Livin' in Sarasota Florida

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) - Placemaking for Communities - Top 12 Public Squares in the U.S. and Canada

2005-12-27T11:14:00.000-05:00

With the natural beauty and location we have Sarasota so should be on this list.

Urban Real Estate & Condominiums

2005-12-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

Blog about condos...

Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, Murnau, Milano, Venice, Swiss Towns - Alps Europe

2005-12-27T10:25:00.001-05:00

more cities to visit

Barcelona Field Studies Centre: Geography, Biology and Ecology Field Study Courses in Spain

2005-12-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

Looks like a good program

World's twelve best cities for manufacturing

2005-12-27T10:18:00.000-05:00

Add this to our list of cities to visit

JS Online: World-class cities rely on entrepreneurs

2005-12-27T10:15:00.000-05:00

Very interesting.  I wonder how international Sarasota is.  I would guess much more than we would think.

Moved to New Home

2005-04-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

Please visit my new blog at http://www.moraca.org I think it's pretty good...

view my photo albums

Save the Tree Family

2005-03-20T20:26:00.000-05:00

Save our Sarasota presents street theatre. I think this is an effective photo.

Not to be totally outdone I posted pictures of Disney on moraca.org my new blog.

Arlington Park Real Estate Prices !!

2005-03-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

Can it be true my neighborhood has a home for sale listed at $600,000!! It is a nice looking place on S Shade Ave that sits on a half acre lot but...

that is a lot of money.

Hudson Bayou and open government

2005-03-18T15:06:00.000-05:00

Today's Sarasota Herald Tribune has two good city articles about the lift station on Pomelo Ave - earlier this week we learned that - in addition to the 570,000 gallon leak last month -- there was a previous huge leak of 500,000 gallons that "nobody" knew about.

Now the neighbors say the lift station is illegally located -- and
after looking for a few weeks the city has not been able to find any
proof of its right to have placed a lift station that pumps 2,000,000
gallons of sewage a day in a park.

Because of the "coverup" the City Commission was forced into ordering an outside investigation. Tom Lyons calls it fairly when he says that the City Manager should have been more out front with the public.

Bottom line staff knew about the previous leak and should have been much faster to get the news out. When government makes a mistake the only thing to do is announce it to the public. Trying to coverup smells like a 570,000 gallon sewage leak.

No matter what it costs (I am sure it is expensive) I think the lift station will have to be moved.

Say "NO" To Hate

2005-03-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

I attended a meeting of the Sarasota Coalition Against Hate that has pulled together since the news of the neo-Nazi working in a local child care center.

It is very sad that something like that has to go on in Sarasota. The meeting was the the Sarasota-Manatee Jewish Federation. What does it say that they have a full time guard in their parking lot.

One of the groups first projects will be to place a full page ad in the Sarasota Herald Tribune to call for awareness of hatred and bigotry issues.

For more information or to help sponsor this please contact Edda Post at 365-4955.

Save Our Sarasota

2005-03-15T10:12:00.000-05:00

It is good to seeanother urban issues Sarasota Blog. We will all see what happens to downtown SRQ in the next few months as several big projects get completed. You can view some of my pictures of downtown at moraca.org

Even LA has a money losing Convention Center

2005-03-10T20:05:00.000-05:00

Seems even LA has a money losing Convention Center according to the Planning Report - the Insider's Guide to Managed Growth ...

"Beginning in 2000, business for the Los Angeles Convention Center has suffered as competitors opened the doors to new and newly renovated convention centers and related hotels. Now, as a deal with the City of Los Angeles is crafted for a new 1200-room convention center hotel, the LA Convention Center is poised to enter a new era. TPR is pleased to present this interview with Michael Collins, executive director of LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, in which he discusses the the potential of the new hotel and the potential for the return of a professional football team to L.A."

Visit moraca.org my new site

No Clear Winner in City Commission Election

2005-03-09T15:56:00.000-05:00

Well the best (in the voters eyes) 3 get a chance in the run-off. The 2 with the highest number of votes on April 12th will win. Good Luck.

The last 3 standing in the Sarasota City Commission race are:

Richard Martin

Lou Ann Palmer

Ken Shelin

* that is alphabetic order by last names...

There was no winner with a majority (with only 5,717 voters a voting) of the whopping 18.4% voter turn-out.

Moving to ... moraca.org someday soon..

