Correction: A version of this article listed the worng number of total Republican and Democrat votes.

Much has been made of partisanship in Sarasota County School races. The defeat of incumbent School Board member Eric Robinson by Tom Edwards seemed to both sides a victory for Democrats Tuesday.

I might suggest it’s more complicated than that; it always is. Any election with an incumbent on the ballot serves as a referendum on that candidate. Robinson, since winning election to the School Board unopposed, was untested at the ballot in the first place. But I might suggest friction with former Superintendent Todd Bowden and a bevy of bad headlines that came with it weighed down Robinson’s support. Certainly, Bowden was unpopular by the time he parted ways with the school district in disgrace, so that was a war Robinson won — righteously at that — but not one where he left unwounded.

That said, don’t read this as dismissal political parties played a role. Republicans and Democrats made it well known in Sarasota who were the registered Democrats and Republicans in both school district races on the ballot. Sarasota Democratic Party Chair JoAnna Devries has as much right to crow about election results as maybe anyone but Edwards himself. And since sitting School Board member Jane Goodwin switched parties earlier this year, this means Democrats will make up a majority of the board for another two years.

Yet, it may be premature to suggest Sarasota County has become a purple county, much less that it’s approaching a blue one anytime soon. Most obviously, while a Democrat beat Robinson, a prominent Republican campaign treasurer and former chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota, the other race on the ballot Tuesday went Republican. Karen Rose, who came within 1,000 votes of defeating Democratic School Board member Shirley Brown two years ago, defeated David Graham to win an open seat on the board, replacing Democrat Caroline Zucker.

Another important point. I assure you there are readers right now screaming at their screens about identifying School Board members by party in the first place. State law changed two decades ago to make School Board races nonpartisan, and candidates may not go around telling voters to support them because they are Democrats or Republicans (parties themselves can tell everybody that and candidates can boast about work they’ve done on behalf of the parties; Florida law is weird).

Democrats have yet to show much evidence they can get candidates elected countywide who get branded with a D on the paper ballots. The party’s involvement in the single-member district change for county commission races and subsequent objection to partisan redistricting —again a righteous battle — also served as acknowledgement the county as a whole favors the red team.

Much has been made about depressed Republican mail-in votes, something safely attributable to one Republican leader in the White House who seems intent on scaring his own voters away from a means of voting that has helped Florida Republicans for years. There were 38,365 Democratic ballots were cast by mail ballot in Sarasota to Republicans 25,571. That contributed to Republican turnout in the county on Tuesday being around 34.4% compared to Democrat’s 42.7%. Considering there were pivotal primaries in County Commission districts 1 and 5 and in state House District 72, that’s astounding.

But one also must note, there were still more Republican votes cast overall, with the GOP outperforming the blue team at the polls and in early voting.  A total of 48,199 out of 140,166 Republicans voted, compared to 44,652 of 104,526 Democrats. Even on a bad day, there’s more Sarasota County citizens registered as Republicans, and that will mean a great deal in November.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor for SRQ MEDIA. 

The start of the fall semester always brings a sense of optimism to a college campus. It is a new start for our students at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, and whether they are with us in person or online for classes, I am thrilled that they are taking charge of their future. We have spent the last six months living with limitations on our lives created by the COVID-19 pandemic. As our students return to SCF, our goal is to minimize the limitations they face in higher education.

Pursuing a college degree gives students a sense of stability and progression in their lives. As our economy attempts to recover from the pandemic, members of our community will need higher education and new skills to reenter the job market. Our state college provides the courses and programs to meet those needs in the safest environment possible without limiting students’ ability to decide how they want to go to school.

Now more than ever we are focused on being responsive and flexible with how our students want to take their classes. Higher education is increasingly a buyer’s market. We created a fall schedule that gives students choices about how they want to receive their education. We gave students flexibility and met their demands for face-to-face or online courses. Our students have many challenges and choices this fall - we have made it clear that SCF is the college that puts their needs first without limiting their ability to choose. We will continue to offer that choice and flexibility in our Flex Start classes that run in multiple sessions this fall. For students registering later, these classes offer the same opportunities as our full-term classes and will be offered on campus and online.

We also want to ensure that financial limitations are not a barrier to attending college. Financial assistance, including traditional financial aid and Federal CARES ACT funding is still available through the SCF financial aid office. The Foundation also has funding available through scholarships and the Coronavirus Student Emergency Fund. Our local philanthropic community has been very generous in providing financial support for students in need throughout our history.

