looking forward to encouraging a new culture and the new freshmen.”

The loss of those players has been felt by the Cougars, but the standard hasn’t changed.

Facing a depleted roster in her first full season as head coach, it forced

Gretchen Hand to rely on a team full of underclassmen to round out her top five pairings.

Cardinal Mooney has 11 freshmen and four sophomores on its 19-player team this season, and they’ve stepped up to the challenge against the fourth-hardest schedule in Class 1A.

“I knew what the standard was, and I think all the girls, even the freshmen, know what that standard is and they really try to meet it,” said freshman Brooke Gruhl, who plays in Cardinal Mooney’s No. 2 pairing.

Losing several experienced players and adjusting to new faces is a challenge on its own, but the Cougars had to couple that with transitioning to a new coach as well.

COUGARS’ LEADERSHIP CHANGES HANDS

Cardinal Mooney lost Davis, who stepped down to pursue other coaching opportunities, midway through last season.

Luckily, there was a replacement on campus who was more than qualified for the position.

Hand played indoor volleyball at the high school and collegiate level (Jefferson College in Jefferson, Missouri) before becoming a professional beach volleyball player. She then went on to coach at Fort Lauderdale High and at several collegiate programs — most recently with UC Davis in 2022.

However, she said that life on the road left her with precious little time to see her then-4-year-old daughter. That led her back to Cardinal Mooney, where she had been an assistant coach with the indoor volleyball team in 2013.

“I just love the Cardinal Mooney community, and I love beach volleyball, so it was kind of the perfect transition,” Hand said. “I wanted to raise my daughter in a faith-based community. I really do believe by

the grace of God that there was a P.E. teacher position available.”

Though she applied to be a physical education teacher, she didn’t hesitate when asked to step in as an interim coach this past season.

Hand led Cardinal Mooney to a 12-2 record over the final two months of the season last year, and that success has continued into this year.

That adjustment appears smooth on the surface, but it wasn’t easy for everyone.

“It was definitely super tough for us as a team, like really sticking together as players,” Russell said. “Some of us had an easier time adjusting to a coaching change, and some people were still stuck on the last coach. We were adjusting to new policies, and most of us had the old coach for three or four years because he was also our old coach, and we were really used to his system.”

Practice drills and playing styles aside, Hand is most concerned with the culture she’s trying to establish at Cardinal Mooney.

That culture looked as if it had firmly taken root in a 3-2 win over Bradenton Christian on April 9. Russell and playing partner Kelsey Fisher didn’t play until the final match of the afternoon, but were dialed in to the other matches to give advice and encouragement to teammates.

When it was time for Russell and Fisher to play, the entire Cougars team packed the sidelines to cheer on every point.

“You won’t see us sit down,” Hand said. “You won’t see the coaches sit down, and you won’t see our kids sit down. We really believe in supporting each other. If someone needs water or Gatorade, we’re going to run and get it for each other. We’re not ever going to let anyone down. That’s our goal.”

The Cougars are about to see how far their new players and culture can take them.

With the regular season now over, Cardinal Mooney will open play in the 1A-District 11 tournament on April 22.

1A-DISTRICT 11 RANKINGS

n Cardinal Mooney (9-2), No. 11 in Florida n Bradenton Christian (8-5), No. 29 in Florida n Sarasota Christian (11-5), No. 99 in Florida n Gulf Coast HEAT (5-6), No. 173 in Florida n The Classical Academy of Sarasota (2-6), No. 201 in Florida n St. Petersburg Catholic (3-6), No. 227 in Florida

Riverview girls tennis star leaves it all on the court

Riverview senior Julia Piotrowska brought fiery play with her from Poland.

Some competitors and onlookers might take the aggression and confidence Julia Piotrowska shows on the tennis court the wrong way. If they knew her story, however, the passion the Riverview senior shows after pivotal points would make sense.

Piotrowska, who has played tennis since she was 7 years old, moved to the Sarasota area with her mother, Malgorzata, from Poland five years ago for better opportunities to play year-round. She said the harsh winters of Poland made it impossible to play outdoors during the winter, and indoor courts were hard to find.