City Election Tomorrow

2005-03-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

The campaigns are pretty much over and we are all waiting to see what happens tomorrow. I hope we have a pretty good turnout - it is expected to be only in the teens... not good for civic pride. We really have some good people (not all...) running for office. Since I am being nonpartisan I won't say anything good or bad.

I voted Sunday afternoon. It was easy to vote early so no excuses..

I am in the process of moving my main blog over to my personal web site moraca.org I don't really have a great reason except I want my content on my site. Blogger really is easy to use and looks great. I just installed drupal software on my website and it works pretty well. Anyway it will take a while... in just a short time I have a lot of content.

Further "big" news I just went over 500 pages views today I guess its not bad for only about 6 weeks.

Sewer History Web Site...

2005-03-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

With 2 big leaks in Sarasota Sewerhistory.org may be of interest to some.

"Over the past ten years, Jon Schladweiler, the Historian of the Arizona Water & Pollution Control Association, has researched and collected materials related to the history of sewage conveyance systems. Many of these have been displayed in a traveling exhibit entitled "The Collection Systems Historical Photo and Artifacts Display." "

Moderator becomes inquisitor at candidate forum

2005-03-06T07:42:00.000-05:00

The moderator for theControl Growth Now City Commission candidate forum made the news paper for being a jerk... CCNA had our candidate forum yesterday morning and I don't see any mention.

I guess as normal "bad behavior" is what makes the paper...

What Sarasota needs is a great town square

2005-03-04T22:36:00.000-05:00

If I won the lottery (which I don't play) I would love to build a "great" town square along the bayfront somewhere... what a great place to enjoy the sunset.. maybe I could put a convention center on one side of it??

Lakewood Ranch is building one ...

"the Lakewood Ranch Arts Centre, a mixed-use project called San Marco Plaza that will be modeled after the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy.

Project costs are estimated to be more than $15 million. The plaza will total 80,000 square feet and include 20,000 square feet of second-level office space, a 300-seat outdoor amphitheatre and a 250-seat dinner theater. Dubbed an "architectural showplace," it also will feature restaurants, retail gift shops and art galleries. "

Planetizen has an article on "What Makes A Good Town Square?" Author Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard offers an online excerpt and summary of her book, "Genius of the European Town Square."

The direct link points to Making Cities Livable

"The square is the essence of the European city, epitomizing the community's heritage and symbolizing its identity. In fostering the cooperative, entrepreneurial, cultural, and democratically organized urban civilization that was a uniquely European invention the multi-functional market square is a true symbol of unity for the European Community"

SURE coalition vows to fight for affordable housing

2005-03-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

Sarasota United for Responsibility and Equity supports affordable housing... another SHT article by Dale White...they are a group of churchs that want to help out.

Pedestrian Safety (or not)

2005-03-03T19:48:00.000-05:00

As a bicycle rider in Sarasota I had to read this article in the SHT about Pedestrian Safety in Florida. Sarasota / Bradenton is the seventh most dangerous area in Florida. I ride very defensive since I know drivers are out to get me.... St Armands has their signs up its only $78 if you hit one of us with your car.

Affordable Housing using density ...v2

2005-03-02T22:05:00.000-05:00

Thinking about this issue after viewing some of the lectures at the Affordable Housing Design Advisor. I really am convinced that Sarasota needs to look at higher densities in the near to downtown neighbhorhoods.

I personally would like to own a 4 unit apartment building around Payne Park or north of Fruitville along Central Ave.

Pattern Map for a Conservation Economy

2005-03-01T20:31:00.000-05:00

Saw a link to this great graphic

on the Beyond Brilliance Blog that focuses on "positive developments in transportation, urban planning, design, the environment, the internet and many other vaguely related areas."

Affordable Housing using density ...

2005-02-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

There is so much information out there... I went back and was listening to David Brain's lecture (I mp3ed it...) from the neighborhood summit and he mentioned how important density is to successful downtowns.

The Affordable Housing Design Advisor has great lectures with pictures on many different types of affordable housing designs. I found the "row houses" lecture very interesting - getting from 10 to up to 40+ units per acre. This is what we need around Payne Park and in some of the other walk to downtown neighborhoods north of Fruitville Road.

20 Best North American Neighborhoods

2005-02-28T18:46:00.000-05:00

The Project for Public Space is compiling this list (that Sarasota is not on --- but I really think we could get there) ... Cool website with lots of information and info on why the best are the best...

