SRQ DAILY Oct 10, 2019
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"I have all the faith in Superintendent Saunders, She always has done a great job, and really the charges were way over the top."
Manatee County School Board Chair Dave Miner said he’s standing by Superintendent Cynthia Saunders. His support comes after the state Education Practices Committee rejected a settlement over alleged inflation of graduation rates.
“I have all the faith in Superintendent Saunders,” Miner said. “She always has done a great job, and really the charges were way over the top.”
Saunders herself released a written statement to media Tuesday about the state decision.
“The proposed settlement with the Florida Department of Education, reached last spring, regrettably was not finalized during a meeting of the Education Practices Commission,” she said. “As I explore all further options in this matter, I remain confident that I will prevail on the merits. I am grateful for the continued support and my focus remains on the mission of providing the best possible education for all Manatee County students.”
Saunders had been accused of inflating graduation rates by shifting certain students to home-schooling status. But state investigators ultimately reached a settlement where Saunders did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to a $750 fine and two years probation.
Manatee County Schools previously released a statement denying any intentional wrongdoing. “At no time did Ms. Saunders direct staff to inflate graduation rates and improperly code students. The record clearly shows the opposite of any intent to purposefully skew numbers,” reads a 2018 statement. 
Photo courtesy Manatee County Schools: Cynthia Saunders.
Selby Gardens' Master Plan will protect vulnerable green space in the heart of Sarasota’s downtown. Because Selby Gardens was pieced together by purchasing individual parcels over many years, the property is currently still zoned for residential development and vulnerable to being broken apart and sold at any time. With the property valued at nearly $62 million and technically eligible for up to 368 new dwelling units, many worry that a future funding shortfall could result in selling parcels of our property to developers.
We want to ensure that this never happens. Working in conjunction with City planners, Selby Gardens is requesting a zoning category that would limit development to the specifications in our application, which results in an intensity that is half that of the next lowest commercial district, which is intended for areas in or near residential neighborhoods. If the City Commission approves the Master Plan, we’ll be able to protect Selby Gardens as a botanical garden for generations to come.
The law firm of Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen, and Ginsburg, P.A., is pleased to announce that Patrick Seidensticker has joined the firm as an associate in their Lakewood Ranch office. His practice is focused in the areas of commercial real estate, land use, and property valuation. He is a native of Boca Grande, Florida, and is co-founder of Tableseide Restaurant Group in Sarasota. Patrick received undergraduate degrees in philosophy and finance from Tulane University, and his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law, graduating magna cum laude. While in law school, he served as a senior associate for Stetson Law Review.
Senior Advisor, Mike Migone,CCIM of SVN Commercial Advisory Group recently coordinated the sale of the 20,996 SF, 14-unit Beach Club at Anna Maria in Bradenton Beach. Raps Development, LLC, was the seller. The buyer was Jacaranda Partners, LLC. Purchase price was $3,700,000. Jacaranda Properties, LLC, plans to keep the property as is, increasing revenues through capital improvements and marketing. “AMI Beach Club is an established hotel with consistent cash flow performance. The location, quality condition and historical income generated by the resort was what attracted the buyer to this asset,” said Migone concerning the deal.
Scott Zelniker and Jason Hughes of UBS Financial Services have joined forces to form The Zelniker Dorfman Heritage Group, offering clients the resources of the world's largest wealth management firm, and the concierge service you would expect from a boutique firm. The combined team manages nearly $1 billion of client assets and will be based out of Sarasota, Florida.Veterans of the financial services business, the founders of both teams have acquired an understanding of family dynamics, financial markets and business that only decades of extensive practice can bring. Zelniker and Hughes recognized early that they share a similar clientele and a similar philosophy on how clients should be served. When the timing was right to merge, they seized the opportunity. The Group’s concierge service model includes customized investment solutions, proactive asset management, private banking, tailored lending, estate planning, philanthropy and liquidity options for clients. The result is a financial planning entity that gives the advisors the ability to service clients through a holistic, multi-generational lens.