That meant she had to resort to using a makeshift tennis court using a pickleball net on a basketball court or a track.

Piotrowska’s passion and years of hard work were rewarded in the Class 4A-District 10 tournament at Venice High. She won both the No. 1 singles final — 6-1, 6-0 over Christine Wu of Venice — and the No. 1 doubles final with partner Kathleen Siddons, 6-4, 6-2 over Wu and Tess Tchorbadjiev of Venice.

Those wins helped the Riverview girls tennis team finish runner-up in districts, earning them a spot in the 4A-Region 5 semifinal at Lutz Steinbrenner High School on April 22 at 3 p.m.

Best of all for Piotrowska, those wins secured her a spot at the 4A state tournament in singles and doubles play regardless of what happens at regionals.

“The doubles was very special because we lost to them the last time we played them, so it was pretty stressful,” she said. “We came back from 3-0 down in the first set, so the fight was great. At 5-4 we had multiple deuces. I was very nervous, but we pushed through and cheered each other on.”

Piotrowska wasn’t shy about putting her confidence on display as she rallied against Venice alongside Siddons.

Outbursts of “Come on,” “I’m the wall” and cries of excitement were frequent from Piotrowska as the pair started to take control, before letting loose an “Oh my God” upon winning.

Though some may mistake Piotrowska’s passion for cockiness, she said it’s something that’s simply built into her DNA.

“I’m eastern European, so I guess that’s the character I have,” Piotrowska said. “I’m very tough and loud.”

Piotrowska first played tennis at Celsius Tennis Academy in Sara-

sota upon moving to the area, but she transitioned to a private coach when coach Cary Cohenour died in March 2023.

After playing at Sarasota Christian as an eighth grader, she transferred to Riverview, where she’s been a No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles player all four years of her high school career.

“She doesn’t like to lose,” said Riverview girls tennis coach Kathy Rosenberg, who also coaches at Celsius Tennis Academy. “Sometimes that works against her, but generally speaking, she’s been playing competitive tennis for a long time, more than most of my kids out here have played. She loves to compete and she loves to win.”

That fiery approach has been especially crucial to the success of the Rams’ No. 1 doubles team alongside Siddons. Siddons, who plays more low-key and reserved than Piotrowska, said that the two make for a good pairing.

“We have a pretty different dynamic, but I think it honestly works better that way,” said Siddons, who added being a lefthanded hitter also complements Piotrowska’s right-handed hitting. “Sometimes I need to be more aggressive, and she helps me get there. She’s so nice off the court and she’s a super nice person, so I don’t think it took us that long. I’m not scared of her. A lot of people say they’re afraid of her, but no, she’s so sweet.”

Siddons, a junior, is new to No. 1 doubles this year and had to learn how to play alongside Piotrowska.

Time spent together off the court getting food and hanging out on the weekend helped the two bond and build chemistry that has proved vital.

This year will be Siddons’ first trip to the state tournament and also the last for Piotrowska.

Despite having dreams of playing tennis at the collegiate level, she said she ultimately decided to prioritize her education. She plans to enroll in the pre-med program at the University of Florida later this year and play club tennis.

But not before giving it her all for one final try at a state championship at Sanlando Park in Seminole County from April 30 through May 2.

Vinnie Portell is the sports reporter for the Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer. Contact him at VPortell@ YourObserver.com.

Mass in Father Pick Hall at 9:45 a.m.

THE PATH TO A CHAMPIONSHIP

RIVERVIEW BOYS TENNIS

The Rams boys team also finished runner-up to Venice at the Class 4A-District 10 tournament.

4A-Region 5 semifinal: at Steinbrenner in Lutz on April 22 at 3 p.m.

4A-Region 5 final: If Riverview wins, Rams play winner of Alonso vs. Venice on April 24 at 3 p.m.

RIVERVIEW GIRLS TENNIS

4A-Region 5 semifinal: at Steinbrenner in Lutz on April 22 at 3 p.m.

4A-Region 5 final: If Riverview wins, Rams play winner of Plant vs. Venice on April 24 at 3 p.m.