Herald Tribune Article on Neighborhood Summit

2005-02-27T12:59:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to the article by Dale White on page 1B in Sundays "Sarasota" section on the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Joe Moraca (yes me) is quoted as saying "developers and neighborhoods really need to work together and not fight as adversaries." With more flexible regulations and neighborhood participation, the area could get some redevelopment that is innovative and beneficial. (talking about Arlington Park NA)

Great article that really captured the spirit on what went on.

Manasota Regional Neighborhoods Summit -- Awesome !!

2005-02-26T17:29:00.000-05:00

I went to the Manasota Regional Neighborhoods Summit this morning not really knowing what to expect... I was very happy to find that it was the best neighborhood event I have been at. I will be writing more about this event as I digest it. If you missed this you really missed out.

The first session I attended was "Community Change, Redevelopment and Infill" presented by Suzanne Gregory, Associate Director of SCOPE.

Suzanne is a great speaker and the study spear-headed by SCOPE is very well done and available on their web site.

Second was "Manasota, Growing Wisely By Design" presented by Dr. David Brain, Assoc Professor of Sociology at New College.

He talked about how cities are made up of neighborhoods and that zoning can be more of a problem than a cure. Neighborhoods are more of an ecology than an ordering of objects.

It was awesome having two local people with their skills working with us.

The keynote speaker John McKnight the Co-Director, Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University gave a talk that focused on neighborhood assets.

Look and what you have and use it. If you only look for problems .. that is all you have.

Many great examples and very inspirational.

Michael Raposa - Director of City of Sarasota Neighborhood Partnership Office, John McKnight and Rhonda Moraca president of Arlington Park Neighborhood Assoc.

Sarasota Success Connection Blog

2005-02-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

Sarasota Success Connection Blog I keep finding Sarasota bloggers...

Sarasota Real Estate Blog

2005-02-26T15:53:00.000-05:00

Sarasota Real Estate BlogAnother new blog about Sarasota. Gary Brey has a few good articles posted. Lets see how it progresses. No hidden agenda here, he is a top real estate salesperson.

New York Times - Travel to SRQ

2005-02-25T06:25:00.000-05:00

Guess I missed this great travel article in the New York Times - owner of the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Anne Glusker had fun staying at the Ritz and hiting most of the best spots in Sarasota.

CoolTown Studios - Retail & Entertainment make downtown

2005-02-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

Cooltown Studios is fast becoming one of my favorite blogs... I always find something I like. Downtown Sarasota is becoming a better place because of the mixture of entertainment, retail and I think residential development all going on making it more of a destination area.

CTS quotes Michael Beynard of the Urban Land Institute. This article goes into detail on some of the interesting things going on...

"Entertainment, culture, and education are being woven together.

Retail entertainment is being combined successfully with cultural and educational facilities. Museums and performing arts centers are trying to adapt to decreased public funding and to the strong competitive pressures brought about by societal changes. Retail entertainment offers these institutions an opportunity to broaden their markets and compete more effectively for consumers’ time and attention in a crowded marketplace. In turn, cultural and educational institutions act as key anchors for retail entertainment destinations, providing the unique local character, cultural context, and educational aspects essential for long-term project success."

SoHoTampa.com: I'll Have the Scallion Pancakes, Please

2005-02-24T18:42:00.000-05:00

SoHoTampa.com: I'll Have the Scallion Pancakes, Please One persons comments on public housing - she tells it as she sees it...... LISC is a not for profit that is helping with low income housing... it seems if you do the math you would see they are spending a lot of money for a limited number of current housing units...

Manasota Regional Neighborhoods Summit Feb 26th

2005-02-23T21:31:00.000-05:00

Looking at the agenda and the price this conference at the Sarasota USF campus seems to be a great deal. Ten bucks(15 at the door) and you get lunch some good sessions and keynoter:

"John McKnight is the Professor of Education and Social Policy and Co-Director, Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. For nearly three decades, he has conducted research on social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations, neighborhood policy, and institutional racism. He currently directs research projects focused on asset-based neighborhood development and methods of community building by incorporating marginalized people." (quote from the conference flyer..)

I like the idea of building on assets as a strategy instead of whining about problems.

Sarasota Rated Third Best Art Town in USA

2005-02-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

John Villani rated Sarasota the country's third-best art town among cities from 30-100,000 in population in his latest book "The 100 Best Art Towns in America".

We really have lots to be proud of here. Check out the Sarasota Arts Council web site for more information. Look at their great "Cultural Calendar" for dates and times of whats happening in town. There is lots more than "just" the Van Wezel, Asolo, Selby Gardens, Players, Mote Marine, Ringling Museum and Florida Studio Theatre.....