We are deeply committed to reducing the chance COVID-19 spreads on one of our campuses. Our Return to Campus plan has been reviewed by our local health departments and the Florida Department of Education and recognized as one of the most robust in the Florida College System. The health of our students, faculty, and staff is our primary focus and foremost on our minds as we begin fall classes. SCF will remain closed to visitors at this time and all on-campus events are cancelled or will be conducted virtually.

We recognize that we have an opportunity at SCF – if not an obligation – to be the change we want to see in how our institution minimizes the risk of COVID-19. On our campuses we can control our environment and model ways to reduce the spread of this virus. We will be the example to the community of what can work and demonstrate the actions we want to see off campus.

Fall always signals a fresh start on a college campus. By giving our students the freedom to choose how they learn and reducing the limitations they face, we are creating the optimism they need to take charge of their future. Optimism is in high demand right now.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld is the President of the State College of Florida - Sarasota Manatee County.  

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Pine View teacher Laura Bradley wanted to apply math, science and engineering principles in designing a more innovative approach to lessons that would help her third-grade students create new and worthwhile ideas while collaborating to solve various cross-curricular problems.

Students responded enthusiastically and brainstormed original and inventive concepts including using Model Magic to sculpt a pencil topper designed as a realistic flower; taking a digital camera home to capture and share geometry in daily life; building and launching rockets to learn about energy transference; using a self-portrait activity to learn the concept of symmetry; and reading the Paul Bunyan folk tale, then designing and building a wagon to carry his gigantic knapsack.

With EducateSRQ grant funds, Bradley purchased art supplies, games and puzzles, learning kits, and items such as rare earth disc magnets and kinetic sand to stock her classroom’s “fab lab.” Students then used the supplies to construct and implement their ideas, which they presented to classmates to solicit input and feedback.

“This approach to creative problem-solving helps students learn to be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives and helps to instill an understanding that creativity and innovation are part of a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes,” Bradley said.

In addition to further instilling essential math, science and engineering principles, the innovative lessons provided practice in critical thinking skills such as teamwork, creative thinking, comprehension, and leadership development.

“While carrying out these collaborative and motivational activities, I saw two of my shyest students become leaders and several students discover they had strengths in new areas,” Bradley said.

“The skills that students utilized during these activities improved teamwork, increased motivation, built self-esteem and self-confidence, and improved participation in my classroom,” Bradley said.

Earl Young is the Director of Operations & System Improvements with the Education Foundation of Sarasota.   

Woodland Community Church and Woodland Early Childhood Center announces they had a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, August 18 for a new building. The 12,000 sf two-story building will house space for the growing Dunn Prep private school at Woodland Early Childhood Center. There will also be Admin offices and multi-purpose space to expand Woodland Fine Arts Academy. Half-Acre Construction is the General Contractor building the structure and anticipates it being completed in the Spring 2021. Jack Cox of Half Acre and Tim Passmore, Lead Pastor of Woodland, are excited to announce the construction of this building which will allow Woodland to expand opportunities for families in the Lakewood Ranch community.

"We really felt inspired about the next level of what we were going to do as far as reaching our community for education and our children's ministry" said Pastor Tim Passmore, Lead Pastor/ Woodland Community Church. In 1983 Manatee Southern Association and West Bradenton Baptist Church purchased 8.3 acres of land on Hwy 70 east for a new church site in East Manatee County. The church was founded in Bradenton as Woodland Baptist Mission. March 13, 1988 they signed a Church Charter and became Woodland Baptist Church. Completion of a two story Educational Building and the establishment of Woodland Early Childcare Center was in 1993. They then purchased an additional 20 acres of land behind the church bringing the total site acreage to the current 28.3 acres. In 2002 a Recreation Outreach Center and much needed Life Group classrooms were completed. In 2006 they completed and moved into the current Worship Center which is a Gateway to Heaven for many. A downtown campus was established in 2019 called Woodland DOWNTOWN: The Thursday Night Church which meets temporarily at the Courtyard Marriott Riverfront . 

Blalock Walters, P.A. is pleased to announce that seven attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021. Clifford L. Walters, III and William C. Robinson, Jr. have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Real Estate Law; Charles F. Johnson was selected in the practice area of Commercial and Litigation – Real Estate and Commercial Litigation; Mark P. Barnebey was selected for Land Use & Zoning Law; Matthew J. Lapointe was selected for Corporate Law; Fred E. Moore was selected in Commercial Litigation and Robert G. Blalock was selected for Trusts and Estates.

