Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer 6.5.25

A running start to summer

Chris Nock has been running in the Kids’ Summer Beach Runs since he was a child during the 1990s.

On June 3, he took off across the sands of Siesta Key Beach with his wife, Lindsay Nock, and their daughter, Nancy Nock, 4, between them.

The rainy weather didn’t deter the family, and it did not stop the turnout of dozens as the popular event launched this year’s cycle.

Chris said Nancy has been attending the runs since she was a baby in a stroller.

The runs, presented by Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources and New Balance of Sarasota, are held Tuesdays until July 29, at Siesta Key Beach.

Choral Artists of Sarasota established its Dr. Ann Stephenson-Moe Scholarship in honor of Stephenson-Moe for her contributions to the organization and her mentorship of young singers at Church of the Redeemer and Temple Beth Israel.

Each year, it continues to honor her name by awarding the scholarship to a young singer in its educational outreach program it deems to be outstanding.

This year’s recipient of the $1,000 award was Sarasota’s Grace Grogan, a recent high school graduate who plans to attend Stetson University in the fall with a major in vocal performance and a pre-med minor.

$0.10 Amplifying voices

WEEK OF JUNE 5, 2025

BY THE NUMBERS

48 Affordable and attainable units among 435 multifamily dwellings across three projects recently before the city’s Development Review Committee PAGE 6A

169 Multifamily apartments planned by the Sarasota Housing Authority in the final two phases of Amaryllis Park Place PAGE 13A

3 High schools — Sarasota, Riverview and Booker — that celebrated graduations this past week PAGE 1B

CALENDAR

■ Sarasota County School Board regular meeting —

3 p.m., Tuesday, June 10, Board Chambers, Landings Administration Complex, 1980 Landings Blvd. (black awning entrance)

■ Sarasota Planning Board regular meeting — 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 11, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St.

“I

am the sole survivor from the planning staff. I started in December of 1999 ... near the beginning of ... the creation of the Downtown Master Plan 2020.”

Sarasota Long Range Planning Manager David Smith to the Downtown Master Plan 2020 Update Committee. Read more on page 5A

Local lifeguard honored for 2024 rescues

ASarasota County beach

lifeguard who rescued seven people from a rip current at Lido Beach in 2024 received the National Medal of Valor recently from the United States Lifesaving Association and was named Lifeguard of the Year by the Florida Beach Patrol Chiefs Association.

Mariano Martinez received both awards on May 17. He was among three lifeguards nationally to be awarded the Medal of Honor for 2024 and the only one outside of California.

“I

have 15 years of experience in Argentina on the beach, and six here, and this rescue was the rescue for me for sure.”

Beach patrol chiefs across the state vote on the Lifeguard of the Year award.

“I have 15 years of experience in Argentina on the beach, and six here, and this rescue was the rescue for me for sure,” Martinez said.

In a video recorded in 2024, Martinez said he was off duty and relaxing on the beach after his June 22, 2024, shift on Lido Beach when he said he saw a water rescue alert come across the PulsePoint phone app. The native Argentinian said

he immediately ran toward the address in the 400 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive. He said the first victim he encountered was underwater and drowning. He put her in his flotation tube and headed farther offshore, finding a mother and daughter in a similar state.

Speaking Spanish to calm them down, he held both above water and brought them to shore. He then returned for the woman on his flotation tube and brought her to safety. He then brought the others, who were floating on boards, to shore, as well.

Sarasota wins Smart City award

Smart Cities Connect has recognized the city of Sarasota with a Smart 20 Award for its Smart City initiatives during its annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The Smart City Initiative is a coordinated effort to achieve resiliency, improve connectivity and invest in Sarasota’s future. It includes pedestrian and traffic safety data, realtime beach and red tide monitoring technology and a program providing free Wi-Fi in four city parks.

“This initiative’s goal is to carry Sarasota toward the future while allowing for more efficient and data-driven decision making,” said City Engineer Nik Patel in a news release. “We’ve seen promising and encouraging results as the initiative has taken shape, including increased precision in pinpointing areas for traffic calming, bicycle and pedestrian safety issues, resiliency efforts and much more.”

Initiatives include:

■ Bicycle and pedestrian safety and traffic calming: Connected and automated vehicles camera technology, which can detect and report a range of safety issues, has been installed at 16 of 93 city intersections. A traffic-calming data program, focusing on roadway usage and traffic patterns, is in use citywide.

■ Beach conditions and red tide monitoring: The real-time beach conditions and red tide monitoring system, operated in partnership with Mote Marine Laboratory, provides residents and visitors the ability to access real-time reports at VisitBeaches.org. Users can access data from up to 17 locations within Sarasota city limits, including information about beach conditions, weather, surf and crowd size.

■ Wi-Fi in the Parks: Free, highspeed internet is available in four city parks: Arlington Park, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, Payne Park and Bayfront Park. High-speed fiber optic lines have been installed in key areas across the city to support additional smart city technology as well as assist municipal and emergency communications and traffic control.

Visit the Smart City Initiative at SarasotaFL.gov for more info.

OBSTACLES AT STAKE

Sea turtles face natural obstacles and groups say human-caused impacts can be detrimental.

CARTER WEINHOFER | STAFF WRITER

It’s a light, it’s a coyote … sometimes, it’s a human.

Sea turtles throughout Florida and on the Suncoast often encounter obstacles like beach changes, predators and impacts from artificial lights. Longboat Key Turtle Watch said it saw a new issue this season with humans taking stakes from nesting sites near Sarasota’s shores.

When a nesting sea turtle lays eggs on the beach, volunteers like those with Longboat Key Turtle Watch and the Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, on Siesta Key and Casey Key, identify the nesting sites by observing turtle tracks. Then, volunteers mark the nest with stakes and, sometimes, tape it off.

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, which permits Longboat Key Turtle Watch’s activity, slightly changed the stake nesting method this year. Beachgoers may see some nesting sites with only one stake.

That’s the problem, said Cyndi Seamon, vice president of Longboat Key Turtle Watch. Though the lone stake has a bright orange placard, Longboat Key Turtle Watch experienced instances of people removing the lone stake.

“People should know they’re not supposed to do anything with them,” Seamon said. “And honestly, we’ve never had a problem with this in the past. I don’t know what it is.”

This happened to a nest on Greer

NEST NUMBERS

Island. The removal of a stake led to a Longboat Key Turtle Watch volunteer restaking the nest with a good degree of certainty, said Seamon.

But when it happened a second time, volunteers could not locate the exact spot. That means the nest will likely be removed from Mote’s database.

“It’s unfortunate,” Seamon said. “Now, no one’s going to look for (the nest).”

Mote uses a sequence for determining which nests to monitor and which require volunteers to return to after they hatch, to excavate it and calculate the hatch success.

With the new stake method, a nest will either get one, two or four stakes. The location of the nest on the beach, whether it’s monitored, and whether the area is mechanically raked determine the number of stakes. Nests with one stake aren’t monitored, but Seamon said every nest is important.

“Just because it’s not monitored doesn’t mean we don’t look at it every day. We absolutely do,” Seamon said.

Mote records every active nest and other activity like false crawls, which is when a nesting sea turtle makes it to shore but doesn’t nest. Mote’s territory extends from Longboat Key to Venice. Other organizations use similar systems, and Seamon said

Numbers represent the number of nests in each territory from the start of nesting season until the end of May for the respective year.

some areas with higher nest density, like Florida’s east coast, don’t use any stakes.

“The good thing is, there are fewer obstacles on the beach for the turtles that are nesting and for the people who are walking and using the beach,” Seamon said.

One of the more common obstacles for sea turtles is artificial light, which can cause disorientation. Disorientations occur when artificial light confuses nesting or hatchling sea turtles and they are misdirected to somewhere other than back to the ocean.

Longboat Key’s town code prohibits any light visible from the beach and requires property owners to either install turtle-friendly light fixtures or use window tinting and blinds.

Sarasota County also has turtle protection ordinances similar to Longboat’s in that no light is visible from the beach, and the code outlines measures property owners can take to mitigate light.

Seamon said she witnessed the signs of at least one disorientation so far, in which a nesting adult laid eggs, then went east instead of west. Luckily, the turtle turned around and didn’t make it to the road.

She was unclear what the exact cause was, but said it could have been lights from a nearby condominium.

Another issue she raised before the season began was that some properties had exposed pools without fencing due to storm damage.

Whether the pool is empty or filled, it poses a threat to sea turtles. Seamon said property owners should remain vigilant and seek guidance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“You need to at least put something around the pool, even if you’re not going to put it around the property,” Seamon advised.

Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps reached out to representatives at the FWC to see what advice they had to share with these properties. The FWC recommended “installa-

“People should know they’re not supposed to do anything with them. And honestly, we’ve never had a problem with this in the past ... ”

— Cyndi Seamon, vice president of Longboat Key Turtle Watch

tion of blocking material to preclude marine turtle, including hatchling, access to pools, under decks, housing structures, roads and/or any other areas that pose a risk to marine turtles,” according to an email sent to Mopps.

A sturdy fence, such as a chainlink with an attached silt screen, could achieve this. Temporary structures on the beach would need approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Despite the minor challenges, Seamon said activity has increased since the first nest was found on April 26.

“The turtles are definitely picking up. It’s getting busier,” Seamon said. For county residents who want to learn more about sea turtle nesting, the Longboat Key Turtle Watch hosts public beach walks on Saturdays in June and July at 6:45 a.m. at 4795 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

New fares for Breeze OnDemand begin July 1

A FARE FOR ALL

Beginning on July 1, these Breeze fares will take effect:

assengers 80 and older could get a

ride on any of Sarasota

Concerned about a lack of solid octogenarian-ridership data, Sarasota County commissioners on Tuesday approved a slate of new fares for Breeze OnDemand rides and set aside a proposal for complimentary service for people born in 1945 or earlier. For now. At this time next year, county officials will have 12 months of information on how many rides 80-yearolds take on the 4-year-old service and how converting their paid rides to free service would affect revenue.

“Go ahead and collect that data so perhaps at next year’s budget, we could have some data so that we could decide how many folks we’re talking about and what hit that might be to the budget,” said Commissioner Mark Smith, who earlier had proposed the free-ride notion, based on a recommendation from a Breeze advisory board.

Transit Director Jane Grogg told commissioners self-reported data indicated about 4% to 6% of unique OnDemand riders classify themselves as over 80, but there was no information on the number of rides they take annually or the distance.

“It just doesn’t exist,” she said. Rider 80 and older ride free now on Breeze fixed-route bus service.

The free-ride proposal was one of three made by Breeze’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee, none of which were adopted as part of the new fare package approved unanimously. The others were to cap the maximum fare riders could pay at $5 and make rides for children 12 and younger, also free. Building the new fare is on a $3 base fare for the first three miles, then a $1 a mile fee up to a $6 total. Companion fees are also new in the new fare system that begins July 1.

The number of annual trips provided by OnDemand service, launched midyear in 2021, has climbed from about 81,000 in its first six months to

FIXED-ROUTE SERVICE

■ $1.50: Regular one way

■ 75 cents: One way for ages 65 to 79; Medicare recipients; people with qualifying disabilities; additional children 5 and younger

■ Free: Ages 80 and older; ages 5 and younger (no more than two per passenger)

■ $50: 30-day all inclusive pass

BREEZE ONDEMAND

■ $3: One-way base fare up to three miles

■ $1: Additional per mile beyond three, up to six miles

■ $1: Companion flat fee (up to three per full-fare passenger)

■ $1.50: One-way flat fare for certified Transportation Disadvantaged Riders

76 FLYER (Airport to downtown Sarasota)

■ $2: One-way fare

■ $1: One way for ages 65 and older; Medicare recipients; people with qualifying disabilities

■ $50: 30-day pass

SIESTA ISLANDER, BAY RUNNER, ROUTE 99 (Sarasota to Bradenton)

■ Free for all riders

nearly 400,000 in 2024. The cost to the county with contracted operator has also grown, now exceeding the savings envisioned when the county shut down a swath of bus service.