Cooper Robinson

Sarasota junior Cooper Robinson

showcased his strength at the Class 3A boys weightlifting state championships on April 12 at RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Robinson, who also plays offensive line for the Sailors football team, started weightlifting as a sophomore last year, but found breakthrough success this year.

Leading up to the state championships, Robinson (Unlimited weight class) placed second in the Olympicstyle lift with a 520-pound total in districts and fourth in the traditional-style lift with a 645-pound total.

At regionals, he placed fifth in Olympic (500-pound total) and sixth in traditional (625-pound total).

In the biggest meet of the year, Robinson posted some of his best results. He finished sixth in the 3A championships in the Olympic category with a total lift of 515 pounds and eighth in the traditional category with a total lift of 640 pounds (350-pound bench press, 290-pound clean and 225-pound snatch).

When and why did you start weightlifting?

Coach Thor (Miller) used to be a football coach here. He made me do (weightlifting), but then I started to like it. I had fun with my friends, so that’s why I stayed. I also did it because I wanted to get stronger, and it did. It made me a lot stronger and more explosive.

What’s been the most memorable moment this season?

Probably the long car rides to regionals and states with my friends. We got lost along the way and it was like an hour excursion driving down this long shell road. My friend was giving me the wrong directions.

What went right for you this year?

Last year, my season ended pretty early. My dad took me out of it for personal reasons. This year, I put in work with the football team and went to the gym. That got me a lot stronger. My form also got better with the help of coach Thor.

If you would like to make a recommendation for the Sarasota Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Vinnie Portell at VPortell@ YourObserver.com.

What’s your favorite meal?

Cheeseburgers. I’ll eat them from anywhere and I make them at home, too. I like them with lettuce, onion, cheese and mayo with fries on the side. I eat a lot of stuff, though.

What’s your favorite TV show or movie?

Lately my friend got me into watching “Invincible.” It has superheroes, fighting and its action-packed.

What’s your go-to warm-up song?

I don’t listen to music when I lift. I’ve tried it. In fact, I tried it before regionals, but that was probably one of my worst meets of the season, when I listened to music before. But I was also waiting around for hours before it, too. When I’m in the car, I’ll listen to music though. My favorite rapper is Kendrick Lamar, and my favorite singer is Bruno Mars.

If you’re not lifting weights or playing football, what are you doing?

I like to bake. I like eating sweets, so I’m gonna make them. I make cookies and brownies all the time. At least once a week. I like to play video games, too.

Finish this sentence.

Cooper Robinson is ...

The Vanilla Gorilla. That’s the nickname my teammates have given me.

TIME TRIALS

Students created vehicles themed after different time periods for the 10th Annual Remote Control Car Competition at Faulhaber Fab Lab.

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

At first, the vehicle was a little top-heavy, seventh grader Layla Loeffel and her brother, fifth grader

J.D. Loeffel, found.

The two had created a remotecontrolled car themed after a 1950s diner, an idea they got from “Back to the Future.”

They 3D printed many of the components, and spending hours handpainting them. Because of the diner’s size, they placed a weight, which they had found inside the lab, on the front of the car.

Fortunately, everything balanced out.

The diner was part of their plan to keep their design efforts strong every year, in their third year of participating in the Annual Remote Control Car Competition at Faulhaber Fab Lab.

FAST FORWARD THROUGH TIME

The event, now in its 10th year, was the culmination of efforts by over 175

According to Fab Lab, students spent two months creating the vehicles, using technology including 3D printers and laser cutters, while 15 high school student volunteers who contributed more than 1,000 hours guided the program.

There was a design competition on April 11, while April 12 featured a drag race and obstacle course, with the chance for kids to win cash prizes, scholarships and other awards.

With the theme of both race tracks being a journey through time, kids had the chance to showcase the eras they were most passionate about.

Fourth grader Charlie Cavallaro and fifth grader Guadalupe Jaraz created a medieval-themed car.

“I had the original idea for medieval, and we both love history, so he agreed on it,” said Cavallaro.

At first, their car would veer off in the wrong direction, he said, with a screw falling off and the tires not turning, but he said they could fix the problem with glue and a screwdriver. Nonetheless, the castle on their car ended up being knocked off during the races.

