SRQ DAILY Dec 11, 2018
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"I think it's a power grab and I don't like it."
The most recent fight over the future of a Sarasota charter official has put back into question the very form of government at City Hall. Sarasota City Commissioners last week placed City Auditor and Clerk Pam Nadalini on administrative leave amid accusations from current and former employees of retaliation and poor management.
An outside investigation by Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick presented a report last week alleging Nadalini’s leadership tactics had been inappropriate and exposed the city to liability, prompting City Commissioners to put her on administrative leave.
But the report also went further than Nadalini’s actions, and recommended the commission evaluate restructuring the city charter. “This is nothing truthfully having to do with her [Nadalini] at this point, but we do believe you should look at an overall restructuring and, frankly, hire a consultant to have you look at that,” said attorney Jennifer Compton.
The expansion into looking at the charter structure surprised many city observers, considering the investigation was supposed to look into Nadalini’s practices and style.
“Once again, we take issue—this is something to be dealt with by the commission, and somehow they’ve expanded this to another thing,” says longtime city activist Diana Hamilton. “I think it’s a power grab and I don’t like it. It’s concentrating even more power in the hands of an individual none of us get to vote for.”
Specifically, City Hall for years has faced debate about the structure of having an independent city auditor and clerk, city attorney and city manager. In 2012, more than 55 percent of voters shot down an amendment seeking to make the clerk report to the city manager while leaving the auditor as an independent charter official.
Mayor Liz Alpert, who has pushed for the current investigation of Nadalini, says she would entertain putting the question back to voters again. “It would make sense to me to have a more smoothly running city,” Alpert says.
But ultimately, a change in form of government would need to approved by voters before going into effect. 
The newest offshoot of PIER 22 headed by restaurateurs Hugh Miller and Greg Campbell, GROVE Restaurant, Patio & Ballroom opened its brand new doors last week in downtown Lakewood Ranch just in time for the holidays. The highly-anticipated Maint Street gem draws its name and stylish tree logo from the sown acres of great evergreen that have long provided an idyllic existence for those living and visiting the Lakewood Ranch area.
GROVE emphasizes a wide selection of housemade meals, while its fine-casual locale offers an immersive experience with several distinct dining areas inside and out, giving guests a choice of cuisine and scene. “We’re committed to using fresh, seasonal ingredients along with innovative cooking methods to inspire, nourish and wholly satisfy our guests,” notes Chef Greg Campbell. The menu strives to be elevated yet approachable, while locally inspired with quality ingredients. An impressive Happy Hour exists with specials on craft cocktails, beer, wine and appetizers, as well as a Late Night menu available on the weekend, with bar bites and creative culinary cocktails. Additionally, look forward to Prime Rib Dinner, served Fridays and Saturdays, featuring a salt-crusted prime rib in a scallion rosemary au jus (Petite cut- $21, Queen cut- $25, Kig cut- $29). Then round our your weekend with Sunday Brunch’s bottomless mimosas, bloody marys and sangrias ($15/person), or make it Veuve Clicquot ($60/person).
Aside from the food, GROVE stands boldly as a full-service events and entertainment venue, offering gourmet banquet service in an upscale-contemporary space. “We’ve abandoned premanufactured performance models and instead focus on aspects of dining and entertaining that allow our guests to build a greater sense of connection with our brand and with one another,” Campbell says. “In addition to our professionally trained waitstaff, we have skilled and experienced banquet staff for onsite private dining and ballroom events.”
Speaking of such events, corrale the family this Saturday for Breakfast with Santa at GROVE’s beauiful ballroom. Plan to indulge in a buffet-style continental breakfast, specially created for festive feasting. Adults, be merry and bright with bubbly, enjoying your complimentary mimosa in an elegant and spirited locale. And in between arts and crafts for the little ones, which include coloring pages and a take home cookie decorating kit, snap holiday family photos at an intimate meet and greet with old Saint Nic. This is an open-seating event from 8:30am-10:30am. Admission is $20 per adult and $10 per child (age 12 and under) plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are encouraged—call 941-893-4321 to secure your booking.
Photo provided by GROVE's opening night party.
GROVE Restaurant, Patio & Ballroom, 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch, 34202.
