Sarasota's at-large election gave voters the chance to vote for two candidates in a field of eight. Three candidates—Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, Hagen Brody and Martin Hyde—now advance to a May 9 runoff. An SRQ analysis of election returns shows where the greatest overlap in support lay among the candidates in the March 14 election, indicating where the remaining contenders may want to put efforts in motivating new voters. 

See SRQ's Where The Votes Are presentation here.

The White House this month proposed a budget calling for the elimination of three cultural agencies: the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). While the impact to the federal budget would be negligible, the cultural impact at the community level could be more pronounced. This is the first in a three-part series examining that possible impact.

With a combined budget of $741 million for the year 2016 ($445 for the CPB and $148 each for the NEA and NEH), the proposed cuts make up approximately 0.02 percent of the total federal budget. But since 1999, the NEA alone has directly invested more than $1.3 million in the arts in just the city of Sarasota, affecting everything from cultural organizations to artistic institutions and even individual artists, many of which would also feel its loss.

“I’m dismayed,” says Emmy Award-winning Jazz pianist Dick Hyman, who was named a 2017 NEA Jazz Master this year alongside greats such as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dave Holland and Dr. Lonnie Smith for an extensive resume including seven MVP Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, becoming composer of choice for Woody Allen’s early work and playing with Charlie Parker on Parker’s only television appearance. “I’m terrifically honored,” says Hyman, who will soon travel to the Kennedy Center to receive the award and attend an honorary concert. “And now it may be in peril altogether.”

Local institutions may also feel the effects, even established organizations such as the Sarasota Ballet. “The NEA is the support system for all of the arts organizations in America,” says Sarasota Ballet Director Iain Webb, who previously sat on the NEA selection panel and attests to the group’s “depth of commitment” in considering every grant application. The Sarasota Ballet itself has received several grants, according to NEA records, and Webb confirms their significance. “Since 2010, the NEA has played an important role in helping the Sarasota Ballet bring the works of Sir Frederick Ashton to American audiences,” he says. “We have performed 24 of his ballets in Sarasota, New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., which has been a significant factor in building the company’s national and international reputation.”

But losing the NEA means losing a lot more than just a handful of grants, according to Jim Shirley, executive director at the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. “A lot of people don’t realize that the NEA funds about 40 percent of the budgets of all of the state arts councils and local arts agencies,” he says. While the NEA will bestow direct grants every year, much of its funding is allocated to the budgets of smaller organizations with similar goals but a closer connection to the community, organizations such as the Arts and Cultural Alliance. These groups can then use those funds to support local projects or even to kickstart an even grander campaign with a solid foundation. “That trickle-down effect is where the biggest financial impact comes,” says Shirley, especially for small communities like Sarasota. But even more damaging, he says, beyond any financial setbacks, would be the message sent by defunding the NEA and programs like it, that art and culture are not important in this country. Says Shirley: “What a crime that would be.” 

Charles Githler, a prominent Gulf Coast developer who previously owned the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, announced on Tuesday that he and business partners who operate EDM Realty Partners of New York have acquired the Northern Trust Plaza in Downtown Sarasota. The purchase price was $17 million, plus significant reserves for further renovation and future tenant build out. “From the day it was built, I have considered the Northern Trust Plaza to be the number one office building south of Tampa Bay,” Githler says. “Its 288-space parking garage enables its prestigious clients and tenants to conveniently do business and attend philanthropic functions, even during the summer’s rainy season. We are forecasting that Class A high-rise offices outperform other real estate sectors due the significant new supply additions in this market.”

Northern Trust occupies a third of the space in the 11-story Ringing Boulevard office building. Other tenants include Ferguson Skipper Shaw Keyer Baron & Tirabassi, Old Republic, Adams and Reese, CS&A Accountants and Comcast. The building’s lobby and common areas were just renovated in 2016. Andy Dorr, senior vice president at Gather Development, says the purchase makes sense because of an historic surge in residential, retail and hotel development in Downtown Sarasota. “We are now adding 1,800 new rental apartments and for-sale luxury condominiums, five hotels housing 818 additional rooms and three more hotels in predevelopment—together with at least 50,000 square feet of new retail,” Dorr notes. “These exciting projects are all within a few blocks of the Northern Trust office tower. These are key demand generators which are bound to fill up more office space. Meanwhile, it is highly unlikely we will see new supply with development of a large Class A office tower in Downtown Sarasota—at least until rents rise by another 40-50 percent.”

Grant Savage and Alfie Hamilton of Colliers International brokered the sale and represented both Gather Real Estate and the seller, a partnership made up of Peter Gardner and William Driscoll that purchased the plaza from Northern Trust in 2005. Savills Studley arranged a $12.765-million long-term loan for the acquisition. “Northern Trust Plaza perfectly illustrates the strength of the Sarasota office market, as it commands top rents and generates lots of interest from investors,” says Savills Studley Managing Director Stephanie Lynch. “We believe that the new joint venture has the vision and track record to further enhance this unique downtown asset for years to come.” 