Palm Beach Rants and Raves: The Housing "Bubblette"

2005-02-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

Palm Beach Rants and Raves: The Housing "Bubblette" This ties in with my earlier post on housing prices.

I looked at the study by National City Corp. Pretty big PDF file... Sarasota is 25% over priced so their economists say.... I feel OK seeing their detailed data. In 25 years Sarasota average prices didn't go down.. growth just slowed / stopped for a number of years.

Biker News

2005-02-21T20:23:00.000-05:00

As an occasional bike rider I was interested to read The Temporary Urbanism of Critical Mass an Op-Ed about people taking back cities from cars by Rocco Pendola posted on Planetizen.

There are different levels to think about this issue .... one is having a resource like the Pinellas Trail in Sarasota. We are slowly getting there. See this story on a new rail trail for Sarasota County and another link to the Sarasota MURT.

Another deeper level is really building a city that is bike and pedestrian friendly. That seems to be what Critical-Mass works for. There will always be more cars so lets also allow bikes and walkers better use of the road system.

If Sarasota as a city is willing to spend millions of dollars for 100's of parking spaces why don't we have more bike paths or at least clear the tree branches from the existing bike / walk-able areas….

Battle of Olustee

2005-02-21T17:12:00.000-05:00

We went to North Florida for the weekend and ended up at the 29th Annual Reenactment of the

This is a big event, there were thousands of people many of them in period dress. This was the biggest Civil War battle in Florida. The Confederates won...which may be why it is reenacted every year. North Florida is much more a part of the South than from Orlando south. I got some good pictures like this one

That is gunpowder in the air. It is a big "black history" event also as there were several regiments of ex-slaves on the Union side.

Gainesvillle gets new park in downtown

2005-02-21T15:26:00.000-05:00

"Forgotten downtown space begins grand redevelopment" Gainesville (my old hometown) is starting on a new park in a forgotten part of downtown -- SE Depot Ave and Main St. Should be pretty cool. They are building some ponds that we be part of stormwater runoff...

Home Prices going through the roof

2005-02-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

This article in the SRQ Herald Tribune made me look at home sales in my neighborhood.. they are going up pretty quick. We have several listings over $300,000 and I see on the Sarasota Property Appraiser Web Site that several have recently sold for close to that.

I guess I am glad. Good to be building up equity somewhere. Sarasota is pretty reasonable in price off of the water.

USA Today just ran an article with the same study but they show the full chart

Fun Friday at Towles Court

2005-02-18T21:05:00.000-05:00

We went out to eat at Bangkok Thai restaurant for great food and then went to Towles Court for their 3rd Friday arts night.

Lots of people walking around listening to music, drinking wine and having fun. Hope you like my artistic photo collage.

CCNA in Election Law Scandal

2005-02-17T20:21:00.000-05:00

I had sort a surprise today. I returned a phone call from the Florida Division of Elections.

Someone called them with a complaint that the Sarasota Coalition of City Neighborhoods CCNA somehow violated state election laws. From what I could tell this person felt that CCNA was a city sponsored organization and a city commission candidate was trying to influence them to vote for them at our January meeting.

To set the record straight CCNA is a private organization that advocates for neighborhood issues. We are not affiliated with the City of Sarasota. People that come to our meetings are representatives appointed by their neighborhood and have no relationship to City government through our organization. Our meetings are not closed to the public although it is the rare person that wants to spend Saturday morning discussing neighborhood issues.

Several current Sarasota City Commissioners have had long time affiliations with CCNA having been neighborhood representatives. There are two recent CCNA neighborhood reps currently running for City Commission seats. I think it is fair to say that our membership is not awed by having a City Commissioner in the room. They are people like us.

At our January meeting those present were asked to sign a petition by a candidate. There was no endorsement by CCNA and CCNA has no control over what a person speaking during our meeting will say. In this case signing the petition really is not even a show of support only getting the candidate on the ballot.

I personally did not sign the petition. As the president of CCNA I will not be endorsing a candidate. CCNA has never formally endorsed a candidate.

Any candidate has the ability to ask for signatures to get on a ballot. They could do that in any public place such as in front of Publix, at the beach or on Main street downtown.