The Sarasota Farmers Market has submitted a proposal to the City of Sarasota, aimed at finding a permanent solution to the lack of restrooms available to Market customers and vendors. After many years seeking a long-term solution to this problem and considering available options, the Market has submitted several potential preliminary plans for a long-term solution to this problem. The Market’s preferred option includes a pavilion housing a small amphitheater and restrooms, and be available to rent for special events and activities. The Market will seek support for construction of the Restroom Pavilion through grants, sponsorships, and private donations, and is requesting volunteer consultation from local architects and building experts. Interested parties should call 941-225-9256. A copy of the proposal may be viewed at the link below.
CareerSource Suncoast, through its entrepreneurial initiative, THRIVE, is hosting an information-packed “Progressive Business Communications Strategies” workshop on Tuesday, December 18 from 8am to 12pm at its Sarasota career center at 3660 North Washington Boulevard.
This workshop is designed for business professionals looking to improve upon communication skills, individuals who want to enhance their organization’s Facebook presence and anyone looking for professional development and improvement. Participants will learn strategies to adopt both new and revised contemporary business communications strategies within three separate components: one-on-one communication, targeted networking and Facebook business strategies. The subject matter experts for the day are: Dr. Bob Parkinson, a communications expert who helps individuals develop a professional image; Andrea Nierenberg, founder and president of The Nierenberg Consulting Group; and Kaitlin Folsom, whose company, Espresso Bee, helps businesses effectively communicate, strategize, and promote their brand in an evolving digital marketplace.
SOAR Learning Center has announced it has received a $25,000 matching gift from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Following a successful fundraising campaign, The Community Foundation of Sarasota County generously matched dollar-for-dollar individual campaign donations up to $25,000. The combined grand total of $50,000 will directly fund the expansion of the SOAR Learning Center’s current facility from a 930 sq. ft. building to a 3000 sq. ft. facility and campus. The new Jacquelyn P. Paulk Campus, named after its founder and director, will contain four classrooms, a library, kitchen, multi-purpose homework/media room, an enclosed courtyard with an outdoor classroom and open activity areas. The target date for opening the center’s doors is Spring 2019.
SOAR Learning Center has also received a $100,000 grant from Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. This award will fund expanded operations and programs in this critical first year of operation in the new SOAR Newtown Facility. The grant serves as foundational support to a program that has been changing educational outcomes for Sarasota children for two decades.
The SOAR program targets at-risk children early in their educational journey with a program model that is designed to assess the core reading and math needs of each child. The program was created in partnership with the Sarasota School District with an educational curriculum that supports their success to—and through—high school.
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s Longboat Key office has welcomed three new affiliated sales associates; Kelly Baldwin and the RSTS Group, comprising Ryan and Theresa Skrzypkowski.
Previously with Michael Saunders and Company, the RSTS Group provides residential real estate services throughout Sarasota, Venice, Lakewood Ranch and other surrounding communities. The team has closed over $24 million in sales volume year-to-date. In 2016, only one year after becoming a licensed real estate agent, lead associate Ryan Skrzypkowski closed over $20 million in property sales. His professionalism and expertise earned him the Best Real Estate Agent award in SRQ Magazine’s 2018 Best of SRQ competition. Theresa Skrzypkowski is an associate and lead marketing director for the group, who positions the team at the forefront of technological developments.
Previously with Michael Saunders and Company, Baldwin closed a sales volume of over $30 million in property sales in the last five years. Her wide-ranging experience in marketing and event management have proven successful throughout her real estate career. In 2016, Baldwin was recognized as an honoree for Realtor Magazine’s “30 Under 30” by the National Association of Realtors.
The Patterson Foundation will match startup capital investments to Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary for the implementation of its new earned-income plan, which involves enhancing its ability raise additional funds by hosting larger-scale corporate and personal events. Donations and investments contributed to Big Cat Habitat will be matched dollar for dollar by The Patterson Foundation, up to 50% of its startup capital requirement—up to $50,000 maximum—through February 15. Big Cat Habitat plans to invest funds in additional lighting for nighttime events and to highlight the Habitat’s natural beauty along with other aesthetic improvements to expand green space and replace tented areas with safari-themed structures. In addition to the match, The Patterson Foundation is investing $25,000 in Big Cat Habitat to help it develop earned-income strategies.