The Loeffels hoped their diner would survive, as all of their past efforts destroyed their car. (In their first year, they created a jellyfish car, and in their second, a carnivalthemed car with a spinning Ferris wheel.)

Layla said this year, they encased many of the pieces inside the diner.

“If the box falls off, then every-

thing’s safe,” Layla said, “So I think this year it might be OK unless somebody just rams it and smashes the whole thing.”

For Cameron Cuff, a fifth grader, and Riley Thomas, a fifth grader who was competing for the first time, the process wasn’t always easy, but they felt the end result was a success.

Their car featured a 3D-printed dinosaur enjoying a meal of chicken nuggets (which they said are actually dino nuggets) as well as other elements, such as lights on the wheels.

However, they would sometimes have different ideas about aspects like the colors of different objects.

“We basically compromised, and we said, like, if I get to choose mine on this thing, you can choose yours on this thing, and it all ended up pretty well,” Cuff said.

Thomas said even though she’s not planning to pursue engineering as a career, she enjoyed the experience of building the car.

“I would love to do this in my free time ... ” she said. “I love arts and crafts, and it just kind of works out.”

A laughing matter

The Florida Weekend of Laughter Celebration helped spread laughter yoga in the community.

IAN SWABY

ail Trites said she became involved in laughter yoga five years ago, after the death of her husband.

“It changed my life ... ” she said. “It brightened my spirits.”

She was one of the participants who turned out for the Florida Weekend of Laughter Celebration, held in Sarasota on April 5-6.

Held in honor of the 30th anniversary of laughter yoga, the event began at Hyatt Place Sarasota Airport on Saturday with the Florida Day of Laughter, and continued the next day with Sunday FUNDay, an event for all ages, at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

Cathy Grippi, the Venice-based certified laughter yoga leader and teacher who led the event, says when she first started laughing, her laughter wasn’t real.

However, she liked how it helped to relive her depression without medication, and after becoming trained, she began leading a weekly session as a commitment to herself.

“That has changed my life, and ultimately, it attracts other people who want to do something weird and different and new,” said Grippi.

Laughter yoga is the activity of laughing with intention or on purpose. However, laughter yoga teachers and leaders in attendance at the event, who came from locations around the state and country, said the practice still needs more exposure.

The grounds of the Ringling Museum, where visitors had the chance to join in the Sunday FUNDay event despite not being registered to do so, was one opportunity.

“I personally think one of the exposure issues is sometimes people

IF YOU GO

yoga sessions on Saturday mornings, 10-10:30 a.m. at Gazebo, Centennial Park, Venice Island, 200 W. Venice Ave.

are like, Why have I never heard of this?” said Joan Castellano, a certified laughter leader. “Because there’s no laughter yoga studio. There’s a yoga studio. There’s a massage studio. There’s a Reiki studio.”

Laughter yoga began in March 1995 by physician Madan Kataria in Mumbai, India, who persuaded four people to join him in a session in a public park and soon developed a following of 50 people.

Although it does not include yoga poses, it combines laughter with playful movements that may include clapping, as well as others.

In contrast to yoga training, which requires a minimum of 200 hours, laughter yoga leader training lasts for 15 hours.

However, leaders and teachers said the practice can still be challenging.

“You have to be vulnerable, and you have to connect with other people, and if you make it too awkward, it intimidates people, and they don’t engage and they don’t connect with it,” Castellano said.

The coast is cleared

Trash collection efforts took place Saturday throughout Sarasota County, contributing to the ‘Greatest American Cleanup.’

For Serena Thompson, the need to keep the beach clean was self-explanatory.

“Honestly, just walking on it, and you see how beautiful it is, you wouldn’t want to see all that trash and stuff, and it’s bad for the environment. So, yeah, everyday thing,” she said.

Thompson was one volunteer who headed out to Siesta Key, a site where volunteer slots filled up for the Greatest American Cleanup on April 12.

The cleanup spanned areas across Sarasota County, from beaches to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.

