Community leaders and concerned citizens gathered at The Francis last night for the culmination of Grid Un-Locked—a six-week, six-session series bringing six speakers to the podium for a comprehensive review of mobility, transportation and traffic congestion in the area. Organized largely by Chris Gallagher of Hoyt Architects and Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Cooper, the series aims to enable and activate the community to handle today’s traffic, as well as coming growth, without breaking the infrastructure or city experience. “Every one of us, if we put our thinking caps on, can come up with some idea of where we might go,” says Gallagher.

Cooper took the stage first, bringing the audience up to speed and cementing four key principles recurring throughout the series, including the importance of “the grid” in understanding local traffic. Traffic is not a question of the number of lanes, but the number of options that the traffic grid provides its users. “Options are what keeps traffic moving,” says Cooper, and adding only a few streets to a grid can increase options by almost an order of magnitude. “Are you a road-builder or a connection-maker,” he asks. Next, to understand local traffic, one must understand land use patterns, i.e. what destinations create trips and how time of day affects trips. Rush hour will always be a thing and some businesses attract more people than others; understanding these things is key to understanding how to channel the effects. A possible solution could be another emerging theme—complete streets. Complete streets offer space for multimodal transportation, from cars to bikes, pedestrians and mass transit. And all of these solutions must take into account a community that exists on a spectrum from urban core to rural landscape, where not every road has the same demands.

With Gallagher as the series’ concluding speaker, the tone was less of lecture and more of wrap-up and brainstorming. The key, according to Gallagher, is that there will be no simple fix or single plan to account for all of these moving parts. And there exists no one entity that bears sole responsibility. The solution, based on the previous five weeks of study, would actually be myriad solutions from multiple people of all walks of life in the community. From government to road builders and users, and from employers to employees and philanthropists and community chambers, each can have a role to play, with projects small and large. As an employer, Gallagher cannot unilaterally create more roadways, but he can allow his staff staggered arrivals in the morning, easing congestion at key times. “When you add all those things up,” he says, “you can improve the quality of life and create a better community.”

Even those not old enough to drive are chipping in. The winners of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County’s two-day Hackathon Competition, the students of Team Carma, shared their concept for a mobile app that helps coordinate carpooling between parents, students and drivers. Called Carma and created by Venice High School senior Liam Hines, Pine View School eighth grader Bear Mancinni, Anastasia Samedi of Booker Middle School and other teammates, the app was inspired by seeing fellow students unable to attend their schools of choice. “One of the biggest problems in realizing these opportunities was transportation,” says Hines. With Carma, parents can schedule rides and track them, students can see their schedules and when rides arrive and drivers can schedule their rides and earn points for driving safely and consistently. 

It was a tough night for incumbents in Gulf Coast elections on Tuesday. 

In Venice, challenger Charles Newson defeated Councilwoman Deborah Anderson with nearly 56 percent of the vote in the Seat 2 race, but voters also declined bringing former Councilman Emilio Carlesimo back, instead electing Mitzi Fiedler in the Seat 1 race with more than 59 percent of the vote.

In Bradenton Beach, Mayor Bill Shearon was ousted by former Manatee County Commissioner and Vice Mayor John Chappie, who took about 60 percent of the vote. Voters also tossed Ward 3 Commissioner Ralph Cole Ward in favor of Randy White.

In Holmes Beach, Commissioner Marvin Grossman came in last in a field of five, losing his seat. The top vote-getter was newcomer Jim Kihm, followed by incumbents Pat Morton and Carol Soustek, with Rick Hurst nabbing the final seat up for grabs.

But in Anna Maria, voters stuck with Commissioners Carol Carter, Doug Copeland and Dale Woodland, who were all re-elected over giving a seat to challenger Laurie Jo Higgins.  

Caregiving is a duty reserved for the strongest and most generous-hearted among us. Many times, it is a job compensated only with love. However, when a caregiver needs support — where do they turn?

JFCS of the Suncoast is a multi-function social services agency offering Caregiver Resources within the Seniors and Cancer Support programs.

One program participant, Ellen Kaiden, is an accomplished watercolor artist residing in Sarasota. Her palette is as vibrant as she is, and she shows her art in many notable Sarasota galleries. Ellen has participated in JFCS’ Wednesday caregiver group with Dr. Susan Siegel, a Clinical Psychologist, for several years.

Here, caregivers gain access to support groups and individual support sessions, becoming educated about age-related illness and the aging process. Dealing with decisions that need to be made and the emotions involved can be overwhelming. JFCS provides assistance with respite, workshops, and connections to important community resources.

Ellen has maintained her life balance by actively pursuing her artistic talents, while caring for her family.  Through her association with JFCS, she has gained insights and tools to benefit her and her loved ones.  

JFCS of the Suncoast

The Sarasota YMCA has named Debbie Trimble as the senior vice president of major gifts and planned giving. Trimble joined the Sarasota YMCA in early-November and brings more than 20 years in nonprofit support which focused on fundraising development. Trimble was previously the vice president of development for The New 42nd Street in New York, NY. She also brings fund development experiences from development director positions at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, CA and Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL and as executive director of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy in Buffalo, NY. In her new role, Trimble will build and maintain relationships with individuals, companies and foundations to establish gifting programs. In addition, she’ll work with financial advisors and wealth managers to shape a planned giving platform. 

Sarasota YMCA

Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Angel Colonneso recently joined 66 clerks from across the state for the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers 2017 fall conference. Over the course of the four days, Colonneso attended a general session, an executive session and several classes related to confidentiality laws, filing and technology and system updates, among other aspects. Colonneso also was presented with a certificate for completing 240 hours of training related to legal, budget, finance and court operations as required by statute, recognizing her as a certified clerk of the circuit court. To maintain her certification, Colonneso must complete an additional 36 hours every year, which can be obtained through classes and conferences. In addition to serving as the Manatee County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, Colonneso also is the secretary for the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers executive committee and the chair of the communications committee. She also serves on the CLERICUS committee, which handles the Florida Clerks case maintenance system, the strategic planning committee for the Florida Clerks Association and the justice partners committee. 

Manatee County Clerk's Office

SRQ MEDIA proudly presents a vibrant, hands-on family festival cultivating creativity, crafts, arts and innovation taking place this February 10, 2018 at the Ringling College of Art and Design. Launched as the brainchild of SRQ MEDIA President and CEO Lisl Liang as an experiential mosh-up of learning pathways, SRQ KidsFest deconstructs the whole mind ecosystem of creativity by curating an afternoon where curiosity, open-ended play, arts and design reign supreme. SRQ KidsFest is an experience designed to connect parents and kids with hands-on learning, local family resources and creative opportunities in our region with exploration designed to deliver fun “a-ha” moments for the whole family—from musical instruments to bookmaking, from illustration to architecture and storytelling to technology.

SRQ KidsFest