For those of you who don't remember, Libby's Cafe once had a magical salad on the menu called the Katsu. Tender chicken slices were encrusted with wasabi crunchies. A perfectly pitched Asian ginger dressing gave a hint of spice and a hint of sweet. And then, like a dream, it was gone, no longer listed alongside the other salads on offer. Until recently, when the chefs at Libby's decided to give the Katsu a comeback. Instead of chicken, buttery tuna takes the stage, complete with the wasabi crust. With a few tweaks here and there to the rest of the mix, this new Katsu may have the chops to overtake its predecessor. 

Libby's Cafe + Bar, 1917 South Osprey Ave., Sarasota, 941-487-7300.

First piloted two years ago, CareerEdge’s Internship Reimbursement Program incentivizes employers in high-demand industries to hire college interns in order for them to gain valuable work experience. Employees receive up to $1,500 if they hire an intern at a minimum of $10 per hour. The program exposes students to the workforce while helping employers to develop talent in the growing sectors of healthcare, manufacturing, IT, transportation, financial services and construction trades. CareerEdge also partners with local colleges to encourage them to embed internships in more programs. 

One participant, Lea Vargas, used her internship as a path to a full-time position after graduating from the University of South Florida. When Vargas received an internship with the Manatee County Government, she discovered that she was more than “just an intern.” “The experience, responsibilities, projects and networking made me feel so much more confident when I got my full-time job," she says. "There’s no better way to prepare for entering the workforce after college than to immerse yourself in the thick of things." With the support of her supervisor, Vargas even had the opportunity to pursue training on computer programming systems and the Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping software. She and a fellow intern have also been nationally selected to present a report at a GIS software conference in San Diego that they worked on and submitted during their internship program.

CareerEdge has provided over 130 interns with similar career-enhancing experiences. With funding support from the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, CareerEdge has assisted over 40 organizations in the development of a talented workforce pipeline.  

CareerEdge

CitySide, an urban apartment community now open in Sarasota’s Rosemary District, announced a partnership with i-Ride, an on-demand transit service owned by Gotcha Media Holdings. i-Ride will provide safe, free transportation to Sarasota visitors and locals using 100 percent electric, low-speed vehicles. CitySide is i-Ride’s first partner in Sarasota and will sponsor one of the six vehicles offered by i-Ride. Sarasota is also the first municipality to solicit the i-Ride service, which will launch publicly on March 29. The vehicles are street legal and can be driven on any road 35mph and below. Operating within the boundaries of 14th Street, School Avenue, Mound Street and Bayfront, i-Ride will offer an eco-friendly, easy transportation option for those living at or near CitySide. One of the six i-Ride vehicles will also be designated to provide convenient access to those with disabilities. 

CitySide

Sarasota Memorial is launching its new Rehabilitation Pavilion at an “Out of this World”-themed grand opening celebration this Saturday. Nearly three years in the making, the new 74,000-square-foot, five-story pavilion features the latest technology and treatments for patients rehabilitating from serious injuries and conditions. The event features demonstrations of the latest integrated therapy systems, including a robotic exoskeleton, and continuous tours of the pavilion’s patient rooms and therapy areas. The facility features state-of-the-art gymnasiums and life skills retraining areas that include, among other things, a furnished apartment, grocery store shelves, restaurant booth and mock car where patients practice the routine acts of daily living, and an outdoor mobility garden where patients can practice using a walker, wheelchair or other mobility aids as they navigate up inclines, down ramps and on different surfaces. They also can practice getting mail from the mailbox, using a garden hose or trying their hand at the putting green. 

Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Dr. Erinn Muller, staff scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory, recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award for two-years of research aimed at better predicting how corals react to disease exposure and how that will influence the coral community of the future. The study is based on immune response and disease resistance and will quantify how susceptible coral species are to disease by examining their immunity through a series of novel experiments and approaches. The EAGER award supports exploratory work in its early stages on untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas or approaches. It enables the future of new approaches in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning and innovation. This $220,331 grant will allow Muller and two other scientists, Laura Mydlarz (University Texas) and Marilyn Brandt (University of Virgin Islands), to study seven coral species from the Caribbean and look for ways to better understand how diseases affect coral communities and how corals may respond to different climate change scenarios. 

Mote Marine

This month in Sitting on the Future of the Bayfront, contributing senior editor Jacob Ogles delves into new efforts and plans by community organizations to revitalize the Sarasota Bayfront project. After years of stagnation, local leaders such as the Bayfront 20:20 group along with graduate students from UF's CityLab now look to leave a lasting economic and cultural legacy on the 42-acre waterfront plot.  

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