Held by Keep Sarasota County Beautiful, the event was part of a nationwide cleanup by Keep America Beautiful that attracts more than 5 million individuals each year.

According to the county’s website, volunteers’ work has returned $175 million in measurable benefits across participating communities over the past five years.

Staff at the construction company Moss and the engineering firm Kimley-Horn drove the cleanup efforts at Lido Beach, bringing together about 20 volunteers.

“Both companies are in the construction industry,” civil engineer Andrew Pluta said. “We’ve worked

together on a lot of great projects, including some of the really nice skyscrapers here. We just wanted to connect and do some good for the area.”

He added community members don’t need to wait for organized events to keep some of the best beaches in the country pristine.

Hunter Jensen, program coordinator for Sarasota County, said for the first time, the cleanup featured captains for individual sites. He also noted this time, litter is weighed, while volunteers took observation forms to fill out.

He said in Siesta Key, volunteers were finding many cigarette butts, despite cigarettes being banned on the beach, as well as many plastic casings and wrappings.

Keep Sarasota County Beautiful also hosts the Liberty Litter Cleanup after July 4 and the International Coastal Cleanup in the fall.

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Sharing in the story

When songs and the Four Questions take place during the Passover Seder, the youngest members traditionally recite them, noted Rabbi Michael Shefrin.

The Annual Family Seder, held April 13 at Temple Emanu-El, was a chance for young members and their parents to enjoy a full Seder meal together.

The Jewish tradition of the Seder meal takes place on the holiday of Passover in order to recount the story of Exodus.

“It’s one of those amazing traditions that you actually don’t have to do inside a synagogue or temple,” Shefrin said. “You’re supposed to do it at home. Many of our families don’t do a Seder.”

The temple hosted its main Passover Seder event at The Ora on April 12 and held its annual Seder meal exclusively for its religious school students on April 6.

“We just want to make sure that we’re meeting them where they are, so we try to do as much as possible whenever we can,” Shefrin said. — IAN SWABY

SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2025

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Easter egg hunting goes aquatic

lthough Brianna Winzeler, 1, was too young to hunt for eggs in the swimming pool, her mother, Rachael Winzeler, said the family would return to the Aqua Egg Hunt in the future.

As Brianna was enjoying a meeting with the Easter Bunny, Rachael Winzeler said her three older boys enjoyed the egg hunts that day.

“She will be doing them when she’s older,” she said.

Held at Arlington Park & Aquatic Complex on Saturday, the annual event hosted by the city featured egg hunts in the complex’s swimming pools, divided by age for safety.

Kids enjoyed inflatables and took home goodie bags, while organizers offered prizes for special “golden” eggs.

Emily Morris, manager at Arlington Park & Aquatic Complex, said hunting for Easter eggs in the water is a unique experience in the area.

“Everyone seems to be smiling when they’re leaving, so we’re happy to be able to do it for the community and host it every year,” she said.

and

A track and field for all

Oak Park School cuts the ribbon on new athletic track.

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

After cutting the ribbon, it didn’t take long for students at Oak Park School to fully circle the new athletic track during the school’s first event, the Panther Prowl.

“It feels amazing,” said Grace Barcelo, a student in the school’s structured work program, of seeing the project finally complete.

The new multipurpose, lighted track and field joins the athletic facilities at Oak Park School, which provides educational and therapeutic services to more than 300 students with disabilities.

Principal Sean Donovan said nine months ago the space had simply been an open field with a “very decrepit” softball diamond and ant hills.

However, Sarasota County Schools and Sarasota County Parks entered an interlocal agreement to collabo-

rate on the funding, design, building, and maintenance of the project, which began design in 2023.

The project includes a six-lane, 400-meter rubberized track with one eight-lane straightaway. It also includes a high school-size soccer field with synthetic turf, sideline water, electrical outlets, a soccer scoreboard, soccer poles and netting, new fencing and a new sidewalk.

The project cost $3,951,964, with the county contributing $500,000.

The use of the track will extend beyond school hours, and Donovan notes the plan is to host different walks and 5Ks, and planned to become the primary location for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation’s annual walk on May 17.

