This week brought loss as heavy as it comes for our region. The news of Charles and Margery Barancik passing was sudden and searing. It seemed like time stopped.

At Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Chuck and Margie were family. So, too, are the team they assembled, who carry on in honor of their lives and memories. The private family foundation the Baranciks created has matured quickly into a strategic, solutions-oriented operation with a holistic focus: transforming lives by transforming communities. The visionary work that Chuck and Margie seeded and energized will only get bolder, only get better. Right now, our hearts ache. But soon our hearts will swell to bursting again every time we see another life changed by the Baranciks’ legacy of generosity and love.

I will miss Chuck’s sense of humor, his curiosity, and his sheer joy at seeing others succeed. Chuck was a numbers guy, but he never saw the people he tried to help as numbers. They were unique people who deserved the opportunity to live their fullest lives and fulfill their potential. I will miss Margie’s passion for children and for education, which she and Chuck viewed as the means for future leaders to understand, engage with, and change their world.

Sorely missed, but never forgotten. It’s all the more reason to hold our loved ones close this season. To recommit our presence and energies to what matters most. To do good and, in doing so, strive to do right by those who came before us and those who left too soon.

Mark Pritchett is president and CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. 

Photo courtesy of SRQ MEDIA.

Once again, affordable housing has made the priority list of the Sarasota County Commission for 2020.  It is interesting to see it on there for another year. It is also interesting to see the lack of connection that is made from that policy to the other initiatives and policy setting the Commission acts on. 

The same week that the Commission made affordable housing a priority, the commission decided to consider a mental health taxing district to increase taxes and was told about a stormwater utility rate study- have you ever seen a government rate study that didn’t call for an increase?

Not a breath was mentioned about the effects of these taxes and fees on affordable housing.

If the commission is serious about affordable housing, it would take an introspective look at the policies it sets and its effect on housing. And not just do this once, do it every single time a policy is passed.

You see, while we like to brag that we have the second lowest millage rate in the state, the shell game of fees and separate line item costs actually reveal something different when you put them together.  Florida TaxWatch has a very handy tool on their website to do some comparisons and rankings in the state for local taxes.

When you plug Sarasota County into the database, it shows that Sarasota County is actually 24^th in the state for per capita county government property taxes out of 67 counties. That’s right, 64% of the counties in this state have a better per capita county government tax rate than Sarasota County. 

How much money do we take in overall in terms of county revenue?  We rank 9th in the state for that per capita. How about how much we spend as a county?  We rank 8th in the state per capita for spending.

All of this points to the fact that we take in a lot of money and we spend a lot, and our residents and businesses shoulder that.  

But the people who feel it the most are our ALICE families. According to the 2018 ALICE Report put out by the United Way of Florida, ALICE is defined as “households that earn more than the Federal Poverty Level, but less than the basic cost of living for the county.”  In 2016, that was 28% of households in Sarasota County with another 9% in poverty.  A whopping 37% total can’t afford to live here.

So how much is the government eating up of a household income through taxes?  The ALICE report says 8% per month for a family of four.  For a single person household, it is a staggering 12.8% per month.  That $439 per month could easily get a family of four from unaffordable to affordability in terms of housing.

Bottom line is that government is pretending it wants housing affordability and wants everyone else to chip in to solve it.  When it comes to examining its own behavior into contributing to this problem and worsening it, it is ignored.

If affordable housing is a top priority for the county, they have an opportunity to prove it by identifying the increased costs to households as a result of their decisions and acknowledging them with each policy decision.  Anything else makes this just a feel good thing to have on a priority list.

 Christine Robinson is executive director of The Argus Foundation. 

Citizens shouldn’t have to sue the County to get the Commission to follow their own laws. Citizens shouldn’t have to sue to get the County to enforce voter approved Charter Amendments. Citizens shouldn’t have to fight for beach access, when that access is already half of the state average for coastal counties in Florida. But in Sarasota County, that’s exactly what Mike Cosentino has had to do.

Sarasota County Commissioners approved the “vacation” of the beachside portion Beach Road on Siesta Key in 2013. No, that doesn’t mean our road took a holiday. In this case, “vacation” means taking the road out of the public domain, essentially eliminating it. The effect of this decision was to reduce public access to Siesta Key beach, despite whatever easement the County claims as a remedy. Vacating Beach Road also opened the door for the landowners with “road-front” houses to transform their properties into multi-unit “beach-front” dwellings. The value of the road and the quality of life it offers all Sarasota County residents was essentially transferred to the private landowners whose property sits along the vacated portion of the road. Their land became much more valuable, while the handicapped and other residents who enjoyed the easy access and viewing that this beachfront road provided were out of luck.

Who does this? A governing body with a flagrant disregard for constituents, that’s who.

Mike Cosentino fought Sarasota County. He collected over 30,000 registered voters’ signatures for put two County Charter amendments on the 2018 ballot. One amendment strengthened the law that the Commission ignored by upgrading it from a section of the Sarasota Comprehensive Plan to an amendment to the Sarasota County Charter, our local constitution. The other amendment required the County to restore Beach Road to public ownership. Cosentino’s amendments passed easily with 70% voter approval.

In the meantime, the County and the landowners sued over the Comprehensive Plan issues, and the successful amendments. With the multiple parties to the lawsuit and claims, an appeal process began before all local judicial actions had finished. Cosentino’s attorneys successfully argued that case couldn’t be appealed before all local legal questions have been settled. The Second District Court of Appeals agreed and dismissed the appeal in their court without prejudice, due to lack of jurisdiction.