Pictured: Scott Zelniker (lower right) and Jason Hughes (lower left) of UBS Financial Services have joined forces to form The Zelniker Dorfman Heritage Group. The combined team manages nearly $1 billion of client assets and will be based in Sarasota.
Voting for the 2019 Great Places in Florida is now underway, and St. Armands Circle has been selected as a finalist for the American Planning Association - Florida Chapter's People's Choice Award. Over 15 nominations were received in this sixth year of the awards program. All nominations were reviewed by an independent selection committee of professionals from the fields of urban planning, transportation, and parks and recreation. Through October 18, the general public is invited to vote on their favorite place out of the six finalists. Click here to cast your vote. The People’s Choice winner will be announced October 25.
Photo courtesy of Stefan Nadwodny
Approaching their 20th year in business, the Ramos Center for Interventional & Functional Pain Medicine is proud to announce the purchase and relocation of their new Sarasota office located at 2540 S. Tamiami Trail; Sarasota, FL 34239 (just two blocks South of Sarasota Memorial Hospital). Joining Fabian A. Ramos, M.D. is the newest addition to the Ramos Center team of physicians, Abraham J. Fura, D.O. Founded in 2000 by Dr. Fabian A. Ramos, FIPP, DABA, DABIPP, DABPM, the Ramos Center for Interventional and Functional Pain Medicine opened its Bradenton, FL doors in January of 2000. Dr. Ramos and his team of skilled providers and staff have been successfully relieving those patients suffering from chronic pain, through a series of state-of-the-art, interventional treatment options. As Dr. Ramos continued to grow his comprehensive Pain Medicine practice in Bradenton, to include various disciplines such as Medical, Interventional, Behavioral and Physical Therapy, he saw the need to expand his multi-modality approach to treating chronic pain. In 2005, the Ramos Center opened a second office location in Sarasota, FL, followed by a third office location in Venice, FL in January of 2019.
As part of its Botanical Briefings Lecture Series, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens recently presented Vickie Oldham, journalist and director of the historic preservation project "Newtown Alive." Panelists recounted Sarasota’s rich African-American history and shared personal, coming-of-age stories about the Selby and Payne families while working alongside groundskeepers on the properties, joyriding and running errands with “Uncle Bill,” scaling the wall surrounding the Christy and Anne Payne house, and watching the local Civil Rights movement unfold as teenagers. Guests heard how the Payne and Selby families became very close to their employees, very rare at that time in the South. They also learned that the idyllic experiences the individuals above enjoyed on the grounds of the Selby and Payne properties were not necessarily reflected by the African-American experience in the wider Sarasota community. The hour-long journey through history was filled with stories of courage, resilience, and determination by African-American pioneers on the Suncoast who rolled up their sleeves and began leading community transformation. The event also included a book sale and signing of Oldham's book, Newtown Alive: Courage, Dignity, and Determination.
Photo: Troy Nichols, Izetta Fields, panelist Carolyn Yancy Harper, Mae Dixon, Jeannie Perales, panelist Rev. Kenneth Waters, Evelyn Waters and moderator Vickie Oldham.
Join SRQ MEDIA on October 23, 2019 from 5:30-7pm to explore the options at local private and charter schools in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Hear from representatives from: The Out-Of-Door Academy, NewGate School, St. Martha Catholic School, Sarasota Christian School, The Pinnacle Academy and the Island Village Montessori School.
Free admission. Light bites and refreshments. RSVP online at SRQMAG.COM/MOED.
Center for Architecture Sarasota opens its fifth season at the McCulloch Pavilion with its new Solo Architecture Series. The first exhibit of the series features the Sarasota firm of Halflants + Pichette. The opening reception is September 12 from 5:30pm until 7:30pm. Light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Information and registration is available at the CFAS website.
McCulloch Pavilion, 265 South Orange Ave., Sarasota.
DreamLarge Weekends is a program designed to educate and inspire tomorrow’s generation about community issues and philanthropy, empowering their imagination to create innovative solutions and make our community a brighter place. This hands-on, weekend-long program invites students and mentors to work together towards a goal of figuring out creative, unique, and collaborative solutions to community challenges. Over the course of the weekend, students will have spent time creatively exploring a real-world issue, honed in to a single solution, prototyped their plan to create social impact, and pitched their ideas to a panel of local community leaders.