“As a result, the cost of providing OnDemand service now exceeds the amount that was originally saved by eliminating fixed routes,” a county document shows. Breeze OnDemand operates in three zones of Sarasota County: Venice/Englewood, North Port and the Sarasota region, including the barrier islands. It operates much like private ride-sharing services and delivers riders door to door, though not necessarily solo or nonstop.

Downtown plan committee gets history lesson

The Sarasota Downtown Master Plan 2020 Update Committee heard from five presenters who played key roles in the development of the current guide.

To help the group tasked with facilitating an updated Sarasota downtown master plan to determine where it is going, it must first learn where it has been.

During its May 28 meeting, the city’s 13-member Downtown Master Plan 2020 Update Committee heard from five witnesses who were here when the current plan was adopted in the early 2000s. All five played a key role in the plan drafted by Dua-

ny-Plater-Zyberk & Co., led by New Urbanism guru Andres Duany.

“The five presenters are really eyewitnesses to history,” said committee Chairman Howard Davis. “Twentyfive years ago when the current plan was done, everybody here (to present) was in Sarasota and involved in the preparation of the plan, so we’re getting the firsthand information from eyewitnesses to history.”

Each presenter brought a different perspective to the creation of the current plan. They were:

■ David Smith, manager of longrange planning for the city of Sarasota, who is the only remaining planning staff member from the time of the written plan

■ Molly Cardamone, who was a city commissioner and mayor at the time

■ Linda Holland, a leader of the Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association, who provided input to the plan from the neighborhood per-

spective

■ John Harshman, of commercial real estate firm Harshman & Co., who at the time was president of the Association of Downtown Commercial Property Owners Association

■ Land use attorney Bill Merrill, who represented challengers to the DPZ plan as it was being crafted

This month, beginning with Smith, the Observer will highlight each of the presentations as the committee dives in to its two-year task to develop the next iteration of the downtown plan to help guide future redevelopment of what is a built-out city.

Smith laid out the history of the city’s downtown plan efforts, which began with its first master plan in 1986, when the City Commission created a Community Redevelopment Agency for downtown. As difficult as it may be for newcomers to imagine, downtown Sarasota was considered blighted.

DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN 2020 TIMELINE

February 2000: The city contracts Duany-Plater-Zyberk as consultant to update the Downtown Master Plan.

Feb. 14-April 25, 2000: Meetings held with businesses and neighborhood groups to inventory and analyze the study area.

April 26-May 2, 2000: Fifteen charrettes held to discuss needs and desires with participants, including the public

October 2000: Draft of the Downtown Master Plan 2020 provided to the city.

Jan. 22, 2001: Downtown Master Plan 2020 adopted as the new Community Redevelopment Agency Plan.

Jan. 31, 2001: SmartCode draft presented by DPZ to the City Commission, forming the basis for the downtown code that was adopted into the zoning code.

July 30, 2001: DPZ provides a second draft of SmartCode.

It would take another four years to rezone more than 1,800 downtown properties into the new five downtown zone districts, adopted on Sept. 7, 2005.

“A CRA is a public agency created to carry out redevelopment of an area due to blight or slum conditions,” Smith told the panel. “In September of 1986, the City Commission approved a resolution with a finding of slum or blight in the downtown area and created the Community Redevelopment Agency for the purpose of rehabilitating the redevelopment area and eradicating the conditions of slum or blight.”

To help pay for public efforts to rehab downtown, the city created a tax increment financing overlay, a funding mechanism to capture the future tax benefits of real estate improvement investments to fund capital projects and investments in

the district. That’s similar to the TIF district that is helping fund The Bay park and potentially a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center within. That CRA and TIF district sunsetted in 2017, the timing managing to capture the capital that was generated under DPZ’s Downtown Master Plan 2020.

“About 13 years after the first CRA plan was created, the city decided we needed to update that plan, so in October of 1999 the City Commission approved a process for updating the CRA master plan for downtown.”

The idea was to create a 20-year vision plan of downtown building form, land uses, public open spaces, public art, pedestrian and vehicle circulation, parking, mass transit and signage. It also included an implementation plan, including recommended revisions to the land development regulations, zoning code, a 20-year capital improvements program and a plan for public and private initiatives.

Following a nationwide search, the city settled on DPZ to develop that plan and, according to city staff, it has implemented 85% of its recommendations.

Duany’s vision did come with one caveat — the sometimes controversial administrative review and approval process for all developments within the downtown zone districts — Downtown Bayfront, Downtown Core, Downtown Edge, Downtown Neighborhood Edge and Downtown Neighborhood.

He asserted that for the city’s downtown to reach its full potential pursuant to the plan, the political process would have to be removed from the equation, providing a project meets all zoning code criteria.

“Mr. Duany stated that implementation needed to occur through administrative review of site plans performed by your professional staff and that the public hearing process should be limited to your Comprehensive Plan amendments, your rezoning and your adoption of the zoning code,” Smith said. “We adopted an action strategy into the Comprehensive Plan future land use chapter, stating administrative review is the process that will be used. That’s been in the plan for about 22 years now.”

More downtown Sarasota apartments advance toward approval

Three projects totaling 435 units, 48 priced affordable and attainable, receive partial sign-off from the city’s Development Review Committee.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

Three multifamily developments that include affordable and attainable housing units have received partial sign-off from the city’s Development Review Committee.

As projects within the downtown zone districts, none requires approval by the City Commission, although two are seeking adjustments from the director of development services, with one also requiring a Planning Board adjustment.

Combined, the developments comprise 435 dwellings, 48 of them priced as attainable or affordable as defined by the city’s downtown attainable housing density bonus program.

Partial sign-off is when a project plan has advanced to the stage where it no longer requires appearance before the full body of staff development department representatives. Full sign-off and all adjustments must be achieved prior to consideration for administrative approval.

THE HIGH LINE

On its second submittal, The High Line at 32 N. Osprey Ave. is seeking administrative site plan and administrative adjustment approval to demolish two existing office buildings to make way for an 11-story mixed-use building with 142 multifamily dwelling units and 6,660 square feet of commercial space.

The site includes the former Michael Saunders & Co. building at the corner of North Osprey Avenue and Main Street.

The developer listed on city documents is a partnership of MOP North LLC and Jebcore 2 LLC, both entities under local developer Mark Kauffman family ownership.

The zoned site has a future land use classification of Downtown Core.

The proposed access is from First Street. There are 16 proposed attainable units using the downtown attainable housing bonus, and a proposed 11th story under the city’s public parking and sidewalk incentive.

The administrative adjustment is required for a plan to remove and replace five street trees elsewhere on the property.

711 & 717 NORTH ORANGE AVENUE

A development known as 711 & 717

North Orange Avenue, which will be located at those addresses at the northwest corner of Orange Avenue and Seventh Street, on its third submittal advanced to administrative site plan approval consideration for 19 multifamily dwelling units with associated amenities in a six-story building.

Proposed by Gillespie Park Developments LLC, the site zoned Downtown Edge with a future land use classification of Urban Edge. It also lies within the Rosemary Residential Overlay District.

The proposed vehicle access is from Seventh Street. The project includes two attainable housing units through the RROD residential bonus density program and is not seeking any administrative or Planning Board adjustments.

FRUITVILLE GATEWAY

The largest of the three projects advancing out of the DRC on its third submittal but still working toward full staff sign-off is Fruitville Gateway, a plan to build approximately 274 multifamily dwelling units, 30 of them designated as affordable and attainable, on the eastern edge of downtown. The developer is American Land Ventures of Miami.

The project, which covers addresses of 2015-2063 Fruitville Road and 2014-2092 Fourth St., is seeking

administrative site plan, Planning Board adjustment and administrative adjustment approval to redevelop the approximately 3.14-acre site zoned Downtown Edge with a future land use designation of Urban Edge. North Washington Boulevard to the east and East Avenue bound the property.

A request for a Planning Board adjustment has been filed to allow access from Fourth Street, which is identified as a primary street. An administrative adjustment request has been filed to permit the building to exceed the maximum front setback to East Avenue, also a primary street, to preserve a grand tree.

Vatter President,

Actually, we’re in safe zone

Over a 125-year period, Manatee and Sarasota counties have been among the safest coastal counties in Florida when it comes to hurricanes.

The 2025 hurricane season has begun, and, no doubt, you, your neighbors and friends have all said: “I hope we don’t have another season like 2024.”

Odds are pretty good we won’t. Sarasota had its 100-year hurricane last year with Hurricane Milton, making landfall on Siesta Key. And, yes, we took additional shellackings with Hurricanes Debby and Helene.

But if you look at the accompanying map and table, the probabilities of a 2024 repeat for Sarasota and Manatee counties look low.

In fact, overall, you can say Manatee and Sarasota counties have been among the safest coastal counties in Florida in the past 125 years when it comes to direct hits. Until Hurricane Helene brought 140 mph winds, Taylor County, in the elbow of the Big Bend, was Florida’s least hit coastal county. Unfortunately, thanks to Hurricane Milton, Sarasota County is slightly less safe. It now falls in the 10-12 “strike” category. And even though the barrier island communities of Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria all suffered horribly from Helene and Milton, over the past 125 years Manatee falls in the category of having five to six “strikes,” according to analyst Robert Allison of SAS. That puts Manatee among the 12 coastal counties that have experienced the fewest hurricane landfalls in 125 years.

The safest coastal county? Up until last year, that was Taylor County, up in the Big Bend. Hurricane Helene made landfall just southwest of Perry in Taylor County on the night of Sept. 26 with peak Category 4 winds of 140 mph. That moves Taylor County into the three to four strikes category.

Perhaps take some solace in this as well: As you peruse the list of Notable Florida Hurricanes, note

WHERE HURRICANES STRUCK, 1900-2010

SAFEST COASTAL COUNTIES

West Coast

1st place (tied): Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Citrus, Pasco

2nd place (tied): Levy, Hernando, Manatee

East Coast

1st place (tied): Nassau, Duval, St. Johns

2nd place: Flagler

NOTABLE FLORIDA HURRICANES

Great

Lake Okeechobee Sept. 1928 4

Labor

Unnamed Sept. 1947 4

Unnamed

Hurricane

Donna Sept. 1960 4

Betsy Sept. 1965 3

Eloise

Andrew Aug. 1992 5 Homestead

Opal Oct. 1995 3 Pensacola Beach

Charley

RESILIENCE

Change in population from hurricane year to two years later.

(Andrew, 1992)

2,004,374

1,995,568

2,048,718

(Charley, 2004)

156,491 Lee (Ian, 2022)

802,178

800,989

813,215

that in the past 100 years, there has been only one two-year period of consecutive strikes — 2004 and 2005.

None of us, of course, knows whether any of that data matters,

because none of us knows how Mother Nature is going to treat us from year to year. That’s why parishioners at St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church on Longboat Key always recite the Hurricane Safety Prayer at the end of each day’s Mass (reprinted for your use).

You can say this: The author of the prayer, the late Bishop Maurice Schexnayder of Lafayette, Louisiana, has it right where the prayer refers to our memories of hurricanes always being so vivid and “whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time.”

