All entries for January 2015
US Nano Moving to Sarasota
US Nano, a nanotechnology company, announced it is relocating to Sarasota to triple its workforce and expand its facilities. The company previosuly was headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. "Sarasota is not only a beautiful location, but there is growing high tech industry in the region," said Dr. Louise E. Sinks, vice president of US Nano. "Being part of Florida's High Tech Corridor is extremely appealing to any high tech start-up. The network of resources available is extremely attractive." From the company's release: US Nano develops flexible electronic devices based on nanomaterials printed on plastic. The proprietary nanomaterial are nanowires, which have the potential for industry-transforming commercial applications because of their ability to measure and manipulate light and heat, which is at the core of numerous sensing, imaging, fiber optic and energy harvesting and storage applications. The ability to produce materials with semiconductor properties at nanoscale holds breakthrough technological potential for a wide range of industries, including energy (photovoltaics, batteries, and lighting), consumer devices (displays, actuators), healthcare (biological sensors), communication (RFID, fiber optic systems), and defense (chemical sensors, infrared imaging, security surveillance). The move was announced by the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, and the firm will recieve $3,000 in incentives through Sarasota County for each job created. The company plans to create 10 jobs over the next two years. The company is moving to a 5,000-square-foot facility on Independence Boulevard. 
Bayfront 20:20 Implementing Principles Discussed
Cultural institutions on the Sarasota Bayfront are making plans for future growth and Sarasota city officials may be have started moving forward with ways to chart the waterfront’s future. There remain questions about the future of private land blocks, and of exactly how much activity there should be on public land, but the Bayfront 20:20 process is moving forward. Michael Klauber, leader of the Bayfront 20:20 group, said he was pleased Sarasota City Commissioners would be considering implementing principles for the future of a 75-acre area of land on the Bayfront. “The goal right now is to get the community, and that includes our city, to adopt these guiding principles,” Klauber said. At a workshop Monday night, consultants with HR&A advisors shared those principles, developed over more than 70 meetings and partnering with some 30 community groups. “[The Bayfront] has to be activated. Everybody seems to agree that is is an underutilized asset,” said Candace Damon, a consultant working on the Bayfront 20:20 effort. “People want for it to be culturally strengthened.” Right now, the Sarasota Orchestra plans to dispatch a team this month to assess the need for space for growth with the institution, and the Van Wezel Foundation on Tuesday moved forward with a feasibility study to be completed in the next five months. Additionally, other cultural organizations in town have been looking to see if there is space on the Bay; notably Mote Aquarium remains involved in the process.. In the meantime, developers have suggested plans for hotels and convention centers, all the while with some pockets of the community looking toward the creation of a waterfront park. “From what I am hearing from attending several meetings is that the public wants more parkland, as opposed to more buildings,” said Vice Mayor Susan Chapman, “and I listen to the public.” Klauber, though, said developing the implementing principles should create a guide map for people on either side of that division. “We need to focus on getting a really good crystallized vision of what the community wants to happen,” he said. Once that is finalized, every time someone pushes for park use or new amenities, the principles can be consulted to see if that fits with the vision being developed now. Visioning process is far from done. Sarasota County Commissioners this week expressed interest in hearing a Sarasota 20:20 presentation themselves, and Klauber expects to be back in front of City Commissioners in a month to talk about the standards being promoted. All involved also say high issues like improving connectivity between the Bayfront and much of north and south Tamiami Trail must be deeply explored. But officials remain optimistic about the movement of the process. City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell likened the efforts to those in places like Chattanooga, Tenn. where riverfront development revitalized the region, but said that will take hard work. DRAFT IMPLEMENTING PRINCIPLES:
Sarasota City candidates qualify; Shaw Wins Re-Election
We now know who is running this year for the Sarasota City Commission. Mayor Willie Shaw appears to have been elected unopposed as District 1 City Commissioner, as he is the only candidate who qualified by today's noon deadline. But the contests in District 2 and 3 both will see hot contests in March, and could extend to a runoff in May. In District 2, recently appointed Commissioner Eileen Walsh Normile is challenged by attorney and for State House candidate Liz Alpert and by Sarasota Housing Authority board chairman David Lloyd Morgan. In District 3, appointed Commissioner Stan Zimmerman faces attorney and former Community Development Area advisory board member Shelli Freeland Eddie and by political activist and campaign regular Matt Wooddall. Elections will held in each District on March 10. If no candidate gets 50 percent in the March election, a runoff between the top two vote-getters will be held on May 12.
Fitch Raises Credit Rating for Manatee County School DistrictFitch Ratings, an international credit rating agency based out of New York and London, raised its rating outlook for the Manatee County School District to Positive from Negative. The Fitch release... More »
City of Sarasota Reverses Course, Will Cover Chapman's Sunshine DefenseSarasota City Commissioners voted 3-1 tonight in favor of covering all of City Commissioner Susan Chapman's legal fees in defense of a lawsuit filed by Citizens for Sunshine. The commission previously... More »
Ring of Fame 2015 Nominees Include Prince of Monaco, Del Moral Troupe, Vasquez, Zerbini, Pfening
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