Low-fare carrier, Frontier Airlines is celebrating the start of service from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) with nonstop flights to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Connections will be available to select cities across Frontier’s network. To celebrate the start of this new low-cost service, Frontier is offering fares as low as $29, which are available now at FlyFrontier.com. Frontier flights to Cleveland and Philadelphia are scheduled for Mondays and Fridays, while flights to Atlanta run Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Some of my fondest memories from about ages 11 through 15 take place at Bobby Jones Golf Club. A couple friends and I each paid the $3 junior golfer green fee for the "executive" course. Thanks to the generosity of our parents who subsidized the remainder of that already subsidized rate and drove us to and from the course, golf was a memorable part of our adolescence.
Too young to rent a cart, we towed our off-brand and used clubs across Circus Boulevard and set off from the intermediate tee box at the first hole. The executive course is less than 20 percent of the complex, but it felt vast enough draw us back as often as we could go. While golf looks staid, it is immensely variable. You can prepare diligently, but lacking a sense of humor will do you in. These aren't bad lessons for pubescent boys or persons of any age to learn and relearn, and out in fresh air at that.
The putter and canvas bag that my late grandfather—who started golfing as a young man in Louisville and, after fighting in the Pacific during WWII, found peace and camaraderie playing on mostly modest courses in Sarasota starting in the 1940s—gave to initiate me into the sport are idle and dust-covered. A newspaper clipping from when my late uncle won his flight at the city championship at Bobby Jones lies under glass on a dresser at my late grandmother's home. Golf is losing ground in popularity to pastimes like kayaking and biking. I am part of that decline, and okay with it; I get my slow and challenging recreational sociability from yoga and hiking, which are less expensive and more environmentally-friendly pursuits than golf, if not always less time-consuming. I hold onto the memories I have of Bobby Jones—like the time a classmate and I played with our Japanese exchange teacher, Mr. Toyodome, on the American course—but envision its future as something altogether different from what it has become.
The seeds of that future are abundant in an oak hammock I can picture between the eighth and ninth holes of the Colonel John Gillespie Executive Course and the ravine that cuts its fourth hole horizontally. Taxpayers don't need to subsidize a golf course, spending an estimated $21.5 million to perform renovations on top of expenses like the $576,000 bailout the complex will need this fiscal year to crawl out of the red. To save this critical public space—its 300+ acres make up about half the city's green space—we ought to make it wild again.
Growth that externalizes costs in the form of sprawl and environmental degradation has made many cynical. To imagine a new future for this land in central Sarasota, which the course's website claims "sits on 325 contiguous acres of virgin meadowland," is to momentarily cast away the malaise many of us feel when we realize how far the distance between us and the rest of nature has grown, even as many move here with good intentions to feel closer to the elements. Salt life? That's an ideal to be fought for, not merely consumed.
Two years ago, the county commission amended the comprehensive plan so that a forested wetland three miles northeast of the 17th Street boundary of Bobby Jones could be destroyed and replaced with a grocery store and gas station. Ironically, $158,750 was recently withdrawn from public accounts to address drainage issues at the flood-prone golf complex, a sum that would be zeroed out over time if we restored some of its area to wetlands, which store and slowly release floodwater. Wetlands—or a stormwater management system, lest we allow our passion for nature to rage uncontrollably—are one of the best protections we have against natural disasters like hurricanes and algal blooms, and are marvels of the ebb and flow of life. Although the 4.5 acres of wetlands that were at University Parkway and Honore Avenue are gone forever, we now have a precious opportunity to recover a semblance of what was lost there and elsewhere.
To atone for an excess of shortsighted schemes to transform what is left of local ecology into stucco and pavement, including the erstwhile greenery of other golf courses that have sprouted tract homes, I propose that we preserve nine of the Donald Ross-designed holes—honoring the club's historical legacy and the wishes of those who want to maintain a public course, which I am glad I had access to—and preserve the remainder as a refuge of reflection and education for people and a key habitat of nonhuman life in central Sarasota between the Gulf and bay and the Myakka Rivershed. Among Florida's urban parks, it could be peers with Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, Loblolly Woods Nature Park in Gainesville, and the Theodore Roosevelt Area in Jacksonville, among others. Locally, it would join ecotourism destinations like Robinson Preserve and Oscar Scherer State Park. Vacationers could make a day trip down Fruitville, visiting this park, the Celery Fields, the Crowley Museum and Nature Center, the north entrance of Myakka State Park, and myriad businesses along the way. It could be a veritable outdoor classroom for youth in the north part of the county who are most vulnerable to what author Richard Louv calls "nature-deficit disorder."