He said the project will help guide the partnership between the school district and county, which also encompasses projects like the lighted soccer fields at Tatum Ridge Elementary School.

“As our community grows and gets larger and larger, we’re going to have more needs for more schools, so the hope is that we can kind of set the model and set the template for what this partnership between Sarasota County Parks and Sarasota County schools can really look like to make sure that not only the school benefits and the students benefit, but the entire community benefits as well,” he said.

Winnie the Pooh comes to the area

Bookstore1Sarasota’s live radio-style adaptation of ‘The House on Pooh Corner’ will be performed April 17 and 18.

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

People may know the Gothic Library at Bookstore1Sarasota for its darker fare.

Yet, its next performance is taking a fuzzier turn by focusing on a beloved “silly old bear.”

Director Ren Pearson says it surprised everyone that his next choice in the series of radio-style live shows was “The House on Pooh Corner.”

The performance, produced in association with Theatre Odyssey, will be performed April 17 and again on April 18.

The series, which features actors offering live narration and line readings, along with sound design, originated from an idea by Pearson, an employee of the store.

It comes after the original “Winnie-the-Pooh” book by A.A. Milne (1926) entered the public domain in 2022, followed by its sequel, “The House at Pooh Corner” (1928), in 2024.

“The public domain, I think, just kind of gave me the kick in the pants to realize, wait a minute, we could do this, and we could do it with all these characters that everyone loves,” he said.  Pearson said it wasn’t difficult to find a uniting theme in adapting the book and its many individual stories.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30-9 p.m., April 17-18

Where: Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S. Pineapple Ave.

Tickets: $25

Visit: EventBrite.com

He found this thread in the plot line of Tigger’s arrival in the Hundred Acre Wood. Although Tigger’s exuberant personality does cause some annoyance, especially for Rabbit, they ultimately welcome him into the Wood.

“I figured, I think the world could do with some kindness right now, because it’s not a kind time for anybody right now ... ” Pearson said. “The sort of idea that we should be helping others, just because others deserve it, I kind of used that thread and chose the stories that related to that thread.”

He said one aspect of the production that still posed a challenge was staying out of the shadow of Disney’s version.

He notes that differentiating the production was difficult for him, since as a child he would watch the Disney films, as well as the “New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” TV series.

The Disney films and their versions of the story elements are still under copyright.

Nonetheless, Pearson says he thinks the actors he’s chosen fit their roles perfectly.

“The characters were already there with the people I picked, and upon hearing them read these characters,

I saw them instantly in my brain, so I think the audience will, too,” he said.

One example is Tom Horton, who is playing Winnie-the-Pooh.

“He just has one of the sweetest English voices,” he said. “He could read you anything, and he could just fall asleep, and it just fit Pooh.”

He said his brother, Vincent Pearson, who is fittingly lively and energetic, is playing Tigger. “I did encourage him to just take a little bit from Disney, but still make it your own, because people will be coming in with an expectation,” he said.

Pearson said as much as he loves

Gothic literature, to his surprise, he isn’t a particular fan of what he describes as a trend where “as soon as a beloved character enters the public domain, someone makes a cheap horror film out of it.”

“Children’s literature has just as much value as spooky Gothic literature, I feel, and I’m hoping that if anyone does choose to adapt these stories, just take a second before you decide to go nuts with them,” he said. You may find just enough to give you a good product.”

A Bay Island home tops sales at $7.5

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

ABay Island home on Hanson Bayou Road tops the week’s sales at $7.5 million.

Douglas Olson, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 439 Hanson Bayou Road to HIHA Properties LLC for $7.5 million. Built in 1909, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,092 square feet of living area.

SARASOTA

JOSIAH S. PAUL

Robert and Melanie Whaley, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, sold their home at 653 40th St. to John and Melissa Shlofrock, of Northfield, Illinois, for $3.05 million. Built in 2021, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,024 square feet of living area.

VUE Ormus LLC sold the Unit 1201 condominium at 1155 N. Gulfstream Ave. to Robin Davenport and Philip Scott Francis, of Sarasota, for $2,885,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,489 square feet of living area. It sold for $2,022,800 in 2017.