Many Sarasota and Manatee residents are still hurting and trying to recover from the awful trifecta of Debby, Helene and Milton. And most of us probably know of someone who decided he or she has had enough of the hurricanes and has decided to leave the state.

HURRICANE PRAYER

The following prayer is recited at each Mass at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church on Longboat Key during hurricane season.

O God, Master of this passing world, Hear the humble voices of your children.

The Sea of Galilee obeyed Your order And returned to its former quietude. You are still the Master of land and sea.

We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control.

The Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, Can awake from its seeming lethargy,

Overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land, And spread chaos and disaster.

During this hurricane season, we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid And whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time.

O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our beloved Mother, We ask you to plead with your Son on our behalf, So that spared from the calamities common to this area And animated with a true spirit of gratitude, We will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son

To reach the heavenly Jerusalem, where a stormless eternity awaits us. Amen.

Written by the Most Rev. Maurice Schexnayder (1895-1981), second bishop of Layfayette, Louisiana, after Hurricane Audrey in 1957, which killed 416 people.

But take heart. Florida and Floridians are resilient. Although hurricane season always brings one, two or three doozies through the state or on the edge of our coasts, Florida always comes back.

One yardstick for that can be seen in population growth.

When you analyze the effects of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in Miami-Dade, Hurricane Charley in 2004 in Charlotte County and Hurricane Ian in 2022 in Lee County, the same thing occurred.

In the year after the major hurricane, population declined. But in the following year, it popped back up — and even surpassed the total population that existed in the year of the hurricane.

Floridians have survived hurricanes from the beginning of time. This year will be no different — God willing.

JAWS

Courtesy of the National Archives:

“This photograph, entitled, “Into the jaws of death,” is one of the most well-known and evocative of the photographs taken on D-Day during the Normandy landings. It shows the soldiers of Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division as they landed on Omaha Beach on the morning of the initial invasion wave.

The image captures the first moments after the soldiers left the landing craft, as they waded through heavy surf, dodged deadly artillery and machine gun fire, and encountered mines and other obstacles as they attempted to move ashore to capture and take position on the beach.

The photograph is credited to Robert F. Sargent, chief photographer’s mate (CPhoM), U.S. Coast Guard.

According to the National Coast Guard Museum, CPhoM Sargent, a veteran of the earlier invasions of Sicily and Salerno, took the image from his landing craft at sector “Easy Red” of Omaha Beach around 7:40 a.m. local time.

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ISRAEL: A Love story

Lots of people told me going to Israel would be a life-changing trip. They were right.

y first tears on my

was

Oct. 7, 2023, when the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel. About 25% of Nir Oz’s 400 residents were either killed or taken hostage Oct. 7. Several, my group of people from Sarasota and I later learned, were burned alive in their homes — including children. Maybe it was the red-andwhite baby’s pacifier sitting on a recliner amid a house of debris that brought the tears. Or maybe it was the first thing I saw that day, April 28: three bullet holes the size of nickels in a glass door that led to the kibbutz community center. Or it could have been the mailroom a few feet behind those shattered doors. That’s where some 400 gold mailboxes sat. If

you were murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, your mailbox had a red sticker. Black stickers were placed on mailboxes of people kidnapped who hadn’t come home — even after 569 days. One of every four mailboxes was either red or black.

It’s hard to use the word highlight when describing what I saw and felt in Nir Oz that day. But, back in Sarasota for a few weeks and the trip having marinated in my mind for a bit, it’s what I think of first when people ask me: How was your Israel trip? It’s Nir Oz. And those tears.

BIG TRIP

I’ve long wanted to go to Israel.

I’m proud of being Jewish, proud that my wife, Elyse, and I have raised our son, Aaron, in a Jewish household, proud he has embraced both the religious and cultural aspects of being a Jew. There’s a phrase many Jews say at the end of a Passover Seder dinner, “Next Year in Jerusalem,” meaning, basically, a wish that someday all Jews can live and prosper in Israel and Jerusalem. I took that phrase literally — thinking I will do it “next year.” But I never did.

So when Sarasota entrepreneur and philanthropist Deb Kabinoff, who is also board chair of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, called me Feb. 20 and asked if I would like to join her, Federation CEO Shep Englander and a dozen or so other local residents and FOIs (friends of Israel) on a mission trip to Israel in late April, my answer, in a word, was yes.

The trip was designed to coincide with three significant Israeli holidays: Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day. The goal of the trip was to show Israelis that Americans, and Floridians, sup-

port Israel more than ever after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, where 1,200 people were slaughtered and 251 were kidnapped.

But my desire to go to Israel was about more than being proud to be Jewish. It was also a way, I thought, to enhance my pro-Israel/Zionist voice. I’ve long had the belief that Israel’s right to exist, to defend itself against all enemies, is just as sacred as any other country. But in the days, weeks and months after Oct. 7, with the rapid rise of antisemitism, especially on social media, in big cities and on college campuses, the need for people defending Israel is pressing.

(Consider how many U.S. college campuses have become hotbeds of anti-Israel demonstrations and protests. From UCLA to Harvard and Stanford to Columbia, they chant and scream fact-deficient slogans of ignorance. Sometimes, it’s phony calls of genocide. Often, it’s chants of

SPEAK UP

Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee CEO Shep Englander, writing in the Sarasota Jewish News in its June-July issue, detailed his reaction to the trip. He writes, in part, “we saw the ongoing need for trauma relief and for rebuilding the Israeli economy. And we can’t forget that Israeli’s asked us to use our voice. To stand against the tidal wave of distortion, delegitimization and demonization that misrepresents Israel’s reality and strips its people of their humanity. We heard them. And we will not be silent.”

“From the River to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This anti-Jew rhyme translates to Palestine — which is not actually a country — eliminating Israel from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.)

On Dec. 6, 2023, I wrote a

column for the Sarasota Observer opinion page, “What never again means to me,” after the Federation invited me to meet an Israeli official and watch a never-before-seen

video about the Oct. 7 atrocities. At the time, I hesitated: I’m a business news editor and reporter, having worked for the Business Observer and the Observer Media Group for 20 years. Why would people want to hear what I think about a country 6,633 miles from Sarasota?

But the response to that column was resounding reassurance. I received texts and emails for days, from strangers and friends, thanking me for using this platform to defend Israel. More validation: That column won the 2024 Sally Latham Memorial Award from the Florida Press Association, the top honor in the serious column category.

CARRY THE FLAG

Now back in Sarasota for a bit, I’ve been thinking a lot about my pro-Israel voice, why I feel it’s more important than ever to speak up and to share the stories people we met on those 12 days — what I am calling the tour of heroes and heartbreak.

We saw, and heard from, lots of both.

Heroes like Ori. He’s a 20-something tank commander in the Israeli Defense Forces we met. He drove nine hours in a tank, on the streets of the country, desperate to get from the north to the south the night of Oct. 7 and engage the enemy. His unit rescued a family of four being held hostage.

Then there was our tour security guard, Yair, another hero. Like Ori, he has an acute sense of his why and why Israel matters. He was one of five or six soldiers I met — most only a few years older than Aaron, our almost 17-year-old — who doesn’t look at mandatory IDF service as a have-to chore. He looks at it like a get-to, that he gets to defend and protect his country. Yair told us how, when he read on WhatsApp that terrorists had infiltrated his girlfriend’s apartment community Oct. 7, he got there fast. Then he engaged with the terrorists, where, he told us, he “took two of them out.” Back in Nir Oz, we met another hero: Yossi. He lives in Nir Oz and

was our tour guide. Yossi told us he’s part of a nine-person QRF — quick reactionary force — Nir Oz set up to respond to situations like Oct. 7. Like Ori and Yair, Yossi defended his family and home Oct. 7. He told us a harrowing story of, after killing several terrorists during the attack, he was in his home’s safe room with his wife and three children. His mother-in-law, who had been shot by Hamas and was hiding in trees and bushes, saw Yossi go into the home. She soon followed. She knocked on the door of the safe room. But Yossi’s wife, at first, pleaded with him to not open the door: What if it’s a trick, she told her husband, and this was Hamas holding her mom at gunpoint to get access to the safe room. Yossi eventually did — slowly — open the door, weapon pointing forward. His mother-inlaw, it turned out, was alone. She survived. We met her that day.

On that tour, Englander, CEO of the Federation, noticed a torn and tattered Israeli flag hanging outside Yossi’s house. Englander asked Yossi, disbelievingly, “in the middle of all this (fighting) you stopped to put back up the flag of Israel?”

Yossi answered quickly and somewhat matter-of-factly: Of course he picked up the flag. And of course he hung it back up. “You can’t see the flag,” he said, “from the ground.”

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EPA approves offshore fish-raising enclosure

dispersants and detergents is not allowed.

ederal environmental authorities recently granted a permit for the operation of a long-discussed aquaculture operation offshore of Sarasota-area beaches.

The permit from the Environmental Protection Agency on May 15 gives Hawaii-based Ocean Era permission to launch its Velella Epsilon project in federal waters, about 40 miles off the Sarasota County coast. The permit allows the raising of about 20,000 red drum in a submerged pen, anchored to the seabed but suspended above it. Assuming an 85% survival rate, the EPA permit estimates it will produce about 45,000 pounds of fish in a year.

The permit allows operation between June 15 and July 7, 2027, though reapplication is permitted. The permit includes specific steps and requirements for monitoring and sampling surrounding waters.

Among the requirements:

n There shall be no discharge of floating solids or visible foam other than in trace amounts.

n The effluent shall not cause a visible sheen on the receiving water.

n The discharge of surfactants,

n The discharge of any solid material not in compliance with the other parts of the permit is prohibited.

The original plan for the operation was to raise almaco jack in the offshore pen, though the company switched to red drum, citing better market opportunities.

In 2020, then-Sarasota Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch, speaking on behalf of the city, said the discharges that could come as a result of the project are cause for concern.

“Having recently experienced the ecological and economic devastation from red tide, our city is extremely sensitive to the ongoing threat of red tide,” she said.

In a news release from the Center for Food Safety, Marianne Cufone, executive director and counsel for Recirculating Farms, said, “It’s so disappointing to see the Environmental Protection Agency approve a permit for a widely opposed offshore finfish aquaculture project in U.S. waters. The Gulf states are already dealing with spinning and dying smalltooth sawfish and rays, massive coral die off, giant mats of rotting sargassum, algal blooms and a dead zone.”

Housing Authority project sails through development review

The Sarasota Housing Authority’s final phases of Amaryllis Park Place wins partial sign-off from the city’s Development Review Committee.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

The final phase of Sarasota Housing Authority’s Amaryllis Park Place has received partial sign-off from its initial submittal to the city’s Development Review Committee.

With the first two phases complete and much of the infrastructure already in place for the all-affordable housing development, only minor issues remain to be settled with the city staff reviewers as the SHA seeks site plan approval to redevelop the 2.55-acre site zoned Government with a future land use of designation of Multiple Family Medium Density.

The property, used for residential purposes for more than 60 years, also lies in the city-designated Housing Authority Overlay District.

There have been changes since the approval and construction of the

first two phases of the project. The proposed site plan covers a portion of the site that was part of Phase 3, originally planned for 144 units. That project changed to build 108 units, removing one of the previ -

ously approved buildings. Also not constructed is the Phase 3 community center.

The property used for the community building and the previously approved fourth building in Phase 3 is now what is being used for Phase 4 of the project.

The first 84-unit phases of the development opened in July 2024.