Sarasota Bayfront Multi-Use Recreational Trail

2005-02-16T21:32:00.000-05:00

This evening I went to a meeting about the new Bayfront Multi-Use Recreational TrailMURT that will go along the Sarasota water front

from Selby Gardens up to New College / USF. Most of it will be on existing bikeable roads. Seems it will be a nice clean up / landscape / signage project

CoolTown Studios - planning and economic development

2005-02-16T06:38:00.000-05:00

CoolTown: poses the question: Planning and economic development: Like oil and water? It references a study by the American Planning Association that recognizes this.

The story links to the article published by APA Money Matters: Getting Economic Development Into the Mix, which include the following points that both parties should adhere to:

- There are positive, measurable benefits (weeding out political interests)
- Those benefits are long term (emphasizes local businesses)
- The public benefits greatly outweigh the costs (the best projects should go first)
- The economic benefits are primarily local (ie not Wal-mart)
- There are qualitative as well as quantitative benefits (ie placemaking, quality of life, entertainment)
- Economic development incentives should only be used only when investment won't occur without it.

ABC News Nightline - London Congestion Tax

2005-02-15T23:41:00.000-05:00

Nightline has a show on about Traffic and the traffic congestion tax in London. Could it be a benefit to the rich?

Sarasota County Civic League

2005-02-15T23:39:00.000-05:00

Sarasota County Civic League seems to have a new Blog discussing Sarasota City Commission Candidates. They rate them:

Suzanne Atwell-Qualified
John Fulton-not recommended
Diana Hamilton-Well Qualified
Richard Martin(I)-Well Qualified
Lou Ann Palmer(I)-Well Qualified
Ken Shelin-Well Qualified
Jon Susce-Qualified

I am not openly supporting anyone but I have to agree with their assessment of John Fulton. I don't know why he is running - he must like the attention.

Cyburbia "the urban planning portal"

2005-02-15T23:28:00.000-05:00

Cyburbia "the urban planning portal" has a good thread on accessory dwelling units.

This may become a big topic in Sarasota as the planning department has included them as a secondary use in all single family residential zones. As with most things there are 2 sides. Seeing some of the restrictions listed I could warm up to it. But I would be very surprised if the restrictions really hold up either in court or reality.

Arlington Park City Commission Forum

2005-02-15T21:52:00.000-05:00

We had a big crowd and all 7 candidates running for the 2 at-large Sarasota City Commission Seats. Local TV Channel 7 (ABC) was there as was the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

It was pretty interesting I am not sure anyone changed their mind but I will go to some of the others.. (at least the last one with CCNA where I will be the moderator).

Good discussion about the importance of downtown and how to allocate resources between downtown business and neighborhoods. There is no one way...I recorded most of it on my IRiver and may podcast it if I get a chance.

The candidates and the audience.

Florida News: Florida Newspaper Ownership

2005-02-15T18:17:00.000-05:00

Florida News Blog has this on Florida Newspaper Ownership It would be very interesting to also see radio and television ownership. Good thing we have the internet...

Florida Politics: Instant-Runoff Primaries

2005-02-15T18:13:00.000-05:00

The Florida Politics Blog has an article and link about Instant-Runoff Primaries. I think this is a good idea. Seems we need the State of Florida to certify voting machine software before this can be implemented.

Sarasota City Commission Candidate Forums

2005-02-14T20:02:00.000-05:00


FORUM SCHEDULE 2005 for CITY COMMISSIONER @ LARGE - MARCH 8TH ELECTION -
PLEASE NOTE ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS

FEB.12. / Noon , Democratic Club @ the Sahib Temple
contact for more details 379-9643

FEB.15 / 7 pm / Waldemere Forum - Waldemere.
Fire House - contact Rhonda Moraca - 955-3636

FEB.19 / 10am  Lido Key Association -
Holiday Inn Lido Beach -Beth Dilworth -746-1927

FEB.19 / 2-5 pm , 4 pm is Candidate's Forum, Park East Neighborhood
8th & East - on the site of their Future Park
contact Madonna Sullivan 952-0345

FEB.22 / noon / Downtown Partnership Forum
University Club - contact Mimi Winchester -951-2656

FEB.23 / 6pm Walk-to-Town Neighborhood Forum
6th St. off Central
contact Shawn Fulker -232-0584 to firm up info

FEB.24 / 5:30 pm / Save Our Sarasota
@ the Garden Club , contact - 955-8685

FEB.24 / 8pm /Alta Vista & Laurel Park Forum
Payne Park Auditorium
contact Stan Zimmerman-955-0790