And it could be a corrective to dangerous overconsumption, specifically the use of water and lawn fertilizer. No longer would tons of phosphorus and nitrogen needed to satiate 45 voracious fairways and Bermuda grass greens run off and bloom into algal doomsday. A letter published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune shrewdly observes the disconnect between words (let's reduce the threat of red tide) and deeds (let's build and landscape as if oblivious to probable consequences). A proposed 182-unit development in Venice, wrote Joanne Baum of Venice on November 23, "will feature landscaped grounds with walking paths. I’m guessing that these landscaped grounds will feature that crunchy, pesticide-drenched grass. That pesticide will end up in our beautiful Gulf and contribute to more years of red tide." That crunchy, pesticide-drenched grass, if that's indeed what will be used, would be but a small amount compared to 14,452 yards worth of golf holes of it.
Rothenbach Park (landfill) and the Celery Fields (intensive agriculture) are successful recent examples of restoring lands and waterways to meet the intrinsic needs of people to be in nature and for non-human nature to meet its intrinsic needs to hatch and mate and migrate and display and hunt and forage and photosynthesize and play and on and on at a safe remove from the constant threat of human encroachment. Reimagining what these 300+ acres could be is the best chance we have in the foreseeable future to reconnect Sarasota's urban core to nature's providence, at least in the longitudes between the Gulf and bay to the west and the fragmented rural areas east of the interstate.
If this is a vision that charms you as it does me, talk to—particularly ahead of a special meeting of the City Commission on December 11—your family and friends, local commissioners and boards, conservation nonprofits and other philanthropic organizations, SWFWMD, the state legislators obliged to implement 2014's Amendment 1 for conservation purchases, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Sarasota's equivalents, homeowner associations and developers, native plant societies and environmental groups, birders and fishers, walkers and bikers, workers and retirees, residents and visitors.
Ryan Thompson studied environmental history at University of Florida and lives in north Florida. He can be contacted at rylthom@gmail.com.
A selection of watercolors drawn from The Ringling’s permanent collections, illustrating various ways artists have used the medium. The exhibition will feature works by Edward Hopper, Charles Burchfield and Childe Hassam, among others.
The Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota.
Monty Navarro may be distant heir to the family fortune, but there are several deadly ways to jump the line of succession. Along the way, Monty has to juggle his mistress, his fiancée and the constant threat of landing behind bars. It will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance… and be done in time for tea.
Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 North Palm Ave., Sarasota.
The winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this American institution with its one-of-a-kind score features fast-talking salesman Harold Hill, who brings trouble to River City, Iowa when he cons the townspeople into buying instruments for an imaginary band—but his plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when his heart is stolen by the town librarian. Tony Awarded-nominated Jeff Calhoun directs.
Asolo Repertory Theatre, 5555 North Tamiami Trl., Sarasota.
Written by Hannah Benitez, a Cuban-Jewish-American millennial originally from Miami, Dike follows a pair of sisters from a religious family who reunite after two years of separation to navigate the cloudy waters of identity. An awkwardly hilarious and gripping exploration of love, sexuality, and sisterhood, with an all-female cast, Dike questions the limitations religion and social conditioning raise within all of us.
Urbanite Theatre, 1487 2nd St., Sarasota.
After several years of requests from theater patrons, Sheldon Rhoden will reprise the role of Marvin Gaye. This original show begins in the 1950s at the start of Gaye's career with Motown and follows its twists and turns until his untimely death in the mid-1980s.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 North Orange Ave., Sarasota.
Art Center Instructors exhibition will feature the talented local and visiting Art Center Sarasota instructors. A second gallery will offer Stephen McMennamy, an Atlanta-based artist, his first solo exhibition featuring his time-based video collages. Artist Peter Gatzambide will exhibit a recent series of assemblage paintings and works on paper in his first solo exhibition at Art Center Sarasota.
Art Center Sarasota, 707 North Tamiami Trl., Sarasota.
Santa Claus narrates the story of Buddy, who was raised at the North Pole. Prior to Christmas, Buddy learns he’s human, not an elf. He convinces Santa to let him return to New York City to find his real father. He finds his father (who’s on the naughty list) and a step brother who doesn’t believe in Santa. Buddy decides it’s up to him to bring back the spirit of Christmas to his family and all of New York.
Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 3rd Ave W, Bradenton
Monty Navarro may be distant heir to the family fortune, but there are several deadly ways to jump the line of succession. All the while, Monty must juggle his mistress, his fiancée, and the constant threat of landing behind bars. Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance… and be done in time for tea.
Florida Studio Theatre , 1241 North Palm Ave., Sarasota
Join the Sarasota World Affairs Council for the next program in its 2018-19 lecture series, The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon, featuring Andrés Ruzo, Founder/Director of the Boiling River Project in Peru and National Geographic Explorer, who was the first geoscientist to obtain permission to study the sacred river. He will share his research and discoveries and his concerns for the future of this unique river and the people who live along side it. Each SWAC lecture is followed by a members-only reception with the speaker in a historic building on Sarasota Bay. The lecture is free, but reservations are suggested (sarasotawac.org).
MILDRED SAINER PAVILION, 5313 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota
Originally written by Langston Hughes, this Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe production is a celebration of the Nativity story with gospel, blues, spiritual, and Christmas music, paired with the poetry of Langston Hughes and the creativity of WBTT. Will inspire and entertain all ages.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 North Orange Ave., Sarasota.
This intersectional exhibition pairs specific paintings and wall sculptures with vignettes of art jewelry that create a collaboration and conversation between the two. Representing nearly 30 different artists and jewelry designers, 530 Burns blurs the lines between art and jewelry and sparks the warm, fuzzy feelings conjured up during the holiday season.
530 Burns Gallery, 530 Burns Ct., Sarasota
Just in time for the holidays, Sarasota Opera will light up the Sarasota Opera House with sparkling musical gems to enchant and delight. Opera singers present a showcase of beautiful melodies such as “The Merry Widow Waltz,” “Thine Alone,” “Wanting You,” and “A Toast to Champagne.”
Sarasota Opera House , 61 North Pineapple Ave., Sarasota
Steven Jarvi, guest conductor in February 2018, will lead the orchestra for a concert featuring a mix of seasonal music including selections from The Nutcracker, Brazilian Sleigh Bells, Feliz Navidad and more. Guest Soprano Soloist Johanna Fincher will present Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Bring the family to this seasonal celebration that concludes with a traditional sing-a-long.
Venice Symphony, 1515 South Tamiami Trl. #7, Venice
Seraph Brass, a dynamic brass quintet drawing from a roster of America’s female brass players, presents a lively and varied program of familiar holiday classics and popular song—including Winter from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride and more.
Historic Asolo Theatre, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota.
As Sarasota Opera embarks on its 60th Diamond Anniversary Season, join the celebration as they take the audience on a European journey in this recital of operetta favorites. With principal artists and pianists from Sarasota Opera, come hear arias and ensembles from Viennese and French operetta as well as other selections with piano accompaniment.
Venice Performing Arts Center, 1 Indian Ave., Venice
Regarded as the world's greatest living violinist, Itzhak Perlman is no stranger to audiences in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Almost twenty-three years have passed since Perlman made his iconic album of klezmer music, “In the Fiddler’s House.” In this only-area performance, Perlman revisits this meaningful and personal project, joined onstage by Hankus Netsky, Music Director, Saxophone and Piano; Andy Statman, Clarinet and Mandolin; members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band; and other special guests.
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
For the 15th year, and with an expanded 15-night schedule, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens will light up the holiday season with Lights in Bloom! More than one million lights will illuminate the Gardens and walkways. The tropical holiday paradise will also include nightly live entertainment, games, crafts, and grilled foods from Michael’s on East. Celebrate the holiday season at Lights in Bloom! Event dates are December 20–23, 26–30, and January 1–6.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 900 South Palm Ave., Sarasota
The most anticipated party of the year is right around the corner....NEW YEARS EVE!
Full Moon Promotions is bringing back THE Sarasota New Years Eve Party to the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium to ring in 2019. This will be THE Biggest & Best Ticketed New Years Party in the area! Tickets are all inclusive; open full bar, bottomless champagne, catered apps, live & DJ entertainment, and a huge dance floor and light show. Ring in the new year right at Sarasota Illumination!
Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
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