Also in July 2024, the SHA announced the downsizing of the final two phases because it could not meet Sarasota County’s requirements to secure federal Resilient SRQ funding. At its July 9, 2024, meeting, the Sarasota County Commission told SHA President and CEO William Russell that because of timing requirements for spending the federal dollars, it cannot grant $7 million in Resilient SRQ funds unless the SHA can close on all other funding sources and be under contract for construction by September.

To build phases 3 and 4, the SHA has secured $54.25 million, including $25.1 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $10 million

from the Florida Rental Recovery Loan Program, a $12.9 million permanent loan and $3.7 million in deferred developer fees.

Currently, there are 32 singlestory residential units existing on the property, which will be razed and replaced by 61 units across two three-story buildings.

The SHA will designate as affordable for those earning 80% or below the area median income and managed all the units. Vehicle access to the new buildings will be from 21st Street through the existing Phase 2 development area and the Phase 3 development that is currently undergoing building permit review.

Amaryllis Park Place is the legal name of the redevelopment of a collection of duplexes called The Courts, which were built in the 1950s in the area of 21st Street and North Osprey Avenue. The redevelopment operates under the name Cypress Square.

THURSDAY, MAY 15

PROTEST DISRUPTION

6:11 p.m., Gulfstream

Avenue and U.S. 41 roundabout

Disturbance: A group of about a dozen pro-Palestine protestors reported the driver of a silver Volvo stopped and began antagonizing them. A complainant noted the driver was yelling profanities, getting in protesters’ faces and stomping on their signs.

The complainant recorded the incident on a phone.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14

EVASIVE MANEUVERS

3:29 p.m., 1500 block of Main Street

The video showed the driver stopped in the roundabout and the male subject yelling at the protesters from his vehicle. The vehicle then pulled up onto the curb, at which point one protester struck the subject’s vehicle with the pole of a Palestine flag. The subject began yelling at the protesters.

The subject is seen at one point knocking a water bottle out of another protester’s hand and can then seen stepping on some signs lying on the ground. The subject then entered his vehicle and left the scene.

The holder of the water bottle said she does not wish to press charges for battery but requested documentation of the incident. It was also discovered that she was the protester who struck the car with the flagpole, which she said was accidental and occurred while making an evasive maneuver as the car pulled onto the curb.

The subject was unable to be identified as the vehicle was a rental car with no registered owner on record. The officer sent a request to the woman to retrieve her cell phone video, but it had not been received.

FRIDAY, MAY 16

JOY RIDE DELINQUENTS

10:46 p.m., Bird Key Park

Property damage: The driver of a Lexus sedan called law enforcement to report that, while driving toward St. Armands over the Ringling Bridge, four young male subjects in a Mercedes threw tennis balls at his vehicle. In addition, he said one of them threw a Red Bull can, causing a dent in the driver’s side rear door. Other items struck his vehicle, he said, one causing a

Disturbance: A motorist complainant flagged down an officer and informed the officer a person was recklessly operating an electric bicycle on Main Street. The complainant reported the rider punched his side mirror and he did not wish to be identified in a police report. The mirror was not damaged. Officers located and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the electric bicycle. However, the rider eluded pursuit by riding on sidewalks and going places the police cruiser vehicle could not access. The rider was wearing a dark shirt and a full-face helmet, rendering any identification impossible.

scratch on the fuel refill cover.

The victim stated he did not wish to pursue charges and only requested a case report to document the incident for insurance.

Additionally, dispatch received multiple other calls around the same time regarding the same vehicle and subjects throwing tennis balls, baseballs and other items at people and vehicles.

The youthful ne’er-do-wells in daddy’s Mercedes neglected to consider the license plate is useful in identifying the owner of the vehicle, who was contacted by phone and advised of the activities with which his vehicle was involved. He offered to pay for the victim’s vehicle repairs. The victim was contacted and a message was left to advise him of the update. No further action was taken.

JOIN US IN PARADISE

First Baptist plans expansion

The church proposes two new

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

One of downtown Sarasota’s original establishments has big plans to expand.

First Baptist Church at 1661 Main St., which was organized in March 1902, made its first appearance before the city’s Development Review Committee on May 21, with a proposal to expand along Main Street into the adjacent block between the sanctuary and Goodrich Avenue.

The subject property covers six parcels totaling approximately 4.36 acres. Zoned as Downtown Core, there are existing church facilities and a commercial strip center on the property.

The expansion of the church campus will include:

n Demolition of a three-story vacant structure attached to the north side of the original sanctuary building and construction of a new chapel lobby and three-story addition connecting the chapel to the sanctuary building.

n Interior renovation of the sanctuary building.

n Construction of a new threestory welcome center and fivestory addition for church accessory uses. The new structure will be located east of the sanctuary and connect the sanctuary to the current Family Life Center.

n Demolition of the one-story strip retail building facing Main Street between Kings Court and

Goodrich Avenue, which will be replaced with a new outdoor park.

First Baptist Church has maintained a dominant presence on Main Street since its founding, enduring the changes and redevelopment surrounding it. The dedication of the first sanctuary, which now serves as the chapel, was Dec. 14, 1924. In 1951, the church purchased the property immediately east of the original Main Street building, and on May 29, 1962, it laid the cornerstone for the current sanctuary.

Construction of the Family Life Center and Education building, which is adjacent to the northeast corner of the sanctuary, was complete in the mid-1980s. In 2006, additional property was purchased along Main Street and currently consists of a multitenant retail strip building.

According to documents filed with the city, the proposed campus plan “will fulfill the vision of downtown Sarasota by embracing the concept of new urbanism, which emphasizes streets that are safe, comfortable and interesting place to live, walk and meet. The further development of the campus plan will provide an important place for the community to meet and gather. First Sarasota is a crucial part of the history of Sarasota and its continued presence on Main Street will benefit the city.”

A second appearance before the entire DRC will be required before the project can move on for approval.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Circus Arts Conservatory cofounder Pedro Reis stepped down from management of the circus nonprofit this past November, but as production strategist, he still is responsible for producing the CAC’s tentpole events, such as the Summer Circus Spectacular.

Bringing star performers from all over the globe to Sarasota is getting harder, with longer waits for U.S. visas, and increased scrutiny at border crossings and airports. For the CAC’s Circus Sarasota, held this year from Feb. 15 to March 9, Reis was intent on hosting a troupe of Ethiopian acrobats, but they couldn’t get into the U.S. in time for the show.

IF YOU GO

SUMMER CIRCUS SPECTACULAR

When: June 13 through Aug. 9

Where: The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road

Tickets: $20; $15

children 15 and under. Admission to the Circus Museum is $5 on the day of the show.

Info: Visit Ringling. org or call 941360-7399.

“Getting into the country is more challenging and difficult than before,” Reis says.

Even though he didn’t get his Ethiopian artists back in February, he was able to book a troupe of female Ethiopian acrobats called Trio Black Diamond for the Summer Circus Spectacular, which starts June 13.

Trio Black Diamond has wowed audiences across Europe, including at the Monte Carlo Circus Festival and Saint Paul Dax in France.

“I think our audiences are really going to enjoy Trio Black Diamond,” Reis says. “That’s what it’s really all about, thrilling the audiences and bringing them back year after year.”

The Summer Circus Spectacular also includes “America’s Got Talent” finalist Aidan Brant on aerial straps, speed juggler Nilson Escobar, Sian España on the German Wheel and Zeman Quick Change, a husbandand-wife team whose lightning-fast costume switches stun audiences.

There are no animals in the Summer Circus Spectacular, but some traditional elements of the circus remain. You can’t have a circus without a ringmaster (CAC employee Jared Walker) and a clown (Juan Carlos Valencia).

A Florida native, Walker has had a long career as an actor, director and choreographer. He came to Sarasota in 2004 to play Fred Casely in “Chicago” and stayed on. The magnetic

been creative director for the Sailor Circus Academy, the CAC’s youth education arm, since 2018.

Clowns sometimes get a bad rap thanks to a sub-genre of horror movies. Presenting them to families can be tricky. For some reason, a foreign accent and a little bit of Continental flair makes the tricksters more palatable to modern audiences. Valencia, the fifth generation of a circus family, fits the bill.

As Reis casually drops the names of Ethiopia’s capital and the glamorous gaming mecca Monte Carlo in a telephone interview, it’s obvious that he knows his way around the world.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Reis became a trapeze artist performing in Europe before making his American debut with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1984.

Together with circus royalty Dolly Jacobs, daughter of famed clown Lou Jacobs, Reis co-founded the predecessor organization to the CAC in 1987.

This is Reis’ 17th or 18th season producing the Summer Circus Spectacular at The Ringling, Reis says. He’s not sure of the exact number because one season was interrupted by renovations at The Ringling, the museum that grew out of John Ringling’s desire to leave his mansion and art collection to the people of Florida.

THE SUMMER SEASON KEEPS GETTING LONGER

What started out as a one-week show in The Ringling’s Wagon Room has since moved to the museum’s Historic Asolo Theater with a run of nine weeks this year, starting June 13.

SEE CIRCUS PAGE 16A

Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week celebrates its 20th anniversary

Through June 20, local eateries offer $25 specials for lunch and $45 for dinner.

OBSERVER STAFF

Just call it Savor Sota. You’ve heard of the 12 Days of Christmas, right?

Well, for 20 sizzling days in June, your favorite local restaurants will offer $25 two-course lunch specials and $45 three-course dinner specials.

Sponsored by the Sarasota County tourism bureau Visit Sarasota, Savor Sarasota (its full name) Restaurant Week is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. In honor of the milestone, the event has expanded to 20 days, with more than 60 establishments participating.

Originally started as a weeklong event in 2005 to boost restaurant attendance after season ended and the snowbirds went home, Savor Sarasota expanded to two weeks in 2020, to help give eateries a lift after COVID-19 shutdowns.

What’s new about Savor Sarasota this year, in addition to the longer schedule, is a mobile passport called the Visit Sarasota Flavor Trail that can be downloaded to your phone via text or email. It allows passport holders to check in at participating restaurants. By doing so, they accumulate points to win Savor Sarasota swag.

Don’t fret if you don’t live in downtown Sarasota. Savor Sarasota is a countywide event that includes eateries on Longboat Key, Siesta Key, Lakewood Ranch, Venice and other areas within Sarasota County’s 725 square miles.

Savor Sarasota gives foodies an excuse to get out of their comfort zone. Lakewood Ranch isn’t just for the people who live in the premier planned community. Waterside Place has got some great new restaurants worth checking out. Among

them are Kore Steakhouse and Agave Bandido, which are both participating in Savor Sarasota.

Yes, it’s been hotter than usual lately, but Savor Sarasota provides an incentive to get out of the house and enjoy some cool waterfront breezes.

Just scanning names, such as Crow’s Nest, Farlow’s on the Water, Fins at Sharky’s and Pop’s Sunset Grill, makes me feel a couple of degrees cooler already.

Some people hear the names of Sarasota’s finest restaurants and are intimidated. “Oh, that’s too expensive!” or “What will I wear?” are two thoughts that may come to mind. As they say in New York, “Fuhgeddaboudit!” Lunch during Savor Sarasota is a perfect time to try out that fancy place that you normally wouldn’t set foot in.

Many of Sarasota’s most beloved restaurants are part of Savor Sarasota, including Michael’s On East, Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, Libby’s and Selva Grill Downtown.

