While voters in a Sarasota City Commission election on Tuesday were allowed to vote for two of eight candidates, more than 1,500 voters (almost 12 percent of votes cast) cast votes for just one person on the ballot according to an SRQ Where the Votes Are analysis of election returns. Employing a practice known as bullet-voting, many voters choose to forfeit a second vote in hopes of improving their top priority candidate’s standing in the final results.

The greatest beneficiary of the practice was Martin Hyde, who beat 4th place finisher Susan Chapman by just 54 votes to secure a place in the runoff. Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, the top vote-getter in the election, had the seventh-lowest percentage of her votes come from single-bullet voters. The top three vote-getters in the election—Ahearn-Koch, Hagen Brody and Hyde—advance to a runoff on May 9. Voters will again be able (but not compelled) to vote for two candidates. 

SRQ Media Group on March 28 will host a precinct-by-precinct analysis of the 2017 municipal elections, led by political guru Jacob Ogles. Doors open at 7:45am with presentation at 8am. RSVP to jacob.ogles@srqme.com. 

“If you’re part of the resistance, it’s hard to be depressed,” says folk singer and social activist Anne Feeney. And for nearly 50 years, Feeney has made herself a part of the resistance, first as a protester and organizer in the Nixon era and then touring the US, Canada and pockets of Europe with her guitar and a message of equality and social justice. This Friday, Feeney teams up with fellow songwriter and comedian Eric Schwartz as the pair’s Double Trouble tour sweeps through Sarasota for a night of music, laughter and good-natured political commentary. Beginning at 8pm at the Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, tickets are $12 in advance or $15 the day of.

An avid labor rights advocate, Feeney’s music has been featured in multiple documentaries (most notably the song “Have You Been to Jail for Justice”), is regularly featured on Democracy Now! and has been recorded by artists such as Peter, Paul and Mary. Schwartz, a longtime friend of Feeney, has made his own mark in the political comedy sphere, with parody songs and videos such as “Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis” going viral with more than a million downloads. “Eric is a giant in comedy and a fabulous instrumentalist,” says Feeney, including guitar, piano and “the voice of an angel.” But, she says, he’s never afraid to get political. And for the woman once praised by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello (“Few have raised as much hell on an acoustic guitar as [Anne Feeney],” he said), that’s important. “We’re very in-your-face,” says Feeney. “Nobody has to study our lyrics to figure out what they’re about.”

But, she says, that doesn’t mean it won’t be a good time first and foremost. Splitting the stage with Schwartz for two 45-minute sets (there will be a break for schmoozing and merch) plus “all the encores,” humor is an important part of the equation. “When people ask why I’m an activist, they act like I’m Mother Teresa making this sacrifice,” says Feeney. “I do it because it’s fun and it keeps me happy and motivated.” The goal isn’t to lecture, but commune on the importance of social issues of the day while entertaining. “I’m hoping they’ll be sore from laughing,” she says, “and they’ll be inspired to go out and resist injustice and unfairness.”

Anne Feeney and Eric Schwartz and the Double Trouble tour come to Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center this Friday, March 17. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. 

Pictured: Anne Feeney. Photo by Julie Leonardsson.

Editor’s Note: This is part eleven of an ongoing series documenting the flights of active-duty US Navy Pilot Ryan Rankin on his journey to fly 52 planes in 52 weeks through the year 2017.

Flying out of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport again with Travis Brown of Tailwheels Etc. (see: From The Cockpit Part 6), Rankin takes the wheel of a Taylorcraft BC-12D. Built in the 1930s and 40s, the BC-12D is a simple craft that gets the job done, says Rankin, moving the pilot, a passenger and a smattering of supplies from Point A to Point B. But while not designed for flash, the plane sports its own vintage charm. Or as Rankin puts it: “It’s always neat to get into an airplane older than your father.”

Evidence of the BC-12D’s age present themselves immediately, not only in the fuselage and wings, which are skinned with doped aircraft fabric as opposed to aluminum, but in the propeller itself, crafted from wood. For Rankin’s purposes, however, these will have little effect on the flight.

