The integrity of a Sarasota City Commissioner elected with the endorsement of Equality Florida came under fire this week after she said she was personally opposed to same-sex marriage. Shelli Freeland Eddie asked the gay rights organization to stop publicly listing her as a supporter of “marriage equality” on its website. “Because of my faith,” Eddie said in an email, “I should have not completed the survey responses the way I did, and I should not have accepted your endorsement.” 

Eddie was elected in May, unseating incumbent Stan Zimmerman. In March, she also defeated Matt Wooddall, who is gay. And in the run-up to the May elections, she also employed prominent campaign consultants with a history with the gay and lesbian community. Since sending her email to Equality Florida, the new commissioner has faced accusations of betraying those who helped her get elected, and even heard calls for her resignation, but she said it was important she be able to engage in honest dialogue about the issue. In an interview with SRQ, she said her views have not changed from when she filled out a questionnaire expressing support for the legal rights of all people. “I am also fighting for equal protection under the law for everyone,” she said. “But from a personal standpoint, decisions the court made are in personal contradiction with my faith.” Eddie also said she was personally pro-life, but maintained government should not restrict a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy.

Equality Florida officials expressed shock at Eddie’s request. “Shelli not only deceived the Equality Florida PAC with her answers on its candidate questionnaire,” said Ken Shelin, Equality Florida co-chair and a former Sarasota City Commissioner. “She deceived her campaign donors and she deceived the voters.” The issue seemed compounded as well by the fact the Sarasota Democratic Party had backed Eddie. Her victory helped ensure all five members of the Sarasota City Commission were registered Democrats.

“Call this Poster Child 35 on how Sarasota City Commission contests have no business being partisan exercises,” said Zimmerman, a registered Republican. Zimmerman did not fill out an Equality Florida candidate questionnaire, and as a practice did not seek support from political groups outside the city. But he said Wednesday that government had no right telling a couple whether they could not get married, and said it should not tell a woman what to do with her body. 

Wooddall did fill out a questionnaire, and the only area where Equality Florida reported he did not give an affirmative answer was on reproductive choice (Eddie was marked giving positive choices in all areas). Equality Florida only issued an endorsement for the May election, after Wooddall had been eliminated from the contest. Woodall said he knew throughout the campaign that Eddie held conservative views on social issues, but never saw that as an issue in the district. “But she didn’t mind taking services from the LGBT community,” he said. "It's diningenuous." Wooddall’s own candidacy imploded in March after consultants Keen Campaigning left his employ amid a financial disclosure scandal. Keen later moved to Eddie's campaign and advised her to May 12 victory over Zimmerman.

Keen officials in a statement stressed they remains “strong advocates for equality for the LGBT community.” But they also said they believed Eddie’s move this week offered a chance to further a conversation. “It might be an opportunity for Equality Florida to re-evaluate the way they ask questions as well,” said Andre Torkelson, Keen lead consultant. He said that while Eddie’s religion led her to voice feelings against same-sex marriage, he also believes her faith will make her willing to listen to other groups. Chris Hawes, Keen messaging specialist, ran a gay newspaper for three years before working at Keen and said Eddie’s statements to Equality Florida did hurt people, but suggested everyone in America right now needs to engage in a conversation on marriage equality and this move offered a chance to do so with Eddie. 

Florida Studio Theatre injects a little humor into one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most haunting tales with a rousing rendition of The Hound of The Baskervilles, transforming the dour mystery into a quick-witted and comedic whodunit, with sharp-eyed Sherlock and trusty Dr. Watson put through their paces with tongues set firmly in cheek. Adapted by Steven Canny and John Nicholson and directed by Gavin Cameron-Webb in his FST debut, actors Patrick Noonan, Michael Daly and Tom Patterson comprise the minimal cast, playing 17 roles between them.

“As a comedic actor, shows like this are right up my alley,” said Noonan, whom audiences may recognize from previous FST shows such as Monty Python’s Spamalot and The Mystery of Irma Vep, where he also played multiple roles. “As challenging as playing different roles is, it’s equally fun.” This won’t be the first time Noonan has played Sherlock either, debuting his Holmes as a 20 year-old in a hometown musical called Baker Street. “It’ll be nice to bring him out again and dust him off,” said Noonan.

“Playing multiple roles in a production, especially a comedy, is exhilarating,” said Daly, an FST company member previously seen on stage in FST’s production of Complete Works. With a cast of three, every moment counts, even, or especially, offstage, where teams of dressers and stage managers wait in the wings to manhandle and makeup the performers before sending them back on. “The action is non-stop,” said Daly. “It’s just a wild ride all the way through.”