Let Savor Sarasota beckon you into restaurants inside hotels that you might not normally think of for your dining experiences. Wink Wink is a hipster nod to Old Florida located within the Sarasota Modern Hotel. Tzeva is a Mediterranean oasis with-

IF YOU GO SAVOR SARASOTA

When: June 1-20

Where: More than 60 restaurants Tickets: $25 for twocourse lunch specials; $45 for three-course dinner specials

Info: Visit SavorSarasota.com.

Tzeva’s small plates set a family oriented dining experience.

in Art Ovation Hotel, which features the colorful works of local artists in its lobby.

Savor Sarasota diners, we’ve got one word for you: reservations! Call your desired restaurant or consult its website to see what online booking service they use, be it OpenTable, Resy or another.

Do not just show up and expect to get the prix fixe special for Savor Sarasota. Many restaurants make limited quantities of their daily specials based on reservations.

Don’t feel ashamed or cheap that you’re there for a special; most restaurants make their money from alcohol. Don’t be surprised if your server tries to “upsell” you; their tip depends on the size of the bill, so it’s in their interest for the check to be as hefty as possible.

More Savor Sarasota etiquette: Just because you’re getting the special doesn’t mean you have to nickeland-dime your server.

If you’re feeling generous and your bank account allows it, express your gratitude for a prix fixe lunch or dinner special to your server. You’ll both feel good about the bounty of Savor Sarasota.

First built in 1798 inside a palace in Asolo, Italy, the jewelbox theater’s elaborate proscenium, decorative panels and other components were purchased by The Ringling in 1949. The historic theater, which opened for Sarasota performances in 1952, has only 286 seats. The intimate setting rules out circus acts with large apparatus like the Wheel of Death.

With a running time of about an hour, the Summer Circus Spectacular caters to the short attention spans of young children and internet-addled adults. There is plenty of room in the back and along the sides for walkers and wheelchairs. It’s not unusual to see three generations of a family watching the show, a phenomenon that warms Reis’ heart.

As much as he loves the Historic Asolo Theater (dubbed the HAT, for short), Reis wants readers and ticket buyers to think of his show as the Summer Circus Spectacular at The Ringling.

Why? So they won’t mistakenly go to the nearby FSU Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Asolo Repertory Theatre, which shares a parking lot with The Ringling.

Many a tourist has ended up at the HAT, inside The Ringling, for an Asolo Rep performance, or over at FSU for a show just minutes from curtain at the HAT. It’s confusing, but if these are the worst of our problems in Sarasota, we’re quite lucky.

Circus lovers are also flummoxed when they arrive on Mondays, the day of free admission at The Ringling, to learn that while they can tour the galleries of The John and Mable Ringling Art Museum at no charge, they will have to pay full freight ($30 for adults and $5 for children 6-17) to visit the Tibbals Learning Pavilion and other circus galleries at The Ringling.

Yes, John Ringling may be turning in his grave, but only his art can be viewed for free on Mondays, not The Ringling’s Circus Museum, established in 1948 under the direction of the museum’s first director, Everett “Chick” Austin. Sorry, the rules are the rules.

Fortunately for those who want to make it a day of circus at The Ringling and who absolutely must see the world’s largest miniature circus, the

CAC and the museum have teamed up to offer Summer Circus Spectacular ticket holders access to the Circus Museum for just $5. No trip to The Ringling is complete without viewing the Howard Bros. Circus Model, created by philanthropist and circus lover Howard Tibbals. Even the most jaded tourist won’t fail to be dazzled by the sheer scope of the majestic exhibit, which consists of more than 42,000 pieces and spans 3,800 square feet. It’s reminiscent of a military model. But instead of an army taking over a city, it’s a circus in all its glory preparing its cultural occupation.

While there is plenty of Old School circus ephemera at The Ringling, there’s also a new, interactive gallery on the second floor of the Tibbals called “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Opened in April 2024, the exhibit is devoted to the modern era of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which Feld Entertainment of Palmetto acquired in 1967.

All you need is popcorn! Maybe you can eat it in the car.

Food isn’t permitted in the Historic Asolo Theater, but there is a Starbucks on the second floor of The Ringling’s entry foyer, right above the gift shop. There’s also a lovely restaurant, The Grill Room, which is participating in Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week from June 1-20. It’s offering a $25 prix fixe special for lunch and a $45 one for dinner.

With the recent addition of the holiday Wonderland circus at UTC, a collaboration between superstar aerialist Nik Wallenda and the CAC, to complement the annual Circus Sarasota in February and the Summer Circus Spectacular, some might wonder: Is there too much circus in Sarasota?

For the circus faithful, there’s never too much. Still, Reis is careful to keep the acts fresh at the events he produces, repeating artists only every four or five years.

“This is, I think, our 18th year at The Ringling,” he says. “Obviously, the recipe is working. What is it? It’s a combination of various energies — humorous, sensational, thrilling, death-defying. You are transported into another world.”

P.S. It’s air conditioned.

Squeaky Wheel Fringe keeps the momentum going

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

The 19th century showman P.T.

Barnum gets credit for saying,

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity,” and Megan Radish, who founded Sarasota’s Squeaky Wheel Fringe festival three years ago, would be the first to agree.

A lot of people in Florida hadn’t heard of fringe festivals until Gov. Ron DeSantis cited them during a press conference in June 2024 when he explained why he had cut $32 million in arts grants in the 2025 fiscal year.

“So you’re having your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the fringe festival, which is like a sexual festival where they’re doing all this stuff,” DeSantis said in Polk County.

His words helped put Florida’s four fringe festivals — Orlando, Fort Myers, Tampa and Sarasota — in the spotlight. The festivals, which run back to back, with Orlando kicking off on May 13 this year and Tampa wrapping on June 22, are enjoying the added publicity. Their management has drawn closer since their perceived dangers were highlighted, Radish says.

Sarasota’s Squeaky Wheel Fringe festival runs from June 3-10 at the Jane B. Cook Theatre in FSU Center for Performing Arts. Last year’s festival sold 750 tickets, Radish said, a 20% increase over its premiere event in 2023. She expects the growth to continue, especially with the greater visibility that fringe has gained.

Radish is a Florida native who worked in regional theater for nearly a decade before forming Squeaky Wheel Theatre Group, the festival’s producer, in 2020. She didn’t take the governor’s words as an insult.

“I think that statement was made from a position of not understand-

ing,” Radish said in an interview. “If he saw the greater picture of what fringe is, the narrative would be different. Yes, we are uncensored. We believe that art shouldn’t have boundaries on it. But I’ve seen worse in R-rated movies.”

All four of Florida’s fringe festivals, of which Sarasota is the newest, owe their existence to Edinburgh. The granddaddy of all fringe festivals, Edinburgh got its start in Scotland in 1947 and has been going strong ever since.

So what is a fringe festival, anyway? It’s described by Radish as a “smorgasbord” of performances that are uncensored. And it’s not one type of performance. It can be drama, dance, comedy, music or all of the above.

Still, fringe isn’t for everyone.

Perhaps fringe festival veteran Keith Alessia, who came to town last year with “Tomatoes Tried to Kill But Banjos Saved My Life,” put it best. “Fringe is some of the best stuff you will ever see and some of the worst,”

he said in an interview with the Observer.

Some fringe festivals use a lottery system to make their selections, but Squeaky Wheel relies on a group of adjudicators to decide who makes the cut. This year, there will be seven shows. All tickets cost less than $19 before fees, including a $4 charge to defray festival costs.

Artists are responsible for promoting their shows, but they get to keep the proceeds from the performances.

SEARCHING FOR THE UNIVERSAL IN THE PERSONAL

Many fringe shows, which generally run about an hour, tell personal stories that their creators hope will resonate with wider audiences.

Such is the case with Terrance Jackson’s show, “Did You Not Know?” The title comes from a conversation Jackson had with his stepmom in December 2021 when he learned that his father had passed away nearly a year earlier.

Jackson, a native of Sarasota who went to Booker High School’s Visual and Performing Arts program, recently returned to town to become director of education and engagement at Asolo Repertory Theatre.

Prior to that, he spent five years at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where he held a variety of roles.

In “Did You Not Know?” Jackson plays eight characters, including his mom and his stepmom, in what he calls a “love letter to Sarasota.” Working with his director, Cat Brindisi, he’s tried to create “something respectful.”

Says Jackson, “I hope audiences will see themselves in one of the characters. It’s important to not point any fingers. My stepmom was doing the best that she thought she could.”

Other familiar faces in the Squeaky Wheel Fringe lineup include Tania Vergara Perez of the Endedans Contemporary Ballet, who is presenting “The Paradox of the Mirror.” Drawing inspiration from Cuban artist Guillermo López González’s depiction of a mangrove, the work combines dance, video and painting to explore time, identity and memory.

Another dance-oriented program on the lineup is “Mamá Mala,” a onewoman bilingual dance theater piece that incorporates standup comedy.

First presented in January at the Historic Asolo Theater in a Micro WIP (Works In Progress) show through The Ringling’s Art of Performance series, “Mamá Mala” comes to Squeaky Wheel Fringe more fully embodied.

Starring dancer Ivonne Batanero, a veteran of Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre in Miami, the performance reflects Batanero’s growth as an artist while coping with the responsibility that comes with being a mother.

In between dancing in Miami and moving to Sarasota in 2024, Batanero spent three years in Costa Rica, where she interviewed women from varying backgrounds and nationalities about motherhood. Although she drew from the experiences of other women to create her character, who is a standup comedian, “Mamá Mala” is also deeply personal.

“It’s kind of playing around with the complexities of womanhood and motherhood. There are the sacrifices and the inevitable imperfections as you try to get it right. It’s trial and error,” she says.

Although “Mamá Mala” is set in the 1980s, it’s not a linear story, Batanero says. Helping to set the mood in the dance theater performance and usher in scene transitions is a soundtrack created by Kenra White with background noise, voices and songs.

Some troupes enjoyed their run in the 2024 edition of the Squeaky Wheel Fringe so much that they’ve come back for more. The Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble of New York City, who presented “The Lonely Death of L. Harris” last year, returns with the intriguingly titled show, “Wow Wee! Adventures of a Little Girl Killbot Christmas Special!” Defined as a “post-apocalyptic ’80s sitcom Christmas Special,” the improvised performance follows the Truman family and their girl robot as they search for the true meaning of Christmas while the world is ending. Based on the description and the experience of its performers, we’re going to go out on a limb and declare “Little Girl Killbot” a prototypical “fringe” show, sight unseen. Maybe some folks can come down from Tallahassee and find the true meaning of fringe, right here in Sarasota.

THURSDAY

SARASOTA MUSIC FESTIVAL:

TESSA LARK RETURNS

4:30 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail

$30-$43

Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

This concert brings Sarasota Music Festival Director Jeffrey Kahane, violinist/fiddler Tessa Lark and cellist Mike Block together again to re-create some of the improvisational magic of last year’s festival. The trio will perform together on Improvisation on an Old English Folk Song and on Clarke’s Piano Trio. The program also includes “The Jet Whistle” by Villa-Lobos, featuring Alex Sopp on flute and Karen Ouzounian, another favorite from the 2024 festival, on cello. Rounding out the program is Michi Wiancko’s “Fantasia for Tomorrow” featuring Lark on violin and Paul Neubauer on viola. The festival continues through June 21.

LEANNE MORGAN: JUST GETTING STARTED

7 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail

$56-$137

Visit VanWezel.org

Comedian Leanne Morgan rose to fame with her Netflix special “I’m Every Woman,” combining Southern charm with relatable humor. Her “Just Getting Started” tour is an ironic milestone on a 25-year career and has recently taken her to premier venues such as the Chicago Theatre and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Runs through June 6.