FEB.28 / 7-8:30 / "SURE"  Sarasota United for Responsibility and Equity /
First United Methodist Church contact - Clovia Russell - 954-6553

BLABTV -10pm - Kerry Kirschner, Dateline Sarasota
Sponsored by League of Women Voters
contact; Pat Price - 349-0908

FEB.22- Atwell, Fulton, Hamilton, Martin
MARCH 1 - Palmer, Shelin, Susce

MARCH 5 - CCNA @ Waldemere Fire Station 9am. contact: Joe Moraca 955-3636

New (sub)Urbanism: Millennium Park Photographing Update

2005-02-14T06:40:00.000-05:00

New (sub)Urbanism: Millennium Park Photographing Update Oh no.. Sarasota has been the winter home for some of this art... I was wondering why there were no new statues this year.

WSLR - Sarasota Does Need a Community Radio Station

2005-02-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

I went to the fund raiser for WSLR today at Rosemary Court a good time was had by all... Saw a good local band Stone Soup

and a touring band with a few CD's SONia and Disappear Fear.

From WSLR's Mission Statement:
"WSLR's programming promotes equality, peace, sustainability, democracy, and social and economic justice." Funny none of the people running for City Commission were there...

I was flattered to be asked to do a show about neighborhoods. If they get it all together I will do it. There is lots to be said and not much being said in the local media.

Does Sarasota Need a Conference Center

2005-02-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

Having been to a conference or two I think Sarasota would be a good place to go for a few days of expense account fun. But I don't think I am ready to use my tax dollars to pay for the infrastructure or donate the land or operating costs... Listen here to the author of the Brookings Study on this topic.

"Mayors and other urban decision makers all want to find that silver bullet that will put their cities on the map, making them rich and successful. Many have placed their bets on bigger and better convention centers. But a new study published by The Brookings Institute claims that, for most cities, sinking money into convention centers is a losing strategy. Here to tell us about his findings is Heywood Sanders, author of "Space Available: The Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy," along with Bruce Katz, vice president of Brookings."

Two good Urban Issues Web Sites

2005-02-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

Cyburbia Forums - seems to be lots of discussion on urban issues

Planetizen - The Planning and Development Network they have several RSS feeds this one looks good "Radar"

Friday Night Downtown After 5

2005-02-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

Well we went to Mattison's City Grille and listened to Jennifer and the Venturas performing at Downtown after 5. She has a great voice. I had my first Hoegarden beer... came with a slice of orange -- OK it was pretty good.

Why was the Belgian Chocolate store closed? Sorry we missed last Friday.. we stopped at Morton's on the way home..

Parking - Sticks of Fire

2005-02-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

Over at Sticks of Fire a Tampa URBlog I was reading about downtown parking. I am sure Tampa is tighter than Sarasota but I agree just having more parking is not the answer.

Bigger roads and more parking doesn't make a better downtown. Let the market for parking take care of itself. I like to ride my bike downtown because it is easier to get around. Yes when I drive I like to park close by but just yesterday I walked about 5 blocks from the car to get some pizza.

OK I like pizza...

FCAT Gets Harder

2005-02-10T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well as I sit here and struggle to write another entry in my blog I read that the State of Florida is raising the bar on the writing portion of the FCAT. I think it is a good idea. Last year 9 out of 10 met the goal so it seems we should push a little harder.

Writing is every bit as important as math maybe more so. I wonder how many more sentences I need for a passing grade.

In other news .... Tom Lyons in his comment column in the SHT is not sure if the no-camping law is a good thing. Sarasota County had some "jail consultants" that found "frequent fliers" at the county jail. 473 people arrested 9,343 times - about 20 times each - so what is it habitual criminals or police harassing the poor homeless?

Is the rich tourist drinking wine at sunset on the beach different than the poor guy drinking beer on the corner.... Yes. It wasn't a rich tourist I saw peeing on the Southside Baptist Church today...

570,000 gallons of sewage in Hudson Bayou

2005-02-09T20:29:00.000-05:00

The sewage pump station on Pomelo Ave "died" last week.... Just today a press release from the county gave the all clear -there was never an official "warning" about using the city water of sewer in the area - just don't swim in the Bayou

... seems we were lucky with the weather this time.

But 570,000 is a lot of crap to dump in that area. I would bet the owners of the 3 lots that have homes being built on them that are surrounding the pump station are not very happy .... I bet the cheapest lot was sold for about a dollar a gallon.