BAYSO SARASOTA

Paul Anthony Masco and Caroline Masco, of Holmdel, New Jersey, sold their Unit 1811 condominium at 301 Quay Commons to Jason Wilson and Nancy Wilson, trustees, of Sarasota, for $2.75 million. Built in 2023, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 2,072 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,977,700 in 2023.

Jesse and Katherine Zuckerman, of Smithtown, New York, sold their Unit 1106 condominium at 301 Quay Commons to Coleman and Gina Rector, of Gainesville, Virginia, for $1,475,000. Built in 2023, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,766 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,169,600 in 2023.

MARK SARASOTA

Peter and Melissa Delisser sold their Unit 1206 condominium at 111 S. Pineapple Ave. to Leon and Sharon Oberlander, of Sarasota, for $2.67 million. Built in 2019, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,507 square feet of living area. It sold for $2,005,000 in 2020.

DESOTA PARK

John O’Brien and Jean Bourgeois, of Cleveland, sold their home at 1805 Datura St. to Steven and Vanessa Baker, of Sarasota, for $2.65 million. Built in 2012, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,318 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.1 million in 2012.

THE COLLECTION

Mindy Berkson, trustee, of Mooresville, North Carolina, sold the Unit 4E condominium at 1335 Second St. to James Rand and Miriam Deborah

Rand, of Sarasota, for $2,295,000. Built in 2022, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,547 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,959,000 in 2023.

THE LANDINGS

Cheryl Stanzione, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 1501 Peregrine Point Drive to Justin and Jaime Lee, of Sarasota, for $1.85 million. Built in 1981, it has three bedrooms, two-and-three-half baths, a pool and 3,802 square feet of living area. It sold for $510,000 in 2010.

HARTSDALE

Ruth Rauch and Paul Rauch, of Bradenton, sold two properties at 1839 Boyce St. to Jeffrey Scott, of Sarasota, for $1.7 million. The first property was built in 1940 and has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,917 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1940 and has one bedroom, one bath and 600 square feet of living area. They sold for $76,500 in 1979.

Raymond Dean Hautamaki and Elizabeth Finch Hautamaki sold their home at 1910 Morris St. to Peter and Melissa de Lisser, of Sarasota, for $1.5 million. Built in 1938, it has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,695 square feet of living area. It sold for $139,000 in 1994.

CURRIN’S LAKEVIEW

Gregory and Carol Ann Kalish, of Topanga, California, sold their home at 1744 Spring Creek Drive to Peter Currin, of Sarasota, for $1.5 million. Built in 1948, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,489 square feet of living area. It sold for $200,000 in 1995.

POMELO AVENUE

Richard Allen Myers and Sally Joan Birnkrant, of Sarasota, sold their home at 1025 Pomelo Ave. to Nancy Assuncao-Sanchez, of Siesta Key, for $1,475,000. Built in 1990, it has four bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,209 square feet of living area. It sold for $270,000 in 1994.

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

RENAISSANCE

W. Keith Gray and Wendy Leaney, of Ontario, Canada, sold their Unit PH-12 condominium at 750 N. Tamiami Trail to Melissa Kulhanjian, trustee, of Sarasota, for $1.3 million. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,560 square feet of living area. It sold for $685,000 in 2017.

ONLINE

See more transactions at YourObserver.com

Other top sales by area

SARASOTA: $3.8 MILLION

Harbor Acres Jack and Laura Wazen, of Sarasota, sold their home at 1340 Harbor Drive to SRQ Home Holdings LLC for $3.8 million. Built in 1950, it has four bedrooms, four-and-ahalf baths, a pool and 4,313 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.34 million in 2006.

PALMER RANCH: $1.25 MILLION

Esplanade on Palmer Ranch

Michael Eugene Jasin and Brenda Garcia Jasin, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, sold their home at 5361 Salcano St. to Rodney and Regina Sedwick, of Orange, Virginia, for $1.25 million. Built in 2019, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,420 square feet of living area. It sold for $1 million in 2022.