The Hound of The Baskervilles is currently showing at Florida Studio Theatre and runs until August 2. 

In the midst of Sarasota’s post-recession development boom, the Sarasota Farmer’s Market is adopting proactive measures to preserve Pineapple Park, with a day of festivities dubbed Save Pineapple Park Day, held on the grounds and planned for this Saturday, July 4. The park, complete with fountain, walkway and swaths of green grass, has long been a popular stop for Sarasota Farmer’s Market, but according to executive director Phil Pagano, preserving Pineapple Park is about more than the Market.

“The citizens of downtown use this green space quite a bit,” said Pagano. “There’s no other place to walk a dog or get on a piece of grass other than crossing 41. This is the closest spot.” Green space in Sarasota proper is important to Pagano, and he’s seen a lot of it disappear over the years, especially with recent development, he says.

With a day of outdoorsy community activities for families and children, including Rosaire’s Petting Zoo and performances from the Ted Stevens Band, Save Pineapple Park Day is the Farmer’s Market’s way of trying to bring the community at large on board to understand the value of Pineapple Park and send a message to the Sarasota City Commission that, should the issue ever come before them, “they should think about it when they vote on this particular issue,” said Pagano.

“I urge everyone to come out and take a look,” said Pagano. “I’m very confident. This is just the beginning.”

Save Pineapple Park Day is this Saturday at Pineapple Park. 

Seven Sarasota County businesses ranked among the 101 Florida finalists that GrowFL announced as part of the 2015 Florida Companies to Watch awards. The award, now in its fifth year, honors 50 select second-stage companies throughout the state for developing valuable products and services, creating quality jobs, enriching communities and broadening new industries throughout Florida. More than 500 companies were nominated for this year’s award, but the 101 finalists collectively represent $694 million in annual revenue and employ 3,280 full-time equivalent employees. The finalists from Sarasota County are Apollo Sunguard Systems, Biological Tree Services, GPS Industries, JMX Brands, Karins Engineering Group, Quality Enclosures and Zobily. 

GrowFL

Jo Rita Stevens was honored by the Office of Volunteer and Community Service division of the Department of Elder Affairs for her volunteer work as a Goodwill Ambassador and countless other organizations throughout the region. Stevens began her 40-plus years of volunteer service with Goodwill while she was staying home with her two children. Prior to moving to Sarasota approximately 20 years ago, Stevens was heavily involved in the Goodwill Service Guild in Indianapolis, the volunteer arm of the organization. Throughout her involvement with Goodwill, Stevens learned about working with people who have disabilities, and Goodwill’s role in helping them achieve self-sufficiency. In 2014, Stevems was honored for her contributions to Goodwill and the community by being named as Goodwill Manasota’s Ambassador of the Year. 

Goodwill Manasota

With things heating up outside, it's time to have a conversation about summertime and your dog. Hundreds of dogs die every year from heat-related incidents. Brachycephalic dogs run a significantly higher risk of heatstroke and dehydration than other breeds. 'Brachycephalic' breeds are the ones with short flat, faces like Boxers, Pugs, Shih Tzus, Pekinese, Boston Terriers and Bulldogs. They are physiologically less efficient "panters," and panting is how dogs dissipate heat and cool themselves. The pads of your dog's feet also help disperse heat. Other dogs at high risk include older, infirm dogs, dogs with a heart condition, puppies, overweight dogs, short dogs who are physically closer to the ground, dogs who aren't used to prolonged exercise and dogs who already have any sort of breathing condition.

Conditions that can induce heat distress, are vigorous exercise with your dog in the heat of the day, confining him on asphalt or concrete, constraining him without access to water and shade, and muzzling a dog before putting him under the dryer at the groomer. And the number one killer of dogs this summer will again be: dogs left in a hot car. Your dog should not be left in the car this summer, even for one minute. On a merely "warm" day, temperatures inside a car can quickly spike to lethal levels. If the temperature outside is 85 degrees, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120. And although Florida is not one of the 16 states where it's a crime to leave your dog in a hot car, if you see a dog left in someone's parked car in the heat, notify the police right away. Next time, more on doggie heat safety, and what to do if your dog is in heat distress.

A native of Louisiana, SRQ Daily Columnist Gregg Flowers owns Dog's Best Friend Dog Training Services here in Sarasota, where he "teaches dogs and trains people." Gregg became fascinated by our relationship with dogs as a boy in the '60s, and by 1985 had developed his own unique style of working with dogs and their humans