It’s good news for the public, because Cosentino now can remedy errors and omitted some of his best evidence, not made part of the legal record.

Hopefully, this legal “reset” will lead to a decision which upholds the County Comprehensive Plan, upholds voter approved amendments and puts Beach Road back in the public domain. According to a 2014 analysis of beach access in Sarasota County, our county is one of the lowest ranking coastal counties in Florida, with only 20% of our sandy beaches in public ownership versus a statewide average of 40%. Beach access is a fundamental economic engine and quality of life resource for all of us.

Cathy Antunes is host of The Detail.

At the State College of Florida, graduation marks a significant milestone for every student. As the graduates walked across the stage at our winter commencement ceremony Dec. 13, I recognized and appreciated the commitment they made to overcome the challenges that may have stood in the way of their academic success.

As the largest higher education institution in our two-county region, SCF’s student body reflects the population of Manatee and Sarasota Counties. We have students from all backgrounds and the reality for some is that life gets in the way of their higher education plans. The challenges they face extend beyond the classroom and can take precedence over education. Some will persevere to earn their diploma while others will start, stop and hopefully return to complete their degree at another time.       

At SCF, we understand the individual challenges our students face and we create the programs and opportunities that can assist them to complete their degree on time or return and finish later.

Guided degree pathways help students from the beginning to stay on track to graduate. These pathways give students a roadmap to their four-year degree by first attending SCF and then a university. We are proud to offer our students guided pathways to one of Florida’s preeminent state universities and three of the state’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The FUSE program allows students to be accepted at both SCF and the University of South Florida and pursue their degree with a detailed schedule of the courses for each institution. We recently signed agreements with Florida A&M University, Edward Waters College and Bethune Cookman University that feature a wide range of degree programs at each institution to give students a clear pathway to a bachelor’s degree.

We are always seeking partners to develop comprehensive or program-specific pathway agreements that will assist our students in meeting their goals. We plan to announce new opportunities for students soon.

SCF also has articulation agreements to leverage our local workforce synergy with Manatee and Suncoast Technical Colleges. These agreements allow students to add a college degree to their technical skills. Graphic design and fire science are two of the most popular and we have a goal to expand to more areas.

Guided pathways can create success for our current and future students, but we know that there are former students in our region who could not finish their degree. A new program introduced by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offers hope and opportunity to these individuals.

The Last Mile College Completion Program for Florida was created by the Gov. DeSantis following his election in 2018 and in 2019 SCF joined with the other members of the Florida College System to pledge support for the program. The Last Mile program allows students who attended SCF in the last eight years but left before graduation to return and finish their degree tuition free. To participate in Last Mile, students must have left SCF on good academic standing with less than 10 percent of the credit hours remaining their first associates degree. Last Mile is a great chance for students to return and finish their degree to advance in their workplace and pursue new goals.

SCF has been the pathway to the American dream for the residents of Manatee and Sarasota Counties for 62 years. We will continue to develop the innovative programs and pathways that provide our students the necessary steps to take to achieve success and thrive in our region.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld is president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. 

The Florida State University College of Medicine and Sarasota Memorial Health Care System are partnering to offer the area’s first Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. It is one of 13 approved sites in Florida where board-certified physicians can acquire advanced training to address the many medical and pyscho-social issues that accompany serious illness or end-of-life care. During the year-long program, two physician fellows will complete rotations in inpatient palliative care, community hospice care, and cancer care, training with Dr. Vlahakis, a board certified internal medicine and palliative care physician, as well as other medical directors and faculty from Sarasota Memorial and FSU’s Internal Medicine residency program. The physician fellows also will learn from medical directors in community-based centers providing home hospice, geriatric, pediatric palliative and outpatient oncology care. 

Sarasota Memorial Health Care

More than 900 people from the Sarasota community attended Safari Sarasota 2019 events from October 24 - 26 in support of the All Heart Fund, a US-based fundraising arm of the Good Work Foundation (GWF). The Good Work Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides education and digital learning to thousands of children in rural South Africa. Safari Sarasota 2019 raised over $225,000 in three days through five diverse and educational events. The Safari Sarasota events brought celebrity presenters from South Africa and the Sarasota community together to share authentic South African cuisine, award-winning wine pairings, and to support innovative education programs for children and young adults in remote villages in South Africa. Members of the public were invited to attend the five individual Safari Sarasota events to experience the sights, sounds, and flavors of South Africa.  

Good Work Foundation

On December 7th, organizations including Goodwill Manasota, SRQ Vets, Vets 2 Success, and VFW 3233 held a Christmas Toy Drive & Breakfast at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3233. The organizations gathered to remember the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor and worked together to make a brighter day for veterans and families in need. The public was invited to attend the event, which featured delicious food – sponsored by Detwiler’s Farm Market – including an omelet bar, home fries, sausage and bacon, a yogurt/oatmeal bar, fresh bread, and beverages. All financial donations were split between the four presenting organizations and went to their relief funds for veterans in need; all toys were distributed by Toys-for-Tots. 

Goodwill Manasota

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center (LWRMC) is encouraging local residents to take a step toward better health by partnering with Walk with a Doc, a health program that brings doctors and patients together to walk at The Mall at University Town Center. Walk with a Doc is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire communities through movement and conversation. Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton and Sarasota will join a growing list of communities worldwide that have started a local Walk with a Doc (WWAD) program. Founder of Walk with a Doc, Dr. David Sabgir, added, “Walk with a Doc is honored to team up with Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and the Mall at University Town Center. By incorporating this program into the practice, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center is demonstrating an exceptional level of care and commitment to their community.” 

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center