The locals - Susan Chapman (board member of CCNA) had her picture in the paper as president of the Hudson Bayou Neighborhood Association are very angry and it didn't start last week. There have been routine complaints about the lack of maintenance at the pump station.

Lets hope this wakes up our local officials to the importance of our infrastructure issues.

Arts and Community Preservation

2005-02-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

Back to my topic of yesterday another article in the SHT (last one today I promise) hightlights a talk given by Sonia BasSheve Manjon speaking at Ringling School of Art and Design on the ties between an active arts community and building and sustaining communities.

CDGB - was that a club in NYC?

2005-02-08T19:56:00.000-05:00

Budget reform at US Dept of Housing and Urban Development could cost southwest Floridia close to $6 million acording to the SHT.

Community Development Block Grants (CDGB) -- good or bad??

Well.. "Housing advocates predict that most neighborhood and housing projects won’t qualify. They have speculated that the 1,100 communities now receiving CDBG money could be reduced to 700 or fewer.

“It is doubtful Sarasota County would continue to receive funding or the city of Sarasota either,” said Hadsell, whose agency manages all CDBG funds in the county.

That translates into a nearly $2.5 million loss. The Sarasota agency has used that money to install water and sewer lines in Newtown, help finance the construction of the Salvation Army’s new homeless shelter, build a day care center in North Port, and create parks or other improvements in Rosemary, Gillespie Park, Bayou Oaks and other neighborhoods" says the article.

My neighborhood is currently going throught the NAS that would lead us to trying to get some of that money.... so that is not good. But more of the money is going to assist low income people with first time home ownership.... I am good with that (depending on the details...)

Sarasota "No-Lodging" Law

2005-02-08T19:32:00.000-05:00

I like the new ordinance already. I am a backpacker / hiker (ok not lately..) so I didn't like having a no camping law. You can read about it here. There are at least two sides to every issue but I know people that have had loud "camps" behind their homes and the police were not able to help.

Sarasota has a big heart and to my knowledge there is help for the "homeless" population. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune notes that Maj. Bert Tanner the executive director of the Salvation Army endorsed the rule.

It is vagrancy that is the problem most people can't live with. If you choose to live on the street and hustle for a living (drunk or stoned) you are not welcome in Sarasota. Sorry but .... I know that I am not the only one that feels that way. Read the Sarasota Coalition of City Neighborhoods position paper

Civic Strategies - Urblogs

2005-02-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

Google and ye shall find... I found a new word Urblogs. I am sure I don't qualify yet as they seem to require: "Urban blogs are those that are focused on a metro area, provide interesting commentary about local politics, culture or urban life and aren't so ideological that they're painful to read. So how much ideology is too much? Hey, it's our list, so we get to decide. " The site also has a library of PDF's that have pretty good topics

I am just getting my "voice" and have not shared this blog with anyone yet - but someday soon I will link to it on my other neighborhood sites.

We are having a City commission election next month 7 people running. I should make fun of some of them.

Looking for neighborhood content

2005-02-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

Interesting Article from Denver Post Desperate for downtowns
talks about suburban towns working to build a downtown area. We are lucky to have a real downtown in Sarasota that just keeps getting better.

I like the mix we have here. It not all brand new trying to look old. Sarasota isn't really old like Charleston SC or St Augustine FL but everything didn't get built last year either.

Richard Florida has a new book almost out in his Creative Class Series..

Not sure how your city ranks but here is a link from Fast Company that will test your city
I did the test and got 95 for Sarasota. Some of the answers I had to stretch a bit... but that is easy for me. I am sure someone else could get us a 25 instead

Super Bowl Sunday

2005-02-06T22:21:00.000-05:00

Eagles lost...

I worked on the CCNA Web Site. I am going to add more content to the site. We need to have our postions out there in the public.

I also found a great link on the City of Sarasota NPO Web Page listing all zoning activities.

Yes I also had work around the house... even took Rachel driving this morning.

CCNA Meeting

2005-02-05T22:49:00.000-05:00

My first meeting as president. I guess it went pretty well. Have to learn to be nice and keep the meeting under control. We discussed goals for the year. We spent lots of time on affordable housing and homeless / vagrancy.

Here is the important passing of the gavel...

I know why Jennifer is smiling I am unsure why I am... this will be lots of work. I have to update the CCNA web site tomorrow.

25th Anniversary of Downtown Farmers Market

2005-02-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

It was a pretty good time. I rode my bike in the 50 degree weather. Lots of city people there and CCNA had our logo ladder

Lots of people enjoying downtown.