A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded as a significant honor conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. The lists of outstanding attorneys are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. If the votes for an attorney are positive enough for inclusion in Best Lawyers, that attorney must maintain those votes in subsequent polls to remain on the list for each edition. 

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The Giving Challenge faced its own challenge this year - falling right in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spoiler alert: The community proved unphased and unstoppable. 

Click here to read the full article from SRQ's Summer 2020 edition.

The City of Sarasota has extended its declaration of a local citywide public health emergency through Aug. 28 following a weekly review, as required by the City Charter, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Face coverings are now required in all indoor and outdoor public spaces in the City limits, whenever proper social distancing cannot be maintained in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The temporary regulation, which took effect July 1, has been extended through October 28. 

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Manatee County Emergency Management officials urged Manatee County residents to monitor tropical storms approaching Florida over the weekend. It is still too early to know exactly where the storms will track, but Tropical Storm Laura may bring strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge to Manatee County, said Emergency Management Chief Steve Litschauer.

“We’re expecting tropical storm winds as early as Monday night or early Tuesday morning here,” Litschauer said. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty since Tropical Storm Laura is still so far out. Residents should not focus attention on the cone of uncertainty but more on trends this far out. As T.S. Laura moves closer to Florida the cone and track will shift multiple times east and west. Manatee County Public Works will make sand and bags available for the public beginning 8 a.m. tomorrow at the Rubonia Community Center and the Myakka City Community Center. 

The Rubonia Community Center is located at 1309 72nd Street E., Palmetto. The Myakka City Community Center is located at 10060 Wauchula Road, Myakka City. Both self-service sandbag locations will be open until 8 p.m. tomorrow, Aug. 22. Residents can find more information on sandbags at www.mymanatee.org/sandbags 

For more information on Manatee County Government, visit www.mymanatee.org or call 941-748-4501

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From its successful COVID-19 Face Mask & Shield Project to recent blood drive with SunCoast Blood Centers, the Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab (SSC) has dedicated itself to stepping up to support the community with innovative solutions during a time when COVID-19 uncertainties continue to grow.

Through brainstorm sessions with community leaders, healthcare experts and student volunteers, the Student Community Innovation Program (SCIP) was born. SCIP provides high school and college students with an opportunity to give back to their community by innovating a solution to a local need. With the help of talented mentors and access to a state-of-the-art fabrication lab, students bring an idea from concept to creation and build hard and soft skills that will help them excel in future pursuits.

During its pilot year, one SCIP team was determined to make a meaningful impact on the Sarasota community through education. Led by recent Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design graduate Mimi Faulhaber, the Education Team quickly sought partnership with Sarasota County Schools (SCS) to discover how they could aid in the imminent reopening of schools. Using direct feedback from administrators, the team developed the website-application “COVIDucation” to deliver accurate COVID-19 information to elementary school students through an engaging storybook format. In close collaboration with SCS, the team was able to tailor the content to help children understand the impact the virus has on their lives as well as become prepared for the increased health and safety measures in schools.

“What began as an opportunity of growth for our students has flourished into a resource that has the ability to help all students and families navigate this unprecedented time," noted Ping Faulhaber, SSC Executive Director. “We welcome families locally, nationally and globally, to use COVIDucation as a learning tool and conversation-starter.”

The Education team–comprised of SCS graduates Mimi Faulhaber, Alexander Gage, Christiana Guan, Michael Gutierrez, Won Namgoong, Alyssa Steinbaum and Claire Wang plus SCS students Naina Chauhan, Julia Chen, Alexiya Mikerina, Diego Morales and Kasumi Wade–worked remotely alongside local experts in software programming and design to develop the website over the last eight weeks. “Against all odds, I am amazed at how much we have been able to accomplish, and it’s been such a great experience to work with people who saw these challenges as an opportunity and not an obstacle,” stated SCIP member Naina Chauhan.

“We are so grateful for the desire of these young people to be helpful during this pandemic,” noted Dr. Laura Kingsley, assistant superintendent & chief academic officer of Sarasota County Schools. “Their brilliance and energy combined to create an innovative solution for teachers and parents of our younger students. I believe this web-app will be the go-to, engaging resource for our families and teachers to use with younger children. It’s heartwarming to watch these students take an interest in the wellbeing of others in our community.”

The COVIDucation website is available now at http://coviducation.net. If you want to help uplift the innovators of tomorrow and get involved at the Fab Lab, contact info@suncoastscience.org or 941-840-4394. 

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