SRQ DAILY Oct 24, 2019
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"I've got nothing against city staff. I don't feel like it's them against us."
Former Sarasota City Commissioner Terry Turner elected in 2013 not to seek back-to-back terms. But after six years off the board, he just filed to run in Sarasota City Commission District 2.
“I’m a little uncomfortable with the direction the city is going from a fiscal point of view, from an environmental point of view and from a land-use point of view,” Turner said. “I thought it would be a good idea to have a different voice on the commission.”
He thinks Sarasota could be more efficient with taxpayer dollars, maybe to the point where commissioners could entertain cutting taxes.
He’s also unhappy with narrowing sidewalks approved by the city. An advocate of green space during his time on the commission, he fought unsuccessfully to stop administrative review of development on South Palm Avenue. Overall, he wants to make sure Sarasota keeps its pedestrian-friendly character.
“The denseness of development, it all strikes me as a move away from walkable cities that were for a time the dominant view in the city,” Turner said.
He also anticipates Sarasota in the near future will have to get aggressive about resiliency and addressing climate change. He praised plans for a Bayfront performance venue that will be built 20 feet over the mean tide level. A coastal community such as Sarasota will need to address concerns like sea level rise. At the same time, it needs to get serious about keeping the water clean.
He’s entering the race now, more than a year before the final vote, largely because he doesn’t know what the dynamics of the race will be considering 2020 marks the first election since Sarasota voters decided to schedule elections in November of even-numbered years. Right now, he faces Martin Hyde and Jerry Wells. Incumbent Liz Alpert has not yet filed for reelection. 
Martin Hyde came in third place running for an at-large Sarasota City Commission race, one place short of earning a spot on the board. Now, he hopes to correct some mistakes of the last election cycle as he runs for a District 2 seat.
“I got caught up in the personalities,” he said of his 2017 run. “This time I am going to work for my ideas.”
Those ideas will be familiar to those who have tuned in to any Sarasota City Commission meeting for the past three and a half years. Hyde has become a regular speaker during citizen comments, often issuing criticisms of city spending and commission policy.
But the city activist doesn’t consider himself a candidate running against City Hall. “I’ve got nothing against city staff. I don’t feel like it’s them against us,” he said. “Other than the police chief and the city manager, I have good relationships with the people who are working there.”
Even there, Hyde said his chief gripe with city administration is more about the dynamic. He feels City Commissioners too often defer to staff recommendations, allowing City Manager Tom Barwin to drive policy when it’s those who appear on ballots who are accountable to voters. He promises more lively debate and voicing of dissent should he land at the dais.
He’s also running a longer campaign this time. He’s facing Terry Turner and Jerry Wells right now. Incumbent City Commissioner Liz Alpert has not yet filed.
Like many, Hyde wonders what it will be like running for commission while a presidential election rages around voters, He expects reaching voters needs to happen sooner than later. But he believes candidates who appeared on the ballot before have an advantage in name recognition that could prove more valuable than ever.
Sarasota Opera has been awarded a $50,000 Arts Appreciation Grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The grant offers unrestricted funding to area arts organizations in support of their artistic mission. This year’s Arts Appreciation Grant will help support Sarasota Opera’s 2019/2020 Season, which marks the company’s 61st year of presenting world-class opera on the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast. Sarasota Opera’s Fall 2019 Season opens Friday, November 1st with the return of Verdi’s popular opera Rigoletto, with six performances through November 17th. On November 15-16, Sarasota Youth Opera will present the historically significant Brundibár, composed by Hans Krása. Sarasota Opera’s 2020 Winter Festival will open with Puccini’s La bohème on February 8, and will be followed by Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet, Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, and Catalani’s La Wally. Performances will continue through March 22, 2020.
Norman Love Confections will open the Florida-based company’s sixth Chocolate Salon at University Town Center (UTC), a premier shopping and dining destination along University Parkway in the greater Sarasota-Manatee area. Renowned for its award-winning handcrafted artisanal chocolates, Norman Love Confections is currently renovating a 2000-square-foot end-cap space, with an outdoor patio, opposite California Pizza Kitchen along Cattlemen Road in the West District of UTC.
Slated to open by the end of first quarter 2020, the Norman Love Confections Chocolate Salon at UTC will offer the company’s award-winning ultra-premium, handcrafted chocolates, as well as specialty desserts, artisanal baked goods, coffees, novelty products, sweet crepes as well as savory crepes for lunch and dinner, and Artisan Gelato by Norman Love.