SQUEAKY WHEEL FRINGE FESTIVAL: ‘WORTHY SOULS’

7 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail

$12.62 plus fees

Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

A new folk rock musical by Rex Willis, “Worthy Souls” follows a day in the

DON’T MISS

‘JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR’

This is it — the one we’ve been waiting all season for! Broadway director Josh Rhodes (“Spamalot”) returns to Sarasota to direct and choreograph Asolo Rep’s production of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the granddaddy of rock musicals. The show promises to be of biblical proportions in more ways than one. Look for Sarasota’s own Ann Morrison, Mary in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” as King Herod. Runs through June 28.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 5

Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail

Tickets: $35-$95. Info: Visit AsoloRep.org.

THIS WEEK

life of a homeless man named Skye in a show that alternates humor and sorrow. Repeats June 7.

‘HOW SWEET IT IS’

7:30 p.m. at FST’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 N. Palm Ave.

$18-$42

Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org

As the mercury rises, locals know how to escape the heat: Florida Studio Theatre’s Summer Cabaret. The series kicks off with a Motown tribute called “How Sweet It is.” Led by dynamic vocalist and songwriter Luke McMaster, an energetic trio demonstrates the enduring appeal of hits by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Supremes and others with songs like “Tracks of My Tears,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.” Through Aug. 3.

‘DIVAS: TIME AFTER TIME’

8 p.m. at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.

$37-$39

Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

New to Sarasota? We’ve got two words for you: Jannie Jones. When Jones is performing at Florida Studio Theatre, run to the Court Cabaret. She is one-third of the trio performing in FST’s new cabaret show, “Divas: Time After Time.” The other gifted singers are Aja Goes and Dakota Mackey-McGee. Firsttimers to FST’s cabaret shows leave the show amazed that there is such talent here in our laid-back beach town. Runs through June 22.

SQUEAKY WHEEL FRINGE

FESTIVAL: ‘THE PARADOX OF THE MIRROR’

8:30 p.m. at FSU Center for the

$14.70

Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

Choreographed by Tania Vergara Perez for Endedans Contemporary Ballet, “The Paradox of the Mirror” combines dance, video and painting to explore the themes of time, identity and memory. The work draws inspiration from Cuban artist Guillermo López González’s depiction of the mangrove and its diverse forms. Runs through June 6.

FRIDAY

IN THE ROUND:

A SUMMER INTENSIVE

7 p.m. at Sarasota Contemporary Dance, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 300

$20 Visit SarasotaContemporaryDance. org.

In the Round gives rising choreographers from across the country selected by SCD’s Artistic Staff a chance to set a work in progress during Sarasota Contemporary Dance’s Summer Intensive. The choreographers are given feedback during the performance from audience members led by SCD Artistic Director Leymis Bolaños Wilmott.

JIM LAUDERDALE

7 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court

$32 Visit WSLR.org.

Jim Lauderdale’s the real deal. He’s been part of the country music scene since he released his debut album in 1991 and began writing

songs for country stars. Over the years, the North Carolina native has worked with artists such as Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello. He has also won two Grammys and released 34 albums. His latest LP, “Game Changer,” was recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville and includes a mix of songs he’s written over the years.

‘FROM 145TH TO 98TH STREET’ 7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St. $30-$44 Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.

Urbanite Theatre wraps its season with Nia Akilah Robinson’s world premiere, “From 145th to 98th Street,” which follows a Black family’s

move to a better neighborhood in search of a better life for their children. The American Dream proves elusive when the family’s son is wrongfully accused of a crime committed by someone with the same name. But the power of family prevails in this realistic tale of New York City life sure to resonate with all audiences. Runs through June 29.

SQUEAKY WHEEL FRINGE FESTIVAL: ‘MAMÁ MALA’

10 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail

$12.62 plus fees Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

Dancer Ivonne Batanero brings a meditation on motherhood she premiered in January at The Ringling’s Art of Performance Micro WIP (Works In Progress) series to the Squeaky Wheel Fringe Festival. The bilingual piece crosses genres by incorporating standup comedy and dance with a soundtrack of music and noise. Repeats June 7.

SATURDAY

SARASOTA MUSIC FESTIVAL: BEETHOVEN AND SHOSTAKOVICH

7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.

$29-$72 Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

Conductor Stephanie Childress returns with a captivating program featuring Armenian American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian’s Tagh (Diary) of an Immigrant, Shostakovich’s popular Second Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, the last symphony he composed in the style of Mozart.

SUNDAY

PUCCINI’S ‘MADAMA BUTTERFLY’ 1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.

$20 Visit SarasotaOpera.org.

It’s not that often that you get to watch a high-definition film of an opera in a real opera house. Sarasota Opera kicks off its summer HD at the Opera House series with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” The heartbreaking tale of an ill-fated romance between a Japanese geisha and an American naval officer features Kevin John Edusei conducting the Royal Opera House orchestra and chorus.

SQUEAKY

FESTIVAL: ‘DID

7 p.m. at

“Did You Not Know?” is a one-man show starring Asolo Repertory Theatre Director of Education Terrance Jackson, who plays eight characters. A Sarasota native and Booker VPA alum, Jackson recently returned to his hometown after a stint as director of outreach at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. Cat Brindisi directs.

MONDAY

RAUSCHENBERG:

A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

The John and Mable Ringling Art Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Road Free with $25 admission; Mondays free Visit Ringling.org.

The Ringling joins museums around the world in honoring the centenary of maverick artist Robert Rauschenberg, who burst onto the art scene in the mid-20th century with collages he called “combines.” The first American to win the grand prize at the Venice Biennale, Rauschenberg set the stage for the Pop Art movement. The exhibition includes works that The Ringling has in its collection, including pieces Rauschenberg created during his time on Captiva Island on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where he moved in 1968. Runs through Aug. 3.

TUESDAY

‘GEORGE HARRISON:

A GARDENER’S LIFE’

10 a.m. at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens,1534 Mound St. $28 Visit Selby.org.

“George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life” is the ninth installment of the annual Jean and Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series. Walking around the 15-acre sanctuary on the Sarasota bayfront where gardens and botanical displays have been erected to mirror those in Harrison’s estate, Friar Park, you can’t help feeling the late Beatle would approve of this living tribute. Runs through June 29.

WEDNESDAY

SARASOTA MUSIC FESTIVAL:

LEVIN LECTURE

1 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail $15-$25 Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

Former Sarasota Music Festival Director Robert Levin, a renowned expert on improvisation in classical

OUR PICK

SARASOTA MUSIC FESTIVAL: FROM BACH TO BLOCK

From Bach to Block includes Shostakovich’s 1944 composition Piano Trio No. 2, which he dedicated to a friend who recently died. But the program doesn’t dwell entirely on sorrow. Also on the bill of the concert being performed by Sarasota Music Festival faculty and fellows are Bach’s joyful Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, and cellist Mike Block’s Global Music Collaboration, giving audiences another taste of the spontaneity that was such a hit in last year’s festival. Festival runs through June 21.

IF YOU GO When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 6 Where: Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Tickets: $29-$53 Info: Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

music, delivers his annual lecture. The topic hasn’t been announced, but it’s a safe bet that Levin will challenge SMF Fellows and audiences alike with his knowledge of music history and theory. Festival continues through June 21.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

SARASOTA HIGH

Many people say the four years of high school will simply fly by, noted Jake Brasgalla.

However, he said after walking the stage, four years, for him, felt like 10 — and that’s a good thing.

His advice to high school freshman is to avoid focusing on the near or distant future and take in the smaller moments, as he has throughout his time at Sarasota High School.

It’s the place he met his girlfriend, Caprey King, when they were juniors, and where they graduated among a record-breaking class of some 560 graduates on May 29 during the school’s 111th graduation, held at Charlie Cleland Stadium at Ihrig Field.

“I think it’s awesome to see how we’ve been able to grow together, and then the opportunities we’ll be able to have together,” King said.

They will both be attending Santa Fe College in Gainesville, from which he will transfer to the University of Florida and she will transfer to the same school or to the University of Nebraska. He plans to major in construction management, and she plans to major in mechanical engineering.

Principal Ryan Chase told attendees the past years showed the potential of students for the future, emphasizing the concept of the “power of one” because of the event being the school’s 111th graduation.

— IAN SWABY

Principal Erin Haughey told graduates of Riverview High School that she learned about purpose from her grandfather, a third-generation American who served in World War II.

She recounted delivering meals, serving in soup kitchens and organizing donations to the Salvation Army, stating her grandfather would even attend funerals of strangers who had no family.

She said from him, she learned a concept the Japanese call “ikigai.”

“It’s the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for, and when those four things align, you’ve found your purpose,” she said.

Purpose was a recurring theme during the ceremony, which involved some 470 graduates at Robarts Arena the night of May 30.

Conor Fitzgibbons, a National Merit finalist scholar, will be studying finance, a subject he said he had been “super interested” in for the past few years, at the University of Florida.

“I’m relieved, I’m excited and I’m anxious for the future,” he said.

During a speech, graduate Lauren Haggard encouraged graduates to embrace their own unique paths.

She said she had spent most of her time in the school’s arts department, stating that it is “way more fun to get your color everywhere and be judged than to pretend like you have no color at all and be met with silence.”

“As you continue to live, create and learn, you will use the wrong brush again,” she said. “You will use the wrong color. You may have to paint over the canvas and start over. But what a blessing it is to have brushes to choose from, colors to paint with and the opportunity to reset, try again and use what you’ve learned.”

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BOOKER HIGH

During her time at Booker High School, Marisa Von Bender was involved in numerous programs.

Among them are College for Every Student, the Technology Student Association, the National Honor Society and the student government association, and she has been captain of her volleyball team and team manager for the school’s wrestling program.

All I can say, really, is join every program there; you never know the connections you’ll make,” she said.

Von Bender, who is now headed to Florida A&M University to study mechanical and civil engineering, was among 340 graduates of Booker who walked the stage on May 31 at Robarts Arena.

She wasn’t the only one who found her time in high school transformative.

Ariyana Enis, one of the commencement speakers, recounted the time she

arrived in high school, not able to speak English, before she began to make friends who could speak English and transferred to Booker before her sophomore year.

“I adapted really well to this school. I had great teachers for that one last month of the year,” she said.

Although initially afraid to accept the chance to join the AICE program and become an ambassador, fearing her English education was not sufficient, she ultimately decided to do so.

“I have learned that growth is meant to be shared with others through knowledge,” she said. “No matter who you are or where you come from, you can do it.”

As the ceremony concluded, Principal Rachel Shelley gave students five guiding principals: to fall forward, give yourself grace, weather the tornado, write your own story and stay ready.

— IAN SWABY

Building a healthy business

Riverview High School graduate sets up healthy vending machine business.

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

After graduating Riverview High School, 19-year-old Branson Rudeen couldn’t find a field in college he felt comfortable entering.

His grandfather owned a clothing store and retail business, while his father, Brad Rudeen, entered the business of homebuilding directly out of high school and has started several small businesses.

“I don’t work for other people, very few of those jobs, so he’s seen that growing up, and he wants to take that opportunity himself,” Brad Rudeen said.

The father and son say they put their heads together and finally arrived at the idea of vending machines, establishing the business Healthy Vending Titans.

The machines they have placed in two local schools, Lakewood Ranch High School and Bayshore High School, meet the Smart Snacks in Schools standards and are free of junk foods, offering items like Chobani yogurts and ThinkThin energy bars.

The source of the machines is from the company Vending Accelerator and the Free Healthy Vending initiative, both of which are established by Ryan O’Keefe, and schools receive a portion of the profits.