Very similar to the Piper J-3S Cub (see: From The Cockpit Part 7), the biggest differences come in cockpit design. For one, the BC-12D puts the pilot and the co-pilot of passenger side-by-side as opposed to tandem seating, making space just a little “tight,” Rankin says, though this likely came in handy when the plane’s intercom died and he and Brown resorted to shouting back and forth to be heard. The BC-12D also uses a yoke, like a wheel, instead of a stick. Everybody has a preference, says Rankin, and he leans towards the stick, which he feels requires less separation of movement to control the plane’s pitch, roll and yaw at the same time. For example, a single pull back and left on a stick versus pulling back on the yoke while simultaneously rotating the wheel for a turn. “I feel like I have more control,” he says.

Not an aerobatic plane, Rankin and Brown practiced tailwheel landings instead of flips. Flying out to a grassy field, Rankin was surprised to find the grass actually made the landing easier, providing some cushion. Though the fifth tailwheel plane in the series so far, Rankin waves off any notion of mastery, self-describing as an amateur. “It’s something that even experienced guys can get in trouble with,” he says. The danger is something called a “ground loop,” which can occur on takeoff or landing, when the pilot steers with the rudder pedals at their feet and a miscalculation can send the plane into a violent 180-degree spin, digging the wing into the ground. “But the more you fly, the better you get,” says Rankin. “I enjoy the challenge.”

For more about the flight in Rankin’s own words and a video of the flight, follow the link below. 

Pictured: Ryan Rankin and the Taylorcraft BC-12D.

Ryan Flies

Soothing and anti-inflammatory, copper holds a grounding property, balancing the body and easing pain. While serving practical purposes, copper adornments can also be stylish and artistic—Grounded's Christopher Dougherty's hand-crafted designs are just that, and he'll be on-hand to create one-of-a-kind custom pieces at this Saturday's Rosemary District Indie Market. From hammered bracelets to wedding bands, Dougherty elevates the metal, bringing forth wearable pieces of art. Find his live artist booth from 10am–3pm at the outdoor market on 7th Street.  

Photo courtesy of Grounded Copper.

Grounded Copper, 941-587-7353.

E. John Wagner, II, a shareholder with Williams Parker Attorneys, recently participated as a panelist in an American Bar Association Section of Taxation webinar regarding techniques to sell land or air rights to a real estate developer and receive back finished condominiums from the same project tax-free. Materials from the webinar are available on The Williams Parker Business & Tax Blog linked below. Wagner is a board-certified tax attorney and chair of Williams Parker’s corporate and tax practices. He represents executives, entrepreneurs and real estate investors in tax, transactional, capital raising, estate planning and estate administration matters. 

Williams Parker

In coordination with Goodwill Manasota, Jennifer Matteo Event planning will be gifting a complete wedding ceremony and reception to a local veteran. All items and services for the nuptials were coordinated by Jennifer Matteo Event Planning and donated by local wedding industry vendors. The total gifted amount for goods and services exceeds $40,000, including everything from the engagement ring to the venue. Karrie Jewell was proposed to by Nathan Bookout last September on stage at the iHeart Radio concert, put on by Goodwill Manasota. After the proposal, they were greeted on stage by Jennifer Matteo who announced that they were not only being given an engagement, but an entire wedding. The couple was chosen for the good works and overall “Goodwill” that they posses.  

Goodwill Manasota

Mote Marine Laboratory has hired two new Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellows, whose research is now ramping up, following a selection process that concluded in late 2016. These next-generation researchers helped Mote attain a key 2016 goal in its 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan: to have at least five Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellows. Dr. Philip Gravinese is located at Mote’s Sarasota campus and is working with Mote's Fisheries Ecology & Enhancement Program to research the effects of ocean acidification (OA), climate change and low oxygen levels on stone crabs. Gravinese’s potential future projects include determining the impacts of Florida red tide on stone crabs and assessing how increased freshwater flow into parts of Florida Bay may impact post larvae and juvenile stone crab survival, growth and physiology. Dr. Rob Nowicki, a marine ecologist based at Mote’s Summerland Key campus, studies the complex relationships among ocean animals, plants and their non-living environment. At Mote’s Summerland Key campus, researchers are studying possible strategies to restore coral reefs.
  

Mote Marine