Additionally, the new location will offer a selection of wines, and will be the first Norman Love Confections to offer an interactive dessert experience as Norman Love Confections pastry chefs will “take the stage” to showcase their artistic expression and create beautiful “desserts of art” while engaging guests in a fun, conversational and gastronomic dessert experience.
The DeMarcay, a luxury residential condominium project in downtown Sarasota by GK Development, will break ground in November 2019 and is unveiling finalized views of the interior finishes for its lobby and clubroom. The groundbreaking will mark the beginning of the process for preserving the two historic facades and selected interior materials from the former hotel and cigar factory situated on the current site. “We are using the original tin tiles on the ceiling in a portion of the new lobby,” said Marcie Blanco, president of Ma’am Design Collective, the firm designing the building’s interior. “We will also be utilizing the original interior doors as decorative wall installations in the common halls, among other elements that will honor the site’s unique Sarasota history.” The newly released renderings and virtual reality tours showcase The DeMarcay’s lobby and rooftop clubroom featuring panoramic bayfront and city views. Located directly across the street from the project at 32 S. Palm Avenue in Sarasota, buyers can visit the showroom and sales gallery to view the variety of new visuals. Visitors can also see a scaled replica of the building, experience virtual reality of each residence, see two vignettes of the well-appointed kitchens and bathrooms and hold samples of the interior finishes.
The 18-story building will boast valet parking, concierge services and a resort-style rooftop pool with expansive waterfront views of the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. Ranging from 1,144 to 3,106 square feet, the floor plans will have the flexibility to combine units for larger square footage. A one-bedroom residence with a den starts at $650,000, with two-bedroom and three-bedroom residences available. Construction is slated for completion by summer 2021.
Previously located in St. Armand’s Circle, the Todd Alan Gallery is having a grand opening at its new location at 506 S. Pineapple Avenue in the historical district of Burns Court from 5 to 9pm on Saturday, November 9th. Todd Alan will unveil his unique “Mermaid Crown”, made of gold, platinum, diamonds and gemstones, inspired by the movement and color of the ocean. Featured artists, Eric Shupe, David Rhyne and Sheryl Shakinovsky will also present their work.
Sarasota Jungle Gardens is hosting an event to raise money for the Crocodilian Conservation Center of Florida, Inc. (CCCF). All proceeds raised for the event will be donated to CCCF for the construction of a zoological facility to house endangered and critically endangered crocodilians. The facility, located on 16 acres of land in Polk county, is being constructed in line with the American Zoological Association’s (AZA) Species Survival Plan. The CROC AID event includes a “Meet ‘n Greet” with international crocodilian experts, crocodilian photo opportunities, appetizers and a live auction. Crocodilian experts include Avishka Godahewa from Sri Lanka, Robinson Botero-Arias from Colombia, and Bruce Shwedick from the United States. Dr. Heather Blackall from Ocean & Daughter Conservation Alliance also will be in attendance. The purpose of the CCCF is to provide safe and secure housing for endangered crocodilians. These species include the West African Slender-snouted crocodile, the Tomistoma, the Cuban crocodile, the Siamese crocodile and the Chinese Alligator. Established in 2011, the CCCF is a 501-C-3 Florida nonprofit corporation.
Croc Aid will take place November 9, 5:30pm – 9pm. Tickets are $25.00 for adults and $15.00 for college students with a valid ID. Tickets for the event include all day admission to Sarasota Jungle Gardens. Guests over 21 years of age are also asked to bring a bottle of wine for the Meet ‘n Greet segment of the program. Donations of natural history related items for the event live auction such as books, wildlife photography or artwork are also welcome. George Godycki, Ringling College instructor and illustrator, will be creating a painting live at the event for the Croc Aid auction.
Learn more about the CCCF and the world's endangered crocodilians here.
A mesmerizing 3D animated film by Chinese painter and draughtsman, Sun Xun incorporates traditional techniques including ink painting, charcoal drawing and woodblock printing. He uses analog and digital technologies to explore pressing concerns of the time.
The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road
Blossoms of Asia combines a dazzling display of living orchids in the Tropical Conservatory with an elegant exhibition of orchid treasures from Selby Gardens’ bibliographic and preserved collections in the Museum of Botany and the Arts. The magnificent orchids in the Tropical Conservatory will include Asian specimens from Selby’s living plant collection. The display will reference traditional Japanese garden design and horticultural practices, including ikebana (the art of flower arrangement) and bonsai (the creation of miniaturized trees), in order to evoke a sense of Asia in the heart of Sarasota.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 900 S Palm Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236
The second annual Out of the Blue benefits National Alliance on Mental Illness Sarasota County. NAMI works to support families in Sarasota County who have a loved one living with mental illness; advocate at the county, state, and national levels for non-discriminatory access to quality healthcare, housing, education, and employment for people with mental illness; educate the public about mental illness; and work to eliminate the stigma of mental illness.
Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota, FL 34236
Gauguin in Tahiti: Paradise Lost traces the legendary life story of Paul Gauguin who left France for Tahiti, feverishly in search of deep immersions into lush nature, for feelings, visions and colors, ever purer and brighter. Audiences join this journey from Tahiti to American museums including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, National Gallery of Art in DC, and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts where Gauguin’s greatest masterpieces are now preserved.
Historic Asolo Theatre, 5401 Bay Shore Road
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
Join Leadership Sarasota for a half-day Leadership Educational Conference. Speakers will present their ideas on the best way to engage employees including Larry Face of Next Level Achievement, Jim Kuhlman, formerly of CenterState Bank and Pete Peterson of Dealers United. Admission: $29 for Leadership Alumni and $79 for Future Alumni. Networking, lite bites and drinks.
Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, 7051 Wireless Ct., Sarasota
Designing Women Boutique presents the author of "Never Fly Solo," Waldo Waldman. A member of the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame, Waldo Waldman is a motivational speaker that leverages his real world military, sales and business experience into a transformational program that empowers leaders to take action and produce results. This Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker, New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Coach and Decorated Combat Fighter Pilot puts you right on the flight line and in the cockpit to experience how high performance teams really function under pressure. Every motivational keynote and analogy is based on real world jet fighter combat and training missions. Whether veteran, military personnel, corporate executive, grandparent, parent or child, experience the transformational power of becoming a Wingman when you attend this event. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Sarasota Military Academy and the local Disabled American Veterans Chapter. The event will start at 11:30am at Michael's on East on October 25.
Michael's on East, 1212 S East Ave, Sarasota, FL 34239
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
Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary is hosting a kid friendly Wild-O-Ween Halloween weekend Oct. 26 and 27, including contests, wild animal encounter shows, face painting and trick-or-treating throughout the Habitat. The events will be held during normal daily admission times, 12 to 4 p.m., for the regular admission prices of $18 for adults and $8 for children. Special events include costume and mummy wrapping contests, rubber duckies, pony rides and wild animal encounter shows. Children also can participate in pumpkin bowling and watch the big cats and bears go wild over their fall enrichment treats. Refreshments are available and parking is free. The arena schedule includes a 1 pm reptile review show, 1:30 pm mummy-wrapping contest, 2 pm wild animal encounters show and 3 pm kids costume contest.
Big Cat Habitat, 7101 Palmer Blvd., Sarasota
A feuding fairy King and Queen of the forest cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. As their dispute grows, the magical royal couple meddle with mortal lives leading to love triangles, mistaken identities and transformations… with hilarious, but dark consequences. Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedy will be captured live from the Bridge Theatre in London. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Oliver Chris (Green Wing, NT Live: Young Marx), David Moorst (NT Live: Allelujah!) and Hammed Animashaun (The Barber Shop Chronicles) lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will build on the success of his immersive staging of Julius Caesar (NT Live 2018). The Bridge Theatre will become a forest – a dream world of flying fairies, contagious fogs and moonlight revels, surrounded by a roving audience following the action on foot.
Historic Asolo Theatre, 5401 Bay Shore Road
Join us in front of Morton’s Gourmet Market on Sunday, October 27 from 2-5 pm for the chili event of the year. Aspiring chefs from more than 15 local firehouses as well as Sarasota Police and County Sheriff Deputies will compete for the title of “Best Firehouse Chili.” Attendees may sample all entries and vote for their favorite for only $10. Celebrity judges and live entertainment will help make this event one of Sarasota’s best. All proceeds go to The Sarasota Firefighters’ Benevolent Fund. Find more information at mortonsmarket.com or sffbf.org. Tickets may be purchased the day of the event or in advance at Morton’s Gourmet Market.
Morton's Gourmet Market, 1924 South Osprey Avenue, between Arlington and Hyde Park Streets
UnidosNow's signature fundraising event, Noche Latina 2019, is happening on October 27th at 4:30 p.m. on the rooftop of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, to benefit UnidosNow programs for our students and families. Come enjoy food from Latino and other restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee: Darwin Evolutionary Cuisine, Huanchaco Grill, Tableseide Restaurant Group, and Poblanos Mexican Grill. This year Renesito will attend Noche Latina. Tickets are now on sale for $80 at unidosnow.org/noche-latina.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N Orange Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236
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
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