Branson said the idea stemmed from a cooking class and ServSafe certification at Suncoast Technical College, which he attended besides Riverview.

As the father and son started out, Branson underwent a crash course in the world of business.

With guidance from his father, the former Eagle Scout learned tasks like establishing limited liability insurance, establishing a business name, opening a bank account and entering the official Sunbiz database in

“I don’t work for other people, very few of those jobs, so he’s seen that growing up, and he wants to take that opportunity himself.”

Brad Rudeen

Florida.

“Not the hard part, but the part the learning curve, was inventory management,” Brad said.

He said so far, the business is seeing success, and Lakewood Ranch High School, for instance, has three machines and more than $400 in sales every day.

Brad says Branson is busy about four hours a day, but they’re looking to expand to more schools in the area to provide him with a full income.

“The kids love it,” he said. “The kids come up to us as we first get here, when school’s ending, and they’re like, ‘Thank you; thank you. We appreciate you.’”

Stormy skies and syrup

Although the weather was stormy the morning of June 2, with a pool closure at the Sarasota City YMCA Branch, there was still a sweet spot as summer camp began. The branch launched its traditional camp and aquatics summer camps with a pancake breakfast for families, which preceded a schedule of activities revised to suit the weather.

Andrew Frazier, who manages the summer camps, said it was the first time the breakfast kicked off camp.

He said the traditional camp involves numerous activities including games, crafts, songs, dance and swimming, while the aquatics camp focuses on swimming and swim safety.

“The kids feel very comfortable here, and that’s the reason we keep coming back,” he said.

— IAN SWABY

Nelson Mast, whose children Clark Mast, 5, and Parker Mast, 8, both repeatedly attend summer camp at the YMCA, said they are drawn back by the counselors and the convenient location.

Two homes in Lewis Combs and Mira Mar sell for $3 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome in Lewis Combs on Hawthorne Street and a two-property sale in Mira Mar Beach on Beach Road top the week’s sales at $3 million.

SARASOTA

LEWIS COMBS

Timothy and Tina Watkins, of Hermosa Beach, California, sold their home at 1658 Hawthorne St. to William Crouse, trustee, of Sarasota, for $3 million. Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, three-and-ahalf baths, a pool and 2,944 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.3 million in 2020.

MIRA MAR BEACH

145 Beach Road LLC sold two properties at 145 Beach Road to Siesta Village Beach Properties LLC for $3 million. The first property was built in 1935 and has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,442 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1950 and has one bedroom, one bath and 360 square feet of living area. They sold for $1.6 million in 2019.

LA LINDA TERRACE

Barbara Olin and Scott Olin, trustees, of Longboat Key, sold the home at 2139 Hawthorne St. to The 4 LLC for $1.35 million. Built in 2009, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,485 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,195,000 in 2021.

THE CONDOMINIUM ON THE BAY

Stephen Sadoskas and Leslie Butterfield, of Sarasota, sold their Unit 1712 condominium at 988 Boulevard of the Arts to Timothy and Clare Engling, of Sarasota, for $1.1 million. Built in 1997, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,729 square feet of living area. It sold for $440,000 in 2001.

WEST SHORE

James Michael Hodges and Mary Lousie Goetz, of Inverness, sold their home at 734 Indian Beach Circle to PFI Real Estate LLC for $975,000. Built in 1957, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 1,951 square feet of living area. It sold for $139,500 in 1992.

AVON HEIGHTS

Arrow First LLC sold the home at 2365 Bahia Vista St. to Ezequiel Garcia Arredondo and Shannon Delaney, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, for $900,000. Built in 2023, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,141 square feet of living area.

THE LANDINGS

David Feltman, trustee, of Palm Springs, California, sold the home at 5050 S. Kestrel Park Way to Tom and Kristin Neesen, of Sarasota, for $900,000. Built in 1982, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,595 square feet of living area. It sold for $475,000 in 2001.

PHILLIPPE CREST

Alexander Vasiljev and Jeffrey Frank, of Bradenton, sold two properties at 2525 Ashton Road to Kuzko Lee, of Scarsdale, New York, for $760,000. The first property was built in 1920 and has three bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths and 1,520 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1920 and has one bedroom, one bath and 400 square feet of living area. They sold for $215,000 in 2015.

PETROUTSA BROTHERS

Denise Sassaman, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 1681 Eighth St. to Rebecca Hargreaves, of Lake Worth, for $700,000. Built in 1925, it has two bedrooms, one bath and 1,080 square feet of living area. It sold for $350,000 in 2019.

PHILLIPPI LANDINGS

Candice and William Krueger, trustees, of Gansevoort, New York, sold the Unit 605 condominium at 5531 Cannes Circle to Matthew Mason Calderon, of Sarasota, for $645,000. Built in 2006, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,720 square feet of living area. It sold for $480,000 in 2017.

PINE SHORES ESTATES

Nicholas and Amanda Skuba sold their home at 6228 Brentwood Ave. to Tim and Lisa Sanders, of Chicago, for $585,000. Built in 1951, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,835 square feet of living area. It sold for $190,000 in 2012.

GULF GATE

Tamara Landsell, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, sold her home at 6947 Antigua Place to Laura Milhaven and Patricia Looney, of Sarasota, for $580,000. Built in 1968, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,639 square feet of living area. It sold for $389,000 in 2020.

JEM Properties FL LLC sold the home at 3054 Markridge Road to Patrick Ellis, of St. Paul, Minnesota, for $572,000. Built in 1964, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,667 square feet of living area. It sold for $380,000 in 2024.

FOREST HILLS

Patrick John Perrelli and Veronica Rae Perrelli, of Sarasota, sold their home at 4317 Windemere Place to Cliff Fietzek and Silvia Escher, of Arlington, Virginia, for $575,000. Built in 1957, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,220 square feet of living area. It sold for $395,000 in 2021.

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

WOODBRIDGE ESTATES

Sue Ruhle, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 51 condominium at 2626 Moss Oak Drive to Marilyn Saba, trustee, of Sarasota, for $575,000. Built in 1993, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,985 square feet of living area. It sold for $490,000 in 2023.

FOREST LAKES COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES

Craig Obrecht, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 3267 Pine Valley Drive to William Troyer and Leon Yoder, of Sugarcreek, Ohio, for $560,000. Built in 1965, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,711 square feet of living area. It sold for $148,000 in 1986.

ONLINE

See more transactions at YourObserver.com.

Other top sales by area

PALMER RANCH

Legacy Estates on Palmer Ranch

Todd and Sheli Peplinski, of Sarasota, sold their home at 12000 Trails Reserve Court to Srinivas Murali and Marie Roseanne Baldisseri, of Sarasota, for $2,555,000. Built in 2019, it has four bedrooms, fourand-two-half baths, a pool and 4,493 square feet of living area. It sold for $2 million in 2023.

OSPREY

The Villas at Osprey Harbor Lazo Pipovski, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the Unit JPH condominium at 14021 Bellagio Way to Kevin and Elizabeth Burrows, of Webster, New York, for $835,000. Built in 2006, it has three bedrooms, three-anda-half baths and 2,214 square feet of living area. It sold for $579,000 in 2020.

NOKOMIS

Sorrento South Sharon Snopkowski, personal representative, of Gold River, California, sold the home at 444 Bellini Circle to John and Angeline Burke, of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, for $800,000. Built in 1978, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,554 square feet of living area. It sold for $197,500 in 1990.

Source: Sarasota County, city of

YOUR CALENDAR

BEST BET SATURDAY, JUNE 7

SRQ CON

10:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Selby Library, 1331 First St. Free. Selby Library hosts its annual pop culture convention. Activities will include a scavenger hunt, button making, a shadow puppet show and VR exploration. Vendors will be selling products including art, comics, toys and merchandise, and the Mr. Bulgogi food truck outside will offer meat and vegan meals. For the full schedule of events, visit SCGovLibrary. LibraryMarket.com.

SATURDAY, JUNE 7

SILVER PRIDE

SUNDAY, JUNE 8

WORLD OCEAN DAY

Noon to 5 p.m. at Senior Friendship Centers, 1888 Brother Geenen Way. Free. This event celebrating LGBTQ+ individuals age 50 and up is hosted by Project Pride SRQ, Senior Friendship Centers and Golden Girls Solutions and will feature live music, vendors, community resources, food trucks and other offerings. Visit PPSRQ.org.

ARTSELF: ARTS FOR WELLNESS

SERIES: SING TO HEAL

8-10 a.m. at Siesta Key Beach, 948 Beach Road. Free. Join Sarasota County for a beach cleanup at 8 a.m., followed by presentations at 9 a.m. No registration needed. Visit Facebook.com.

NEW TORAH DEDICATION

2:30-4 p.m. at Sarasota Garden Club, 1130 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Participants will engage in vocal exercises, breath work, guided singing practices and group songs in this workshop exploring the healing potential of singing. No prior experience is necessary. This workshop is part of a series led by Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation Teaching Artists. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

WATCH IT! AT THE BAY:

BELMONT STAKES

6:50-7 p.m. at The Nest, The Bay, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Watch the Belmont Stakes outdoors on The Bay’s stadium-size LED screen, followed by the sunset over Sarasota Bay. The Nest Cafe will offer food and beverages. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

3 p.m. at Chabad of Downtown SRQ, 332 Cocoanut Ave. Join Chabad of Downtown SRQ as it dedicates its first Sefer Torah. The Torah will be completed before a procession to its new home, where there will be a dinner buffet to celebrate the milestone. Visit JewishSarasota.com/ TorahDedication.

MONDAY, JUNE 9

INTRO TO VEX IQ ROBOTICS

ENGINEERING AND CODING: ROBOTICS ENGINEERING — DRIVETRAINS

2-3 p.m. at Gulf Gate Library, 7112 Curtiss Ave. Free. Ages 10-14. Learn about drivetrains in this part of a series of weekly classes exploring robotics engineering and coding. The classes are offered by Create. Solve.Lead. INC., an independent tech education organization led by local volunteers. Space is limited. Registration required. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.

SPORTS

FAST BREAK

“I feel like I get better every day just by going out there and grinding. It’s not over yet. I’m trying to work to get to the next level.”

Six Sarasota residents will represent Team USA at the International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany from July 14-20. They include: Gina Toynton, Duneska Grant, Kim Sheffield Beth Turconi Don Bickel and Brian Long

... Former Riverview High baseball player Karson Ligon made it to the Tallahassee Regional with Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs were eliminated in a 5-2 loss to Florida State on June 1. Ligon, a right-handed pitcher, threw four scoreless innings in that final game, striking out seven. He ended his senior season with a 6-5 record, a 5.40 ERA and 73 strikeouts across 56 2/3 innings pitched.

... Sarasota has hired Emma Thrift as its new indoor volleyball coach. Thrift, a 2020 graduate of Riverview, played both indoor and beach volleyball as a Ram. She went on to attend Florida State University, where she continued to play beach volleyball for the school’s club team. Most recently, Thrift coached with SRQ Beach Volleyball and The Classical Academy of Sarasota. ... Fifteen members of Sarasota Crew recently graduated high school, and many are moving on to row in college. They include: Remy Blunier (EmbryRiddle), Reese Franquiero (Embry-Riddle), Sophia Genelhu-Bazan (Miami), Matthew Lin (Florida State), Isabella Mulliner (Florida State), Jack Perrella (Florida State), Harrison Scarrow (MIT), Sawyer Soboleski (Florida), Ellesheva Solomon (Kentucky), Claire Steiner (Stanford), William Steinwachs (Colby College), Anton Varshavsky (Florida), Charlie Vedder (San Diego) and Nin Wasluk (Boston University).