Ringling College of Art + Design Academic Center, 2700 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34234
How do you go from creative spark to creative business? An interactive multimedia exhibition and event series, Artists Minding Their Business takes us on the evolution from making art to making a living. Ringling’s Business of Art & Design Department and founder of Culture Hustlers, Lucas Spivey (BFA/MBA) have curated the Willis Smith Gallery into a visual showcase of the entrepreneurial journey. Inside interactive installations, visiting founders and creative entrepreneurs swap inspiring stories and provide visitors with practical advice. Opening Reception, Friday, October 18, 6-8pm.
Willis Smith Construction Inc. Gallery in the Larry R. Thompson Academic Center, 2700 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Welcoming all Veterans' Caregivers and Veterans caring for a loved one to a free lunch and monthly Caregivers Support Group every third Monday of the month. This group focuses on the Caregiver, and not the patient. Julie Cook Downing, Facilitator and President of Caregivers' Comfort Creations, LLC, has over two decades of experience with both support groups and Family Caregiving.
Mindspa Integrative Wellness Center, 5632 Bee Ridge Rd #101, Sarasota, FL 34233
Join SRQ Magazine and its family magazine RocketKids for an evening with representatives from local private and charter schools in Sarasota and Manatee Counties in a panel discussion about how each school prepares their students for success. With the future workforce continuing to evolve rapidly, we ask local schools how they are creating programs that will prepare our students. We will also discuss the increasing importance of teaching social emotional literacy (SEL) and the role of schools in engaging with students in fostering these skills. Schools include: The Out-of-Door Academy, NewGate School, Sarasota Christian School, Island Village Montessori School, St. Martha's Catholic School and The Pinnacle Academy. Free admission. Lightbites, beer and wine will be served. RSVP at srqmag.com/moed.
SRQ Studios, 331 S. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota
The Florida Maritime Museum (FMM) is hosting its 22nd Annual Cortez Nautical Flea Market on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 8am to 1pm. If you love boats, swoon at the sight of an anchor, taste the salt of the sea in your dreams then this event is for you. Searching for deals amongst the piles of new, used and eclectic maritime treasures has never been so much fun. Examples of vendors are used and new fishing supplies, power boat equipment, diving gear and sailing gear. Items will be available for sale and trade so bring your whole family and enjoy some live music by Treble Hook while mingling with other “salty dogs”. Live music will take place from 10am to 1pm. If you’re interested in being a vendor, there is a $25 fee (until October 12)* and space is very limited. Dig out or dust off all that old boat stuff and bring it on down, but make sure to reserve early.
The Florida Maritime Museum (FMM), 4415 119th Street West, Cortez, FL 34215
The Sarasota Ballet’s first program of the Season, titled Graziano, Retrospective, serves as a tribute to Principal Dancer and Resident Choreographer Ricardo Graziano’s tenth year with the company by featuring three of his choreographic works. Opening the program, Shostakovich Suite is his most traditionally classical ballet; premiered in 2011 and set to movements from Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2” and “Ballet Suite No. 2”, Shostakovich Suite is an eight-scene ballet demonstrating the aptitude of the company dancers whom Graziano has grown to know so well over the past decade. Graziano’s 2015 work, En las Calles de Murcia, not seen since its world premiere, returns to the stage; the choreography was inspired by the city of Murcia in southeastern Spain as well as the music of early eighteenth-century guitarist and composer Santiago de Murcia, bringing a distinctive vibrancy to the dance. The program closes with Graziano’s critically lauded In a State of Weightlessness; since its August 2015 world premiere at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, MA, the production, set to Philip Glass’s “Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra”, explores concepts of lightness in motion while generating its own ethereal sort of emotional gravity.
FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Women are natural-born leaders. Yet, many feel overwhelmed by attempting to juggle life’s demands and have it all—home, family and career. How to balance work and home life? The Women’s Resource Center will explore these issues with BeingWE (Being Women Empowered), a guided conversation series for women by women, created by Keren Lifrak, an area-based entrepreneur and real estate professional. The series launches with three sessions: The Superwoman Badge, October 29th, Women Balancing Business & Life: Creating What’s Possible Against All Odds, December 3rd and Follow Your Bliss: How Our Brains Are Uniquely Wired to Take Action, January 23rd. Each session is 4:30-7:30 p.m., and all genders are welcome to participate.
Women's Resource Center, 340 S Tuttle Ave, Sarasota, FL 34237
The FSU/Asolo Conservatory begins a new season with the classic Greek drama, Antigone, by Sophocles. Director of the Conservatory and the show, Greg Leaming, will put a modern spin on this ancient tale of right versus wrong. In the aftermath of a bloody war, Thebes celebrates victory while Antigone mourns the loss of both her brothers in battle. When King Creon refuses one of the two brothers all rites of burial, the young girl is left facing an awful choice. One of the great classics of Greek drama that speaks as powerfully today as it did when first performed - when faced with the conflict between law and personal morality, what is the right choice?
Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Retirement. What a concept! And what a challenge. Even those who have prepared financially might not be psychologically ready. Who are you when you’re not working? What do you do with all that free time? What do you want to do with the rest your life? Boomers across America are facing these questions. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Ringling College (OLLI at Ringling College) will address these concerns with the fourth annual Boomer Conference. The event features speakers and networking sessions offering useful strategies on retirement’s social, financial, and practical implications. Keynote speaker Marianne Oehser, a certified retirement coach and author of “Your Happiness Portfolio for Retirement: It's Not About the Money,” will challenge audiences to rethink their retirement expectations. The fee is $39.95, which includes lunch, with a $5 certificate toward OLLI membership for each registrant.
Ringling College Museum Campus, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Join Chef Paul Mattison for a unique 4-course Farm to Fork Dinner overlooking the beautiful Phillippi River, featuring vendors from the Phillippi Farmerhouse Market. Each course will be paired with wine. Guests will enjoy live music by Romy Hernandez and artwork by the Light Chasers, plein air painters of the Suncoast, who will exhibiting and selling their original paintings and will donate 30% of all sales to the renovation of the Historic Keith Farmhouse. Please join us for sunset and an evening to remember! In case of inclement weather, the farm-to-fork dinner will move inside the Edson Keith Mansion. Tickets are $100 per person and includes tax and gratuity. Reservations are required and available for purchase at mattisons.com or by calling Mattison’s Forty-One at (941) 921.3400.
Philllippi Estate Park, 5500 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34231
Everyone is welcome to come celebrate the military nonprofits of Sarasota over Veterans Day weekend, November 9th at CitySide Apartments in the historic Rosemary District. The celebration will kick off at 4pm with Sarasota's most popular yoga teachers for an hour of Street Yoga, the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner and color guard to kick off the bands at 5pm with performances by Dan Johnson of Operation Hemingway, Ari and the Alibis, Enrique Casados and Kaliedogroove. Great food and beverages provided by Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Tsunami Sushi, Gold Coast Eagle Distributing. There will be fun activities for kids and admission is free.
CitySide Apartments , 700 Cocoanut Ave. and May Ln.
Golf one of the country’s finest courses while supporting children, teens and young adults in grief. Before you tee off, a delicious breakfast will be generously provided by Station 400. Enjoy food and fun on the course, and then come back to the clubhouse for cigars and whiskey. All food and drink for the entire day is included in your golf registration.
Legacy Golf Club At Lakewood Ranch, 8255 Legacy Blvd, Bradenton, FL 34202
Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County is thrilled to announce the Champions for Children Gala will be held at the Lee Wetherington Boys & Girls Club on November 23, 2019. This year, we will honor Tom and Debbie Shapiro. Join us for an enchanting evening with silent and live auctions, a gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Paul Mattison and dancing. All proceeds will support our valuable programs designed to enhance more than 9,000 Club members' academic success, healthy lifestyles, and character and leadership development.
Lee Wetherington Boys & Girls Club, 3100 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34237
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