OSPREY: $885,000

Baypointe Vista

Carol Marchetto, of Nokomis, sold her Unit 504 condominium at 236 Hidden Bay Drive to Richard and Rebecca DeMasi, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, for $885,000. Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,100 square feet of living area. It sold for $410,000 in 2011.

NOKOMIS: $2.5 MILLION

Casey Key

Paul and Veronica Gross, trustees, of Richmond, Virginia, sold the home at 1608 Casey Key Road to William and Sherry Augustine, of Cornelius, North Carolina, for $2.5 million. Built in 1960, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,738 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.7 million in 2012.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18

GOOD FRIDAY STATIONS OF THE CROSS PILGRIMAGE DOWN MAIN STREET

7-8:30 a.m., beginning at Regal Hollywood Theatre, 1993 Main St., and ending at Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave. Free. This worldwide devotional tradition involves 14 stops representing the stages of Jesus’ crucifixion. It is now in its 24th year in Sarasota and includes 27 ministers of 14 denominations, with more than 100 congregations represented. Visit SarasotaFL.gov.

SATURDAY, APRIL 19

SPRING FLING AND EASTER PARADE

2 p.m. at North Osprey Avenue and Dr. MLK Jr. Way. Free. Newtown hosts its annual Easter parade, which features dance groups, vendors, music and more. Visit SarasotaFL.gov.

THE ART OF IKEBANA: FLORAL EXHIBITION

10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Gulf Gate Library, 7112 Curtiss Ave. Free. Learn about the art of Ikebana, the arrangement of flowers in a stylized form, in this exhibition sponsored by the Sarasota Chapter of Ikebana International. Featuring local and exotic materials, the exhibition highlights the five main schools of the art form, with arrangements by children included. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.

SUNDAY, APRIL 20

BRUNCH AT THE BAY FEATURING

LIVE MUSIC BY THE CHUCK PARR

TRIO

Noon to 1 p.m. at The Nest, The Bay, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Enjoy brunch items at The Nest Cafe, including waffles, muffins, bloody marys and mimosas, while listening to jazz and Latin jazz standards by the Chuck Parr Trio. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23

PHILLIPPI FARMHOUSE MARKET

Every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Phillippi Estate Park, 5500 S. Tamiami Trail. Free. This seasonal market, open every Wednesday from October through April from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., features produce, prepared foods, artisanal products and live

BEST BET

SATURDAY, APRIL 19

EASTER EGG HUNT

9-11 a.m. at Siesta Key Chapel, 4615 Gleason Ave. $15 per child. Celebrate Easter with games, activities, live animals and photos with the Easter Bunny. Egg Hunt times are 9:20 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:20 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. The Egg Hunt heats will accommodate 40 kids per heat. Online registration closes Friday, April 18, at 3 p.m. Visit My.SiestaKeyChamber.com.

music. Visitors can also explore the grounds of Phillippi Estate Park, including the historic Edson Keith Mansion, through a free, docentled tour beginning at 10 a.m. each Wednesday. Visit SarasotaCountyParks.com.

YOGA AT THE RINGLING

6:30 p.m. at John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road. $20; $15 for members. This hour-long group yoga class welcomes all ages and experience levels to The Bolger Campiello at the Ringling Museum. Instructor Ashley Stewart, a Sarasota native, has been teaching yoga at The Ringling for over five years. Visit Ringling.org.

THURSDAY, APRIL 24

REMAKE LEARNING DAYS — SCIENCE CLUB

3:30-4:30 p.m. at Fruitville Library, 100 Apex Road. Free. Ages 6-12. Kids are invited to grow their scientific knowledge with hands-on science experiments through the help of Miss Jenny and other Fruitville librarians. Sessions cover different branches of the sciences, with each month featuring a new experiment. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket. com.

Hearing connects us. It makes us feel a part of our world. Whether it’s laughter at the family dinner table, a rousing debate at work, the eclectic energy of a live concert or even the quiet rustling of leaves on a warm summer night, hearing is so much more than a simple sense. It is simply part of who you are.

At AudioNova, we want to restore your sense of hearing so that you can get back what you’ve been missing. So you can feel like you again. If you’ve been putting off getting your hearing checked for another day, there’s never been a better time to take that important first step.

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