... The USRowing 2025 Youth National Championships will be at Nathan Benderson Park from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 12 to 15. The event will feature more than 3,500 rowers competing for medals in 43 events.

BACK IN THE GAME

Ex-MLB player Ian Desmond is back in baseball as a high school coach.

VINNIE PORTELL STAFF WRITER

Ian Desmond spent most of his life dreaming about becoming a major leaguer and ended up living out that dream. The Montreal Expos drafted Desmond, a graduate of Sarasota High School, in the third round of the 2004 MLB Draft, and he went on to have an 11-year career with the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies.

After 5 years of retirement, Desmond is back in the game, hired to coach the Lakewood Ranch High School baseball team on May 21, replacing 4-year coach Colton Chupp.

Returning to baseball as a high school coach is a full-circle story that likely wouldn’t have happened if not for the influence of former Sarasota coach Clyde Metcalf.

ONCE A SAILOR, NOW A MUSTANG

Desmond knew his MLB career wouldn’t last forever, and he hoped he would become the next head baseball coach at Sarasota.

However, the timing didn’t work out like he had envisioned.

Desmond played his final MLB game in 2019 with the Rockies. He opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 and also did not play the 2021 season.

He officially announced his retirement in April 2022, mere weeks before Metcalf stepped down as the Sailors’ head coach and was replaced by former Cardinal Mooney baseball coach Greg Mulhollen.

Desmond had his hands full.

The 39-year-old is a father of five and helped establish Newtown Connection, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping at-risk and diverse youth in Sarasota.

Though he is still involved with Newtown Connection, Desmond felt drawn back to baseball.

Desmond, who lives in the Lakewood Ranch area, began assisting with the Mustangs baseball team this season.

When he heard the school was looking for a new coach, Desmond applied and was hired.

His first call was to the man who inspired this next phase of life.

“I was really fortunate to play for Clyde Metcalf at Sarasota High,” Desmond said. “I called Clyde (May 21) and let him know that he made a

lasting impression on me. For me, as a retired Major League Baseball player who could do anything, to go back and coach high school baseball is a testament to how he did it and how he showed me how to do it.”

A NEW GENERATION

Desmond’s wife, Chelsey, was a softball player at Riverview, and he said he still plans on being involved in the Sarasota community.

However, he plans on sending his five children — sons Grayson, Cruz and Ashton and daughters Dakota and Naomi — to Lakewood Ranch.

Thus, coaching at Lakewood Ranch was a no-brainer.

“I was joking with (athletics director) Kent (Ringquist) that I plan to be here to kind of eavesdrop on what they’ve got going on in high school, so I’d love to be here for a long time,” Desmond said.

First up is Grayson, who is set to be a freshman this fall.

Desmond said Grayson plays shortstop, but will have to find out where he fits into the team, just like any other player would.

Following Grayson is 12-year-old Cruz, who also plays baseball. Ashton, 10, plays baseball and basketball. Dakota, 6, currently plays baseball, and Desmond said she’ll continue to play baseball “as long as she can hang.” It’s yet to be seen which path 4-year-old Naomi will take.

Desmond will have his work cut out for him, competing against his old team and former rivals in the area.

Lakewood Ranch finished this season with a 6-18 record, one of its worst in program history, and other teams in Sarasota and Manatee counties — such as Venice, Sarasota, Cardinal Mooney and Braden River — each made the regional playoffs this year.

“Being born and raised in the area, I’ve always felt a great sense of pride about the product as far as the baseball players coming out of this area, and the coaching is strong at the moment,” Desmond said.

“There’s a lot of great baseball being played here, and that’s a blessing because this is a baseball community and you have a lot of guys with a lot of experience giving back to the kids. If you’re a parent in this community, you have to be grateful for all of these guys giving back to their children.”

IAN DESMOND BY THE NUMBERS

Positions: Shortstop, outfield, first base

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 217 pounds

MAJOR LEAGUE STATS (11 SEASONS)

Games: 927

Runs: 724

Hits: 1,432

Home Runs: 181

RBIs: 711

Stolen Bases: 181

Batting Average: .263

“Being born and raised in the area, I’ve always felt a great sense of pride about the product as far as the baseball players coming out of this area ... ”

— Ian Desmond

Cohenour’s children: Tennis coach’s legend will live on

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TCohenour was a youth tennis sensation in the Sarasota area. He was a top national recruit before committing to play for the University of Tennessee and eventually rising to a career high ranking of No. 272 in the Association of Tennis Professionals.

Despite his talent on the tennis court, people know Cohenour— who died in 2023 at age 56 — for the relationships he built in the game as a coach and founder of Celsius Tennis Academy.

Celsius has continued since Cohenour’s death through the efforts of his father, Fay Cohenour, financial partner David Band, friends and fellow coaches.

Starting in July, Celsius will have a new home.

The tennis academy is in the final stages of completing a new facility, The Cary Cohenour Tennis Foundation at the Lee Wetherington Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota at 3100 Fruitville Road.

The project has been several years in the making.

For years, Celsius has rented courts from Bath and Racquet Club and Sarasota Sports Club, which made finding a permanent home a priority.

The new facility will include four new USTA-quality courts, shaded stands, a building for restrooms and a picnic area.

The Boys & Girls Club wasn’t just a suitable location. Its quintessential trait of investing in local youth aligns perfectly with what Cohenour learned while growing up.

When Fay Cohenour was growing up in Bradenton in the 1950s, what was then called the Boys Club was a second home.

“They pretty much raised me,” Cohenour said. “My parents had a drive-in restaurant, so they were busy all of the time. It was kind of where everybody hung out. So when I came home in the afternoon, I’d grab a Coke or something and head over to the Boys Club until probably six o’clock, go home, and come back from 7 to 9. The Boys Club gave me so much.”

Fay played football, baseball and basketball at Manatee High and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2022.

Though he said he had an opportunity to play sports at the next level — including an offer from the Los Angeles Angels — his father persuaded him to go into the flooring business directly out of high school to turn a quicker profit.

Fay wanted to ensure his son grew up with those same kinds of experiences, but also with the freedom to choose his own future.

“I still look back and say, ‘What if?’ So when Cary came along, I didn’t want him to have that regret,” Fay said.

Fay said Cary grew up “beating the backboard” with tennis balls at the Boys & Girls Club.

One day, Mike DePalmer, Fay’s high school basketball coach, and a member of the International Tennis Association Hall of Fame, pulled Fay aside and told him of Cary’s potential in the sport.

From there, Cary became a wellknown tennis player on the junior circuit. He was one of the original players at Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, the No. 1 ranked junior in every age division in

Florida and went on to become the No. 3 ranked singles player in NCAA tennis at Tennessee.

However, Cohenour lost some of his love for the game when it turned into his everyday job.

That led him to briefly follow in his father’s footsteps in the flooring business until he was given some fatherly advice.

“I said, you know, ‘You’ve got your Ph.D. in tennis, and I think you need to use it,’ and he said that was the best advice he’d ever gotten,” Fay said.

That brought Cohenour into coaching — first as the director of Billy Stearn’s Tennis Academy — before starting his own academy in 2000. Everything fell into place from there.

Cohenour established connections with collegiate tennis programs and helped some of his players earn scholarships.

In 2011, the United States Tennis Association Florida named him the Junior Competitive Coach of the Year.

Most impactful of all, however, was the way people thought of him.

“Cary was always such a great coach, and he was really good to

people who needed help, but I realized it even more after he passed by the outreach of people and by how many people knew him around the world,” said Celsius instructor Kathy Rosenberg. “It amazed me how respected he was.”

Though Celsius’ instruction is not free, it will be working to provide new opportunities to youth tennis players.

The Cary Cohenour Foundation will fund collegiate scholarships to deserving players in the area, which will help some reach their dreams in the same way as its namesake.

The courts will also be available to Boys & Girls Club members to play on when not being used for instruction or tournaments by the tennis academy, and rackets will be available to those who don’t have their own.

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

THE COACHES AT CELSIUS TENNIS ACADEMY

GERMAN LOPEZ MONTOYA: DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

Originally from Spain, Lopez Montoya once reached a careerhigh ranking of No. 61 as an ATP player. He has since coached at IMG Academy and has trained some top tennis players, including Tomaz Bellucci (No 21 ATP) and Francesca Schiavone, who won the 2010 French Open.

DESMOND OSUIGWE: ELITE COACH

Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Osuigwe came to the United States to attend Jackson State University and become a professional tennis player. He then spent 20 years coaching tennis at IMG Academy. His daughter, Whitney Osuigwe, was the 2017 International Tennis Federation Junior World Champion.

KATHY ROSENBERG: COACH Rosenberg and her sister, Amy Lyons, were ranked as the No. 1 doubles team in the nation in the 18-and-under division at one point, which led to her accepting a full ride to the University of Florida, where she played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. She would go on to play briefly as a professional in some of the top events in the game, including Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and French Open. Today, she is the girls tennis coach at Riverview High.

PEDRO CHACON: COACH Chacon, a graduate of Sonoma State University and Rice University, has taught tennis in Germany, Italy and IMG Academy.

PATRICIO CASAS: FITNESS COACH

Originally from Argentina, Casas moved to Florida to work with tennis academies such as IMG and Celsius. He is a certified fitness trainer with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Chauncey Kennon

Booker High rising senior Chauncey Kennon is entering one of the most critical moments of his life as a football player.

Kennon is ranked by 247 Sports as the No. 2 cornerback in the nation and the No. 4 overall recruit in Florida. He has 36 offers from Division I universities and currently lists Florida, Georgia, Miami, LSU, FSU and Oregon as his top destinations.

He didn’t have much of a chance to showcase his skills during the Tornadoes’ spring game jamboree at Coconut Creek, but made the most of it as he scored on a jet sweep for his team’s only points before lightning canceled the day’s games.

When and why did you start playing football?

I had a lot of energy when I was a kid, so my mom put me into activities so I could run off my energy and I could come home tired. That’s how I got into sports, and over time, people started to see that I was good at it.

What was the best part of this spring season?

Building relationships with my teammates after coach (Scottie) Littles had to resign.

What’s your favorite all-time football memory?

The (Jacksonville) Raines game. It was a tied game. We had our backs against the goal line, and I made a 98-yard pick-six.

What’s gone right for you personally this offseason? I feel like I get better every day just by going out there and grinding.

It’s not over yet. I’m trying to work to get to the next level.

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

What’s been your most humbling moment as a football player? Losing to Riverview last year. We expected to win, but that was something that woke us up.

What’s your favorite meal? Steak and potatoes. I’ll eat it anywhere as long as it’s cooked good. I like it well-done. I don’t like blood.

What’s your favorite TV show or movie?

“SpongeBob.” I grew up watching “SpongeBob.” It would always be the first thing to come on.

What’s your go-to warm-up song?

Any song by NBA Youngboy. He gets me turnt and hype before the game.

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

Playing football video games, like NCAA football. Georgia is the easiest team to work with if I’m playing against someone, but I usually play Ultimate Team so I can build my own team.

What does your ideal weekend look like?

Play video games for a little bit in the morning then go chill and see what’s going on around the city. I don’t really do too much. I’m at the house playing video games most of the weekend.

Who’s your favorite football player and why?

Lamar Jackson. He’s from Florida, and I feel like he’s the best dualthreat quarterback.

Finish this sentence. Chauncey Kennon is ...

The G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time)

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