Big Friday...

2005-02-04T22:10:00.000-05:00

Glad work is over this week... wait I work all the time even after my day job.

Tonight I printed CCNA agendas / bank report / candidate forum invitations. We are going to the Sarasota Farmers Market first thing in the morning before the CCNA meeting... I expect it to be chilly as it was very cold today here in Sarasota - lunch time it was in the 40's...

Listened to some good podcasts today. I know my team at work are on the cutting edge of software development practices. We don't need no stinkin' documentation... well we do use some. The key is discussing progress / design / problems with our business partners several times a week.

Arlington Park Board Meeting Tonight

2005-02-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

Board meeting and took Rachel to practice... another exciting night. I walked home from the meeting about 6 blocks. It was really nice - things look different at night and it was nice and cool. Listened to G'Day Podcast for the first time it was entertaining I may try it once more...

I am still an IT Conversations podcast listener. OK I do download Daily Source Code everyday ... but I did just break ipodder beta 2. Not sure I am sold on that process. I have a cable modem and don't mind checking the feeds I like manually... using Sage extension in Firefox it is great for RSS.

No Meetings Tonight!!

2005-02-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

Stayed home and watched the state of the union address. I like personal savings accounts.

Spent some time sending invitations for the CCNA City Commission Candidate Fourm on March 5th and getting the agenda ready for our February meeting this Saturday morning.

2005 People of Vison Awards Dinner

2005-02-01T22:18:00.000-05:00

We went to a nice event to honor the presidents of the 4 local colleges

New College - Gordon Michalson
USF - Sarasota - Laurey Stryker
Manatee Community College - Sarah Pappas
Ringling School of Art - Larry Thompson

Links to are all on this page

I hope the event raised a lot of money for Prevent Blindness Florida (pretty pricey tickets...) Lots of people for a Tuesday night. We were at the USF Sarsaota Alumni Table.

Neighborhood Action Strategy - Jan 31st

2005-01-31T20:37:00.000-05:00

Arlington Park Neighborhood had another NAS meeting today. The focus was public works and services. Meeting was pretty well attended as usual -- about 30 people. The main speaker was Duane Mountain he has worked for the City of Sarasota for over 30 years.. he really is a good guy that works to get things done - I was on the Parks board serving with him... good to see someone that loves what they do.

We started off with everyone introducing themselves and what they like about the neighborhood. I always enjoy hearing that... mostly location, location, location - old homes with character / tree cover / safe / the park itself -- and ... rising property values (no one said that out loud...)

Sarasota really is a great place to live.

Sarasota Celebrates Diversity

2005-01-31T00:34:00.000-05:00

We went to the Sarasota Embracing our Differences art show at the bayfront.. I was impressed how good the art work was.

Sarasota is really pretty diverse culturally.

Fun Reading - City of Sarasota EAR

2005-01-30T16:54:00.000-05:00

After seeing several comments about the City of Sarasota EAR -"City staff have completed a first draft of the Evaluation and Appraisal Report, which will be discussed by the Planning Board and City Commission at workshops in February and March 2005 and again at public hearings in June, July, and October 2005." I thought it time to personally review some of the changes to these documents. This is not fun reading but there are nuggets you need to be aware of. ..... for my neighborhood there is discussion of US 41 / Tuttle and we should be adding Webber street... my previous post was an example of what is discussed.

I would like to think about a neighborhood "plan" for what we would like to see around the neighborhood.....

A bigger city wide issue is "accessory dwellings" being allowed in almost all residential single family areas... is this good???

Arlington Park NA has a small victory or..

2005-01-30T14:35:00.000-05:00

Jan 22, 2005 a group of Arlington Park NA members went to the City of Sarasota Planning Board to ask the board to not support two rezonings in our neighborhood.

We found that the more intensive one was withdrawn after the planner saw we would not support the change. The property owner wanted to rezone 3 single family homes and build 5,000 sq ft of office space and 7 small apartments with 43 parking spaces ...

The second project was still there it was less intrusive but more obnoxious. The owner was poorly represented by a planner and lawyer that ignored the neighborhood and thought that the owner had a right to have the land rezoned because he wanted it..... during the meeting the owner proved he hired "like minded" people and all three really exhibited the butthead approach ....

I hope they bring it to the city commission ... their own words will not help them. Minutes should appear here soon

Wow that was easy

2005-01-30T12:08:00.000-05:00

Sarasota is a great place to live. I hope this blog will support that fact.